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[2023] Poll 4 Voting - MULTIWEEK
Bec wrote: "Jillian wrote: "I don’t dislike the scavenger prompts in general but I’m struggling with how limited the first book seems. I tend to have several books going at once and never know which one I’ll f..."That is a good idea, if either of them make it.
dalex wrote: "Thomas wrote: "I would love to know what this studio Gibley thing is."Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation company founded by Hayao Miyazaki. It's basically the Japanese version of Walt Disney. ..."
I would be too. He is very impressive and talented. It was one of his films that triggered my interest in watching animated films as an adult. Though I can't watch them now. I would have rather had a general movie related prompt, rather than one focusing on just a few companies.
Edie wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "awww I'm sorry to see the movie studio prompt was changed to include BBC instead of Ghibli. I feel like we've had a BBC-related prompt before (or maybe it just gets suggested a..."It's just the name of a movie studio in Japan. They make anime films. Some of them are really beautiful. The style was different from American movies. (I say "was" only because I haven't watched them in many years.)
Mod
And they're all coming to US theaters this year: https://www.ghiblifest.com./
Edie wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "awww I'm sorry to see the movie studio prompt was changed to include BBC instead of Ghibli. I feel like we've had a BBC-related prompt before (or maybe it just gets suggested a..."Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio that does world famous animated movies like Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, and Spirited Away.
Lindsay wrote: "I'm also downvoting the one with the 2nd person POV, this was a prompt I did this year for another challenge and I found there was a very limited choice of books to pick from. I love Nora Roberts..."
There must be a lot more authors that would qualify. If they wrote short stories or a memoir, that would be a different genre. Even if they wrote all fiction, every book has multiple genre tags.
I recommend Ann Patchett and Barbara Kingsolver. They both write in multiple genres and have great essay collections. My favorite Ann Patchett books are Bel Canto, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage (misleading title), and Commonwealth. Barbara Kingsolver has books that fit this year's earth day, food, flora and fauna, plus at least one LGBT related book.
I really love Margaret Atwood (though I didn't really love her most popular book), and I'm reading her backlist now for a 2022 author challenge. She's very productive so there should be more left for 2023.
I'm just starting to get interested in Stephen King's non-horror novels.
ADDED - Charlaine Harris writes mysteries, paranormal, and alternate history.
Robin P wrote: "Mandy wrote: "I would have loved to see studio chizu. They do all of mamoru hasoda movies. Like wolf children and belle (just watched. So amazing!)Or just a random studio like bones, madhouse, a-..."
Toei animated two of the big 5 of classic anime. Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball (dbz and super).
Studio Bones animated FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
A-1 did Sword Art Online, Black Butler, My Hero Academia
Madhouse animated Death Note, Card Captor Sakura, Overlord, Hunter x Hunter
Went two up, six down. I liked quite a few of the ones I was "neutral" on but figured I should vote for the things I felt strongly about.Up:
+ Four books connected to each other through publication date (week 1), cover color (week 2), country setting (week 3), and title starting letter (week 4) -- just really liked this one; it's not a complete freebie, but it seems kind of fun to find things that fit (and allows some flexibility which I always want after a month or two and/or when book club picks need to be fit in somewhere)
+ Four books, with each one related to one of the seasons -- I enjoy the idea of this one and just generally like the idea of intentionally reading books tied to each season
Edited to add: I know these both can't get in, but I'd really love either, so we'll see what happens!
Down:
+ A book related to a Warner Brothers film, related to a Disney film, and related to a BBC film -- I don't watch or care about movies and just have a general ughh reaction to anything Disney so that will always get my downvote
+ Three books about Hope, Faith, and Love/Charity -- too religious for my liking
+ 2 Weeks: Two books with words that are opposites in the titles -- I was iffy on voting against this but felt it's been done before and prefer the options where the "themes" are specific and it's not a title word game
+ 3 Weeks: A book written in first person POV, second person POV, and third person POV -- mostly due to the 2nd person POV - I'd be interested to find something that fit if this got in, e.g. The Fifth Season did this and it didn't feel gimmicky, but would prefer to have prompts that are less narrow and/or there are just generally more options and flexibility (especially since 1st/3rd person POV seem like freebies)
+ 3 Weeks: Three books related to Eros, Filios, Agape -- just, not my thing, for various reasons
+ 3 Weeks: Three different books written by the same author in 3 different genres -- too limiting. I would consider reading three books from one author (which I do not typically do in a year), but the different genres really limits the options.
Very curious to see how this shakes out!
Mod
Emma wrote: "I'm so excited to see how people vote!"Me too. There are a couple of prompts I absolutely love.
I went ahead and voted 3 up and 5 down. My up votes were for:2. 3 Weeks: Three books, each of which is set in a different century
5. 2 Weeks: Two books from two different genres, that are connected in some way
7. 2 Weeks: A book that is dark, and a book that is light
My down votes were for repeats or very narrow prompts. I wish I had an extra vote this week because there was one more I'd have liked to down vote. I had to guess which one I don't expect to get many up votes for.
Emily wrote: "May or may not be obsessively refreshing the polling results lol"Is the data scattered all over, or have a few clear favorites already appeared??? Don't tell us which ones, but I'm curious how aligned we are.
Mod
ooh Emily, now I'm so curious. I totally know why we don't all see the polls changing, but to be a fly on a cell in that Excel sheet....I actually love multi-week prompts, so this is one of my favorites to vote for. I usually like to BIO my multi-weeks with a prompt I loved but didn't get in. So one year I did the 4 card suits paired with BIPOC retelling.
I haven't voted yet, but this is what I'm thinking so far:
UP
- dark/light
- 3 centuries
- 3 film studios
DOWN
- Hope, Faith, Love/Charity and Eros, Filios, Agape for the same reasons. I am religious so that doesn't bother me, but they just feel a bit mushy for me. I also had never heard of Eros, Filios and Agape, so I did learn something new!
- duology Duologies are harder to find but even with just two books from a larger series, I've been trying to move away from series. I just don't find them very fulfilling anymore. The 1st is always great, the second a filler book and the 3rd ends up disappointing me because really we could have finished the whole store in book 1 and are just writing 3 for the money. /rant
That leaves me with 2 votes left. I like both scavenger hunt prompts, but not sure which to vote for or whether to vote for both. But then I also don't really like the same author/different genre prompt, mainly because there aren't many authors I'd want to read 3 books from that aren't a series (see rant on series above) and that wouldn't be different genres
My favorites are similar to Jillian's.Two books from two different genres, that are connected in some way.
A book that is dark, and a book that is light
Two books related to lost and found
Read a duology, or two books from a larger series
Three books, each of which is set in a different century
Three different books written by the same author in 3 different genres
I don't plan to vote for any 4 week prompts. The individual pairs within the long sequences aren't as interesting as the two week pairs.
For single prompts I would like movies, hope, a city, filios, a season, lost&found.
None of these prompts really spoke to me. Ended up with 4 up-votes and 4 down. Downs were the Disney..., 4 seasons, the 2nd chain of 4 prompt, and Eros... I voted up and am most enthusiastic about the 3 books from 3 centuries prompts. I also voted for 3 of the 2 book prompts that I could live with.
As I don't want my upvotes to cancel each other out ( I used to be a poltician) I only upvoted three centuries and two related in different genres. I downvoted all three four week pormpts as they would preclude the htree centuries and I downvoted three POV becuase second person is a pain. Not voting for light and dark was my hardest vote so far but I didn't downvote it either and I hope it can be reimagined for a later poll if it doens't get in
I know people that aren't voting for the three POVs is likely because of the 2nd POV. But I actually would love that as a single prompt. I'm just not swayed either way on it for multi-week because the 1st and 3rd POV seem almost too easy
I thought I was going to have only 2 up votes, but I ended up with 3 ups and 5 down.
Pamela wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Since they are animated, it's easy to dub them into another language. Many of the Ghilbli films have been released in English, some with star-studded casts. Ponyo is probably t..."My niece adores Ponyo! Too bad we missed it, though TBH I haven't been to the movies since before covid.
Alicia wrote: "I know people that aren't voting for the three POVs is likely because of the 2nd POV. But I actually would love that as a single prompt. I'm just not swayed either way on it for multi-week becaus..."
That's another gap in my education, along with contranyms and three kinds of love. I would flunk an essay test on the differences between the 3 POVs.
Pearl wrote: "Alicia wrote: "I know people that aren't voting for the three POVs is likely because of the 2nd POV. But I actually would love that as a single prompt. I'm just not swayed either way on it for mu..."
Message 2, under the info for Prompt 11 (the POV prompt) has a handy explanation and many links to appropriate Listopias for each POV.
All this talk of Studio Ghibli made me want to rewatch my two favorites which are Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle and both dvd's say at "Walt Disney Studio's presents" at the top. So if someone wanted to connect Ghibli to Disney it could be done that way. I would love to see a single week prompt that connects a book to an animation studio if the 3 week prompt isn't a top vote winner.
Well I hate things written in 2nd person, so if I could use all 8 votes to downvote the one prompt, I would, but I can't. I decided to downvote all the 4 week prompts even though I don't mind them that much. That left me 4 more votes to pay with. After reading the thread here, I realized I loved the light/dark prompt, so that plus the opposites, lost/found were all easy upvotes for me. I then voted for the 3 century prompt, because I feel that's just a reworking of the past/present/future prompt from last year which I loved.
My top choice is #7: A book that is dark, and a book that is light. If I could have 3 pairs like this, I would focus on a different thing in each pair. I was busy this week and I didn't get to suggest an idea. This one is close to my idea and better.
I could do the same with #5: Two books from two different genres, that are connected in some way
I also like #15. Two books related to lost and found.
I like #8 for Australian books. I could read The Slap and The Dry. Someone I trust recommended The Slap to me. She said I will hate it and then love it.
I might like 3 books about Hope Love and Faith. It sounds a little butterflies and moonbeams, but I think the books could be good. People were talking about hope before so a single prompt would be good.
I could vote for 3 centuries, to give me a push to read more classics or historical fiction set before World War II. A regular prompt to read a book set before 1900 would do the same thing.
Mod
Is the data scattered all over, or have a few clear favorites already appeared??? Don't tell us which ones, but I..."
Some weeks we see a clear winner within 50-75 votes, but this week, the winners have changed every time I've tallied them so nope, no clear winner yet! (Definitely some clear bottom ones though lol)
Emily wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Emily wrote: "May or may not be obsessively refreshing the polling results lol"Is the data scattered all over, or have a few clear favorites already appeared??? Don't tell..."
I thought you said there wouldn't be any bottoms this week?
I don't think there are bottoms in the sense that they can't be suggested again, because no multi-week prompt can be suggested again. But there are bottoms in the sense that they are getting a distinct number of downvotes.
Emily wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Emily wrote: "May or may not be obsessively refreshing the polling results lol"Is the data scattered all over, or have a few clear favorites already appeared??? Don't tell..."
Haha. Best to have a clear bottom!
Tracy wrote: "Message 2, under the info for Prompt 11 (the POV prompt) has a handy explanation and many links to appropriate Listopias for each POV..."Not sure who is collating these lists, but I have read a good number of books on it, and there are several that I would not classify as 2nd person POV. IMO 2nd person is hard to do well. I do have recommendations if it wins.
Tracy wrote: "Pearl wrote: "Alicia wrote: "I know people that aren't voting for the three POVs is likely because of the 2nd POV. But I actually would love that as a single prompt. I'm just not swayed either wa..."
Thank you. It all came back to me while reading the notes. I don't mind Second person when it's written as a letter or story told to a specific person. The Friend was quite good.
Joy D wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Message 2, under the info for Prompt 11 (the POV prompt) has a handy explanation and many links to appropriate Listopias for each POV..."Not sure who is collating these lists, but I..."
Anyone can add to a listopia, but I don't know how much control the originator has. I'll find out soon. I'm going to try to edit the duplicates on the listopia I created last night. Thanks for adding to it btw.
Joy D wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Message 2, under the info for Prompt 11 (the POV prompt) has a handy explanation and many links to appropriate Listopias for each POV..."Not sure who is collating these lists, but I..."
I guess I assumed anyone who added to that Listopia felt like they knew what they were talking about. I wouldn't personally. I guess I need to remember the adage about "assuming"?
Would love to see your ideas if it wins :)
Pearl wrote: "My top choice is #7: A book that is dark, and a book that is light. If I could have 3 pairs like this, I would focus on a different thing in each pair. I was busy this week and I didn't get to sug..."
I think the hopepunk list had some sad and edgy books. One of my favorites Dear Edward was on one of those lists. It's very sad but amazingly uplifting overall. There was a quote... You can't see the light without the dark - or something like that. (Do we even have any books about love this year?)
NancyJ wrote: "Anyone can add to a listopia, but I don't know how much control the originator has. I'll find out soon. I'm going to try to edit the duplicates on the listopia I created last night. Thanks for adding to it btw...."Thanks, Nancy. I'm happy to contribute. I picked the few I knew would fit what you asked for. I probably can find more if you need them.
I find Listopias helpful, but not always accurate. I always double check before I read the book.
I found this one tough to vote for as I didn't really feel strongly about any.I ended up upvoting
* duology (or 2 from larger series) as I'm always reading series so I love to be able to fit books in the challenge.
*2 books from different genres that are connected - this one I think will challenge me a bit but not too much so just a good bit of challenge....
* dark and light - plenty of options - I like how it was explained so I can either do covers or themes....
NancyJ wrote: "Joy D wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Message 2, under the info for Prompt 11 (the POV prompt) has a handy explanation and many links to appropriate Listopias for each POV..."Not sure who is collating thes..."
The originator has no control over a listopia but anyone can ask a GR librarian to remove any book that does don’t belong on the list.
Tracy wrote: "Joy D wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Message 2, under the info for Prompt 11 (the POV prompt) has a handy explanation and many links to appropriate Listopias for each POV..."Not sure who is collating thes..."
unless its as obvious as won the Pultizer all listopias are subject to interpretation don't beat yourself up
Jillian wrote: "The originator has no control over a listopia but anyone can ask a GR librarian to remove any book that does don’t belong on the list..."OK, thanks! I only intended to point out that people might want to consider investigating books before reading them to make sure they are a good fit.
Absolutely Joy! Thanks for pointing that out :)
Mod
Honestly, if I'm having difficulty finding a book and there's one book on a listopia that looks good, I'm reading it. If it doesn't exactly fit.. well, I tried!
Pamela wrote: Honestly, if I'm having difficulty finding a book and there's one book on a listopia that looks good, I'm reading it. If it doesn't exactly fit.. well, I tried!.."I agree!!
I never use the listopias to find a book because they almost always contain so very many wrong books. Some topics are subjective so I can understand adding anything one wants to a list like that. But some topics are black and white, like second person point of view, so only books that absolutely qualify should be included on the list. I think The Librarians are far too busy to police the listopias. I submitted an editing request to them about a week ago and it still hasn’t been addressed. When I checked on my request just a few hours after posting it, it was already like 25 pages in. And that’s just one thread in the Librarians group! They have separate threads for missing books, missing cover images, missing editions, etc.
I found voting hard this time. I wanted to up or down vote everything. There weren't any that I was neutral on.
If any of our groups listopias need editing, I’m happy to do it. When I’m using one and notice duplicates I do an edit, but I’m not checking frequently.
Chrissy wrote: "If any of our groups listopias need editing, I’m happy to do it. When I’m using one and notice duplicates I do an edit, but I’m not checking frequently."Same here. I am a librarian but I never check that board because it is so crazy but I am more than happy to help out anyone in this group that needs it.
Is there any limit to the number of weeks these prompts can take up? (For example, could we have a 4-week + a 3-week?)The two that I'll upvote for sure are:
- 3 centuries
- 4-week scavenger hunt (publication date, cover color, country, starting letter)
(and maybe city and country)
Unfortunately, the rest of my votes will go to downvotes.
- 3 films: far too broad as any book I read can be related to at least one Disney or Warner Bros film, especially since "related to" can mean anything from having similar themes to starting with the same letter. I'd end up doing this last to slot in books that didn't work for other prompts.
- duology: really struggling with this currently in Popsugar as it seems like 90% of duologies are YA. I also find the wording a little strange because a duology and two books in a series aren't the same, so couldn't the prompt just be "Read 2 books in the same series" which would include duologies anyway?
- hope/faith/charity: dislike the religious themes and wording. Not sure I've ever read anything related to faith that wasn't religious in nature - or hope or charity for that matter.
- agape: Wikipedia says "In Christianity, agape is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for man and of man for God" and the dictionary says "in the New Testament, the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God." Not interested in reading about characters being religious, and I think forcing a different interpretation wouldn't be staying true to its main definition.
On the fence:
- dark and light: I think I saw a dark-genre book being mentioned as a single-week prompt in the wild discussion, and I'd strongly prefer that.
- lost and found: I don't think I've ever read a book about loss that wasn't also about finding something, so I'd prefer and actually really love this as a single-week prompt
- first/second/third person: second person is difficult. I'm pretty sure one of the examples mentioned, The Night Circus, is 95% in the third-person with only occasional bits of narration being in the second-person.
Overall, I'm just really hoping a scavenger hunt prompt gets in because it's a fun and creative idea, and is more strongly connected together than a lot of other multi-week prompts that I end up doing in non-consecutive weeks.
Irene wrote: "Is there any limit to the number of weeks these prompts can take up? (For example, could we have a 4-week + a 3-week?)The two that I'll upvote for sure are:
- 3 centuries
- 4-week scavenger hun..."
See message 3 in this thread. Emily talked there about how many weeks the mods will allow for multi week prompts :)
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Dear Edward (other topics)The Slap (other topics)
Commonwealth (other topics)
Bel Canto (other topics)
This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage (other topics)
More...
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation company founded by Hayao Miyazaki. It's basically the Japanese version of Walt Disney. ..."
Sorry I missed this explanation before asking my Ghibli question. It helps. I can't say I am interested in tying my choice of 3 books to animated films.