Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
2027 Reading List Creation
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[2027] Poll 8 Voting
Mod
Ideas for the prompts:
A book with a character that has spent time in a prison.
This could be an inmate, guard, warden, lawyer, visitor etc
A book set in a non-urban landscape such as a desert, forest, or mountain range.
Some examples!
- Holes (desert)
- Dune (desert planet)
- The Martian (desert planet)
- The Shining (mountains)
- Little House on the Prairie (prairie)
- The Grapes of Wrath (dust bowl/agricultural valleys)
- The Overstory (I think?? for forests?)
- The Great Alone (rural Alaska)
- The Poisonwood Bible (jungle)
- Demon Copperhead (rural Appalachia)
- Life of Pi (ocean)
- Many fantasy novels including For the Wolf (forest), The Hobbit (rural town, mountains, forest), and more.
The intent is to allow for small towns and villages and not restrict it just to nature.
A book with more than one author
Examples:
Verity Bright is a husband-wife writing team. They are the authors of the Lady Swift cozy mystery series.
Max Allan Collins Mickey Spillane
Fern Michaels; Janet Dailey; Sharon Sala; Deborah Bedford
Newt Gingrich William R. Forstchen
A book in which someone is missing or has been kidnapped.
Can be fiction or nonfiction
Examples:
Kidnapped
Ransom
Gone Girl
The Deep End of the Ocean
The Face on the Milk Carton
All the Missing Girls
A book connected in some way to an important event.
The event could be historical: https://beckchris.com/history/the-55-...
But it could also be political, nature-related, social, cultural, regional, local, or even personal
A book that fits at least two other prompts on this year's list.
You can KIS and pick two easy prompts, or BIO and pick three or more difficult prompts. Or anywhere in between.
A book with a character who fits one of the identities or occupations of one of the Village People
Police officer
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
Indigenous person
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Soldier
https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/mi...
Construction worker
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/cons...
Cowboy
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Motorcyclist or Leatherman
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
A book featuring a heist, con, fake, or trickery
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
A book with a character facing an ethical dilemma.
An ethical dilemma is a complex situation in which a person must choose between two or more conflicting moral options--in other words, no really good or bad choice.
Common Types of Ethical Dilemmas
• Truth versus loyalty: Choosing between being completely honest and staying loyal to a friend or group.
• Individual versus community: Weighing the needs or rights of one person against the health or safety of a large group.
• Short-term versus long-term: Balancing immediate relief or gain against future consequences.
• Justice versus mercy: Deciding whether to enforce strict rules or show compassion and forgiveness
Real-World Examples: Whistleblowing, Medical triage, Resource allocation
A book about female rage
A few suggestions:
Gone Girl (containing Amy's famous "cool girl" monologue)
The Power
Wide Sargasso Sea
We Should All Be Feminists
Nightbitch
Read a book featuring a character living in isolation (physical or metaphorical)
Physical - Remote setting, locked spaces, solo journeys etc.
Examples - The Light Between Oceans, Piranesi, Project Hail Mary, The Wall, Room, Wild, The Stranger in the Woods etc.
Metaphorical - social outcast, a loner by choice, someone processing deep grief etc.
Examples - Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Convenience Store Woman, A Man Called Ove, Tomb of Sand etc.
An uplifting book
(Because we can all use a brighter outlook right now)
Books for When You Are Feeling Low: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Best Whimsical Novels: https:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Books to Read When You Feel Like the World is Falling Apart:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Restore Your Faith in Humanity: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
Uplifting Adult LGBTQ: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
.
Also consider books in these genres: Hopepunk, Solarpunk, Cozy Mystery, Cozy Fantasy, whatever light romance is called, maybe Middle Grade books? And for non-fiction: positive Memoir, positive Science, Inspirational, Humor
Early first thoughts..I love the heist or con prompt. Makes me immediately think Anxious People.
I also love coming of age when done well!
My favorite childhood book is The Chronicles of Narnia so I would either read another in the series I never finished or go with The Lion Women of Tehran.
I don't like a book that fits two or more prompts. We always end up with at least 2 that feel read anything and I fear this would end up feeling that way for me.
The rest all are neutral for me
For #15. If you like art, check out this blog “books with paintings on the cover”
https://www.whatisquinnreading.com/bl...
Listopia
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
Ethical dilemma and related to an important event are both too general for me, and I personally don't read many uplifting books bc I feel like they're quite challenging to get right without being schmaltzy, so either leaving that neutral or downvoting haven't decided. Really love the Village People prompt, that's so fun and creative!! That one and female rage are the ones I most hope make it in.
I suggested "connected to an important event" because I had two versions of that in other challenges this year and really enjoyed them. One was "read about one or more recurrent events that take place in the month of your birth" - I knew this group wouldn't go for that, but I read books about spring migration and Eurovision for it. The other asked for a book related to a "big event during your lifetime", so I read about the moon landing, which I remember watching on TV when I was a child. Both of those challenge experiences made me feel more connected to the events (well, not so much Eurovision!), and increased my interest in both the migration this spring and the Artemis II lunar flyby as well. So I thought I'd throw it out there, just in case others might like the idea. I like "fits at least two other prompts" - in fact this year I'm keeping a spreadsheet with every prompt that every book I read fits, just for my own entertainment, though it has come in handy more than once when I've needed to switch a few books around to different prompts. Heist, con, fake, or trickery sounds fun, too. The wording of the children's book prompt indicates it isn't rereading a book you loved but rather trying to find one similar to it or related to it in some way ("reminds you of"). That is a unique take, but I'm not sure how I would feel about finding something for it.
First impressions:1. A book with a character that has spent time in a prison. - Maybe, but I'm not sold on it either. Probably wouldn't downvote though.
2. A book that has a coming-of-age theme. - I've had this prompt several times over the years and always find it much harder than I expect somehow. I'd probably leave it neutral just on the grounds that I've done it so many times before.
3. A book in which someone is missing or has been kidnapped. - Love this! I read a lot of thrillers so this is a perfect fit for many of those
4. A book that reminds you of your favorite childhood or children’s book. - A strong maybe
5. A book set in a non-urban landscape such as a desert, forest, or mountain range. - Meh, I feel like we have enough setting prompts for now.
6. A book with a character who fits one of the identities or occupations of one of the Village People - Love the creativity, but not sure I'm invested enough in the actual character types to vote for this, but maybe.
7. A book featuring a heist, con, fake, or trickery - This is another great fit for thrillers although not always the kind of thriller I prefer, but I'd probably vote for it
8. A book that fits at least two other prompts on this year's list. - Downvote. I've never liked this style of prompt
9. A book with more than one author - Neutral, because I've done it many times before but it's very doable
10. A book with a character facing an ethical dilemma. - Love this! Definite upvote
11. A book about female rage. - Another definite upvote!
12. An uplifting book. - Possibly, but not sure I want it strongly enough to vote for it
13, A book featuring a character living in isolation (physical or metaphorical) - Another likely upvote although I feel like it could be much harder than I think to find options
14. A book connected in some way to an important event. - Too vague for me. I'd want something a little more narrow/focused
15. A book whose cover reminds you of a favorite work of art - I can't really say that I have a favourite work of art off the top of my head, so not sure how I'd approach this
Mod
I like the month of your birth! I know voters here hate prompts that have personal connections, but doing the month helps limit the prompt.
Mod
I found a whole list of books about female rage, when I was trying to figure out what I'd read if it got in.https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Lol Pamela. You could fit what I know about art and artists on the head of a pin. But I did read Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin earlier this year and enjoyed it. I don't care for his artwork, but he lead an interesting life. He lived with Van Gogh for a time and was accused of (view spoiler) Van Gogh painted several of his sunflower pictures to get Gauguin to come stay with him and decorated his room with them. If that's close enough for you, I'd recommend the book.
Mod
Robin P wrote: "I thought of female rage politically, as feminism, for instance, Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger. But many of the books are things like Gone Girl and other th..."Robin, can you update post #2? It’s missing numbers and some of ideas from the suggestions. Thanks in advance.
These books fit both Female Rage, and Cover similar to a painting. The paintings are of same actress from the 18th century.
A Good Person
Too Much: How Victorian Constraints Still Bind Women Today
I wasn't able to vote/participate in the last few polls so happy to have been able to suggest one finally! Here are my first impressions:
Likely upvotes:
- Character in prison
- Non-urban landscape
- A book whose cover reminds you of a favorite work of art (I don't even have an option in mind but really like this prompt.)
Possible Downvotes:
- Coming-of-age theme (Essentially all middle grade and YA books have one so this isn't very inspiring to me.)
- Character living in isolation (I'm struggling with this year's "a book set in an isolated location" so this feels a little too similar although I like this wording better)
- A book connected in some way to an important event. (Unfortunately too vague since it's both "connected in some way" and "an important event". To me that means anything from a someone's first day of school to a minor character's wedding. I like the idea behind it and would have preferred something more specific like "connected to a historic event".)
On the fence, will come back and read through more comments before deciding:
- Village People (really fun idea, but since YMCA is so strongly associated with Trump now it's hard to separate it from politics)
- Female rage (I like it in theory but I don't gravitate toward revenge stories or books where rage is central to the story)
- A book featuring a heist, con, fake, or trickery (I've struggled with this one in the past. But if "a fake" means any fake item then I guess a lot of mysteries would count. But hard to know ahead of time.)
Neutral on the others!
@Robin, could you hide (view spoiler) from the female rage prompt due to spoilers? That's not something a reader would know at the start of the book when she's missing and her husband is looking for her.
Honestly, there is nothing much here that excites me.Prison- could probably find something historical to read
Coming of age: No, not inspired by this - young adult fiction in the main
Missing/kidnapped: No, not keen on thrillers.
Non-urban landscape: ok
Reminds you of a childhood book: Doesn't appeal.
Village people: Well, I could find something, so not awful
Heist etc. : Absolutely not!
Two other prompts: I quite like this one when it crops up
More than one author: Struggled with this in the past
Ethical dilemma: Meh
Female rage: Meh
Uplifting: Most definitely not.
Isolation: I quite like it, but we have had both survival and isolated location this year. It's too similar.
Connected to an important event: I like it, but may be too vague to win
Art work cover: I like it, but may not be popular because we had Van Gogh this year.
I suspect one at least of the thriller type prompts will get in, I hope not both.
Melanie wrote: "Ethical dilemma and related to an important event are both too general for me, and I personally don't read many uplifting books bc I feel like they're quite challenging to get right without being s..."Now I learned a new word - Schmaltzy! Had to look it up. Never came across it before! 😄
My thoughts: 1. A book with a character that has spent time in a prison.
Yes, could be interesting if one chooses someone who's in prison for political reasons or someone who's innocent.
2. A book that has a coming-of-age theme.
No, this is such a common prompt in many challenges and I'm tired of it.
3. A book in which someone is missing or has been kidnapped.
Love this. Could be a thriller or a true story about someone who's been abducted in real life.
4. A book that reminds you of your favorite childhood or children’s book.
No, I'm sorry but this one doesn't appeal to me at all.
5. A book set in a non-urban landscape such as a desert, forest, or mountain range.
Yes, I'll upvote it.
6. A book with a character who fits one of the identities or occupations of one of the Village People
As much as I love YMCA I'm not interested in any of the characters apart from the indigenous one. And that makes it a bit boring, I'd love to have a chunk of interesting characters to choose from. If it gets in I'll read about an indigenous person, I've got plenty of books on my shelves to choose from but the prompt doesn't appeal to me. Neutral or downvote.
7. A book featuring a heist, con, fake, or trickery.
No, as much as I like thrillers those are not the kinds of criminal activities that make me tick.
8. A book that fits at least two other prompts on this year's list.
No, sorry - that's to general. So many books will fit so many different prompts.
9. A book with more than one author
This has been on a few different challenges the last couple of years so I don't find it exciting. But it's doable. Won't upvote nor downvote.
10. A book with a character facing an ethical dilemma.
Hmm, I would need to look at a listopia before deciding. It feels too general but I might get convinced if someone gives me some interesting choices.
11. A book about female rage.
Yes, yes, yes! Absolutely! Love this one!
12. An uplifting book.
No, I prefer dark and serious. Although as I 'm writing this I come to think of the only feelgood series that I like, a Swedish mystery series with a female pastor that apart from solving crimes gives a lot of deep and philosophical reasoning. A unique mixture and I hope it will be translated into English some day. I would read the next in that series if this gets voted in but I will not upvote it.
13, A book featuring a character living in isolation (physical or metaphorical)
Yes.
14. A book connected in some way to an important event.
I thought this was too general at first but after reading Dixie's comment about this I'm getting a bit more interested and I might get persuaded if someone puts her mind to it!
15. A book whose cover reminds you of a favorite work of art.
A definite yes!
Yes, I love how many people are resonating with my female rage suggestion! It just came to me and I thought it might be popular here.Robin P wrote: "I thought of female rage politically, as feminism, for instance, Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger. But many of the books are things like Gone Girl and other th..."
This would definitely fit! I just suggested a lot of fiction books that I was familiar with because that's mostly what I read.
Dubhease wrote: "I found a whole list of books about female rage, when I was trying to figure out what I'd read if it got in.https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/..."
I was wondering what I would read for this and found half a dozen of my TBR books in the first dozen pages of this list. For me, a good list can make all the difference if I'm on the edge about a prompt idea.
Mod
I'm not sure that's a spoiler!
I should read that. I find his work interesting (in general I'm not am Impressionist fan) but all the snippets I know about his life are fascinating. I've seriously been looking for books with stars on the cover, although I tend to take books very literally and for me "related to" is a content prompt.
Initial thoughts:1. A book with a character that has spent time in a prison. Maybe or neutral.
2. A book that has a coming-of-age theme. Neutral
3. A book in which someone is missing or has been kidnapped. Maybe
4. A book that reminds you of your favorite childhood or children’s book. Neutral - I think I'd rather read a childhood classic I missed out on or something. If it gets through, maybe I'll do that.
5. A book set in a non-urban landscape such as a desert, forest, or mountain range. Down. I feel like we have enough setting prompts.
6. A book with a character who fits one of the identities or occupations of one of the Village People. Possible up. I want another character prompt, and I do have some books featuring indigenous characters. Also, I read a lot of mysteries, so police officers often appear.
7. A book featuring a heist, con, fake, or trickery. Maybe. I need to research it a bit.
8. A book that fits at least two other prompts on this year's list. Down. I don't care for this kind of prompt.
9. A book with more than one author. Possible up. I have a few things I need a push to read.
10. A book with a character facing an ethical dilemma. Down. This feels like :read a book."
11. A book about female rage. Down. This reminds me of my old Women's History prof in grad school who jumped down a student's throat for drinking coffee about of a Breast Cancer Awareness mug because she said pink is the color of female oppression. A women's history book? I'd be down for that, but the rage bit takes ne back to that one class, and it was a miserable class.
12. An uplifting book. Neutral.
13, A book featuring a character living in isolation (physical or metaphorical). Maybe. I feel like we have something similar this year.
14. A book connected in some way to an important event. Neutral or down. It feels very general.
15. A book whose cover reminds you of a favorite work of art. Maybe.
(I'mkind of a killjoy this round. Sorry.)
Nike wrote: "Now I learned a new word - Schmaltzy! Had to look it up..."Nike - I had to laugh when I saw this word! I know the word schmaltz but have never used it or seen it used as an adjective. Kinda funny. I like it! I would've used a more boring word like "corny" which has a little different meaning.
I'm honest, I'm not very excited about this set of prompts. I'm not even sure how to vote at all since I somehow could work with either of these if they really got in.1. A book with a character that has spent time in a prison. - I think I could work with that if it gets in
2. A book that has a coming-of-age theme. - Very easily doable
3. A book in which someone is missing or has been kidnapped. - I think as for character I like the prison one better
4. A book that reminds you of your favorite childhood or children’s book. - I kind of like it, but I'll probably broaden it to teens as well
5. A book set in a non-urban landscape such as a desert, forest, or mountain range. - I think we have a few setting prompts already? And I'm not entirely into this one, I'll probably stay neutral
6. A book with a character who fits one of the identities or occupations of one of the Village People. - I kinda like it
7. A book featuring a heist, con, fake, or trickery. - I don't really like this one
8. A book that fits at least two other prompts on this year's list. - I'm not really into it, but might stay neutral
9. A book with more than one author. - Quite ok, probably staying neutral
10. A book with a character facing an ethical dilemma. - I work in a bookstore and I'm ogling this one book about medically assisted suicide ...
11. A book about female rage. - Neutral for now
12. An uplifting book. - Easily doable
13. A book featuring a character living in isolation (physical or metaphorical). - I somehow like this but I have no idea whatsoever what to read for it
14. A book connected in some way to an important event. - As I understand it, the important event can be anything? Doesn't matter if it's a good or bad one, or even only important to myself?
15. A book whose cover reminds you of a favorite work of art. - Is this supposed to be my favorite work of art or any art that seems to be liked well enough in general?
There are 4 maybe yesses for me:A book that reminds you of your favorite childhood or children’s book.
- I loved Harriet the Spy so a book with a spy could work, which I have a few in mind. Or any book with animals like The Jungle Book or My Family and Other Animals or All Creatures Great and Small.
A book connected in some way to an important event.
- I like this one because it would cover a lot of non-fiction, satire, and historical fiction. I personally would interpret it as a historical event rather than a personal event.
A book whose cover reminds you of a favorite work of art.
- I don't have a favorite work of art but this would give me an opportunity to find some artwork that I like and go from there.
An uplifting book
- Not my typical book but would love to have one right now! Maybe a memoir or a biography? Becky Chambers' newest book? Something with humor and a happy ending sounds good.
A definite no for the Village People for the same reason that Irene mentioned but, also, I generally don't like these types of prompts anyways.
Chrissie wrote: "14. A book connected in some way to an important event. - As I understand it, the important event can be anything? Doesn't matter if it's a good or bad one, or even only important to myself..."Yes, that's right. A couple of people have said that is too vague/general, but I feel sure if I had restricted it at all, other people would have said it was too specific. So I left it open for each person to decide which event, important to all or just to them, they want to read a book connected to.
Mod
Sorry, voting will start today, I will update Msg 1 when it's ready.
First Impressions:1. A book with a character that has spent time in a prison. - neutral - I'm reading a series that has the MC spending some time in prison & that would give me an opportunity to read another in the series.
2. A book that has a coming-of-age theme. - Down - just not something I enjoy.
3. A book in which someone is missing or has been kidnapped. - Down - I would have a hard time keeping this one light and escapist.
4. A book that reminds you of your favorite childhood or children’s book. - neutral -
5. A book set in a non-urban landscape such as a desert, forest, or mountain range. - Down - I'm not fond of setting prompts
6. A book with a character who fits one of the identities or occupations of one of the Village People - UP - I seconded this one because I have several series going that could fit almost all of the characters represented. Plus, Trump or no, I love YMCA! Its just a fun song.
7. A book featuring a heist, con, fake, or trickery - Neutral - it felt too recently used, but it was 3 years ago. I can fill this one without too much trouble.
8. A book that fits at least two other prompts on this year's list. - UP - Like all prompts, it can be as difficult or simple as you wish.
9. A book with more than one author - neutral - easily filled, but I've seen it a couple of times.
10. A book with a character facing an ethical dilemma. - Up - I love this suggestion. I really should have studied law.
11. A book about female rage. - Down - I'm not into rage, female or otherwise.
12. An uplifting book. - neutral - Easily filled and probably enjoyable, but what I consider uplifting may be a little out of the norm.
13, A book featuring a character living in isolation (physical or metaphorical) - Down - too close to the two prompts we had this year about survival and isolated setting
14. A book connected in some way to an important event. - Neutral - birth month doesn't even work for me - no American holidays or important & interesting events for me.
15. A book whose cover reminds you of a favorite work of art. - Neutral - although some book covers do have a folk-art feel to them.
Nike wrote: "Melanie wrote: "Ethical dilemma and related to an important event are both too general for me, and I personally don't read many uplifting books bc I feel like they're quite challenging to get right..."Ha! It comes from "schmaltz" which means chicken fat. No idea how it morphed into a word meaning "overly sentimental" but there you go.
My yes vote thoughts:5. Set in a non-urban landscape - I love book setting prompts.
10. Facing an ethical dilemma - I like to think moral and ethical are similar, a dilemma where a character has to choose between two equally conflicting choices and there isn't a clear answer to the choice. Here's a list with both contemporary and classic literature selections: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
13. Living in isolation - I seconded this prompt and have lots of books to choose from. I'm currently reading a book about a 78-year-old woman who purposely stays behind when the colony is evacuated so she can live the rest of her life in peace (haha). All I can think is that I want to read more books like this.
15. A cover that reminds you of a favorite work of art - So many Penguin classics have works of art. I don't have a favorite work of art but I love Penguin covers.
Pamela wrote: "I'll say, I came up with the work of art on the cover because I am having the darndest time with the Van Gogh prompt this year, but I also don't like van Gogh. And each time I think about what to d..."I read Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World's Greatest Museum for that because I was absolutely confident that the world's most famous art museum would have some of Van Gogh's art on their walls. Nope! He's too modern for them. I was crushed haha.
Mod
Number 9 in the “do not want section” is from a previous poll.
Mod
Thanks for clarifying that we can still vote in spite of that!
7 Up, 1 DownUps:
1. A book with a character that has spent time in a prison.
3. A book in which someone is missing or has been kidnapped.
4. A book that reminds you of your favorite childhood or children’s book.
6. A book with a character who fits one of the identities or occupations of one of the Village People
7. A book featuring a heist, con, fake, or trickery
9. A book with more than one author
14. A book connected in some way to an important event
Down:
13, A book featuring a character living in isolation (physical or metaphorical)
Pamela wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: "Lol Pamela. You could fit what I know about art and artists on the head of a pin. But I did read Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin earlier this year and enjoyed..."Lol, I hadn't heard that Gauguin had a connection to that until I read it in this book. (I knew that it had happened, of course, but not Gauguin's involvement) As I said, head of a pin.... ;)
You can't find stars on a cover? How about in a title?
I went 5 and 3. Had dinner with friends today, and they convinced me of the merits of Female Rage. They suggested something by Sylvia Plath could work. Possibly Madame Bovary and of course Medea. I upvoted it. It's not often I change from a downvote to an upvote.
Angie wrote: "I went 5 and 3. Had dinner with friends today, and they convinced me of the merits of Female Rage. They suggested something by Sylvia Plath could work. Possibly Madame BovaryI just read The Witch of Colchis
Medea had some compelling reasons for her rage, but I still don't condone her actions..
My comments on a few of the prompts:2. A book that has a coming-of-age theme.
I love certain versions of this type of story. Usually one where someone feels stifled by family or societal expectations and learns to break free. Don't have a book in mind for this, but hopefully I could find one.
4. A book that reminds you of your favorite childhood or children’s book.
One of my favorites (and it seems I'm not the only one) was Harriet the Spy. In my mind she was also sort of a detective. I'd look for a book with an adult female detective, most likely. I don't generally like most spy stories... although I DID enjoy The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen late last year. The main character was a retired female spy, and this is a series with #3 coming out in less than two weeks.
5. A book set in a non-urban landscape such as a desert, forest, or mountain range.
This is a favorite. I suggested Set in Nature for this year, so I have a bunch of other non-urban books I'd love to read.
6. A book with a character who fits one of the identities or occupations of one of the Village People
This sounds fun, but between the Trump connection and not really being very interested in stories involving these particular characters, I'll probably pass. Still love the fun of the suggestion, though!
8. A book that fits at least two other prompts on this year's list.
I'm certainly open to this prompt. Last year (?) I read a book that fit at least 10 of our prompts! It was nice not to have to choose which of the more specific prompts to connect it to and opened up that space for another great option.
10. A book with a character facing an ethical dilemma.
I like the idea of this, but don't have any particular books in mind.
11. A book about female rage.
I don't like to dwell in that feeling (although I do end up there sometimes). Not sure if I can upvote this, but if it gets in, I'd probably finally get to The Power by Naomi Alderman.
12. An uplifting book.
My suggestion. I'd use this to read the last available Fredrik Backman novel I haven't read yet— A Man Called Ove. This won't be uplifting in the sappy sense, more like heartwarming.
13. A book featuring a character living in isolation (physical or metaphorical)
I have a book that could be used here or in the non-urban setting prompt: The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods by Julia Butterfly Hill. Love a forest setting, and redwoods are my FAVORITE. This woman "tree sat" for 2 YEARS—she thought she might be up there for 2 weeks...
14. A book connected in some way to an important event.
I scanned through the provided list of events important to the world that was provided by the prompt suggester. I decided I would connect to the invention of alphabets and read Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn. It's about a community that gradually loses the option to use certain letters of the alphabet and how they creatively deal with that.
15. A book whose cover reminds you of a favorite work of art.
Love a good cover prompt. I want to find an old painting that has humor in it or isn't something we would expect from the era the painting was created. I might read When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. I found this one when looking for books for this year's Van Gogh prompt. Van Gogh painted this while in art school. It was kind of a joke about the boring practices of art school, like drawing skeletons and not the style or subject he became known for. Chip Kidd was the cover designer for this, and I got to go to a series of discussions with him about book design. It was really interesting!
Oof usually I know my votes right away and I'm pretty split 4/4 but I'm struggling with these ones.
Tracy wrote: "My comments on a few of the prompts:2. A book that has a coming-of-age theme.
I love certain versions of this type of story. Usually one where someone feels stifled by family or societal expectat..."
A man called ove was the exact opposite of uplifting for me..there were tears and sadness. But thats the cool way everyone interprets both prompts and books differently.
Chelsea - Backman’s books always make me cry, but also laugh. I think overall they are uplifting to me because he shows everyone’s humanity. But I can definitely see how his books might not be the first thing people think of for Uplifting.
Brittany wrote: "Oof usually I know my votes right away and I'm pretty split 4/4 but I'm struggling with these ones."I needed more votes. I really wanted 5/5 this time. Had to settle for 5/3
Tracy wrote: "My comments on a few of the prompts:4. A book that reminds you of your favorite childhood or children’s book.
One of my favorites (and it seems I'm not the only one) was Harriet the Spy..."
Oh I LOVED that book - and since I just discovered the Mrs. Pollifax series this year, one of those books would be perfect as a connection to Harriet. Though I also have Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy on my TBR list, so a couple of possibilities there.
Dixie, thanks for the reminder about the Fitzhugh autobiography. I had it on my TBR but had totally forgotten about it.
Dubhease wrote: "I found a whole list of books about female rage, when I was trying to figure out what I'd read if it got in.https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/..."
That's awesome! Crazy how many of these I've read - LOL! I'll have to spend time perusing it. Ones I can recommend:
It Will Only Hurt for a Moment by Delilah S. Dawson
The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson
The Golden Cage by Camilla Läckberg
Silver Tears by Camilla Läckberg
Can I just vote eight times for this prompt and call it good? ;) LOL.
Melanie wrote: "Nike wrote: "Melanie wrote: "Ethical dilemma and related to an important event are both too general for me, and I personally don't read many uplifting books bc I feel like they're quite challenging..."Lol!!! 😄
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Fraud (other topics)Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President (other topics)
What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal (other topics)
Love Canal: and the Birth of the Environmental Health Movement (other topics)
Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
E. Jean Carroll (other topics)Cho Nam-Joo (other topics)
Delilah S. Dawson (other topics)
Camilla Läckberg (other topics)
Sylvia Plath (other topics)
More...
Voting ends at midnight Sunday 16th August (EST) and the results will be posted in the afternoon of Monday 11th August7
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: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...
**#9 under downvotes is currently incorrect. It should be A book with more than one author. You can mark #9 that way if you wish or wait for it to be corrected - sorry for the confusion!
***update, this has been corrected
Poll prompts:
1. A book with a character that has spent time in a prison.
2. A book that has a coming-of-age theme.
3. A book in which someone is missing or has been kidnapped.
4. A book that reminds you of your favorite childhood or children’s book.
5. A book set in a non-urban landscape such as a desert, forest, or mountain range.
6. A book with a character who fits one of the identities or occupations of one of the Village People
7. A book featuring a heist, con, fake, or trickery
8. A book that fits at least two other prompts on this year's list.
9. A book with more than one author
10. A book with a character facing an ethical dilemma.
11. A book about female rage.
12. An uplifting book.
13, A book featuring a character living in isolation (physical or metaphorical)
14. A book connected in some way to an important event.
15. A book whose cover reminds you of a favorite work of art.