Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Voting is now open!

The entire Around the Year challenge list is generated by the group members. We enjoyed the process so much in the past two years that we are creating another list for 2018.

The Process:
The topics for the 2018 RC list will be determined through around 13 mini-polls. Each user will vote for their favorite 4 topics in each mini-poll). Suggestions for each poll will be opened until 15-20 suggestions are received+seconded. Then a poll will be opened for voting for four days so you can select your 4 favorite suggestions. The process has been unpredictable this year but we are striving for a completed list in November.

The Rules:
- Voting ends September 16.
- One vote per poll per member.

Poll Entries:
1. A book with a map
2. A book nominated for the Edgar Award
3. A book you chose by playing MASH (book edition) (Set categories, play MASH & read a book that fits the winning categories)
4. A book with a cover you don't like
5. A "coming of age" novel
6. A book set in a place related to showbiz (i.e. theater, circus, movies, etc)
7. A book by an author with the same first and last initial
8. A book with a mythical creature as the main character or subject of the book (ie unicorns, centaurs, a hunt for bigfoot, etc)
9. A book you don't know why you added to your TBR / that you wish was not on your TBR
10. A book that involves the color yellow
11. A book recommended in Good Minds Suggest
12. A book from the 10 best top 100 book lists
13. A book that you consider a guilty pleasure
14. A literary fiction
15. A book that was written by a Nobel Prize-winning author
16. A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends
17. A seasonal book
18. A book with a theme about sex
19. A book about your favorite sport, fiction or nonfiction
20. A book with a Q or X in the title or in the author's name

Helpful Links:
- The Edgar Award: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
- Good Minds Suggest: https://www.goodreads.com/featured_li...
- Details on MASH: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
- Top 10 Best Top 100 Book Lists: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
- Seasonal books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/se...
- Literary Fiction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literar...
- Nobel Prize Winners: https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_priz...

Survey Link

For once, there were many prompts I didn't like, so I actually had to cull down on my bottoms O_o

Usually I'm pretty easygoing with the prompts and don't have strong feelings either way. But there were definitely two this time that I had an instant "Heck no." response to.

I was caught by surprise with the MASH suggestion though. My first thought was more negative since it felt random but once I looked at the full idea and thought it over, I really liked it. There are also a few that I think will balance out the challenge well.

Sophie I thought it was just me. I had a hard time with the bottom because there were actually more I didn't like than did in this batch. There were only 5 that I even had any interest in. The rest were either hated or just kind of blah for me.

Isn't it so funny how we all have such different reactions & likes/dislikes. I've always wondered what makes people like some things & other people have other preferences. I even read a book about it! (You May Also Like: Taste in an Age of Endless Choice)

Charity & Sophie, I felt that way about the last poll. This one I had a lot more I liked, with a really strong top 5. I had a hard time narrowing down between the last 2 I liked.

I think the MASH idea could be really cool, especially because it's so customizable. I'm trying to think what categories I would pick if it wins.

I haven't voted yet because I have a strong bottom 6 (actually 8) and only 1 or 2 possible tops. The rest I am really not excited about either. I don't know what to do. :(

Amy, don't forget you can vote for less than 4 tops (but please don't go over 4).

I was a bit blah about this one too. I would have voted for the book with Q or X in the title, but thought it's a bit similar to the one we already have with a,t,y. I have a feeling my top 4 are not going to be very popular ones, but I picked them anyway...time will tell. For the first time I only voted on 3 bottom ones. Unlike those of you who have responded already I really didn't like the MASH idea so have put it in my bottom. The majority I don't feel strongly about either way. I prefer to read from my TBR list so prefer not to have to choose from other 'lists', so didn't vote for the list type ones (e.g. nominated for edgar award, 10 best top 100 book lists).

I really liked many of the prompts and chose only two for the bottom.

I agree with a lot of other people; I only really like 3 (and only voted for three top) but had a hard time picking the ones I disliked the most. There were a lot I didn't want. I don't understand the concept of picking a book you don't want to read or have no interest in....

Peter wrote: "I agree with a lot of other people; I only really like 3 (and only voted for three top) but had a hard time picking the ones I disliked the most. There were a lot I didn't want. I don't understand ..."
I picked that one in my top 4 - A book you don't know why you added to your TBR / that you wish was not on your TBR. More so because I often add books to my TBR, and then months (or years) later when I look at my TBR I have no recollection of adding it and wonder why I added it. So for me it isn't the second part that I don't want to read it - but I'm just unsure what made me add it in the first place.

I'm thinking the same. I have added books to my list that I'm not sure about but to read them will mean it gets them off the list and I may very well like them. Either way I wish them off the list, as I do with all the books on my TBR list .

Ups, I was thinking to give this link as soon as the voting start, but I am late!!! :'(

Some links that I believe can be helpful for the showbiz suggestion:
http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/read...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/6...

This was a difficult decision, but I had clear two of my bottom and two of my top.

The MASH sounds interesting, but I try to play it with specific themes and when I got the result it came a combination so difficult to find! If I play it to get something I can get, probably I need to cheat, so it is a not for me.

And the other that I was clear for the bottom was a book that I wish was not on my TBR, I mean, if I find a book in my TBR that I don't want to read, I just delete it .... why in the world would I read it if I am not interested anymore? :S

Those that I had clear for my tops were the one for the showbiz, because I have already something that fit and I want to read and the one of the nobel prize because I think is really interesting.

I ended up with MASH in my bottom 4 also because anything I came up with for categories just ended up with a confusing mess to try to find a book for. Great idea, just not practical for me and my OCD. I also down voted the TBR for the same reason others did. If I don't know why it is there, then I probably don't want to read it anyway. I would be hard pressed to find something that I honestly didn't know why I added it anyway. I have a pretty good memory there. The other 2 in my bottom were the 10 top 100 lists and the Nobel Prize winning author.

For a top four, I chose a book with a map (I really have to get to Lord of the Rings), an author with the same first and last initial (nice scavenger hunt topic), a seasonal book (always read Christmas books, but might go halloween with this one), and a book with Q or X (I have a LOT of options for this one for some reason).

Hopefully we can get 3 or 4 results this week so we can break the 40 category mark finally! We are so close to a complete Around the Year Challenge!

I am one of the people who had many more bottoms than four, and had to work to find four for the top.

I was really feeling pretty uninspired by the suggestions this round, sadly. I picked a few that looked the most promising, and went through my TBR to find books that would fit. After the TBR search, I actually ended up with five top picks and had to narrow one down, so that left me feeling better than I did at the beginning.

As for the bottom picks, I had to narrow that down from around 8 or 9 that I really didn't want. I'm sure I can find things to read for each prompt, but this year, as I participated in the Popsugar challenge, I noticed that I didn't really enjoy the books that were for prompts I wasn't interested in. I hate to read something I don't want to read just to fill a prompt, so I hope this is one of those rare times when I'm in line with the other voters.

So many different reactions! I love this list, I love books with maps, coming of age, sports, a cover you don't like... I wish the 9th prompt stopped after a book you don't know why you added. That describes the majority of books in my TBR list and gives me the chance to look back and make a dent. I hope we don't get too many more books lists to choose from., I think we have enough of those.

Not a really interesting batch for me, I'd difficulties to find more than 2 tops and bottoms. I'm curious to see the winners.

I ended up with a book rated 5 stars by a friend as the last one in my top 4. It was between that one and the Good Mind Suggests lists. I really loved how the Good Mind lists are grouped together as a bunch of mini lists around certain topics, but I was finally swayed by the 5 stars rated by a friend because I feel like that fills a spot in the list that is a little light, the people/recommendation type of prompts. I like just looking at a friend's rating too because it's kind of like a recommendation, but I don't actually have to actually ask them. Haha.

Katie wrote: "I like just looking at a friend's rating too because it's kind of like a recommendation, but I don't actually have to actually ask them. Haha."

Katie, this has been my cheat in the past for "a recommendation from a friend" prompt. I love hearing about my friends favorite books, but I hate asking for recommendations. I'd rather that just come naturally from a conversation or through their passion of a book they are currently reading. So I have always narrowed it down to which friend would I go to for a recommendation, and then looked for books they rated 5 stars.

This was a mixed bag for me. There were some that I liked; I think the first and last initial could make for some good scavenger hunting. I love maps in general so that was an easy pick for me (in fact if it wins I will probably read a book *about* maps). The MASH thing is just in between for me; if it wins, that's fine I'm sure it will be interesting, I just liked others better.

The bottom was hard for me to narrow down. I put the Good Minds Suggest in the bottom because I know I'm just going to be checking to see if someone has recommended each book after I read it until I can check it off. Mythical creature went in the bottom because Popsugar had not one but two mythology prompts this year and I'm just not inspired by it anymore. Coming of age landed in the bottom because I don't really like those type of books. The sex theme landed in the bottom for the same reason.

This was a pretty tough batch for me too. I wasn't a big fan of the MASH one either. Although it's a creative idea, it seems like a lot of extra work (I don't really understand how the game works), and the result can become something that is very complicated to find depending what categories you pick. I'd figure it out if it wins, of course, but it was a bottom 4 choice for me.

My other bottom picks were the Nobel Prize winner because I think I've had that prompt in a challenge before, and didn't enjoy it. I also put the top 100 book lists in my bottom picks because, despite other people's comments that there was a lot of variety, I found the lists generally pretty similar and not particularly motivating for me. I also put the sports prompt in the bottom since I don't have a favourite sport and don't enjoy reading about sports.

Top picks were a bit easier. I loved the book by an author with same first and last initial when it was suggested last time, and was disappointed when it didn't win so I was glad to see it come back. I also liked the literary fiction prompt since it surprisingly has never come up in any of the challenges I've done, and I also really liked the coming of age prompt. The mythical creature was similar enough to the previous suggestion about supernatural characters, and it is a good fit for a lot of series I'm trying to finish off so that got my last vote.

I also really liked the Q or X in the title/author's name, although it just missed out on my Top 4 because I would have preferred if the prompt itself specified whether it was the title or the author (if that makes sense). The rest are all prompts I'd be fine with, to varying degrees. The book rated 5 stars by a friend is an interesting one, but I ended up not picking it because I have some Goodreads friends who give 5 stars to just about everything, so I didn't think it would be much of a challenge.

Like Amy said, I hope we get more than one winner this time too! I'm already very tentatively starting to plug in books for the list we have so far, even though I don't usually start doing that until the end of the year. I just couldn't wait.

Rachel wrote: "I'm already very tentatively starting to plug in books for the list we have so far, even though I don't usually start doing that until the end of the year. I just couldn't wait. ..."

I have done well holding off so far. I did just start filling in my Popsugar 2017 list so that has held the urge to build a list at bay for a bit. I really think going over 40 categories for ATY 18 will grab me though. Most of my list will change after the first of the year but there are a few library books that I want to read next year that have extremely long wait lists. I need to get those on hold soon. There are also a few that I will have to buy. I just wish my used book store had a system for notifying me when a book I am dying to read comes in. That would be super handy (and slightly dangerous!)

And now I am thinking about possibilities for the ATY 18 list....darn it Rachel! If you don't hear from me for a few days, I'll be over here buried in my TBR. Don't send help. :-)

°~Amy~° wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I'm already very tentatively starting to plug in books for the list we have so far, even though I don't usually start doing that until the end of the year. I just couldn't wait. ..."..."

I have been kind of making a list since we started the suggestion process, but it isn't a specific "this is what I want to read" list. Mainly, I go through my Kindle and then my GR TBR list (which is considerably longer), and just list all the books I can find that would fit the prompt. Sometimes that may be two books, but other times that may be 50 from my Kindle and another 50+ from my GR TBR, not including the duplicates from my Kindle books that are on my TBR. There have been a couple of prompts that I had to search for ideas to add to my TBR list, because I didn't have anything that would fit, but that is rare. I plan to go through closer to the beginning of the year and narrow down to two or three choices that I am interested in, and then probably just pick the actual book when I get to that prompt.

At this point, I plan to try to read mostly from my Kindle, just to get that cleaned up a bit. However, as it gets closer to time, I may end up going to my TBR list if some of the ones on my Kindle just aren't what I want to read. At that point, I'll need to reevaluate why they're even on my Kindle at all, I think. My goal is to read as many as possible from my TBR without making my TBR longer in the process, but I'm pretty sure that won't actually work. 😉

I've been making a list as we go along this year. I didn't want to forget some of the books that fit a topic. Seems like I can read Dracula for almost any topic......it keeps coming up.

I've also visited a few used books stores to see if they have any of the 2018 books that I want to read next year. So far I've just picked up some classics The War of the Worlds, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and 20000 Leagues Under the Sea. It's hard to find any popular ones I want to read, it seems, but the hunt is part of the fun. I'm also lucky with my library because I swear no one reads in my county. Most popular ones I can get right away.

I wasn't as excited by these prompts but I'm sure whatever makes it I can find something to read for it. I didn't pick the sport one but I probably should have because I have a dozen or so sport books to read on my tbr. There were just some other prompts I wanted more than that one.

I like that approach, Nicole. That's got me inspired to start pouring over my TBR to make a possibilities list. This may be a very bad idea! I'm going to go inspect my TBR; be back in 2 months.

Katie wrote: "I like that approach, Nicole. That's got me inspired to start pouring over my TBR to make a possibilities list. This may be a very bad idea! I'm going to go inspect my TBR; be back in 2 months."

Hahaha! I know! I have SO MANY books on my TBR that it is just kind of overwhelming sometimes, and I seem to keep adding more. I figured that keeping a list as I go along should help a little bit so that I don't stress out over something that's supposed to be fun & enjoyable.
Plus, I did the Popsugar challenge this year, and hope to do it again next year alongside this challenge, and I won't get those prompts a few at a time like I did here, so that will be enough of a freak-out when that list drops. Eek!

I have a spreadsheet with all the approved topics and book choices for each. For the most part, I've been able to stick to book already on my TBR. My goal is to have 2-3 options for each prompt.

This time around, I thought voting was pretty easy. There were some i liked a lot, and some I didn't want.

I've been make a list of possible choices since we started voting. I go through my TBR and make a list of the options and then decide to which prompts to vote for. I have way too many books and need to get some off the list.

I'm also treating mine as a list of possibilities, with nothing set in stone. Usually when I'm voting, I have an idea in mind of a few books for each of my top 4 choices and I tend to vote more for prompts that have several books that interest me as opposed to just one or two choices. Part of the fun of the challenge for me is the "tetris" aspect of trying to slot in as many of the books I want as possible in ways that still fulfill challenge prompts.

I've been doing much the same as others. I've been keeping a spreadsheet that has a tab for each week, and I put book ideas against the topics as I vote. I've then compiled the winners into a single spreadsheet with all the ideas. Generally I go through my TBR when voting to see what I can knock off, so saves me having to do that again.