[2023] Wild Discussion Showing 1,451-1,500 of 4,060

[Ellie]

I have a review copy of an author's "debut adult novel" even though he has loads of kids books. I wouldn't want to use that for the prompt myself, but it would still count as a debut of sorts.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Suggestions are open for Poll 6!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[NancyJ]

Ellie wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Read a debut book.
Or Read an author's debut novel or book.*
Fiction or Non-fiction..."

I much prefer concisely worded prompts. If you read non-fiction you don't need to be reminded..."

Fiction and non-fiction isn't part of the formal prompt, but I wanted to make the intention clear. I also wanted to let it allow a debut novel by an author that already wrote a non-fiction book. Do you think that "Read an author's debut novel or book." does that?

Ellie wrote: "I have a review copy of an author's "debut adult novel" even though he has loads of kids books. I wouldn't want to use that for the prompt myself, but it would still count as a debut of sorts." That would work for me. Do you think the line above would cover that?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I think I prefer the wording "An author's debut adult novel", which would allow for YA authors who then go to adult (like Emily Henry) or for nonfiction who then go to nonfiction.

It is more limiting than just "a debut book" but I don't mind that.

[NancyJ]

Emily wrote: "I think I prefer the wording "An author's debut adult novel", which would allow for YA authors who then go to adult (like Emily Henry) or for nonfiction who then go to nonfiction.

It is more limit..."

But I also want to allow for non-fiction book debuts,
How about:
"An author's debut adult novel or non-fiction book

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

That feels a bit like... we are just excluding YA now lol. What about just doing "An author's debut book" and then we can include the qualifiers in the description? "Can include a nonfiction author's debut fiction novel, or a YA author's debut adult fiction, or a fiction author's debut nonfiction book"

[Aimee]

Emily wrote: "That feels a bit like... we are just excluding YA now lol. What about just doing "An author's debut book" and then we can include the qualifiers in the description? "Can include a nonfiction author..."

There are also 'adult' authors who switch to YA/MG, e.g. Brandon Sanderson with the Skyward series. Could we add "or vice versa" to the description, after "YA author's debut adult fiction"? That way it's clear we're not excluding YA.

[Shannon SA]

Yes, "An author's debut book"
And
"A character who is a tinker, a tailor, a soldier or a spy"

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Pamela, did you want to suggest this in the Suggestions thread for Poll 6? Or just tossing it out here?

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

Emily wrote: "Pamela, did you want to suggest this in the Suggestions thread for Poll 6? Or just tossing it out here?"

Realized I put it in the wrong thread! Too many windows open!

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Haha I understand that feeling right now!

[Joy D]

I wish "on the road" had not been changed to add "as part of a job." I would have voted for a "on the road" with no qualifier. If it doesn't get through this time, please re-suggest it without the qualifier.

[Jill]

Joy D wrote: "I wish "on the road" had not been changed to add "as part of a job." I would have voted for a "on the road" with no qualifier. If it doesn't get through this time, please re-suggest it without the ..."

I felt the same

[NancyJ]

i>Joy D wrote: "I wish "on the road" had not been changed to add "as part of a job." I would have voted for a "on the road" with no qualifier. If it doesn't get through this time, please re-suggest it without the ..."

That's not my "on-the-road" prompt idea! It was a total surprise to me. It overlaps with a part of my prompt but it's not a copy. If that prompt doesn't get in, I can rewrite my prompt later to change the focus. (Part of my Fish out of water idea - culture clash- overlaps with the prompt about crossing over too. It's been a weird day.) I don't remember this happening last year at all.

Joy and Beth - I have a feeling that you might be looking for a more focused travel prompt, about a long trip, a challenge, a quest, exploration, or even something truly epic (arctic or Antarctica?) I was trying to get at something different, and I'm just not there yet.

Do you want to put some ideas together for a non-work related travel prompt?

[Joy D]

Let's see if it gets through. If it does, I'm sure I can work with it. I would just prefer it not tied to a job. I can always stretch it and read a non-fiction written by a journalist who is, technically, on the road for the work of creating a book or article about his/her/their travels.

[T.]

Here's another random idea:

A book that involves a lighthouse

This could include anything related to sea travel, ghost stories, all kinds of stories.

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

T. wrote: "Here's another random idea:

A book that involves a lighthouse

This could include anything related to sea travel, ghost stories, all kinds of stories."

I love a book with a lighthouse! I've already read 3 this year and I've still not read the non-fiction lighthouse book I got for Christmas!

[Nancy]

I love the lighthouse idea, but a lot of people used a lighthouse book for light source on the cover this year, and we already have a light book. So I'm not sure how it would do.

[Dubhease]

Nancy wrote: "I love the lighthouse idea, but a lot of people used a lighthouse book for light source on the cover this year, and we already have a light book. So I'm not sure how it would do."

Also for the glass prompt. I used windows, but other people were talking about lighthouses.

[T.]

Nancy wrote: "I love the lighthouse idea, but a lot of people used a lighthouse book for light source on the cover this year, and we already have a light book. So I'm not sure how it would do."

Ah, right. I forgot about the light source thing. I used a fire for mine.

[Joy D]

A lighthouse is obviously not the only source of light (sun, stars, candles, fires, lamps, flames, etc.) I'd vote for "a book featuring a lighthouse" as long as you can use fiction or non-fiction.

If it appeals to you, I say go for it!

[Kahlia]

The lighthouse prompt feels a bit narrow to me, but I'd be open to a broader prompt about navigational aids, since books involving compasses/maps are always fun and popular, and there would also be other options like satellites and radios.

[Shannon SA]

I like "featuring a lighthouse"

[Shannon]

I love Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy! I can think of a ton of options for that one. I also like a book including a queen and an author's debut novel. I would vote for all three of those.

Often, we talk about whether we need more cover prompt or more theme prompts or title prompt. I know we're still in early days, but what do you think we need more of? I have a few prompts bouncing around in my head.

[Shannon]

I'm a little late to the party. I've been voting, but work has kept me from jumping into the wild discussion until now. I have a couple of prompt ideas I've been knocking around in my head.

A book with a villainous or despicable character - I was thinking it might be fun to read a book about a truly villainous person. I mean, there are times we all fantasize about being a villain, right? What we would say and do if we could get away with it. (No? Just me? Hmmm.) I am not sure how well this would work for non-fiction readers, but I suppose there are plenty of real-life villains to read about in this world, as well.

A book about a character who travels to a another country - I like the idea of a "road trip" book, but this takes it a step further by crossing into another country. It could be a person who is fleeing something or a going on a vacation or scattering a loved ones ashes (I have a book on my to-read list with just that scenario). It could be a fish-out-of-water type scenario or a coming-of-age story. I think there could be a lot of options and different themes with this one.

A book about a character who is lonely - over the last few years with Covid and everything else going on in our world, I feel like loneliness has become a pandemic itself. My wife is a therapist and she talks to SO MANY lonely people. It's just a really pervasive by-product of Covid many people are dealing with. I thought it would be interesting to read about a character struggling with loneliness and how they deal with it (or do not deal with it). We do not have many "theme" book prompts yet.

[Nancy]

We don't have any character prompts yet, and no author prompts either. We have 4 title already and 5 setting (including the multi-week).

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

Nancy wrote: "We don't have any character prompts yet, and no author prompts either. We have 4 title already and 5 setting (including the multi-week)."

Hmmm, a good character prompt....

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

Shannon wrote: "A book with a villainous or despicable character - I was thinking it might be fun to read a book about a truly villainous person. I mean, there are times we all fantasize about being a villain, right? What we would say and do if we could get away with it. (No? Just me? Hmmm.) I am not sure how well this would work for non-fiction readers, but I suppose there are plenty of real-life villains to read about in this world, as well...."

What about the villain as the main character?

I was also thinking about the title of a book that refers to the villain. But all I can think of is Dracula and Return of the Jedi

[Tracy]

Pamela wrote: "Shannon wrote: "A book with a villainous or despicable character - I was thinking it might be fun to read a book about a truly villainous person. I mean, there are times we all fantasize about bein..."

Earlier this year I read Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, which was an interesting take on the villain (and their henchpersons) / superhero relationship. Fun read!

Before that I'd never been interested in reading from the villain's perspective, but it might be interesting.

[Ann]

an author prompt like what? Like we have had with and ATY in their name or what kind of author? Could do an author that has written in two different genres. Or an author that has three names.

[Shannon]

What about A book by an author whose name you do not know how to pronounce?

Could be an author with a different nationality, a different race. I feel like we have exhausted most of the author name prompts, so I was trying to get creative.

[Steve]

Shannon wrote: "What about A book by an author whose name you do not know how to pronounce?

Could be an author with a different nationality, a different race. I feel like we have exhausted most of the author name..."

We did have the pronunciation prompt a couple of years ago. I remember it being hotly debated when nominated but eventually passed through.

[Aimee]

Ann wrote: "an author prompt like what? Like we have had with and ATY in their name or what kind of author? Could do an author that has written in two different genres. Or an author that has three names."

Author with three names was a close call last year. I used it for my "prompt that didn't make the final list" because I really wanted to read Howl’s Moving Castle. So I reckon it would be worth suggesting again.

[Jillian]

Shannon wrote: "What about A book by an author whose name you do not know how to pronounce?

Could be an author with a different nationality, a different race. I feel like we have exhausted most of the author name..."

We had this one a few years ago. There was quite a bit of discussion on it. It is not one, I'd want to repeat. I don't think my first name is that hard to pronounce but it often the first "i" is pronounced as short u and it becomes Julian (I have had to have several documents with my name reprint because the i often also gets changed to a u).

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

Shannon wrote: "What about A book by an author whose name you do not know how to pronounce?

Could be an author with a different nationality, a different race. I feel like we have exhausted most of the author name..."

We did that and I had ALOT of options! Course, I am horrible about pronunciation for all things. (I remember, I read Washington Black for it)

[Alicia]

I mean there are a ton of names I probably can’t pronounce, but as someone whose name regularly gets butchered I don’t love “glamorizing” it. It’s very frustrating to have to always say “Alicia” like “Alicia keys” and still get people saying it or spelling it wrong. And my name isn’t even that hard compared to others.

[Shannon]

Alicia wrote: "I mean there are a ton of names I probably can’t pronounce, but as someone whose name regularly gets butchered I don’t love “glamorizing” it. It’s very frustrating to have to always say “Alicia” li..."

Makes sense. I didn't realize that this was done and that is was contentious. I won't suggest it.

[Michelle]

For a character prompt, I would still be interested in reworking a character with a disability into a format most felt comfortable with. Maybe even, a character who is neurodivergent? Not sure I have seen that as a prompt before.

[Tracy]

Michelle - I had talked out this combo of “a character with a disability or one that is neurodivergent” earlier in the polling process but never actually added it to a Suggestion round. There was some mixed response about how to word it, and I was never clear about whether it was supported or not.

I would support it, and am open to you suggesting it.

Is there support from others out there?

[T.]

Tracy wrote: "Michelle - I had talked out this combo of “a character with a disability or one that is neurodivergent” earlier in the polling process but never actually added it to a Suggestion round. There was s..."

I would support a prompt like this.

[Samantha]

Tracy wrote: "Michelle - I had talked out this combo of “a character with a disability or one that is neurodivergent” earlier in the polling process but never actually added it to a Suggestion round. There was s..."

I would vote for it

[Aimee]

As someone who is both disabled and neurodivergent, the wording "a character with a disability or who is neurodivergent" is fine with me, but I'm aware there is a huge amount of discussion about wording within the disabled and neurodivergent communities, and of course I don't speak for all disabled / neurodivergent people.

Maybe that wording could be suggested as the main prompt but with extra detail in the description to make it clear that disability and neurodivergency are MASSIVE categories. This could include examples, such as:
- a character with a physical disability
- a character with a sensory impairment
- a character with a long-term physical or mental health condition
- a character who is on the autistic spectrum
- a character with a learning difficulty, e.g. dyslexia or dyscalculia

[Shannon]

Tracy wrote: "Michelle - I had talked out this combo of “a character with a disability or one that is neurodivergent” earlier in the polling process but never actually added it to a Suggestion round. There was s..."

I would vote for this prompt.

[Michelle]

My only concern was if “disability” was too broad. This year’s Pop Sugar has “a character who uses a mobility aide.” I wasn’t sure if something more concise would be more generally accepted. I do like the idea of listing suggestions of the many different forms of “disability,” both ones that can be seen and those that can’t be seen. I am always happy to bring attention to mental health awareness topics.

[Jill]

Tracy wrote: "Michelle - I had talked out this combo of “a character with a disability or one that is neurodivergent” earlier in the polling process but never actually added it to a Suggestion round. There was s..."

We had " A book with a neurodiverse character " in 2020, so I don't see that it has no chance this year

[Aimee]

Michelle wrote: "My only concern was if “disability” was too broad. This year’s Pop Sugar has “a character who uses a mobility aide.” I wasn’t sure if something more concise would be more generally accepted. I do l..."

Yes I wondered that too, but I guess people can do a BIO option and narrow it down if they want to. Or maybe "a MAIN character with a disability or who is neurodiverse", to centre the disabled/neurodiverse person more? (Rather than reading a book where they are just a side character).

[Ellie]

Michelle wrote: "My only concern was if “disability” was too broad. This year’s Pop Sugar has “a character who uses a mobility aide.” I wasn’t sure if something more concise would be more generally accepted. I do l..."

Having done that prompt this year, I don't really want a repeat of one that excludes invisible disabilities. I've read maybe 5 books with disabled characters so far this year so I don't think it's too broad.

[°~Amy~°]

Tthoughts on this idea?

An author that lives (around, almost, nearly?) 2023 miles of you

https://milesofme.com/

There is map with a straight line circle on the page to reference to. My map shows Nicaragua, Guatamala, Nuuk Greenland and Mexico City as being choices, those would all be very interesting to find authors for.

[Ellie]

°~Amy~° wrote: "Tthoughts on this idea?

An author that lives (around, almost, nearly?) 2023 miles of you

https://milesofme.com/..."

Half my line is in the sea, another quarter is Russia and I'm not reading anything Russian until they stop attacking their neighbours. Then there's a very large swathe of seemingly unpopulated North Africa. Know any authors from Ouagadougou, Burkino Faso? I guess others may have more successful circles but it seems a bit too difficult for me.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Ellie wrote: "°~Amy~° wrote: "Tthoughts on this idea?

An author that lives (around, almost, nearly?) 2023 miles of you

https://milesofme.com/..."

Half my line is in the sea, another quarter is Russia and I'm ..."

Another option would be to say "At least 2023 miles away from you" but maybe that would be too easy, North Americans could read any Asian writer, for instance.