Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
2025 Reading List Creation
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[2025] Poll 12 Voting
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1. A book with a main character who is an outsider
This idea is similar to the "fish out of water" suggestion last year, but maybe a bit broader.
From Pam's original post: "It could be someone who just has ideas that aren’t mainstream or a competitor/applicant who is seen as a long shot. More obvious examples are people who are new to a community (school, city, country, planet, workplace), have a disability, don’t speak the primary language, an alien or robot, etc. (A mid-grade book with a movie coming out later this month, The Wild Robot, just came to mind.)"
2. A book with a character dealing with death
That could for example be a killer, a funeral undertaker, a people writing obituaries, a pathologist or a person who is dying. It could even be Death itself as a character
3. A book where something has disappeared or is disappearing
Migrations- An ode to a disappearing world
The Husbands - Husbands go into an attic and abruptly disappear
The Violin Conspiracy - A violin has disappeared
Kindred - Human disappears from one time to another
Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida - Husband disappears while duck hunting
4. A book with a road trip or long journey
ex, West with Giraffes, HItchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Grapes of Wrath, On the Road...
5. A book connected in some way to any collective noun for animals
A collective noun is a word used to represent a group of people, animals, or things, e.g., a herd of cows.
Some examples of collective nouns for animals and how they might be used:
Murder of Crows (murder mystery)
School of Fish (campus story)
Parliament of Owls (political drama)
Flamboyance of Flamingos (over the top character or drag queen)
Skein of Flying Geese (cozy mystery in a yarn shop)
Mob of Kangaroos (gangster/gang story)
Conspiracy of Lemurs (Area 51 or other conspiracy story)
Colony of Ants (colonialism story)
Quiver of Cobras (Robin Hood - arrows)
Confusion of Wildebeest (amnesia story)
Congregation of Alligators (revolves around a house of worship)
Lounge of Lizards (character works at or frequents bars)
A few list sources:
https://list.fandom.com/wiki/Animal_C...
https://www.grammar-monster.com/list_...
https://www.thewildlifediaries.com/co...
https://www.yourdictionary.com/articl...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
(be sure to check the column headers on this one)
6. A book that fits a suggestion that didn't make the final list
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
7. A book with a partial face on the cover
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Swiped by L.M. Chilton
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
The Paris Gown by Christine Wells
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
It Ends with Us (It Ends with Us, #1) by Colleen Hoover
8. A book that was a finalist, runner-up, or winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
The Dayton Literary Peace Prize, inaugurated in 2006, is the first and only annual U.S. literary award recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace. The Dayton Literary Peace Prize invites nominations in adult fiction and nonfiction books published within the past year that have led readers to a better understanding of other cultures, peoples, religions, and political points of view.
Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
9. A book with an antivillain
According to Scribophile (https://www.scribophile.com/academy/c...) an antivillain is an antagonistic character who displays heroic or sympathetic attributes. These characters almost always believe they’re doing the right thing, or doing the best they can under the circumstances, even when their actions are irredeemable
14. A book that is the last in its series
For series readers who need an oomph of motivation to finish!
15. A book by an author from a predominantly Spanish-speaking nation, territory, or commonwealth
Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, Andorra, Belize, and Gibraltar
hello! how does one add a prompt suggestion? I followed the link from what was sent via message, but now realize that wasn’t the right place… though there was a lot of talk around it!
victoria wrote: "hello! how does one add a prompt suggestion?"There isn't a link to the specific topic in the newsletter, because a new thread is posted each time. If you look at all the topics in this folder, you can see the suggestion threads. Basically, watch this folder at the appointed time and jump in as soon as the suggestions thread is posted.
victoria wrote: "hello! how does one add a prompt suggestion? I followed the link from what was sent via message, but now realize that wasn’t the right place… though there was a lot of talk around it!"I’d recommend turning on notifications for this thread. Emily posts the link to the suggestion thread when a new suggestion poll opens up.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
1. "A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts." This was a prompt in another reading challenge I did and many (most?) participants found it nearly impossible. I think this will be especially true for the ATY 2025 challenge because not only do you have the 52 challenge prompts but one of those prompts is "A book that fits a prompt from the 2016 ATY list," so you basically have to find a book that does not fit any of 102 prompts.
2. I LOVE the collective noun prompt! So very creative and fun!
3. Why does the Nobel Prize get suggested every single year? Ugh. I don't know why I dislike it but I really really do.
dalex wrote: "1. "A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts." This was a prompt in another reading challenge I did and many (most?) participants found it nearly impossible. I think this will be espec..."
I’d have to double check, but I’m pretty sure the 2016 list has “Reader’s Choice” as a prompt.
Jillian wrote: "I’d have to double check, but I’m pretty sure the 2016 list has “Reader’s Choice” as a prompt."Egads, you are correct. Prompt 13 is Reader’s Choice. So, yeah, it's basically an undoable prompt.
Mod
But I absolutely understand that is a KIS option!
I like the idea of the prompt (I always have books that don’t fit any open prompts), but the practicality of it doesn’t work for me.
Just here to add that the group noun for spiders is clutter in case anyone wants to read Marie Kondō or The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter or How to Keep House While Drowning, etc.
dalex wrote: "1. "A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts." This was a prompt in another reading challenge I did and many (most?) participants found it nearly impossible. I think this will be espec..."
Initially, I thought this prompt was like free space on Bingo. If it is a prompt that doesn't fit the other 51 that would be almost impossible to find since many would have connections to the other prompts in some manner. If the former is true, I will probably vote it up; however, as written, I will vote down.
I found this extensive list of collective nouns for animals. The explanation for "a crash of rhinoceroses" is amusing. https://www.discoverwildlife.com/anim...
Mod
Sadly, this list will be mostly downvotes for me unless some listopias appear.
I was going through the prompts and sorting them into my initial impressions and I came upon this prompt."A book that was a finalist, runner-up, or winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize"
I was checking to see if I still wanted to vote the same way since I thought we had had it before. It took me a few times of reading it to realized that the wording has changed (previous phrasing "A book by any author who was a winner, runner-up, or finalist of any of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize awards"). Thought I'd share in case anyone else didn't notice the change.
I confess I've never heard the term "antivillain" before, and at first I thought "that's a stupid word it sounds like 'antivenom' - why not just use the more common word 'antihero'"?? Then I looked into it and I realized that an antihero is the OPPOSITE of an antivillain. And then I got excited about this prompt. I found a few book ideas already:
Crime and Punishment
Vicious (which I have not read)
And I Darken - I'm not 100% sure if this one works, I just found it on a GR list.
Hench
Hench would be the perfect book for this category, the main characters are ALL antivillains. And I loved that book!! AND the sequel, Villain, which was originally scheduled to be released this year, is now scheduled for early next year. Perfect!!
Chrissy - Thank you for adding my explanation from the wild discussion!Tracy - Kudos for a very creative prompt regarding groups of animals! I love it. My first thought was the book Pod, by Laline Paull which I’ve been meaning to read. I love that great purple cover with the dolphins!
I’m a definite yes for the author from a Spanish speaking country. I’m hoping to read something in Spanish next year. For people who like sci-fi, the Cuban author Yoss has some really wild books! A Planet for Rent is one of them.
I think I’m more up votes than down this time.
Emily wrote: "(psst. we will get the summer reading challenge prompt with our poll 12 results!)"Ohh exciting. I guess that means I didn’t win and won’t get to force SANDWICHES on everyone.
Jillian - Thank you for pointing out the difference with the wording on the Dayton Literary Prize prompt. I would actually prefer to read a book nominated and not just any book by a nominated author. The 4 books I’ve read from the list are some of my recent favorites. They also have lifetime achievement awards so, in that case, I would assume you could read ANY book by THOSE authors only. This prompt is a yes for me. Some great books I still want to read!
dalex wrote: "1. "A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts." This was a prompt in another reading challenge I did and many (most?) participants found it nearly impossible..."I actually took this to mean...if you read a book and it doesn't fit any of the prompts then stick it here. Even with the Reader's Choice one wouldn't that still fit there? I mean you chose to read that book, that is what Reader's Choice means right?
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I think this will be espec..."
My issue is "any" of the other prompts as quite a few are "Read any book" prompts which means your book will fit one of those.
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Each time the results of a poll are announced, at the end of the first post she gives a day and time for when the next list of suggestions will be solicited. She starts a new thread for them.
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Really, can stop with the murder of crows, that's the best collective word!
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Death listopias:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
This list is meant to capture the best fiction literature featuring death, the afterlife, and/or death personified (i.e., the Grim Reaper).
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Thanatopsis (word which means consideration of death)
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2073
Nonprofit books on death (there's a lot of lists for this)
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2073
Here are some more listopias I found for the outsider prompt: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/9...
This list is going to be all downvotes for me.I had a loved one pass away last Christmas, so books related to death are not part of my reading life right now.
I don't like award prompts.
Prompt 6 is on all of our lists, and I usually do a reject challenge, so it is redundant.
As Dalex has pointed out, number 12 may be unworkable.
The job prompt has proven to be difficult in past challenges.
I don't want any more cover/title prompts
#15 - author Spanish speaking country etc. - love love this one! I'm always trying to broaden my reading to authors from other countries or books from other countries (in translation) or just set elsewhere. There are some amazing authors in all genres for this and would be an easy and fun prompt. I too am tired of anything celebrity, awards, and related to tv series or movies.
Anything connected to reader's job for many is very difficult. A friend of mine who does these types of challenges is a bookkeeper - and she's read all 3 books that have a MC who is a bookkeeper. Another works as a clerk in a blood bank. I think she found 1 book for that and has read it when this came up in a challenge before, even if not ATY. I am a lawyer - easy peasy - I have too many choices! When voting, think about that sort of thing - would it be literally impossible for some portion of those who would do the challenge? If there's not a large selection of books available with MC with that job, it's a bad prompt IMHO.
Theresa - The prompt isn’t about your job but rather a job you find intriguing or would like to have. That’s much easier.
Does anyone have any lists for anti-villain? I like the idea of it, but I can't think of anyone.I found these listopias, they have 26 books combined...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Nadine in NY wrote: "I confess I've never heard the term "antivillain" before, and at first I thought "that's a stupid word it sounds like 'antivenom' - why not just use the more common word 'antihero'"?? Then I looked..."My first thought for this one was the sequel to Hench!
Mod
I suspect that the one that's book that is last in its series could be a tough sell as lots of people just don't read or like series. I happen to love this one!Some challenge at 'book featuring an antihero MC and I never could figure out what the definition of an antihero exactly meant, nor did many of those doing the challenge - think that was Popsugar actually some years ago. I don't remember what I read for that prompt, but one of the books that many lists claim to feature as MC an antihero was Stoner. I recently read the book - which is fabulous - but I still don't see what exactly an antihero is - I certainly didn't see the MC as one based on my understanding.
I see 'antivillain' creating a similar conundrum. I, like Robin, read A LOT and very diversely. I'd certainly find something that I think fits. But I could see many finding it too difficult. I kind of like the concept. In fact, the MC in Iron Widow, which I read this year, has to be the perfect example -- and the 2nd in that series is or will soon be available!
Random thoughts1. A book with a main character who is an outsider
2. A book with a character dealing with death
Both of these came from the wild discussion to get more character prompts. I like both of them.
5. A book connected in some way to any collective noun for animals
This is an incredibly creative prompt, which means it probably won't get in, in our vanilla year of cover and title prompts, but I am still upvoting it.
6. A book that fits a suggestion that didn't make the final list
Yes! I will always upvote this.
7. A book with a partial face on the cover
I am completely over cover prompts for this year.
8. A book that was a finalist, runner-up, or winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
I disliked this prompt last time I saw it, and now it's more narrow.
9. A book with an antivillain - This seems overly complicated
11. A book from a Nobel Prize winner - I love that it's not restricted just to literature prizes. An upvote
12. A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts
Like other have said - this is impossible. Many books can fit many prompts.
14. A book that is the last in its series - I'm a series reader and could easily fill it, but not everyone is, so I doubt this will get in.
15. A book by an author from a predominantly Spanish-speaking nation, territory, or commonwealth - I didn't like this prompt last time I saw it.
First Impressions:1. A book with a main character who is an outsider - Love this! Definite upvote, and I think the wording makes it a little easier to choose books than "fish out of water" did
2. A book with a character dealing with death - Love this too! It could fit quite a few different genres
3. A book where something has disappeared or is disappearing - This is a strong maybe. I like it a lot, but I think there are others here that I like more
4. A book with a road trip or long journey - Not opposed, but it's a prompt I've done many times before so I'd rather vote for something different
5. A book connected in some way to any collective noun for animals - I like the creativity of this one, and these animal nouns are fun. I might upvote if I have an extra vote, but I'm not sure it's my top choice
6. A book that fits a suggestion that didn't make the final list - I feel like this will inevitably win regardless, so I'm not interested in wasting a vote on it
7. A book with a partial face on the cover - I probably won't vote for it because there are others I want more, but I like this one a lot and I'd be happy if it got in
8. A book that was a finalist, runner-up, or winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize - Downvote for me. I'm just not interested in award prompts and the list provided didn't have much that was on my TBR
9. A book with an antivillain - I've actually never heard this term before but I love this kind of character! It's most likely an upvote but I have a feeling it might be hard to research to find books that fit
10. A book connected to the quote, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" - Somehow missed this when I first saw the list, but it's an interesting one. I'm not sure what I'd pick but I like it in theory
11. A book from a Nobel Prize winner - This is always a downvote for me. It just doesn't align with what's on my TBR
12. A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts - I had something similar on another challenge and found it impossible. My literal brain got hung up on trying to find something and I ended up getting frustrated that nothing worked.
13. A book where the character has a job or career you find intriguing or would love to have - Meh, I've done variations on this one many times before so I'm not particularly interested.
14. A book that is the last in its series - This would force me to actually work on my goal of reading series, but I have other much strong upvotes so I probably won't vote for it
15. A book by an author from a predominantly Spanish-speaking nation, territory, or commonwealth - Wasn't interested in this last time it came up, and I'm still not particularly interested
I like most of these ideas. First thoughts:1. A book with a main character who is an outsider- I like this idea and I’ll focus on the cultural angle. Someone else might want to focus on another type of difference, or look at books for younger readers. Many young characters “feel” like an outsider (or are treated like an outsider) for reasons that might seem minor or unclear.
2. A book with a character dealing with death - does this include grieving after someone died?
8. A book that was a finalist, runner-up, or winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize - I found a lot of books I liked or want to read on the listopia.
9. A book with an antivillain - an evil man who believes he’s really a good guy? Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man . Is there a list?
10. A book connected to the quote, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" Ok. This could be about the revolutionary war, or maybe a prison break, or a bitter divorce?
11. A book from a Nobel Prize winner - yes. this is much easier than I thought it would be. I have several good options.
12. A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts - Not for me. I love to find books that fit multiple prompts and challenges. This would require a completely different mindset and I don’t see a value in it for myself. We’ve seen that even potty training books can fit somewhere.
15. A book by an author from a predominantly Spanish-speaking nation, territory, or commonwealth. Yes.
The others all seem fine at first glance. Upvote or neutral.
Pamela wrote: "dalex wrote: "1. "A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts." This was a prompt in another reading challenge I did and many (most?) participants found it nearly impossible. My issue is "any" of the other prompts as quite a few are "Read any book" prompts which means your book will fit one of those.
"
Which ones are "read any book" to you?
I can't remember a prompt where I could have slotted in all the books I read - apart from "suggestion that didn't make the list" of course, which for me would have to be left out.
I read the remark that a prompt would be "read any book" a few times now and I really wonder how that would be possible.
Examples?
I also hadn't heard the term anti-villain before, but I think I've read 4 this year? Someone You Can Build a Nest In, Long Live Evil, Starter Villain and Apprentice to the Villain. They're a bit of a trend at the moment.What's the context with the liberty or death quote?
Theresa wrote: "#15 - author Spanish speaking country etc. - love love this one! I'm always trying to broaden my reading to authors from other countries or books from other countries (in translation) or just set e..."The prompt for the job/career is “the *character* has a job or career you find intriguing or would love to have. For example, I find glass blowing intriguing so I might read a book about a character who does that for a career. :)
It's about the American War of Independence.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_me...!
"Give me liberty or give me death!" is a quotation attributed to American politician and orator Patrick Henry from a speech he made to the Second Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia.
1. A book with a main character who is an outsiderI'm sure there are choices but it just doesn't appeal to me
2. A book with a character dealing with death
An upvote. Different, with lots of possibilities
3. A book where something has disappeared or is disappearing
Neutral on this - could be an ecological book
4. A book with a road trip or long journey
I like travel/road trip books, but we have 'travel' this year, so I'll keep it neutral.
5. A book connected in some way to any collective noun for animals
I like this one
6. A book that fits a suggestion that didn't make the final list
A useful one
7. A book with a partial face on the cover
We have enough cover prompts, I think
8. A book that was a finalist, runner-up, or winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
This looks interesting
9. A book with an antivillain
Doesn't appeal at all, sorry.
10. A book connected to the quote, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
Possible, depends on what else I've voted for
11. A book from a Nobel Prize winner
Again, a possible
12. A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts
No, no, would be a real pain to find.
13. A book where the character has a job or career you find intriguing or would love to have
I never like the 'job you would love' prompt, but intriguing helps it. Probably a neutral.
14. A book that is the last in its series
Don't like series prompts in general, and if I liked a series, I would have read the last book in it. If the series is a new one to me, then I don't want to start it with the last book!
15. A book by an author from a predominantly Spanish-speaking nation, territory, or commonwealth
I like this one.
Mod
I will admit, I'm only voting for wacky ones from here on out. I just looked at the list and it's pretty sane. Unless microhistories gets voted in.
Jillian wrote: "dalex wrote: "1. "A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts." This was a prompt in another reading challenge I did and many (most?) participants found it nearly impossible. I think this..."
I did that challenge too and also found it nearly impossible - books always seem to fit at least one other prompt.
Pamela wrote: "I will admit, I'm only voting for wacky ones from here on out. I just looked at the list and it's pretty sane. Unless microhistories gets voted in."What's wacky about microhistories? It's just a genre prompt, isn't it?
I was looking around for some help with the anti-villain idea, and I think I'll upvote it. I think a lot of dystopian books will work- the bad guys only want the people to be "safe" or "happy" or whatever, but they end up squashing people's freedoms to do it.The best example that I found (though I'm not particularly interested in reading it) is Dexter (Darkly Dreaming Dexter)- a serial killer who kills bad guys.
I feel like a lot of books deal with death so that would be easy enough one. One of my favorite books from this year is Barbara Isn't Dying, which is actually a humorous book. I will probably upvote this one. I think there are a lot of possibilities across genres.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Murder on the Orient Express (other topics)God Emperor of Dune (other topics)
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (other topics)
A Spell for Chameleon (other topics)
The Road Trip (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Ramona Emerson (other topics)Thorne Smith (other topics)
Marie Kondō (other topics)
Marie Kondō (other topics)
Voting will open in the morning of Friday, September 6 and results will be posted in the morning of Tuesday, September 10 (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.
Poll Prompts:
1. A book with a main character who is an outsider
2. A book with a character dealing with death
3. A book where something has disappeared or is disappearing
4. A book with a road trip or long journey
5. A book connected in some way to any collective noun for animals
6. A book that fits a suggestion that didn't make the final list
7. A book with a partial face on the cover
8. A book that was a finalist, runner-up, or winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
9. A book with an antivillain
10. A book connected to the quote, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
11. A book from a Nobel Prize winner
12. A book that doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts
13. A book where the character has a job or career you find intriguing or would love to have
14. A book that is the last in its series
15. A book by an author from a predominantly Spanish-speaking nation, territory, or commonwealth
Feel free to discuss the prompts below, but please remember to be respectful to the other group members.
VOTE HERE: https://forms.gle/2rkA4oeZeGxNzc2L8