Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
[2023] Wild Discussion

Not mine, I'm j..."
Absolutely!


I don't really know, but ask the librarian. I guess his powers seem above and beyond. But, as I said, a lot is to get readership of certain books up. If someone likes Spec fic and finds a sherlock holmes in it, they may read it.


Ooh Charlaine Harris has one that is a fantasy, alt-history, western series, Gunnie Rose. Here is the first book: An Easy Death

N..."
I really enjoyed The Calculating Stars and American Hippo


The Small Change trilogy by Jo Walton (Farthing, Ha'penny, and Half a Crown) is set in 1949 in an England that overthrew Churchill and negotiated a peace with the Nazis. I read the first one for this year's "alternate history" prompt, and now I'm trying to figure out how to slot in the remaining two. I would love another prompt like this for next year!

I hope you can suggest it at some point. I am definitely interested and think it does not need any modifiers. (Note: Those who like hopepunk could fit something in this category, since speculative fiction includes both optimistic and pessimistic scenarios).
NancyJ - Another good alternative history is:
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (what if Lindbergh became President instead of FDR during WWII).
Also:
Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters (if the US South still had slavery and was a separate country from the North)
I am busy adding all these suggestions for alternate history.

I hope you can suggest it at some point. I am definitely interested and think it does not need ..."
I'm excited by all the discussion about Speculative Fiction - for or against. I'm happy to see all the titles being shared. Even if this prompt doesn't make it, hopefully these titles can be used for other prompts.
@JoyD - I read The Plot Against America by Philip Roth several years ago and remember thinking it was fascinating. If I recall correctly there was some factual information in the book that I wasn't familiar with, so I learned some REAL history as well. Good recommendation.
and @Alicia - you made me think that MAYBE the "sci-fi/fantasy by an female author" didn't make it BECAUSE some people only think of the very strict interpretations of those genres. Maybe if I write the prompt in such a way to highlight that there are MANY subgenres that voters didn't think of originally, then at least part of the intent will be met for the original prompt suggestion. Not sure about adding the female author though. Certainly nothing against reading female authors, but many people stated that actually a great deal of the titles out there in this broad genre category ARE female. So maybe just leave that up to the reader?

I'd rather see a speculative fiction prompt than a sci-fi/fantasy by a female author prompt. I'd also like the adventure fiction prompt to be resubmitted without the female author qualifier.


Yes! There is a good amount of real history mixed in with the speculative elements. I found it fascinating too.
If the prompt is SciFi / Fantasy I think it is too broad, but I might consider upvoting it just so I could read speculative fiction as a "sub-genre." I have to say, though, that not all speculative fiction falls under SciFi, as we've discussed above.

I think these are not the ONLY books that have covered this subject matter, but these are the books I had in mind when I posted:
"what if the Nazis didn't lose?"
The Man in the High Castle (I have not read this one, but it's the book I had in mind when I posted)
The Last Days of New Paris (not my favorite of Mieville's)
or "what if Europeans never colonized the Americas?" (I haven't read either of these ... yet)
The Peacekeeper
Civilizations
or "what if the US Civil War lasted 30 years?" - for this one, I'm not sure if it is exactly 30 years in any of these books, but in each book, the Civil War lasts a long time:
Dread Nation (with zombies! - also one of my favorite books)
Boneshaker (also with zombies! but they are not the main plot point)
Underground Airlines - not the Civil War, but slavery is still legal in four states in present day. This was a great audiobook.
Joy D wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I will hold off suggesting the speculative fiction genre until after that is settled."
I hope you can suggest it at some point. I am definitely interested and think it does not need ..."
So I just looked at a Hopepunk list (https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...). It's quite long. Anne of Green Gables is on it...
If you love Hopepunk so much, why not just nominate that? It's a pretty long and varied list of book.
I hope you can suggest it at some point. I am definitely interested and think it does not need ..."
So I just looked at a Hopepunk list (https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...). It's quite long. Anne of Green Gables is on it...
If you love Hopepunk so much, why not just nominate that? It's a pretty long and varied list of book.
Jillian wrote: "I’m not a fan of prompts having two qualifiers so just Fantasy/ Sci-fi and/or Speculative fiction would be upvotes."
Ditto. There comes a time when clearly the prompt is trying to please too many people and becomes too wide open. If a prompt you don't like makes it through, you either broaden it yourself or you do a wildcard.
Ditto. There comes a time when clearly the prompt is trying to please too many people and becomes too wide open. If a prompt you don't like makes it through, you either broaden it yourself or you do a wildcard.
Rae wrote: "Personally, if I'm trying to diversify my reading, I'd have to read more male authors.
I'd rather see a speculative fiction prompt than a sci-fi/fantasy by a female author prompt. I'd also like th..."
Since all sci fi is speculative, then one can vote for speculative and BIO is yourself to read only by a woman (I'll be reading that Peacekeeper book for any prompt in this area- it looks fascinating!)
I'd rather see a speculative fiction prompt than a sci-fi/fantasy by a female author prompt. I'd also like th..."
Since all sci fi is speculative, then one can vote for speculative and BIO is yourself to read only by a woman (I'll be reading that Peacekeeper book for any prompt in this area- it looks fascinating!)

Ditto. There comes a time when clearly the prompt is trying to ..."
I was actually thinking the opposite. I find some prompts become too narrow and members should place their own restrictions.

I am excited to read this one and even more excited now that I hear it's good!!

IMO it's the exact reverse. "Speculative fiction" is the BIG umbrealla in includes SFF, magical realism, horror, etc. Sci-fi, fantasy, etc, are - in a way - sub-genres of speculative fiction.

I agree, spec fic is far too broad a category for me as it covers so much (I wouldn't vote for it for that reason, though I wouldn't complain if it got in because fantasy/sci fi makes up the majority of what I read).
It sounds like what people actually want is some way of separating out the books that don't feel like epic fantasy full of magic and wild creatures, but are more about exploring worlds that still look very similar to our own but with a speculative element (e.g. The Handmaid's Tale) It might take some creative wordsmithing to get a prompt that reflects such a vibe.

I love them too and would happily vote for such a prompt, but I worry it wouldn't get in since we had the same prompt this year.


Those things are science fiction.


If the prompt is "speculative fiction" people will ask, "What does that include?"
If the prompt is "sci-fi, fantasy, horror" people will say, "I hate sci-fi (thinking it means spaceships) or I hate fantasy (thinking it means epic quests and elves) or I hate horror (thinking it's bloody gore and monsters). None of these assumptions about sci-fi, fantasy, and horror are correct.
The reality is whether the prompt is worded "speculative fiction" or "sci-fi, fantasy, horror" it is exactly the same thing and it includes every possible subgenre, including the not-so-obviously sci-fi & fantasy things like alternate history and magical realism. It even includes those books that are shelved as general fiction even though it contains a speculative element because that's a subgenre called slipstream - a kind of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries between science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction.
I think maybe what the person who originally posed the idea of this prompt meant was, in fact, a book that fits the slipstream subgenre.

"Slipstream" is very confusing and I still don't have my arms around exactly what the subgenre includes. If you're worried that "speculative fiction" won't fly because it confuses people, "slipstream" would possibly do even worse in the confusion department.
Based on your description, I thought maybe books like Station Eleven, Gold Fame Citrus, Annihilation, The Trees. Or maybe not, because Station Eleven & Gold Fame Citrus take place in the future. I googled and found examples like Perdido Street Station, which - wow, that is so far from being a realistic-set-on-earth book. (This was from a list of "19 Best Slipsteam Novels" on best-sci-fi-books
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/19-best...
So I turned to Book Riot, and they basically say "it's weird" (https://bookriot.com/what-is-slipstream/) which doesn't help. Wikipedia is also not helpful, they give no examples, but just say "Slipstream is a kind of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries between science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction.."
Listopia gave me this list:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
which unfortunately has a few books I've read, and NO books I want to read.
and this
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
Based on that list, I guess any book from Louise Erdrich with ghosts would count? And probably almost all the horror written by Stephen Graham Jones since his books tend to stay very grounded in reality. Maybe also books from Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Iain Banks, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Haruki Murakami?
Goodreads has this list of what people are shelving:
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
(Perdido Street Station shows up again.)


BTW I wouldn't vote for this suggestion :)

I think of speculative as something that could possibly happen in our world, or is our world with some magical/unique changes (Harry Potter). That does cover a lot of science fiction and fantasy, but completely made up worlds wouldn’t count for me, at least. For example, I wouldn’t consider Lord of the Rings to be speculative fiction.
All that said, since I am swayed by discussions, I don’t know if I’d vote for this anymore. It seems it may be too complicated and debatable if it got in




If I see speculative fiction, I think of a book describing what could happen as opposed to alternative history, which could have been possible
Therefore sci fi is and automatic down vote. Speculative fiction would be an up vote

On a different subject, I don’t like limitations on the author’s gender. I understand the rationale but there are just as many male authors as female that I haven’t read and look forward to reading all of them. I’d rather choose my books based on another criteria.
I’m looking forward to todays announcement! Sometimes I have a good feel for which way the vote will go but not this week.




It would be interesting to see if just "a book of speculative fiction" would get voted in. It might be difficult due to the varying definitions (or possibly lack of awareness of what it is - similar to my lack of understanding of hopepunk, which I had never heard of before).

It isn't my thing personally so I wouldn't vote for any iteration. I would prefer speculative over a specific reference to a genre like sci-fi or fantasy though if I really had to choose.


I wonder if the wording would work better if it were something like "read a book you consider utopian or dystopian"? This would cover "hopepunk" or the narrower definition of "speculative."
I am new to the group this year, and have read through prior-year lists of prompts, but admit to not remembering them all.
ETA - I just took another look and "a book of speculative fiction" was on the 2019 list.
Shannon wrote: "What if the suggestion was "a book with a Goodreads main Page Genre of Speculative Fiction"? For example, Perdido Street Station has it as a MPG but Station Eleven does not.
BTW I wouldn't vote fo..."
I needed that exit thing for a challenge in another group. I have hundreds of books on my Want to Read and only 1 or 2 had Speculative Fiction as a Main Page Genre. Those are totally based on what readers call the book and few readers choose that category name for a specific book. I would definitely be against that.
Then there are always the people who don't read this thread and will just look at the category and say "huh?" (Maybe that's why we tend to get some wishy-washy prompts. The more creative ones have more explanation and some people don't read up on them to understand their options. For me, I love these discussions and miss them when they are over for the year!)
BTW I wouldn't vote fo..."
I needed that exit thing for a challenge in another group. I have hundreds of books on my Want to Read and only 1 or 2 had Speculative Fiction as a Main Page Genre. Those are totally based on what readers call the book and few readers choose that category name for a specific book. I would definitely be against that.
Then there are always the people who don't read this thread and will just look at the category and say "huh?" (Maybe that's why we tend to get some wishy-washy prompts. The more creative ones have more explanation and some people don't read up on them to understand their options. For me, I love these discussions and miss them when they are over for the year!)

BTW I ..."
Hi Robin will the next suggestion open on the day roginally scheduled or do you guys need a break ( Emily mentioned something about travelling)?
I will do the next suggestions tomorrow. I am free all day, just checking with other Mods if there is a preference for time of day.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Books mentioned in this topic
Harriet the Spy (other topics)The Kaiju Preservation Society (other topics)
The It Girl (other topics)
The Lost Metal (other topics)
The Kaiju Preservation Society (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Louise Fitzhugh (other topics)Susanna Kearsley (other topics)
Jhumpa Lahiri (other topics)
Salman Rushdie (other topics)
Celeste Ng (other topics)
More...
Not mine, I'm just a big fan of hopepunk. Sometimes it already feels we're living in the pessimistic future of previous sci-fi, so it's nice to envision a better world!