Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2024] Poll 17 Voting
dalex wrote: "Amanda wrote: "A book with a trial or with a legal term in the title - down. Again, rare in a lot of genres and I don't like legal thrillers."You absolutely do not have to read a legal thriller. ..."
I did find one in my TBR shelf called Can't Spell Treason Without Tea that I would probably use. And once I actually thought about it, I do have Hester which could be counted as a trial? Maybe. I haven't read it yet lol
The American Library Association just came out with its Top 10 list of most challenged books for the year and A Court of Mist and Fury, which fits for the court/legal term prompt is on the list. If that prompt gets in, I’ll be reading the first book in that series, which also fits the prompt, and plan to get to the one I’ve linked to. I usually add a personal challenge to focus on certain books during my year, and in 2024 I’m going to fit as many of the books on ALA’s list into my ATY as I can.
Amanda wrote: "dalex wrote: "Amanda wrote: "A book with a trial or with a legal term in the title - down. Again, rare in a lot of genres and I don't like legal thrillers."You absolutely do not have to read a le..."
I just added the Treason Without Tea to my tbr. Thanks for mentioning it!
Emily wrote: "No, I'd say celebrity or media means it has to be either hosted by a celebrity (Reese, Oprah) or a media group (Good Housekeeping, GMA)."I would count Obama as a celebrity too.
Shannon SA wrote: "And I fourth Nike's comment! :))"Fifth it! Amazing job, mods!
MJ wrote: "The American Library Association just came out with its Top 10 list of most challenged books for the year and A Court of Mist and Fury, which fits for the court/legal term prompt is..."MJ Why do you think it's challenged so much?
Four up, four down.Up: wild animal, reflect/recharge, Summertime Blues, travel.
Down: last line, three generations, Greek letters, celebrity book club.
The reflect/recharge list is so good that I'm saving it to use whether the prompt gets in or not.
If celebrity book club gets in, I'll turn to Obama.
Mod
Judy wrote: "MJ wrote: "The American Library Association just came out with its Top 10 list of most challenged books for the year and A Court of Mist and Fury, which fits for the court/legal ter..."One of the GR reviews I skimmed through called it “erotica for children.” That’s my guess as to why. This book isn’t a genre I usually read, but challenged books instantly catch my attention, so I will at least read the first book and go from there. Given that I work in the library field, I also feel obligated to read books out of my comfort zone.
I'm working all weekend, so I probably won't upvote a prompt that requires any research, or seems too narrow. UPVOTES
11. A book involving travel - YES. Always.
6. A hot book, or a book with a hot topic - Yes, to hot topics in the news. I always like investigative books by journalists
15. A cultural book - Yes. I want to read as many countries as I can next year.
3. A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover - Probably Yes - it fits travel interests
Neutral leaning up
4. A book that helps you reflect or recharge -I liked this list before.
13. A book with a trial or with a legal term in the title - I like the idea, but need a list. Possible Upvote
Probable downvotes
7. A book title that seemingly refers to one or more characters in the book - neutral or down
8. A book connected to one of the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet - probably no
Neutral
14. A book that takes place in two centuries -
12. A book featured on a list for a media or celebrity book club - I like the broadest interpretation of this, but not the narrow interpretation
9. A book you can read in 24 hours
5. A book that features at least three generations of a family
10. A book suggested by the phrase “Summertime Blues”
Emily wrote: "Totally agree with the reflect/recharge list, Dixie. It's a shame we couldn't just have used it as a list prompt this year... there are so many good books on that list!"I just ordered three, and put in a Search for one that seems to have vanished off the face of the earth.
I’m sorted for book club (although I still hope it doesn’t get in) so I just need to sort out Greek letters and I’m done
KP wrote: "A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover.Note: Endangered species can be plants, animals, and other forms of life.
Article summarizing extincti..."
I love these lists and I'm really hoping that this prompt will make it. Upvote for me.
Rachel wrote: "First impressions (not a great batch for me, unfortunately): .."
Rachel. do you like books set in other countries, or books about subgroups in your own town or country, including immigrants? Beartown, My Sister is a Serial Killer, The Island of Sea Women, Joy Luck Club, Sing Buried Sing, are all cultural books. I want to travel and understand how other cultures do things. Novels are more entertaining than textbooks so I like this genre.
Do you like books that reveal how your own culture and way of living is changing? Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, and essayists such as Roxane Gay tell us how the rules of conduct are changing in our country, how we communicate, date, interact etc.
After the suggestions yesterday I was disappointed because my suggestion was too late to get in. Now I see it made the list, so I hope people will vote for it.
2 up, 6 downI upvoted the Greek alphabet (because I love a good scavenger hunt) and Trial/legal term (because I should have been a layer or forensic accountant)
My downvotes were just prompts that I wasn’t enthusiastic about and some of my neutrals surprised me when it came time to select.
Here’s to two winners!
Nike wrote: "Jillian wrote: "Maybe we could have a new discussion thread- The Wild Discussion Off-Season."Yes! 🥂🍾📚🍵📒☕📗🥤📙🍹📘🧃📕🫖📚"
Absolutely. The Wild Discussion can be difficult to follow but I like the idea of having everything in one place instead of having to hunt around for whatever thread something might be in. (I'm so grateful that most of the internet has evolved from this archaic format that Goodreads seems very unwilling to change.)
Judy wrote: "MJ wrote: "The American Library Association just came out with its Top 10 list of most challenged books for the year and A Court of Mist and Fury, which fits for the court/legal ter..."they put that series in ya when it should really be a new adult title since it contains explicit content.
many publishers don't have a new adult book line. it's still relatively new.
I really hope Cultural gets in. My irl book club really loves cultural books. Beartown and Snowflower were two of our favorite books last year. We read or nominated all these cultural books: Purple Hibiscus
Salt Houses
The Island of Sea Women
The Air You Breathe
The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri -also Fits Hot Book.
The Space Between Us
Song of a Captive Bird
The Girl with the Golden Scissors
Burial Rites
Anatomy: A Love Story
The Direction of the Wind
The Night Tiger
We haven't finalized the last list. If any of these books are very violent can you let me know?
Possibilities for this vote.
**A Cultural Book
*4. A book that helps you reflect or recharge
5. A book that features at least three generations of a family
*6. A hot book, or a book with a hot topic
8. A book connected to one of the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet
*10. A book suggested by the phrase “Summertime Blues”
11. A book involving travel
*12. A book featured on a list for a media or celebrity book club
possibly Wild Animals
I like the idea of a great last line, because I've seen 'great opening line' as a prompt a lot, but never last line. And as far as I'm concerned, if I read a book, think it has a great last line, and tell someone that it has a great last line, then it will 'known to have' a great last line (It doesn't say by how many people it has to be known😉) But I read first, then match to a prompt after, not pick a prompt, then find a book to fit.
Kendra wrote: "I like the idea of a great last line, because I've seen 'great opening line' as a prompt a lot, but never last line. And as far as I'm concerned, if I read a book, think it has a great last line, a..."That’s why I downvoted it I do need to know it fits a prompt because I fit a prompt before I read it. So I completely agree with you about what this prompt means I just have a very different set of needs
Oh I've made my peace with the fact that "great last line" is destined for my rejects challenge.
dalex wrote: "Just … why? It feels completely random. Plus, we already have the Mediterranean prompt. And X represents the Greek letter ‘chi’ so you can use a book connected to Greece for the “connected to X” prompt...."Hi Dalex,
The "why" was the connection to 24 (for the year 2024) based on the link and ideas shared by several people in the Wild Discussion who wrote that the Greek alphabet had 24 letters. I do not think it is one of the more random prompts we've had, but I also don't think that a prompt seeming random is a negative - aren't most prompts random unless they're repeats or tied to the year? I love the trial/legal term prompt, but surely it's no less random.
You're definitely right that someone could use a Greek book for the X prompt (as well as many other prompts that are on the list) but from the discussion that did not seem like a common interpretation of it, and I would say you could just as easily read a book set in Rome (X being the roman numeral for 10), a book in a language that uses the latin alphabet (X being the 24th letter of the latin alphabet), or something else. I think the redundancy is there only if you look for it, and that there are many options for people who would want to avoid overlap.
I agree that one interpretation of the Mediterranean prompt could be to read a Greek book, but that's one of over 20 possible settings (with competition with common settings like France, Italy, and Egypt) and I don't think most people will interpret a book related to a Greek letter as synonymous with reading a book set in Greece - that would make it extremely specific and narrow.
I guess my point being that I think you would have a lot of options and ways of interpreting the prompt if it does end up getting voted through with it necessarily overlapping with your book choices for other prompts.
Kendra wrote: "Oh I've made my peace with the fact that "great last line" is destined for my rejects challenge."We don’t know what will happen in the vote it could get in I have preparations for it if it does
Alpha is associated with best and first and omega is associated with the last and the end. So the Greek letter could become firsts or lasts ( just one idea)
My thoughts after ruminating on the list for a day:1. A book known to have a great last line - neutral or downvote because to me, this is essentially a list prompt since I would have to look up books that are known for this.
2. A book that is an Audie award winner or nominee (read in any format) - similar to #1, but also feels like a list prompt since I would be referring to lists of award winners. I can't listen to audiobooks so I think on a personal level, I don't connect with the award.
3. A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover - I like this a lot even though I don't know what I would read for it.
4. A book that helps you reflect or recharge - likely downvote. I plan my list ahead of time (although I never stick to it) but this is impossible to plan for. I also think of "reflect" and "recharge" as being almost diametrically opposed, so that also makes it a little harder for me to think of books that would work for it because I would be looking for books I think will be thought-provoking (that make me reflect) AND books that take me no effort to read (and thus make me feel recharged).
5. A book that features at least three generations of a family - likely downvote. I'm struggling a lot with Popsugar's "a book about a family" this year, and three generations seems like a more narrow version of that.
6. A hot book, or a book with a hot topic - neutral. I don't really read new releases because I'm always try to get through the books I already own, but I like that I can use a romance novel as an alternative interpretation.
7. A book title that seemingly refers to one or more characters in the book - likely downvote. The examples provided make it seem too broad since it essentially includes any titles with pronouns (I, We, You, They, etc), names, occupations, etc.
8. A book connected to one of the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet - upvote, but I'm biased. I really like the creative interpretations people have suggested for this.
9. A book you can read in 24 hours - neutral. I take things literally and to me this is every book I own. But upon further reflection, I love novellas and short books and could probably just knock this prompt out first if it's voted through.
10. A book suggested by the phrase “Summertime Blues” - seems too difficult to find a book set in summer that is sad. My OCD wold not let me use a book that only exemplifies half the phrase (just "summer" or just "blues") since the wording is "the phrase".
11. A book involving travel - neutral, but not particularly exciting since it's such a common prompt.
12. A book featured on a list for a media or celebrity book club - not interested. I don't like list prompts, and I looked through every book from Oprah and Reese's book clubs and haven't found a book I'm interested in (I read one for Popsugar this year and it was a 1 star read). Any fantasy recs that fit this prompt?
I do really like the addition of "media" though because it broadens it significantly and allows for book clubs like the Popsugar Book Club.
13. A book with a trial or with a legal term in the title - upvote! But I'm confused about the wording: is it saying "A book with a trial" OR "a book with a legal term" in the title? Or "trial"/a legal term in the title? If the latter, then it can simply be worded as "A book with a legal term in the title" since trial is already a legal term.
14. A book that takes place in two centuries - neutral. I don't read a lot of time travel, and it's not easy to find books set in the years straddling a new century.
15. A cultural book - downvote. Everyone has culture, it's not just an "ethnic" thing or a book from another country.
Jillian wrote: "Maybe we could have a new discussion thread- The Wild Discussion Off-Season."I love this idea too!
Pearl wrote: "I really hope Cultural gets in. My irl book club really loves cultural books. Beartown and Snowflower were two of our favorite books last year. We read or nominated all these cultural books: [boo..."
Pearl, I believe I've only read one of the books you were curious about, [book:The Island of Sea Women|40538657], and I don't recall any violence at all. Some dangerous situations, but not violence.
EDIT: Is anyone else having trouble with the add book/author function not displaying the book referenced as a link (see above)?
Re: issues that you don't want to read about (or that trigger you), have you heard of the website TriggerWarningDatabase.com? (https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/)
On this site you can search by Trigger (to get a list of books to avoid) or you can search by title/author (to check for triggers for a specific book). If you use it on your phone the trigger database is accessed by "Database" on the menu, and the book database is accessed by "Masterlist". You can also ask them to look into a book that isn't on the list yet. I did that recently and had my answer within just a few days! (although it may not always be that fast I assume). You can also follow them on Goodreads so that any time you are considering a book that they have assessed they will list the triggers under their "review". It's been a great resource!
Irene wrote: "dalex wrote: "Just … why? It feels completely random. Plus, we already have the Mediterranean prompt. And X represents the Greek letter ‘chi’ so you can use a book connected to Greece for the “conn..."dalex: some other suggestions for this prompt are these that I made in Wild Discussion a day or two before Suggestions:
"I kind of like the idea of the connection to meaning of the Greek letter. In addition to your ideas there is "the alpha & omega" (relating to the Christian Church - and Catholic?), delta (besides change it is also a triangle of land created by river flow), iota (referring to something small), nu (in Yiddish it's an exclamation of surprise, emphasis or doubt - generally used to encourage someone to continue with their story), omicron (could be used for a Covid story), pi (about something circular)"
If I remember correctly, we used to have a big wild discussion thread throughout the year, but people didn’t really post I’m there either. That’s how we got the monthly threads, because people said it would be easier if it wasn’t so divided. I’d love to chat all year, and maybe I’m just a pessimist, but I think the issue is more that there isn’t one common theme/goal everyone is committed to. So eventually conversations just start to die.
Irene wrote: "My thoughts after ruminating on the list for a day:1. A book known to have a great last line - neutral or downvote because to me, this is essentially a list prompt since I would have to look up b..."
Irene I thought you were probably right about Summertime Blues -- then I found this list! Check it out (I like how many aren't real grief but more melancholy, which is how I imagine the summertime blues to be): https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Mod
I am fine with whatever people want. I'm also curious if people want to continue the Weekly Question after this year, so let me know if you have an opinion - or ideas for it.
Alicia wrote: "If I remember correctly, we used to have a big wild discussion thread throughout the year, but people didn’t really post I’m there either. That’s how we got the monthly threads, because people said..."I think, it would be nice to have a general discussion thread that doesn’t have to be focused just on what books you are reading or a specific topic.
I have not participated this year in the monthly threads for a few reasons: earlier this year I was taking a break from GR in general other than tracking my books, previously it felt like it was just cutting and pasting what I and others read or planned to read but not really having discussion, unless, I’m reading a popular book the books I read tend to be different from the majority so I feel out of place in the thread and I don’t like how the treads get locked.
Mod
Good feedback, I agree about pasting in reviews or comments from other groups. I generally only post reviews in one group, and even there I don't post about everything I read. Some of my groups have very personal chat about people's families, health issues, etc. but I have a feeling ATY is too big for that. (I'm always curious how many members we really have since GR shows over 9000 members but most of them have disappeared.)
Robin P wrote: "I had made the assumption that the monthly threads were specifically for books we read, but I probably got that from a different group that was set up that way.I am fine with whatever people want..."
Maybe we need a monthly discussion thread. We could have a question of the month (that people could answer or not). I hope that would be easier thinking of 12 questions a year instead of 52.
Honestly I haven’t finished the last two years so maybe not the best judge but I know I miss the experience when voting is done although at this stage I enjoy the discussion less because with so little space left so ideas are less exciting than they used to be because it just feels like a crowded field getting more crowded
6 Up, 2 Down:UP:
3: Wild Animals/Endangered Species — some how I have 3 books with Mammoths (?!) - at least 2 of them I really want to read. I probably have others in my TBR, but these rose to the top.
6: A Hot Book — I'd choose to use this for "hot topics" and I have several to choose from under "climate change" and "involves a controversial issue" shelves
7: Title Refers to Characters — several on my TBR, mostly including books that fit other prompts that already have many choices picked out. Just another way to fit these in.
8: Greek Alphabet — at least three books involving circles (circumnavigating, circus)- referencing "pi", and one book involving something small - referencing "iota"
11: Travel — like #7 above, some titles that are fighting for space in other prompts but will fit here also, plus may use this for Time Travel (a favorite)
13: Trial or Legal Term: a couple of books involving forensic science (titles include "...Death Investigator..." and "...Medical Examiner..." that I had hope to use with a prompt that didn't get in "A non-fiction book about something you always wanted to know about"
DOWN:
1: Great Last Line — interesting idea, but none of the books that I hadn't already read on the list were books I was interested in, and this seems like a prompt that you really need a list for.
9: Read in 24 hours — Not a big fan of short form reading
I guess an ongoing discussion would be easier if we all had something in common that we are working on (like prompts). If everyone read in order, we could discuss how each weeks prompt is working for you. I DO realize that not everyone reads in order, including me...Anything else we might all be thinking about at the same time that comes up naturally? Robin's weekly questions are great, but not the same as a natural discussion.
I did 4 up and 4 down which is the most downvotes I've used this year.
Tracy wrote: "I guess an ongoing discussion would be easier if we all had something in common that we are working on (like prompts). If everyone read in order, we could discuss how each weeks prompt is working f..."Yes. This wild discussion stays lively because we have the regular injection of a new poll to prep for, and that is the common subject.
With people all over the world, we can't talk about seasons in common, but perhaps we could talk about holidays in each month, and new releases that some are excited about in each month. That still won't cover EVERYBODY.
The best solution is what Robin is already doing w/ the questions . And I'm guilty of not joining those discussions - I did at first, but then I kind of ... stopped. I assume there is still a core group who show up each week?
Make those question threads also open to ANY subject, and it might come close to the wild discussion around polls?
Tracy wrote: "Pearl wrote: "I really hope Cultural gets in. My irl book club really loves cultural books. Beartown and Snowflower were two of our favorite books last year. We read or nominated all these cultural..."That's interesting. We never talk about "triggers" as such, but we try to avoid excessive violence. I'll share it with the group in case someone has a concern that they don't like to talk about.
@Pearl - hope it helps. Even if you don’t define you avoidances as “triggers”, you can still see if a book is violent, or involves dying animals, etc.
Pearl, the only book I have read on your list is The Night Tiger. I don’t recall it being violent. I don’t care for much violence myself.
Nadine in NY wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I guess an ongoing discussion would be easier if we all had something in common that we are working on (like prompts). If everyone read in order, we could discuss how each weeks promp...""Any subject" is only fun when you have time to kill. My job is demanding this year and I didn't have as much free time as I did last summer. It wasn't easy to follow the threads of the discussions because of the off topic chat. I had the uncanny ability to login whenever the group was talking about the different words for pants or nappies. lol The British vs American comments felt uncomfortable sometimes.
Pearl wrote: "Nadine in NY wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I guess an ongoing discussion would be easier if we all had something in common that we are working on (like prompts). If everyone read in order, we could discuss..."Mine is whenever people start talking about what their children are doing I feel so left out
The British and American different words was very helpful for me this week. My son wanted to know some examples. He also found the different meaning of public school very interesting.
Jillian wrote: "The British and American different words was very helpful for me this week. My son wanted to know some examples. He also found the different meaning of public school very interesting."I’ve yet to find a country other than Britain that doesn’t use the American meaning. Are meaning is very strange
Mod
Some people, like me, are retired or working from home and have a chance to be online quite a bit. Many of you are working full time, raising kids, and - reading books!
We found out that the number of people voting on the prompts is much more than those on the discussion. I assume there are people who don't even vote but still do the challenge, or maybe do parts of the challenge. Some people do Read-a-thons and seasonal challenges, many don't. It's all fine. The participation in general in this group is extremely good. Many GR groups have a book or two they supposedly are discussing and maybe a general chat thread and they have very few comments.
I'm not sure what the answer is to get more chat during the year - I like the monthly question idea, and the Wild Discussion Off Season idea. Not everyone will like every chat - some have children, some work full time, some grow their own veg. What about a "chat about your hobbies" thread? Perhaps those who want to have more chat could simply come on and chat more?
Irene wrote: "12. A book featured on a list for a media or celebrity book club - not interested. I don't like list prompts, and I looked through every book from Oprah and Reese's book clubs and haven't found a book I'm interested in (I read one for Popsugar this year and it was a 1 star read). Any fantasy recs that fit this prompt?..."I saw Ink Blood Sister Scribe on the Goodreads blog about book club books, it's one of my favourite reads of this year. If it gets in, you might want to look at Felicia Day's book club/podcast, since she tends to read SFF.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Wuthering Heights (other topics)The Shamshine Blind (other topics)
Crenshaw (other topics)
The Island of Sea Women (other topics)
Ink Blood Sister Scribe (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jenny Lawson (other topics)Ben H. Winters (other topics)
Louise Erdrich (other topics)
Hernan Diaz (other topics)
M.R. Carey (other topics)
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We would likely use the data to decide which one would make it in, but I appreciate your support in that haha!