Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2023] Wild Discussion
OH - how about 6 senses! Add Psychic powers Read a book related to one of the six senses...
Read a book with a plot, topic, or title that involves hearing, vision, smell, taste, touch, or ESP -
or whatever you want to call it - intuition, psychic ability,
Tracy wrote: "Is anyone in the UK or Commonwealth countries able to suggest this prompt (time-wise, I know our schedule doesn’t always work out for Europe or Oceania)? Of course members in Canada can, but I’m no..."I like that idea. My computer thinks it's in Toronto, but that doesn't count. (I often get search results in Toronto or St Catherines.)
NancyJ wrote: "I love the idea of reading books by authors honored by the queen, and I think Canadian authors deserve more attention. I would rather err on the side of giving us too many choices than not enough, ..."It's funny because when I was in high school, English was my favourite subject. But, every year, we had to read a Canadian book as part of the curriculum. I think my teachers just picked boring books. So, I became an adult thinking Canadian literature was the worst. And I spent years avoiding Canadian writers, except for the ones who slipped through because I didn't know they were Canadian.
And now, I stick Canadian books on every listopia where they fit.
Dubhease wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I love the idea of reading books by authors honored by the queen, and I think Canadian authors deserve more attention. I would rather err on the side of giving us too many choices th..."I have the exact same bias against Canadian books! I never liked the ones we read in school and often didn't particularly care for the ones I picked up on my own either. I'm sure there are great Canadian books out there (aside from Margaret Atwood), but it puts me off every time.
NancyJ wrote: "I love the NPR list, especially if we can use the older lists. I kept finding more books on the Millions list that I could read. I definitely want to read a couple Australian or Oceania books nex..."
I'm an Australian and to be honest the only one I had heard of before was the Miles Franklin award. I voted for it as I always want an excuse to read more Aussie writers or stories set in Australia - but I have a other books on my TBR that I would rather read (by Aussies/set in Australia).
I would definitely vote for an author honoured by the Queen
I read The Diviners in high school and although I don't remember much about it I remember not hating it. Being in Winnipeg you pretty much had to read Margaret Laurence at some point. I was also interested in the Australian Award winner prompt and there was a great link about what to read if you aren't into Literary Fiction but I can't link in comments. It's in the poll 7 list.
There are a lot more authors who have received honours than on that Gazette list. I can't really find a comprehensive list though. And a lot of people get MBEs for work other than their writing especially if they do stuff for charity. I had a teacher with an OBE and a janitor with an MBE when I was at school, so they're more common than you might think.Some others from a quick search:
Kate Atkinson, Joanne Harris, Ann Cleeves, Patrice Lawrence, Cressida Cowell
Chrissie wrote: "I read The Diviners in high school and although I don't remember much about it I remember not hating it. Being in Winnipeg you pretty much had to read Margaret Laurence at some point...."This?
https://www.jjgately.com/blog/6-austr...
The other award names - The links got cutoff in copying
Australian Book Industry Awards https://abiawards.com.au/year-won/2022/
CBCA Book of the Year https://cbca.org.au/shortlist-2022
Miles Franklin Literary Award https://www.perpetual.com.au/milesfra...
Aurealis Awards https://aurealisawards.files.wordpres...
Davitt Awards https://sistersincrime.org.au/thrills...
Ned Kelly Awards https://www.austcrimewriters.com/2022...
Romance Writers of Australia https://romanceaustralia.com/winners-...
Prime Minister’s Literary Awards https://www.arts.gov.au/departmental-...
As an Australian I read many Australian books each year. Aussie authors included on the list to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee are Kate Grenville Tim Winton Markus Zuzak Thomas Keneally Colleen McCullough Joan Lindsay. Prompt suggestions usually happen in the middle of the night for me, so suggestions are difficult!
NancyJ wrote: "... My computer thinks it's in Toronto, but that doesn't count. (I often get search results in Toronto or St Catherines.) ..."LOL where are you, really? I'm guessing Buffalo? I'm in Liverpool NEW YORK but Google searches often turn up places in England for me. Liverpool vet ... Liverpool library ... Liverpool bakery ... Not so much anymore, I think I've finally "trained" my Google account that I mean NY.
Regarding Canadian authors, I haven't read that many. I really like Mary Lawson, Cherie Dimaline, Emily St. John Mandel & Carol Shields But were any of them honored by the Queen?
Chrissie wrote: "I read The Diviners in high school and although I don't remember much about it I remember not hating it. Being in Winnipeg you pretty much had to read Margaret Laurence at some point...."What are the odds that this group would have TWO Winnipeggers? We had to read The Stone Angel a n d A Jest of God. I liked them enough to read The Diviners on my own… but I haven’t read anything by her in decades.
NancyJ wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Dubhease wrote: "dalex wrote: "Tracy wrote: "1) "A book where the cover contains non-horizontal text” (this was..."I thought this was a nifty idea but then I checked my books and I ..."
I feel you NancyJ. Audiobooks have been a sanity saver this last year or so. I hate just getting into a book, or computer work, or DRIVING and suddenly I can't SEE. Right now my vision is getting wobbly so I know a migraine is coming on. I'll be huddled up on the couch with an audiobook soon. I've also found that my Alexa will read my ebooks to me. It can be a pain to get it to the right spot in the book, but once I get where I want to be page wise, it's quite good actually.
Chrissie wrote: "I read The Diviners in high school and although I don't remember much about it I remember not hating it. Being in Winnipeg you pretty much had to read Margaret Laurence at some point...."I forgot that we read The Stone Angel in high school. I actually liked it. (I forgot about it because it wasn't the usual terrible Can Lit we had to read.)
Nadine in NY wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "... My computer thinks it's in Toronto, but that doesn't count. (I often get search results in Toronto or St Catherines.) ..."LOL where are you, really? I'm guessing Buffalo? I'm in Liverpool NEW YORK ..."
I know exactly where that is. I have a kid who is a Beatles fan.
Every time we were on the I-90, I'd point it out to her and it was a cute joke after being in a car for 3 hours to Syracuse (where we'd get on the I-90.)
NancyJ, so sorry you’re going through that. I have the same symptoms with migraines. Audiobooks are real lifesavers for me too. That’s why I hate when people say audiobooks aren’t “real reading”. Comes from a place of privilege, in a sense, to always have the capability to read text.
NancyJ wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Dubhease wrote: "dalex wrote: "Tracy wrote: "1) "A book where the cover contains non-horizontal text” (this was..."I thought this was a nifty idea but then I checked my books and I ..."
NancyJ, °~Amy~°, and Alicia - so sorry that you (and anyone else out there) suffer from migraines, especially when it affects your reading!
Re: "reading" vs "listening" to books — I know there is a lot of disagreement out there about whether listening to audiobooks counts as reading. I think it is the same, but couldn't put my finger on why until just now.
I think that since our first experience with reading is learning the mechanics — converting the symbols on the page to understandable words — that we forget about the next part of our reading education, comprehension, and then on to analysis. At this point in our lives I assume we have all gotten past the mechanics and comprehension. That leaves us with analysis (maybe not the best word, but basically, getting something from the story/narrative). This is the real function of "reading", a book is just a tool. Therefore an audiobook is just a different tool to do the same job. Learning the mechanics of reading is still important (and I still think early readers should still focus on books rather than audiobooks), but do we deprive kids from being read to because it's not "really reading"? No. We read to them because it still has a benefit, and really, the main benefit. We teach them to read so that they can independently get that benefit, as well as read anything that will never be an audio experience (labels, signs, etc.). ... and as soon as I said "never" I knew that of course this might somehow become a possibility.
Mod
In Connecticut, we had a high school english teacher who loved Robertson Davies so we read him every term. I think that pre-disposed me to like Canadian writers!
NancyJ wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Dubhease wrote: "dalex wrote: "Tracy wrote: "1) "A book where the cover contains non-horizontal text” (this was..."I thought this was a nifty idea but then I checked my books and I ..."
NancyJ - thanks for remembering my 5 senses idea. I had kind of thought that if the Disability Prompt was accepted that no one would also want the 5 senses idea. Of course there are MANY disabilities that have nothing to do with the 5 senses, but some of us don't feel comfortable with overlapping ideas.
Re: this idea not being a title prompt - if I ever stated that as the idea I have since changed my mind. I think a better idea would be "A book where one of the senses is important to the story", or something along those lines.
As to whether to include the "6th sense", I'm not so sure about that. I think that might turn some people off, as it is completely different from our physical senses. I worded my idea above without mentioning a number so that people could interpret whether to include 5 or 6 senses on their own.
Is anyone else interested in this idea?
Not caught up on the discussion but I'd love to pick your brains about audiobooks! I completely agree that reading an audiobook is reading! (I've never listened to one before but that's because I'm impatient and not because I think it counts any less than reading with your eyes). But for books that are plays or screenplays, would you count attending or watching a performance/movie of it (with the full dialogue/text of the book preserved in its entirety with no changes) reading it as well? If it's the exact same words we're consuming (whether by listening or reading) then would you count that as having read the screenplay? I know this obviously wouldn't be the case for books adapted into movies or plays since there are significant changes to the text but I was thinking, for example, about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay and how playing the movie in the background seems roughly equivalent to listening to an audiobook if you're hearing all the same words, just spaced out differently.
NancyJ wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Dubhease wrote: "dalex wrote: "Tracy wrote: "1) "A book where the cover contains non-horizontal text” (this was..."I thought this was a nifty idea but then I checked my books and I ..."
Also NancyJ (since I'm replying to this message twice) - re: your difficulting seeing the covers to look for non-horizontal text due to your migraines (again, so sorry) — have you tried changing the viewing mode to grid instead of list? You can do this on your computer by going to the top of your bookshelves page and choosing the icon that looks like 4 squares in a grid arrangement. The covers are much larger in this format. The "list" icon in the 3 bars stacked on top of one another. Hope this helps ;)
There have been studies that show that listening to an audiobook is exactly the same as reading with your eyes as far as how your brain processes the information.
Yes. Audiobooks are books. People are just snobs. (Do they argue that if someone reads you a book you haven't read the book? Never mind, they probably do.)Irene wrote: "But for books that are plays or screenplays, would you count attending or watching a performance/movie of it (with the full dialogue/text of the book preserved in its entirety with no changes) reading it as well?"
I absolutely would. I had a friend in college who said something to me about having watched a movie adaptation of Shakespeare as not counting and I was like my pal, they're plays! They were meant to be watched! People don't give themselves enough credit.
Mod
I used to think I was too impatient for audiobooks, because I rarely liked being read to. But that was because most people don't do it well. Professional audiobooks are great and contribute a lot in terms of accent and intonations. There are some authors and series that I will only do on audio now because the narration is so central to the experience. I am more of an auditory than a visual learner, so I actually tend to remember more from audio than print books.
MJ wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "I read The Diviners in high school and although I don't remember much about it I remember not hating it. Being in Winnipeg you pretty much had to read Margaret Lauren..."I count myself as an honorary Winnipegger since my mother and her parents (and of course all my great aunts/uncles and probably a good deal of their children) were all born in Winnipeg. I unfortunately have not been there yet. My mother's family moved to BC when she was 3 and to California when she was 15.
SO, since I now know that at least you, @MJ and @Chrissie, are Canadian, how do you feel about suggesting the prompt in honor of Queen Elizabeth II? It seems like all/most other UK/Commonwealth members are in the wrong time zones to be able to do this.
I think our discussions lead to something like "A book written by an author honored by Queen Elizabeth II". The best list I could find as reference is still the first one I found: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-noti...
I'm happy to do it, but I thought someone more connected to her might like to make the suggestion.
Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "Yes. Audiobooks are books. People are just snobs. (Do they argue that if someone reads you a book you haven't read the book? Never mind, they probably do.)Irene wrote: "But for books that are pla..."
My three pet peeves about audiobooks (which my husband loves) are:
1) Multi-tasking. I have a friend who listens to audiobooks while she walks to work. My husband likes them for highway driving. I don't get people who listen to them at work. I seems that either you are not giving your full attention to your job or the book.
2) boring narrators - My husbands favourite book is Lord of the Rings. But the audio copy he has is deadly. The guy is soooo boring. I could do a better job reading it out loud than the narrator.
3) Reviews that confuse narrator with story. I am tired of seeing reviews on Goodreads that basically say that the story might be a 4 star story, but their audiobook narrator sucked so they are giving it 1 or 2 stars. How can that be the author's fault? For example, it's not Tolkien's fault that my husband found an audio book with a monotone reader.
Dubhease wrote: "My three pet peeves about audiobooks (which my husband loves) are:"Sure, pet peeves are fine. As long as we aren't arguing that listening to audiobooks isn't reading the book. Regarding the ones you listed:
1. People have different auditory processing needs. I have ADHD and I physically cannot listen to audiobooks or podcasts unless I do something mindless with my hands. Housework is good. If I sit and listen, I have to read the text or my mind wanders. (Consequently I don't actually read all that many audiobooks.) BUT when reading visually, I my mind also wanders. I can read five pages and have zero memory of what I read. I frequently have been physically unable to read visually this year due to stress and depression. It just depends on what is going on in a person's life, especially if one is neurodivergent or disabled.
2. I cannot deal with boring narrators, either. At all.
3. I mean, people on Amazon rate books low because they had a problem with the delivery. It's just a downfall of modern life: other people don't understand how ratings work.
I listen to books while walking and driving long distances. Those 2 activities do not impair my ability to listen at all. I think it depends on the person. Now working is another story. I could not work and listen simultaneously but perhaps others can. I am obviously in the "audio counts" crowd. Like Robin, I tend to remember more when listening than reading with eyes on a page. I also know people who cannot read anymore due to vision issues, and they can still engage in one of their most pleasurable activities in life by listening to an audiobook. I try my best not to let the narrator influence my rating of the book. So far, I think I have been pretty successful at separating the two.On topic, I like the ideas of non-horizontal type - might be difficult but it is definitely a different idea. I also like the writers honored by the Queen prompt.
@Dubhease, I completely agree with the multi-tasking thing! When I was in university I couldn't have music playing in the background while studying because I would inevitably start focusing on the music. I can't even listen to podcasts while cleaning because I'll stop cleaning to pay attention to what they're saying. So while I'd love to listen to audiobooks, if I did I wouldn't be able to do anything else while listening to them and it would always take more time than reading (I'm a very fast reader).
I definitely multi-task while listening. Everyone has different abilities and I can easily focus on two things at once as long as I don't have to concentrate. I definitely can't work while listening, but I walk the dogs, drive (not just long distances, any time I'm driving I'm listening unless there are others in the car), clean the house, do the dishes, work on a puzzle, etc. If I'm close to the end of a book and want to just sit and listen, I'm also playing a game on my phone. I can't just stare at the wall! As for ratings, I don't lower a rating for a bad narrator but I will bump it up for a good one. If it increases my enjoyment of the book why not give it a better rating?
Irene wrote: "Not caught up on the discussion but I'd love to pick your brains about audiobooks! I completely agree that reading an audiobook is reading! (I've never listened to one before but that's because I'm..."that's a fascinating question!! I am a huge audiobook consumer, about 1/4-1/3 of the books I read each year are audiobooks; audiobooks definitely count as books, I count them toward the challenge, I use the verb "read," etc. I even count the "radio plays" that are adaptations of longer books.
But I think watching a play performed on stage or as a movie is a different experience, and I would not count that as reading, even if all the dialogue is exactly the same. Because when you read, your brain does all sorts of things to process the action, track the characters, visualize the setting, etc. But when you watch a play or a movie, all of those active visual things are decided for you, you do not get to participate as much. I watch a lot of movies and I love movies, but they aren't books.
Often when I watch a movie based on a book I already read, I'll go back and add a note to my review on my thoughts about the movie. But I don't mark the book as "re-read."
I never really thought about it!! I'm not sure if my answer is logical, but it's how I've approached things in the past.
Dubhease wrote: "3) Reviews that confuse narrator with story. I am tired of seeing reviews on Goodreads that basically say that the story might be a 4 star story, but their audiobook narrator sucked so they are giving it 1 or 2 stars. How can that be the author's fault? For example, it's not Tolkien's fault that my husband found an audio book with a monotone reader ..."Oh, I do that! My rating on Goodreads is a rating of my experience with the book. It's got nothing to do with the literary quality of the book. Sure, often the two are linked, but not always! And I'll note it in my review if the audiobook reader was exceptionally good or bad and is influencing my experience of the book. So it seems entirely "fair" to me - I'm saying it right there, that part of the reason I hated this book was the audio, or (more frequently) part of the reason I loved this book is the audio.
And every now and then, the audiobook reader that I loved IS the author! 😊
Nancy wrote: "As for ratings, I don't lower a rating for a bad narrator but I will bump it up for a good one. If it increases my enjoyment of the book why not give it a better rating?"Now that I'm thinking a little more about it, I do rate for the narration, as long as I'm rating the audio edition. I bumped Heart of Darkness way up for Branaugh's performance. It just made the whole of the experience of the book completely different. (I would never myself say a book itself was four stars and then rate it any lower than that either. I would just say "don't listen to this audio edition.")
Mod
I used to think I was too impatient f..."
I have found the reader matters. I also have to listen differently than I read- I read and think and I needed to learn to just listen. I also have to be doing something else like driving or walking or chores, I can't just sit and listen or my mind wanders.
I learned to do audiobooks listening to Louise Erdrich books. I tell myself it is because she was raised in the oral tradition, so her books are quite good on audio.
Mod
Raises her hand... but I will almost always say in my review "my enjoyment of this book was decreased by an annoying reader. If I had eye-read the book I might have enjoyed it more." But then I will also up-rate a book for a great reader, but I will note that as well. I will never know if my love of Nothing to See Here was for the insane story or because the reader sounded like Awkwafina and made me laugh the whole time.
As we are on audio books. Does anyone here read to someone else? As a child I use to love being read to
One thing I have found is that audio is a better choice for me if it is written using lots of dialect. I hear and understand dialect in audio much better than in print.
When our kids were young, and the Harry Potter books were new, my husband would read them to us all — with difference accents for each. It was fun!
Thomas wrote: "As we are on audio books. Does anyone here read to someone else? As a child I use to love being read to"I read to my children most every night. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.
I'm a recent convert to audiobooks, but I love them. When I was working, I'd listen on my commute. Now, an audiobook helps me get through the laundry. Or while I work on another favorite past time - crochet or cross-stitch.A good narrator makes all the difference. And I've decided that memoirs are usually best in the author's own voice.
To add to the reading audiobooks at work conversation, I do that.But actually I understand not being able to do that too - I could definitely not be functional at work if I listened to a book while doing anything that requires mental energy.
But I’m a research assistant, so I do a lot of things that take hours to do but rely on technical skill and not thinking. So audiobooks are a great way to not lose my mind, and podcasts/audiobooks are really popular and encouraged in the lab because of this.
I'm listening to Lab Girl right now, read by the author, and hoowee, it is not an easy listen. She has a very flat affectation that took me some time to get used to.My rule of thumb is only celebrities or authors who've done voice work should read their own books. Regular authors may do fine during readings at publicity events but they are not great at full narration. Jane Green, I'm looking at you - she's the worst. She's British but has lived in the US for a while now and her narration of American characters is terrible.
There are a few exceptions to the rule, like Neil Gaiman. But very few.
Tracy wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Dubhease wrote: "dalex wrote: "Tracy wrote: "1) "A book where the cover contains non-horizontal text” (this was..."I thought this was a nifty idea but then I checked ..."
esp is my jam! love paranormal stuff even if it's urban.
Irene wrote: "Not caught up on the discussion but I'd love to pick your brains about audiobooks! I completely agree that reading an audiobook is reading! (I've never listened to one before but that's because I'm..."I've wondered the same thing! I guess technically it should count if it's word-for-word the same, since that's no different than listening to an audiobook. But for some reason, it doesn't quite feel the same to me.
I can sometimes listen to audiobooks, but I definitely need to be doing something else at the same time as long as that other task doesn't take too much attention. I generally listen to an audiobook while putting together the newsletter for work (a lot of it is just copy, paste and format, although there is some writing involved), but otherwise I'll usually listen if I'm playing some kind of low-intensity game or something like that. I can't just sit and listen on its own. I think the best audiobook I've ever listened to was Lolita read by Jeremy Irons (Scar from The Lion King)
Nadine in NY wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "... My computer thinks it's in Toronto, but that doesn't count. (I often get search results in Toronto or St Catherines.) ..."LOL where are you, really? I'm guessing Buffalo? I'm..."
That's funny. My car broke down in Liverpool when I was in college. The name is sure memorable. We have the same problem with Amherst NY v Amherst MA. Good guess, I'm close to Buffalo. When I looked up my computer's IP address, it did give a location in (or near) Toronto. I don't know how that works.
Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "Dubhease wrote: "My three pet peeves about audiobooks (which my husband loves) are:"Sure, pet peeves are fine. As long as we aren't arguing that listening to audiobooks isn't reading the book. Re..."
Interesting. I often play computer games or do easy things while I'm listening, but I can't do those things right now with the migraines, so I've been getting fidgety. I have not been able to finish a book all month, not even audiobooks. I can usually listen with my eyes closed at bedtime, but not lately. I kept trying different books, but it's not them it's me. The only good thing is that I have 3 books started that I might finish during the readathon. If I can.
The narration has become much more important to me. I have some favorite female narrators that are soothing but not boring. In the car I need a louder bigger voice. I hate big fluctuations in volume. I'm going to have a huge problem with the Stephen King book I'm reading for my bookclub. I tried the audio today and his voice was painful to me. I hated it. I'll try again when the headaches are under control, and perhaps with a different device.
Re the reading-listening debate - I love audiobooks, and listening = reading. However, reading actual words is important to the ability to write, and writing skills can decline when they aren't used. [After a car accident/concussion several years ago, I had problems with aphasia. I couldn't recall terminology, names, and sometimes even simple things like "teapot." I had to stop teaching. Reading books, along with reading and writing online helped me a great deal. If I don't write anything for awhile, I forget how to spell words I've known all my life. Granted, some of my recent problems might be related to illness, and there is a family history of Alzheimer's. For me, I'm starting to think that reading/writing is as important as walking. Even if it's just a little each day - use it or lose it. It probably doesn't make a difference for most people, but it might matter later in life. ]
I am not a huge audiobook fan but I do find it interesting that so many people that have migraines are fans since when I have a migraine any sound at all is like a spike through the skull
Nancy wrote: "I'm listening to Lab Girl right now, read by the author, and hoowee, it is not an easy listen. She has a very flat affectation that took me some time to get used to.My rule of thu..."
I didn't mind her voice at all. Probably because I've heard flat accents all my life.
eta - I just realized I misread that. Do you mean she didn't show affect or emotion, or that she had the flat affect of a very depressed person? That's interesting, and I can't remember if I thought that at the time. A lot of memoirs involve the author telling a story about really awful events, but in a relatively objective way. It might be the only way they can do it.
But come to think of it, when I listened to her book on climate change, I did think she sounded exhausted or depressed in some chapters. It's easy to blame the topic.
Juliet Brown wrote: "I am not a huge audiobook fan but I do find it interesting that so many people that have migraines are fans since when I have a migraine any sound at all is like a spike through the skull"I had that happen today! I sampled a Stephen King book and the narrator's voice made my headache spike. (Not like a spike through my skull, but bad enough to want it gone.) I tried to reduce the volume first, but I couldn't find the volume icon. (It was in a different spot, and smaller, because I just upgraded windows.) So I shut it all down - while in my head I'm picturing a Monty Python character screaming "run away, run away."
Certain kinds of light trigger mine, but ever since a concussion, I've become much more sensitive to noise. Some of the newer light bulbs that last forever are a real problem for me.
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Around the Year in 52 Books
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I thought this was a nifty idea but then I checked my books and I have almost no..."
Tracy, I really liked your 5 senses idea better - especially if it can be used for topics (or character's abilities), not just titles. I know there are books on my tbr that would fit, or that I can find later.
I'm not crazy about the non-horizontal titles, or any cover prompts at the moment. I'm having migraine auras this week. They're very pretty squiggles, lights, and blank spots that affect my vision. The cover icons are too small, and it hurts to examine them. I won't every try. I can't read a book right now either. My laptop text is comically huge. Last time I was able to read my kindle with a black background, but not for long. If it wasn't for audiobooks I would have to skip the readathon.