Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
ATY 2026
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[2026] Poll 10 Results
Mod
These are good creative prompts and are going to be fun to fill. And I'm going to BIO death and not read a book about tombstones or cemeteries for it... (although if you want to, Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America’s Cemeteries is a fascinating history written in a fun way- it's written for regular people, not taphophiles)
I would like Vincent to have another try. Otherwise happy with reindeer and isolated location, and the bottom votes were ones that I voted against. So ok.
I *did* say I’d be happy with any of the prompts. None of my favourites got in though! I am glad more than two got in! Would also like Vincent to have another go.
Happy with those on top, glad not to have to tackle those on the bottom.And another vote to try Van Gogh again! (TBH I’m shocked it didn’t make it in easily this time!)
I think I voted for two out of the three tops and against one of the two bottoms. And I agree with everyone else that we should give Van Gogh another try!
YEAH, 3 prompts; BOO, none of the prompts I voted for. My down vote did make the Bottom list.
Interesting results. I'm not sure what I'm expecting, but I'm good with the results. I voted for two (or maybe three) of them. I honestly don't remember what I downvoted.
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Thank you for that new word!
Looking forward to Santa’s reindeer and fine with the other two. Glad we got three!
My prompt got in! And I upvoted the other two. I am happy.
I don't really get the "why" of the Santa's reindeer prompt (does it have some connection to 2026 that I missed, or was it just a wacky idea?), but I do think it will be easy enough to fulfill. Thinking about reading The Hunger by Alma Katsu. I live a historical horror novel & it's about the Donner party.As a fan of literary horror & dystopian fiction, all of these prompts are in my wheelhouse.
Ciara wrote: "I don't really get the "why" of the Santa's reindeer prompt (does it have some connection to 2026 that I missed, or was it just a wacky idea?), but I do think it will be easy enough to fulfill. Thi..."I was thinking about how much I liked the Breakfast Club prompt and the Seven Dwarf prompt. So, I was googling around about groups of 5-9 characters and stumbled upon the idea of reindeer. No connection to the year.
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It's always nice to have some seasonal prompts. It's one of those fun ones where the challenge is making the book and prompt match. Although I'm obsessed with your Donner party idea!
Emily wrote: "Another big (and surprising) round of results this week!Close Call
A book related to a painting by Vincent Van Gogh
"
Too bad the Van Gogh promt didn´t make it... it was a good one. I hope someone suggests it again. I won´t be around to do that myself...
I had 8 upvotes and only one of them got in. I’m feeling out of sync with the group this year. The reindeer categories aren’t inspiring me, but I trust that you will all put interesting books on the listopias. Added- I like what you are all coming up with for Santa!
Hm, I'm a bit disappointed this round. I hoped so much for the Vincent Van Gogh - prompt to make it. And the Reindeers are if no importance to me. I know you all like it and find it creative and fun but I feel no attachment to it at all since they are not part of the Christmas tradition in the Nordic countries. So they arouse no feelings of cozyness or whatever it is that makes you like it.
(We don't even celebrate the 25:th like you, we celebrate the 24:th. Without reindeers.)
I hope the listopia will be eclectic and long.
What else - well I did vote for the symbol of death and that one is exciting and even though I didn't vote for the isolated setting I like it.
But I sure wanted the van Gogh and the Women crossing borders and boundaries to get in.
I had more downvotes than upvotes this time so I'm really happy to see that one of my upvotes made it in (Santa's reindeer) and also two other prompts that I like! (Not sure why I didn't upvote symbol of death because I love cover prompts). Glad to see fun prompts that I haven't either done multiple times before or that have gone through voting many times in the past.
For the death symbol… Could someone list the most common death symbols in a comment below the listopia?
Also for those of us with bad eyes or small screens can you identify the death symbol when you add a book?
Thanks!!!
If I voted for a book that you don’t think counts, please let me know. I’m going to start with my bird shelf, but I am terrible at identifying types of birds.
NancyJ wrote: "For the death symbol… Could someone list the most common death symbols in a comment below the listopia?
Also for those of us with bad eyes or small screens can you identify the death symbol whe..."
I was thinking this, too. My crappy eyes can't make out what the symbols are are some of the books, and I'm left wondering what I'm missing.
Love these prompts! Reindeer is super fun for me! Comet - science fiction and dancer for dancing books are probably the easiest picks for me. Or cupid for romance! Isolated location should be fun for a thriller and symbol of death for something paranormal maybe!
Emily wrote: "Another big (and surprising) round of results this week!Top
A book related to the name of one of Santa's reindeer
A book set in an isolated location
A book with a symbol of death on the cover
Bo..."
Darn--I'm not keen on death symbols so will do that the easiest way possible. I was neutral on one of the other two winners only because we're limited to 8 votes, but do like at least one of them.
Mod
Could someone list the most common death symbols in a comment below the listopia?
Also for those of us with bad eyes or small screens can you identify the death symbol whe..."
I agree-- there are some books that with my not bad eyes and don't see it. I always feel that way on the listopias that need a connection
Jackie wrote: "The reindeer one will be a fun mini-challenge to try to get them all."That's what I'll be doing too. :)
Wow, three of my favourites all made it in! That's pretty suprising, but I'm very happy that all three got through.
Happy with Santa and the location, I down voted the death symbol, will probably be relying on listopia for this one.Hope van Gogh and Women crossing boundaries are suggested again.
What's the American thing about the names of Santa's reindeers? Here in Germany, nobody cares what they're called. 😂And we already had this topic last year, didn't we?
RoXXie | The Art of Reading wrote: "What's the American thing about the names of Santa's reindeers? Here in Germany, nobody cares what they're called. 😂And we already had this topic last year, didn't we?"
The reindeers' names resulted from an early 19th century poem by Clement Moore. I guess since it has been recited every Christmas for 200 years, they have become ingrained in our American psyches.
RoXXie | The Art of Reading wrote: "What's the American thing about the names of Santa's reindeers? Here in Germany, nobody cares what they're called. 😂And we already had this topic last year, didn't we?"
I suppose you don’t have several much-loved movies and songs that get watched and listened to every Christmas season that are about Santa’s reindeer.
I have no idea if we had it last year. I don’t care for most pop culture prompts, but it’s what folks vote for. I’ll find something to read that fits the prompt.
Most people who know the reindeer names get them from Rudolph.1939:
Robert L. May, a copywriter for Montgomery Ward, created the character and story as a cost-saving alternative to the store's usual Christmas coloring books, distributing 2.4 million copies in the first year.
1949:
May's brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, adapted the story into the well-known song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," which was recorded by Gene Autry.
The 1964 TV Special
Production:
A 1964 stop-motion animated television special was produced by Videocraft International and first aired on December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network.
Content:
The special is based on the Johnny Marks song and features a young Rudolph who is ridiculed for his glowing nose, only to find acceptance when he leads Santa's sleigh through a blizzard. It also introduces characters like Hermey the elf and Yukon Cornelius.
The lyrics:You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen
But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of all?
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games
Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
"Rudolph, with your nose so bright
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You'll go down in history"
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games
Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
"Rudolph, with your nose so bright
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
You'll go down in history"
RoXXie | The Art of Reading wrote: "What's the American thing about the names of Santa's reindeers? Here in Germany, nobody cares what they're called. 😂And we already had this topic last year, didn't we?"
We didn't have this in 2024, though we did have the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White - that might be what you are remembering. I've been doing the challenge since 2019 and I don't think reindeer appeared then or since. It's quite difficult to find a pop culture prompt that's significant for everyone, and this seems fun and to give a lot of options in both fiction and non-fiction.
Here's the list of reindeers with suggestions for types of books given, Dasher - a runner, a character on the go
Dancer - a book about dance
Prancer - a spirited horse - for everyone who wants more horse books
Vixen - actual foxes or a sexually attractive and alluring female character
Comet - anything astronomy or space related
Cupid - Roman god of love - anything romance related
Donner and Blitzen - derived from German for Thunder and Lightning
Rudolph - an outcast or person with a physical difference.
RoXXie | The Art of Reading wrote: "What's the American thing about the names of Santa's reindeers? Here in Germany, nobody cares what they're called. 😂And we already had this topic last year, didn't we?"
As far as I know we've never had Santa's reindeer before.
The Spice Girls prompt we had a few years ago was meaningless to me -- I knew they existed but had never heard their music nor did I have any references to them in my head. But their names sparked ideas, and I always check Listopias to see if there's anything I'm interested in reading there.
RoXXie | The Art of Reading wrote: "What's the American thing about the names of Santa's reindeers? Here in Germany, nobody cares what they're called. 😂And we already had this topic last year, didn't we?"
As far as I know we've never had Santa's reindeer before.
The Spice Girls prompt we had a few years ago was meaningless to me -- I knew they existed but had never heard their music nor did I have any references to them in my head. But their names sparked ideas, and I always check Listopias to see if there's anything I'm interested in reading there.
Everybody, please add notes to your Listopia entries indicating which reindeer your books apply to, if the titles don't make it obvious. Many have no notes and I have no idea how they fit the prompt. Thanks!
Deborah wrote: "Here's the list of reindeers with suggestions for types of books given, Dasher - a runner, a character on the go
Dancer - a book about dance
Prancer - a spirited horse - for everyone who wants mo..."
Originally Donder, or according to this site, Dunder and Blixem
https://www.factmonster.com/askeds/do...
Edited to add these descriptions
https://www.yourdictionary.com/articl...
Dasher: Fast and Handsome
The word dasher simply refers to a person who dashes (meaning “to run with spirited or brilliant action”). Nothing too fancy here. Santa needed a fast reindeer.
In Clement C. Moore’s time, dasher was also a bit of colloquial slang meaning “a dashing person.” Dashing here describes a person (or reindeer) who is stylish or fashionably showy. So it’s not impossible that Moore might have used a little double-meaning here to describe a reindeer who was both fast and handsome.
Dancer: Agile and Light
Dancer refers to a person who dances. Dancer the reindeer probably doesn’t have a career in ballet, but the name might be a reference to the reindeer being agile and light on its hooves.
Prancer: Lively and Agile
Prance is a verb that means “to spring from the hind legs,” which usually applies to horses and other similar animals. It can also mean “to dance or move in a lively manner.”
Similar to Dancer, Prancer’s name probably refers to the reindeer being light on its hooves and being agile enough to steer Santa’s sleigh on the correct route.
Vixen: Fierce and Intelligent
Vixen is a noun meaning “a fierce or spirited woman, especially one seen as sexually attractive,” which makes the name Vixen pretty weird on Santa’s part. However, Vixen also more commonly refers to a female fox. That might point to the reindeer’s agility and intelligence, as foxes are often seen as wily, sly creatures.
Comet: Speedy on Ice
A comet is a celestial object that’s similar to a meteor or asteroid. Unlike those other celestial objects, comets are unique in that they’re composed mostly of ice.
The name Comet might imply the reindeer’s speed as it streaks through the sky, and the association with ice is a nice touch that connects back to the cold winter season.
Cupid: Loving and God-Like
Cupid is the ancient Roman god of love, equivalent to the Greek god Eros. Cupid is most popularly depicted as a naked, winged baby armed with a bow and arrow. Traditionally, getting struck by Cupid’s arrow causes you to fall in love. The lowercase cupid is obsolete now, but it was a general term referring to "love or desire."
Cupid (the reindeer) probably isn’t shooting arrows, but the name might point to Santa just being a typically soft-hearted pet owner: He loves his reindeer and might have been really into Roman mythology at the time.
Donner (or Donder): Thunder
There’s a long-running debate between Donner and Donder for the seventh reindeer. The initial text from Moore used Dunder, which is Swedish for “thunder.” Moore eventually changed that to Donder, which is “thunder” in Dutch.
It’s hard to say when exactly the switch to Donner happened, but some sources suggest it was popularized in 1939 with the publication of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which officially listed the seventh reindeer as Donner.
Blitzen (or Blixem): Lightning
The eighth reindeer was initially Blixem or Blixen, which likely came from the Dutch word bliksem, meaning “lightning.” That gives you the perfect thunder and lightning combination of Donder and Blixem.
Moore himself changed it to Blitzen. Blitz is the German word for “lightning,” which kept up with the stormy name pairing.
Rudolph: Famous and Strong
Rudolph is the English form of the German name Rudolf. This comes from the Germanic name Hrodulf, which joins the roots hrod (meaning “fame”) and wulf (meaning “wolf”). While Rudolph the Reindeer isn’t a wolf (though he is strong like one in dealing with the taunting mentioned in his song), he’s definitely made a name for himself, earning himself his own song and stop-motion animation. If that’s not famous, we don’t know what is!
Other Reindeer Names
Although the above are the best known, they aren’t the only iterations of Santa’s reindeer in popular culture. Most prominently, L. Frank Baum, who is best known as the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series, wrote a story called The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus in 1902. This work did away with the eight reindeer names from "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and introduced ten completely new reindeer:
Racer - anything having great speed
Pacer - a horse bred or trained to have a specific gait
Reckless - without caution or care about potential consequences
Speckless - unmarked, spotless, perfectly clean
Fearless - bold, brave, intrepid
Peerless - unrivaled; having no equal
Ready - completely prepared, duly equipped
Steady - stable in position; having even or regular movement
Glossie - (glossy) having a shiny surface; having a false air of
Mod
@Nike - I would also like to see “Women Crossing Borders and Boundaries” try again!
Pamela wrote: "Ciara wrote: "I don't really get the "why" of the Santa's reindeer prompt (does it have some connection to 2026 that I missed, or was it just a wacky idea?), but I do think it will be easy enough t..."Oh, maybe that's part of my disconnect with the prompt. I am not a fan of seasonal books. I actively avoid holiday specials & most "beach reads" & stuff like that. Thankfully there are many ways to interpret the prompt. Also thankfully, there are many ways to interpret most prompts, & even if a prompt is so narrow as to only give me one or two books I'm interested in reading, it still only takes one book to fulfill the prompt! I did some challenge a few years ago where one of the prompts was "read a holiday romance". I don't like holiday books, & I don't like romances, but I dug around & found something I didn't hate.
That said, I'd really like to see a few more character prompts on the list before it's all said & done! Some challenge (PopSugar?) has a prompt for "a redheaded character" this year, & I get so excited now every time a book I'm reading features a redheaded character. It definitely seems to happen with much greater frequency than it does in real life!
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But it's a seasonal prompt without having to read seasonal books, which I don't do- the winter prompt is proving to one of my toughest this year.. i
I used the Spice Girls prompt as a "book with a redhead" prompt a few years ago! And had multiple books for it- so good idea!
Hi all! Somehow missed this past round’s suggestions and voting so now just waiting for it to start
Tracy wrote: "@Nike - I would also like to see “Women Crossing Borders and Boundaries” try again!"Agreed!
Dixie wrote: "Tracy wrote: "@Nike - I would also like to see “Women Crossing Borders and Boundaries” try again!"Agreed!"
Me too!
And Van Gogh!
Ciara wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Ciara wrote: "I don't really get the "why" of the Santa's reindeer prompt (does it have some connection to 2026 that I missed, or was it just a wacky idea?), but I do think it will b..."If you can find some lists (or at least one longish one) with ideas, I encourage you to suggest this. Great idea - but since it can be hard to know there's a redheaded character before reading the books, a list of ideas would be very helpful.
Ciara wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Ciara wrote: "I don't really get the "why" of the Santa's reindeer prompt (does it have some connection to 2026 that I missed, or was it just a wacky idea?), but I do think it will b..."Suggest it! I went to see if there were lists of suggestions (I would need some, for sure), and holy cow, there are so many Listopias, plus others, I'm sure!
I was on a trip so didn't really get a chance to read comments prior to voting. I wasn't a fan of the reindeer but now that I have had a chance to read comments it should be super easy and I like the list or reindeer provided by Kathy Jo a lot (thanks). The isolated location was one of my favorites so I am happy that got through.
Vincent Van Gogh was another favorite and would love to see it resubmitted.
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I',m doing rebels this time... but if someone else does redheads, they get my vote!
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Hunger (other topics)Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America’s Cemeteries (other topics)
Top
A book related to the name of one of Santa's reindeer
A book set in an isolated location
A book with a symbol of death on the cover
Bottom
A book either written by or featuring a “Nepo Baby”
A book with an intriguing first line
Close Call
A book related to a painting by Vincent Van Gogh
The next round of suggestions will open around 4 pm CST on Saturday, August 30.