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message 1: by Emily, Conterminous Mod (last edited Jul 02, 2022 10:42AM) (new)

Emily Bourque (emilyardoin) | 11215 comments Mod
It's now time to get ready to vote for our first set of prompts! The thread will be open for at least 24 hours before the poll gets posted. This is a good opportunity to ask any question you may have regarding the prompts, do some research, or ask for recommendations.

Voting will open in the afternoon of Saturday, July 2 and results will be posted in the morning of Wednesday, July 6 (CST time).

How it works:
- When the voting opens, follow the link to the mini-poll that will be added at the end of this post
- You have a total of 8 votes this poll to spread across your favorite and least favorite prompts (you can also use less than 8 votes)
- You can find examples of acceptable voting practices on the Introduction thread.
- The prompts with the more favorable votes (comparing top votes to bottom votes, and looking at the overall number of votes it received) will be added to the final list

We are asking people to include their Goodreads profile address when they vote. To find this, just go to your own profile and then copy the URL/web address. If for some reason you can't link to your Goodreads profile, please post your full Goodreads name with enough identifiable information that we'll be able to access your profile. We’ve introduced this for two reasons:

1. On a few occasions in each poll, people have used more than the allotted number of votes, either because they aren’t familiar with the rules or just by mistake. When this happens our only option is to disregard the vote as we can’t identify the voter to ask them to resubmit. By asking for your profile address we’ll be able to message you and ask you to vote again if you’ve accidentally used more than the allotted number of votes.

2. Unfortunately a very small number of people have voted more than once per poll and so we are asking for this information to prevent duplicate votes.

As a reminder: You have a total of 8 votes to use among your top and bottom votes. The mods have access to each individual vote, so we can see if you use more than 8 votes. If you use more than 8 votes in the poll, your vote will have to be deleted, so please make sure to follow the directions so your voice can be heard.

Possible Prompts:
1. A book where books are important
2. A book with a faceless person on the cover
3. A book by an author who is NOT cis, white, and male
4. A book with yellow, red and white on the cover
5. A work of biographical fiction
6. A book that can be found on Project Gutenberg
7. A book connected to Ireland
8. A book involving genetics, genealogy, traits, heredity, or heritage
9. A book by an author no more than two degrees of separation away from you
10. A book with a shoe on the cover
11. A book related to the characters in The Wizard of Oz
12. A book that involves art, music, dancing or acting
13. A book with an animal on the cover
14. A book with a body of water in the title
15. A book of poetry or free verse

Feel free to discuss the prompts below, but please remember to be respectful to the other group members.

VOTE HERE: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/XEP6HA/


message 2: by Emily, Conterminous Mod (last edited Jul 01, 2022 01:56PM) (new)

Emily Bourque (emilyardoin) | 11215 comments Mod
NOTES AND IDEAS FROM THE SUGGESTIONS THREAD

1. A book where books are important
It could be a book about an author, with a character who is a bookworm, set in a bookstore or library. Basically books are important to the story or one or more characters.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Book Lovers
The Book Thief
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
The Jane Austen Society
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

Nonfiction:
books like On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft would work as well.
Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks

Listopias:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/book...

2. A book with a faceless person on the cover
Could be a silhouette, view from behind, face obscured, illustration without facial features or cropped out.

Pumpkin (Dumplin', #3) by Julie Murphy Nothing But The Truth Stories of Crime, Guilt and the Loss of Innocence by The Secret Barrister Beach Read by Emily Henry Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Digging Up Love (Taste of Love #1) by Chandra Blumberg Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo The Toll (Arc of a Scythe, #3) by Neal Shusterman The Testaments (The Handmaid's Tale, #2) by Margaret Atwood Anxious People by Fredrik Backman One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1) by Karen M. McManus I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1) by Maya Angelou The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett A Rogue of One's Own (A League of Extraordinary Women, #2) by Evie Dunmore Notorious Sorcerer (The Burnished City #1) by Davinia Evans The Movement by Ayisha Malik Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez Comeuppance Served Cold by Marion Deeds A Marvellous Light (The Last Binding, #1) by Freya Marske

Titles for those using mobile:
Pumpkin
Nothing But The Truth: Stories of Crime, Guilt and the Loss of Innocence
Beach Read
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?
Lies Like Wildfire
Lessons in Chemistry
Digging Up Love
Sorrowland
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
The Toll
The Testaments
Anxious People
One of Us Is Lying
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings The Vanishing Half
A Rogue of One's Own
Notorious Sorcerer
The Movement
Even Though I Knew the End
Cult Classic
Rock Paper Scissors
The Dead Romantics
Take My Hand
Comeuppance Served Cold
A Marvellous Light

3. A book by an author who is NOT cis, white, and male
You could go BIO and pick a book by an author who is none of these three or pick an author is for example: cis, male but NOT white, or a trans or nonbinary author regardless of their ethnicity.

4. A book with yellow, red and white on the cover
The lucky colors of 2023 are yellow, red and white. A book that has yellow, red or white could be a KIS option.

Goodreads lists with book covers that may have Red, Yellow and White on them:
Seeing Red has quite a few that would apply: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Rainbow book covers list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Books that have Red, Orange, Yellow and Pink covers: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Adult Books with yellow covers: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

5. A work of biographical fiction
A novel about or inspired by a real person

Some examples:
Half Life
The Dictionary of Lost Words
The Only Woman in the Room

6. A book that can be found on Project Gutenberg
You can find the link here: https://www.gutenberg.org/
You do not have to read them from Project Gutenburg, but it is a place to get free ebook downloads from the site.

From Louise:
One suggestion for reading something different/older - could be to read a book from Gutenberg.org (older books that are now free from copyright - free and always available!). It's an admirable project - for inspiration I have compiled a list of titles I found interesting:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

and there is this one as well:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...

I found some really cool books there over the years, like

The Room with the Little Door
The Weird Orient; Nine Mystic Tales from Morocco
A Simple Soul
The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories
The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary
The Post Office

But from my own experience, this is also a great way to find (or be encouraged to read) older books that are out of publication restrictions, including books like The Great Gatsby, Dracula, and Treasure Island.

You can find the most downloaded books here: https://www.gutenberg.org/browse/scor...

7. A book connected to Ireland
There are multiple lists on Goodreads collected here:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/ir...

8. A book involving genetics, genealogy, traits, heredity, or heritage
In honor of this prompt list being for 2023, and because we have 23 chromosomes, I'm suggesting ""A book involving genetics, genealogy, traits, heredity, or heritage"". So basically, anything to do with either the science of family, or the lived experience of family — nature or nurture.

Some books that might fit here are:

Genome the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley
She Has Her Mother's Laugh The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity by Carl Zimmer
Origin A Genetic History of the Americas by Jennifer Raff
The Genetic Lottery Why DNA Matters for Social Equality by Kathryn Paige Harden
Finding Family My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA by Richard Hill
Genealogy by Mae Wood
The Family Tree by S.K. Grice
It's All Relative Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree by A.J. Jacobs
The Milkman's Son A Memoir of Family History, a DNA Mystery, and a Story of Paternal Love by Randy Lindsay
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea Sarum
The Novel of England by Edward Rutherfurd
The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman

https://www.goodreads.com/genres/gene...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/gene...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

9. A book by an author no more than two degrees of separation away from you
"That means that you read a book by an author whom you or someone you know has met in person or had a meaningful interaction with on social media (i.e. an actual dialogue/reply to a question or comment or tweet, not just liking a post).

This prompt does NOT require you to actively reach out to anyone. As we in this group all know each other and can therefore be considered one degree of separation, it is enough for you to read a book by an author whom anyone in this group has met or interacted with. And guess what: we have a thread for that :D
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."

11. A book related to the characters in The Wizard of Oz
You've got lions, witches (no wardrobes), men made of metal, teenage girls, little people, horses of different colors (ok that wasn't in the book), wizards (real and fake)....

12. A book that involves art, music, dancing or acting
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/art
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/music
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/dance
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/acting

13. A book with an animal on the cover
dog - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
cat - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
butterfly - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

14. A book with a body of water in the title
This could be general: i.e. sea, ocean, river, creek, etc. or specific: i.e. Nile, Amazon, Pacific, etc.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Some suggestions:
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Salt to the Sea
The River
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Miracle Creek
Death on the Nile
The Light Between Oceans
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
(I could keep going, but will stop there)

15. A book of poetry or free verse
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/free...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/poetry


message 3: by Emily, Conterminous Mod (last edited Jul 01, 2022 01:57PM) (new)

Emily Bourque (emilyardoin) | 11215 comments Mod
As a reminder, this thread will be open for approx 24 hours before the voting link goes up. Read the post above for ideas and links to books that would fit, and feel free to discuss your up and down votes.

As always, remember that this is a group that selects prompts based on suggestions from real human people with real human feelings, so be respectful in your discussion and thoughtful with your words.


message 5: by Jill (new)

Jill | 725 comments I think these would work as well:
Love Walked In (Love Walked In, #1) by Marisa de los Santos Belong to Me (Love Walked In, #2) by Marisa de los Santos


message 6: by Conny (new)

Conny | 647 comments I really hope the genealogy prompt gets in. I've been dying for a chance to read The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni, and that prompt would be a great fit.
Very curious to see how my degrees of separation prompt will do this time. Last time I feel I may have overexplained it (and badly so), so hopefully this time it will do better. After two years of isolation and uncertainty, I would certainly welcome a prompt that is all about connection, both between authors and readers and between us here in the group. Plus, it's a great chance to discover indie authors!


message 7: by Emily, Conterminous Mod (last edited Jul 01, 2022 02:31PM) (new)

Emily Bourque (emilyardoin) | 11215 comments Mod
I think I'm going to vote for the more unique prompts this round, as it is just poll 1, and save some of the more generic/easy to fill ones for later. Definitely upvoting the Project Gutenberg prompt and the biographical fiction prompt (I love this as a more focused historical fiction genre prompt). I will also probably upvote the faceless person on cover since it's a fun prompt that I have a few options for on my shelf, and possibly the genetics one as well!


message 8: by Deborah (new)

Deborah | 348 comments I agree with Conny that "the Degrees of Separation Prompt " would be a great way to discover books by lesser known authors. I know four authors personally and have had interactions with one more if anyone needs suggestions. I hope this prompt goes through.

My top choices would be:

8. A book involving genetics, genealogy, traits, heredity, or heritage
9. A book by an author no more than two degrees of separation away from you
10. A book with a shoe on the cover
12. A book that involves art, music, dancing or acting

I don't dislike any of the other prompts, I just don't have any strong feelings about them either way.


message 9: by Thomas (new)

Thomas I don't often say but I think I will not use nay downvotes. Still choosing which eight I will up still all perfectly valid suggestions. Since I posted it my prompt (no.3) there has been a lot of discussion so to clarify you could use it to read a book by a BIOPIC author who is also trans or non binary but that is not required. As long as the author is not white and cis and male it would count. e.g cis white female COUNT trans white or biopic COUNT cis male biopic COUNT .but if the author is cis and white male OUT!


message 10: by Nadine in NY (new)

Nadine in NY Jones | 2286 comments For a book with red, yellow, and white on the cover, I wanted to do all three, and I just took a look at my TBR to see what's what. It's quite easy to find a book with all three colors. A few books on my "really read soon" list:
The Sympathizer The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Scythe Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1) by Neal Shusterman
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo The Epic Crush of Genie Lo (The Epic Crush of Genie Lo, #1) by F.C. Yee
Axiom's End Axiom's End (Noumena, #1) by Lindsay Ellis ( I guess this one is more of a cream than a yellow)
Don't You Forget About Me Don't You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane
Get in Trouble Get in Trouble by Kelly Link
A Beautiful Place to Die A Beautiful Place to Die (Detective Emmanuel Cooper, #1) by Malla Nunn
Fevered Star Fevered Star (Between Earth and Sky, #2) by Rebecca Roanhorse
The Jasmine Throne The Jasmine Throne (Burning Kingdoms, #1) by Tasha Suri
The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir The Dragons, the Giant, the Women A Memoir by Wayétu Moore
The Wolf and the Woodsman The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid


message 11: by Jillian (new)

Jillian | 2921 comments Currently, these are my planned up votes.

1. A book where books are important ( It is a fairly common challenge prompt but it is one that I enjoy).
3. A book by an author who is NOT cis, white, and male ( I don’t like have to do a lot of research on authors. I feel like I can support diverse authors without having to know so much about their personal information).
4. A book with yellow, red and white on the cover (It sounds like a fun cover prompt).
6. A book that can be found on Project Gutenberg ( I like to read at least one book a year on the serial app and many of the books should work).

My down votes are mainly based on prompts/topics that are similar to prompts I have found too challenging or limiting in other reading challenges.


message 12: by Thomas (new)

Thomas Sorry but what is meant by the lived experience of family?


message 13: by Shannon (new)

Shannon Ralph | 188 comments I really like the Project Gutenberg prompt. I want to read more classics and this prompt might force me to do just that! (Yes, I need to be forced. 😉)


message 14: by Pamela, Arciform Mod (new)

Pamela | 2477 comments Mod
Conny wrote: "I really hope the genealogy prompt gets in. I've been dying for a chance to read The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni, and that prompt would be a great fit.
Very curious to see how my degrees of separ..."


Plus you never know who knows who. I recently moved to a new town in a new state and was commenting to a coworker "did you know there's this local author who wrote a book that totally connects to the museum and she's a member! We should see if anyone knows her to get her to do a talk," Coworker says "she's my aunt." Who knew!


message 15: by Rachel (new)

Rachel A. (abyssallibrarian) | 3280 comments I was excited for the body of water prompt, but then I realized it was a title prompt and not cover like I originally thought. I have a ton of books with bodies of water on the cover, but I'll have to see if any would also fit for title.

I'm not so keen on the Project Gutenberg prompt. I know there's a ton of options on the site, but I'm so rarely in the mood for classics at this point, I'd rather pick something that's more in line with what I'm more actively interested in reading.

I have to say the not cis/white/male baffles me a bit. I think the wording is perfectly clear as it is, but I've never understood why people have such a hard time finding female authors. I've had so many challenges in the past where "a book by a woman" was a prompt, and it's confused me every time. There are so many female authors in every genre! I probably won't vote for this one because it's basically a freebie for me, but I wouldn't downvote it either.

On first glance, the only things that really stand out to me are faceless person since it's a bit more unique, and book where books are important. Variants of that have been done a lot, but I always tend to enjoy them so in this case I don't mind. I also might like the body of water prompt, but it will take a lot more research than I thought. I don't like Gutenberg or biographical fiction, but I'm pretty much fine with everything else.


message 16: by Pam (new)

Pam (bluegrasspam) | 3847 comments I decided to second the 2 degrees of separation prompt because my cousin was recently an organizer of the Santa Fe Literary Festival where she met some very well-known authors. I’m disappointed that I didn’t go but plan to go next year! I also have a few books of local authors that I’ve met. Glad that the selection process has started! I hope it doesn’t distract me too much from this year’s challenge.


message 17: by Kate (new)

Kate (caitmoore) | 243 comments I like a lot of these! I was a bit hesitant about the 'two degrees of separation' prompt but on investigating and seeing the explanation even that seems very intriguing. Some hard choices to be made, and I don't think there'll be any downvotes...


message 18: by Tracy (last edited Jul 01, 2022 04:48PM) (new)

Tracy | 3145 comments Thomas wrote: "Sorry but what is meant by the lived experience of family?"

What I meant by that was a couple of things:

1) Your traits and heritage that you gain from living with family, rather than those that are genetically gained - inside jokes, old family recipes, tradition of summers at the family cabin, the ritual of reading the Sunday paper, manners of speech, etc.

2) Family is not always a birth family (the science part) - could be a step-relationship, an adoption relationship, in-laws, family-of-choice (usually group of close friends). All the family stuff without the genetics. E.g., my step-mother always jokes that when one of my kids does something like she would do it, it's because they "have my genes".

Edit: Just found a book coming out next week (July 5) that looks at this idea in an interesting way — Can trauma and/or love that you experience echo through the generations?

See Five-Part Invention
Five-Part Invention by Andrea J. Buchanan



message 19: by Thomas (new)

Thomas Rachel wrote: "I was excited for the body of water prompt, but then I realized it was a title prompt and not cover like I originally thought. I have a ton of books with bodies of water on the cover, but I'll have..."

I somewhat agree I had thoguth of more sepcific ideas such as a book by a woman written at least 5o years ago (when there were fewer women authors) or a book by a woman let won an award other than the wome's prize for Fiction (i.e it beat out the male authors)


message 20: by °~Amy~° (new)

°~Amy~° (amybooksit) I think we are off to a great start. I don't see anything on the list that I want to downvote. Now to decide what to upvote!


message 21: by Jackie, Solstitial Mod (new)

Jackie | 2491 comments Mod
How on earth am I going to decide which 8 to upvote? They're all so good! We are off to a great start this year for sure.


message 22: by Jill (new)

Jill | 725 comments So many great choices! I am having a terrible time narrowing it down. I don’t think I will have any down votes this time.


message 23: by Nina (new)

Nina (ninakins) | 334 comments The two degrees of separation one is interesting. I have no idea what I would do with that, but it would be fun to research. It reminds me of the time I did a challenge with a prompt for a book set in your home town. The town my heart calls home has a population of 124 so that was definitely a challenge.

The genetics one would give me a good excuse to finally clear She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity off of my end table, where it has been languishing for quite some time.

I’m not too keen on the “non cis, non white, non male” one because it is just too doggone easy. Over half of the books I’ve read this year would qualify and I haven’t been reading nearly as many historical romance novels as I usually do.


message 24: by Pamela, Arciform Mod (new)

Pamela | 2477 comments Mod
Rachel wrote: "I have to say the not cis/white/male baffles me a bit. I think the wording is perfectly clear as it is, but I've never understood why people have such a hard time finding female authors. I've had so many challenges in the past where "a book by a woman" was a prompt, and it's confused me every time. There are so many female authors in every genre! I probably won't vote for this one because it's basically a freebie for me, but I wouldn't downvote it either..."

I will admit I feel that about most of the diversity prompts. I like to read a variety of authors so I do and diversity prompts end up being free weeks for me. Although I really like the book written by a woman 50+ years ago, as I normally read contemporary female writers. There was a prompt last year or the year before that resulted in me reading Barbara Pym and it was a delightful discovery! I love prompts that are like that where you can't just look at the books the library delivered that week and slot them in.


message 26: by Pamela, Arciform Mod (new)

Pamela | 2477 comments Mod
Jackie wrote: "How on earth am I going to decide which 8 to upvote? They're all so good! We are off to a great start this year for sure."

I normally go 4 and 4 but I think I'm doing 8 up this time. Which spoiler alert, that means nothing will get through cause the voting always goes exactly opposite how I vote!


message 27: by Pamela, Arciform Mod (new)

Pamela | 2477 comments Mod
RachelG. wrote: "I didn't realize how many books on my TBR have a body of water in the title. A few examples:

Death on Lily Pond Lane
Magdalena: River of Dreams
[book:Shadows on the..."


Mudlark was my favorite book in 2021!


message 28: by Robin P, Orbicular Mod (last edited Jul 01, 2022 07:43PM) (new)

Robin P | 4013 comments Mod
Remember that if an idea doesn’t make it, you can resubmit it a different week, unless it’s in the lowest section, which we call Bottom.


message 29: by Edie (new)

Edie | 1148 comments Prompts that encourage diverse reading are great. That said I think the "not CIS,male or white is a gimme. So far this year I have read 60 books...41 by women authors, 14 by POC. The 3 books I have in progress are all by women. Not sure if I will down vote but won't be voting it up.


message 30: by Kendra (new)

Kendra | 2115 comments I've really gotten into books in free verse over the last year, which is why I suggested it, so I will be upvoting that one for sure. I also really like the genetics, Project Gutenberg, and books are important. I don't haven any that I absolutely don't want, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with my remaining votes. I did end up doing 'shoe on cover' as part of my rejects challenge last year, so I'm might downvote it even though I love it as a prompt....... I still have some time to make up my mind.


message 31: by Martha (new)

Martha (marthag503) | 522 comments There is nothing I would vote against in this group of prompt suggestions. I'll be voting 8 up votes. I hope we get a lot of prompts at the top on our first poll.


message 32: by Harini (new)

Harini (rini11) | 151 comments All the prompts are so good that I have no clue which ones I will be upvoting. One thing is for sure that there will be no downvotes this time. My favorites as of now are -

1. A book where books are important (books about books are always fun).
6. A book that can be found on Project Gutenberg (I have too many unread classics on my shelf)
8. A book involving genetics, genealogy, traits, heredity, or heritage (I love the subject)
13. A book with an animal on the cover (well... I tend to pick non-fiction focused on animal kingdom).

There are 6 other prompts I like but will have to narrow them down.


message 33: by Thomas (new)

Thomas Edie wrote: "Prompts that encourage diverse reading are great. That said I think the "not CIS,male or white is a gimme. So far this year I have read 60 books...41 by women authors, 14 by POC. The 3 books I have..."

you could always BIO and pick an author who is none of the three


message 34: by NancyJ (last edited Jul 02, 2022 07:35AM) (new)

NancyJ (nancyjjj) | 3639 comments For some of the prompts, there are matching tag lists or genre pages that give you more options.

Prompt 1: Books about books -Genre page
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/book...

Prompt 5: Biographical fiction - tags
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/biog...

Prompt 7: Ireland - genre page, Irish tags, Irish lit
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/ireland - genre page
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/... - Irish tags
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/iris... - Irish lit

Prompt 8: Genetics, genealogy, heredity, also heritage, dna
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/gene...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/gene...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/here...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/dna
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

Tips for Searching for Tag lists and Genre pages

In addition to listopia lists, you can search for many topics using the tags people use to organize their shelves on goodreads. A tag list will give you a list of books ordered by the number of tags. goodreads link +"/shelf/show/tag"

Goodreads has been adding new genre pages for many popular tags, including terms that you do not think of as a genre. It includes the primary tag list (which tends to favor older books), most read this week, new releases, and some listopia lists. (The listopia lists are not necessarily the best ones for that tag.) goodreads.com +"/genres/tag"


message 35: by Nadine in NY (new)

Nadine in NY Jones | 2286 comments Rachel wrote: "I was excited for the body of water prompt, but then I realized it was a title prompt and not cover like I originally thought. I have a ton of books with bodies of water on the cover, but I'll have..."



Same. I love books that show bodies of water on the cover. I don't have any feelings about books with bodies of water in the title, I'm neither here nor there on that prompt.


message 36: by Rae (new)

Rae | 80 comments I am excited about the possibility of a Gutenberg prompt, and wanted to let people know that it's not just a stand-in for "read a classic." There are so many other types of books on Gutenberg, from diaries to fairy tales.

When I read The Snow Child, it refers to a Russian fairy tale that I was unfamiliar with, but then I was able to find the fairy tale on Gutenberg.

There's also non-fiction like letters of Mary Wollstonecraft or Mark Twain, autobiographies of survivors of the Donner party, etc. It's a rich resource of more than just classics.


message 37: by Emily, Conterminous Mod (new)


message 38: by Samantha (last edited Jul 02, 2022 11:12AM) (new)

Samantha | 1585 comments Great prompts! I decided to only do upvotes; starting out positive! I thought about downvoting A book of poetry or free verse because it about as outside of my comfort zone as it gets. I didn't upvote it either but saw that a 5 star book for me Inside Out & Back Again was on the list for free verse so who knows if it shows up again I might get more enthusiastic about pushing my boundaries.


message 39: by Robin P, Orbicular Mod (new)

Robin P | 4013 comments Mod
I gave 8 upvotes also, not sure if I ever did that before!


message 40: by dalex (new)

dalex (912dalex) | 2646 comments I only used six of my votes. There are three prompts that I greatly dislike so those were my downvotes. I am mostly indifferent about the rest of the prompts but picked three to upvote.


message 41: by dalex (new)

dalex (912dalex) | 2646 comments Emily wrote: "Definitely upvoting the Project Gutenberg prompt and the biographical fiction prompt (I love this as a more focused historical fiction genre prompt)."

Biographical fiction is not just historical fiction. There are examples from almost every genre, such as The Perfect Nanny (mystery), Women Talking (literary fiction), and She Who Became the Sun (fantasy).


message 42: by Emily, Conterminous Mod (new)

Emily Bourque (emilyardoin) | 11215 comments Mod
Thanks for pointing that out, dalex! I just love historical fiction so that is where my brain went for the prompt.


message 43: by Thomas (new)

Thomas dalex wrote: "Emily wrote: "Definitely upvoting the Project Gutenberg prompt and the biographical fiction prompt (I love this as a more focused historical fiction genre prompt)."

Biographical fiction is not jus..."


Fromm my experience anything set in the past or at least set in what the writer would cosnider the past can eb validly described as historical fiction, that's not to say that many of them don't fit other genres as well. I guess what I'm really syaing is that I think your both right.


message 44: by Pearl (new)

Pearl | 525 comments My favorites are 12. Art, music, dancing, or acting, 1. Where books are important, 8. Genetics, and 11. Wizard of Oz. I will need to look at the examples to figure out my next 4.

I just read a book with a shoe on the cover for the Monopoly prompt.


message 45: by Rachel (new)

Rachel A. (abyssallibrarian) | 3280 comments Very difficult to vote because I just didn't have strong feelings either way about the vast majority of the suggestions.

I ended up voting for a book where books are important, shoe on the cover, and faceless person on the cover. Those seemed the most exciting or I already have plenty of options among the books I own that fit.

I downvoted Project Gutenberg because it just doesn't line up well with what I'm currently interested in reading. I also downvoted Wizard of Oz because it seemed both too easy (any witch or wizard, for example) and too hard at the same time (because my brain has trouble with "related to" prompts when the connection to the thing isn't super clear).

I also downvoted body of water, although I would definitely upvote it if it got suggested again later as a cover prompt instead. I did a search on my Goodreads TBR and didn't feel like I had enough options that I was excited about to make it something that I'd strongly want. I also downvoted Ireland and biographical fiction for similar reasons.


message 46: by Alicia (new)

Alicia | 1490 comments Love books are important! This is our year Nancy!

This may be a dumb question, but does biographical fiction mean it has to be fiction about a real person, like Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Or can it be written as if it's a biography of a fictional person?

FWIW, I read the diversity prompt as not cis and not white and not male. I think the "and" threw me. I get now what was meant, but I would have written it as not a white, cis-male. If it was not white and not male and not cis, I would likely vote for it. Otherwise, almost 90% of the books I've read this year fit that description.

The Ireland one seems random, but I randomly love it, so it works. I also like Wizard of Oz. My first thought was actually the black remake, the Wiz. So I may do one more closely tied to that if it gets in.

Also, if the author one gets in, can we have a listopia where members add authors they are one degree of separation from. Then it'll be a list of 2nd degree separation for us. I like the prompt, but I truly don't know anyone that knows an author.


message 47: by NancyJ (last edited Jul 02, 2022 10:37PM) (new)

NancyJ (nancyjjj) | 3639 comments Alicia wrote: "Love books are important! This is our year Nancy!

This may be a dumb question, but does biographical fiction mean it has to be fiction about a real person, like Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald"


Yes, that's how it's defined, a fictionalized story about a person who was real (or thought to be real). I would stick with a book that's categorized as biographical fiction. https://www.goodreads.com/genres/biog...

Finding Dorothy would fit the art/music/acting prompt, Wizard of Oz, and biographical fiction.

I love the Books and Ireland prompts too! This is the year for books about books - there are so many new ones!

I'm in a 'favorite authors' challenge this year, and the Irish author John Boyne is doing well. A Ladder to the Sky is fabulous. I especially like Irish books on audio.


message 48: by NancyJ (last edited Jul 03, 2022 01:39AM) (new)

NancyJ (nancyjjj) | 3639 comments I'm having a hard time narrowing down my list. I'll probably go with all up-votes too.

The books prompt is a definite up-vote for me. There are a lot of great new books about books - including some beachy reads, and award nominees. I'm always attracted to books related to Ireland and music. The Commitments is both.

Last year it was clear that a lot of us like books related to music, musicians, and songs. I have several on my TBR, and that was a category that I really would have liked this year. Adding Art etc. is even sweeter. (My favorite books on the biographical fiction list were about artists.)

I love the Genetics/heritage prompt. Genetics can be scientific, highly personal, or even funny.* It's an important and interesting topic, and it will be fun to search for books in other genres. Genetic testing, and inheritance can be key plot points in mysteries, thrillers, women's fiction, and historical fiction. Game of Thrones had a great genetics twist. Heritage opens it up even more.
* Where the Crawdads Sing had a funny (and fact-based) section about what some animals do to ensure that they pass along their DNA. I read it a few years ago the same time as a memoir involving heredity, and then a comedy involving a sperm bank. I also recommend the Maddaddam trilogy, Oryx and Crake.

I'm also considering:

Poetry/verse - Poetry would be a good stretch challenge for me. Verse is a lot easier, thanks to Elizabeth Acevedo. (I just read one of her books for the Summer Challenge.)

The Gutenberg Project - it's a great resource. I have some 1920's books that might be on the list.

Body of Water title prompt. This appeals to me. I've been meaning to read Wide Sargasso Sea for years. Sea of Tranquility is great. We have a Water cover prompt in the Summer Challenge.

I can't decide which cover prompt(s) to vote for. The faceless option is cool but I'm not sure if there are any still on my TBR (though I can recommend many of them). Colors are easy on my vision, and I know I have books with animals on the cover. For shoes, I would add the "Book Woman" books.

The 2 degrees prompt could lead to some interesting discoveries. I agree with Alicia about the importance of the listopia with first degree connections. If meeting an author at a book signing counts, then I think we'll have some good choices. (I have a friend who was a ghost-writer for a children's series, but I would feel weird about promoting that here.)

I'm not sure about Biographical Fiction. I would prefer a slightly broader prompt that would include biographies or memoirs. My local bookclub likes these, so I might vote for it anyway.

For diversity, I'm holding out for a more focused (and positive) prompt. Maybe - read a book with a transgender or non-binary character or author. Though LGBT author prompts are seen as an invasion of the author's privacy and a risk to their safety.


message 49: by Conny (new)

Conny | 647 comments Alicia wrote:

"Also, if the author one gets in, can we have a listopia where members add authors they are one degree of separation from. Then it'll be a list of 2nd degree separation for us. I like the prompt, but I truly don't know anyone that knows an author."


I started a thread for that when I first submitted the suggestion. You can check it and choose any author mentioned there:

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

Listopia would be tricky, as you can only add books, not authors.


message 50: by Ellie (new)

Ellie (patchworkbunny) | 2992 comments Conny wrote: "Listopia would be tricky, as you can only add books, not authors...."

I think it's a list of books people would like though. We could make a list just for us to put books by our one degree connections on and that would be a handy resource for people just wanting to pick a book off a list rather than making the connections themselves.


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