Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
ATY 2026
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[2026] Poll 10 Voting
Sandra wrote: "Even if microhistory doesn't make it, I'll have to find some way to fit in The Handshake: A Gripping History."I love titles like this. I think they are the "dad jokes" of the book world. Also very journalistic. I love how the news says things like this with a straight face: "citizens are 'hungry for' the new food court opening in town" or "climbers are 'lost' as to why Search and Rescue funding has been cut".
Tracy wrote: "Sandra wrote: "Even if microhistory doesn't make it, I'll have to find some way to fit in The Handshake: A Gripping History."I love titles like this. I think they are the "dad jok..."
My favorite recent title like this was Butts: A Backstory. Which I'm thinking might have to be my microhistory if that prompt makes it!
Joanna G wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Sandra wrote: "Even if microhistory doesn't make it, I'll have to find some way to fit in The Handshake: A Gripping History."I love titles like this. I think they ar..."
I read that for the 2023 challenge I think the category was books with an unusual title. Definitely fits the microhistory prompt!
Dixie wrote: "Rachel wrote: "First impressions: 3. A book that is one of the first 20 books on your Goodreads "want to read" list - Likely a downvote. The first 20 books on my TBR are classics that I added wit..."
Maybe, but that's often upcoming releases that I can't actually access yet, so I'm not sure it would help much. Although definitely an option to make it a little more feasible for me if it does get in.
Abbie wrote: "Allow me to add Virgin: The Untouched History to your "dad joke" microhistory list."We need to make a prompt out of this...lol
I wasn’t sure if it was both, so I asked“Is this title a pun or a dad joke: Handshake:a gripping story”
Answer:
The title "handshake: a gripping story" is a pun, and because puns are a key component of dad jokes, it also qualifies as a dad joke.
Here's a breakdown:
Pun: A pun is a play on words that relies on a word having multiple meanings or on words that sound alike but have different meanings. In this title, the word "gripping" has a double meaning.
Literal meaning: A handshake involves a literal grip of the hands.
Figurative meaning: "A gripping story" means it is interesting and holds your attention.
Dad Joke: Many dad jokes are puns that are simple, inoffensive, and often elicit a groan rather than a laugh due to their simplistic or overly obvious humor. The title fits this description perfectly—it's a little cheesy, easy to understand, and relies on an obvious play on words.
Ultimately, all dad jokes are jokes, and most are puns, but not all puns are dad jokes. This particular example is simple and groan-worthy enough to be both.
The thing that surprises me watching the voting is how many people don't vote 8 times (because we do count each person's votes!). That has changed my voting to only vote for things I feel strongly about and not vote just because I have more votes."
I actually don't use most of my votes. The thing I like about the challenge is that it gives me new ideas, "makes" me read things - I want to let others choose, not choose myself. That's the whole point for me. So I hardly ever upvote (but I do downvote if there are prompts that I really don't like.)
Robin H-R wrote: "Abbie wrote: "Allow me to add Virgin: The Untouched History to your "dad joke" microhistory list."We need to make a prompt out of this...lol"
Pun in the title would be great!
Sibylle wrote: "Robin H-R wrote: "Abbie wrote: "Allow me to add Virgin: The Untouched History to your "dad joke" microhistory list."We need to make a prompt out of this...lol"
Pun in the title wou..."
There are quite a few lists of these. Unfortunately lots of the titles aren't really puns (refer to NancyJ's definition in comment #59). Not surprisingly the Listopias are the worst offenders. Of course, if a prompt called for puns OR dad joke titles, that would open up a lot more than just puns.
The best lists I could find:
https://naperlib.bibliocommons.com/v2...
https://tacoma.bibliocommons.com/v2/l...
https://bookshop.org/lists/my-list-of...
https://www.thereviewgeek.com/10books...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3... (some good ones and some not-actually-puns here)
Someone might have already mentioned The Pun Also Rises: How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics
Oh my, I never thought my “dad joke” comment would go this far. What a fun idea to make this into a prompt! Thanks for all the links for even more ideas.After reading through them, and after reading NancyJs dissertation on puns vs dad jokes (😘), maybe a prompt to cover all bases would be A book with a title that is a pun, dad joke, or other word play.
Or instead of “is”, would “could be” be better?
Tracy wrote: "Oh my, I never thought my “dad joke” comment would go this far. What a fun idea to make this into a prompt! Thanks for all the links for even more ideas.After reading through them, and after read..."
Oh no what did I do!!😮 I don’t usually like books with punny titles. I do like the microhistories, but silly cozy mysteries are not for me. All because I was fuzzy about the definition of a pun.
Dissertation?! 🤨😘 Ha! If only they could be so easy. I just copied the AI answer, and it took me a minute. I worry about the state of education when it’s so easy to cheat.
NancyJ wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Oh my, I never thought my “dad joke” comment would go this far. What a fun idea to make this into a prompt! Thanks for all the links for even more ideas.After reading through them, ..."
Haha NancyJ - no offense to your ACTUAL dissertation skills. You just put in more effort than I did in defining what we were talking about.
And as to whether I'd want to read the books behind these funny titles, maybe, maybe not. The great lists that Dixie put together for us — mostly not. Although it would make a fun Game Page.
I did find some lists that contained more books that I'd actually read though (although some I'm unsure of whether they fit the category we are talking about). Here is the list of Listopias:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag?id...
I think if this becomes a suggestion Robin H-R should put it forward, as she got us headed down the path of these maybe being more than a bit of fun.
Tracy wrote: "Oh my, I never thought my “dad joke” comment would go this far. What a fun idea to make this into a prompt! Thanks for all the links for even more ideas.After reading through them, and after read..."
I think that wording is great. There is wordplay everywhere. I didn't include the lists you mention because so many were not puns - but they are (virtually) all some kind of wordplay. An upvote from me if you suggest this.
Robin P wrote: "I am usually a curmudgeon about some of these, but I voted 7 up."Bwahahahahaha! My kids told me I am literally the ONLY PERSON who still uses that word. ;) I used to call my dog a little, old curmudgeon all the time.
@Misty you’re not alone, that’s one of my mom’s favourite words. :)
Misty wrote: "Robin P wrote: "I am usually a curmudgeon about some of these, but I voted 7 up."Bwahahahahaha! My kids told me I am literally the ONLY PERSON who still uses that word. ;) I used to call my dog a..."
Nah, that’s a word on our household vocabulary list too!
Tracy wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Oh my, I never thought my “dad joke” comment would go this far. What a fun idea to make this into a prompt! Thanks for all the links for even more ideas.After reading..."
I would be willing to suggest it, but I'll be out of town for the next round. If someone else wants to put it in, go ahead.
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Bwahahahahaha! My kids told me I am literally the ONLY PERSON who still uses that word. ;) I used to call my dog a..."
Curmudgeon literature seems to be common these days, starting with A Man Called Ove.
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Please remember you get EIGHT votes! There's been an epidemic this time of overvoters!
And if you have gotten a friend request from me in the past 24 hours, that is why. I want to be your friend so I can tell you you overvoted!
Tracy wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Oh my, I never thought my “dad joke” comment would go this far. What a fun idea to make this into a prompt! Thanks for all the links for even more ideas.After reading..."
I really enjoyed reading the lists, and I found several books I’ll look at more closely. I already have a few on my TBR, plus the microhistory books that started this discussion, AND a book I own.
I can’t hear or see the pun in The Luminaries, can you?
Misty wrote: "Robin P wrote: "I am usually a curmudgeon about some of these, but I voted 7 up."Bwahahahahaha! My kids told me I am literally the ONLY PERSON who still uses that word. ;) I used to call my dog a..."
My ex-husband is a self-proclaimed curmudgeon, and our whole family uses it regularly.
NancyJ wrote: "Tracy wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Oh my, I never thought my “dad joke” comment would go this far. What a fun idea to make this into a prompt! Thanks for all the links for even more ideas...."
No, there isn't one, as far as I can tell. If that came from one of the Listopia lists, there are quite a few titles that might be jokey but are not puns (though I don't think The Luminaries is jokey at all!).
NancyJ, I’m not seeing an obvious pun in Luminaries. The best I can do is that there may be a reference to 2 of the word’s definitions (someone who has attained success in their field, and celestial bodies), but not in a humorous way as far as I can tell. I even looked to see if the purpose of the list was somehow a bit different than our intent, but no. Maybe this just points out that Listopias are not always correct.
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..."
It's an ironic title... but not a pun
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Bwahahahahaha! My kids told me I am literally the ONLY PERSON who still uses that word. ;) I used to..."
I have a friend who calls himself "noted curmudgeon."
Robin P wrote: "The one that seems too narrow to me is nepo baby. I’m not interested in celebrities or politicians who inherited their fame. But if it gets in, I could use one of the many Regency romances with nob..."Robin, this doesn't particularly interest me either, but I recently heard about a book that would work for this category that does interest me.
One of Stephen King's sons writes under the name of Joe Hill. One of my most trusted book recommendation sources says that his latest book, Heart-Shaped Box, is excellent. I'll read this if the prompt is voted in.
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Joe Hill's books are good (I'm not a horror fan and not really a Stephen King fan)- but NOS4A2 is really good. I've been meaning to read The Fireman and since the EMT prompt doesn't seem to be getting nominated...
Also Martin Amis (or is Kingsley the son?) And there's always Frankenstein
Also don't forget Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators from Nepo child of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow.
And then there's the kids of Tony Hillerman, Ann McCaffrey, and others who continued their parents' famous series after they were done.
Pamela wrote: "Charlsa wrote: "Robin P wrote: "The one that seems too narrow to me is nepo baby. I’m not interested in celebrities or politicians who inherited their fame. But if it gets in, I could use one of th..."Nepotism doesn't just mean there is a family relationship, though. Merriam-Webster defines nepotism as "favoritism (as in appointment to a job) based on kinship" -- so, for me, none of the people you list count as "Nepo babies", with the possible exception of some children of writers who continued their parent's series, if they clearly don't really have the talent to do that. Kinship isn't enough, there has to be favoritism based on it. The success of those people is dependent on that favoritism; they did not become successful based on their own merits. This is why I am not a fan of the prompt suggestion. The examples of actual "Nepo babies" I can think of are not people I want to read about.
If the suggestion had been, "A book by or about a person with a famous parent who became famous themselves," I would have considered upvoting it.
I agree. The term "Nepo baby" implies that someone deliberately used (unfair) advantages for their personal gain. It's a derogative term (at least to my ears..?)
Wiki says: "Joe Hill chose to use an abbreviated form of his middle name for his professional surname in 1997, out of a desire to succeed based solely on his own merits rather than as the son of one of the world's best-selling and most-recognized living novelists. After achieving a degree of independent success, Hill publicly confirmed his identity in 2007, the year his first novel came out"
To me, that doesn't sound like a "Nepo baby".
I generally don't really like the use of a derogative term for a prompt.
Sibylle wrote: "I agree. The term "Nepo baby" implies that someone deliberately used (unfair) advantages for their personal gain. It's a derogative term (at least to my ears..?)
Wiki says: "Joe Hill chose to use..."
Yes. "Nepo baby" is an insult. Couldn't have made it without their famous parent(s).
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People say nepo babies benefit because their parents open doors for them which are not open to equally talented people. It's not saying they aren't talented, but they have unfair advantages.
on the other hand, famous people's kids are forever compared to their parents. I would hate that.The world generally isn't fair, it's always about access, about support, about resources, about luck.
However, I don't think it's right to call any and all children of a famous person "Nepo baby". I think a lot of them try very hard to be their own person.
I'd have been warmer toward the idea behind the Nepo baby prompt if it had been phrased: "An author from a famous family" or something like that. Either way, I'm reading Joe Hill if it gets in.I went 4 up and 4 down this time. There were a lot of good prompts, but tried to focus on the ones I really wanted.
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Trish wrote: "I'll admit, unlike the majority it seems, I wasn't hugely enthused about most of these. I ended up with three up and five down."I wasn’t enthusiastic about this round, either, and had mostly down votes.
Pamela wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I can’t hear or see the pun in The Luminaries, can you?..."
It's an ironic title... but not a pun"
Thanks Pamela, did you read the book? I previewed it last year and I think I remember the characters or setting as being very rustic, or maybe it started in a bar? So it’s ironic if none if the characters are stellar in any way. Is that it?
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Took place in a New Zealand gold rush town...crooks, prostitutes, miners, sailors, etc. Brilliant book.
IIRC, the title is connected to astrology. The book has immense deeper interpretations, most of which I missed. Luminaries might allude to that as well.
Pamela wrote: "Charlsa wrote: "Robin P wrote: "The one that seems too narrow to me is nepo baby. I’m not interested in celebrities or politicians who inherited their fame. But if it gets in, I could use one of th..."Pamela, I'm not a horror fan either. I read Stephen King's first few books, and I liked 11/22/63 and On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, but I haven't read any of his other horror books or anything he publishes under a pen name.
I see the debate about Nepo baby and Joe Hill, but his publisher and editor would know who he is and it would give him advantage. Nepotism isn't necessarily bad or an insult. There are many times when a child of someone well known for a specific talent, skill, etc., are great selections for positions. They are often equipped through their adolescence and young adulthood for positions.
I'm going with this book if the prompt is elected, but make no mistake I have tons of respect for anyone gets a book published. At the end of the day, if the person isn't a good writer, entertainer, etc., they won't last too long.
Also, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators from Nepo child of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow. was just added to my TBR. So thanks for mentioning it.
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Oh, I liked 11/22/63! And his short stories.
It's nice to have help getting a foot in the door, as well as having someone who can give you advice. And you grow up watching and learning from your parents- for good or bad. But you have to be good or you won't move forward.
Nepo babies are in all fields-- for this prompt you could read a book about someone in a family business.
The family business angle is a great idea. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty would be a great fit. There are a lot of novels that include a character who is expected to take over their parent’s company. I’m reading one now. It also has a singer who wishes he didn't have a famous father. I never heard the term nepo-baby before. It sounds dismissive or insulting. Is it usually intended that way, or is it more neutral or even affectionate?
I love all the curmudgeon word users! I am absolutely going to tell my kids. :)
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I absolutely loved The Green Mile. I've read one or two of his other books (did you know he wrote The Running Man under his Richard Bachman pen name), but I've never tried any of his full-on horror books.
NancyJ wrote: "The family business angle is a great idea. Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty would be a great fit. There are a lot of novels that include a character who is ..."I think if you called, say, Jamie Lee Curtis a "nepo baby" to her face, you'd get a sock to the jaw. Or even D Trump Jr, who IS a "nepo baby".
I would love a prompt related to "the family business". There could be so many possibilities - generational sagas, reluctant heirs, etc. Would a prompt phrased as "a book involving A family business" or "a book involving THE family business" work?
PS - Its also the 20th anniversary of the Supernatural series for horror fans. The tagline is "Saving People, Hunting Things ... the family business".
Jette wrote: "I would love a prompt related to "the family business". There could be so many possibilities - generational sagas, reluctant heirs, etc. Would a prompt phrased as "a book involving A family busin..."
"a family business" sounds better to me. Fun idea!
I agree. I always hear Nepo Baby as a negative term. Not just that you get help with “door opening”, but that there is no way you would have had the success you have UNLESS someone opened doors for you. I think this is also seen a lot in movies/tv as the inept nephew that is begrudgingly given a high position in the uncle’s company, even though the uncle knows the nephew would never be hired otherwise.I also agree that talented people like Jamie Lee Curtis and Ronan Farrow should not be considered Nepo Babies.
Nepo of course comes from Nepotism, defined as:
“patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship, as in business and politics:
She was accused of nepotism when she made her nephew an officer of the firm.”
Tracy wrote: "I agree. I always hear Nepo Baby as a negative term. Not just that you get help with “door opening”, but that there is no way you would have had the success you have UNLESS someone opened doors for...I also agree that talented people like Jamie Lee Curtis and Ronan Farrow should not be considered Nepo Babies..."
Ditto poor Joe Hill, who went to so much effort to be sure no one knew he was Stephen King's son, so that he would be judged on his own merits! But of course I understand this group has a "whatever you want to use for each prompt" policy, so I'll stop talking about this now.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (other topics)Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (other topics)
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (other topics)
The Running Man (other topics)
The Green Mile (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Martin Amis (other topics)Joe Hill (other topics)
It totally is. I just asked ChatGPT to give me some titles, and now I'm all sorted if it gets in, lol.