Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

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

Voting will open on Sunday, July 26 and results will be posted in the morning of Thursday, July 30 (CST time).

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 (between 2 and 5 depending on how the votes are spread)

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1. On a few occasions in each poll, people have used more than the allotted number of votes, either because they aren’t familiar with the rules or just by mistake. When this happens our only option is to disregard the vote as we can’t identify the voter to ask them to resubmit. By asking for your profile address we’ll be able to message you and ask you to vote again if you’ve accidentally used more than the allotted number of votes.

2. Unfortunately a very small number of people have voted more than once per poll and so we are asking for this information to prevent duplicate votes.

As a reminder: You have a total of 8 votes to use among your top and bottom votes. The mods have access to each individual vote, so we can see if you use more than 8 votes. If you use more than 8 votes in the poll, your vote will have to be deleted, so please make sure to follow the directions so your voice can be heard.

Possible Prompts:
1. A book whose cover shows more than 2 people
2. A book set in one of the 5 current communist countries. (China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, Vietnam)
3. A book with "Pantone’s 2021 Color of the Year" on the cover
4. A book with a narrator or protagonist of a different gender than the author's
5. A book with a theme of sibling rivalry
6. A book set on an island
7. A book written by an author who uses a nom de plume
8. A book related to dreams
9. A book related to an endangered species
10. A book related to one of the United Nations 2021 "International Year" themes (Peace & Trust, Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, Fruits & Vegetables, and Elimination of Child Labor)
11. A book with an introverted protagonist
12. A book that is set either primarily indoors or primarily outdoors
13. A book whose title and author both contain the letter u
14. A book with a major life altering event in the plot
15. A book related to a rabbit

Feel free to discuss the prompts below, but please remember to be respectful to the other group members.

VOTE HERE: https://www.surveymoz.com/s/3C1K27/

Discussion and examples from the suggestion thread

3. A book with "Pantone’s 2021 Color of the Year" on the cover

Every year since over 20 years, Pantone declares the Color of the Year. I thought that would be a fun challenge because we wouldn't know the chosen colour until the end of 2020. (Last year it was revealed on Dec. 5) And of course it doens't have to be exactly the same colour - similar is enough.

Here are the colours of the last 20 years:


(Pantone is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries notably graphic design, fashion design, product design, printing and manufacturing. )

6. A book set on an island
I’m doing other summer challenges so islands have been on my mind, and I got to thinking how many different kinds of books are set on islands.If you need escapism, Elin Hilderbrand has dozens of books set on Nantucket Island. Or maybe you need more of a thrill and want to read something like Shutter Island. I’m not a fantasy reader, but I’m sure there’s some fantastical islands to explore in that genre.

Also considering that we’ve all had to go to our metaphorical islands in quarantine and no real end in sight, might be nice to escape to an actual one with a book!

Technically, Manhattan is an island. Maybe that would be under the KIS options

8. A book related to dreams
I believe this has enough variety to include KIS and BIO. It could, of course, be literal dreams, or it could be dreaming of a better future, a romantic dream of love, or Sigmund Freud taking our dreams apart. It could include fiction or non-fiction...after all the Wright Brothers were dreaming of flight.

7. A book written by an author who uses a nom de plume
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

12. A book that is set either primarily indoors or primarily outdoors
https://www.backpacker.com/stories/10...

https://electricliterature.com/14-nov...

https://www.tatacliq.com/que/6-books-...

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/5...

https://www.backpacker.com/stories/10...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

9. A book related to an endangered species

eg. tiger in the title, whale on the cover or story about a conservationist

https://awionline.org/content/list-en...

11. A book with an introverted protagonist
This would be a main character is know for staying to herself, a small group of friends, an introspective main character. In the plot description, this would include finding a character who is typically quiet and reserved, maybe one who is an artist or writer. This could even include recluses and curmudgeons.

13.A book whose title and author both contain the letter u
, u being the 21st letter in the alphabet.

15. A book related to a rabbit
A book with a rabbit on cover in content, or with the word "hare" or "bunny" or "rabbit" in the title

I know it got briefly mentioned in the voting thread but I really don't want to do another book color prompt so I'll probably downvote that. I also think there are too many options for international year so those will be my two downvotes. The rest will be up but going to see how the discussion unfolds to decide.

I had thought about suggesting the Pantone colour of the year, but not sure if people are ok not knowing what it will be. I love the idea though.

I love the Pantone prompt! I hope it makes it! I feel like monochromatic is different enough from choosing a book with a particular color, but I can see how people would feel differently.

Agree regarding the Pantone prompt - I think it's different enough and is a nice unique cover prompt compared to the usual ones! Hope it makes the final list

I’m a proud introvert but I’m not sure I want to vote for the introverted protagonist prompt - just because I don’t think I’d want to see people to misinterpret it. To clarify, an introverted protagonist doesn’t need to be shy or quiet. Introverts are people who recharge their energy by being alone! Introverts can definitely love socializing, but may tend to be drained after it. You can definitely be an outgoing introvert!

That makes sense on the introverted prompt. Also I kind of worry it will be hard to find a book that really fits without having read it before, I guess that's what makes the listopias great.

I am so amused that the rabbit prompt is back this year!

dalex wrote: "I am so amused that the rabbit prompt is back this year!"
How did it fall last year?

I like Pantone, island, and nom de plume.

As a loud and proud introvert, I suggested the introvert character prompt. I guess, in my mind, I was thinking it would suit well for books where the character is introspective (like The Heart's Invisible Furies or The Perks of Being a Wallflower) or also a character who is quiet and shy but, when faced with challenges, has to break out of their shell a bit (Hermione and Katniss come to mind). I'm ok with people stereotyping it a bit, I guess, or just pulling certain characteristics that they think of when they think of an introvert.

Here's a listopia! https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
And also this: https://booksrockmyworld.com/2016/04/...

Rabbit Redux!

So we really can't count Russia as a communist country? Good for Russia if it's true, but it makes the prompt a lot harder.

And the perfect sibling rivalry book is My Sister, the Serial Killer but I just read it.

The Vanishing Half is another good sibling rivalry book I've read.

I'd say that a KIS for that prompt would be using a former Communist state (so Soviet Russia would count here).

Chelsey wrote: "dalex wrote: "I am so amused that the rabbit prompt is back this year!"
How did it fall last year?"

Last year my rabbit prompt got an underserved bottom, despite being a favorite in the threads. Rabbit, Run, The Year of the Hare, Watership Down, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

Ron wrote: "So we really can't count Russia as a communist country? Good for Russia if it's true, but it makes the prompt a lot harder.

And the perfect sibling rivalry book is [book:My Sister, the Serial Kill..."

So I suggested this prompt and Russia is no longer communist but I would be fine with a rewording to include a current or past communist state if everyone thinks thats better

Jasper Fforde's The Constant Rabbit just came out!

I like the Pantone idea in general, but probably wouldn't vote for it this time because we already have a cover colour prompt (even though it's different), and I'm also not thrilled with the idea of waiting until the end of the year to find out what the colour is.

My initial reaction is to vote for introvert, sibling rivalry, letter U, and maybe the cover with more than 2 people.

This is a pretty good set of prompts from my perspective. Nothing I want to downvote. I'll be upcoming endangered species, 2020 international years, introverted protagonist and the letter u. I'm considering a couple of others - Pantone colour of the year (would definitely have upvoted if monochromatic color wasn't already in) and possibly nom de plume.

I was also thinking that if introvert doesn't get in it would make a good multi-week prompt next year when paired with extrovert.

It's a shame the wording of the introvert one means Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking won't really work otherwise I recommend it to everyone who thinks introverts are shy/awkward people.

I love nom de plume, Pantone, and sibling rivalry! Not too sure about major life altering event—generally the point of plots is that people experience major life-altering events, so it’d be pretty much a freebie.

Is there a story behind the rabbit prompt which I am missing? (I took a break from this group last year.) It just feels so random but everyone seems, to know what it's about...?

Ellie, I think Quiet could totally be stretched for this prompt, if you consider the protagonist being the central figure of the book -- Susan Cain certainly discusses her experiences and I would consider her the central figure. I know protagonist is most often used in fictional writing, but I don't think it would be going against the prompt to go nonfiction here.

I read Bunny this year for the silhouette cover, which would work for the rabbit one. I've already read most of the other rabbit books suggested and don't have any others that I'm particularly hankering to read, so it will likely get my downvote for being too restrictive. Fun idea though!

I'm leaning towards the Island, nom de plume, and endangered species.

I'm less excited about Pantone (feels too close to the other color one to me), International Year, communism (too restrictive), and life changing events. I'm not sure about introverts either. I am one, but it seems to me a lot of writers like to write about them. I probably won't downvote it as a lot of things fit, but it's almost too broad for me...

Chelsey wrote: "Ron wrote: "So we really can't count Russia as a communist country? Good for Russia if it's true, but it makes the prompt a lot harder.

And the perfect sibling rivalry book is [book:My Sister, the..."

If you shorten the Prompt to just "Set in a communist country" this would include books set in Russia, East Germany, all the former Soviet Countries during that time.

I personally really don't want to read about sibling rivalry. I had enough of this irl for more than a lifetime ;)

Emily wrote: "As a loud and proud introvert, I suggested the introvert character prompt. I guess, in my mind, I was thinking it would suit well for books where the character is introspective (like [book:The Hear..."

Thanks for posting these lists! I would call myself an introvert as well, but was really opposed to this one, because I thought its hard to find a book without having read it already. But on just a quick glance I see several books on there already, I want to read.

Mary Toft; or, The Rabbit Queen is a recent book that looked interesting to me. I have a friend who loves rabbits, collects figurines of them, etc. but they're not really on my radar.

I agree that the Pantone idea would have been better received if we didn't already have a color prompt. I have no problem though with waiting till the end of the year to find out what it is. I'm not that much of an advance planner. I didn't join this year till January and it was fine, I probably changed half the things I thought I was going to read anyway!

I'm not that interested in nom de plume, as I would probably read something by Charles Todd (a name for a mother/son duo) or Spencer Quinn or Amanda Quick, authors I already read. I am intrigued by the International Year prompt because it would require some thought but still not be too restrictive.

The rabbit prompt was one of my favourites when it was suggested last year, and I put it in my rejects challenge (I read Zoo City).

I'm so glad it's back, it's a fun treasure hunt and I love the randomness of it. If it doesn't make it I'll definitely have it in my rejects for next year. I'd probably choose between these two



or maybe Chocolat or The Rabbit Back Literature Society, or there's always the easy read option of Thanksgiving, or maybe a re-read of When God Was a Rabbit.

I'm probably going to spend my Sunday down a rabbit book rabbit hole, when I should be reading!

There is The Rabbit Girls but I expect everyone has read that apart from me.
The island one seems very open to me. England is an island and that seems too much like a freebie.

And the poll is open! https://www.surveymoz.com/s/MZZMAO/

I just came across Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat in one of the book groups I'm in on Facebook. Probably still not going to vote for the rabbit prompt, but wanted to record this book *somewhere* in case it gets in lol

Overall, I liked this group of prompts. I split my vote 5/3. My down votes had more to do with it being difficult to know if a book would work before reading it rather than disliking the prompts in general.

I voted against the Pantone prompt...sorry, but one color prompt is one too many for me.

I would have preferred the communist nation prompt if it had not specified the 5 countries. Not an issue, but how is a country whose only viable political party is the Communist party not a communist nation? Strange.

I liked the indoor/outdoor prompt for a multi-week, but it has lost its meaning by being a single prompt...after all, all books are set indoors or outdoors, so too much of a freebie to interest me.

Good with any of the others.

Conny wrote: "Is there a story behind the rabbit prompt which I am missing? (I took a break from this group last year.) It just feels so random but everyone seems, to know what it's about...?"

I don’t think there’s a story behind the prompt. It just came up a lot last year in both discussion and voting, and people had strong opinions about it. There seemed to be two sides, either “That’s an impossible prompt” or “I have dozens of books that would work.”

One of the main characters in The Secret History (which is a fantastic book!) is nicknamed Bunny. I suspect there are other books with characters named Rabbit or Bunny. That’d be a way to do the rabbit prompt.

Conny wrote: "Is there a story behind the rabbit prompt which I am missing? (I took a break from this group last year.) It just feels so random but everyone seems, to know what it's about...?"

Yes there is, thank you for asking. Last year I had The Year of the Hare on my TBR list, and thought of the prompt, remembering the many other books that could fulfill this category. I also live in a part of Southern California (Irvine, foothills of Santa Ana mountains, former military base) where there are a lot of cute bunny rabbits who roam freely in the hiking trails and even densely populated apartment and townhouse developments. The category also struck me as funny and offbeat with no political agenda.

Thinking about the Pantone one, it's a shame it's not just related to, as quite often the colour has a name that could be linked to other things, like greenery or coral.

For the rabbit one you can read authors called Warren as it's a rabbit's home (and my name). My dad was called Bunny at school! I think rabbits are on covers a lot though so I don't think it is too hard a prompt.

Ron wrote: "Last year I had
The Year of the Hare on my TBR list, and thought of the prompt, remembering the many other books that could fulfill this category. I also live in a part of Southern California (Irvine, foothills of Santa Ana mountains, former military base) where there are a lot of cute bunny rabbits who roam freely in the hiking trails and even densely populated apartment and townhouse developments. The category also struck me as funny and offbeat with no political agenda."

Ha ha, I see :D I did not downvote it, at any rate ;) And it might finally be an incentive for me to get and read Alice, been ogling that one since it came out :D

I was extremely indecisive with this one, at least for my downvotes. My upvotes were easy: cover with more than 2 people, introvert, sibling rivalry, and the letter U. Those were the 4 that immediately jumped out to me when I saw the list.

I downvoted the communist country (it's doable, but I don't really care to pick my books geographically), rabbit (seems too limiting), and indoors/outdoors, which I thought worked much better as a multi-week option. The way it is currently phrased seems like too much of a freebie since almost any book would count. I also downvoted the Color of the Year prompt because even though I know it's different from the monochromatic cover, it felt a bit too similar to me and I also would prefer to know what the colour is earlier to know how feasible it actually is.

In all my years of participating in ATY, this has never happened to me before, but there aren't any prompts in this set that I want to vote for to make the final list. It's a really weird feeling. I'm not sure why that is either. It might be an all downvote for me this time.

Hey guys,

We had to switch accounts for voting. Please use this link to vote for Poll 5.

https://www.surveymoz.com/s/3C1K27/

If you have already submitted a vote, YOU DO NOT NEED TO VOTE AGAIN. Your vote will be counted!

Jackie will update the link in the first post as soon as she gets back on Goodreads :)

Ugh I'm not feeling this poll either, not even the prompt I submitted. I have a lot of feelings about these prompts.

I was intending the indoor/outdoor prompt to be interpreted more as "almost exclusively indoors or outdoors" but I didn't think people would like the convoluted wording of having the word "almost," "or" and "exclusively" and so I tried to submit it with different wording, but after seeing what voters say, I get why some people aren't voting for it. Maybe it would do better as just "almost exclusively outdoors."

The Pantone prompt I like, but I think it's also too similar to monochromatic color. If it was in the final list, I would be picking a book in which it was the main color of the cover otherwise - what's the point? So I think maybe it'd be a good Bring it On option for the monochromatic color prompt, but not as it's own this year.

I like the major life altering event in the plot.... but that is basically a freebie since every book has some sort of life altering plot point to me.

I liked the UN 2021 International Year, and do not think it is too broad, but I really don't see it making the list since it had no designation the first poll it was nominated for.

I'm not interested in the communist country, rabbit, or endangered species prompts unfortunately, and I already didn't like the potential for introvert stereotypes.

I'm not usually too negative in the polls, and I often upvote a ton more than downvoting. I'll probably upvote the cover with more than 2 people, Letter U, protagonist/author gender since those are pretty doable but still a fun scavenger hunt and easy to fill after I read the book.

I did 5 up: Cover with more than 2 people, communist countries (I like geography-based prompts), a book related to dreams, endangered species (I have so many books with wolves) and a book related to indoors/outdoors.

I downvoted letter U (I don't get letters of the alphabet being used to choose a book), Pantone color (I tried looking for a book cover for a different year and hardly saw any book covers based on that one year alone), and the rabbit prompt.

I did 5 upvotes: cover with more than 2 people (which I think will win this round), Pantone, different gender author/protaganist, nom de plume and letter "u".

With Pantone, I like that we don't know what it is and I think I'm going to be really strict with the monochromatic color book and I see this one as being broader (predominant color or color in title),

I downvoted the sibling rivalry (also too close to home in my family), UN because I didn't like and downvoted it the first round so not a fan this time either, and the rabbit one. I'm actually terrified of rabbits, a childhood trauma. So this one is an actual worst nightmare prompt. That said if it got in, because I wouldn't even want a book with a rabbit on a cover, I would probably do something related to the metaphor of falling down the rabbit hole. A KIS option for those of us with leporiphobia

I am usually 50/50 on my voting but this week I had one upvote, and 7 downvotes. :(

My upvote was for letter U. It's a bit different and seems fun to research.

I think the downvotes for me were either too broad (like UNIY, I picked 10 books off my shelf and they all fit the prompt quite easily) or too similar to things we have already or have had in the past.

I submitted major life event and then almost immediately hoped it wouldn't get a second. I was going for a more positive approach and came across generic. Not what I intended at all. Oh well.

Ron wrote: "Chelsey wrote: "dalex wrote: "I am so amused that the rabbit prompt is back this year!"
How did it fall last year?"

Last year my rabbit prompt got an underserved bottom, despite being a favorite i..."

Ron- I'm all for the rabbit prompt and voted again for it this year! If nothing else, I will re-read The Tao of Pooh or Watership Down.

The link in the top most has been updated! As Emily noted before, you *DO NOT* need to vote a second time; we will count all the votes from both surveys. Don't these survey makers understand that we have a very dedicated group of voters? How dare they limit us.

Interesting, I liked a lot of them this week. I felt the life-changing event is too common, as a lot of fiction and memoir is about that. But maybe I misinterpreted the intent.

Avery wrote: "I was intending the indoor/outdoor prompt to be interpreted more as "almost exclusively indoors or outdoors" but I didn't think people would like the convoluted wording of having the word "almost," "or" and "exclusively" and so I tried to submit it with different wording, but after seeing what voters say, I get why some people aren't voting for it. Maybe it would do better as just "almost exclusively outdoors."
"

Huh, funny how people thought this one too broad. I understood it exactly as you intended to, and if it gets in, I will definitely use a book that is set indoors/outdoors 75+ % of the time. Like a "getting lost in the woods" survival (like Suicide Forest or The Bodies Left Behind) or a "closed room" mystery Hercule Poirot's Christmas, And Then There Were None), to name two extremes :D

I didn't have any strong feelings about this poll either way. I upvoted the U.N. prompt because I appreciate the connection to 2021, the "letter U" one because I like the letter-based scavenger hunt, the "related to dreams" because I've been dying to re-read a German fantasy/YA favorite which is all about dreaming (published in English as Dream a Little Dream), the nom de plume because I still have a few unread Richard Bachman and Anne Rice books lying around, the "set on an island" because I love islands, and my own suggestion (different gender) even though it feels kind of lame now and I wish I'd voted for the rabbit one instead :D

Downvoted the communist countries (too restrictive for me, plus, I would have to get something completely new for that which hasn't even been on my radar before, which does not go well with my "don't buy so many new books before you've decimated your huge TBR" principle) and the "more than 2 people on the cover" one because only two books on my 161-strong TBR fit that criterion and I'm not sure I want to include either of these in the next challenge. Most of my books tend to have no people on the cover at all.