Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

I hope the Black authors list and the memoir make it through. Five up votes and three down votes for me.

Nancy wrote: "I would love a nonfiction prompt about LGBTQIA+ issues, however if nonfiction is hard to get through, and so are the rainbow prompts, I think that would make it even harder to get one through encom..."

It wouldn't have to be non-fiction. Just as one example, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai really illuminates the AIDS crisis and gay life in the '80s.

If we just stick in one POC prompt and say we've hit our quota and won't have any more, that is more like tokenism in my opinion.

I think my problem with it being called out is that it's just a list of authors. Forget that they are black for a moment and judge the list on whether you feel like reading their books or not.

Agreed, Ellie. And it is SUCH a good list of diverse authors, featuring so many different types of writing. That list was a good find, dalex.

I was thinking I don’t read memoirs but I loved both Becoming and Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood but didn’t think of them as memoirs. The word to me conjures up minor celebrities trying to show how great they are. I’m also not clear what the difference is between memoir and autobiography. Is memoir smaller in scope, not necessarily covering a whole life?

I was waiting for the next round to resubmit my non-binary/trans/+ character or author prompt.

It was a very close call, but I wanted to give it some time in case it didn’t make it in a second time, due to it being too fresh in people’s minds. Having it not make it in twice, when at the time, it was the only one suggested/discussed, would have been a bit heart breaking.

I added the character aspect to encompass stories, as it can be tough to know how the author identifies.

But I also love the idea of LGBTQIA+ history!

As for the black authors, as a black woman, I’ve found this group to be very open and accepting of diverse reading. When I saw that list, I was really excited that we were highlighting some really excellent authors that don’t always get the attention they deserve. I didn’t think it was tokenism or trying to make ourselves feel good, but instead an effort for everyone to read these diverse perspectives and filling holes we unconsciously have.

Robin P wrote: "I’m also not clear what the difference is between memoir and autobiography. "

This article on the Writers Digest website says, "An autobiography focuses on the chronology of the writer’s entire life while a memoir covers one specific aspect of the writer’s life. So, if I chose to write about my complete life up to this point—including growing up in Cincinnati, my time in New York, the few years I spent in Chicago and eventually landing at Writer’s Digest—I’d write an autobiography. If wrote a book about the winter of my sophomore year in high school where I got my tongue stuck to an icy pole, I’d write a memoir."

dalex wrote: "Robin P wrote: "I’m also not clear what the difference is between memoir and autobiography. "

This article on the Writers Digest website says, "An autobiography focuses on the chronology of the wr..."


Too funny dalex.... hope you really didn't get your tongue stuck!

Alicia wrote: "I didn’t think it was tokenism or trying to make ourselves feel good, but instead an effort for everyone to read these diverse perspectives and filling holes we unconsciously have...."

That is exactly the reassurance I needed. Thank you! Even though lists aren't usually my thing, this particular list is a good one and I did end up voting for it.

I love the idea of an LGBTQIA+ history prompt. I've been trying for weeks to think of a good way to word a mental health prompt that isn't the usual "read a book related to mental health" type of thing. Nothing is coming to mind though. 2020 has killed my brain.

I really liked the neurodiverse prompt from this year and would love to see something similar, but I'm like you, Amy. I can't figure out a way to word it so that it covers what I want to read about without repeating the prompt.

The fall challenge has "Read a book featuring a character who struggles with their mental health," that could work.

My computer is very glitchy at work so I had hit submit on my votes multiple times to get it to work. Hopefully it only went through once.

It only came through once, Joanne!

At work, I'm usually in the person who champions the unpopular opinion/minority choice. So I don't see why it should be any different here. That said, please understand that I'm not trying to be a troll or derogatory to anyone, I only want to express my opinion.

I work with civil rights issues, immigration, homelessness, and much more in my job. Its stressful and I often have to put my personal feelings aside to do my job to the best of my ability.

I started doing challenges with Pop-Sugar and then stumbled across ATY. The main appeal to me is the democratic way the topics are selected as well as their creativity. I read to escape reality since I deal with 'social justice issues' daily. I just do not like to select topics based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, orientation, etc. My job deals with making sure that discrimination based on these factors does not occur. If a character in a book I choose has a character that is from one of those groups that face discrimination...that's fine. I just do not enjoy having to select a book based on that criteria.

I want to pick books based upon the book's jacket blurb, my friend's or the group's recommendations, the title, etc not to make sure that I'm reading inclusively or to be well-rounded (whatever that is). I just want to read for enjoyment and escapism.

Again, I'm not trying to stir the pot and I beg your forgiveness if I have offended. Thank you for letting me get this out of my system...its been brewing since the 2020 selection.

Robin P wrote: "I was thinking I don’t read memoirs but I loved both Becoming and Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood but didn’t think of them as memoirs. The word ..."

Those two memoirs are why I would like a memoir included on the list. I expect that a listopia for memoirs will have quite a number of books I will want to read (although likely not as great as Becoming)

I read A LOT of memoirs (it's my favorite type of audiobook), but nothing has touched Becoming. Lots have come close (and definitely some 5 star books), but Becoming was another level.

Now I'm confused, according to that writer's digest article, isn't Becoming an autobiography? Since she's not only discussing her time in the White House but a chronological discussion of her life ending with the White House?

I would say Becoming is an autobiography, as is Educated. I'd think books like Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood that are more episodic (rather than super chronological) are more memoir.

But I'm making all of this up. Honestly, I've used the term autobiography and memoir interchangeably, and I'm an English teacher and have a library science degree lol. For me, any book that is written by a person about their own life is basically all the same, whatever structure they choose to go with for the story.

Emily wrote: "I would say Becoming is an autobiography, as is Educated. I'd think books like Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood that are more episodic (rather th..."

I agree. Maybe if we accidentally read a technical autobiography v. memoir, we've given ourselves the KIS option.

I tend to think of memoir as just a marketing term. Autobiography sounds kind of dull, memoir sounds more personal and interesting. But they are really the same thing, IMO.

I looked it up and bookriot had a pretty good article: https://bookriot.com/difference-betwe....

Basically, an autobiography is when a person who is already well known writes a fact driven, historical account of their entire life. A memoir is when anyone writes mainly about a certain part of their life (ignoring or summarizing the rest), with an emphasis on their emotional experience.

Jette wrote: "At work, I'm usually in the person who champions the unpopular opinion/minority choice. So I don't see why it should be any different here. That said, please understand that I'm not trying to be a ..."

I have similar feeling on some topics. Real life is hard and reading is a nice break.

I ended up going 4-4 this time.

I voted for all three of the list prompts and the book that is disturbing. I read a lot of thrillers and tend to love creepy books (even though I'm a coward about them), so I thought that would be a good fit for disturbing. I don't technically love the Best Book of the Month list so far, but I can see it having potential. There are already a handful of books on there that I'd like to read, and I found it more interesting than any of the other prompts.

I totally see what Amy was saying about the Black authors list, especially after seeing a ton of threads on Twitter in the past few months about performative actions, etc. In this case, I agree that it's a good push for everyone to read more diversely (even for those of us who do so already), and I liked that it came from a slightly different angle than the prompts we already had.

I downvoted the memoir (as someone mentioned above, it defeats the purpose of the previous non-fiction prompt, and I already don't care for non-fiction), the modern classic, the book older than my mom, and the bestseller/book published from the decade of my birth. I'm sure I can find something for all of those if needed, but they don't really align very well with what I'm currently interested in reading, and I like to have options that I'm strongly motivated to read for a prompt, instead of just picking something to cross it off the list.

Hannah wrote: "I looked it up and bookriot had a pretty good article: https://bookriot.com/difference-betwe....

Basically, an autobiography is when a person who is already well known wri..."
Based on this, I would say, Becoming is a Memoir... There is a lot of her life before law school and after being the first lady that are not covered.

I voted against memoir, and might not have it it had been 'autobiography or memoir' I occasionally read autobiographies but to me memoirs specifically always feel like the author is just self indulgent and I hate them

Another set of good prompts! Took me a while to think about how I was going to vote...

Upvoted Best book of the month, NPR book concierge, cross genre, book older than my mum, and bestseller from the decade I was born.

I was a little confused (what's new) about the You read what?! prompt just because I can't think of a single book/genre that would be surprising for me to have read, but maybe I'm not thinking broadly enough for it. I didn't upvote it, but if it gets through, I think it'll be an interesting one, I would be curious to see what others would read for it...

I was originally going to downvote the disturbing book because I'm not really into horror at all. But then I realized that nonfiction books can be disturbing, like I just finished the book Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom, and it was definitely disturbing to learn about the lack of regulations on some generics companies, and it was especially disturbing how the medicine can get contaminated with things like bugs. So I realized I needed to broaden my view of disturbing, and after reading Rachel's post where she mentioned it, I decided to change how I planned to vote to put it in the top.

Good point Katie! I had considered down voting it also but decided to not vote either way. I figured I would read non-fiction, plenty of topics to choose from, including the one you mentioned!

I think for both 'older than your mom' and 'the decade of your birth' could be as BIO option the year you/your mom were born.

The thought, why I suggested the decade/year of your birth was to read something from the time your parents were young and starting a family. If you don't go for historical fiction or high fantasy here, this could get some nice insight in that time and what has changed since then.
Also, there are so many bestsellers that are read for a certain time by everyone and then just disappear. So its possible to find some real gems researching the bestsellers of another time.

Pam wrote: "Good point Katie! I had considered down voting it also but decided to not vote either way. I figured I would read non-fiction, plenty of topics to choose from, including the one you mentioned!"

I suggested the disturbing prompt, even though I don’t generally read horror (although I’m currently reading the Sun Down Motel, which I think may be horror...)

I recently read 3 books that I found disturbing, the Handmaid’s Tale, a Simple Plan, and the Dead Zone (given the uncanny resemblance to a current politician and the fervour of his supporters). All were disturbing in their own right, but not because they were horror books. A book can be disturbing because the characters or people being depicted are being unfairly treated (fiction or nonfiction), or it can be about disturbing events, situations or practices.

Katie wrote: "I was originally going to downvote the disturbing book because I'm not really into horror at all."

"Disturbing" definitely does not have to be horror. Many books have stories that I consider "disturbing" - anything with war, oppression, abuse, dysfunction, discrimination, death, etc. would work!

Alexx wrote: "I was a little confused (what's new) about the You read what?! prompt just because I can't think of a single book/genre that would be surprising for me to have read, but maybe I'm not thinking broadly enough for it. "

So so so many books would work for this prompt! Most sci-fi plots sound outlandish to those that aren't sci-fi fans. Lots of historical fiction features amazing stories - spies, pioneers, explorers, inventors, royalty, etc. There are books with crazy weird titles. Some short story collections are just downright bizarre. I love this prompt!

I also had the disturbing prompt initially in my planned down votes. The more I thought about it, I realized that it was not a prompt that I disliked. It did not make it into my top votes though. There were just too many good prompts in this poll. I think, this is one of those prompts that takes sometime to think about.

dalex wrote: "So so so many books would work for this prompt! Most sci-fi plots sound outlandish to those that aren't sci-fi fans. Lots of historical fiction features amazing stories - spies, pioneers, explorers, inventors, royalty, etc. There are books with crazy weird titles. Some short story collections are just downright bizarre. I love this prompt! "

See, the sci-fi and historical fiction don't scream "You read what?!" to me, probably because I enjoy reading those! However, having thought about it, if the prompt gets through, I'll probably read Russian literature because they are pretty well known for being difficult and I imagine it'll be quite satisfying telling someone I read War and Peace (or a different book) and having them shocked by that. Somewhat gutted I didn't upvote that one now because it's a good challenge prompt I think, depending on how you perceive it!

Alexx wrote: "dalex wrote: "So so so many books would work for this prompt! Most sci-fi plots sound outlandish to those that aren't sci-fi fans. Lots of historical fiction features amazing stories - spies, pione..."

Micro-histories seem to provoke that reaction from my crew...especially those by Mary Roach (Stiff, Spook) or anything to do with the Body Farm. If this prompt gets through, I think I will use Mop Men about crime scene cleaners.

Alexx, I read War and Peace as part of a buddy read in this group 2 years ago, and it is SOOOO satisfying to be able to say I read it. Same for reading Ulysses last year for the challenge. I have yet to pick a super long and/or intimidating classic for this year's challenge, but I try to tackle (at least) one a year.

That's how I feel about reading Anna Karenina as well!

This is the first time I didn't use all 8 of my votes. I didn't have strong feelings on most of these. I could do them all, but not particularly jazzed or disappointed about most.

I did upvote "you read WHAT?!?!" because I just absolutely love that prompt, along with Black Novelists (I'll be using my BIPOC and race relations to focus on Asian authors/culture), sports, and two-word title with 2 and 1 syllable(s).

Katie wrote: "Alexx, I read War and Peace as part of a buddy read in this group 2 years ago, and it is SOOOO satisfying to be able to say I read it. Same for reading Ulysses last year for the challenge. I have y..."

Ooooh Finnegan's Wake has been on my list for awhile. That would need to be mine.

I was planning to read War and Peace for the 20th book prompt this year. It’s 20th on the BBC list. I’m running out of time to get started on it! If not this year, then next. 😀

Finally voted. Great choices this round. There were several I liked and wouldn't mind seeing on the list, but I still went 4/4 this time around. I wasn't blown away by the NPR list, and I struggled to come up with anything for "A book closely related to what you wanted to be as a kid." A memoir kind of cancels out the "non-fiction other than a biography, autobiography, or memoir." I'm also not wild about sports-related stuff.

I did 8 upvotes this time around. I had stronger feelings for some prompts over others, but I felt like I could tackle any one of these if they made it through. none struck me as too broad or too niche.

I just remembered a book on my TBR that is perfect for “you read WHAT?!” - The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina—Separating the Myth from the Medicine!

Chrissy wrote: "I just remembered a book on my TBR that is perfect for “you read WHAT?!” - The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina—Separating the Myth from the Medicine!"

Chrissy, I read that book earlier this year, and when that prompt was first brought up on the Wild Discussion thread, that was the first book that came to mind for it. Too funny.

I think I might read the The Communist Manifesto for "you read WHAT?!?!" (I'm putting out the positive vibes that it is definitely getting in).

I'm interested to know about the beginnings and different theories of communism. Not sure if this is actually the best book for that, or just the most popular. So definitely open to suggestions if anyone has any.

Alicia wrote: "So definitely open to suggestions if anyone has any"

I'll just mention October: The Story of the Russian Revolution by China Miéville (Yes, the same guy who wrote Perdido Street Station) because it's a pretty readable, not-so-dry-and-academic account about the rise of the communist state.

Ooh thanks!!

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO VOTE!