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 three years that we are creating another list for 2019.

The Process:
The topics for the 2019 RC list will be determined through around 13 mini-polls. Each user will vote for their favorite 4 topics in each mini-poll, which will then add up to the 52 topics (13 polls x 4 topics/poll=52 weekly topics). Suggestions for each poll will be opened until 15-20 suggestions are received+seconded. Then a poll will be opened for voting for one week so you can select your 4 favorite suggestions. This timeframe allows for a completed list in October-November.

The Rules:
- Vote for your TOP 4 and BOTTOM 4 - You are allowed to vote for less than 4
- Voting ends August 1
- One vote per poll per user

- see the suggestions thread for more details on some entries.

Poll Entries:
- A book with elements from at least two genres (Gothic romance, Paranormal western, etc.)
- A book in which faith/religion plays an integral role in the plot or the life of a main character.
- A book with monsters or a "monstrous" character
- A book related to Arthurian legend
- A book featuring an elderly character
- A book from the ATY list of "lesser known" books
- A book that has some kind of controversy around it
- A book published in a year important to you (i.e. graduation, child birth, marriage anniversary, etc.)
- A book in which a character uses a disguise or a false/fake identity
- A book about reading, books or an author/writer
- A book with an LGBTQ+ character or author
- A book set in a school or university
- A book about natural resources (fiction or non-fiction)
- A book form you don't usually read (i.e. graphic novel, ebook, poetry, audiobook, Manga, etc)
- A play that won either the Pulitzer for Drama or the Tony for Best (non-musical) Play

Survey Link

I had resolved to wait to vote, but when I started breaking down this list, I had a pretty clear top 4 and bottom 3. Maybe I'll wait and see how the discussions turn out before submitting my vote!

Picking my Bottom 4 was super easy. But my Top 4...wowza! It's a tough call because I really like a lot of these. It was a great round of suggestions, overall.

Maybe I’m just off this year but I seem to dislike more topics than I like. It was harder for me to narrow down a bottom 4.

Charity wrote: "Maybe I’m just off this year but I seem to dislike more topics than I like. It was harder for me to narrow down a bottom 4."

Charity, there are a quite a few of these that don't excite me, but I decided to not put anything in my bottom 4 that I didn't hate/dread. The play was an obvious downvote for me, because I really don't like reading plays. The controversial book doesn't really excite me, but I didn't downvote it because I feel like I could make it work if I needed to.

That being said, I think I'll only have 3 in my bottom again this week.

Emily wrote: "The play was an obvious downvote for me, because I really don't like reading plays."

Me too. In my opinion, plays are meant to be seen not read.

I totally agree on the play. It was an automatic bottom for me. I like watching plays but I don’t like reading them.

I like reading plays and I voted for that one! I rarely have the opportunity or time to see a play, so reading is my main option. I don't read many but I find reading one or two each year really enriches my overall reading year. And they are usually fast reads!

I like prompts that help me choose a story, I don't see that either a format I don't usually read or a play would do that. I could read any story I want, just in a format I don't like. So they're both automatic bottom votes for me.

The only top that stands out for me is our ATY list, so I'm hoping for a lively discussion to help me make my mind up.

I need to think about for a while. I have to narrow down my top 4. I don't think I have a clear bottom 4. I think the LGBTQ+ character or author is going on my bottom just because I feel some variation of it has been in every yearly challenge I have tried and I find it difficult to find books that fit that don't have romance. The other prompt that goes in my bottom has to be the religion one. I feel it would be difficult for me to find something I like. If it wins I have to be creative with it.I kind of like the play one because I want to read some plays every year, but I feel it could fit under the form you don't usually read prompt.

I am downvoting the play option, too, but more because of its narrow limitations within the genre. Like Emily, I decided to only downvote ones that I really don’t like or think are too limiting. If I can make it work, then it stays. Top 4 is easy for me this time. Thanks everyone!

I love reading plays therefore that's a top for sure. A book form you don't usually read is harder because I do read every form listed except maybe poetry which I read randomly. But I probably won't put it in the bottom because there are others which I dislike more.

Here are two lists for the play prompt:

Pulitzer Prize: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Tony: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Quite often religion seems to be involved in fantasy, so I'd probably go that route rather than read something about real world religion. I read The City Stained Red this year and one of the characters is lapsed priestess so I could go for the next in that series.

Marie wrote: "Quite often religion seems to be involved in fantasy, so I'd probably go that route rather than read something about real world religion. I read The City Stained Red this year and o..."

I thought of going that route too, but I still ended up downvoting it because I just don't typically like when religion plays an "integral" role in the story. If this gets in, I'll probably go for either fantasy or something with myths and old school gods.

I liked the characters prompts, so I chose 2 of them, easy to fill for me.
The natural ressources sounds an interesting choice, I've 2 books on my TBR and I'd like to read one of them in 2019, so it was a good option.
For the last, I went to the ATY lesser known, I often read books with a low number of ratings, so I'm not against trying some liked by the group and I suppose we could have a big list if almost every active members adds 1-3 books to it.

My bottoms were easy to pick, especially the religion (I read some but usually because it's a challenge prompt and I've to fill it...), the arthurian (not enough choices for my tastes) and the play (I've difficulties to find some I like, so with lists, the challenge would be too high).
The form you don't usually read also went in the bottom, because I read most of the usual forms, so I'll have to end with a play if it wins. I thought it was a nice idea for a prompt, but just too much complicated for me.

Oh this is a hard one this time. I had way more prompts in the bottom this time. Right now I’m leaning towards monster, religion, about reading, Arthurian legend in top.

Bottom is probably book with 2 elements, play, about natural resources, and lgbt character/writer.

Ira wrote: "I think the LGBTQ+ character or author is going on my bottom just because...I find it difficult to find books that fit that don't have romance."

I think LGBTQ+ books that tend to be well known have romance, which make sense because the relationship would have to be integral to the plot for people to recognize it as such. However, there are loads of options where there is little or no romance, but those books don't necessarily get recognized as LGBTQ+ books. Plus, there are a lot of queer authors who do not write queer stories, or, if they do, they are not romance-centric.

My no votes:
I also down-voted the play prompt. I have read plays before, such as Romeo and Juliet and Our Town, & have never enjoyed them. I feel like it's the same when there are screenplays I've tried to read (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two or Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay to name a couple I've read recently) - it's just not as involving. If those plays/screenplays had been written as novels, with the extra details and information that a novel adds, I would have enjoyed them much more. As it was, I had to force myself to keep reading, because it was extremely hard to keep my interest.

I also down-voted the Arthurian legend. As with Shakespeare, I have never been a fan of all the King Arthur stories. I mean, maybe a brief children's story would keep my interest, but I have never read anything longer that has been interesting to me.

I also down-voted the natural resources book. I just didn't see anything on any of the lists that sounded appealing to me. I did a separate search on my own, and didn't find anything that way, either, so it was an automatic no for me.

My final no vote was a book with elements from at least two genres. I don't know what it is about this one, but it just was not something I was interested in. Perhaps it's because so many books fill that qualification that it seems like a freebie?

My yes votes:
I did vote for the faith/religion one. I think that could be extremely broad. I mean, it doesn't say what faith/religion, and I would say it's open for anything from Christianity to Judaism to Islam to Wicca to Atheism to the Amish to Agnosticism to Confucianism to Gnosticism to Humanism to Satanism, etc. I think there are all kinds of fiction and non-fiction books that would work in this category. It's not limited to just reading about a born-again Christian if you're an atheist or a Buddhist or something. Plus, there are always made-up religions that are often mentioned in some fantasy and sci-fi novels, as Marie mentioned above.

I also voted for the LGBTQ+ character/author. I agree that it seems like that has popped up a lot in recent years/challenges, but there are soooo many options and so many different types of books that I don't think it's limiting at all. On the other hand, for those people looking for a more difficult challenge, there are plenty of ways to make it more challenging if you want.

I also voted yes on the book featuring an elderly character, because I don't read very many of them, but I'm usually pleasantly surprised when I do. I think there are more elderly character books than we realize, but they aren't usually as popular as books with younger characters, and that's a shame.

My final yes vote was the book published in an important-to-you year. I suggested that in the last poll, and I was glad to see it suggested again this time. As Liz said when she re-nominated it, those important years were often busy & reading didn't happen as much as I wanted it to, because I was busy studying for finals so I could graduate, or planning a wedding, or preparing for & then taking care of a new baby. So, there are lots of books from my special years that I would like to go back and read.

There are a lot of great books that have religious undertones without being pro or anti religion. I just read a memoir, titled Educated, about what it was like to be raised by Mormon preppers. That was one of my top votes. I also voted for the school/university setting. Those were the standouts for me. I also backed the important year and the controversy prompt. I like books/authors that get peoples' panties in a wad.

Tammy wrote: "There are a lot of great books that have religious undertones without being pro or anti religion. I just read a memoir, titled Educated, about what it was like to be raised by Mormon preppers. That..."

Oh, I have that one on my Kindle and have been looking forward to reading it. I hadn't thought about that aspect of it, but that would definitely fill this prompt.

I suggested the religion prompt and I wanted to keep it broad so I included plot as a way to incorporate religion into the story but my original thought was for it to be character driven.

I am not a religious person but I am fascinated to see how religion shapes people and affects their lives. If this wins, I probably won't choose a book where religion is a main part of the story but one where a character's religious beliefs (or rejection of those beliefs) affect how they live their life and make decisions.

There are only a couple in my bottom this week but it's going to be difficult to narrow down my top. I think this time I will take a few days before voting.

I didn't see Nicole or Tammy's comments before I posted but yes, that is exactly what I had in mind with the religion suggestion.

I read Educated: A Memoir as well as The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir this year, both memoirs about women who overcome the obstacles of overbearing, fundamentalist upbringings and that gave me the idea to also seek out fictional characters who are affected in positive or negative ways by religion.

I have Educated on my to read list and didn’t even realize it would fill this prompt! Now I’m looking at it a bit differently... decisions, decisions.

Rachelnyc wrote: "I suggested the religion prompt and I wanted to keep it broad so I included plot as a way to incorporate religion into the story but my original thought was for it to be character driven.

I am not..."

Two terrific books that fit this category are Silence and The Sparrow, both feature priests. I think if the prompt wins, it would be helpful to have a list of suggestions or a Listopia. Sometimes religion, as a topic, turns people off but it can be an important factor in a book. I think it's a great idea with lots of options!

Thanks Pam! I actually have The Sparrow on my TBR and I will check out the other you recommend.

I posted a link to this article in my suggestion post https://bookriot.com/2017/10/05/novel... which has some interesting options, including The Sparrow.

Emily, Educated: A Memoir would be perfect for this prompt and I highly recommend it whether this prompt makes it or not.

For those interested in science fiction or fantasy with a theological theme there is this list.

Also, there are books that incorporate tenets of religion, like reincarnation, which are not overtly religious. Or you could do something that is like the opposite of religious, such as a book with a character who is dark and evil or a book with a cult. Or you could read a book that has been banned by religious followers. Or could read a book about the treatment of Jews during WWII. And of course there is always mythology with gods and goddesses.

Yes religion often plays a role in F/SF, and that's the first thing I thought of when I saw the suggestion. Several books I've read show up on that list (Lord of Light, Kraken, American Gods, the Inheritance trilogy). Also in Ann Leckie's Ancillary/Raadch series, religious customs and icons of various cultures in the story are frequently mentioned. And in the book I'm reading now (Hero of Ages, book 3 in Sanderson's Mistborn series), religions play a significant role in the plot, two key characters are now seen as religious figures.

The religion prompt was in my bottom 4. I don’t care for books with religious tones so I tend to stay away from those. I also put the elderly person in my bottom 4 because I don’t have any of the books listed on my shelves and I’m trying to stick with books I already own for next year. I honestly can’t remember what my 4th bottom was because I disliked quite a few.

I wasn’t a fan of the natural resource one but I didn’t put it in the bottom. If it does win I’ll probably read a Nevada Barr mystery since they’re all set in National Parks.

I asked this question in the suggestions thread, but probably should have asked it here.

- A book that has some kind of controversy around it: I assume this would include banned books throughout history, not just present day controversy?

Liz wrote: "I asked this question in the suggestions thread, but probably should have asked it here.

- A book that has some kind of controversy around it: I assume this would include banned books throughout h..."

I think the prompt could definitely be whatever you want it to be, but I would consider that, for sure.

There are many interesting suggestions this time :) The only one I am not so excited is A book form you don't usually read, because the formats I don't read (ebooks and audios) is because I don't like them ... I guess I can try a short novel in case this suggestion wins.

@Nadia most of those plays have also become movies. That makes it a more interesting read for me. I enjoy watching how it has been interpreted after reading a play.
Each person interprets the dialogue and characters differently. It makes it such a unique experience when watching a play by a new group..

Oh man what I hard poll...there are so many good choices. There are many that just barely didn't make my top 4. I ended up with monsters, elderly character, aty list of lesser known books, and set in a school/university.

For the first time, I only put 3 in my bottom votes: mix of two genres (too many books that fit for me), the religion one (I could make this work, but it's just not my favorite thing), and published in a year important to you (I'm a little over searching for books published in particular years).

Essentially all my choices were about what I personally found appealing.

For those of you still on the fence about the group list suggestion, I'd encourage you to check out the updated list https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

There are 135 suggestions and it's a nice mix of genres. Other than the ones I submitted, there was one book already on my TBR and I've added quite a few more.

I had two bottoms - the important year one (I just don’t like prompts related to me) and the religious one (I actually read plenty of books with religion involved in some way, but I really have a gut reaction of absolutely not to being required to read one.)

The tops were hard. The elderly character one came up in Book Riot but they specified only female elderly character. I came up with so many options for that when I was looking and I loved the one I read Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun. I feel like I don’t read many books from an elderly point of view and I think that’s a failing in my reading.

Tbh, I’d be pretty happy with any of them aside from my two bottoms. I was a bit tempted to mark the play one as a bottom because I find it harder to get ahold of plays as library ebooks, but decided not to. If it wins, I can read a paper copy if need be.

My gut reaction to the Arthurian legend was YES! So I decided to do some research. Here's some lists I found that could help.

Listophia:
The Arthurian Legend Retold
YA Books With Arthurian Legend
Series Based on King Arthur
Arthurian Reads
Arthurian Legends in Romance Novels

Around the Internet:
From BookBub
Wikipedia

Liz wrote: "I asked this question in the suggestions thread, but probably should have asked it here.

- A book that has some kind of controversy around it: I assume this would include banned books throughout h..."

Yes I think banned books fit this prompt perfectly

dalex wrote: "Ira wrote: "I think the LGBTQ+ character or author is going on my bottom just because...I find it difficult to find books that fit that don't have romance."

I think LGBTQ+ books that tend to be we..."

Yes I know there are a lot of LGBTQ+ authors but that requires me to look up the author and read their bio and even then there are a lot of authors that don't mention that fact in their bio. I dare say that I will find something if that prompt wins but it will require some research on my part an I am not looking forward to it. I don't want to know to much about an author before reading their book because I want to prevent me being biased in any way. I also feel that I the prompt has kind of lost its originality since I see it everywhere, but I am all for diversifying my reading, so I guess I will just see what happens.

I don't worry too much, because in my experience I have always been able to find something (except the author that has your name prompt from the Popsugar challenge, that was a nightmare)
that I am interested in, but sometimes I need lots of hours of research and I am trying to avoid that. Maybe if I found a list of LGBTQ+ authors and characters would help me, but I think it is going in my bottom. I think it is just me who is weird because I really don't like romance.

Ira wrote: "dalex wrote: "Ira wrote: "I think the LGBTQ+ character or author is going on my bottom just because...I find it difficult to find books that fit that don't have romance."

I think LGBTQ+ books that..."

I've been making an effort to seek out LGBTQ+ books this year, and I've found quite a few that had these characters without them being romance.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is a phenomenal example... jam packed with action while having an LGBTQ+ character up front.

The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (and really, anything by her) is a graphic novel that is a retelling of Arabian Nights, but has a strong feminist/lesbian stance.

The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy is a nonfiction memoir that kind of blew my mind. Her sexuality was presented in a very subtle way, and it was more about her life as a wife and mother.

Also, Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen series features an LGBTQ+ point of view later in the series (books three and four in the series).

These are just the books I've read this year (that aren't primarily romance)! I think it would be a fairly easy prompt to fulfill, even if you aren't interested in researching authors or reading romance. Most of the books I listed were books that I picked up without realizing they had a LGBTQ+ component.

Emily wrote: "Ira wrote: "dalex wrote: "Ira wrote: "I think the LGBTQ+ character or author is going on my bottom just because...I find it difficult to find books that fit that don't have romance."

I think LGBTQ..."

Thank you for the recommendations, I will look into them. It will make it easier to find something if the prompt wins.

The four bottom ones stood out for me . I'm not interested in natural resources, I had enough of plays when I was at school, I don't read graphic books, and I didn't like school.
My top four were the LGBTQ+ as I want to read Sarah Walters Monsters as I read quite a lot of serial killer books. Religion as I want to read the James Runcie books and the book about reading , as I have some books about libraries and bookshops.
So this vote was all about my personal preferences.

Thank you Emily for the links for Arthurian legend books! I have about 8 on my bookshelves, 4 of which I haven’t read yet. I was really surprised to see a book by John Steinbeck. I had to add that one to my TBR!

Anastasia wrote: "@Nadia most of those plays have also become movies. That makes it a more interesting read for me. I enjoy watching how it has been interpreted after reading a play.
Each person interprets the dial..."

Very true! And of course seeing a play live on stage right before or after reading the play is also very fascinating. I have for myself a challenge of reading a play a month/12 a year. There are so many great plays out there and mostly they are quick reads as well. :)

I went through an Arthurian obsession phase in my 20s and read a lot of fantastic books - the Crystal Cave series by Mary Stewart, the Avalon series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, the Pendragon series by Stephen Lawhead, the Dark Ages series by Joan Wolf, the Hawk of May series by Gillian Bradshaw. But I am absolutely, totally, and completely over that obsession and have zero interest in reading anything about Arthur. If this prompt makes the list, I am going to have to use a Wild Card or get super creative!

I understand that the LGBTQ+ prompt could require a lot of research for some people. It's just something I read quite a bit of, and keep track of, so to me it seems easy.

I'm surprised at the number of people who have stated that the religious prompt was in their bottom. As I said earlier, there are a bazillion ways to approach it that doesn't require one to read an overtly religious book. Oh well, everyone has an opinion and that is what makes this so fun and interesting! :)

dalex wrote: "I went through an Arthurian obsession phase in my 20s and read a lot of fantastic books - the Crystal Cave series by Mary Stewart, the Avalon series by Marion Zimmer Bradley, the Pendragon series b..."

After all the discussion, I ended up moving the religion prompt from my bottom 4 to my top haha! Pros to waiting for discussion before voting!

Finally home and have voted! There were several I liked a lot, but I narrowed my top choices down to:

Elements of two genres - This kind of thing excites me. I love to see the way authors blend genres.

Monster or monstrous character - I like this kind of book, so it should be a fun one for me.

Elderly character - I remember liking this idea when it was suggested before. I am pleasantly surprised by a lot of the book I've read featuring older characters--Stephen King's Bill Hodge's trilogy and A Man Called Ove, for example.

Pulitzer or Tony winning play - I like plays, and it would be a nice little break amidst longer books.

My bottoms included:

Natural resources - I just didn't find anything in my searches that interested me.

Religion- Not usually my cup of tea.

Set in school - Most of the books seem to be ones I've already read, so I wasn't super-excited about this one.

Does the book with controversy around it include books about controversies?

My tops: the ATY lesser known books list, the religion prompt, a book about reading, books or an author/writer, and a book set in a school or university.

There were none that I really disliked, so I didn't vote for any for my bottom 4.

Glad you were swayed, Emily!!

I haven't chosen my bottom yet but like Kathy, there aren't any I really disliked so I may not downvote any.

I'm pretty sure I'm going with these as my top:
Faith/religion
ATY list
Monster/monstrous
LGBTQ+

I don't like reading romance either but there are plenty of options with the LGBTQ+ prompt that don't feature it especially since it specific character OR author.

If you want to keep things simple and not do a lot of research, just choose something from an already well known author like:

Oscar Wilde
Alice Walker
Virginia Woolfe
Truman Capote
Roxanne Gay
E.M. Forster
Patricia Highsmith
Anais Nin
Octavia Butler
Rita Mae Brown
Bret Easton Ellis

Google is my friend. I typed in gay authors and up came lists of pretty well known authors who were/are LGBTQ. Everybody from Oscar Wilde to Alice Walker to Brett Easton Ellis came up. Heck...Maurice Sendak of Where the Wild Are fame was gay. https://m.ranker.com/list/gay-authors...

Same with religion...from popular fiction Like Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible to classics like Crime and Punishment. Judy Blume wrote a pretty famous one. Not all books that ponder faith are overtly preachy. Most are not. As kids we didn't even know Tolkien and CS Lewis had religious agendas. https://bookriot.com/2017/10/05/novel...

Back to school options: http://flavorwire.com/411025/the-50-g...