Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2023] Wild Discussion
Just throwing some ideas out there: An alternative suggestion for the wedding rhyme prompt could be to turn it into a single "or" prompt instead of a 4-week prompt, like "Read something old, new, borrowed, OR blue". That might make it too easy but we always need some freebie prompts and it sounds catchy and fun.
Or, for a more challenging version, "Read something old, new, borrowed, AND blue"? Examples include:
- borrowing a new release with a historical setting and blue cover
- borrowing an old book with a sad theme by a new-to-you author
A third option: "Read something old, new, borrowed, AND/OR blue" so readers could choose the easier or harder version?
@Shelley I would probably not vote for that because last year we had the Tropic of Cancer prompt. I'm generally not opposed to repeating prompts from previous years but it might be too similar of a prompt too soon.
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Irene wrote: "Just throwing some ideas out there: An alternative suggestion for the wedding rhyme prompt could be to turn it into a single "or" prompt instead of a 4-week prompt, like "Read something old, new,..."
Okay I kind of like the idea of having a prompt where the books need to match several criteria :-)
Looking back at the old lists, I'm surprised how rare it is we choose a book by the colour of its cover. I definitely want one of those for next year now.
An spring/summer & Autumn/winter cover challenge?
I don't mind repeats of prompts as long as it's not within the last few years. 4 years ago is long enough that I'd vote for it. But I agree that 4 is too many weeks and prefer 2 or 3. The other challenge is that many of also do Pop Sugar, and it can be tough to separate their prompts from ours at least in my brain. If someone suggests a prompt PS had this year, I'm not likely to vote for it unless I really like it or it has a lot of options (please no one suggest A book with a palindromic title lol).
Nancy wrote: "I don't mind repeats of prompts as long as it's not within the last few years. 4 years ago is long enough that I'd vote for it. But I agree that 4 is too many weeks and prefer 2 or 3. The other c..."
Yes pelase no prompts that sound fun in peopels ehads but are a nightmare to fufil. The pallindrome one is one reason I didn't do Popsugar this year
Mod
I like Irene's idea of and/or books for the wedding rhyme, might have a better chance if people aren't keen on a 4 weeker.
@Beth, @Kahlia, @Chrissy, @Shannon, @Ellie, and @ Emily (and others)Thanks for all your welcomes - both "welcome to the group" type, and welcoming attitude about my ideas.
I'm really enjoying this group, both because it is friendly, and also because the ideas for the prompts are more interesting than other groups I've tried. I think the voting and idea collections coming from the group rather than just the moderators makes a big difference. Not to say that moderators don't have good ideas, but we all think differently, so can end up with a bigger potpourri with the group suggestions! I'm sure managing the voting process is a HUGE task, but in my opinion very much worth it.
Thanks to the moderators for all the extra work to make that happen!
It’s a great group. Why I still do this one
Thinking about a two week prompt: A book about a hero.
A book about a villain.
In my head it started out as cops and robbers but think heroes/villains opens it up.
I love the hero/villain idea! I read a book this year that kind of flipped this idea - from the point of view of villains who see the REAL impact of superheros. Title is Hench, by Natalie Zina Walschots. Not my normal sort of read, but I enjoyed it!
Robin P wrote: "I would vote for the something old etc myself, as it was before my time and they are easy to apply to many books. I didn’t mean to discourage the suggestion. And people could take on the extra chal..."There's probably a good way to word this prompt so that you can either use it as a freebie or come up with a way to make it hard for yourself. Because a prompt about an 'old' book could mean a classic, or it could mean read the oldest book on your TBR/that you own, etc.
Jill wrote: "Thinking about a two week prompt: A book about a hero.
A book about a villain.
In my head it started out as cops and robbers but think heroes/villains opens it up."
Jill, I actually love the original cops/robbers idea!! Might be my favorite suggestion so far. It's more challenging than hero/villain but would be fun to read something from the point of view of a cop/detective and then another book about, say, a heist. I also think some people might not enjoy reading a villain MC so the robber prompt could provide some other options.
Hero/villain in comparison seems more loosely connected because I'd say hero is almost a freebie (depending on how you define "hero"), and wouldn't tie-in as strongly to the villain book.
Okay I’ve got to say this, why can’t we have some freebies? Sorry but every year I see prompts get attacked as freebies and I really don’t see the issue, as long as most prompts aren’t
Irene wrote: "Jill wrote: "Thinking about a two week prompt: A book about a hero.
A book about a villain.
In my head it started out as cops and robbers but think heroes/villains opens it up."
Jill, I actually ..."
conversly I would not be keen on cops and robbers, largelly becuase a book centered around a police officer seems to specfic for consecutive years.
Thomas wrote: "Okay I’ve got to say this, why can’t we have some freebies? Sorry but every year I see prompts get attacked as freebies and I really don’t see the issue, as long as most prompts aren’t"Thomas, not sure where I attacked freebies, could you point out where I came across that way? Was it when I said "I'd say hero is almost a freebie" ? I didn't think noting that a prompt is a freebie was equivalent to attacking them, and I didn't think I was being rude about it - apologies if it came off that way. I was sharing my reasoning for why I personally like the cop/robber prompt over hero/villain, and I'd like to think this is a space where we can talk about why we prefer certain variations over others. Again, if I came across as combative and derisive of certain prompts, please point out where so I can revise my comments to not offend anyone! English isn't my first (or second) language so I'm really sorry if my tone sounded like I was attacking a certain kind of prompt!
Would it be better if I phrased it "hero is an easier prompt" rather than "hero is almost a freebie"? (does the word freebie have derogatory connotations?)
Mod
I think initially, people typically want more specific prompts that point us in a certain direction, and as the list fills out, people are more willing to vote in "freebies". That being said, the specific prompts are typically more difficult to get through the voting process because people usually have pretty strong feelings towards them (love them or hate them) rather than the more open prompts (where they think "I could make that work").
I don't think the use of the word "freebie" is in itself negative, but some people tend to advocate against them, especially in the beginning of the process, so if you're looking for a way to make it a bit less... triggering... you could say it's a more "open" prompt or an "easier" prompt.
Emily wrote: "Irene, I think you're fine. We do see a lot of people complaining about "freebies", but that typically happens later in the rounds as we run out of steam (and ideas! haha). I think initially, peo..."
Thanks Emily for the clarification!! :D I really appreciate it. I'm definitely one of those people who tries to vote in more of the specific/challenging prompts for that reason (it being harder to get them on the list) but will make a definite effort to make sure I'm not tossing around the word freebie when describing why I like/dislike a prompt!
Irene wrote: "Emily wrote: "Irene, I think you're fine. We do see a lot of people complaining about "freebies", but that typically happens later in the rounds as we run out of steam (and ideas! haha). I think ..."
Thank you for this irene, really appreciate it. I admit I am biased becuase I always have books I badly want to read and therefore am scrambling to fit them in ( I don't read quick enough to read 52 books plus others that I can't fit)
Mod
@Robin I'm definitely fully fluent in English (it's ironically the language I know the best now that I've forgotten a lot of my first language) but learning it as a third language definitely made me miss out on some more nuanced things that I worry about sometimes! Especially when it's written and not spoken. I love how open and friendly this group is, and I agree about how awesome the democratic process of choosing prompts is!! The original mods could have just decided to make their own challenge list but chose not to do that.
@Thomas, I totally get that. I shoot myself in the foot sometimes because I also struggle to finish challenges even though I'm the one who advocates for the more specific prompts! I care more about originality than how easy/hard something is, but there is definitely often an overlap.
No matter what the prompt says, it all comes down to the individual. It is supposed to be fun. If a prompt causes you stress, then work around it until YOU feel you completed the prompt. Most people can live with that if it makes you happy and you are reading. Not a freebie, just enjoyment.
Ann wrote: "No matter what the prompt says, it all comes down to the individual. It is supposed to be fun. If a prompt causes you stress, then work around it until YOU feel you completed the prompt. Most peopl..."With you Ann but I still think some prompts make that easier than others
Personally, I like hero/villain more than cop/robber. I prefer more "open" prompts just to give lots of leeway for people who don't care for certain types of books (e.g., I don't care for "cop" or "detective" novels because they seem to always land in 3-star territory).
I think people are against what they consider freebies because it often translates to "read a book." Which defeats the purpose of a challenge! TBH the something old/new/borrowed OR blue sounds like a freebie to me. You can put pretty much any book into one of those. Borrowed would be super easy for library readers, but that may be a good thing for some who have a book they can't fit anywhere else. Whereas AND in that makes it much more challenging, and possibly too narrow for some. So the AND/OR wording may be the best, but confuse those who don't read the chat.
Nancy wrote: "I think people are against what they consider freebies because it often translates to "read a book." Which defeats the purpose of a challenge! TBH the something old/new/borrowed OR blue sounds li..."
Thank you for explaning the issue. It does hwoeevr depend a lot on interpretation. This years tarot prompt or last years phoentic alphabet prompt are essentially read a book becuase with some creatvity very few books would not fit them, but I would argue becuase you have to jsutify it ( if only to yourself) it is still a bit of a challenge. i perosnally feel with 52 prompts there is nothing wrong with three of four that could work for most books and give poeple like myself space to read what they really want to read (given that there will also be some that are set in stone)
The reason I like this group’s challenge, is that you can make it as easy or difficult as you want.
Yes, that's true about the Tarot and alphabet prompts. People are more willing to vote in something like that if it's fun though, which is why those got in.
Nancy wrote: "Yes, that's true about the Tarot and alphabet prompts. People are more willing to vote in something like that if it's fun though, which is why those got in."I will have to think of soemthing similar for this year
@Nancy - when I suggested “Something old, Something new…” I didn’t even think about freebies, but I totally see what you mean. Maybe it could be changed to a two week prompt where each week you have to combine 2 of the topics and eventually use all 4. Like an old book you borrowed and a new blue book. Still fairly easy, but at least it wouldn’t take up 4 weeks! Re: the Freebie topic in general — many years ago I took an art related Master Class, and one thing we talked about was how Constraints (like our prompts) help build creativity. If someone says to you, “Make some art” you can just make anything. But if you have the constraints of making art that is “no larger than 4in. and must contain blue”, you have to get a bit more creative to make something you are happy with that also fits those constraints. Of course you could just make a 4” blue cube…
So I think we can all take any constraint and use it as loosely or rigorously as we want. Using the suggested Pantone Color of the Year suggestion (I didn’t suggest it, but I looked into that one also) of Digital Lavender — you could go easy and just pick a book with a cover in any shade of purple OR you could challenge yourself to only find a book with a lavender cover that is about something to do with technology (the digital reference). You can certainly enhance any prompt we all vote for!
Tracy wrote: "@Nancy - when I suggested “Something old, Something new…” I didn’t even think about freebies, but I totally see what you mean. Maybe it could be changed to a two week prompt where each week you hav..."It depdns a lot on the prompt for example the YA 100 books fo all time and the book Conciearge, either a books in there or it isn't so I do feel some prompts to not allow creativty.
Mod
That's one thing I really like about this challenge, the prompts are grouped. So we have lists, cover/title prompts, genre, setting, etc. So we end up with a good balance of prompts that don't allow for creativity but help you get through your TBR (lists) and those that allow you to be as creative as you want, and maybe help find new books.
I like that we have a mix of relatively easy and challenging prompts. I don't view freebie as a criticism, but at the same time, I think that what's seems too easy to one might be interesting (or challenging) to someone else. We can always find ways to make a prompt more challenging (see the Bring-it-on lists), or easier. I agree that 4 week prompts do feel like a big commitment, but I would vote for them if I really liked the concept and/or had a clear idea how I could make it work for me. I'd be more willing to take a chance on a creative idea (one that doesn't seem to fit known categories) if it's for a single prompt.
The 4 wedding prompts could be super easy or challenging, depending on how you define the terms for yourself. E.g. for "new", you might buy a contemporary book on a topic that is new to you. For borrowed, you might get a retelling from the library. For old, I might pick a old classic, or a book about a golden age character that I've had for a very long time. For blue, I might look for a book with both a blue cover and a blues topic (blues music, grief or depression). Or, I might make sure that all four books also have some connection to one another.
I might have fun with a single prompt in which I had to find something old, new, borrowed, blue in one book. E.g. a classic book, with a baby, borrowed from the library, blue cover. Or a newly purchased book, set in an olden time (e.g. 1700's), with a borrowed plot (e.g. a time traveling romance set in Scotland). set near the water (blue).
ETA I just saw Irene's comments with similar examples.
Emily wrote: "I personally love list prompts because it narrows down my massive TBR to one or two books that I can choose from the list. I think having 1-3 list prompts (awards, articles, lists, etc.) on the fin..."My point was not to crtcise some list prompts. I just think that if there are 3 or 4 that do require specfic reading it should not be a problem for there to be a corrpsonding 3 or 4 that are very broad.
@NancyJ - I love how you figured out a couple of ways to do the Wedding prompt(s) all in one book!
Tracy wrote: "@Nancy - when I suggested “Something old, Something new…” I didn’t even think about freebies, but I totally see what you mean. Maybe it could be changed to a two week prompt where each week you hav..."Great point! I think that's so true about constraints and creativity.
I tend to be a divergent thinker which makes this whole process really fun for me. But it also makes it hard to make final decisions on my own plan. I have many books that fit multiple prompts on the regular list and the rejected list.
Suggestions:A book with two or three or twenty-three in the title
A book whose title asks a question
A book that features a past or present world leader (fiction or non-fiction)
A book set in a location that begins with A, T, or Y
A book with a title containing a word from the Greek alphabet (alpha, beta, gamma, etc)
A book set at the site of a World's Fair
A book set at a location that has hosted the Olympic games
A book with the name of an ocean or sea in the title
A book featuring an artist, author, or musician
A book with at least two colors in the title
I really like the idea of a book set in a location that begins with A, T or Y!
RachelG. wrote: "I really like the idea of a book set in a location that begins with A, T or Y!"I also really like that one
This is the first time I've liked the ATY prompt suggestion. I also like a book set at the site of a World's Fair: https://wikitravel.org/en/World%27s_Fair.
Mod
I also really like that one"
This would be a great follow up to the previous prompts with ATY in the title or author name.
I like world fair and Olympic ideas but if they get in I would probably want a KIS option where a part setting in the city itself was enough or where the book was at least in the region.
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But then to totally contradict myself, for the multiweeks we only get one or two per year and people come up with some really interesting original ideas, so I'm unlikely to vote for a repeat.