Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Lots of results this week!

Top:
A book set in a manor, mansion, or estate
A book set primarily in nature

Bottom:
A book related to something mentioned in the lyrics of "Come Away with Me" by Norah Jones
A book about faith, hope, or charity
A retelling of a favorite story

Close Call:
A book found on the NPR Books We Love list
A book set in a nation, territory, or commonwealth whose predominant language is Spanish
A book with a weird or intriguing title

Polarizing:
A book that is number 2/5/25 in a series

The next round of suggestions will open around noon on Saturday, August 24.

I’m happy with the winners.

Not a classic week for me I'm afraid. I voted for neither of the top prompts, and two of the bottomed prompts! XD

Ah well, you win some you lose some. I like historical romance, which is filled to the brim with various big houses, and a nature book shouldn't be too hard. Maybe I'll reread a Bill Bryson!

I'n shocked by the winners! I voted for them but what I vote for never wins. Seriously, I once really liked a prompt and downvoted it as an experiment and it won!

So sad retelling never seems to win. I'll still find ways to read them but a directed read would have been fun.

Wow, I was spot on for once. I would like to see the close calls come around again.

Weird week. I voted for all the losers. I did vote for nature. Manor house is just boring, but then it's the year of boring.

Pamela wrote: "I'n shocked by the winners! I voted for them but what I vote for never wins. Seriously, I once really liked a prompt and downvoted it as an experiment and it won!

So sad retelling never seems to w..."

I think the word “favorite” hurt the retellings chances.

I did not vote for either of the top prompts. I upvoted all three of the close calls, and I'm hoping those will be resubmitted. The close calls were the best prompts this week in my opinion.

Can I request a minor edit to the wording of the prompt "A book set in a big manor, mansion or estate"? A manor by definition is big so saying big manor is redundant.

man·or
/ˈmanər/
noun
a large country house with lands

Thanks.

I like the winners. Bummed, but not surprised that faith, hope and charity was bottomed.

I had voted for all of the close calls and the Norah Jones song and am disappointed that none of them made the cut-off. I like the 2 that won, though. A friend of mine just gave me her copy of Rim to River: Looking into the Heart of Arizona which I think I will read for the nature prompt. For manors, mansions, and estates, I have a couple of ideas - The Remains of the Day or The House of Special Purpose. Plus, I have a lot of classics that would likely work.

Edited, dalex!

I downvoted both winners so whomp whomp for me. I generally don't like setting prompts, so it's not surprising though.

I like these. I don't really read much historical fiction so the mansion prompt isn't an obvious easy/boring one for me. I like reading books where the house is a character so I'll probably try and find something like that. I might use the nature prompt for non-fiction nature writing. I have loads.

None of my favourites made it in this week. My upvotes ended up in the close call so hopefully some of those make an appearance again. In better news the bottoms were in my downvotes.

I voted for the retelling prompt because I think there are a fair number of books that people don't always realize are retellings - and that would be a fun discussion.

I also voted for the Spanish language locale prompt. I had suspected that that one would be polarizing, so it is nice to see that it faired better than I thought it would.

I hope some of the close calls get resubmitted. This was a tough week because there were so many good ones.

Happy with both of the winners. I'm sure we will see some of the others reworded and with a possibility of winning.

Well, I voted for the nature setting prompt, so happy with that. Pretty easy to find the manor setting as well. (Too bad I'm currently reading Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, because that fits perfectly.)

I won't be on line tomorrow when suggestions for the next poll open. The Spanish language prompt was mine originally. If someone else is on the site when the suggestion thread opens, feel free to suggest this prompt again!

I'm pretty happy with these winners! I do wish the manor/mansion prompt was worder slightly more creatively, but I ain't mad at it. There's a lot of really interesting contemporary fiction that would fit the bill; you don't have be a historical fiction fan to find a book that fits. (I personally am not wild about historical fiction, especially of the manors & manners variety.) The Hundred-Year House by Rebecca Makkai is set in a mansion that has been turned into an artist's retreat. If you ARE okay with stepping into historical fiction & want something off the beaten path, You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue is a fantastic alternative history about Cortez & the Aztecs, & is set in Moctezuma's palace.

A lot of great options for set outdoors as well: The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, or even The Most by Jessica Anthony, about a woman who refuses to get out of her pool. There's also the whole "Death in National Parks" series, that just catalogues every death that has ever happened in America national parks. Macabre, sad, informative, but also at times hilarious. Each major park has its own book & they're all great, but Yellowstone has hot springs & it is truly wild how much stupid stuff people do around hot springs.

I upvoted one of these and can't remember if I left the other neutral or not.

Book Concierge wrote: "I won't be on line tomorrow when suggestions for the next poll open. The Spanish language prompt was mine originally. If someone else is on the site when the suggestion thread opens, feel free to s..."

The mods tell us that prompts tend to do better if there's a pause before they're resubmitted. So maybe wait a few weeks and try again?

Ciara wrote: "I'm pretty happy with these winners! I do wish the manor/mansion prompt was worder slightly more creatively, but I ain't mad at it. There's a lot of really interesting contemporary fiction that wou... A lot of great options for set outdoors as well: The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, or even The Most by Jessica Anthony, about a woman who refuses to get out of her pool...."

The prompt is actually "set in nature" not "set in the outdoors" (although the outdoors version was discussed in Wild Discussion). Not sure if a book set in an apartment complex pool, The Most, would be considered "nature", but it's up to each reader. It does sound like an interesting book though!

I'm sorry for those who are disappointed by the results. 🫤

For me, the results are pretty much perfect. I didn't vote either way for Manors, Mansions or Estates, but UP voted the other top result and all the close calls, and I DOWN voted all the bottoms. Pretty lucky for me — maybe it's time to go buy a lottery ticket?

Tracy wrote: "The prompt is actually "set in nature" not "set in the outdoors" (although the outdoors version was discussed in Wild Discussion). Not sure if a book set in an apartment complex pool, The Most, would be considered "nature", but it's up to each reader. It does sound like an interesting book though!.."

Maybe "outside" is the KIS option?

Does anyone remember if The Thirteenth Tale is set in a large home? I feel like it was, but it's been so long since I read it, that I could be misremembering. I've been trying to get around to a reread for a while now.

Also, those who wanted a retelling, maybe Beauty and the Beast or other "Disney" retellings would work, as they're usually set in castles etc.

I'm very content with the outcome!

I've got some interesting books for the manor, mansion or estate prompt: The White Castle, The Sanatorium, The House of the Seven Gables, The Phantom of the Opera, The House of the Mosque and House of Babel (Modern Scandinavian Literature in Translation) for example.

For the book set in nature I've got In i öknen witch means "Into the desert", not translated into English (but to German if anybody is interested) and The Call of the Wild

Nike wrote: "I've got some interesting books for the manor, mansion or estate prompt: The White Castle, The Sanatorium, The House of the Seven Gables, The Phantom..."

I really like Jack London’s books for the nature prompt. He also has a book of short stories called Love of Life that is excellent. Many of the stories stayed with me for a long time. I like reading a short story in between other books or when I’m in a slump.

Ciara wrote: "I'm pretty happy with these winners! I do wish the manor/mansion prompt was worder slightly more creatively, but I ain't mad at it. There's a lot of really interesting contemporary fiction that wou..."




I really liked The Most and I recommend it! But not for the "set in nature" prompt - it's not set in nature.

Jennifer W wrote: "Does anyone remember if The Thirteenth Tale is set in a large home? I feel like it was, but it's been so long since I read it, that I could be misremembering. I've been trying to get a..."


yes there was a big crumbling mansion that was part of the plot

For an inside cat like me, sometimes the complex pool is all the nature I can handle, haha. Especially if it's one of those nice ones, with some landscaping features, a little rock garden, a few succulents, you can pretend you're in Palm Springs!

Can't you interpret the word estate more broadly? Like a house complex or a big villa? I'm asking since English is not my maternal language, so maybe I have misunderstood the prompt. I thought Estate meant big houses in general but maybe that's not the meaning here. Then I have to revise my little list above.

I’m struggling with the estate prompt. I want to find something new outside of England. I really liked Lady Tan’s Circle of Women which was set in China, in a guarded estate with a large extended family, concubines and all their children.

In the meantime, I found lists of books about manors, including this article.
https://strongsenseofplace.com/2019/1...

NancyJ wrote: "I’m struggling with the estate prompt. I want to find something new outside of England. I really liked Lady Tan’s Circle of Women which was set in China, in a guarded estate with a ..."

Well, there are plenty in Sweden for example but for now I can't think of any book set in one. But if you remind me I could google. I know Carmilla is set in Austria (I believe) and if you haven't read it I do recommend it, so much better than Dracula.

And then there's The Bird King set in medieval Spain.

Nike wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I’m struggling with the estate prompt. I want to find something new outside of England. I really liked Lady Tan’s Circle of Women which was set in China, in a guarded..."

Thanks, I’d like that. We can do more research in October when the planning threads are listed.

I'm happy with manor/mansion/estate, and pretty indifferent about set in nature. I'm surprised Norah Jones was in the bottom! I wasn't a fan of the prompt personally but it seemed like a lot of people really liked it.

Has anyone read the Ali Smith season books? I don’t remember much about nature in Autumn. I was planning to read Winter in December, but if it fits “set in nature” maybe I’ll save it.

Nike wrote: "Can't you interpret the word estate more broadly? Like a house complex or a big villa? I'm asking since English is not my maternal language, so maybe I have misunderstood the prompt. I thought Esta..."

I think of it as a very big house with a lot of land, and maybe smaller buildings around it. I think a villa might fit too. In my area, an estate is a large home with a great deal of land and privacy. But sometimes regular housing developments or inexpensive apartment complexes are given fancy names like Regency Estates, so that would be a stretch. [There is a newer kind of development with expensive homes set very close together. In a picture they look like real mansions, but everything is compressed, and inside they don’t feel very big. It’s a clever illusion. We call them McMansions.]

These are all words that could have multiple meanings, but we all seem to be coming up with similar kinds of books. The homes are large enough for servants and guests. The owners are often rich (or formerly rich), and they might be titled, aristocratic, arrogant, abusive, or elegant with impeccable manners.

There seem to be a lot of mysteries and romance books set in Britain, in the 1800’s- early 1900’s that fit the same mold. But there are similar books set all around the world. I love Pride and Prejudice, but I hope to find a new story and setting that works.

NancyJ wrote: "Nike wrote: "Can't you interpret the word estate more broadly? Like a house complex or a big villa? I'm asking since English is not my maternal language, so maybe I have misunderstood the prompt. I..."

I guess The Arabian Nights would fit this prompt. Even if all the stories are in different environments they are all told by Sheherazade in the great palace. Or is that too big to count as a mansion, manor or estate?

NancyJ wrote: "I’m struggling with the estate prompt. I want to find something new outside of England. I really liked Lady Tan’s Circle of Women which was set in China, in a guarded estate with a ..."

One that comes to mind is The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng if you haven't read it - it's set on a tea estate in Malaya.

Thank you Shannon for that suggestion! I didn’t realize it was set on an estate. I’m adding it to my plan as my top choice for now.

Shannon SA wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I’m struggling with the estate prompt. I want to find something new outside of England. I really liked Lady Tan’s Circle of Women which was set in China, in a guarded..."

Thanks for this suggestion, it's been on my TBR list but I wasn't aware of its setting.

I never got back to voting. I don't know where the weeks have been going. I like the prompts because they are different. The nature one might be hard for me to fill but I can figure something out. At the very least could read a non-fiction about animals, nature or something.

The prompt with the manor, estate, or mansion - I can't wait to look for something for that.

I have already read The River at Night but for those of you that haven't, it would be a good one to read for the nature prompt

I ran into this list - shortlist of the Wainwright Prize, the Prize for Nature Writing, the Prize for Writing on Conservation, and the Prize for Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation.

https://wainwrightprize.com/news/the-...

Shannon SA wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I’m struggling with the estate prompt. I want to find something new outside of England. I really liked Lady Tan’s Circle of Women which was set in China, in a guarded..."

Excellent idea. I loved that book

That's a book I've owned since it came out and I haven't read it yet! Maybe I'll save it for this prompt!

These winners aren't that exciting for me. I downvoted one and left the other neutral.

Kathy wrote: "I ran into this list - shortlist of the Wainwright Prize, the Prize for Nature Writing, the Prize for Writing on Conservation, and the Prize for Children’s Writing on Nature and Conservation.

http..."

This is a wonderful list for nature topics. I believe one year we had a prompt that was something like "a book that won a prize from a contest starting with W" (I'm sure it was more gracefully worded than that though!), and I ended up reading two books from the Wainwright Nature Writing list.