Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Another big round of results!

Top:
A book you've wanted to read for a long time
A mystery or true crime book
A book with an Indigenous character or author

Bottom:
A book considered a space opera
A book that could earn you a Goodreads bookmark

Close Call:
A book that is not a novel

The next round of suggestions will open around 2:30 UK time.

Wow. The only one I voted for was the close call. I've read everything I've wanted to read for a long time, and the other two are well outside my areas of interest. No three prompts, no NEW place, no forbidden topics, no observation/experimentation; and space opera bottomed. Okay then. Onward and upward.

Totally fine with these results (up voted most of them), but I was really hoping for a couple of the more intriguing ones like “forbidden topic” and “observation, experimentation, or inquiry”. I guess the latter could fit into Mystery.

Color me surprised. I had prepared myself to be disappointed this week, instead I’m content. One prompt I upvoted, two that were neutral. And we’re now 42/52, nearly done!

Well, I guess I'm probably using space opera for the prompt that didn't get in category. I was uncertain about it at first but realized I have a ton of books that fit.

As for the ones that made it....

* I tend to read what I want, so "wanted to read for a long time" is a bit of a weird one for me. I knew it would make it onto the list because it's kind of a gimme for most people. But I'm kind of literal, so I'm not sure how I'll approach this one.
* I voted for mystery and read a lot of it, so I'm spoiled for choice.
* I definitely have things that work for indigenous character or author. I've misplaced my copy of Love Medicine. Hopefully I'll find it before the challenge starts next year.

Dixie wrote: "Wow. The only one I voted for was the close call. I've read everything I've wanted to read for a long time, and the other two are well outside my areas of interest. No three prompts, no NEW place, ..."

I wish New place would be renominated but I think people will never vote for it cause it was such a different idea.

Disappointed forbidden topic and observation didn't get in, but not unhappy with the results.

Angie wrote: "Well, I guess I'm probably using space opera for the prompt that didn't get in category. I was uncertain about it at first but realized I have a ton of books that fit.

As for the ones that made it..."

Just sort your want to read shelf by date added.

If you like space opera, Old Man's War is on your want to read shelf as added in 2015. That counts as a long time.

I'm glad long time made it.

Disappointed that mystery and true crime made it.

Glad that space opera, not a novel, and goodreads bookmarks didn't make it.

Deisappointed that 3 prompts, Brothers Grimm, and new place didn't make it.

I'm okay with the results - I downvoted one and was neutral on the other two winners. I have to admit to being relieved that space opera is off the table and just as disappointed about forbidden topic.
I think it would fare better without any qualifiers (I think it is worth a try) or maybe "a book related to a topic that you consider strange or unusual".

Based on last year's discussion, I guessed that "a book that fits 3 or more prompts" would struggle to get in.

Jette wrote: "I'm okay with the results - I downvoted one and was neutral on the other two winners. I have to admit to being relieved that space opera is off the table and just as disappointed about forbidden to..."

I didn't participate as much in last year's discussions

Listopias are added!

I threw in "wanted to read for a long time" mainly because the nominating was going slowly, and I was very surprised that it won. For those who don't think they have any - First I envy you, I have hundreds of books on my "owned but not yet read" and "want to read someday" lists. But if you don't have such lists, it could just be that an author you like writes a new book. Or you discover a book on a subject that interests you - in gardening, cooking, history, etc. Or there is a brand new book and the library waiting list is long. Maybe you want to reread a book you read as a child. The definition of "long time" is totally up to you. I know this could be frustrating to those who like a clearcut literal interpretation of a prompt but it's ok to get a little creative with this one.

Robin P wrote: "I threw in "wanted to read for a long time" mainly because the nominating was going slowly, and I was very surprised that it won. For those who don't think they have any - First I envy you, I have ..."

I would flex it and do a new release, esp the next book in a series (come on Leigh Bardugo!! You say spring but also threaten fall!)

Okay. Quite relieved over the space opera prompt. Obviously mystery/true crime is not going to be difficult, but a bit disappointing that we are simply repeating a prompt from this year. I like the indigenous author prompt.

No idea how I am going to approach the 'book you have wanted to read for a long time' prompt - as Dixie has said above, if I wanted to read something, I've either read it, or it's not in the library system and I don't want to read it enough to buy it. There's a new Anne Tyler so I suppose that might be a possibility by the time next year comes around.

Disappointed over the 'New' and 'Forbidden topics' prompts, but they can be reviewed and suggested again.

Deborah wrote: "If you like space opera, Old Man's War is on your want to read shelf as added in 2015. That counts as a long time."

The 7th book in that series releases today. Perhaps I will save it for the 2026 List.

I am happy to see Indigenous character or author make it.

Mystery is super easy, one of the reasons I do the challenge has been to push myself not to read as many.

I don't love the long time one because of my head games about what is considered a long time but appreciate Robin and Pamela providing some good suggestions; I just need to change perspective. Also now running to see if there are any new books from authors I have been waiting on.

Oh so sad to see Space Opera in the bottom.

I would love to see a book that could fit three prompts on the list and a book related to observation, experimentation, or inquiry again.

I’m disappointed that forbidden topic didn’t get in, but I’m happy to see Indigenous on the list. I always read a book by an Indigenous author in October. There is a new Angeline Boulley book out- Sisters in the Wind.

The other two are very easy. I have lots of books from old tbrs to choose from. I finally read Middlesex this year. I bought it 20 years ago, and lost or lent it out, and finally read it on audio.

So now that we voted in some super easy prompts, should we pick some challenging ones tomorrow?

I’ll admit I’m glad the two bottoms were bottomed but I’m not excited about the ones that were voted in. There were several very fun prompts that I’d have preferred instead!

I read quite a number of Indigenous books already, and mysteries/true crime are my go-to kind of books. These won’t be a challenge to fill at all.

I’m pleased as punch (as grandma would say). I upvoted all three at the top and my Indigenous suggestion got in. It’s only the second time ever. My first idea was original, this one was done before.

Pamela wrote: "Robin P wrote: "I threw in "wanted to read for a long time" mainly because the nominating was going slowly, and I was very surprised that it won. For those who don't think they have any - First I e..."

Maybe this will be the year The Winds of Winter will finally be completed. I've been waiting almost 15 years for it to be released.

Deborah wrote: "Angie wrote: "Well, I guess I'm probably using space opera for the prompt that didn't get in category. I was uncertain about it at first but realized I have a ton of books that fit.

As for the one..."

The only problem is that if I've had something on my list for 10 years, it's probably something I just stuck on there so I wouldn't forget about it.

I'll probably just use something I have to waitlist at the library.

I voted for indigenous and was neutral on (but fine with) the other 2 winners. I have tons of books that I’ve been meaning to reads for years, even decades. I’ll probably read a classic like The Odyssey, especially since the movie is coming out in 2026. I’ll be flying tomorrow so will miss the suggestion round. Look forward to seeing some new ideas!

Tracy wrote: "Totally fine with these results (up voted most of them), but I was really hoping for a couple of the more intriguing ones like “forbidden topic” and “observation, experimentation, or inquiry”. I gu..."

Ok, I guess I wasn't fully awake when I responded earlier.

I did NOT vote for most of these. I did upvote mystery and I did downvote bookmarks. The rest were neutral with notes that read "maybe".

I addition to being sad that “forbidden topic” and “observation, experimentation, or inquiry” did not make it in, I also think that "fits 3 prompts" is very useful, "Grimm's" would have been fun and creative, and "New place" would be a different way to look at setting.

We only have 10 more spots to fill (if I'm counting right). Is it time to have a vote on Close Calls, or have there not been enough? What about other perennial prompts that we don't have yet, like "ATY52 Best Of"? I think I miss having these standard prompts being voted on in the pre-poll votes.

For the very first time I think, two - TWO!!! - of the prompts I voted for got in. LOL. Cool. It's become kind of a running joke with me when I vote because hardly anything I vote for ever gets in. :) As for the book you've been wanting to read for a long time prompt, I have nearly 1000 books on my TBR, so that shouldn't be a problem! LOL. I have gone through the list and tried to cull it, and I managed to get rid of nearly 10 books. ;)

Tracy wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Totally fine with these results (up voted most of them), but I was really hoping for a couple of the more intriguing ones like “forbidden topic” and “observation, experimentation, or ..."

I don't think we've had enough close calls to fill a poll.
I would like the best of to make it in.

Tracy, I’m also tracking 10 more prompts though we just have 9 more prompts to vote in. The winner from the individual fall read-a-thon prompt has not been announced yet (I’m guessing it will be with the next round of results).

Deborah wrote: "I don't think we've had enough close calls to fill a poll..."

Not even close (so to speak).

Close calls so far:
1.A book where the main character has an occupation that didn't exist before 1900
2. A book with a title that contains the name of a professional sports team
3. 2 Weeks: Two books where the first word of the second title is the same as the last word of the first title
4. A book that includes a science related topic
5. A book that is not a novel

("related to a Van Gogh painting", "a character who appears in more than one book", and "takes place in a public building" were close calls that later got in).

It's worth taking a look at the list of this year's suggestions that didn't fly; there are a lot of good ones there.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

It only seems to be updated through Poll 9, though. For others, you'd need to look up the individual polls.

I upvoted two of the winners. And I downvoted space opera, so I'm pretty pleased. I did love the forbidden topics prompt though.

I downvoted two of the ones that got in. Reading a book you've been wanting to read for a long time seemed too easy and we already did the mystery/true crime this year. I won't have a problem finding books for these prompts, just wanted to see something new.

I hope someone resubmits the forbidden topics and the observation/inquiry prompts. I really liked those!

Andrea wrote: "I downvoted two of the ones that got in. Reading a book you've been wanting to read for a long time seemed too easy and we already did the mystery/true crime this year. I won't have a problem findi..."

Does anyone know if forbidden topics was even close to being a close call? When I resubmit it (not tomorrow) should I make it a little easier, by writing “such as” before the short topic list?

Dixie wrote: "Deborah wrote: "I don't think we've had enough close calls to fill a poll..."

Not even close (so to speak).

Close calls so far:
1.A book where the main character has an occupation that didn't ex..."

Thanks for doing this Dixie! I’m planning to resubmit
A book that includes a science topic.
It doesn’t have to be nonfiction, or a huge part of the plot. It seems easy to me because suddenly I see science everywhere, in all sorts of books. This only happened after I retired. It’s weird. It could be related to nature, biology, chemistry, psychology, medical science, climate, quantum physics, DNA, environment, weather, earthquakes, forensics, oceanography, technology, AI, etc. Obviously science fiction, alternate realities.

A few years ago I kept stumbling upon the Schrödinger's cat story (related to quantum physics) in all sorts of fiction books (including historical romance). It led me to a lot of new places.

I wonder if I should make it a little easier.

NancyJ - no idea if it was a Close Call (I’m guessing not since that is usually mentioned in Results. But maybe it was a Close- Close Call?).

I think adding “such as” is a good call. As we learned from Nike, different cultures and different families have different “forbidden topics”.

Jillian wrote: "Tracy, I’m also tracking 10 more prompts though we just have 9 more prompts to vote in. The winner from the individual fall read-a-thon prompt has not been announced yet (I’m guessing it will be wi..."

You are correct that the winner from the fall read-a-thon will be announced with the next poll. And we have had remarkably few close calls so there may not be enough for its own poll.

Happy about the indigenous prompt, which I upvoted, but disappointed by the mystery/true crime prompt because it's an exact repeat from this year's challenge. I would've preferred there to be at least a slight difference in wording or intent. The 3 genre prompts we have for next year don't seem very inspiring to me at this point even though I love mystery and historical fiction:
- a nonfiction book
- a history or historical fiction book
- a mystery or true crime book

I'm also going to have trouble with "a book you've wanted to read for a long time" because "a long time" is too vague for my brain. Is a few months a long time? I'd prefer more concrete wording, like "a book you've wanted to read for over a year".

Overall, I'd love if we could get more fun and/or unique prompts on the list rather than repeat suggestions that have already been voted on. I'd also love more challenging prompts since we have so many easy ones already, as well as quite a few that overlap (e.g. part of a series & character that appears in more than one book; book related to yesterday & history/historical fiction book; etc).

For the "long time" one, I'll probably take one of the books that's been on my GR to-read shelf for the longest, but I downvoted it as well.

It does seem like we need a few more genre prompts.

We've had some good "challenging" suggestions, but few have been voted in. Definitely need more "challenging" or "fun" prompts :)

I may go with book that has a super long library waitlist for "A book you've wanted to read for a long time". Having to wait 6 months for it to come available seems to count.

Irene wrote: "Happy about the indigenous prompt, which I upvoted, but disappointed by the mystery/true crime prompt because it's an exact repeat from this year's challenge. I would've preferred there to be at le..."

History/historical fiction is almost exact repeat from this year, too (this year's was "set prior to 1925). I'm sorry so many interesting suggestions haven't survived voting.

Thanks for the suggestions! And yes I hope the fun ones survive!!