Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2023] Wild Discussion
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Last year we did "Warwick Prize for Women in Translation "
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T. wrote: "Here are a few more random ideas I've had. Tossing them out to see if there's any interest.- A book with a hat on the cover. (Alternatively, I thought about a beard on the cover.)
- A book with a..."
-I read a lot of science related books, so I would definitely be interested in that.
- The hat prompt has been used this year - one of the Monopoly tokens. I just looked through the thread and it appears a very popular choice. My book for that prompt has two men in top hats.
- I am not at all in favor of “woman behind man” books. Seems endorsing the idea that the man matters and the woman supports. I would rather read about strong women in their own right. Some of these could be wives of famous men, of course, but they should have their own, independent achievement.
- the ferris wherl sounds like a neat idea but I am not sure you would find the variety of books necessary. Perhaps broaden it somehow?
- superhuman ability seems like fantasy? This could cover a lot of books.
Marta wrote: "T. wrote: "Here are a few more random ideas I've had. Tossing them out to see if there's any interest.- A book with a hat on the cover. (Alternatively, I thought about a beard on the cover.)
- A ..."
I forgot about the monopoly tokens. I used horse & rider. But maybe the beard idea could be fun? :)
I was actually thinking of Eleanor Roosevelt with the "woman behind the man" prompt, who was, in fact, a powerful force in her own right. I agree, the wording is not ideal.
I meant for the ferris wheel idea to also include roller coasters and carousels.
Yes, superhuman would be most likely fantasy. But it includes paranormal (psychic abilities, shape-shifting) and superhero stories (alternatively, super-villain stories, as well). It could even include non-fiction studies of paranormal abilities.
NancyJ wrote: "T. wrote: "Here are a few more random ideas I've had. Tossing them out to see if there's any interest.- A book with a hat on the cover. (Alternatively, I thought about a beard on the cover.)
- A ..."
I don't know of any books about Prince Consorts, but the thought is interesting. I wanted to make it clear it didn't have to be a "woman" in the "supporting" role of the power player.
T. wrote: "I don't know of any booksPrince Albert: The Man Who Saved the Monarchy about Prince Consorts, but the thought is interesting. I wanted to make it clear it didn't have to be a "woman" in the "supporting" role of the power player."I dont know about any others but you can certainly find them about Prince Albert
Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albert
The Life and Times of Prince Albert
Pamela wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I was in a challenge last year that involved large distances. The farthest you could get (from any direction) would be to the other side of the world - your antipode. From New York, ..."Hi Pamela, I've been looking at purchasing The Sentence for some time now, but the very mixed reviews (from horrible to brilliant) are making me hesitant. What did you think of this book? What did you mean by "people always need to read Louise Erdrich"?
Tracy wrote: "NEW TOPIC SUGGESTION:"A book involving (or a book with a title including?) at least one of the 5 senses, or related words" — E.g., SIGHT: vision, view, look, see, saw; HEARING: sound, hear, liste..."
Yes, I like that.
T. wrote: "Here are a few more random ideas I've had. Tossing them out to see if there's any interest.- A book with a hat on the cover. (Alternatively, I thought about a beard on the cover.)
- A book with a..."
I like the woman behind the man, but I would broaden it to include wives/partners who were brilliant/famous in their own right, (Sylvia Plath) even if not acknowledged at the time (Einstein's wife).e.g. Michele Obama is brilliant/famous in her own right while at the same time could be considered "the woman behind the man".
Marta wrote: "T. wrote: "- the ferris wherl sounds like a neat idea but I am not sure you would find the variety of books necessary. Perhaps broaden it somehow?.."Maybe something that can be found at a fairground or theme park?
NancyJ wrote: "Did you have a link to the full list of Tookie's books? I photocopied it from a library book, but I think I only typed up the short list of Perfect Short Novels. I don't know if anyone who hasn't read the Sentence would be as excited as you and I are..."Does this look like a complete list? There's 163 books:
https://www.listchallenges.com/the-se...
I like the woman behind the man idea (or person behind person). There's lots of historical fiction along these lines : Carnegie's Maid Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love The Paris Wife
Pamela wrote: "someone suggested an Australian book award? Anything coming of that?"I like this one. I don't think it's been suggested in a thread yet though
I like the wider 'person behind the person' idea. Longbourn is about the servants keeping the Bennetts' house going in Pride and Prejudice, so it need not necessarily be a non-fiction prompt.
I also like the Australian book awards idea.
LeahS wrote: "I like the wider 'person behind the person' idea. Longbourn is about the servants keeping the Bennetts' house going in Pride and Prejudice, so it need not necessarily b..."
That example has made me think about Wide Sargasso Sea, which is the story of Bertha from Jane Eyre before she marries Rochester and ends up locked in the attic. I think a prompt about books featuring characters from other books, but not by the same author, would be interesting.
Off the top of my head, I can think of a few Austen and Bronte ones, like Death Comes to Pemberley and My Plain Jane, but I'm sure there are plenty of other examples too.
LeahS wrote: "I also like the Australian book awards idea."Me too - when we were doing the three continents prompt this year I really wanted to include Oceania because I read so few books set there. Researching it made me realise how many Australian novels just don't get traction over here (UK).
Aimee wrote: "LeahS wrote: "I also like the Australian book awards idea."Me too - when we were doing the three continents prompt this year I really wanted to include Oceania because I read so few books set the..."
I'd be OK with it if it was a book nominated for *any* Australian award rather than just one of the more literary ones.
6 Australian Book Awards to Follow if You’re Not a Literary Fiction Reader:
https://www.jjgately.com/blog/6-austr...
T. wrote: "Here are a few more random ideas I've had. Tossing them out to see if there's any interest.- A book with a hat on the cover. (Alternatively, I thought about a beard on the cover.)
- A book with a..."
I like a book with a Ferris wheel etc (maybe “fairgrounds”?) on the cover, because I’ve been meaning to read FantasticLand
& Hide
so already I have two choices!I like a book about science, too, because I read several nonfiction science books each year.
Not crazy about “woman behind man” idea, but I could read Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love for that, so I wouldn’t downvote it either.
Shannon SA wrote: "Pamela wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I was in a challenge last year that involved large distances. The farthest you could get (from any direction) would be to the other side of the world - your antipode. ..."I LOVE Louise Erdrich. Could be that I am in Minneapolis and she is a hometown girl. ;) I thought The Sentence was excellent, but it did get mixed reviews. Most of her books do, but I have not read one of hers yet that I did not really enjoy.
I'm not so sure about the ferris wheel prompt. Looking at my to-read list, I don't see that I have anything that would fit this prompt. I wouldn't dismiss it right away because I think it is intriguing, but I would need a good list of book ideas.
I'd be OK with it if it was a book nominated for *any* Australian award rather than just one of the more literary ones. That sounds a good idea. I agree Australian fiction tends to be a bit of an underdog outside that continent.
Shannon wrote: "I'm not so sure about the ferris wheel prompt. Looking at my to-read list, I don't see that I have anything that would fit this prompt. I wouldn't dismiss it right away because I think it is intrig..."Book with a fairground or circus theme?
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I would say it was rushed and would have been brilliant if she had let it percolate a bit more- the pandemic and George Floyd sections were too new for her to process well into a story. But the Tookie character and bookstore was wonderful and had the most heart of anything I've read in a long time. It was like she had written a really good book and then when the world changed, decided to throw that in as well.
Louise Erdrich is one of my favorite writers- so of course I think everyone should read her! But she's also like Alice Hoffman, one of my other favs. They both write alot and sometimes miss the mark. Not always guaranteed to love everything.
Here's the booklist, For some reason, there's no single listopia yet
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/028...
I'm not at all a fan of the "woman behind the man" idea. I get where you are going with it, and I know the intent is good, but the wording just really rubs me the wrong way. I think about all the news articles where intelligent, successful women are reduced to "wife of so-and-so." I'm not sure how to re-word it though. I thought "a book about the lesser known of a famous pair" or "a woman who is overlooked for her more famous partner" or "a successful woman overshadowed by her partner." That all sounds clunky. So as it stands, it would be a downvote for me.
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6 Australian Book Awards to Follow if You’re Not a Literary Fiction Reader:
https://www.jjgately.com/blog/6-austr...
."
That works- keeps from a list of only 50 books or so. Someone downthread suggested it but didn't have a prize in mind. I googled one and there were so many books on the winning list that looked good I stopped there!
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I can only think of one but it's soooo good! The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (yes, non fiction but as gripping as any fiction!)
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Have you been to the bookstore????
I'm trying to think of prompts that would diversify my reading. My favorite prompts are always the ones who make me read a book I may never have picked up before. I'm just throwing out random ideas here, but what about these:A Stonewall Book Award winner from any year: https://www.ala.org/glbtrt/award/ston...
Here is a listopia for the Stonewall winners:
https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/...
A book about an immigrant experience.
A book by an Muslim author.
A book by an author who is over age 50 (or 60?)
A book by an author in their 20s.
A book related to your ancestry.
In honor of Ukraine and what is happening there, a book with blue and yellow on the cover?This is probably cheesy and adding it as a prompt will do nothing for Ukraine, but it's an important and devastating world event that seems to be falling out of the news lately because we in the western world have a miniscule attention span. I thought to honor the suffering somehow.
Didn’t we have Muslim author last year?
Thomas wrote: "Didn’t we have Muslim author last year?"Not in 2022. Maybe previous years?
Yes in 2021, then Jewish in 2022. Maybe we should give another faith a turn
Pamela wrote: "Shannon SA wrote: "Hi Pamela, I've been looking at purchasing The Sentence for some time now, but the very mixed reviews (from horrible to brilliant) are making me hesitant. What did you think of t..."Thank you Pamela!
I would vote for the translation prompt (I'm starting Malice tonight, which is translated from Japanese), the disability/neurodiversity prompt, and the indigenous MC or author prompt, and Australian author/award. I would love to see athlete MC re-submitted as well. We've had some discussion and prompts related to Hollywood and Bollywood. What about simplifying and just saying "a book in which a main character or subject is a celebrity?" It could easily be fiction or non-fiction (and if you choose fiction, the celebrity doesn't even have to be a real person).
LeahS wrote: "Shannon wrote: "I'm not so sure about the ferris wheel prompt. Looking at my to-read list, I don't see that I have anything that would fit this prompt. I wouldn't dismiss it right away because I th..."Ooh, I don't think I would vote for ferris wheel on the cover, but a book involving/related to a circus, fair, or carnival? That would def get my vote.
I think last year there was some difficulty getting the disability prompt through, which was how we came up with the psychology/neuroscience/mind prompt. I would be all for trying it again this year, though I would like to have the option to read from an author with a disability as well. Maybe we could open up the prompt to both options, like this:"A book featuring a character with a disability or by an author with a disability"
Going back to "the woman behind the man" or as someone suggested, "the person behind the person", I can see that this wording might affront some people, but if, as Shannon said above, we're looking to diversify/extend/challenge our reading, should we perhaps not be so concerned with trying to get the wording of a prompt perfect (it never will be) and go with the spirit of the prompt/suggestion? After all, the "woman behind the man" goes way back in time and history (e.g. Anthony and Cleopatra, the Greek myths, so many kings and their queens and mistresses) - it's a fact, not something to be offended about? My personal view is that there's a lot of fascinating reading out there.That said, what about "The OTHER brilliant/famous person"?
The Other Einstein
Carnegie's Maid
Winter
Jillian wrote: "What does the group think of an author who uses punctuation in their name?J.D. Robb
Madeleine L'Engle
Seth Grahame-Smith"
I like this idea Jillian.
I have been wondering about suggesting a book with a cover you consider beautiful. This was inspired by my library copy of Raybearer
. I do wonder, though, whether it would exclude whole categories of books. It’s not that a book has to have beautiful content to have a lovely cover (The Confessions of Frannie Langton
, I’m looking at you) but, for example, the cover for my copy of The Postman Always Rings Twice
is utterly stylish and entirely suitable but not what I would think of as beautiful. It would also exclude, to my mind, the current trend for simple colour-blocked images.
Sydney wrote: "I think last year there was some difficulty getting the disability prompt through, which was how we came up with the psychology/neuroscience/mind prompt. I would be all for trying it again this yea..."As the person who brought this idea up this year, I like including the author as being part of the prompt, but my original intention was to get the POV of a disabled person. I'm all for supporting disabled authors, however a disabled author isn't necessarily going to write about a disabled character.
After much discussion, and realizing that the "appropriate terminology" is still being debated and not the same in all locations, my thought is to stick with:
"A book with a main character who has a disability (physical, sensory, learning, mental, medical) OR is neurodivergent.", while also adding a disclaimer about the intent of the terminology to be respectful, but that what is considered respectful differs with each community.
Thomas wrote: "Yes in 2021, then Jewish in 2022. Maybe we should give another faith a turn"I was going to suggest a Hindu author, but then I realized that might be a double dip if we vote in a book involving India or Pakistan.
How about an atheist author? After scanning this list quickly I found a few I'd easily be interested in reading, with a book by one of them on my end table!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Tracy wrote: "Sydney wrote: "I think last year there was some difficulty getting the disability prompt through, which was how we came up with the psychology/neuroscience/mind prompt. I would be all for trying it..."I understand what you are trying to get at, but think most people will only see the voting form and I doubt there is room to include long reasons. Emily is the one to ask.
Shannon wrote: "I'm trying to think of prompts that would diversify my reading. My favorite prompts are always the ones who make me read a book I may never have picked up before. I'm just throwing out random ideas..."I had been mulling around the idea of "a book written by an author when they were under (a young age), or over (a more advanced age)." I'd support some version of this idea.
Shannon SA wrote: "T. wrote: "Here are a few more random ideas I've had. Tossing them out to see if there's any interest.- A book with a hat on the cover. (Alternatively, I thought about a beard on the cover.)
- A ..."
This is exactly what I intended with the idea. But I wasn't sure how to word it properly.
I think we should try disability or neurodivergent again, I would like to see that get in.Lindsey athlete was mine, I'm wondering if changing it to just a character who is an athlete, instead of main character? Maybe that would open it up a little. Or I'm overthinking and it doesn't matter. I was planning to wait a few polls to resubmit.
What about"A book about the great woman behind a great man" OR
"A book about the great woman who influenced a great man"
Shannon SA wrote: "What about"A book about the great woman behind a great man" OR
"A book about the great woman who influenced a great man""
These are great, but it should be open to going the other way as well. Sometimes it's the man behind the woman.
Tracy wrote: "How about an atheist author? After scanning this list quickly I found a few I'd easily be interested in reading, with a book by one of them on my end table!https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of......"
The majority religion in the UK is now officially, no religion. We're a big bunch of non-believers, yet you'd be hard pushed to find writers who stick that on their bio and aren't Richard Dawkins.
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I'm reading Firekeeper's Daughter for that week! It's the only book on the list I have marked as to read! So happy