Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2023] Poll 6 Voting
The Jazz Age is related to Harlem Renaissance, and I highly recommend The Chosen and the Beautifulhttps://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
Gods of Jade and Shadow
The Paris Wife
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
Wild Women and the Blues
Pam wrote: "I like the Tinker, Tailor prompt since I have a few espionage books. I wasn’t sure about the farm setting but it’s growing on me and will be a yes vote. I bought a book in the All Creatures Great a..."I also keep finding books based on the discussions and prompt ideas that I wish I could read now rather than wait for next year. I also start to look at my TBR and say to myself "I better hold off because that might need to be for a challenge" and then don't know what to read.
It’s actually a thing that makes me wonder if some prompts are REALLY as good an idea as they seem because I am most prone to holding off on books by non binary and Pacific Islander authors in case I might need them for prompts
My favorites are:14. A book related to a recipient of Time Magazine's Person of the Year award. = my favorite
7. A book that involves a murder - pretty please vote for this
6. An author's debut book
9. A book that involves a moral dilemma or question
12. A book related to the Harlem Renaissance - Jazz Age, blues, roaring twenties, flappers, speak-easy joints.
Lady Sings the Blues
The Chosen and the Beautiful
Celeste's Harlem Renaissance
Cocaine Blues
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance
Easy prompts:
1. A Christmas book, or holiday themed book.
3. A book from the first 5 books added to your TBR - I added more than 20 added on the same day, so I would pick one of those.
13. A book with a purple cover
Maybe: (Examples might help)
2. A book with a character that travels as a part of their job.
4. A character that might be called a Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, or Spy
5. A book about a farm, a farmer, or a farming family
15. A book set in an apartment building or house
Least favorites
10. A book involving wolves or werewolves
11. A book written by an author that is a different race and gender than you are
8. A book about crossing over to another world - It's similar to the alternate world prompt this year.
Jillian wrote: "I like how the on the road was suggested as a character prompt and be up voting it. The version on the wild discussion would have been a down vote for me."What would you read for it? I can't think of a thing.
Jill wrote: "List of books for Moral Dilemma if it helpshttps://www.godreads.com/shelf/show/m..."
Thank you. This helped a lot. I already own many on this list.
I voted for it and if Tinker Tailor Solidier Soy gets in I will probably read one of Bernard Cornell’s Sharpe books, but off the top of my head a number of Mysteries would work like Agatha Christie’s Secret Adversary or any Holmes books featuring Mycroft
Pearl wrote: "Jill wrote: "List of books for Moral Dilemma if it helpshttps://www.godreads.com/shelf/show/m..."
Thank you. This helped a lot. I already own many on this list."
Somehow the "reply" function messed up this helpful link (to "ww38.godreads...).
It should be (and was originally): https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Anastasia wrote: "I down voted Harlem Renaissance because it is very American centric. There may be one book on my TBR that fits and I do not want to add more books just because. I like TTSS, traveling for job, ap..."
The Harlem Renaissance ushered in the Jazz age, and it affected big cities all over the world. I want to read
The Paris Wife (France)
Cocaine Blues (Australia)
dalex wrote: "I think the Harlem Renaissance is an interesting prompt but it seems like the only options are books published during the movement or non-fiction, which I am not interested in reading. I may not do..."
The Harlem Renaissance ushered in the Jazz age which was all over the world. The prompt says "related to" so it fits.
Jazz age Historical Fiction:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
Gods of Jade and Shadow
The Paris Wife
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
The Chosen and the Beautiful
Bright Young Things
Cocaine Blues - Melbourne Australia
Historical Fiction set in 1920s by African Americans. They fit the prompt perfectly. Most are set in 1920's Harlem and published recently. Some include historical characters.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Gone Missing in Harlem - first African American police officer
A Death in Harlem - first African American police officer.
Wild Women and the Blues
Darkness and the Devil Behind Me
Celeste's Harlem Renaissance - YA/MG
So possibly the Dizzy Heights series by T.E. Kinsey would work for the Harlem prompt. The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds is the first book. It takes place in 1925 London.
RachelG. wrote: "So possibly the Dizzy Heights series by T.E. Kinsey would work for the Harlem prompt. The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds is the first book. It takes place i..."Sure, jazz musicians, right time period. and it looks good.
I keep coming back and reading the list of choices as I have no idea how to vote. Very little speaks to me this round. 🤷♀️
Jillian wrote: "I have found the surest way for me not to read a book is put it down on a list to read for a prompt way in advance. I know many people enjoy creating list of books for prompts but I find it no fun. If I get to a prompt, that I have not filled then I look for a book that will fill it. I use challenges more to help pick my next few reads."Same here! I just joined for the 2022 challenge and immediately found I could fill half the list with what I already read this year, and probably another 10 if I look harder. I have been doing the ATY since it began, but this year I just wanted to read whatever I felt like. This worked so far but I have reached a point where I needed a bit more direction to choose, so I made my plan. But I only pick a few ahead of time, and fill in as I go.
I like the be able to fill most prompts with my regular reading, but have some that challenge me.
I don’t like prompts that are either too narrow, too broad, or make me read something I have tried and disliked. I don’t mind trying something new.
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With the baby coming in November, I anticipate next year's reading will be a free for all where I hope to mostly read as I feel like it and slot in as much as I can for ATY, so I've selfishly been voting for the easiest prompts to fill lol.
Emily wrote: "The problem I've run into when I don't plan my reads is that I end up saving the worst (least fun) prompts for last, then my final reads of the year are all books I'm dreading lol. I did better las..."This is happening for me this year, haha. The YA 100 one. I've read most of the ones on the list I'm interested in.
I tend to plan most of the list and then change most of them as I go anyway, lol. I like planning but I also like freedom to change my mind.
If one can read a book about a white person in France in the 1920s for the Harlem Renaissance prompt, shouldn't the prompt just be "a book set during the 1920s"? It just seems like it should be a book about black people in Harlem or a writer from the Renaissance or at the very least a book about the Great Migration.
Emily wrote: "The problem I've run into when I don't plan my reads is that I end up saving the worst (least fun) prompts for last, then my final reads of the year are all books I'm dreading lol. I did better las..."I did pretty good this year. I used the read-a-thons to fill in some harder prompts with shorter books. My hard ones left are really not that hard more hard for me: historical fiction, gothic elements ( two genres I don’t gravitate towards) and double letter in author’s name.
Emily, That makes perfect sense to vote for the easiest ones for you. You must be getting excited!
Emily wrote: "The problem I've run into when I don't plan my reads is that I end up saving the worst (least fun) prompts for last, then my final reads of the year are all books I'm dreading lol. I did better las..."Congratulations! I recommend audiobooks. I listened to a ton of them when my son was a newborn—while breastfeeding, going on super long walks with him, when he was up in the middle of the night, etc. I got through a lot more books than expected!
I found that reading in order has made it easier to force myself to do the harder prompts that take me out of my comfort zone. I remember finishing The Glass Menagerie at 11pm on New Years Eve the first year I did the challenge (I think there was a prompt to read a play?).
I agree. Audiobooks are so clutch. I haven’t been able to finisha physical or ebook since I had the baby. My eyes just feel so tired at the end of the night. But just sitting listening is relaxing. When in November are you due? All the women in my family are born in November so it’s a lucky month. Also, do you know the sex?
dalex wrote: "If one can read a book about a white person in France in the 1920s for the Harlem Renaissance prompt, shouldn't the prompt just be "a book set during the 1920s"? It just seems like it should be a b..."If it had been about the 1920s, I wouldn't have down-voted it. I thought it seemed too narrow and too American as written.
dalex wrote: "If one can read a book about a white person in France in the 1920s for the Harlem Renaissance prompt, shouldn't the prompt just be "a book set during the 1920s"? It just seems like it should be a b..."People want something more interesting IMO, It gives them more room to be creative and to search for books on different ideas. It was nice to see all the effort people went to in answering your question today to find a book that wasn't too old or non-fiction.
I like the related prompts when the original idea is narrow, and people take it just one step out. Some people can go too far.
If it gets resubmitted as jazz age or 1920's, I will vote for it. I will still read one of the books I picked out with a black author from the Harlem Renaissance, now that I have it on my tbr.
Do you like the other diversity prompt this poll?
Pamela wrote: "dalex wrote: "Does anyone know of historical fiction novels that focus on the Harlem Renaissance?"Passing, Their Eyes Were Watching God , Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo", Invisible Man, The Blacker the Berry..., or anything by those writers"
Thank you Pamela. I added Invisible Man and the Blacker the Berry to my list. My college roommate recommended Their Eyes Were Watching God too.
Emily wrote: "The problem I've run into when I don't plan my reads is that I end up saving the worst (least fun) prompts for last, then my final reads of the year are all books I'm dreading lol. I did better las..."Last year I read the ones that pushed me out of my comfort zone first. I only read 30 books because I started late, but I still felt good about it.
If you get enough sleep, the brain fog isn't so bad. Audios are great.
Joy D wrote: "It's not always listed. I've looked. I have a workaround, though. I'll read a non-fiction travel book written by a journalist. Problem solved."I was ready to downvote this. I don't want to read about truck drivers, flight attendants, sales people, or Amazon deliveries. If travel writer doesn't count, journalist will. Problem solved.
KP wrote: "Joy D wrote: "It's not always listed. I've looked. I have a workaround, though. I'll read a non-fiction travel book written by a journalist. Problem solved."The problem I have with this approach to ‘2. A book with a character that travels as a part of their job’ is the use of the word “character”. I know it’s been debated before whether someone featured in a non-fiction book can be considered a character but I not happy that they can.
My immediate thought for a travel writer I want to read more of is Jan Morris but to call her a “character” is hugely problematic.
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Thinking I'm going to buy a kindle so I don't have to worry about a print book while feeding her and whatnot... I never read ebooks but now seems like a good time to start lol. Also I love audiobooks so I'll definitely be leaning into that. Trying not to worry too much about what my reading life will look like in those first few months after the baby, and it helps that the polls will be done so I won't need to worry about the mod duties over here too much.
Emily wrote: "It's a girl, and I'm due November 17! Trying to get ATY and my GR goal finished before then so I don't feel any pressure (self-inflicted pressure) to read once she's here, at least in those first f..."The kindle is a life saver with a tiny one! 1) you can hold it one handed, or get a case that has a kickstand (my preference) and 2) you can read it in the dark! You even can get a page turner with remote so you could put in on a table beside you and just click the remote to turn the page.
KP wrote: "Joy D wrote: "It's not always listed. I've looked. I have a workaround, though. I'll read a non-fiction travel book written by a journalist. Problem solved."I was ready to downvote this. I don't ..."
There’s also adventurers like The Sword of Shannara or like da vinci code angel angels and demons.
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My daughter was born Nov 15. Not a bad time of year since you aren't hugely pregnant in the hottest months, and the baby is old enough to show off a bit at Christmas (though of course, there was no pandemic to deal with then.) It's a bit hazy after 40+ years but I seem to remember reading shorter magazine articles while rocking/nursing. Reminder for our younger members - this was before internet, podcasts, ebooks, and even audiobooks. I also watched some mindless TV, which was only 3 channels at the time. I do remember when she was maybe 1-2 pushing her on a playground swing while reading a book. But don't be concerned about your reading, or your Mod duties, especially in the first few weeks!
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Ditto! I am so not psyched by that prompt and as a rule I won't vote for prompts with only 100 choices this year!
Steve wrote: "I'm sort of hybrid with my planning. What I do is look at the prompts and decide which ones are "easy" to fill and which ones will require some effort either because nothing jumps out at me off my ..."I think of my planning as hybrid too. Early in the year I read books I didn't get to last year (because they didn't fit the prompts left in my challenges) and my book club books, slotting them into one of the many open slots. I also will take at look at the listopia for prompts that may be hard to fill or just excite me. I like to winnow down my TBR list and TBR books on a listopia get transferred to my planning/completion spreadsheet. However, filling them in happens over time. At this point in the year, I have completed 44 prompts (one of which had no entry until I realized the book I finished today fit perfectly), 1 prompt for a book I am reading, 3 prompts still blank and 4 prompts with "tentative" books to read.
With my first baby, I didn't want to read or watch TV. I just wanted to stare at him, and I kept the room quiet. With my second I let him get used to noise right away, and he can sleep through anything.
I don't know how anyone plans what to read a year in advance. I like making lists of books but I don't treat that as a plan, it's just in case I get stuck. And it's fun to do. But I barely know what I want to read next, let alone what I'll be in the mood for in 2023. 🤣I'm at the point in my challenges that I need a bit of planning to make sure I complete them but I still hope that books I read on a whim will magically fit.
I would like to read a travel book such as Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, but traveling is not her job. Could I read it for the prompt about a person who travels for their job? Or should I downvote and hope for something better?
Katie wrote: "I would like to read a travel book such as Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, but traveling is not her job. Could I read it for the prompt about a person who trave..."Personally I downvoted the travelling for their job because I liked "a character on the road" better. But depends if you consider someone walking on a mountain trail on the road. It's always up to you if you want to stretch a prompt as she did eventually make money from her walk!
Clever! I downvoted it anyway. I like other prompts better.
I also ended up down voting that one because I didn’t like the ‘job’ qualifier
Some books on my TBR that I might use if a character that travels as a part of their job is voted in:
@Emily I used to read out loud to my babies whatever I was reading at the time, at least until they were old enough to understand. They loved being talked to and I hated baby babble. It worked for us.Traveling jobs can include military, doctors who do house calls, EMS, police officers, landscapers, actors/actresses, singers, lecturers, politicians, some business people.
My oldest grandson was a 17 November baby. You can snuggle up in the winter, and then they're taking much more note of things in the spring. I used to read a lot when I was feeding my first one. I just wished she'd read the baby books about sleeping 18 hours a day at first. That just did not happen! Kindle sounds a great idea though.
Joyce wrote: The problem I have with this approach to ‘2. A book with a character that travels as a part of their job’ is the use of the word “character”. I know it’s been debated before whether someone featured in a non-fiction book can be considered a character but I not happy that they can...."As far as I'm concerned, real people are the characters in non-fiction. I count them.
In fiction, there are often real people used as characters. To me there is no difference. This is just my opinion and I recognize that others may feel differently.
For fantasy lovers, there's traveling minstrels, acting troupes and questing heroes.Sci-fi, you could have space couriers, explorers, and all sorts of traveling folks. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet would work.
I am upvoting Harlem Renaissance. I just saved Swinging at The Savoy. The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer from the donation bin and have never read Their Eyes Were Watching God. For anyone less enthusiastic about this prompt, Passing is under 150 pages. Watch out for the introduction - the one in my version gave away the ending and I was really irritated by it. After that I started skipping introductions and treating them as afterwords when I read classics and have avoided two ruined endings since.
Abbie wrote: "I am upvoting Harlem Renaissance. I just saved Swinging at The Savoy. The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer from the donation bin and have never read Their Eyes Were Watching God...."I find it so irritating when the introduction contains spoilers.
Okay finally voted. Ended up with 5 up/3 down.My TBR list keeps getting longer and longer. I tend to read only the most recently added stuff so I voted for first 5 books added to TBR to try and read some of the older stuff I was obviously interested at some stage.
I just finished a book called Blending Chords about a rock band and they spend the majority of this book on tour - perfect for character that travels as part of their job. But I've already read that now so I didn't vote for this either way.
On checking my TBR I noticed I have the majority of books by female authors - so I voted for author different race and gender to try and expand my reading.
Generally my aim is to reduce my TBR in the challenge, rarely works out that way as I read all the discussions and add more books!
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Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Little Women (other topics)The Outermost House: A Year of Life On The Great Beach of Cape Cod (other topics)
Blending Chords (other topics)
Their Eyes Were Watching God (other topics)
Swinging at The Savoy. The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jan Morris (other topics)T.E. Kinsey (other topics)
T.E. Kinsey (other topics)
Claude McKay (other topics)
James Baldwin (other topics)
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It took 90 years to get published.
Romance in Marseille by Claude McKay
Romance in Marseille is a queer coming-of-age story that centres around a rowdy group of sailors, dock workers and prostitutes — straight and queer, disabled and able-bodied, African, European, Caribbean, and American.