Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

It's now time to get ready to vote for our next 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 in the morning of Tuesday, August 1 and results will be posted in the morning of Saturday, August 5 (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

We are asking people to include their Goodreads profile address when they vote. To find this, just go to your own profile and then copy the URL/web address. If for some reason you can't link to your Goodreads profile, please post your full Goodreads name with enough identifiable information that we'll be able to access your profile.

Possible Prompts:
1. A book with twins in it
2. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet - JQZX
3. A book related to left or right
4. A book relating to a catchphrase
5. A book related to one of the traditional full moon names
6. A book related to X marks the Spot
7. A book featured in a “staff picks” display at a bookstore or library
8. A book with a lock and/or a key on the cover
9. A book related to summertime blues
10. A book with a touch of magic
11. A book with a timepiece on the cover
12. A history or historical fiction book
13. A book with a character who is neurodiverse
14. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists
15. A book with an author OR character whose first name is considered gender neutral

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

VOTE HERE: https://forms.gle/4AvS3wJuFw8mCijZA

THOUGHTS AND IDEAS FROM THE SUGGESTIONS THREAD

2. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet - JQZX
Examples:
James Patterson
Dean Koontz
Emily St. John Mandel
Gabrielle Zevin
Zadie Smith
Grady Hendrix

BIO- includes 2 or more of the least used letters

3. A book related to left or right
The prompt could be interpreted quite broadly, for example left or right could refer to left-wing or right-wing politics, could refer to a phrase such as "left behind" or "Mr Right", or could be part of the title or author name.

4. A book relating to a catchphrase
You can use one of the below or choose your own favorite.

Who Shot J.R.?
Where's the Beef?
We're on a Mission from God
May the Force be With You
Some Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti
Is That Your Final Answer?
Kiss my Grits!
Go Ahead, Make My Day
I'll Be Back
Just Do It
I Want my MTV
Who's your Daddy
I'm your Huckleberry
Show me the money
You're gonna need a bigger boat
Nothin' but Net
Live Long and Prosper
Sorry about that, Chief
Be the Ball
And Down the Stretch they Come
Let's Get Ready to Rumble
The Truth is Out There
Hasta la vista, baby
How you doin’
Danger, Will Robinson
How sweet it is!
Come on down!
Here’s looking at you, kid
Bond, James Bond.
Say hello to my little friend
I’m king of the world!
There’s no crying in baseball
My precious
Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn
I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.
Heeere’s Johnny!
To infinity, and beyond!
I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse
Ay Carumba!
Trust No One
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads
Who You Gonna Call?
"I C..."

5. A book related to one of the traditional full moon names
https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy...
https://www.nps.gov/apis/learn/histor...

6. A book related to X marks the Spot
a phrase that means ‘this is the place where you will find the thing you are looking for’, generally in reference to treasure maps

So, X on the book cover, in the author’s name, or the title

On a map, x can denote a mountain, a final destination (when taking a trip), or the placement of a treasure, (gold, jewels, an artifact, a collection, a person, a body, etc), so a story with maps, pirates, adventurers/treasure seekers, prospectors, archeologists, law enforcement, or anyone searching for their version of treasure/something of value (the cure for cancer, their missing child, the perfect house, an orgasm (X rated), a soul mate, proof of the truth, salvation, etc)

X is the accepted mark made by an illiterate or incapacitated person to denote their signature (agreement), or a mark by a professional to denote where a signature should be made, So a book featuring a person who is illiterate or incapacitated and their struggles, or a book about a contract or agreement (Faustian bargain?)

xo at the bottom of a letter indicates kisses (x) and hugs (o); so a book about a close friendship or romance

X can also be used to mark a ballot (a book about a vote) or, on the opposite end, can also be used to “cross something out” or cancel

X is a symbol of a crossing or cross, so a character at a crossroads in their life, and X is also the Greek letter Chi, the first letter in Christ, hence Xmas, Xtian, so Christian fiction or a place where a miracle occurs

X is the symbol of the sun god so the sun marking a spot (on a sundial) or sunspots on the cover

7. A book featured in a “staff picks” display at a bookstore or library
These can be at the physical building, but there are also online Staff Picks lists like this one from the New York Library: https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recom...

9. A book related to summertime blues
Topics that fit could include:
Anything related to summer, summer activities
The blues of course, but any kind of music or song would work since this is a song title
Mental health: ""the blues"", depression, sadness, or any kind of mental health issue, SAD
The color blue the book cover, word in the title, etc.
And if you wanted to get into the actual song lyrics, that opens up teenage thoughts and behavior, political issues, and more

10. A book with a touch of magic
It could be a book with the word magic in the title; books from the genres magical realism or low fantasy; a book with magic that involves touch, like rubbing a lamp to encounter a genie; a book about magicians or illusions; a book by a parent lamenting having to do Elf on the Shelf, etc

13. A book with a character who is neurodiverse
For example: someone on the autism spectrum, or with Down Syndrome, or with dementia

15. A book with an author OR character whose first name is considered gender neutral
Here is a list of names to get started with: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unise...

I like this list of gender neutral names for 2 reasons: 1) it includes names beyond the English language (and is grouped by language/area) and 2) it includes older names (i.e., not just a baby name list), so is more likely to include names used by authors who were born with their gender neutral name. Of course some authors have chosen their names later, for various reasons, so may use one of the more “modern” gender neutral names.

For a KIS option you could use names that are masculine/feminine homophones (sound the same, not spelled alike, and generally not considered gender neutral), e.g., Erin/Aaron, Frances/Francis, Carrie/Kerry, Cydney/Sidney

Just a few examples from the English language list:

Alex, Aubrey, Bailey, Billie, Bobby, Brett, Charlie, Cody, Devin, Devon, Drew, Dylan, Frankie, Jamie, Jean, Jesse, Joey, Kelly, Kim, Laurie, Lee, Leslie, Lauren, Mel, Morgan, Pat, Randy, Ricky, Robin, Ryan, Sam, Sandy, Stacy, Taylor, Tony, Tracy, Willie

There are more on the list and also more in other languages on the same link.

Quite a few downvotes for me unfortunately especially the staff picks one which is harder for some people to do so definitely a downvote.

Thomas wrote: "Quite a few downvotes for me unfortunately especially the staff picks one which is harder for some people to do so definitely a downvote."

One of my favorite prompts a few years ago was the NYPL staff list one, so I'm good: https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recom...

And I just added 6 books to my TBR list by going to that page to get the link!

A listopia for twins: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5...

A listopia for lock and key: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

I wasn't keen on twins, but having looked at the listopia, I have Two Brothers by Ben Elton :)

There are a lot of online "staff picks" so that one works for me :)

I prepared a list of lists for related to a timepiece, but it's been submitted as a cover prompt, so I have to go see which ones are still relevant. I got distracted, so sorry Nike if it's not the prompt you wanted!

Lists for timepiece on the cover:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

There are also sundials but I couldn't find a list for them.

If you allow titles for cover prompts then there are a gazillion books with "watch" in the title.

Ellie wrote: "I prepared a list of lists for related to a timepiece, but it's been submitted as a cover prompt, so I have to go see which ones are still relevant. I got distracted, so sorry Nike if it's not the ..."

I think the suggested commented that it was supposed to be related to in suggestions

Mandy wrote: "I think the suggested commented that it was supposed to be related to in suggestions..."

That was me, the person who wanted it in the wild discussion is a bit behind on everything but I think they wanted it to be able to include books about clockmakers, etc. So hopefully a book about clockmakers would actually have a clock on the cover, but you never know. It's my fault for getting distracted doing something else when I should have been refreshing Goodreads!

The full moon names is really interesting.
https://www.nps.gov/apis/learn/histor...

Here are some of the names from the links.

Traditional Full Moon Names
Wolf Moon – January
Snow Moon – February
Worm Moon – March
Pink Moon – April
Flower Moon – May
Strawberry Moon – June also Horse Moon
Buck Moon – July
Sturgeon Moon – August
Harvest Moon – September or October
Full Corn Moon (Harvest) – September
Hunter's Moon (Harvest) – October
Beaver Moon – November
Cold Moon – December
Blue Moon - the 13th moon (not every year)
Also - Supermoons - Full moons that appear larger than normal - This year on August 1 (Super Sturgeon) and August 31 (Super Blue Moon)

I'm (a very small) part Ojibwe. so this list caught my eye:
Flowering moon. It is at this time of year that the flowers show their beauty to us.
Strawberry Moon. The strawberry is one of the first berries to become available to eat in June.
Halfway Through Summer Moon. This moon gets it’s name from the midway point of the summer, the solstice.
Blueberry Moon. Blueberries are one of the most important foods of the Ojibwe people.
Ricing Moon. It was the manoomin, “food that grows on water”, that brought ancient Ojibwe to the Chequamegon Bay region a long time ago.
Bright Leaves Moon. What a gift to have these trees show us their colors!
Combing Leaves Moon. After the trees show us their brilliant colors, they drop their leaves to the forest floor.
Freezing Over Moon. As winter grips the world around us the snow starts sticking on the ground, the wind gets a little bit chillier.
Little Spirit Moon. What is it about the month of December that would be smaller than the rest of the months?
Great Spirit Moon. The translation of this moon refers to the Great Spirit Moon.
Sucker Moon. This moon refers to sucker fish that spawn during this time.
Snowcrust Moon. This moon refers to the crust that forms on the snow as it warms up during the day and refreezes at night
Sugaring Moon. After long winters and with food stores running out, maple sugar was regarded as a special gift that came along with spring.

There will be a super blue moon at the end of august this year and a blue moon in August next year

Annnnnd now the song is stuck in my head!

Book ideas related to the moon names?

Mandy wrote: "There will be a super blue moon at the end of august this year and a blue moon in August next year

Annnnnd now the song is stuck in my head!"

Me too Mandy! It's one of the first songs I learned to play when I was a kid, and my mother always requested it. (Though when I got home from school and started practicing, I heard doors closing all over the house).

NancyJ wrote: "Book ideas related to the moon names?"

First (only) one that comes to mind immediately is: Killers of the Flower Moon

NancyJ wrote: "Book ideas related to the moon names?"

The first to jump into my head is Moon of the Crusted Snow. It also has a chilling setting, in more ways than one. And a sequel is supposed to be coming out soon.

NancyJ wrote: "Book ideas related to the moon names?"

Wolf Moon - There are quite a few werewolf books with this title. Just a few: , , ,

Also chockful of werewolves, Hunter's Moon: , ,

But I would also just go with any of them that speak to you and finding that on a cover. For example, strawberries: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Love the traditional moon prompts, but I'll be honest I had no idea what it meant until I clicked the link. I originally thought it meant the moon phases (crescent, gibbous (spelling that wrong)).

I would probably use bookshop dot org for staff picks. There's UK and US versions of the site as far as I know, and lots of lists that could be considered staff picks from indie booksellers.

I know there won't be time, but I'd rather know what NPR are gonna add to the list for this year before voting for it again.

I like X marks the spot, lock and key and a touch of magic. The moons are interesting but at first glance seem a lot of overlap with our other prompts, but I could always make room for a wolfish book, there's even a non-fiction one I have my eye on.

Harvest Moon could be about farming or about games (there are a lot of games inspired by Harvest Moon, like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing New Horizons).

Blue Moon could be about a rare event, eg, once in a blue moon.

Ellie wrote: "Blue Moon could be about a rare event, eg, once in a blue moon.
"

Hey, there's another catchphrase!

Ellie wrote: "Mandy wrote: "I think the suggested commented that it was supposed to be related to in suggestions..."

That was me, the person who wanted it in the wild discussion is a bit behind on everything bu..."

I feel partially to blame because when I saw someone in the poll 6 suggestions ask where the timepiece on the cover prompt was, I went to the Wild discussion and asked for someone to submit it without checking what the original prompt request was. Of course, the person who helped to get it on the roster may have gotten the wording from the same place I did, but I feel badly that I may have encouraged something that wasn’t what Nike wanted.

Robin wrote: "Ellie wrote: "Blue Moon could be about a rare event, eg, once in a blue moon.
"

Hey, there's another catchphrase!"

Well done!

I think it looks like all up votes for me. Nothing strikes me as deserving my down vote.

Leaning toward:
4. A book relating to a catchphrase
5. A book related to one of the traditional full moon names
6. A book related to X marks the Spot
8. A book with a lock and/or a key on the cover
9. A book related to summertime blues
10. A book with a touch of magic
11. A book with a timepiece on the cover
15. A book with an author OR character whose first name is considered gender neutral

Sandra wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Book ideas related to the moon names?"

The first to jump into my head is Moon of the Crusted Snow. It also has a chilling setting, in more ways than one. And a seque..."
Moon of the Crusted Snow was fantastic - I'd highly recommend it. From what I recall, there was also discussion or acknowledgment of some of the other moon periods on the list.

Sequel is Moon of the Turning Leaves, coming out this fall.

I have a couple of upvotes. I will be down voting "staff picks" and NPR. I had a difficult time with the NPR this year and don't want to donit again.

The website libro.fm (an excellent place to get audiobooks) has a lot of staff pick lists. You can also choose an indie bookstore to support with your purchases.

There are a ton of online "staff picks" lists, here are a few I've found:

Libraries:
New York Public Library: https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recom...
Seattle Public Library: https://www.spl.org/books-and-media/b...
San Francisco Public Library: https://sfpl.bibliocommons.com/explor...
Kent District Library: https://kdl.org/staff-picks/
Plymouth Library: https://library.plymouth.gov.uk/good-...

Book Sellers:
Powell’s: https://www.powells.com/staff-picks
Porter Square Books: https://www.portersquarebooks.com/sta...
Off The Shelf: https://offtheshelf.com/2023/07/staff...
Books Are Magic: https://booksaremagic.net/staff-picks
Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/th...

Anastasia wrote: "I have a couple of upvotes. I will be down voting "staff picks" and NPR. I had a difficult time with the NPR this year and don't want to donit again."

Here here

Velvet wrote: "Ellie wrote: "Mandy wrote: "I think the suggested commented that it was supposed to be related to in suggestions..."

That was me, the person who wanted it in the wild discussion is a bit behind on..."

Oh no, I'm the person who asked where the prompt was. I'm really sorry if I got it turned into a cover prompt when it was supposed to be a suggestion.

Sandra wrote: "The website libro.fm (an excellent place to get audiobooks) has a lot of staff pick lists. You can also choose an indie bookstore to support with your purchases."

If this gets chosen I'm looking forward to a day of browsing my local indie bookstores.

I just spent an hour browsing for Full Moon books. I feel invested in this one I guess. I like all the ideas mentioned above.

I love prompts that can be challenging or easy, depending on how you approach it.

For those who like a challenge, a BIO option might be to read a book in which one of these moons was a part of the story. I would pick a book that involves indigenous people, or one with an environmental/nature plot, or both!
Moon of the Crusted Snow - I just read this. (It also has a chilling atmosphere)
Moon of the Turning Leaves - same author
Killers of the Flower Moon - nonfiction. I loved it.
Turtle Moon - by Alice Hoffman. (The back of a turtle was once used to mark lunar months.)
I would look for another indigenous book that refers to one of the full moons in the title or content of the book. I could also go with an ecology/nature book about Beavers, Fish, Wolves, etc.

I've had these on my TBR a long time:
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
When the Moon Turns Blue
Tell the wolves I'm Home

I also really like the Blue Moon interpretations.

For those who like scavenger hunts, all of the terms would work well for titles or covers. See the list with horses on the cover in poll 1 or 2.
These books are really nice to look at:
Books with Full Moons on the cover
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...

Isabel wrote: "There are a ton of online "staff picks" lists, here are a few I've found:

Libraries:
New York Public Library: https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recom...
Seattle Public Lib..."

Thanks for these links. I haven't seen a list of staff picks in a physical location in a very long time, but these are great resources. I love the library lists. They are so different from the ones you see on all the blog lists influenced by publishers. I feel like this is one that I should really support.

I've been relying on goodreads friends, reviewers and groups like ours for a lot of recommendations, and I love it! BUT, if we aren't bringing new book and topic ideas into this group, we might just keep feeding each other the same ideas.

When I saw the ideas in the Wild Discussion about other platforms, I wasn't enthusiastic because I already spend too much time online and I don't want to learn another site. BUT, if I were younger (and/or didn't already have thousands of books in my TBR) I would definitely explore alternative book sites and resources - of all types.

I love Goodreads, and I'm grateful for all the services it provides to me. I'm here almost every single day, and I've met some wonderful people. I'm dependent on it. The recent tech issues with the database itself alarm me more than the occasional outages. That's the core part of the site, and it should be the strongest after all these years.

Joanna wrote: "Sandra wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Book ideas related to the moon names?"

The first to jump into my head is Moon of the Crusted Snow. It also has a chilling setting, in more ways than o..."

I liked it too. If I saw the full moon lists before I read the book, I'm sure it would have helped me to pay attention to them in the book. I'm looking forward to his next book too.

I took a look at the NYPL spring 2023 staff picks and immediately found 5 books of interest, one of which is already on my TBR. The issue I have with these types of list prompts is keeping track of which books are on the lists! I get tired of making physical lists from perusing lists. Also, my GR TBR grows exponentially and is now completely meaningless! So, what I did was take screen shots of the books from the NYPL webpage and saved them on my phone in a Photos folder titled NYPL staff picks. Easy to find! If I had to pick from my library branch’s recommendations, it would be a no. I love the staff but I don’t think they read that much. I haven’t checked out any of the other library links yet but thank you to the person who posted them!

The only suggestion I am struggling with is Summertime Blues. I read mostly Sci fi so that could be a challenge for me to fill. Otherwise I think I will have 7 or 8 up votes.

The line in the song is "there ain't no cure for the summertime blues" (that's the only line I know), maybe a sci fi about a plague- as in no cure?

@Nancy J- Thank you so much for posting some of the moon names from the links! I would have immediately dismissed the moon idea because I didn't want to look at links but because you posted I am more interested now.

°~Amy~° wrote: "The only suggestion I am struggling with is Summertime Blues. I read mostly Sci fi so that could be a challenge for me to fill. Otherwise I think I will have 7 or 8 up votes."

I read a lot of sci-fi too, and Summertime Blues was my idea. The first sci-fi related thing that comes to my mind is desert planet, or earth well into global warming -- endless heat -- no cure for those summertime blues! Someone else suggested a plague, another good idea I think.

Here's the lyrics for the song Summertime Blues

Well, I'm a gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler
About workin' all summer just to try an' earn a dollar
Everytime I call my baby, to try to get a date
My boss says, no dice, son, you gotta work late
Sometimes I wonder what I'm gonna do
'Cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues
Well, my mom an papa told me, son, you gotta make some money
If you want to use the car to go ridin' next sunday
Well I didn't go to work, told the boss I was sick
Now you can't use the car 'cause you didn't work a lick
Sometimes I wonder what I'm gonna do
'Cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues
Ow
I'm gonna take two weeks, gonna have a vacation
I'm gonna take my problem to the United Nation
Well I called my congressman and he said quote
"I'd like to help you son, but you're too young to vote"
Sometimes I wonder what I'm gonna do
'Cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues
Well, I'm a gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler
About workin' all summer just to try an' earn a dollar
Sometimes I wonder what I'm gonna do
'Cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues
Yeah, sometimes I wonder what I'm gonna do
'Cause there ain't no cure for the summertime blues
No, there ain't no cure for the summertime blues

Ups:
4. A book relating to a catchphrase - This is so much fun! Whoever suggested it, you are a genius!
5. A book related to one of the traditional full moon names - Love, love, love it!
15. A book with an author OR character whose first name is considered gender neutral - fun, easy, very nice prompt!

Down:
6. A book related to X marks the Spot - I blame Elon Musk for hating the letter X
10. A book with a touch of magic - nah, I am not very keen on fantasy or anything related to it

Dixie wrote: "°~Amy~° wrote: "The only suggestion I am struggling with is Summertime Blues. I read mostly Sci fi so that could be a challenge for me to fill. Otherwise I think I will have 7 or 8 up votes."

I re..."

Those are very interesting takes on Summertime Blues. I will definitely think more on it before voting!

Kendra wrote: "Here's the lyrics for the song Summertime Blues

Well, I'm a gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler
About workin' all summer just to try an' earn a dollar
Everytime I call my baby, to try to ..."

But is it "related to the song Summertime Blues" or "related to the summertime blues"? As it's written right now I would use the concept/feeling not the song. Was it meant to reflect the song?

°~Amy~° wrote: "Kendra wrote: "Here's the lyrics for the song Summertime Blues

Well, I'm a gonna raise a fuss, I'm gonna raise a holler
About workin' all summer just to try an' earn a dollar
Everytime I call my b..."

The way the prompt is written is "related to summertime blues", not the summertime blues. Here is the original description I wrote for it: Topics that fit could include:
Anything related to summer, summer activities
The blues of course, but any kind of music or song would work since this is a song title
Mental health: ""the blues"", depression, sadness, or any kind of mental health issue, SAD
The color blue the book cover, word in the title, etc.
And if you wanted to get into the actual song lyrics, that opens up teenage thoughts and behavior, political issues, and more

I liked this phrase because it is so multi-faceted, and that definitely includes references to the song.

Pam wrote: "I took a look at the NYPL spring 2023 staff picks and immediately found 5 books of interest, one of which is already on my TBR. The issue I have with these types of list prompts is keeping track of... Also, my GR TBR grows exponentially and is now completely meaningless! So, what I did was take screen shots of the books from the NYPL webpage and saved them on my phone in a Photos folder titled NYPL staff picks. Easy to find!..."

@Pam, do you ever create shelves (tags) in your TBR? I create one for each prompt we choose (e.g., 2024-cover-secondary-color) and flag each book with all prompts that it fits in. Since some books fit numerous places I have options if either I try a book I end up not liking and then DNFing, or if there are two books for one prompt that I really like it's easy to see if one of them can fit in a different prompt.

Apologies if this is something you already do and I've misread your dilemma.

Warning though, I currently have 274 shelves (2023 prompts, start of 2024 prompts, general categories that I like to look out for), so it CAN get out of hand. I really need to go in and clear out some shelves/categories that I know I'm not going to use any more.

I think it was left open ended.

I like reading about mental health, so that's probably what I would do for it.

After quickly looking through the prompts and my TBR, my initial reaction for upvotes is:
*2. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet - JQZX - on my TBR I have 13 authors that would fit (lots of Johnson's funnily enough)
*5. A book related to one of the traditional full moon names - no reason for this one - just like the idea of it
*12. A history or historical fiction book - I tend to read a few historical fiction each year and have a few I've been putting off so would be a good push
*13. A book with a character who is neurodiverse - my kids are autistic so I always like a good excuse to read books with autistic characters

Others I have books for on my TBR so may upvote - still deciding -are:
* 1. A book with twins in it
*15. A book with an author OR character whose first name is considered gender neutral

This list there is nothing I really don't like so I'm not sure I'll have any downvotes....

I have Winter Of The Wolf Moon on my TBR. Seems like that would work!

Pam wrote: "I took a look at the NYPL spring 2023 staff picks and immediately found 5 books of interest, one of which is already on my TBR. The issue I have with these types of list prompts is keeping track of..."

Pam, I tag the books I want to read for many prompts, and I make good use of my NPR shelf. I use more tags than most people but they really help me find books later on. The NPR categories on their site are really helpful too. I just wish you could search them across all years.

These tag lists might help too.
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/npr

Some people have shelves for NYPL books
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

Oops I see that Tracy wrote about this too. I shouldn’t start reading at the bottom of the page!