[2023] Wild Discussion Showing 3,201-3,250 of 4,060

[Thomas]

Regarding diversity we have interracial friendship but we also have pride so to my mind we have one of each so I actually think Nancy’s two suggestions are equally valid

[Siobhan]

We also, not to give people flashbacks about the original discussion(s) XD, have "a disabled character" in there for diversity!

Definitely fine with adding more diversity, though. I really like the author prompts and would vote for them!

[Thomas]

We don’t have a gender prompt I did consider “ a book by a woman that won an award also open to men”

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Thomas wrote: "Oh I see! So it would be like pick an author on the same map as your favourite?"

I wasn't necessarily proposing this as a prompt, I just thought it is a fun thing for people to look at. But maybe I will suggest it, since I will be running the next poll!

[Joy D]

I hope you will suggest it, Robin

[Thomas]

Yes Robin please do, but I suggest “ one of” because some will vote it down cos they don’t have a specific favourite

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Thomas wrote: "Yes Robin please do, but I suggest “ one of” because some will vote it down cos they don’t have a specific favourite"

Good point, people can also try multiple authors if the first one they put in doesn't seem to give them anything they want.

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

NancyJ wrote: "Last week I had my first 'book high' in a long time after reading an emotional and magical book by Alice Hoffman, The World That We Knew. Books by Sarah Addision Allen, Amy Harmon, Fredrik Backman, Jesmyn West, Ruth Ozeki and others also gave me that feeling."

Oooo, the World that We Knew was so amazing! I would put Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen, and Ruth Ozeki (I think I've seen her there) in Magical Realism genre.

[dalex]

Nancy wrote: "We don't have a lot of diversity this year."

We have a pride, which a lot of people seem to be doing as lgbtq+ (even though there are multiple other ways to interpret it), and we have interracial relationship.

I'm not crazy about prompts that make me figure out an author's heritage/genealogy/skin color/etc. It just feels ... intrusive, or something.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

**Next poll (poll 15) will be Fri, Sep 23 at 1:00 pm US Central Time.**

We usually finish some time in October and we are getting there pretty quickly!

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

Nancy wrote: "We don't have a lot of diversity this year. What about "A book by a BIPOC author in a genre you enjoy?" (I was going to put favorite but people (including me!) often don't like favorite)

Or, since..."

Do you need to say "in a genre you enjoy"? If you told me to read any book by a certain description of writer, I will pick a genre I'll enjoy reading where instructed or not.

[Thomas]

Pamela- I think it’s just so the prompt isn’t just a biopic author

[MJ]

I was actually going to suggest the prompt generator, but then didn’t because it seemed like we had one a few years ago.

Yes to a genre prompt. I like genre prompts and list prompts but it seems I am in the minority when it comes to those.

[L Y N N]

Nancy wrote: "I don't mind "does this fit" questions. If you haven't read a book you don't always know.

What drives me nuts on the PS FB group though is "I have this stack of books, what prompts do they fit?" Part of the fun for me is figuring that out.

Or worse - "I just read this book. What prompts does it fit?" Like, dude. You just read the book. Can't you figure it out?"
I admit to having those same thoughts on occasion! LOL

[L Y N N]

I haven't read through the whole thread regarding a religion prompt, but will say that as an atheist, I always feel as if the term "spirituality" is much preferred as opposed to "religion" in a prompt. Spirituality can encompass any organized religion as well as a belief system that does not include any rituals, deities, etc.

Just my two cents' worth.

[L Y N N]

I had considered suggesting this:
"A book that has won a diversity award in the 21st Century"

That would include awards granted from January 1, 2001, to the present). I have begun compiling a listing of links for such awards...for my own information if nothing else! :)

[Amy (Other Amy)]

Joy D wrote: "Alicia & Tracy - I really like this:
"Read from the genre that inspired, or rekindled, your love of reading""

I also like this prompt. I'm not even sure if mine was Treasure Island or The Secret Garden or The Lord of the Rings, but I feel like that just means I get to pick.

Robin P wrote: "There's another site like that which lists authors in a sort of map and when you put in one you like, it shows you a bunch that readers of that author also like."

Wow, I absolutely love the literature map. I put in Seanan McGuire, and it gave me back some authors who are on my TBR and who I know are similar, but also several authors I've never heard of to investigate, so people could pick if they want something they already know they need to read or something new to try. (The random generator has all fantasy lumped together and keeps giving me an epic fantasy pick or YA, so not as wild about that one, but I'm sure I could make it work.)

dalex wrote: "I'm not crazy about prompts that make me figure out an author's heritage/genealogy/skin color/etc. It just feels ... intrusive, or something."

I agree with this sentiment. It's hard to research if someone 'counts' and I've noticed a lot of authors (including those I know from other sources are part of a particular heritage or LBGTQ+) don't put their ethnic or sexual identity in their bios. (And who can blame them? They deserve to have readership just for their writing skill, too.)

[Karen]

Oooh! I love Literature Map! Thanks for posting this.

[Nancy]

I didn't say we don't have any diversity prompts. I just said we don't have a lot of diversity.

Pamela wrote: "Do you need to say "in a genre you enjoy"? If you told me to read any book by a certain description of writer, I will pick a genre I'll enjoy reading where instructed or not..."

Yes, you're right. I think I was trying to find a way to do a genre prompt without it being a direct genre prompt, e.g. "Read a book that's x genre." But you're right that adding "a genre you enjoy" probably isn't necessary.

[Dubhease]

dalex wrote: "Nancy wrote: "We don't have a lot of diversity this year."

We have a pride, which a lot of people seem to be doing as lgbtq+ (even though there are multiple other ways to interpret it), and we hav..."

I agree with the comment about figuring out an author's heritage/genealogy/skin color feeling intrusive.

We have the Latin American prompt and PS has a Latinx prompt. I'm reading a book where both the author and the protagonist have a Mexican mother and Cuban father, but they were born in the United States. I was trying to figure out if the book counted for each prompt and I felt ... almost racist, definitely icky, doing that. Especially since in the book, that protagonist gets teased for not being Mexican enough by the kids with 100% Mexican heritage.

I'm all for reading diverse books, but I hate trying to decide if an author is Black enough or Jewish enough or enough of a Pacific Islander.

[Thomas]

In my opinion if the person considers them self part of that culture it’s okay

[Thomas]

Regarding the “ genre you enjoy” the alternative is either to just say BIOPIC author which risks looking to broad or specifying a genre which I personally would hate

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Dubhease, I had that issue with the book I chose for the Latin American author as well. She was born and raised in Mexico, but the entire book features white upper class characters in 1800s France, so it felt like cheating since I wasn't reading about the heritage or something set in the area, even though the author clearly identifies as Latin American (and the other books I've read by her incorporate that culture).

[Joy D]

I agree, Thomas. I would prefer not specifying the genre and letting us choose.

[Nancy]

Interesting that so many people are against specific genres for next year. 2020 had 5 genre prompts - fantasy, genre that starts with a letter in your name, classic, history/historical fiction, mystery. And yet now people don't want any genre prompts. I wonder why that is.

[Nancy]

For the Latin American prompt I read Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. She's Mexican, and it's about a Mexican teenager and Mexican gods. I felt it was a good choice for the prompt.

The Pacific Islander one for PopSugar though I really struggled with. It's really hard to find an author with actual PI heritage, not just someone who happened to live there for 10 years or whatever. And then when I'd find a book that fit, none of my 4 libraries that I have cards to carried it. Very frustrating.

[Joy D]

Nancy wrote: Interesting that so many people are against specific genres for next year. 2020 had 5 genre prompts - fantasy, genre that starts with a letter in your name, classic, history/historical fiction, mystery. And yet now people don't want any genre prompts. I wonder why that is"

There are certain genres I dislike intensely and would rather not read. Maybe others feel the same.

The only genre I remember being on the 2022 list of 52 is historical fiction. There was also a "female detective" that did not specify it had to be a mystery (though most of the are).

Here Be Dragons was not specific to fantasy. You could also read something about maps or exploration (which I did).

I prefer the types of prompts we had in 2022 to those you listed for 2020 since they provide more flexibility.

[Thomas]

I didn’t enjoy the specific genres maybe others felt the same.

[MJ]

I read My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomajor for the Latin American prompt. It’s one of my favourite books from this year.

I WANT to read perspectives about life and living from people with different backgrounds from mine. It builds compassion and widens my outlook, imo. Learning about their background and where they come from is also interesting because I’m a geographer. Does this make me creepy? By the same token, some people don’t want to be judged for their background, and I respect that.

[MJ]

Nancy wrote: "For the Latin American prompt I read Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. She's Mexican, and it's about a Mexican teenager and Mexican gods. I felt it was a good choice for the prompt.
..."

I used to work in an academic library, which had most of the books I was interested in that my public library did not have. It was very handy for reading challenges. It is frustrating when there is a niche book that you want to read, but it isn’t easy to get a copy of.

FOUR library cards. I am impressed.

[Nadine in NY]

I like to celebrate many different cultures and nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, and I feel good about reading different authors who openly self-identify as members of different groups. It's not intrusive. I'm not judging whether they are "x" enough, I accept the identity they claim.

Perhaps the group would feel better with a category that involves the author's nationality rather than ethnicity. We currently have only one category for author nationality (an author from the European continent). In my mind, there is room for another.

[Nancy]

Joy D wrote: "Nancy wrote: Interesting that so many people are against specific genres for next year. 2020 had 5 genre prompts - fantasy, genre that starts with a letter in your name, classic, history/historical..."

I said 2020 had 5 genre prompts. Not 2022. The letter genre, mystery, and fantasy were in 2020.

[Samantha]

Ohh I love the literature map!

As far as the suggesting the random book generator I about to get on a ship with very limited access to wi-fi/cell service so won't be able to do it myself for the next round or 2. So if someone want to suggest it that would be great.

I am sure there is a better way to word it but came up with:

Using a random book generator find a book then look it up on Goodreads to see the popular genres associated with it - choose a book that fits one of these genres.
Suggested generator site - https://www.generatormix.com/random-b...

[Joy D]

Nancy wrote: "Joy D wrote: "Nancy wrote: Interesting that so many people are against specific genres for next year. 2020 had 5 genre prompts - fantasy, genre that starts with a letter in your name, classic, hist..."
Ok, thanks. There would have been a different mix of people voting in 2020 than now.

As for this year, the one historical fiction prompt was enough genre prompts for me.

[Samantha]

Here are a few other generators that pic a specific genre -
https://tools.libove.org/generators/r...
https://wheeldecide.com/wheels/entert...
https://wordwall.net/resource/455438/... - might be more movie or tv genres

A few other book recommendation -
https://www.bestrandoms.com/random-bo...
https://recommendmeabook.com/

[Mahi]

An author that has the same initials as you? I don’t know how limiting that is

[Thomas]

It depends on who you are I have basically two choices

[Tracy]

Instead of being told what genre to read because 1) it might be one you dislike, or 2) it might be one you read all the time anyway...

What about reading a genre 'mashup' or mixed genre book? (I know we had the 'cross genre' prompt last year — I wasn't here, how did that go?).

I googled the oddest mixes of prompts I could come up with, and still had title results: poetic thriller — yes, speculative memoir — sure, sports mystery — no problem.

I feel like you might get a book that is different than you might read from each of the two genres you already enjoy this way.

Any input from anyone here in 2021? Or someone who had this type of prompt in another group (Popsugar?)?

[Amy (Other Amy)]

Thomas wrote: "It depends on who you are I have basically two choices"

Same here.

[Thomas]

I didn’t enjoy cross genre but that was mostly as I struggled with it. I think many people enjoyed it.

[Irene]

I'd like to suggest something related to Asian minority authors, but am having a hard time figuring out wording (and I'm also not sure if there's any interest in it). I think it's highly relevant since the Asian hate thing is still happening globally with the pandemic still ongoing.

I know we have the Asian or Pacific Islander prompt this year, but when I see a prompt that says "Asian author" or "European author" or "African author," etc, my first thought is someone from Asia/Europe/Africa/etc and not someone of that descent who grew up in another country, unless they specifically highlight their heritage (e.g. I probably wouldn't read a random American author of European descent for a European author prompt). I tried to advocate for last year's wording to be edited to be specific to minority Asians (who are experiencing Asian hate, since Asians in Asian countries obviously do not experience race-based discrimination in the countries they live in) but it seemed that this group generally preferred the "Asian" wording.

The lived experiences of Asians in Asia is so different from Asians who are minorities in their countries and as someone of partial-Asian descent myself, I don't consider "Asian" and "Asian-American" (or British Asians, etc) the same thing at all, the same way European/European-American and African/African-American aren't considered the same.

Any thoughts/opinions? If it seems overly redundant or if there isn't any interest in reading authors of Asian descent again then I get it and will maybe try to workshop something for next year!

Some ideas for Asian minority authors include Kazuo Ishiguro (English novelist of Japanese descent), Salman Rushdie (Indian-born American-British novelist), Ocean Vuong (Vietnamese-American poet), Celeste Ng (American author whose parents immigrated from Hong Kong), and Jhumpa Lahiri (American author of Indian descent)

[Thomas]

An author of Asian decent NOT born in Asia

[Thomas]

My last comment was meant to have a question mark

[Nancy]

I did have a hard time with cross genre when we did it last, but I feel like it's becoming more popular and there are more options now than there were last time.

I also wonder if genre would be better received if we put a twist on it. Like the one I mentioned before, where the genre starts with an initial in your name. One year we had a book from one of the top 5 money-making genres. Any ideas?

A genre from the Goodreads Favorite genres in the Browse dropdown? Is that the same for everyone? I have Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Thriller.

I'm never a fan of things like genre you've never heard of, or subgenre you haven't read before.

[MJ]

Nancy wrote: "I did have a hard time with cross genre when we did it last, but I feel like it's becoming more popular and there are more options now than there were last time.

I also wonder if genre would be be..."

I think those genre pages are based on our reading history and bookshelves, so are different. I checked: Mine are not the same as yours.

[Martha]

Would Asian author of Asian diaspora work?

[Laurel]

Didn't we do genre that starts with a letter in your name in 2020 or 2021? I liked it - I went with Lovecraftian horror.

[Nancy]

I'm sorry, is it me? I feel like lots of people are misreading what I'm saying today. Maybe I'm not being clear enough. Or just need to stop posting.

Yes. Genre that starts with a letter in your name is one we did in 2020, which I mentioned before.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Tracy wrote: "Instead of being told what genre to read because 1) it might be one you dislike, or 2) it might be one you read all the time anyway...

What about reading a genre 'mashup' or mixed genre book? (I k..."

I read lots of historical romances and historical mysteries so that was easy for me. I might have used something more complicated though, I don't remember.

[Jill]

Nancy wrote: "I'm sorry, is it me? I feel like lots of people are misreading what I'm saying today. Maybe I'm not being clear enough. Or just need to stop posting.

Yes. Genre that starts with a letter in your n..."

I don’t think it is you. I think some people only read the last couple of comments, rather than reading down the all the comments. I have understood what you are saying as I have been following the thread. Don’t lose heart.