Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

It's now time to get ready to vote for our next set of prompts! The thread will be open for at least 24 hours before the poll gets posted. This is a good opportunity to ask any question you may have regarding the prompts, do some research, or ask for recommendations.

Voting ends at midnight Thursday 23rd July (EST time) and results will be posted in the afternoon of Friday 24th July

How it works:
- When the voting opens, follow the link to the mini-poll that will be added at the end of this post
- You have a total of 8 votes this poll to spread across your favorite and least favorite prompts (you can also use less than 8 votes)
- You can find examples of acceptable voting practices on the Introduction thread.
- The prompts with the more favorable votes (comparing top votes to bottom votes, and looking at the overall number of votes it received) will be added to the final list
When you vote:
- Please include your Goodreads profile address. To find this, just go to your own profile and then copy the URL/web address. If for some reason you can't link to your Goodreads profile, please post your full Goodreads name with enough identifiable information that we'll be able to access your profile.
- We can not contact you if there are any problems with your voting, so please double check you have only vote 8 times TOTAL and have your Goodreads profile address. Any votes that have more than 8 votes or no profile will have to be deleted.
Feel free to discuss the prompts below, but please remember to be respectful to the other group members.

Voting is now open.

1. A book related to an "-ology".
2. A book with a compound word in the title
3. Rickrolled! A book with one of the following words - Never, Gonna, Give, You, (or) Up - in the title.
4. A book that is a prequel or a sequel
5. A book focused on a character going through a major life transition.
6. A book with an honorific or its abbreviation in the title.
7. A book that includes a character who works with plants
8. A book that has a cover relating to one of the 12 zodiac signs.
9. A book relating to art, design or graphics.
10. A book that is cozy, whether mystery, fantasy, or any other genre.
11. A book by an author with an obvious prefix in their name.
12. A book with characters who are in a club (book club, murder club, social club, etc)
13. A book set in one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union
14. A Summerween book
15. A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma

Vote here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...

Here are some ideas from the suggestions thread.

1. A book related to an "-ology".

Here are a few ideas to start with: Paleontology, Archeology, Anthropology, Geology, Biology, Mythology, Psychology, Ecology, Genealogy, Mycology. Maybe even Astrology and Cosmology.

Individual lists can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

2. A book with a compound word in the title

Some examples:
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

And here's a big list of them: https://www.proofreadingservices.com/...

3. Rickrolled! A book with one of the following words - Never, Gonna, Give, You, (or) Up - in the title.

One of the specified words in the title
Never
Gonna
Give
You
Up

4. A book that is a prequel or a sequel

List of examples: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

5. A book focused on a character going through a major life transition.

Suggestions.
- becoming an adult (coming-of-age)
- getting married
- becoming a parent
- getting a divorce
- changing careers
- going through menopause
- relocating (not just across town)
- retiring
- dying
- gender transitioning

6. A book with an honorific or its abbreviation in the title.

For example: Miss, Mrs, Mr, Doctor, Captain, Reverend, Lord.

7. A book that includes a character who works with plants

Suggestions might include botanist, herbalist, gardener, arborist, horticulturist, farmer, poisoner, witch, etc.

Suggested lists can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

8. A book that has a cover relating to one of the 12 zodiac signs.

Aries (Ram), Taurus (Bull), Gemini (twins), Cancer (crab), Leo (lion), Virgo (a maiden), Libra (scales), Scorpio (scorpion), Sagittarius (Archer), Capricorn (Goat), Aquarius (water bearer), Pisces (fish)

9. A book relating to art, design or graphics.

Could be a non-fiction book, a memoir, a character working in those areas, an art heist...

Design examples: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Artist MC examplers: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...

10. A book that is cozy, whether mystery, fantasy, or any other genre.

This is one list of examples: https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2...

A book by an author with an obvious prefix in their name.

Examples:
at- Margaret Atwood
by- Ingram Bywater
da/de/des/di/du Lorenzo Da Ponte, Nelson DeMille, Paul de Kruif, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, William Pène du Bois
Fitz- F. Scott Fitzgerald
L'/ La/ Le/ Les Madeline L'Engle, John LeCarre, Ursula K. Le Guin
Mac/Mc Betty MacDonald, Cormac McCarthy
Nic Sorche Nic Leodhas
O' Flannery O'Connor, Eugene O'Neill
St./Saint/San Emily St. John Mandel
Van/van de/von John Van Dusen, Janwillem van de Wetering, Elizabeth von Arnim

12. A book with characters who are in a club (book club, murder club, social club, etc)

Here are a couple of lists with suggestions:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

13. A book set in one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union

Here's the list for referene.

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia (Czech Republic), Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland (Eire), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

14. A Summerween book

From Wikipedia: Summerween is an informal cultural and retail phenomenon that occurs during the summer months, incorporating elements of Halloween festivities. The term originated in the 2012 Gravity Falls television episode "Summerween," in which the characters celebrate Halloween during the summer.

Here's a list of examples: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma.

Here's the listopia from PopSugar on a previous occasion: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

Why are there only 12? Did I miss something?

I was wondering that too.

Trish wrote in the first message: “Current prompts (three to come):”
But you can also check the last messages in the suggestions thread 😊

13, A book set in one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union
14. A Summerween book
15, A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma

Thanks! I totally missed that, and didn't look at all of the messages in the Suggestions thread (clearly).

Sorry. I had to jump onto a Zoom call at 5pm, so Pamela finished it off.

All fifteen prompts are now listed, and I've updated the examples message for the other three as well.

A list of Sumerween books

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

This week's suggestions are so much more fun than last week's! Wonderful! Especially the Summerween prompt (I've never encountered that expression before but instantly fell in love with the idea)! I actually like or love 11 of the suggestions! Will be difficult voting.

Nike wrote: "This week's suggestions are so much more fun than last week's! Wonderful! Especially the Summerween prompt (I've never encountered that expression before but instantly fell in love with the idea)! ..."

I think these are a more fun group overall as well.

Pasting over some more examples for the compound word prompt from the suggestions thread:
- Heartless by Marissa Meyer* (Karin is right, technically not a compound word!)
- The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison
- Uprooted by Naomi Novik
- The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
- The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
- The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten

And here are some more creative interpretations of compound words where it’s incidental that a word can be broken up into two words:
- The Beholder by Anna Bright (be + holder)
- Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (vamp + ire)
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (ward + robe)

Is heartless a compound word? I remember learning that -less is a suffix as is -ful :)

The others are.

Is prompt #15 A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma a copy/paste error? This prompt is word-for-word taken from last year's Popsugar Reading Challenge and was actually #1 on the list. Here's the listopia for it: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

There are a lot of people who do both challenges and I don't think Popsugar readers would be happy about seeing this verbatim in this challenge - if it's not a mistake can it be re-workshopped so we don't get accused of copying? The ATY list gets shared and discussed in the PS facebook group every year. It's one thing to repeat a prompt from a previous ATY challenge but feels different to take it from a different popular challenge.

Edit: Just saw the suggestions thread and it looks like it's not a mistake so please disregard!

I do both challenges every year and definitely find it odd there is a verbatim copy of a prompt as well. I like more of these than last week but want to think on it more.

All in all I feel like most of these are doable enough. Except for one or two, I don't have immediate yes or no feelings either. Gotta think about my votes carefully, I guess.

1. A book related to an "-ology". - I kind of like it
2. A book with a compound word in the title - Just to be clear, this means a sort of combined word, yes?
3. Rickrolled! A book with one of the following words - Never, Gonna, Give, You, (or) Up - in the title. - I missed suggestions to get the story behind this idea, but it seems doable enough (and thanks for the earworm)
4. A book that is a prequel or a Sequel - Would be doable enough, but probably staying neutral
5. A book focused on a character going through a major life transition. - I think we had a similar suggestion for last year? I remember I have this on my rejects list
6. A book with an honorific or its abbreviation in the title. - I think I could find something, if I consider Japanese and Korean honorifics as well
7. A book that includes a character who works with plants - I'm not much of a plants person myself, but I guess I could find something
8. A book that has a cover relating to one of the 12 zodiac signs. - Seems doable enough
9. A book relating to art, design or graphics. - Is it too easy if I just pick a graphic novel or manga?
10. A book that is cozy, whether mystery, fantasy, or any other genre. - This actually seems really nice
11. A book by an author with an obvious prefix in their name. - I admit some of the ideas confuse me, but I think I kinda get it generally
12. A book with characters who are in a club (book club, murder club, social club, etc) - I still need to catch up with Thursday Murder Club so … (also can it like be characters just going out and dancing in a club?)
13. A book set in one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union. - While I actually like this from a European point of view, we already have two 27 Connections so I'll probably go with no
14. A Summerween book - Even with the Wikipedia explanation I absolutely have no idea what on earth this is supposed to mean
15. A book about a POC experiencing joy and not Trauma - I could work with that one (again, I might add. I knew it sounded familiar)

I like this group of suggestions better than last week's! I have at least 5 upvotes. Have to think about the other 3 votes. #15 is interesting. I don't do the PS challenge and have never seen this idea before.

For context on prompt #3 (the Rickrolled prompt) -- I nominated it because not only will the song be 40 years old in 2027, but apparently Rick Astley retired at age 27 as well!

You're welcome for the earworm! It's been in my head all day, too. ;-)

First impressions:

1. A book related to an "-ology". - I really like this! I'd have to see what I have that would work, but I'm sure I have multiple options

2. A book with a compound word in the title - A strong maybe.

3. Rickrolled! A book with one of the following words - Never, Gonna, Give, You, (or) Up - in the title. - I can see myself feeling compelled to make this an unofficial multiweek and trying to get one book for each word

4. A book that is a prequel or a sequel - I wouldn't downvote it, but I'm probably not going to upvote it either. It's a prompt I've done many times before, but it is helpful for my goal to read series

5. A book focused on a character going through a major life transition. - Somehow missed this one when I first saw the suggestions thread, but I really like this!

6. A book with an honorific or its abbreviation in the title. - I liked this prompt the first time it came up a few years ago, and still really like it now!

7. A book that includes a character who works with plants - Maybe. I do own a few that would work

8. A book that has a cover relating to one of the 12 zodiac signs. - I'm completely burnt out on zodiac-related prompts since they seem to come up so often every year, but I'd probably leave this neutral since it's pretty open-ended

9. A book relating to art, design or graphics. - Most likely leaving this neutral.

10. A book that is cozy, whether mystery, fantasy, or any other genre. - Love this! Definite upvote

11. A book by an author with an obvious prefix in their name. - I like this, but not sure I like it enough to upvote

12. A book with characters who are in a club (book club, murder club, social club, etc) - Love this! I always upvote versions of this prompt (although they rarely seem to get in)

13, A book set in one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union - Probably not for me. I don't like geographic prompts

14. A Summerween book - Likely a yes! I love a good excuse to read more thrillers in the summer instead of hoarding most of them for fall

15, A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma - I really liked this when it came up on PopSugar before, and still like it now. If I have an extra vote, it will most likely be for this one!

That's more like it! Great group of prompts. I see several I'd like to vote for and none that I dislike.

Chrissie wrote: "13. A book set in one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union. - While I actually like this from a European point of view, we already have two 27 Connections so I'll probably go with no..."

Maybe consider it a geography prompt instead of focusing on the 27 aspect? I'm always excited to see a prompt related to geography, they are few, far between, and seldom make it through.

Trish wrote: ""Voting ends at midnight Thursday 23rd July (EST time) and results will be posted in the afternoon of Friday 24th July...

This is the first year I've been doing this challenge that we aren't getting poll results in the morning. Would it inconvenience the mods to try to post them earlier in the day? If so, never mind, I know you all do so much. But if not, I really enjoyed getting morning notification of the new prompts and thinking about options throughout the day. "Get a life" would be one valid response to this... But I know I'm not the only person who felt that way, so I thought I would ask. Again, if it is difficult to do this, I retract the request.

Dixie wrote: "This is the first year I've been doing this challenge that we aren't getting poll results in the morning. Would it inconvenience the mods to try to post them earlier in the day? If so, never mind, I know you all do so much. But if not, I really enjoyed getting morning notification of the new prompts and thinking about options throug..."

There's a lot more logistics than just posting the prompts and sometimes it takes longer for the mods to coordinate. This round since Trish is British time they'll come through earlier in the day for the US!

Pamela wrote: "Dixie wrote: "This is the first year I've been doing this challenge that we aren't getting poll results in the morning. Would it inconvenience the mods to try to post them earlier in the day? If so..."

Okay, great!

Dixie wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Dixie wrote: "This is the first year I've been doing this challenge that we aren't getting poll results in the morning. Would it inconvenience the mods to try to post them earlier in..."

We try!! I'l admit- I'm still learning so like checking with the other mods before I post the results.

Initial thoughts:

1. A book related to an "-ology". Yes, I like this one.

2. A book with a compound word in the title. Neutral

3. Rickrolled! A book with one of the following words - Never, Gonna, Give, You, (or) Up - in the title I think this is stupid, but found several choices after doing a search, so I'll leave it neutral

4. Read a prequel or a sequel. I don't like that you can't read the first book in a series, but probably won't vote against.

5. A book focused on a character going through a major life transition. No, down vote.

6. A book with an honorific or its abbreviation in the title. No, I don't like this one.

7. A book that includes a character who works with plants I don't care much for this one.

8. A book that has a cover relating to one of the 12 zodiac signs. Too wide open, but probably won't vote against it.

9. A book relating to art, design or graphics. neutral

10. A book that is cozy, whether mystery, fantasy, or any other genre. Yes, voting for this one.

11.A book by an author with an obvious prefix in their name.No I don't like this one at all.

12. A book with characters who are in a club (book club, murder club, social club, etc) Neutral

13. A book set in one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union Neutral

14. A Summerween book. I don't like this one.

15.A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma Neutral

@Katherine, the Rickrolled prompt is my favorite suggestion so far this year, I really hope it gets in! It's fun, has the 2027 connection, and at least for me is the perfect level of difficulty since I have options but not 100+ of them.

My other likely upvotes:
- A book related to an "-ology".
- A book with a compound word in the title
- A book set in one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union

Likely downvotes:
- A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma (Sat on this and feel worse about it than I did before. As mentioned, this is taken from Popsugar, which is one of the most popular reading challenges out there. Other POC in this group please speak up. If we want to do a prompt about POC, surely we can do better than copying from Popsugar and can come up with our own version (such as making it about a POC author instead of a POC character). I like it just as much as the next person but deciding to use the verbatim wording feels like a low effort way of suggesting a diversity-related prompt.)

On the fence:
- Summerween (unique idea but would be really hard for me. I don't have a lot of Halloween-type books but especially not set in the summer.)

Dixie wrote: "Trish wrote: ""Voting ends at midnight Thursday 23rd July (EST time) and results will be posted in the afternoon of Friday 24th July...

This is the first year I've been doing this challenge that w..."

Please keep in mind that some of us are in other parts of the world! I usually miss poll suggestions and announcements because they often happen in the middle of the night, so I enjoy when the times are different.

First thoughts - only two I am really excited about. I'm in the minority in that I liked last week's suggestions much better.
*It is always hard for me to convey tone in text. All thoughts expressed are my own and given with great respect to the personal preferences of others. No offence is intended by this message.

1. A book related to an "-ology". Yes - I will be using eschatology, the study of the endtimes.
2. A book with a compound word in the title - Neutral
3. Rickrolled! A book with one of the following words - Never, Gonna, Give, You, (or) Up - in the title. - While being Rickrolled is not my favorite thing, I have to appreciate the creativity of placing it in this space. Well played! That said, I will leave it as a neutral because I can easily fill it, but don't want to see it on my personal planning sheet for an entire year. Like the Jelly of the Month Club, its the gift that keeps on giving.
4. A book that is a prequel or a sequel - Neutral
5. A book focused on a character going through a major life transition. - Down, most fiction books that I read have this as their plot. If selected, I will look for a happy wedding or retirement plot.
6. A book with an honorific or its abbreviation in the title. - Neutral
7. A book that includes a character who works with plants - Neutral - my family raised tobacco for years and an uncle on my mother's side owned a commercial tomato farm.
8. A book that has a cover relating to one of the 12 zodiac signs. - Down because I'm not into astrology and its suggested every year.
9. A book relating to art, design or graphics.- Neutral
10. A book that is cozy, whether mystery, fantasy, or any other genre. - Up. I'm interested in exploring 'cozy fantasy'. My first thought is the 'Discworld' series by Terry Pratchett.
11. A book by an author with an obvious prefix in their name. - Neutral. If chosen, I will read Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville.
12. A book with characters who are in a club (book club, murder club, social club, etc.) - Neutral
13, A book set in one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union - Down. We have 2 '27' prompts and geography prompts don't excite me (although the European focus has been absent in the most recent geography prompts). After thinking about it some, I may change this to a neutral.
14. A Summerween book - Down - it seems hard to fill at first glance. I will look into the suggestions
15, A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma - Down - I don't like choosing books based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.

Sue wrote: "Please keep in mind that some of us are in other parts of the world! I usually miss poll suggestions and announcements because they often happen in the middle of the night, so I enjoy when the times are different..."

So true! My apologies. And moving the times around works for me too.

Jette wrote: "While being Rickrolled is not my favorite thing, I have to appreciate the creativity of placing it in this space. Well played! That said, I will leave it as a neutral because I can easily fill it, but don't want to see it on my personal planning sheet for an entire year. Like the Jelly of the Month Club, its the gift that keeps on giving...

This made me laugh out loud. A yearlong ear worm! I'm still going to vote for it because it's clever and fun, but I absolutely sympathize with your thoughts about seeing it all year.

The Jelly of the Month Club made me laugh too!

I love the Rickroll prompt, so clever and feels like something that those who don't read any of the discussion would vote for.

I do like Summerween, I wasn't familiar with the concept and my initial thought was "Uh, no" but after looking into it more, I'm on board.

I am leaning toward 7 up, 1 down, which is a first for this year's voting for me.

Dixie wrote: "So true! My apologies. And moving the times around works for me too."

We move times around because of a) Mod's schedule and b) to try to get as many people reached as possible. We should schedule one to be up during Pacific island days.

Pamela wrote: "We move times around because of a) Mod's schedule and b) to try to get as many people reached as possible. We should schedule one to be up during Pacific island days."

There will probably be at least one more in the European afternoon, if folks want one, although maybe not on a Sunday!

Trish wrote: >There will probably be at least one more in the European afternoon, if folks want one, although maybe not on a Sunday!.."

Especially not during a major sporting event!

Jette wrote: "First thoughts - only two I am really excited about. I'm in the minority in that I liked last week's suggestions much better.


You are not alone, Jette.

Trish wrote: "It's now time to get ready to vote for our next set of prompts! The thread will be open for at least 24 hours before the poll gets posted. This is a good opportunity to ask any question you may hav..."

Wait a minute - I just went to the voting page, and the #15 prompts suggestion is different on the top half from the bottom half.

Voting is now open: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...

FYI @Mods, on the poll, #15 for picking bottoms is left over from the previous poll.

Jen K wrote: "FYI @Mods, on the poll, #15 for picking bottoms is left over from the previous poll."

I was halfway through voting when I noticed this. I unchecked everything and left the page so hopefully no poll from me will have been recorded. Will vote when this has been corrected.

I've updated the poll!

I can't tell if mine went through or not.

I did the poll before it was updated, assuming that 15 would be using the new prompt. Should I redo, or will the one I’ve done be recorded?

Nike wrote: "This week's suggestions are so much more fun than last week's! Wonderful! Especially the Summerween prompt (I've never encountered that expression before but instantly fell in love with the idea)! ..."

I hope you contributed one of these uber-fun prompts since you disliked last week's so much ;)

Dixie wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "13. A book set in one of the 27 countries that are members of the European Union. - While I actually like this from a European point of view, we already have two 27 Connections so ..."

I guess you're right. It's actually a nice geography one.

sorry, edited. I thought "Protagonist" instead of PoC. Not a native speaker...

Well, this is a first! I voted 8 down.

Sibylle wrote: "In what way would the prompt be about gender, race etc.?"

The prompt is about a person of color experiencing joy and not trauma.

1, 2, 3, 13, and 15 all upvotes!

Sandra wrote: "I can't tell if mine went through or not."

I don't see you

Also somebody who voted for plants and Summerween and against cozy needs to revote--- you need to revote.

MJ wrote: "I did the poll before it was updated, assuming that 15 would be using the new prompt. Should I redo, or will the one I’ve done be recorded?"

Unless you want to vote for or against 15, then speak up and we'll delete you vote so you can so it again.