Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Another week with lots of winners! We are on a roll!

Top:
A book related to something mentioned in the lyrics of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
A book with a secondary color on the cover (orange, green or purple)
A book with a chilling atmosphere
A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color

Polarizing:
A book related to “soul”
A book with a hidden object on the cover

Bottom:
A book set in BCE
A retelling of a familiar tale

Listopias:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

The next round of suggestions will open around 8am CST on Monday 7/31/23

Another set of great results!

Not happy at all with this set of results. But I respect democracy. Very frustrated that another harmless prompt in this case BC years has been hated enough to be bottomed

Thomas wrote: "Not happy at all with this set of results. But I respect democracy. Very frustrated that another harmless prompt in this case BC years has been hated enough to be bottomed"

I downvoted that one because we had three centuries this year. I read a book about Rome around 800 BC. It seemed like a repeat to me.

Very happy! All my up votes this week got in!

I love two of the prompts that got in (chilling and What a Wonderful World) and can easily fill the others.

I'm very happy with these, I only upvoted 4 this time and 3 of those got in. And I'm okay with the 4th, as it was a neutral for me.

And 2 of my downvotes were the bottom 2.

I’m happy with the 4 prompts that got in!

I like the results overall - we have great balance!

We have a warm prompt and a chilly one.
We have a song prompt, a character prompt, a cover prompt and a mood theme that links to several popular genres. The song prompt can be used for covers, topics, and genres too.
We have a diversity prompt that covers a lot of the world, and can be used for any genre. It doesn’t require a story about bias or justice.

I love the song prompt, and I’m happy that we found a warm/positive prompt that most people liked. We downvoted a lot of prompts in the past couple years with soft, hopeful, nice words or concepts.

I’m a little disappointed my prompt didn’t make it, but I have it for my rejects challenge, so that’s ok. There was another prompt I was hoping for, but I can’t even remember it now. I’m enjoying this year more than ever, with my all up-votes strategy. I root for more, and don’t set my mind against any of them, and it feels less competitive,

Thomas wrote: "Not happy at all with this set of results. But I respect democracy. Very frustrated that another harmless prompt in this case BC years has been hated enough to be bottomed"

None of prompts are harmful, but the majority of them are going to lose every single week. So you can’t take it to heart. Mine didn't get in either, but that’s ok. You can still read whatever you want, but you might find another way to get there.

Dubhease wrote: "Thomas wrote: "Not happy at all with this set of results. But I respect democracy. Very frustrated that another harmless prompt in this case BC years has been hated enough to be bottomed"

I downvo..."
Dubhease- I hope most downvotes were the same as you.

I can't really remember what I voted for but at least two of these I did vote for, so a good outcome of a week where I wasn't really feeling it.

I'm pretty sure I downvoted BCE because that period doesn't interest me much and I'm getting a bit bored of the Greek myths. I don't "hate" the prompts I downvote, I just don't really want them on the list. I'm sure most people are the same and we're not being malicious by downvoting things.

My favorite set of results so far. Such a diverse group of prompts got in... and that is why I participate in challenges to discover/ have a reason to read books I wouldn't otherwise read.

Very happy with the winners :)

I don't "hate" the prompts I downvote, it's simply that I don't have anything I want to read that fills that prompt or I'm just not interested enough in the topic.

An interesting mix for me: one that I upvoted, one that I downvoted and two that I was neutral on. But a nice selection overall.

I know it's hard not to take it personally when a prompt is in the bottom. But it's not malicious, people just vote against what they don't want to read. I too am not interested in the BCE time period. And I am not a fan of retellings in general. If those got in I would have found something to read. But I'd rather read things I'm interested and so that's how I vote, just like I'm sure everyone else does.

I never remember how I vote, but I think I upvoted the tops and bottoms, but downvoted the polarizing.

But overall, I’m happy! I agree this has been a fun year of prompts so far.

As a note, because I did downvote hidden object, I do really like cover prompts. But usually “hidden” objects are harder to see and since I mainly use the app and have glasses, small details like that can be really hard to see. I don’t hate any prompts I downvote, but just wanted to share a different perspective.

Shannon SA wrote: "Very happy with the winners :)

I don't "hate" the prompts I downvote, it's simply that I don't have anything I want to read that fills that prompt or I'm just not interested enough in the topic."
Well I would never downvote a prompt just because it wasn’t something I had a particular interest in because I’m not totally selfish. I downvote if there’s a real problem with the prompt if it just doesn’t excite me I non vote.

I agree with Nancy. if I don't have anything related to the prompt that I want to read it's likely getting down voted so something I like more has a better chance of making it.

Darn it--not keen on chilling atmosphere, but I'll manage :)

Thomas, I think we should be clear, people downvoting prompts they aren’t totally interested in doesn’t make them completely selfish. I would assume most people downvote prompts that do not interest them, because we want a list that is interesting to us.

And also, I think it’s ok to be “selfish” with how we vote. I’m going to vote for what I like or don’t, what I think works and what doesn’t, what is easy or hard for me. I can’t think about everyone that does the challenge because I’m not them, don’t have their interests and don’t know what works for them. I can only go off myself.

Alicia wrote: "I never remember how I vote, but I think I upvoted the tops and bottoms, but downvoted the polarizing.

But overall, I’m happy! I agree this has been a fun year of prompts so far.

Same! I'm really enjoying this process. This is my first year with ATY and I'm loving it.

Sad about BCE being bottomed, I was excited for that one!, but don't mind the ones that got in! Especially excited for the BIPOC prompt, but the others should be fairly easy and fun to fill too!

My voting has nothing to do with hating a prompt but more to do with what interests or disinterests me. And, honestly, that can vary from day to day and from interpretation to interpretation!

I did vote for 3 of the 4 top. I am not excited about the chilling prompt because it brings to mind horror, which I avoid. So I will probably look for alternative interpretations in order to fill that one.

Although I understand the word "polarizing" definition, what does it mean for prompts and future polls? One of my favorites has ended there.

I am OK with the bottom two but don't hate them. Just don't have books that I enjoy in those categories.

Polarizing just means there were a lot of strong opinion both ways (upvotes and downvotes).

It can definitely be submitted again and it’s status as polarizing may change based on the other prompts up that week.

All my votes were down votes this time, so am happy with the top votes.

Pretty good results for me. Two that got in I upvoted, the other two that got in I have good options for, and the two on the bottom were my least favorite.

Yay!! A great group of prompts!!! And yay! now we can stop bouncing around ideas for song lyric prompts!!

This round was one like I never had - 7 upvotes (of which 2 won) and 1 downvote. We have 18 weeks selected so far, and I have 18 picked for my "rejects" challenge.

Nope - I take that back. I have 21 picked so far for my rejects challenge. Thanks for the great suggestions!

I like the results. I only had 2 upvotes and they both made it through. The other two that made it through I was fine with them as prompts. They weren't ones that I downvoted.

I've been back into Stephen King so a chilling atmosphere is perfect for me. The other prompts are easy as well.

Well, I'm sad hidden object and Southeast Asian author didn't make it, but I like all the prompts that did.

Nice! I voted for 3 of the 4 winners, and the only reason I didn't vote for BIPOC was because it's a prompt I've done many times before, but it is definitely something I was interested in and had great options for.

Not too surprised with the bottom prompts either, although I thought retelling would be more toward the middle

I voted for 2 of the winners - althought I have no idea what books I will read for them, just liked the ideas (wonderful world and secondary colour). The other 2 winners I didn't vote for either way and should be able to make it work.

I downvoted the 2 bottoms. For me it was because I have zero interest in reading books that fit these prompts. I've read retellings but have had enough of them and BCE just not my thing at all.

I voted really late and wasn't sure my votes were counted but surprise! all my upvotes made it and my two downvotes. Usually I dont' even remember but it was so recent. This is just a fun way for me to knock down my reading list and that's the way I choose

I like that we are getting a variety of theme, cover, character, etc. Not a fan of “chilling “ in general but maybe I will read something set in a cold climate.

I almost never think of specific books I would read for the prompts at this stage. I go with what interests me and figure I will find something later.

Robin P wrote: ".I almost never think of specific books I would read for the prompts at this stage. I go with what interests me and figure I will find something later.."

I do a mix - I keep a spreadsheet of voting and record my votes and then the results. But before each poll I go through my TBR and add any books in the spreadseet where they fit prompts. I don't only vote for prompts where I have books though, as I will vote for prompts I like the idea of and think I will have options and can work it out later.

Since I nominated the prompt relating to soul, I'm naturally disappointed it didn't make it. I'm not sure why it would be polarizing??? If anyone has suggestions on how to kick this one across the finish line, I'm interested in your thoughts. I've been smitten with it for a couple of years. I beleive it offers opportunity for everyone. I probably should have included something about heart and soul in addition to soul music, soul food, etc.

I'm not thrilling about the chilling (see how I did that), but I'll find something.

I loved the What A wonderful World prompt. Someone drew attention to how the Roses are red and Wonderful World prompts are similar. I hadn't thought of that, but they are right. I don't remember if they mentioned it in the poll Five suggestions or voting thread or the wild discussion thread.

I'm disappointed the BIPOC prompt made it. It's been used for the last few years in one form or another, so I'm tired of it. I'd like to see it rotate out for a couple of years or move to the pre-poll. I feel the same way about the banned book prompt. Also, with both of those prompts, I read widely enough to cover those prompts in the normal course of a reading year, so neither prompt stretches me.

I like the secondary color prompt and shouldn't have any trouble finding a book already on my TBR for it.

I was neutral on the BC/BCE prompt. I didn't downvote it, but I don't remember if I voted for it. I was originally thinking maybe a book about Egypt or archaeology or anthropology that would fit in that time frame, but I realized today that I have a Myth re-telling on my bookshelf now. It's Atalanta by Jennifer Saint. She also wrote Ariadne and Elektra both of which I loved.

Same with the retelling of a tale. Now that I think about it, I read Girl, Serpent, Thorn and Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust and loved them. They are technically YA. If I could find something like these books, I would love this prompt. Maybe it will make it in the future.

Charlsa wrote: "Since I nominated the prompt relating to soul, I'm naturally disappointed it didn't make it. I'm not sure why it would be polarizing??? If anyone has suggestions on how to kick this one across the ..."

I think it's important to remember that not everyone reads the details in the poll thread, some go straight to the poll and vote based on the wording there (I've done that myself a few times, when it's close to the poll closing and I'm short on time).
"Related to soul" is tricky without the context and suggestions; I didn't consider soul food or soul music until I read the thread but even then I wasn't sure what book I would read if it made it in.

Charlsa wrote: "Since I nominated the prompt relating to soul, I'm naturally disappointed it didn't make it. I'm not sure why it would be polarizing??? If anyone has suggestions on how to kick this one across the ..."

I loved the soul prompt. Let’s absolutely workshop it in the Wild discussion!

Wow, so many options! And my first prompt got through!! Yey!

I love this challenge because I have read so many brilliant books because of it. Even my favorite genres have changed since the first Edition I participated in. So I don't mind when I am challenged by prompts I am not keen on completing because they usually lead me to a whole new literary universe. A good example is "39. A Western" which made me roll my eyes toward my frontal lobe, and now I am quite liking News of the World :P and finding Howl’s Moving Castle to be very irritating, which is making me struggle with the prompt I thought I would be more excited about "30. A book related to a chess piece"

Yeah, the soul prompt was the reason that I was asking about polarizing. I loved it, also. However, I do see that having the suggestions made it more exciting to me and understand that without them I might not have voted for it. Definitely up for workshop for this prompt!

Really happy about these results. Excited to see we're knocking these down so fast, too.

Bea wrote: "My voting has nothing to do with hating a prompt but more to do with what interests or disinterests me. And, honestly, that can vary from day to day and from interpretation to interpretation!

I di..."

My downvotes are for different reasons. But even if it's a prompt I really dislike, it doesn't have anything to do with my feelings about the person who nominated it -- ie it's never personal and we all have different things we "love" or "hate" when it comes to reading. We're like that right in my own house. I have one daughter who loved Harry Potter and has read the entire series 3 2/3 times (I asked her just now since she's here) but a couple of us started off not loving the first book or liking it much and ended up hating the series around book 3-5, and another two wouldn't even deign to try them.

However, at least one person who would never deign to read it has been caught watching parts of the movies on TV, but my dh prefers to remain unnamed ;)

I've definitely been guilty of using the word "hate" about prompts before, but I never mean it as any kind of personal attack on the person who suggested it. When I say I "hate" a prompt, what I generally mean is that I find it very difficult or not a fit at all for my reading taste, so I very strongly do not want it on the list. Maybe "hate" is too strong of a word though.

My guess is that people who don't read these threads thought of "soul" only in religious terms and didn't want that. They probably didn't think of all the ways to interpret it.

I know how invested one gets in seeing your prompt get down voted, ignored, and (Hoorah) make the cut. I try to remind myself that no one else cares haha That said I'd be more inclined to vote for Heart and Soul since that makes it more clear

Robin P wrote: "My guess is that people who don't read these threads thought of "soul" only in religious terms and didn't want that. They probably didn't think of all the ways to interpret it."

It's too bad, because the examples were awesome. There were quite a few books that I loved or want to read.

Karin wrote: "Darn it--not keen on chilling atmosphere, but I'll manage :)"

Does it feel different to you if you choose a book to read that happens in a cold place or in the winter... or???

I think a lot of people will choose a cold setting

Thomas wrote: "Not happy at all with this set of results. But I respect democracy. Very frustrated that another harmless prompt in this case BC years has been hated enough to be bottomed"

Why on earth use the term "hate"?! One can't vote for all the options and that has absolutely nothing to do with hatred.