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[2023] Wild Discussion
I know people hate "related to" prompts, but what about?A book related to Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech.
Then people could read a non-fiction or fiction book, about dreams, inter-racial relationships, the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, or what ever else the prompt speaks to them about.
Dubhease wrote: "I know people hate "related to" prompts, but what about?A book related to Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech.
Then people could read a non-fiction or fiction book, about dreams, inter-racial rel..."
I would vote for it but I'm not the ebst jduge as I'm okay with related to prompts
This year (2022) we have 7 or 8 "related to" prompt. (One is multi-week.) And 2 "connected to" prompts.I guess only some people hate them, because we did vote some in last year.
Dubhease wrote: "This year (2022) we have 7 or 8 "related to" prompt. (One is multi-week.) And 2 "connected to" prompts.I guess only some people hate them, because we did vote some in last year."
And we just voted in "related to pride."
Dubhease wrote: "I know people hate "related to" prompts, but what about?A book related to Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech.
As someone who wants to make sure I am following the rules "related to" can be a bit of can of worms for my psyche. But I do think that if I can fully understand the intent of the prompt I can work with it. I voted for "related to pride" and would vote for "Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech"
I also appreciate further context provided with statements like this "Then people could read a non-fiction or fiction book, about dreams, inter-racial relationships, the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, or what ever else the prompt speaks to them about."
Mod
A book related to Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech.
As someone who wants to make sure I am following the rules "related..."
That's a good idea. Although I also feel we have lots of extremely broad topics next year
NancyJ wrote: "And we just voted in "related to pride..""Someone last year told me that people don't like "related to" prompts. I'm thinking it was just that person's opinion.
Dubhease wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "And we just voted in "related to pride..""Someone last year told me that people don't like "related to" prompts. I'm thinking it was just that person's opinion."
I'm tyring to rember how many got in this year
Dubhease wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "And we just voted in "related to pride..""Someone last year told me that people don't like "related to" prompts. I'm thinking it was just that person's opinion."
there were four this year, if that's any guide
Mod
A group this size for every yes, there's a no. And even if it sounds like public opinion is one way, there is the vast silent majority who vote. So I say do what you personally think is a good idea and let the chips fall as they may.
I'd vote for the interracial relationship prompt too! As for "related to" - I'm one of the people who dislikes the wording because of how nebulous it is. It could mean anything from being the same genre to starting with the same letter to being set in the same century, which makes it hard for me to figure out where to go with that prompt. When the direction is more clear, like the pride prompt, I'll upvote because I know I would immediately go by theme/character. But something like "related to a book you read last year" has so many thousands of possibilities that it stresses me out, lol.
Pamela wrote: "Dubhease wrote:Someone last year told me that people don't like "related to" prompts. I'm thinking it was just that person's opinion."A group this size for every yes, there's a no. And even if it..."
Absolutely! I think as the group gets bigger this is even more true. There are maybe 30 people (if that) that participate in the discussions, and over a hundred that vote. This forum is great for getting a general feel for a prompt but when it comes to voting, anything can happen!
To offer an alternative opinion to Irene ( Whose opinion I deeply respect) : I love connected to because I like choices and it makes it more likely I can find a book on my TBR that fits. I really hate being forced to read books I’m not interested in cos nothing else will fit and I really hope the connected to a book you read last year gets another shot .So when the vote happens there will be Thomas’s and Irene’s and all other kinds and with single week prompts you have more chance to experiment. To reiterate I may radically disagree with you on this point Irene but I really value your contributions so none of this is personal
@Thomas, no worries at all! Also, while I don't prefer "related to" wording I'll still vote for prompts that have it. I was just sharing my thought process :)
Since it doesn't look like we have any genre prompts yet, I have a couple of suggestions to float here:1) a book of short stories
ok, this isn't technically a genre, but more of a writing format (?). Short stories aren't generally something I'm drawn to, but the few times it has been the choice made by someone in my IRL book group, I've enjoyed it. Just trying to push myself here, and maybe others as well. And of course the nice thing is that the stories can be in any 'actual' genre, or possibly even a mix.
2) a book of speculative fiction
Speculative fiction actually covers a broad range of more well known genres — as defined on the genre page in Goodreads:
Speculative fiction is a broad category of fiction encompassing genres with certain elements that are nonexistent in terms of reality, recorded history, or nature and the present universe, covering various themes in the context of the supernatural, futuristic, and many other imaginative topics.
Under this umbrella category, the genres include, but are not limited to: science fiction, fantasy fiction, horror fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history.
It is can be used as an umbrella term for science fantasy.
The term is often attributed to Robert A. Heinlein
EDIT: adding link to Speculative Fiction genre page to see examples of titles in genre.
Any thoughts?
Tracy wrote: "Since it doesn't look like we have any genre prompts yet, I have a couple of suggestions to float here:1) a book of short stories
ok, this isn't technically a genre, but more of a writing forma..."
I really like speculative fiction
Speculative fiction just means science fiction, fantasy, and horror, imo. The things you listed as “under the umbrella” (superhero fiction, dystopian, alternate history) are subgenres and don’t really need to be specified.Why not just say “sci-fi and fantasy or horror” and avoid any confusion about what is and is not speculative fiction?
A prompt for short story collections gets suggested pretty much every year and almost always gets voted out. I don’t know who reads short story collections but apparently they’re not people who do reading challenges. Ha. (Personally I really like them.)
Mod
1) a book of short stories
ok, this isn't technically a genre, but more of a writing forma..."
As we each say every prompt is hated by people, I'm not a specific genre prompt cause it is either a genre I avoid completely (such as short story- when we had it the other year, I wild carded that week) or one I read anyways so it's a gimme. I like the genre prompts which can be a variety. Wasn't there one a few years ago of a genre that has the first letter of your name or something like that? It's more fun than being made to read x genre.
I disagree with ‘speculative fiction ‘ being the same as ‘fantasy , sci-fi or horror ‘ To me ‘speculative ‘ covers a lot more borderline cases that I wouldn’t really shelve in those categories such as South American literary style magical realism or Stephen Fry’s Mythos series
@dalex — The list of genres covered by Speculative Fiction was not MY list, but the wording on the Speculative Fiction genre page in Goodreads. I have no idea who writes those. But the idea of having an umbrella to cover many genres/sub-genres opens it up to many who many not like typical sci-fi, fantasy, or horror. And as the sub-genres my not be considered by some who reject the main three genres out-of-hand, I think listing them has some benefit.And re: short stories, if this has a history of getting voted out, this may be something I may choose to layer on top of another genre that does get voted in (e.g., a book of short stories with a body of water in the title).
@ Pamela — I wouldn't want a LOT of genre prompts, or maybe not even more than one. But the idea of choosing the genre of your choice based on a minor constraint (like, as you said, a genre with the first letter of your last name) is interesting. Might be problematic if anyone's name starts with X, but I suppose if that is your burden to bear, you are used to adjusting.
Juliet Brown wrote: "I disagree with ‘speculative fiction ‘ being the same as ‘fantasy , sci-fi or horror ‘ To me ‘speculative ‘ covers a lot more borderline cases that I wouldn’t really shelve in those categories such..."That was my thought Juliet.
I would vote for speculative fiction. To me, it includes more nuances than scifi, fantasy, or horror. It would make me examine the idea of speculative fiction, and what the authors are trying to achieve in writing it. I tend to enjoy those based on an "alternate take" on the real world. To me, it is based on current abilities and what we might be headed toward, or an alternate path of a historical event. Pure fantasy based on some completely imagined worlds/beings would not generally meet that definition.
Of course, it may be a more specific prompt than people would like, so it might not get voted in but I would vote for it.
I seem to participate every year in some type of challenge that requires reading short stories. They are not my preferred reading, but I don't mind them. I probably wouldn't vote for it just because I've done it so much it doesn't seem "fresh."
Joy D wrote: "I would vote for speculative fiction. To me, it includes more nuances than scifi, fantasy, or horror. It would make me examine the idea of speculative fiction, and what the authors are trying to ac..."Thanks for your discussion re: speculative fiction Joy!
I may just have to make Short Stories my own personal challenge, since it sounds like that has been used a lot in various groups, at least from the few reports here. I am relatively new to GR Groups — this is only my 2nd year trying them.
If it appeals to you there is no harm in suggesting it. It occurs to me that voting depends largely on a person's goal. Some people want to pare down their existing list of books and others want to expand their horizons to books other than those they would normally select.
Joy D wrote: "If it appeals to you there is no harm in suggesting it. It occurs to me that voting depends largely on a person's goal. Some people want to pare down their existing list of books and others want ..."
Interesting thought Joy, I hadn't considered that. I suppose I have a mix of both reasons.
I felt liked we'd had short stories quite often, so I've checked my spreadsheet and we've had:2021: A collection of short stories, essays or poetry
2018: An award-winning short story or short story collection
2017: A Collection
2016: A short story from a well-known author
I thought we'd also had something along the lines of "A book written by more than one author", which could include short stories, but I can't find it. Maybe it was a suggestion that didn't make it.
It looks like the key to getting it in is to make it possible to fill it with something other than a book of short stories, or to tempt enough people with the option of ticking the prompt off quickly with just the one story :)
Tracy wrote: "Since it doesn't look like we have any genre prompts yet, I have a couple of suggestions to float here:1) a book of short stories
ok, this isn't technically a genre, but more of a writing forma..."
I am always going to vote YES for speculative fiction. I like the term, it's succinct and accurate, and it includes things like magical realism that are usually not included in SFF.
Worlds Without End “is a fan-run website and growing online community, dedicated to identifying, reading and sharing the best Speculative Fiction books the genre has to offer.”The books included on this website are sci-fi, fantasy, and horror.
And on the website they have a lengthy list of subgenres, including things previously mentioned in this discussion such as superhero fiction, dystopian, alternate history, magical realism, and mythology.
https://www.worldswithoutend.com/reso...
This is why I think a prompt could just state sci-fi, fantasy, or horror without trying to include all the nuances of “speculative fiction.”
I think the suggested prompt: "a book of speculative fiction" is more specific and I would vote for it. I personally would not vote for "sci-fi, fantasy, or horror" which I consider too broad and general.
Marie wrote: "I felt liked we'd had short stories quite often, so I've checked my spreadsheet and we've had:2021: A collection of short stories, essays or poetry
2018: An award-winning short story or short sto..."
Marie - thanks for doing that research for me. I keep trying to remember to do that, but maybe I'm subconsciously trying to avoid it since it is relatively tedious (and will only get more so as the years go on).
Moderators, can I suggest an idea to help with this research process? Could there be a single topic, in the Mod Corner maybe, that would have a running list of all prompts, by year? Each year the topic would have a new post with the prompts for that year? That way we could have just one place to go to scroll through or do a 'Find' type search for possible duplicate prompt suggestions, and easily see how long ago they were used. Could that work?
Or am I missing something and does this localized list exist somewhere? I know I can find each year's lists in separate folders, but that's where the search becomes tedious.
Thanks for your consideration.
I love short stories, especially interlinked short stories. IndieList has a new book coming out in August called Stories from the Tenants Downstairs that I'm eager to read. There's always at least one short story collection I want to read every year.I also love speculative fiction so both these suggestions would get my vote.
Martha wrote: "I love short stories, especially interlinked short stories. IndieList has a new book coming out in August called Stories from the Tenants Downstairs that I'm eager to read. There's ..."Sounds interesting Martha. And if Short Stories doesn't make it in, someone earlier talked about suggesting something like "a book that primarily takes place in an apartment building" — that would fit for this book as well!
Based only on my gut reaction I would be more likely to vote for a book of speculative fiction rather than sci-fi, fantasy, or horror just because speculative fiction sounds more exotic. I know that is a silly reason but it feels more like a challenge.
dalex wrote: "Worlds Without End “is a fan-run website and growing online community, dedicated to identifying, reading and sharing the best Speculative Fiction books the genre has to offer.”The books included ..."
Thank you for sharing this website. I find it really helpful!
Martha wrote: "I love short stories, especially interlinked short stories. IndieList has a new book coming out in August called Stories from the Tenants Downstairs that I'm eager to read. There's ..."I would vote for a short story or essay collection. We didn't have one this year, and I would like to see it again. Some authors can put a lot of power into a short story. I like to spread them out a little to give myself a little time to think about each story. Otherwise, they all run together in my mind. I like that the one you suggested is of linked stories. I reminds me of Olive Kitteridge and Olive, Again. I think Maeve Binchy had a collection of stories about the residents of an apartment building. Interpreter of Maladies has two wonderful (contrasting) stories set in apartment houses with a concierge.
I just read the memoir This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett, which is a collection of essays she wrote for various publications. They're all about her life so it felt cohesive. I liked it even better than some of her novels.
A memoir/biography/autobiography is another prompt I might like. Many memoirs have an interesting theme. (They're not all by celebrities.)
Joy D wrote: "I would vote for speculative fiction. To me, it includes more nuances than scifi, fantasy, or horror. It would make me examine the idea of speculative fiction, and what the authors are trying to ac..."I like the term speculative fiction when it is used for books that have some fantasy or sci-fi element, but don't really fit the norm for those genres. It can be a way to differentiate those books from the well-known sub-genres. Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is a good example. There's nothing scientific or magical in the book, so it's not really informative to describe it as sci-fi or fantasy. She often says that there is nothing in the book that hasn't already happened in some way, at some time in history, somewhere in the world. There is nothing really futuristic about the story (other than it doesn't seem like the present.)
However, Speculative fiction has also been defined as a broader genre that includes all sci-fi, fantasy and horror. If we vote it in, I might select something that doesn't fit traditional fantasy or sci-fi. But many others will pick fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, horror, or whatever they think fits.
We could try to write a unique (and narrow) prompt such as, a work of speculative fiction that doesn't involve paranormal or magical elements. Another version might exclude sci-fi or space. It could include many (but not all) alternate fiction books. dystopian books, climate-fiction, environmental speculative fiction, or other creative 'what if' books. I think Stephen King might have a specific definition of it too. It might be too narrow for some readers.
I would like to read more speculative fiction, science-fiction and some types of fantasy, so I'd be open to most related prompts.
Since I would be inclined to use speculative fiction prompt to slot in a magical realism book you would instantly lose my vote by adding a ‘without magical or paranormal’ restriction and I imagine the same is true for others for other such restrictions
I’m not sure the reason behind the proposed restriction. Personally I would chose to read one of the sub genres though.
Mod
On the short story side, when I see the prompt, I think of the kind of stories that are in the New Yorker, literary stories where often not much happens, or maybe something shocking happens to get your attention. I wouldn't choose a book of such stories. But I enjoy stories related to series I like. Regency romances, mysteries, and fantasy/sci-fi often have a book or two of short stories that involve the same characters and setting as the main books of the series.
I'm someone who uses speculative as a catch-all term rather than a specific type of SFF. I'd probably vote for the prompt out if solidarity but it's a bit of a freebie for me. I would like to see SFF by a woman have another try before a wider prompt, wasn't it a close call? One thing I like about Popsugar, that we'd struggle to get through voting, are the niche subgenres. Like social horror this year was interesting. I'd rather have freedom to explore a new subgenre than pick a book off a list.
Ellie wrote: "I'm someone who uses speculative as a catch-all term rather than a specific type of SFF. I'd probably vote for the prompt out if solidarity but it's a bit of a freebie for me. I would like to see S..."As soemoen who is currently struggling to keep his challenge 50% male I'm hoping if that one is submitted again the fnatasy option is kept.
Tracy wrote: "Marie - thanks for doing that research for me. I keep trying to remember to do that, but maybe I'm subconsciously trying to avoid it since it is relatively tedious (and will only get more so as the years go on)."You're welcome Tracy, but it didn't take much for me to do - most of the old prompts are floating around inside my brain, and I have my own spreadsheet, going back to my first AtY year, that's quick to check to make sure what I'm remembering is accurate.
dalex wrote: "Speculative fiction just means science fiction, fantasy, and horror, imo. The things you listed as “under the umbrella” (superhero fiction, dystopian, alternate history) are subgenres and don’t rea..." I was reading on my librarian site that all the genre terminology is changing. A lot depends on how the author WANTS their books listed to generate a larger audience. Also how publishers list them to get higher readership. Many "speculative" fiction books can be listed elsewhere, I guess some libraries are setting up a shelf for spec fic that includes off the wall westerns, some historical fiction that seems a little far fetched, even some history books that bend history, in their opinion. Its getting very interesting. I would read a spec fic because it could include Sherlock Holmes.
Ann wrote: "dalex wrote: "Speculative fiction just means science fiction, fantasy, and horror, imo. The things you listed as “under the umbrella” (superhero fiction, dystopian, alternate history) are subgenres..."I would count alternative history as speculative, like "what if the Nazis didn't lose?" or "what if Europeans never colonized the Americas?" or "what if the US Civil War lasted 30 years?" But I would not count Sherlock as speculative - he's a fictional character who is intelligent but doesn't have any supernatural abilities or devices that someone else in his time couldn't have had. Why do you see him as speculative? Is it because he speculates to solve murders :-)
Ellie wrote: "I'm someone who uses speculative as a catch-all term rather than a specific type of SFF. I'd probably vote for the prompt out if solidarity but it's a bit of a freebie for me. I would like to see S..."Ellie, thanks for the reminder about the earlier prompt suggestion for a sci-fi/fantasy book by a female author. I had completely forgotten about that, even though I up-voted it. I will hold off suggesting the speculative fiction genre until after that is settled.
Ellie wrote: "I'm someone who uses speculative as a catch-all term rather than a specific type of SFF. I'd probably vote for the prompt out if solidarity but it's a bit of a freebie for me. I would like to see S..."If the female fantasy-sci-fi prompt added speculative to the other terms, I wonder if that might help. I know that by the broad definition it's redundant, but it might appeal to those who want to explore something new. (Someone suggested Handmaid's tale in my irl book club last night and it got good reception. The group doesn't generally like sci-fi or fantasy, but a lot of people don't think of the book as sff.)
I really like exploring subgenres too. I would love to see the hopepunk/hope prompt suggested. I don't recall the exact wording. Ellie, was that your suggestion? It could potentially appeal both to people who like the inspiring aspect of hope, and to those who want something a little darker or edgier. (A hopeful ending is more relevant to me in a dystopian book.) If that isn't broad enough, maybe we could take another shot at a prompt with a few different subgenre terms.
I don't know what social horror is but it sounds intriguing. "Cultural sci-fi" (and maybe "social") is used as a broad descriptor for a type of sci-fi that focuses less on hard science and more on culture. I tend to associate it with female authors, which is one reason I really like the sff female author prompt. It makes it more than a diversity prompt for me.
Nadine in NY wrote: "Ann wrote: "dalex wrote: "Speculative fiction just means science fiction, fantasy, and horror, imo. The things you listed as “under the umbrella” (superhero fiction, dystopian, alternate history) a..."I would love to explore more alternative fiction. If those are real books, can you share the titles? I think I might have the nazi one on my tbr, but I don't recall the title.
Tracy, I’d add that I don’t think you have to wait for speculative fiction. First, I don’t think they are that similar to knock each other out because speculative fiction doesn’t have to be sci-fi/fantasy. Second, I like the speculative fiction prompt better. I’d definitely upvote speculative fiction, but will probably stay neutral for female sci-fi/fantasy. I read those genres throughout the year and they are 90% female authors, so it’s a bit too free for me.
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Around the Year in 52 Books
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I think there is certainly space for another race-based or MLK-related prompt. I like the interracial couple idea but unsure how easy it would be to research.