Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2023] Poll 13 Voting
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1. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists
This is a resubmission from poll 10 and is meant to be for any year of the NPR list (going back to 2013). There is a huge variety of books there and includes fiction and nonfiction.
https://apps.npr.org/best-books/
2. A book by a writer honored by Elizabeth II
In recognition of the passing of Elizabeth II. This includes anyone honored by her in the British honours system or form her other honours systems such as Canada or Australia. for some examples see below:
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-noti...
3. A book involving journalism or journalists
The journalists can be characters, authors, or subjects of a non-fiction book. Or the book can be a memoir written by a journalist.
Journalism and journalist links:
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/jour...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/jour...
Paranormal fiction, romance, cozy mysteries with journalists, Female journalists, foreign correspondents.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
4. A book set during the Roaring Twenties
The 1920's might be also referred to as the Jazz Age, Harlem Renaissance, Lost Generation, or Prohibition.
Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Fiction and non-fiction:
https://booklistqueen.com/books-about...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/jazz...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://bookriot.com/books-set-in-the...
5. A book related to "The Five Love Languages"
the languages and some ideas are:
1. words of affirmation
- a motivational book
- a book featuring an act of kindness
2. acts of service
- a book with a character in the service industry
- a book featuring a sacrifice act
3. receiving gifts
- a book where presents are received
- a book where someone receives a talent/ability
4. quality time
- a closed room mystery
- a book where characters plan a getaway
5. physical touch
- a book about someone in isolation
- a romance
and of course, one of the actual Five Love Languages books
9. A book including a female athlete
With so many great female athletes retiring this year (Sue Bird, Serena Williams, Allyson Felix, Sylvia Fowler), a book including a female athlete. This could be fiction or non-fiction. There are several highly rated biographies of female athletes out there. Or it could be a book that includes any fictional character who is an athlete.
Female athlete lists and genre: https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8...
Here are some listopias for female athletes:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
And some good articles:
https://bookauthority.org/books/best-...
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/...
10. A book about someone who has been “banished”
Thrown out of their family, company, adventurer party.
Self banishment aka strike out on their own
From society because of misdeed or framed
11. A book where one of the senses plays an important part
The book should be one where the use of one of the senses is important to the story (fiction) or discussion (non-fiction). Since this is not intended to be a title prompt, the sense words are not necessarily in the title. Some potential sources — NOTE: not all books on these lists necessarily fulfill the intent of the prompt, but it is your decision on how to use the prompt anyway:
Sight:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Sound:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Smell:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Taste:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Touch:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
And IF you choose to include the 6th sense:
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
13. A book where a battle takes place
To battle! Could be in a marriage, an actual war, a contest
15. A book using the word "wife" or "daughter" in the title
There are many to choose from existing lists and these don't include any of the last few years:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
The Queen started The Order of Canada for Canada's centennial. (1967). It has three levels. If we just look at the highest level, there are several writers:Hugh MacLennan
Gabrielle Roy
Robertson Davies
Anne Hébert
P. K. Page
Pierre Berton
Margaret Laurence
Mordecai Richler
Leonard Cohen
Carol Shields
Margaret Atwood
Michael Ondaatje
John Ralston Saul
Yann Martel
I'm sure there are similar lists in most Commonwealth countries.
I really like several of these.I'll definitely be upvoting:
2. A book by a writer honored by Queen Elizabeth II — both to honor the Queen, and to try out a new author. Also, it seems like it could be considered a painless list prompt.
7. A book that could be used for at least five of the 2023 challenge prompts — I like this one a LOT. I always have a few books I want to read for a single prompt and can't decide which one to pick, and also have some books that can fit several prompts and can't decide where to put them. This prompt solves the problem for at least 5 prompts and 1 book!
One book that I already know could be used for this prompt is The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. I have it under 1) ATY Best Books of the Month 2022-2023, 2) Cover with 4 or more colors, 3) Cover with a repeated object, 4) Geometric shape related, and 5) Ghost, Spirit, etc. As we add more prompts there may be more places this could fit!
11. A book where one of the senses plays an important part — my own prompt, yes, but I like it because I feel like sometimes I don't pay enough attention to some of my senses, especially smell/scent. I think reading a book that focuses on a sense could really make me feel more like I am IN the book.
Once again one downvote “NPR” I get we need a list prompt but NPR really doesn’t float my boat otherwise all ups: Queen honours
More than 7
Named chapters
Five other prompts
Battle
Journalism
Female athlete
I'm thrilled that NPR, 20s, and holiday (Christmas) have come back for another vote!I wish the athelete one had been kept the same as it was a previously - a book with a character who is an athelete. The female qualifier makes it too restrictive, imo.
I appreciate the idea of honoring Queen Elizabeth but no one on the honored authors list is of interest to me. I've tried researching to see if there are additional authors beyond this list and those mentioned in the Wild Discussion but find it a difficult and confusing prompt to research.
"Wife" and "daughter" is so incredibly simple that I really don't much of an opinion about it one way or another. I can do it if it gets voted in but I certainly wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't.
dalex wrote: "I've tried researching to see if there are additional authors beyond this list and those mentioned in the Wild Discussion but find it a difficult and confusing prompt to research..."I was trying to help NancyJ with a list and it is very frustrating that there's not a nice website that lists everyone who has been honoured. Artur Conan Doyle was knighted pre-Elizabeth but is on the list provided as examples, so you can't even rely on that one.
I think the Listopia will be very useful for the ´authors honored by the Queen’ prompt. I am aware of some that are authors I personally have an interest in . I like this prompt both for the timeliness and because the list seems to cover authors who wrote in a wide variety of genres Terry Prachett
Salman Rushdie
Agatha Christie
Philip Pullman
Graham Green
J K Rowling
P G Wodehouse
This seems to be an official list of honors but it's confusing so I might be wrong:https://www.gov.uk/honours/types-of-h...
Companion of Honour list (can use anyone after 1952): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
A book set during the Roaring Twenties The 1920's might be also referred to as the Jazz Age, Harlem Renaissance, Lost Generation, or Prohibition.
Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Fiction and non-fiction:
https://booklistqueen.com/books-about...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/jazz...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://bookriot.com/books-set-in-the...
If someone has written a memoir does that make them a writer? There are a number of people who were honored by the Queen for other things but also have written books. Elton John and Marcus Rashford spring to mind but I'm sure there are a lot more.
Ellie wrote: "dalex wrote: "I've tried researching to see if there are additional authors beyond this list and those mentioned in the Wild Discussion but find it a difficult and confusing prompt to research..."..."
The listopia has many well known authors, and we can add more later. I'm tagging them all to make them easier to input into the ATY listopia when it wins.
Mahi wrote: "This seems to be an official list of honors but it's confusing so I might be wrong:https://www.gov.uk/honours/types-of-h......"
There are PDF downloads for each year but it takes forever to go through them.
Kat wrote: "If someone has written a memoir does that make them a writer? There are a number of people who were honored by the Queen for other things but also have written books. Elton John and Marcus Rashford..."If it's not ghostwritten, sure they count as writers.
dalex wrote: "I wish the athelete one had been kept the same as it was a previously - a book with a character who is an athelete. The female qualifier makes it too restrictive, imo."Agreed, that was mine when it was just a main character. I was planning to resubmit in another round or too.
I like the idea of wife or daughter in the title but again, a bit restrictive. Plus I am on a self-imposed title ban.
For the Queen Elizabeth one I'd probably do a Sherlock Holmes, all of the discussion about that prompt made me realized I've never read any of his books. I've read all of the most well known Christie books already.
For senses, I have a book sitting on my physical shelf that would fit perfectly, and I'd be happy to finally get to that.
Definitely voting for NPR.
Nancy wrote: "For the Queen Elizabeth one I'd probably do a Sherlock Holmes..."It's up to you how you do the prompt but Doyle was knighted by King Edward VII in 1902, not Elizabeth.
Oh. Well burst my bubble, Ellie, lol. I was just looking at a list that said knighted authors and wasn't really paying attention to who knighted them. I'm only halfway through my coffee!I'll still vote for it and use someone that QE actually honored.
Nancy wrote: "Oh. Well burst my bubble, Ellie, lol. I was just looking at a list that said knighted authors and wasn't really paying attention to who knighted them. I'm only halfway through my coffee!.."Sorry! I am guilty of putting him on the listopia yesterday, I only had a realisation today that the dates didn't add up.
NancyJ wrote: "The listopia has many well known authors, and we can add more later. "Can you share the link for the listopia, please? I can't find it.
The Queen prompt could be quite restrictive but I see Agatha Christie on there so that is enough for me to vote for it, lol. If this prompt doesn't make it you can spin others to relate to QEII such as the chess piece or popular names.I really love 'A book that could be used for at least five of the 2023 challenge prompts' - I always find there is a book that fits soo many prompts for a given year so this will be a fun way to decide where to put it!
There isn't much in here I would be opposed to, except for female athlete, maybe. That one seems a bit tricky.
Ellie wrote: "Kat wrote: "If someone has written a memoir does that make them a writer? There are a number of people who were honored by the Queen for other things but also have written books. Elton John and Mar..."As of now, I think the list is limited to those who were honored for their service to literature. So far I only found two writers on Mahi's list that weren't in the article or on the Canadian list. Their books weren't familiar to me.
I added Leonard Cohen's books (mostly poetry), but I don't know if he was honored for literature or music. Two poetry readers said they started with him, and I love his songs, so I will.
Ellie wrote: "Honours listopia (I think I deleted of all Doyle's...)https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."
Thanks Ellie. I marked the lists too. I'll alphabetize the list later.
Actually I don't have time to alphabetize the lists, unless I do it by title and first name. sorry.
Personally, I think it would be fine if the author who was honored happened to have been honored for something else besides their book(s). I believe the prompt was worded in a way that would be open to that, intentionally or not. It was more to the point that Queen Elizabeth II had honored them, and since we read, we should read a book by one of those people.
Great list, Ellie, thank you for compiling it, and all who contributed, it's most helpful :)
Ellie wrote: "Honours listopia (I think I deleted of all Doyle's...)https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."
Thank you so much Ellie! And I double checked, you DID remove all the Doyle listings.
In doing that I also discovered that you can add comments/have conversations in a Listopia, which I had never noticed before :)
I missed the whole nomination process. Oh well, this set is likely to be lots of down votes. I will be up voting the NPR prompt.
I created a tag list so that we can quickly populate the new ATY listopia later on. If you use this tag, it will save us time later. I'll update it when the voting is done. Tag: "Authors-honoured-by-the-queen" (edited for British spelling).
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Listopia;
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Is there a clever and quick way to search for authors who have published more than seven books?
Any lists or articles that have books with chapters that are named? This is one of the ideas that is currently a downvote for me because I would have to possibly stumble across a book that would work.
@Nadine n NY - I tried googling, no luck. If you have a particular author in mind just go to their author page and count. If not, you could start here on this Genre shelf for prolific authors: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Question for the OP of the 7 books prompt.Riley Sager has only published 6 books as Riley Sager. But he did publish 3 under his real name, and 1 under another pseudonym. Would he count? Or do all 7 books have to be published under the same name?
I love a lot of these!!A book by a writer honored by Queen Elizabeth II
A book including a female athlete
A book set during a holiday
I always try to read at least one Halloween book and a few with winter holidays
A book whose author has published more than 7 (2+0+2+3) books
I have so much Shusterman on my shelf I need to read
There is only one prompt I really don't like.
Happy voting friends
Journalism links from the suggestion page. " A book involving journalism or journalists."
The journalists can be characters, authors, or subjects of a non-fiction book. Or the book can be a memoir written by a journalist.
Journalism and journalist links:
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/jour...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/jour...
I don't know what the NPR-list is, I guess it's a list known in the USA so I wonder if someone will be so kind to explain it to me? I'm not familiar with the expression "The Five Loves", where does it come from? Thank you 🙂
More journalist books. Journalists in Paranormal fiction --https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
Journalists in Cozy Mysteries --
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
Journalists in Romance Novels --
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Female journalists, foreign correspondents --
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Nike wrote: "I don't know what the NPR-list is, I guess it's a list known in the USA so I wonder if will someone be so kind to explain it to me? I'm not familiar with the expression "The Five Loves", where does..."It's about ten year's worth of book recommendations from NPR which I believe is a public service radio station. Sometimes it redirects people outside the US the first time they visit the link mentioned above, if that happens, once you've accepted the cookie message, come back and retry the link.
Ellie wrote: "Nike wrote: "I don't know what the NPR-list is, I guess it's a list known in the USA so I wonder if will someone be so kind to explain it to me? I'm not familiar with the expression "The Five Loves..."Thank you so much for your explanation! I had no idea that it was a radio station. 🙂
RachelG. wrote: "Any lists or articles that have books with chapters that are named? This is one of the ideas that is currently a downvote for me because I would have to possibly stumble across a book that would work."The 52 Book Club challenge had a chapters with titles prompt this year: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
For Nancy, who asked about Leonard Cohen. I had to dig. There are 3 levels of the Order of Canada. Some people get put in the lowest order and then get promoted. Or you can be put automatically in the middle order or highest order. They release normally a short statement saying why someone is getting put in the order or promoted.When Leonard Cohen was put in the middle order, the Governor General (the Queen's representative in Canada) wrote in 1991:
Poet, singer-songwriter and novelist, he is one of the most popular and influential writers of his generation whose work has been critically acclaimed throughout the world and has made Canadian literature familiar to readers abroad. Images of beauty, despair, outrage and tenderness are found in his lyrical poetry and prose, whose themes of love, loss and loneliness touch a universal chord in us all.
However, when he was promoted to the highest order in 2003, the Governor General (who was a different Governor General) wrote:
Known for his striking imagery and evocative descriptions of the human condition, Leonard Cohen has the distinction of creating a body of work that has remained contemporary and significant through three decades of shifting musical and aesthetic tastes. His 1992 album, The Future, introduced his poetic style to a new generation of listeners. In 2001, he released his 12th album, Ten New Songs. It soared to the top of the charts, reaching gold and platinum sales in Canada and in several other countries. His continued popularity confirms his status as a Canadian icon and a venerated dean of the pop culture movement. This is a promotion within the Order.
So, take your pick. Originally, he was called a writer, but when promoted, he was a musician.
Ellie wrote: "Honours listopia (I think I deleted of all Doyle's...)https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."
Yikes, that’s a really limited selection of authors! (And apparently the Queen didn’t like sci-fi and fantasy haha.)
I think the “banished” prompt is especially good for non-fiction, if banished also includes exiled. One book that comes to mind is The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero by Timothy Egan. There’s a Listopia for Popular Exile Books on GR, that might work. I can’t remember if Ayla was banished in Clan of the Cave Bears. The issue I have with using fiction is that the banishment could be a spoiler, unless it’s a book titled Banished!
Yes @Nike and @Ellie - NPR stands for National Public Radio. It’s not exactly a radio “station”, but an organizing body with “member stations” that all help pay for shared reporting services, essentially. Each station does on-air and online fundraisers and then uses the money to subscribe to the NPR programming that their particular audience is interested in. Some is news based (usually long form), some is topical (like Science Friday, or a long running interview show with Terry Gross called Fresh Air). There’s always something interesting to listen to, and because it’s publicly funded (those fundraisers I mentioned, and for now, a small amount of government funding) there are no commercials. It’s the only radio I listen to! And because it has member stations all over the country, I can pick it up most places, unless there’s just no reception - I just have to figure out the frequency in that area. They are so popular, and the programming is almost all long form, so there is even a term for getting home and staying in your car to finish listening to the story. It’s called a “Driveway Moment”.
dalex wrote: "Yikes, that’s a really limited selection of authors! (And apparently the Queen didn’t like sci-fi and fantasy haha.).."I think generally people get nominated for it first, and it's usually for services to something rather than writing a really good book. Shows how amazing Terry Pratchett was to get knighted writing fantasy.
Nike wrote: "Ellie wrote: "Nike wrote: "I don't know what the NPR-list is, I guess it's a list known in the USA so I wonder if will someone be so kind to explain it to me? I'm not familiar with the expression "..."NPR stands for National Public Radio. I listen to it regularly (in the US). One of the things I like about it is has a lot international stories. They reporters based all over the world, have an hour or two hour segment devoted to international stories every day. In my view, NPR reports from a neutral perspective... just the facts.
Mod
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts is an American book from 1990 but I imagine it has been published elsewhere and translated into other languages. The basic concept is that people have different ways of perceiving and expressing love. If one person really values gifts, cards, etc. and the other thinks those are silly and that the main thing is to get things done around the house, there is a mismatch. Neither is wrong but it's like speaking a different language. After the book was a hit, the author wrote other books relating to parents & children, friends, coworkers, etc.
The 5 languages are
Physical Touch
Verbal Affirmations
Quality Time
Acts of Service
Gifts
For me, I don't really care about getting flowers and cards, seems like a waste of money. But when my husband fixes something that makes my life easier, I am thrilled.
Because this covers so many areas, many books could be made to fit.
as usual I'm kind of meh. will downvote love languages, roaring twenties (2nd time downvoting), and holiday. I'm mostly neutral on the others. Named chapters was just used in either 52 books or ATY so there's a list already, but I'm also kind of over it from just doing it. Holiday is also being used this year and I struggled hard with it because I don't like lognt hearted books. I doubt I could find another book I won't dnf.
Jaime wrote: "RachelG. wrote: "Any lists or articles that have books with chapters that are named? This is one of the ideas that is currently a downvote for me because I would have to possibly stumble across a b..."Thank you Jaime!
ETA- There are actually a lot of books that I think I would enjoy on this list. Not planning to downvote the prompt anymore.
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Voting will open in the afternoon of Monday, September 12 and results will be posted in the morning of Friday, September 16 (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
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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.
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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 by a writer honored by Queen Elizabeth II
3. A book involving journalism or journalists
4. A book set during the Roaring Twenties
5. A book related to "The Five Love Languages"
6. A book where the chapters are named
7. A book that could be used for at least five of the 2023 challenge prompts
8. A book that involves a nomadic lifestyle
9. A book including a female athlete
10. A book about someone who has been “banished”
11. A book where one of the senses plays an important part
12. A book set during a holiday
13. A book where a battle takes place
14. A book whose author has published more than 7 (2+0+2+3) books
15. A book using the word "wife" or "daughter" in the title
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/AUE5HE/