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2022 Activities and Challenges
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WPF: Who's PBT's Favorite?
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FAQ's for Who's PBT's Favorite?How will the 64 be determined?
You will nominate two authors a piece through a Google Form. The most popular authors will be included. We will fill any remaining slots at random from the authors you have nominated.
Please nominate your two authors using the link below:
https://forms.gle/2SAT27YrHRDjj8rK6
Will we know the list of 64 authors before we decide to participate?
Yes! As soon as we have the 64 authors, you will know who they are.
Nominate AuthorsLet's gather our 64 authors!!
Please nominate them using the form below.
https://forms.gle/2SAT27YrHRDjj8rK6
Please submit your suggestions by December 27th.
So forgive me for asking a question that may be obvious, about how we should choose these authors. Like I can imagine that whatever the group suggests, I will find something in there to read. From 64 talented authors, no question. It will be super fun. But if I am suggesting names, should I be suggesting ones that I think PBT will find a favorite, or that I think I haven't yet read books from that I would like to? Here are my examples, and I will be right out there with it.
Like I think Taylor Jenkins Reid will get nominated (definitely by David), and she should, because I think she would be a definite PBT favorite. But if that author rises through the brackets, I won't be reading any of her works, because unless a new one turns up, I have read them all. So should I personally not suggest an author, if whose works I have read the entierty? Another example is Liane Moriarty. I have read all of her books, and I am sure she would be a favorite of our group. But if I nominated her, and if she gets on the ultimate list, which she surely would, I only have one book of hers left to read - Apples Never Fall. So the popular authors who I know would get a lot of votes, may leave little for me to read. Which makes me wonder if I should nominate authors who are also popular, whose works I have not yet completed? Like Diane Chamberlain. Even my beloved Alice Hoffman, I may be just a few off, including this years newest The Book of Magic.
I know that challenge will be fabulous, I guess the question is really, is there any strategy involved in the two authors we suggest? Like we are picking for the group, but also for ourselves? Or do we just trust that everyone is going to come up with enough to give the rest of us a range, and we will all be surprised and not so surprised..... Personally I would love to see Marie Benedict get on that list, because she is my author for 2022. Would I love it if Melanie Benjamin also made the list? Sure! Stephanie Dray? You bet! But these names may not be as popular on the whole as the ones I named above.
Whats neat about this challenge is that its going to pull from different genres. Some folks are going to go with fantasy, or mystery or YA, or what have you. Which I think will make it really interesting, as people will be competing with authors of different genres. I like that. So I guess, if I am representing my genres of contemporary and historical fiction, then maybe I can't be too sure of what the group will choose. So what is a girl to do?
I think I will ultimately pull two from those three; Liane Moriarty, Diane Chamberlain, and Alice Hoffman, unless you guys tell me how else I should be thinking about it. I'm curious about how the others will make the decision about which two to pick.
I nominated my two. I think one of them has a very good chance of winning. I'm not sure about the other.What if the author writes under two names (e.g. JK Rowling and Robert Galbraith)? Would we get a point if either of those "authors" win? Or do we have to actually choose which of her two writing names she uses wins to get the points? (This is all contingent on the fact that she wins, of course, which she probably won't. I'm just using her as an example.)
What is the deadline for nominations? I have two that came to mind immediately, but I want to think about it a bit longer before deciding for sure.
Amy wrote: "But if that author rises through the brackets, I won't be reading any of her works, because unless a new one turns up, I have read them all...."This is my concern with one of the authors I'm considering. I've read everything (I think) by her.
Can any of us nominate, even if we are not sure we will in the end participate in the challenge? For example, if too many are authors where I have read their body of work, I will not participate because I have no interest in rereading.
Or, if too many of the authors chosen are not ones I have books in my massive diverse TBR Towers awaiting my attention, I am unlikely to participate in the challenge as I use these challenges to read from TBR.
Yet I want to nominate to help swing it in a direction that does entice me to join.
Just to be clear, you could basically not read a single book by any of these authors and win/earn participation points by making great predictions. In your nominations, you should be nominating authors you think will win. Because the best predictions will yield at least as many participation points and/or other prizes as reading along.
OK - Then I will go on a totally different plan. I will vote straightaway.
Amy wrote: "So forgive me for asking a question that may be obvious, about how we should choose these authors. Like I can imagine that whatever the group suggests, I will find something in there to read. From ..."I'm wondering the same thing! I don't have just two favorites.
I don't want to nominate an author that I think will win - because if we all do that, the list won't really be our favorites. It will just be names that are well known that we think everyone likes. I might once have said Jane Austen, but she hasn't been a favorite for a long time (and I'm not eager to reread any of her books).
I want to nominate authors that I would really like to keep reading. I hope the list is a combination of popular authors, well respected literary authors, some genre authors, and some new-to-me names. I really wish we could discuss this in person, to share ideas, jog our memories, etc. Sometimes I don't really know what I think about something until I talk it through or write about it.
I had so much fun this year reading new-to-me authors, and authors with 20+ year careers. I never heard of some of them before this year, and it took me a long time to get around to reading others. For instance: Virginia Woolf, Ruth Ozeki, Louise Erdrich, Lily King, A.S. Byatt, Ursula K. Le Guin, Maggie O'Farrell, Ian McEwan, Richard Powers, Olga Tokarczuk, and Martha Wells. I want to read more by them this coming year. I also plan to read more by Marilynn Robinson, Alice Hoffman, Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood, Amy Harmon, Zora Neale Hurston, Daphne duMaurier, Kate Atkinson, Lisa Genova, and more. I might have suggested Taylor Reid Jenkins, Kristin Hannah, or Jodie Picoult, but I was disappointed by the last books I read from them. And some old favorites that I don't read anymore, such as Jeffrey Archer, Diana Gabaldon, Amy Tan, and Maeve Binchy.
I need to think about this, and think about which authors are truly my favorites. Based on the list above, they'll probably both be women (sorry, I admit that I'm sexist in my reading choices).
I have no idea who the group would pick as a favorite, but I'm pretty sure it won't be someone like Danielle Steel or James Patterson!
@Amy - thanks for mentioning what you're thinking. I just realized I forgot about Liane Moriarty. I really hope Hoffman will be on the list.
Anita wrote: "Just to be clear, you could basically not read a single book by any of these authors and win/earn participation points by making great predictions. In your nominations, you should be nominating a..."
I really hope people will nominate their true favorites, and not just who they think other people like.
I like that there are multiple ways to play. If we do nothing else, we could earn points just for reading a book by the winning author in December.
NancyJ wrote: "Amy wrote: "So forgive me for asking a question that may be obvious, about how we should choose these authors. Like I can imagine that whatever the group suggests, I will find something in there to..."I have seen these types of brackets play out before, and the one thing I will say, is it will be very hard to predict who wins in a group as big as ours.
Every member can cast a vote for the brackets, so you may get some people voting who aren't even "playing" but just want to chime in on their favorites. And with head to head match ups, you could have two extremely popular authors up against one another, and one of them will be knocked out . . .
Soooooo, all that being said, I would pick authors whose works you enjoy and/or want to share and perhaps that others have at least heard of. But there are no rules beyond "submit two authors."
I'm looking forward to reading new authors, knowing that I don't have to read any that I don't want to read. I'll want to read them in order to be an "informed voter." (I have to admit that I wasn't nearly as interested in reading about local politicians last November.) Will you pick all the matches at random? If the initial nominations identified some clear potential winners, would it be fair to try to avoid pitting them against one another? I can't remember what that's called in sports - handicaps, seeding or something like that.
NancyJ wrote: "I'm looking forward to reading new authors, knowing that I don't have to read any that I don't want to read. I'll want to read them in order to be an "informed voter." (I have to admit that I wasn'..."I am going to do the matches at random . . .I expect that all of the authors submitted will be good ones that deserve an equal shot at the glory!
I actually didn't go with Alice Hoffman. So she's open game if someone else would like to include her. I went in a different direction. I figured go with two names that I think the group as a whole will find popular and I figured out two I thought would be a sure hit. So I went the other direction like Anita suggested and envisioned.
I made my nominations. Really hard to name just 2!
Sue wrote: "I made my nominations. Really hard to name just 2!"I agree! My first one was easy, but the second...there were so many options.
I picked 2 of my favorites, I have seen others read them, but that was not a consideration for me.
Anita, did you see my question? Will authors with multiple pen names count as one?
So sorry, Jennie!! Great question!Yes! That will be one author regardless of pen names.
Please do alert me to both names somehow if you submit an author who writes under multiple names.
So to make sure I understand--We read a book by any of the authors in the bracket and we earns points. Then we will vote with the numbers of points we earn for our favorite author that is in the bracket.Or are we voting by the author we choose to read and the number of books we read by that author.
Linda wrote: "So to make sure I understand--We read a book by any of the authors in the bracket and we earns points. Then we will vote with the numbers of points we earn for our favorite author that is in the br..."Yes, your first paragraph is correct. You can read ANY of the authors that are in the bracket (not yet eliminated). You can then use the points you earn by reading those books as additional points to cast toward your favorite author.
Everyone will be permitted to cast one vote for each pair of authors. The votes earned by reading will be extra and will help keep your favorite authors in the running for the win.
Anita wrote: "So sorry, Jennie!! Great question!Yes! That will be one author regardless of pen names.
Please do alert me to both names somehow if you submit an author who writes under multiple names."
No problem. I did actually vote for an author that uses two names. When would you like me to notify you? I can DM you since I didn't put it on the voting form. Or, I can fill out another form and you can delete my first one without both names?
Jenni Elyse wrote: "Anita wrote: "So sorry, Jennie!! Great question!Yes! That will be one author regardless of pen names.
Please do alert me to both names somehow if you submit an author who writes under multiple ..."
A DM would be just fine. Thank you!
I'm looking at lists to jog my memory of authors I liked in the past. This was one of my target lists in 2021.100 Essential Female Authors - https://www.abebooks.com/books/best-f...
I nominated my two Authors. That was not easy! I felt like I was being asked to pick which child is my favorite.
I went with Authors that wrote books that made me think and I forced my husband to discuss them with me. He is not a book reader so that is a big deal. LOLOLOL
SouthWestZippy wrote: "I nominated my two Authors. That was not easy! I felt like I was being asked to pick which child is my favorite.
I went with Authors that wrote books that made me think and I forced my husband to..."
That's so funny. I've been thinking about authors that my husband and I both liked. It's easy for me to keep track because he doesn't read much either.
Anita,Are we only counting fiction authors? What about narrative non-fiction writers such as Eric Larsen? I just read his book (The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz.
The authors do not need to be restricted to fiction.
Hi Anita - just checking I’ve understood a couple of things correctly: (1) if we earn extra voting points before the March elimination vote, we can apply them in that March vote if we’d like to, yes? (Ie we don’t *have* to hold them until the next round)
(2) can we apply those extra voting points to boost the vote for *anyone* on the current author list, not just the author of the book we read? So for instance, I could read a Stephen King book (now you know this is a hypothetical, lol - never going to happen!!) but apply that point to boost someone else in that bracket (even his opposition). Or apply it to someone in any other bracket for that matter…
KateNZ wrote: "Hi Anita - just checking I’ve understood a couple of things correctly: (1) if we earn extra voting points before the March elimination vote, we can apply them in that March vote if we’d like to, y..."
Great questions, Kate!
(1) if we earn extra voting points before the March elimination vote, we can apply them in that March vote if we’d like to, yes? (Ie we don’t *have* to hold them until the next round)
Yes, you may EITHER use the extra votes immediately in the March voting round, OR you may save them up to use in any future voting round including the championship.
(2) can we apply those extra voting points to boost the vote for *anyone* on the current author list, not just the author of the book we read? So for instance, I could read a Stephen King book (now you know this is a hypothetical, lol - never going to happen!!) but apply that point to boost someone else in that bracket (even his opposition). Or apply it to someone in any other bracket for that matter…
Yes, you may apply your extra votes to any remaining author in any bracket. You do not need to have read the author for the game or ever. You may use your votes strategically to advance any author you wish.
Kia ora, friend - thanks for the confirmation!
I'm probably too tired right now to be looking at this but I'm confused:3. If you read any books by any of the 64 authors before the winners are revealed (mid March), you will earn 1 point per review that you can then apply to yourvote to move your favorite author further in the bracket. Or you may save your votes to use later in the tournament. If your book also fits the monthly tag, then you will earn 2 points for future use!
*emphasis mine
I see you have tracking threads for VOTES and a separate tracking thread for PARTICIPATION POINTS.
But the rules seem to use "points" and "votes" interchangeably and I'm confused.
Book Concierge wrote: "I'm probably too tired right now to be looking at this but I'm confused:3. If you read any books by any of the 64 authors before the winners are revealed (mid March), you will earn 1 point per rev..."
I think this document is one of the earliest descriptions of the challenge, and points are usually equivalent to Votes (except for the 20 regular participation points for reading the winner).
The extra Participation Points prizes were added on a little later to add another element for those of us who love to be rewarded for reading with PBT participation points. It's a lot like the extra bonus challenges that were added to this year's FLY game, to give us more opportunities to win something. The extra prizes are described in separate documents.
NancyJ wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "I'm probably too tired right now to be looking at this but I'm confused:3. If you read any books by any of the 64 authors before the winners are revealed (mid March), you wi..."
Nancy has this exactly right. The description was written before we added a participation point component. I will edit the language above for clarity.
I will also respond to BC, but please let me know if there are still questions.
Book Concierge wrote: "I'm probably too tired right now to be looking at this but I'm confused:3. If you read any books by any of the 64 authors before the winners are revealed (mid March), you will earn 1 point per rev..."
I have clarified the specifics in the description. The original description only included the ability to earn votes. Subsequently we added a participation points component. My apologies for the confusion, but I have clarified in the first post now. Please let me know if you still have questions. I really should never have used the word points in the original description!
AJ wrote: "I realised this might be better asked hereI’m trying to be easy on myself this year. Would it be possible for me to only track participation points and ignore the votes? I’ll just read based on w..."
Yes, not a problem at all. If you do this, just use the participation points tracking thread. And when you vote (if you vote), just cast 1 vote per pair.
Good question!
AJ wrote: "I realised this might be better asked hereI’m trying to be easy on myself this year. Would it be possible for me to only track participation points and ignore the votes? I’ll just read based on w..."
As an administrator, I can't earn participation points, so I am doing the opposite. Reading to be able to vote (and keeping track in that thread), but not worrying about participation points.
Anita wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "I'm probably too tired right now to be looking at this but I'm confused:3. If you read any books by any of the 64 authors before the winners are revealed (mid March), you wi..."
Thank you, Anita. That does clarify.
You might want to also clarify (Though I think I know exactly what you mean now.)
4. Every other month, we will repeat the process. We announce the 32 winners in mid- March and everyone will again get to cast 1 vote in each head-to-head match up for their favorite. Plus you may cast any extra points you received from reading/reviewing books by the authors previously in the game (if you so choose).
Then, again, you may read any of the 32 to earn points to apply to future votes!
I admit I am confused about this game. This is how I often feel when I call a tech support line and say, "I have 3 college degrees and I still don't understand." If I read a book by one of the authors that is in the 64, I just post the name and link to review, and I can also have the review in the Monthly Tag or Other Books section - same as 2021 with Fly the Skies, for instance. And if I read one of the authors later in the year when that person has already been eliminated, I can still post it but it counts differently? Also, it looks like it's important to keep track of which bracket the authors are in because it's more lucrative to have different brackets. Is that right?
I guess the bottom line is that I don't really understand the point of the game. One aspect of winning is how well we can forecast what other people will vote for. We also can use our points to get more votes to possibly influence the next round. None of that seems very related to reading. What am I missing here?
I don't mean this to sound like a criticism of the game. Anita has done an amazing job coming up with the game and adapting it to member requests. Maybe this is just not the game for me this year, which is fine. I am more motivated by team challenges, and I'm doing the History one (not to mention other challenges outside this group.)
Book Concierge wrote: "Anita wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "I'm probably too tired right now to be looking at this but I'm confused:3. If you read any books by any of the 64 authors before the winners are revealed (mid ..."
Honestly, I need to differentiate better between participation points and votes. I will try to review all of the directions and make sure I say votes when I mean votes . . .!
I did edit the text in instruction 4, however 4 does refer to VOTES . . .not participation points. Participation points are separate and may not be applied to the voting. Just to be clear.
This activity may not be for you. And rest assured there is no pressure to participate!!! But I still want to try to address your questions because others may have them as well. I definitely am not taking it as a criticism. To be honest, I find this more complex than I originally conceived it to be, but I do think a portion of our membership is up for that . . .
I guess the bottom line is that I don't really understand the point of the game.
As I originally conceived this activity, I thought it might be fun to see who PBT's favorite authors might be and to try to guess those in advance. So the activity really wasn't SO much about reading. It was more about discerning our favorites and having fun (and create some year long suspense) trying to figure out who those authors might be.
I did feel as though if a person read an author, their vote would be more informed, and hence we offered the extra points to apply to your vote if you read an author. And because we are all about the tags here, we spiced up the number of extra votes if the book also fit the tag.
We always try to put up a variety of activities for our annual challenges, and not all of them will necessarily be rewarding reading. They will all be about BOOKS. That's all I promise. If members vote for the activity, we assume there is interest in it as conceived.
However, as is often the case, members have suggestions on how to make activities more inclusive and more fun for everyone (even those who didn't vote for it). If it's a good suggestion, I'll definitely consider it. And that's what happened here . . .so we added the extra participation points component to reward reading a variety of authors.
If I read a book by one of the authors that is in the 64, I just post the name and link to reviewa) If you want to have additional votes to use to help move authors further in the game, you can post this information, and we will award you additional votes
b) If you want participation points to use in general PBT activities i.e. voting for the monthly tag, you can also post this book and get some of those
Both of these are optional. Anyone who wants to cast a single vote for their favorite author in each pairing is welcome to do so without doing a or b.
And if I read one of the authors later in the year when that person has already been eliminated, I can still post it but it counts differently?
No, once an author has been eliminated, you can no longer read them to earn voting points or participation points for this specific activity.
Also, it looks like it's important to keep track of which bracket the authors are in because it's more lucrative to have different brackets. Is that right?
To earn more participation points, you must read authors from different brackets.
To earn additional votes, all that matters is that the author is still in contention.
One aspect of winning is how well we can forecast what other people will vote for.
Yes, this is the major goal for the grand prize.
We also can use our points to get more votes to possibly influence the next round.
You can use your VOTES to influence the next round. You may earn more votes by reading the authors still in contention.
None of that seems very related to reading. What am I missing here?
There's a reading component, but this activity is much more focused on having a fun, suspenseful event to identify our favorite author while keeping people interested in voting all along the way.
We did add the participation points to make it more enjoyable for those members who did want more of a reading focus . . .and it hopefully introduces all of our members to some authors that are new to them.
Thank you for all the detailed answers, Anita! I really appreciate it. I tend to be the one in groups speaking up and then it turns out other people did have some of those questions, but didn't ask them. So I'm sure this is helpful for everyone.I have also had the experience of designing a game or challenge which was very clear to me, and then people started asking questions or bringing up examples that I hadn't thought of! The good thing is this means lots of people are interested.
Robin P wrote: "Thank you for all the detailed answers, Anita! I really appreciate it. I tend to be the one in groups speaking up and then it turns out other people did have some of those questions, but didn't ask..."I like questions! They make me think and gain clarity.
And we are very accustomed to them too after 10 plus years of trying to come up with creative options for this group. I completely expect and welcome inquiries, and I'm glad people feel comfortable to ask!!
Here's the original synopsis. Then below, we will have an FAQ. Feel free to submit any questions you want answered, and I will add them to the FAQ.
And most importantly, we need your author NOMINATIONS. I'm going to set up a Google Form for you to submit two (and only two) authors you'd like to see amongst the 64. The most popular submissions will be included, and then the rest of the slots will be filled randomly from your nominees.
WHO'S PBT'S FAVORITE?
Administered by Anita
Let's figure out which author is the PBT favorite!! You nominate your faves, and they compete in a head to head challenges every other month until only one author remains.
In addition to helping us determine our most favorite author, you can win by submitting predictions of your final four authors, final two authors, and the winner before the votes begin . . .see how well you know our membership and can predict their selections!
1. Nominate your favorite authors (up to two). Each nominated author must have published at least three books.
2. We will start with 64 authors presented in random pairs. (For you sports enthusiasts, think March Madness brackets!) Each member may cast 1 vote for their favorite in each head to head match up.
3. If you read any books by any of the 64 authors before the winners are revealed (mid March), you will earn 1 vote per review that you can then apply to your vote to move your favorite author further in the bracket. Or you may save your votes to use later in the tournament. If your book also fits the monthly tag, then you will earn 2 votes for future use!
4. Every other month, we will repeat the process. We announce the 32 winners in mid- March and everyone will again get to cast 1 vote in each head-to-head match up for their favorite. Plus you may cast any extra votes you received from reading/reviewing books by the authors previously in the game (if you so choose).
Then, again, you may read any of the 32 to earn additional voting points to apply to future votes!
5. We continue, whittling the brackets down every other month to 16, 8, 4, 2, and then 1, until we announce the winner on December 1st.
6. Then, we tally your predictions and announce the winners! Anyone who reads the winning author before year end gets 20 participation points
7. UPDATE: We have also added a participation points component to allow players to earn participation points in each round. Please see the following thread for details: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...