Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Archives
>
[2023] Keep it Simple (KIS) or Bring it on (BIO) Group Collab List
4+ colors:BIO - all the colors of the rainbow.
KIS - 4 shades of the same base color ex: green could be sage, Hunter, olive and emerald.
4+ colours:KIS - black, grey, and white all count as colours.
I have never thought of trying to make the list harder than just finding books that fit the prompts, which tend to be challenging enough. Oddly enough by the suggestions listed, I tend to KIS because I read a lot of middle grade but BIO because I usually only read library books (mainly because I am too cheap to buy them.)
I have also been working on reading at least all of the Newbury award winners. Good idea to see if any of them fit these prompts.
Michelle wrote: "I have never thought of trying to make the list harder than just finding books that fit the prompts, which tend to be challenging enough. Oddly enough by the suggestions listed, I tend to KIS bec..."
@Michelle, I can't speak for anyone else but I personally dislike the really open prompts that I have hundreds of options for because they're really overwhelming to narrow down, so I really appreciate the BIO options for those prompts. I go through my TBR for every prompt and my sweet spot is when I have 5-10 books that solidly fit the prompt.
The list is all caught up to here! I will try to get the next batch listed later today. We are moving through these a lot faster than I thought we would. Great job everyone!
And here is our next batch!26. A book with an interracial relationship
Baseline: “In honor of the 60th anniversary of MLK's I Have Dream speech and his hope "little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." read a book with an interracial relationship (love, friendship, family)”
27. A book related to a chess piece
Baseline: The chess pieces are: The Pawn, The Knight, The Bishop, The Rook. The Queen, The King
28. A book that has an object that is repeated on the cover
Baseline: No explanation given
29. A book by an author with a first name popular in 1923
Baseline: “Some American examples include: John, Mary, Frank, Dorothy, Virginia, Richard. This will naturally vary by country, so feel free to look at other countries as well!”
30. A book about a person/character with a disability
Baseline: No explanation given
For popular names:KIS: the popular name is anywhere in the author's name. For example: Maureen JOHNson Maureen Johnson
BIO: there is a popular name in both their first and last name. For example, Elizabeth Johnson, Mary Richards, John Williams.
30. A book about a person/character with a disabilityBaseline: No explanation given
BIO: #ownvoices author with same disability
All below are BIO: Chess piece: must be in the title, must actually involve chess.
Popular name: must be the most popular name according to at least one list.
The following KIS:
Interracial relationship: counts if race is not brought I.E the fact the friends are different races isn’t commented or drive the plot it just happens
interracial relationshipKIS - read something written by Martin Luther King (since he inspired the prompt)
Alicia wrote: "For popular names:KIS: the popular name is anywhere in the author's name. For example: Maureen JOHNson Maureen Johnson
BIO: there is a popular name in both their first and last na..."
Love having popular names in the first AND last names! I might use that one!
Laurel wrote: "30. A book about a person/character with a disabilityBaseline: No explanation given
BIO: #ownvoices author with same disability"
As a person with a disability I very much appreciate this one. Having a person who hasn't directly experienced a disability write a character with one can be......frustrating.
Thomas wrote: "Interracial relationship: counts if race is not brought I.E the fact the friends are different races isn’t commented or drive the plot it just happens..."Very helpful for middle grade books that show the characters on the cover! It can be difficult to know if a book is going to specifically address race before you read it. This helps a lot!
KIS for A book by an author with a first name popular in 1923: use last names instead of first names. For example:Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams (for William)
Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson (for Robert)
The Last by Hanna Jameson (for James)
The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (for John)
The list is caught up to here! Could a KIS for object repeated on the cover by a letter in the title or authors name?
A BIO could be that the object repeats multiple times (5, 10, 20, etc)
A Popular Name BIO - use a name popular in another country that year (extra BIO - use an author born in that country)
Character with a disability
BIO - a memoir of a person with a disability
Interracial relationship:
- a book with multiple interracial relationships (friends, marriage, familial, etc)
KIS for A book related to a chess piece: use an unusual chess piece such as: The Minister
The Elephant
The Camel
The Man
The Princess
The Empress
The Amazon
from this article (which someone else shared somewhere): https://www.chess.com/article/view/10...
dalex wrote: "KIS for A book related to a chess piece: use an unusual chess piece such as: The Minister
The Elephant
The Camel
The Man
The Princess
The Empress
The Amazon
from this article (which someone else ..."
Very interesting dalex. I had forgotten that conversation! Thank you! Adding it now.
Alicia wrote: "For popular names:KIS: the popular name is anywhere in the author's name. For example: Maureen JOHNson Maureen Johnson
BIO: there is a popular name in both their first and last na..."
I love this KIS and I may well use it.
It's that time again! Here is what is up for discussion today!31. A book nominated for an award beginning with W
Baseline: Women’s Prize for Fiction, Wolfson History Prize, Wainwright Prize, Walter Scott Prize, Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children's Literature, etc
32. A book related to a geometric shape
Baseline: Shape can be a word in the title, a shape depicted on the cover, the setting (Pentagon, Times Square), Topic (love triangle, closed circle mystery), shape related place (football field, baseball diamond, drum circle)
33. A novella
Baseline: Wikipedia definition: A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories.
34. A book related to a ghost, spirit, phantom, or specter
Baseline: title, cover, character, etc (actual beings or “ghosts of our past, or spirits that guide us”
35. A book with a tropical setting
Baseline: This could be an actual tropical location near the equator (between 23 degree North and 23 degrees South latitudes), between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Or a futuristic book about climate change. Or an especially hot period or event in history ( e.g. drought, heat wave, huge forest fire.)
BIO for W award: only counts if it had a W name at the time
Geometric shape - awards and publishersNational Book Critics Circle Award
Publishing Triangle Award
Publishing Triangle 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Novels
Clarke Award (logo is triangle inside a circle)
Golden Kite Award
Newbury Award (the winner receives a circular bronze medal)
books published by Washington Square Press or Hanover Square Press or Sphere
https://www.bookcritics.org/awards/
https://publishingtriangle.org/awards...
https://publishingtriangle.org/awards...
https://publishingtriangle.org/best-l...
https://clarkeaward.com/
https://www.scbwi.org/awards/golden-k...
https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants...
Thomas wrote: "BIO for W award: only counts if it had a W name at the time"For example, the Women's Prize for Fiction
known as the Orange Prize from 1996-2012, the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2013, the Baileys Prize from 2014-2016, and the Women’s Prize for Fiction (again) beginning in 2017
I still think of it as the Orange Prize.
Thomas wrote: "BIO for W award: only counts if it had a W name at the time"Very good point Thomas! KIS might be won an award that later changed it's name to begin with W?
Another BIO, the award has never changed it's name
dalex wrote: "Geometric shape - awards and publishersNational Book Critics Circle Award
Publishing Triangle Award
Publishing Triangle 100 Best Lesbian and Gay Novels
Clarke Award (logo is triangle inside a cir..."
Great ideas. I'd never considered awards as options. I'm putting that option in as a BIO
31. A book nominated for an award beginning with WBIO: Use an award you've never heard of before
32. A book related to a geometric shape
BIO: Shape must be in title or on cover and also significant to the plot/subject (e.g. The Decagon House Murders)
33. A novella
KIS: Any book or story you can read in a single sitting
KIS: Read a short story related to true or apparently true facts (original Italian meaning of novella)
BIO: An award-winning novella (Wikipedia list of prizes with novella word counts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novella...)
BIO: Read The Decameron (one of the earliest literary sources for the form, consisting of 100 tales)
BIO: Read the German definition of the form (a fictional narrative of any length restricted to a single, suspenseful event, usually with an unexpected twist)
Yes, I did have a whole lot of fun reading the Wikipedia article on novellas :-) I got nothin' for ghosts or tropics though.
Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "31. A book nominated for an award beginning with WBIO: Use an award you've never heard of before
32. A book related to a geometric shape
BIO: Shape must be in title or on cover and also significa..."
All great additions to the list Amy. Thanks! I will add them to the main thread shortly!
NovellaBIO - read a classic, literary or translated novella
BIzo - read a novella with a reputation for being dense or challenging masterpiece. (eg The Hour Of the Star by Clarice Lespector.)
Tropics
BIO read a book about an exploration set in the rainforests of South America
BIO read a colonial book set in the Tropics
BIO read a book set in the tropics by an author from that region.
KIS read a book set on a fictional island (with an unknown location)
31, read a book nominated for a W award.BIO read a book that was a finalist (or shortlisted) for a W award
BIO read a book that WON a W award
35. Tropical - I just noticed that the baseline description is incorrect. That’s not the version we voted on. (This was my prompt.) I can’t cut and paste here, but I’ll get it when I’m on my laptop.)
Not sure if this is KIS. I read that a novella is 100-200 pages. You can sort your TBR list on Goodreads by number of pages. Pick any book between these limits.
NancyJ wrote: "31, read a book nominated for a W award.BIO read a book that was a finalist (or shortlisted) for a W award
BIO read a book that WON a W award
35. Tropical - I just noticed that the baseline desc..."
If you could find that for me, that would be great. I couldn't find an actual quote so I wrote something up based on discussions I remember from the voting and results threads.
Dubhease wrote: "Not sure if this is KIS. I read that a novella is 100-200 pages. You can sort your TBR list on Goodreads by number of pages. Pick any book between these limits."Great KIS option. There isn't a consistent definition of what a novella is. Some places say it's page count, some say word count, some places are very specific about the story structure itself being more important than length.....it's a confusing mess honestly. If I can't find a book that specifically labels itself "A Novella" (ex. The Third Wish: A Novella) , I will use any book that is between 100 and 250 pages. I do not have the time to stress over semantics! :)
Mod
This could be an actual tropical location near the equator (between 23 degree North and 23 degrees South latitudes), between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Or a comparably hot location elsewhere or in the future.
The tropics cover about 40% of the earth, including all of Southeast Asia, most of Central and South America, Equatorial Africa (at least half the continent), The Caribbean, and half of India and Australia.
Emily wrote: "This is what was posted on the Poll 12 voting thread for tropical setting:This could be an actual tropical location near the equator (between 23 degree North and 23 degrees South latitudes), betw..."
Thank you Emily. I will cut and paste this to the list.
List is updated through to this post
28. A book that has an object that is repeated on the coverKIS - The repeated object does not need to be identical. It could be many different flowers or many different shoes, etc.
Has it been two days already? Here we go again!36. A book with an unusually large version of an animal in the story
Baseline: can be a very large version of an everyday animal (Great Dane, Maine Coon Cat, etc) or a fictionally giant creature (Clifford the Big Red Dog, King Kong, etc)
37. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists
Baseline: “is meant to be for any year of the NPR list (going back to 2013)”
38. A book whose author has published more than 7 books
Baseline: greater than 7 (2+0+2+3) books
39. A book related to the arts
Baseline: No explanation given
40. A book with a con, deception, or fake
Baseline: Con Artists & Hustlers, Books about scams or that were themselves scams, fraud & theft, fake news, fake dating, etc
ladymurmur wrote: "28. A book that has an object that is repeated on the coverKIS - The repeated object does not need to be identical. It could be many different flowers or many different shoes, etc."
Got it!
Updated to here
KIS for "A book with an unusually large version of an animal in the story" - a book with a large animal which isn't necessarily an abnormal variant of the usual (ie an elephant is just big whereas Clifford is an extraorinarily large version of a dog)Another KIS for the animal prompt - a book with any big alive thing, like a bioship or a dragon.
KIS for recipe prompt include number digits
36. A book with an unusually large version of an animal in the storyBIO: The book is chiefly about the unusually large animal
37. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists
BIO: A book you found from browsing the NPR lists
38. A book whose author has published more than 7 books
BIO: A book whose author has published ONLY 7 books
KIS: A book whose author has been published more than 7 times (any type of publication or media)
39. A book related to the arts
KIS: Free space. All books are related to the arts by virtue of being books.
40. A book with a con, deception, or fake
BIO: A book that is itself a con, a deception, or a fake (e.g. A Million Little Pieces)
8. A Book With A Full Name in the TitlePossible KIS: The book belongs to a series with a full name in the series title.
Dubhease wrote: "KIS for 36 - include dragons"Or dinosaurs! Maybe I'll get to The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World this year!
dalex wrote: "KIS for "A book with an unusually large version of an animal in the story" - a book with a large animal which isn't necessarily an abnormal variant of the usual (ie an elephant is just big whereas ..."Bioships....love that idea!
We are so close to finishing the KIS/BIO list. I will be working on compiling the info for the last batch of prompts today. They will be posted on the 13th (hopefully!) For today we have:41. A western
Baseline: No explanation given
42. A book found by inputting a favorite author on www.literature-map.com
Baseline: https://www.literature-map.com/
43. A book related to one of the Spice Girls' "personalities"
Baseline: The Spice Girls’ Personalities are: Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh, and Sporty
44. A book with a cover or title that includes a route of travel
Baseline: No explanation given
45. A second book that fits your favorite prompt
Baseline: No explanation given
BIO for Spice Girls - anything other than something with "baby" in the title for Baby Spice or a horror/thriller/mystery for Scary Spice
41. A westernBaseline: No explanation given
KIS: has western tropes but is set somewhere else (e.g., Australia) or in a modern setting (e.g., contemporary cowboy romance)
BIO: has tropes, location and time period of a traditional western
This is belated, but I thought of a KIS for "A book published in 2023": As long as any edition of the book you read was published in 2023 (including foreign editions, audiobooks, etc), it counts.
"A book found by inputting a favorite author on www.literature-map.com" BIO: Pick an author you've never heard of from the map generated.
BIO: Click through two degrees of separation (input favorite author, then click an author on their map to get a new map, and choose a third author from that second map to read a book from)
"A book with a cover or title that includes a route of travel"
I honestly don't really understand this one. Is it a route you'd find on a map like Highway 66? Is it any place someone can get from one place to another, like a river, or the sky in an airplane? Or would the airplane be the route of travel in that case?
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Grilled and Seasoned With Murder (other topics)The Fifth Season (other topics)
The Hour of the Star (other topics)
The Decameron (other topics)
A Million Little Pieces (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Maureen Johnson (other topics)Candice Carty-Williams (other topics)
Imogen Robertson (other topics)
Hanna Jameson (other topics)
Adam Johnson (other topics)
More...
KIS: A book that has been translated to other languages
BIO: Read a book translated from a language you know nothing about
A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2022 or 2023
BIO: A book posted the month or year you plan to read it
A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the list this year
KIS: Include books that were discussed or suggested but not seconded
BIO: Read a book that was in the bottom of that week's poll
A book with 4 or more colors on the cover
KIS: Count grayscale (shades of grey)