Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

The results of the multi-week prompt are in!

Top
3 books related to "Past, Present, Future"

Close Call
3 books linked by the saying Beauty, Brains, Brawn

Polarizing
-3 books related to two truths and a lie
-Then and Now - read a classic (>50 years old) and a recent release (<2 years old) with the same theme, topic, or setting
-Animal, vegetable, mineral on cover or in title
-Read one book by an author with 7 or fewer letters in their name and one book by an author with 14 or greater letters in their name
-Pick a genre and read nominated books from three different years of the Goodreads Choice Awards

Bottom
None. You are free to rework any of these prompts into a single-week version and resubmit! The mods talked about it and we decided that the reasons someone might not like a multi-week prompt wouldn't necessarily apply to a single-week version so there's no reason they can't be resubmitted.

The next round of suggestions will open tomorrow, time to be determined!

Yay, I'm so glad only one made it through, and luckily for me, it was one of the two that I voted for (the other was polarizing).

I had a feeling this might be the one to get in. I will probably approach it with a historical fiction, contemporary and sci-fi.

It could also be a title prompt with words that relate to past, present and future in the title.

Ellie wrote: "I had a feeling this might be the one to get in. I will probably approach it with a historical fiction, contemporary and sci-fi.

It could also be a title prompt with words that relate to past, pre..."

That's what I was thinking too Ellie.
Maybe a BIO option could be to pick a historical fiction, contemporary and sci-fi set in the same country or region? That would pick up on the 'then and now' prompt which I really liked too.

Yes! I'm so doing crime fiction! Right now it's Shadows in Time for historical, Glory in Death for sci fi, and The Trespasser for contemporary. I'm excited.

I would love to find three books that cover the three time periods - past, present, future. I can think of one book I’ve read that does this (The Unseen World by Liz Moore). Dual timelines are very common but I’m not certain about triple timelines.

dalex wrote: "I would love to find three books that cover the three time periods - past, present, future. ."

Midnight at the Electric does that; there's a wwi timeline, a dustbowl timeline, and a near future timeline.

I guess I'll be doing a rejects challenge next year, cause I love multi-week prompts and really liked several of these. Oh well.

dalex wrote: "I would love to find three books that cover the three time periods - past, present, future. ...


The Three-Body Problem trilogy does that. The first book opens during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, then moves to an alternate present. The second book is mostly set in the alternate present. The third book moves into the future (it moves from the near future to the far future, the book is broken into "eras").

I'm also pleased it was only one and I can work with this. There are several ways I might go, so I will make a decision when I have researched some books. I'd love to make each of them by the same author, but that might be a stretch.

I don't mind this prompt. I'm just not sure how to interpret the future aspect in a non sci-fi way? I'll have to do some digging around my TBR I think..!

Ok, not one I voted for or against but the more I thought about it after voting, the more I liked it.

My preferred genre is sci fi. I think I will do P/P/F settings, like these:

- Past, set in the 1890's
- Present, set in 2017
- Future, set "50 million years from now"

Here are some ideas for this prompt:

Read the first book, a recently published book, and an Advanced Reader Copy all by the same author

Read three books from separate genres/time periods (i.e. historical fiction, contemporary fiction, sci-fi)

Read three books with different settings based on where you've lived (i.e. place you lived in the past, place you live now, place you want to live in the future)

Read three books with different character ages/family status (i.e. child/teen/adult, single/engaged/married)

Read three books based on stages of your life (i.e. a book that reminds you of your childhood, a book about a hobby/job you have now, a book about your dream job)

Use books that have titles that include words related to Past (yesterday, then, before, early, born), Present (today, now, current), and Future (tomorrow, after, later)

Books that involve time travel, books with dual timelines

Books written backwards (i.e. All the Missing Girls)

Books that have a sequel or a prequel (books that have a sequel not yet written)

Beth wrote: "I don't mind this prompt. I'm just not sure how to interpret the future aspect in a non sci-fi way? I'll have to do some digging around my TBR I think..!"

Maybe something along the lines of a character making plans for their future (YA, planning for college, etc.), planning to have children (future generation), or nonfiction about environment or something that relates to concerns for the future? I'm sure others will have better ideas. :)

Roxana wrote: "I guess I'll be doing a rejects challenge next year, cause I love multi-week prompts and really liked several of these. Oh well."

Same! I actually think this was the best group of suggestions so far.

Avery wrote: "Here are some ideas for this prompt..."

Great ideas, thanks!

Thanks Avery and Deborah - really helpful ideas :)

My thanks to Avery and Deborah also. Helped a lot.

Nadine wrote: "dalex wrote: "I would love to find three books that cover the three time periods - past, present, future. ...


The Three-Body Problem trilogy does that. The first book opens durin..."

Nadine, this sounds perfect, I like how connected they are (and I've seen good reviews of this trilogy). This is currently my top thought for how to handle this prompt, though it's early, who knows how my thoughts will change!

Ok so I have a conundrum. My first impression was to create three separate lists - one for each week - with one being Past, one being Present, and one being Future. But now that I'm seeing your suggestions on how to tackle the topic, I'm wondering if that's accurate. It seems like the prompt actually could lend itself to 3 past books or 3 present books or 3 future books, or 3 books that tackle both the past and the present and the future, without necessarily dividing up by past, present, future.

So my question is, do we want one listopia for this prompt? With people just noting which books they are using as complements and how they are connected? Or would you rather three separate lists (one for past, one for present, one for future)?

I'd rather have 3 separate lists.

I guess we could have four lists: past, present, future, general. With the idea that the general past/present/future list is meant to be of books that incorporate them all. Could be excessive, but doesn't sound bad to me!

I didn't end up voting for Past, Present, Future this time, but it was one of the ones that I really liked so I'm glad it made it in. I think I'd also voted for it last year too. I'm also glad we had just one 3-week winner.

I don't remember for sure but I don't think I voted either way for this one but I'm excited about it. Lot's of fun options. I think I will most likely keep it simple and do a historical fiction, contemporary, and a sci-fi set in the future.

I'd prefer 3 separate lists also.

I’d prefer 3 or 4 lists (with the fourth being general)

I’m hoping people will resubmit some of the prompts again, especially the Beauty, Brains, and Brawn. It could easily be one prompt: Read a book about Beauty, Brains or Brawn.

I like the animal, vegetation and mineral too. It could be another “or” prompt, or perhaps just one like mineral for example (animal on the cover has been done before). Gems, rocks, metal, jewelry would all work.

A book that involves a lie (or a truth) would also be great.

Also one of the two options for an author with less than 7 letters (or more than 14 letters) could be submitted on its own (or more than 21, if that is even possible).

I would almost want to see the Beauty Brains Brawn prompt as an "and"; a book that incorporates all three. Maybe a mystery book where a beautiful woman and a strong man conspire to murder but are defeated by a clever detective?

Jackie wrote: "I would almost want to see the Beauty Brains Brawn prompt as an "and"; a book that incorporates all three. Maybe a mystery book where a beautiful woman and a strong man conspire to murder but are d..."

The Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) Strike Series would fit that prompt, although one detective is big and smart, and the other is beautiful and smart.

Jackie wrote: "I would almost want to see the Beauty Brains Brawn prompt as an "and"; a book that incorporates all three. Maybe a mystery book where a beautiful woman and a strong man conspire to murder but are d..."

That's clever but I think too hard to know about before you read the book. A lot of fantasy has a beautiful princess or prince, a smart wizard or politician and a strong swordsman or warrior.

I think I'm doing crime/mystery for that one.

Reading a Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie for past, maybe Gillian Flynn for present and J.D. Robb for future.

Ok I'll probably make a Past list, a Present list, a Future list, and a "Many Timelines" list that will encompass books you may want to read that have more than one of the timelines.

I know I personally want recommendations for the past/present/future books because I'll probably separate the books out like that for this prompt, but I'm also really intrigued to see what people come up with for the multiple timelines one because I love a good dual timeline book.

Listopias are posted! You can find them (and all the others) here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Emily wrote: "Ok so I have a conundrum. My first impression was to create three separate lists - one for each week - with one being Past, one being Present, and one being Future. But now that I'm seeing your sug..."

Three separate lists, please.

I think what I'll do for this prompt is read the Infernal Devices trilogy (past), City of Heavenly Fire (present), and Lady Midnight (set 5 years after CoHF so future) because all of these books have been sitting untouched on my shelves for far too long.

I like this prompt. I can do a lot with it.

A few years ago, Jane Smiley wrote a trilogy about a midwestern farm family through multiple generations. They are Some Luck, Early Warning and Golden Age. Altogether, they cover something like 100 years and the last one at the time it was written went at least a couple years into the future.

I'm really excited for this prompt. I'm going to do it based on a common theme. My theme options are (1) book about or featuring librarian(s), (2) Native American/Indigenous groups or (3) Yuval Noah Harari's three books on humans. But really I want to do all three, so I'm sure I'll sneak most of these books in somewhere.

The Native American/Indigenous could be a fun way to interpret it! For future, you could go with something that is sci-fi or even fantasy like Trail of Lightning (which isn't really futuristic but is set in a kind of dystopian setting, which could be considered the future).

Emily wrote: "The Native American/Indigenous could be a fun way to interpret it! For future, you could go with something that is sci-fi or even fantasy like Trail of Lightning (which isn't really..."

That's actually the exact book I have down for that category!

This year I found that I read a lot of diverse authors but they are almost exclusively black with a mix of hispanic. So my goal next year is to expand the diversity of my authors to more indigenous and Asian authors.

If you were to read And And Then There Were None for "past" and The Guest List for "present" what would you read for "future"?

Alicia wrote: "If you were to read And And Then There Were None for "past" and The Guest List for "present" what would you read for "future"?"

What a fun pairing of books!! My suggestion would be The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton - it's not set on an island, but is a murder mystery with a large group of people "trapped" in the same location, which focuses in turn on different characters. And with a sci-fi twist. I had some qualms with it, but enjoyed it anyway and I feel like it would be especially fun to read along with some other mysteries like that. I think the author even said that he was inspired by And Then There Were None.

Alicia wrote: "If you were to read And And Then There Were None for "past" and The Guest List for "present" what would you read for "future"?"


Ten Little Astronauts by Damon L. Wakes


it's literally a retelling of Agatha Christie's book, in space (so, presumably in the future)

Alicia wrote: "If you were to read And And Then There Were None for "past" and The Guest List for "present" what would you read for "future"?"

I haven’t read these but they look like they might work:

A Maze of Death- “ When fourteen people arrive to colonize the otherwise uninhabited planet of Delmak-O, they quickly discover that their bizarre new world is more dangerous - and much, much stranger - than they could ever have imagined. The colonists have nothing in common and no idea why they've been sent there. All they know is that there’s no way to leave and, one by one, they are being killed.”

The Dying Game - Described by one reviewer as And Then There Were None meets The Hunger Games. “The year is 2037, and on the tiny island of Isola, seven people have been selected to participate in a 48-hour competition for a top-secret intelligence position with the totalitarian Union of Friendship. One of them is Anna Francis, a workaholic bureaucrat with a nine-year-old daughter she rarely sees and a secret that haunts her.

Anna is not actually a candidate for the position: in fact, she’s the test itself. Her assignment is to stage her own death and then to observe, from her hiding place inside the walls of the house, how the six other candidates react to the news that a murderer is among them: Who will take control? Who will crack under pressure? But then a storm rolls in, the power goes out, and the real game begins...”

The Furnace - murder mystery set in 2401 on a space station. Reviews suggest that people are picked off one by one. Author said he was inspired by Agatha Christie’s books including And Then There Were None.

Doctor Who: Ten Little Aliens - one reviewer states “When the Doctor, Ben, and Polly land the Tardis on a hollowed out moon they find a unit of soldiers completing a military exercise...but IS it just an exercise? They find ten mutilated alien bodies, and they are all stranded on this moon. When members of the unit start to disappear, as well as one by one the bodies of the slaughtered aliens disappear as well, they turn to the Doctor's keen mind to discover the truth of what is happening.” The author also stated And Then There Were None was an inspiration.

Alicia wrote: "Emily wrote: "The Native American/Indigenous could be a fun way to interpret it! For future, you could go with something that is sci-fi or even fantasy like Trail of Lightning (whic..."

There is also Six Wakes literally a murder mystery set on a spaceship (so similar to an island?)

Alicia wrote: "If you were to read And And Then There Were None for "past" and The Guest List for "present" what would you read for "future"?"

Alicia are you going for the "murder mystery set on an island" aspect, or where the characters are isolated and picked off one by one? Because The Guest List works for the former for sure, but not really for the latter.

Thank you for all the suggestions and Nancy, I chose those two because The Guest List was reviewed as a modern day twist to And Then There Were None

My other thought on this prompt was
IDK for past
The Jane Austen Society for present
The Jane Austen Project for future

Alicia wrote: "Thank you for all the suggestions and Nancy, I chose those two because The Guest List was reviewed as a modern day twist to And Then There Were None"

So, IMO, it's not. The only similarities are that they are murder mysteries set on an island. I would suggest In the Dark by Loreth Ann White or An Unwanted Guest by Shari LaPena for modern day twists of And Then There Were None.

Also, I feel like I'm shooting down your ideas, but The Jane Austen Society is set in the 50s, so would work for past.