Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Archives
>
[2023] Poll 10 Voting
Mod
1. A book from the NPR "Books We Love" lists
https://apps.npr.org/best-books
2. A book related to a chess piece
Ideas of where to take this (there are of course plenty more):
Queen: royal, drag Queen, Queen bee
King: royal, drug king pin, “Mattress King” (any cheesy local business type character), King of Rock ’n’ Roll
Knight: actual knight - of old, or modern recognition of achievement, Dark Knight, any rescuer/Knight-in-Shining-Armor, horses
Bishop: religion, clergy, Joey Bishop, anyone with that name
Rook/Castle: set in a castle, tower, or fortress, any of the Corvid Family (crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers), set in a tenement or other densely populated area (these areas are sometimes called Rookeries referring to how rooks — one of the Corvid Family — nest closely together)
Pawn: a manipulated person, a soldier, war, fighting
Or, as Ellie pointed out in Wild Discussion — in some cultures, and at other points in history, some pieces had different names, or there were pieces with different moves than we have now. Feel free to research that. One example - there was a piece called the Giraffe, that had a similar move to our current Knight, but instead of moving 2 out and 1 over, it moved 4 out and 1 over.
A few Shelves/Listopias:
Kings or Queens:
Royal Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Kings: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Queens: hhttps://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Queen Bee: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Knights:
Chivalrous Heroes: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Knights Templar: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Knight: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Bishop:
Nuns in Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Clergy: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Rook (Castle, Fortress, Tower):
Twin Towers: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Castle: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Fortress: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Tower: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Rook (birds of the Corvid family):
Corvid: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Pawn:
Soldiers: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Manipulative: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
3. A book by an author who has been threatened, imprisoned or otherwise persecuted because of their work
Wikipedia link to Day of the Imprisoned Writer lists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_...
4. A book related to King Tut
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the opening of King Tut's antechamber and location of his sarcophagus.
Examples:
A book about or set in Egypt.
A book about a king.
A book about archaeology.
5. A book featuring a character who is engaged in a typically compassionate profession or career
A compassionate career/profession could be a medical professional (nurse, doctor, physical therapist, etc.), a counselor, a teacher, clergy, etc.
8. A book with rock, paper or scissors on the cover
Rock: mountains, rock formations, pebbles, a stone house, stepping stones, stone wall, etc.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Paper: books, origami, letters, post-its, newspaper, etc
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Scissors
https://fictionophile.com/2021/10/23/...
9. A book by an author who uses punctuation in their name
A book by an author who uses punctuation in their name.
examples:
J.D. Robb
Madeleine L'Engle
Seth Grahame-Smith
10. A book about words or language, or emphasizing the spoken word
This prompt is intended as a complement to the frequently appearing “book about books” concept, but focused on words and spoken language more than the written word. There are many directions to take this, including novels from various genres, popular nonfiction, or more scholarly. There are a few useful listopias but they aren’t comprehensive.
12. A book related to "On the Road"
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/road...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/music
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/travel
A book related to the song "On the Road Again" (Willy Nelson)
or On the Road by Jack Kerouac - Books involving freedom and longing, the "Beat" generation, or about Jack Kerouac.
"I can't wait to get on the road again"
-a book involving some form of travel (car, bus, plane, train).
- a character with wanderlust, who doesn't like to stay in one place. A character leaving home.
- Road trips, finding yourself, self-discovery, new goals
- a book with "on the road" in the title, or a road on the cover
"Making music with my friends"
- A book with musicians, roadies, or others who travel to gigs
- A book with amateur musicians, forming a band, playing for fun
- Country music
"Going places I've never seen"
- Sightseeing, bus tours, explorers, adventurers, out-of-the way places.
"Seeing things I may never see again."
- Once in a lifetime trips, bucket lists
- Revisiting friends, family, favorite haunts, memories
"Like a band of gypsies" (book about Romani people, Travelers.)
- Vagabonds, wanderers, hobos, jet-setters, retirees, family trips. - People traveling across country in campers, buses, riding the rails (trains), nomads (e.g. Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century).
"Insisting that the world be turnin' our way"
- Traveling for a cause or quest to change the world. (Volunteer travel, Ecotravel, protest, convention, charity concert, political event, church project.)
- A spiritual ritual or quest. A walkabout.
- activists, campaign workers, union organizers.
- journalist or photographer on the road following big events.
Lyrics - Willy Nelson's version
On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Like a band of gypsies, we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world be turnin' our way
And our way... Is on the road again
13. A book by an author you feel you should have read by now
This was a prompt in the first ATY challenge and made me read Dickens and Stephen King. We all have our Dickens, don’t we?
15. A book that's unlike what you usually read
It could be a book in a different format that what you normally read like a physical book vs ebook vs audio. It could be written in a different style from what you read like poetry or essay collection. I think the idea I want is to just explore something you either haven't yet or you haven't read as much as you want to.
Oh last time I included some examples of the repeating objects one, if you want to include these:
Oh some fun new prompts! On first glance I really like:A book related to a chess piece
A book featuring a character who is engaged in a typically compassionate profession or career
An adventure book
A book with rock, paper or scissors on the cover
A book that's unlike what you usually read
There a couple I don't like but will hold off voting for a few days to see if I change my mind.
King Tut and Rock, Paper, Scissors are both very fun prompts!!
I don’t love “A book related to King Tut” because we had an Egypt prompt recently and I really struggled with it. And I hate “well known classic” because I don’t especially like old books and the well known qualifier just makes it harder. And I don’t like reading something different than I usually read because there’s probably a reason I don’t read those books. That said, I’m thrilled the NPR is back again! I think chess piece and author punctuation are creative and interesting. And because I read a good bit of sci-fi and fantasy I could easily do the next book in the series and the adventure one.
I’m wondering, though, if the series one has to be limited to a 2nd or 3rd? What about series that have 8 or 12 or 20 books? Hrm.
Definite upvotes for me are:- Language/linguistics/spoken word
- Chess piece
- Author with punctuation in their name
- Author that's been threatened/imprisoned/persecuted
I'm also on the fence about the NPR list. On one hand I want to upvote it because there are so many titles on the lists that I would love to recommend, but on the other, there aren't a ton that I haven't read yet that I would be interested in reading myself.
Mod
I love the NPR prompt and will upvote it whenever it is suggested. Bonus that we don't have any real list prompts on the challenge yet, and this is such an easy and flexible one to get on there.
My current favourites are both of the cover prompts, chess piece, and compassionate profession.The NPR list is the same one we have this year (it was previously 'book concierge' but renamed to 'books we love'). I enjoy those lists so potentially will still upvote it.
I'm another who found the Egyptian museum prompt difficult when we had it in a previous year so King Tut may be a downvote. Also struggling to find something for persecuted author.
Additional link for threatened, etc authors:https://pen.org/writers-at-risk-datab...
You can then filter the database by region, country, name, gender, status, et al.
Probably will be 8 up for me. There are only 2 that I wouldn’t vote for. Love the NPR list and classics! I have so many classics I’ve been meaning to read.
Here are some other options for repeating objects on the cover. These are the more literal interpretations
These are ones that others may think are a stretch but I would still count.
- skulls
- people
- buildings
- roses
- snakes
I really like these:2. A book related to a chess piece
5. A book featuring a character who is engaged in a typically compassionate profession or career
7. A book that has an object that is repeated on the cover
12. A book related to "On the Road"
I rarely read books in a series, let alone have to read book 2 or 3, so that will be a downvote for me.
I'll definitely be upvoting chess piece, object repeated on cover, and rock/paper/scissorsDownvoting NPR (we have that this year and I don't love it or lists enough to have it two years in a row), classic book (just done it too much), adventure (I feel like there is always a version of this - this year Here Be Dragons)
Then my other 2 votes I'm unsure about.
Mod
I like almost everything this week. I am another who struggled with the Egyptian museum one. I probably won't vote for author I should have read or unlike what I usually read. At my age (just turned 70), life is too short for experimenting. As it is, I read a lot of genres and authors so I don't feel I need to be stretched out of a comfort zone. This was what turned me off of Read Harder and similar challenges. As a younger person, I probably would have welcomed being introduced to new genres and types of authors, but now I get plenty of that from my GR friends and groups.
Mod
What I loved about the last Egyptian prompt is because it was for the opening of the museum, someone posted a link to the parade of Pharoahs and it was so cool to watch!!
But I have no memory of what I read for the prompt, I think I ended up reading a museum book
This will be my first vote this year. I have been on hiatus for a few years and just started the 2022 challenge last night. Since that list is so fresh in my head I see some similarities here. NPR, Chess/Monopoly. I'm not sure how I plan on voting totally but I am excited to get involved!Rock, Paper, Scissors will probably get an up vote. Give me reason to read
.
I like the idea of an author who has been threatened, imprisoned or otherwise persecuted because of their work, especially since I try to read a fair number of books with non-US/UK settings/authors. Despite the thought that it's probably a good prompt for me, it feels like a multi-step process to discover books available. Does anyone know of a list of books? The links both look like they are lists of authors.
I suggested tbd prompt and specific books are not necessarily the point. As examples Fyoydor Dostoevsky was imprisoned before a great deal of his best known novels, likewise Nelson Mandela was imprisoned as a result of his ‘work’ but wrote books later
For the King Tut prompt, it doesn't have to be something about Egypt. He reigned from age 9 to 19 or so it could be a book where a child is a leader. For those who love spooky Halloween books, it could be a book set in or near a graveyard or that geatures a burial. It could be book with characters who are archeologists. It could be a book about a museum or set in one.
Traci wrote: "I like the idea of an author who has been threatened, imprisoned or otherwise persecuted because of their work, especially since I try to read a fair number of books with non-US/UK settings/authors..."I want to like this prompt, but it's hard. There are a ton of books written in prison or writers who went to jail lists, but most of them were imprisoned for non-payment of debt (debtor's prison), sexual assault, theft, drugs, or tax evasion. So they are out.
What makes this prompt an upvote for me is that they are imprisoned, threatened, or persecuted for their "work", not necessarily their writing.
So everyone from Socrates, St. Paul and Sir Thomas More to Malala Yusef, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and MLK count. Heck you don't even have to read the Voltare satire that got him imprisoned, just something by him. And you could read Midnight's Children instead of the book that got Salman Rushdie persecuted.
I really like the chess piece and repeated objects prompts. Will probably downvote the NPR list and adventure book (way too generic).The rock, paper, scissors prompt is also neat, but if we only get one cover prompt in, I hope it's the other one, not like the last round.
Will also probably upvote spoken word and 2nd/3rd in series, though I don't expect either to get through.
I'm on the fence about the compassionate profession prompt. It seems too broad for me to like it, but I'm not that opposed to it either.
will downvote the repeat prompts again (language and persecuted author). every round rejects get resubmitted but they were rejected for a reason. I don't have super strong feelings about any others. I think I've at least read something from most major authors so I have no clue what I'd use for that prompt
Robin P wrote: "Also there are modern classics, fantasy classics, sci-fi classics, horror classics, etc. It doesn't have to be something from high school English class..."Even universities are moving away from making everyone study the "well known classics" now. I'm sure classic sci-fi plays a big part in making people hate the genre for life. I didn't pick up secondary world fantasy for a long time because I thought it was all like LOTR. If people want a classics prompt, I'd rather have one that lets me pick something obscure that I'm interested in.
Robin P wrote: "Also there are modern classics, fantasy classics, sci-fi classics, horror classics, etc. It doesn't have to be something from high school English class. ..."The problem is that the prompt specifies "a well-known classic book" so to me, that DOES mean "a book commonly read in high school English class" We can't really dig into the lesser-known classics for this one.
The NPR one is definitely a downvote for me - it's exactly the same as this year, and we already have a list prompt for 2023 that's a repeat from this year. If it gets in I'll have no problem finding something, as it says there are over 3,000 books on the list, but I feel tired just thinking about going through that size list to find something I want to read.The authors that were threatened prompt will be an up - there was a bit discussion on author twitter after Salman Rushdie was attacked, and it seems to be quite common for even non-controversial, not famous authors to be threatened. I'd probably go for something by Chuck Wendig, who receives a lot of death threats, most recently one from someone who wasn't happy about something he wrote about Jar Jar Binks in a Star Wars spin-off novel!
Michelle wrote: "will downvote the repeat prompts again (language and persecuted author). every round rejects get resubmitted but they were rejected for a reason. I don't have super strong feelings about any othe..."
Very often over the years prompts that didn't win the first or second time through won handily the last time they were put up for vote. If people didn't like them, they wouldn't vote for them at all. Sometimes a slight change in wording can make all the difference, sometimes it is just a change in mood with the voters. And of course, prompts that were previously voted as close calls or polarizing were prompts that would have won under slightly different circumstances so they deserve a second (or third) chance).
Probably downvote NPR because I didn’t like it this year and I’m not keen on list prompts. Over than that nothing jumping out at me but also nothing I’m particularly anti so probably chess piece and king tut torn on the rest
Michelle wrote: "will downvote the repeat prompts again (language and persecuted author). every round rejects get resubmitted but they were rejected for a reason. The ‘persecuted author’ prompt hasn’t been rejected before. It failed to reach the nomination process in time twice before which may be what you are thinking of.
°~Amy~° wrote: "Michelle wrote: "will downvote the repeat prompts again (language and persecuted author). every round rejects get resubmitted but they were rejected for a reason..."Also the language one was a close call, so it's hardly an unwanted prompt. There has been enough of a wording changes that I might vote for it this time and I didn't last time.
6 up and only 2 down. Pretty good for me but then again it could be the Nyquil talking. Hopefully I only used 8 votes! Now I'm crawling back into bed with a box of tissues and an audiobook. If I voted wrong, let me know and I will fix it when my head is clearer
I went 4 up and 4 down this time. My favorites are NPR, punctuation in the name, language and on the road.
We got a 6 month old puppy yesterday so I have not had time to figure out my votes.
How exciting Jillian! What’s its name? Are they potty trained?
Mod
Or you could read a Steve Martin memoir!
Mod
Mod
I'm actually not a fan of that one. I'm glad it's not "format you don't normally read" because I do print, Kindle, and audio, and try as I might I can't read graphic novels. I could do poetry or essays I guess, but I don't like feeling forced to read something I don't normally or like to read.I'm 6 up, 2 down right now. And while I like the rock, paper, scissors cover prompt, I will be sad if that gets in and the repeating objects one doesn't.
I would upvote 11 or 12 if I could! My top favorites so far all relate to the reasons I joined this group. NPR list
Characters in helping careers
Well-known classic
An author you feel you should have read by now
Unlike what you usually read
On-the Road
I also like Language, Egypt, threatened authors, objects on cover, and the 2 quirky ideas. I need to look for specific books.
*I would love some book recommendations for the threatened authors.
I found lists of modern classics that are well known, and this list of 21st Century Classics:
Plus
I disagree that a well-known classic would be something on a high school reading list. In HS, I had American lit and British lit and that’s it. (My daughter had a completely different and more diverse reading list.) That leaves out some very well-known European authors like Dumas, Hugo, Hesse, Kafka, Solzhenitsyn, Cervantes, Pushkin, Chekhov, etc. Also, how do you define “well-known”? Well-known to the general public who haven’t read a book since HS or to active readers like GR members? Also, well-known in which country or region of the world? It could be an opportunity to find a classic that is well-known in South America or Asia but not as much in English-speaking countries. Or, an opportunity to find a classic that’s well known in its genre, sci-fi for example, like Asimov, PKD, Bradbury, and Clarke. I like the prompt of an author you feel you should’ve read by now. I don’t love the word “should” but I interpret it as an author you wonder why you haven’t read yet. I’m always interested in reading new-to-me authors and there are plenty still on my list! I’m not sure if I’ll vote for this one but only because the word “should” feels judgmental. I try not to get too bogged down with wording, though.
Mod
I love it... I thought I had always wanted to read Wallace Stegner, so I did this year for the teacher prompt and it was SO good! But ends up it was Walker Percy I wanted to read, so this prompt will take care of that!
Pam wrote: "I disagree that a well-known classic would be something on a high school reading list. In HS, I had American lit and British lit and that’s it. (My daughter had a completely different and more dive..."I agree on both points. There are many new-to-me authors I want to try out, so I'm not going to get hung up on the wording. I'm upvoting both of these. I also found lists with modern classics.
For #11, as some of you have noted the 2nd and 3rd book in a series derived from 2023. I should have posted:
A book that is the 2nd or 3rd in a series (2023)
That was what I posted last time and I think I was just in too much of a rush this time around! Those suggestions fill up so quickly!! :)
I legit can't think of an author I feel like I should read. I'm sure there's one out there and if it gets in I'll find something.
Pamela wrote: "Sue wrote: "For the King Tut prompt, it doesn't have to be something about Egypt. He reigned from age 9 to 19 or so it could be a book where a child is a leader. For those who love spooky Halloween...Or you could read a Steve Martin memoir!
LOL! Brilliant!!!
I've had the King Tut song in my head all morning, so thanks for that! :-D
Pam wrote: "Also, how do you define “well-known”? Well-known to the general public who haven’t read a book since HS or to active readers like GR members? Also, well-known in which country or region of the world?..."I wrestled with that a bit, too. I finally decided that - for me - it means "a book well-known by almost anyone in your country, including those people who have not read a book since high school." And that's why it becomes a book from a high school reading list, because that's how they heard of it. Maybe not from YOUR high school reading list, but A high school reading list. It would also include books made into popular movies, and books that have candy bars named after them ;-) But I'm not about to try to tackle The Three Musketeers because I'm still recovering from The Count of Monte Cristo, which I very much did NOT enjoy. (I know, unpopular opinion.)
A well-known book is a book that almost anyone in your community would be able to say "yes I've heard of that." Rebecca is well-known. Jamaica Inn is not well-known. The selection will change based on your community, so for someone in the Netherlands it will be a rather different list than for someone in the US.
6 up and 2 down this time. Lots of good choices. If the classic and/or author you should have read gets in, it may be time to read Les Miserables which has lurked on my TBR a long time.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage (other topics)Dear Enemy Jean Webster (other topics)
Dear Enemy Jean Webster (other topics)
Death Comes for the Archbishop (other topics)
Passing (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dudley Warner (other topics)Edward Lee (other topics)
Samin Nosrat (other topics)
Ruth Reichl (other topics)
Marcus Samuelsson (other topics)
More...
Voting will open in the morning of Thursday, August 25 and results will be posted in the morning of Monday, August 29 (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 from the NPR "Books We Love" lists
2. A book related to a chess piece
3. A book by an author who has been threatened, imprisoned or otherwise persecuted because of their work
4. A book related to King Tut
5. A book featuring a character who is engaged in a typically compassionate profession or career
6. An adventure book
7. A book that has an object that is repeated on the cover
8. A book with rock, paper or scissors on the cover
9. A book by an author who uses punctuation in their name
10. A book about words or language, or emphasizing the spoken word
11. A book that is the 2nd or 3rd in a series
12. A book related to "On the Road"
13. A book by an author you feel you should have read by now
14. A well-known classic book
15. A book that's unlike what you usually read
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/008N35/