Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

We have had a surprising turn of events in the last 24 hours, and this has been the most voted on poll in ATY history!

Top:
A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
A book that is on a Five Books List
A book with a pronoun in the title

Bottom:
A book adapted by Masterpiece Theatre
A book with the name of a spice in the title

Close Call:
A book that has an X in the title
A book by an author born between 1965-1980 (Generation X)

And the winner of our Read-a-Thon Individual Challenge drawing, Judy, chose the following prompt:
A book involving intelligence

Listopias:
A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
A book that is on a Five Books List
A book with a pronoun in the title
A book involving intelligence

The next round of suggestions will open around 2pm CST on Saturday, September 23.

Love these results but Judy, did you anything particular in mind or any kind of intelligence?
So grateful to you guys for the Australia prompt I was really worried after some of its feedback

Oooh! Since I missed the drama, can I ask what were the front runner when it was mistakenly posted earlier in the week? :)

I’m okay with the results. Happy five books got in. I voted for both the close calls. I would love to see an x prompt! Also happy with Judy’s prompt.

Thomas, she intended it to be the intelligence prompt that was on the voting list, relating to AI, cognitive abilities, or espionage.

Carolyn Rutigliano wrote: "Oooh! Since I missed the drama, can I ask what were the front runner when it was mistakenly posted earlier in the week? :)"

The Gen X author was on the edge but in the top when I accidentally posted the results earlier this week, but it fell to close call with the 25 votes we received since then.

Dubhease- if you have indeed been Barbara Streisand commiserations and thanks

I’m happy with these results and just found a novel with AI (Do You Remember Being Born? by Sean Michaels) yesterday. I still plan on reading several books that were adapted by Masterpiece and fit them in elsewhere.

Emily, there are eight more spots, correct? So probably 3 to 4 more votes?

I'm back in sync with the voting public so happy with these results.

Oh yay, I really wanted the intelligence prompt so I'm super happy Judy chose that for her prize! Both the close calls were downvotes for me (nothing against Gen X, I just dislike having to hunt down author ages) so I'm glad the late votes have shaken things up. I didn't see the premature results but I people talking about them gave it away.

Eight spots left! I'd say 2-3 polls left.

I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main language/national language. I mean countries like Ireland, South Africa and Jamaica for instance - are they on a class B or C level? That's how I think of this prompt. Very discriminating indeed. As if there are better English-speaking countries than others. I'm sad to see that a discriminating prompt won.

I do like the Five Books List and the Pronounce prompts.

I guess the Intelligence prompt won't be on the ATY 2024 list but will be in the Read-a-Thon? I don't get that.

I’m a bit disappointed Generation X author ended up being a close call instead of a top vote even though I didn’t up vote it. I found out after voting that I had several authors that would work. I’m glad we have a list prompt for those who like lists. I’m also happy with Judy’s pick since I upvoted it.

Emily wrote: "Thomas, she intended it to be the intelligence prompt that was on the voting list, relating to AI, cognitive abilities, or espionage."

Great I already had ideas in my their

Nike, the intelligence prompt will be on the final list as it was chosen by our Read-a-Thon winner.

Oh- these are interesting! I'm sad spices didn't make it, although when I looked, I could find nothing to read so perhaps I'm more relieved.

Emily wrote: "Nike, the intelligence prompt will be on the final list as it was chosen by our Read-a-Thon winner."

Aha, ok - now I get it! Thank you 🙂

Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main language/national language. I mean..."

I think they were chosen based on their sizes in the publishing world. I'm good with it since there's a bunch of books meeting these prompts. I might even hold off on Birnam Wood and have this be my first prompt of next year.

Emily wrote: "We have had a surprising turn of events in the last 24 hours, and this has been the most voted on poll in ATY history!

Top:
A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
A book that is..."

Thank you and I hope you had fun last night!

A book involving Intelligence – AI, espionage or abilities

Read a book about any type of Intelligence: Artificial intelligence, Espionage. intellectual abilities, practical intelligence, emotional intelligence, musical intelligence, books about the brain.

This was NancyJ's suggestion. It was a close call in a previous poll, and it was high on the list when Jackie contacted me. I wanted artificial intelligence more than my own ideas (Journalist character/author, Travel/exploration).

Pamela wrote: "Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main language/national lan..."

Well, if the suggestion had been rephrased to English-speaking author outside UK and US, the possibility to choose a book from Canada would still be there without excluding smaller countries.

Nike- my logic was that those three countries often appear to have a sort of middle child syndrome they are not the big ones America and Britain but they are similar enough that we don’t often think of them for diversity. This year we had continental Europe and Asian diaspora next year we will have Africa (so South Africa would be covered there). Having never read an Australian novel nothing from New Zealand bar one and for Canada virtually nothing that didn’t involve a red headed orphan I really feel they deserve a turn. I’m hoping we can still be friends cos I really enjoy your contributions

Two upvotes and one bottom vote got in. I also loved the Masterpiece Theatre prompt. I'm not even going to bother assigning a book to the weird Canada plus Oceania prompt. I'll just use it for the first Canadian book I read for which I can't find a real prompt.

Nike wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main langua..."

I appreciate your position on this. This could be a start, now that we have this one, maybe next year people will go for a prompt focused on the other English-speaking countries.

Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main language/national language. I mean..."

I respectfully disagree that it is discriminatory but if you want the other English speaking countries included in the challenge you can suggest a prompt tomorrow. :)

Nike wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main langua..."

Nike, it wasn't my understanding that it was only English speaking authors from these countries - I haven't checked but Canada may have French-speaking authors?

I'm pleased with all three of the prompts that have been voted in, plus I'm glad the Intelligence one has found a way, as that looked intriguing.

For the Canada/Austrialia/New Zealand, I certainly didn't think of it as an "English-speaking" prompt per se: more that as someone who reads a lot of US and UK authors, it would force me to look outwards from the few Canadian/Australian authors I always go back to.

This is a list I found for Canadian indigenous authors, and writing about the indigenous/First Nations experiece: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1....

Demetra wrote: "Emily, there are eight more spots, correct? So probably 3 to 4 more votes?"

By my count we have 43 prompts including Poll 14, with 9 spots to go?

Edit: I recounted, we have 44 prompts, with 8 to go, my apologies!

°~Amy~° wrote: "Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main language/national lan..."

No, there is no need since I've debated this matter quite a lot and I seem to be the only one voicing this opinion. I'm just surprised that noone else sees what I see - the big, white, rich countries once again before small, poor countries often with a black, brown or indigenous population. It could have been so easy to rephrase it the way I suggested earlier and that would not have excluded Canada nor Australia nor New Zealand.

I've tried and tried again and it's hopeless. As if neither UK nor US citizens want to admit to their colonial past and respect all the countries out there who had to adapt to the English language. 88 countries! This is so disturbing to me that I will leave you for now and breath deeply before I express myself in a way I might regret.

I'll come back when I've calmed down. I do hope that at least a few of you will try to understand my viewing point. Please.

Shannon SA wrote: "Demetra wrote: "Emily, there are eight more spots, correct? So probably 3 to 4 more votes?"

By my count we have 43 prompts including Poll 14, with 9 spots to go?"

Nope, we are at 44. I've updated the intro thread with all the prompts!

Nike wrote: "°~Amy~° wrote: "Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main langu..."

Nike- I do understand your point and I proposed the prompt. In retrospect an English speaking country other than Britain or America would have been even better. As Robin said that could well come up in future.

Emily wrote: "Shannon SA wrote: "Demetra wrote: "Emily, there are eight more spots, correct? So probably 3 to 4 more votes?"

By my count we have 43 prompts including Poll 14, with 9 spots to go?"

Nope, we are ..."

Thanks Emily, I recounted and got 44, edited my post above, my apologies :) :)

Nike wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main langua..."

Nike, we have a tropical prompt this year, which includes Jamaica and other islands and small countries. I liked this prompt because we have many members from Australia/NK and Canada, not just because they're English speaking countries. We've been trying to get an Australia prompt in for years, so I'm happy with these results. We've had Asian authors, European authors, and latino/a authors in the past and now Africa, so this prompt covers another big area.

Nike wrote: "°~Amy~° wrote: "Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main langu..."

Nike, as a British person who has studied International Development, I've done a fair bit of emotional wrestling with my nation's colonial past. I understand the point you make about these three countries being picked over other countries where English is a dominant language, but I don't think having a prompt that picks out three countries means we're somehow denigrating other countries. In previous years we have had "a book set in India" and yet we haven't had "a book set in Pakistan or Bangladesh" (for example); that doesn't mean the group thinks India is more important than other South Asian countries. I'm sure we will have many more country and continent prompts in future years, from English-speaking and non-English speaking countries alike.

I also think it's important to remember that New Zealand has a very large Maori population and Canada and Australia have a lot of different indigenous groups. This prompt could be a good opportunity to explore books by authors from those communities if you want to diversify your reading whilst sticking to the wording of the original prompt. For New Zealand specifically, I recommend The Bone People which is a beautifully-written (but sometimes troubling) semi-autobiographical book written by a part-Maori author, exploring how people of Maori and European descents interact in modern-day New Zealand.

Emily wrote: "Shannon SA wrote: "Demetra wrote: "Emily, there are eight more spots, correct? So probably 3 to 4 more votes?"

By my count we have 43 prompts including Poll 14, with 9 spots to go?"

Nope, we are ..."

Apologies Demetra and Emily! I counted wrong!

I agree with Aimee's post. I do think it is important to be aware of the effects of colonialism, and I think both this prompt and ones we have had earlier enable people to do this. For example, this year we have 'an author from the Asian diaspora' and many books within that category deal with post-colonialism and racism.

Trish wrote: "This is a list I found for Canadian indigenous authors, and writing about the indigenous/First Nations experiece: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1.."

I've been doing a bunch of indigenous author books the past few years- working my way through Tookie's list and then branching on from there- and many of them are Canadian. Although the books are written primarily in English. Couple years ago I read The Bone People by a Maori author and would love to read more- there's a listopia for it https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

I hate diversity prompts because I feel people who want to will find diversity in their own selections and the people who have to be "forced" to aren't that interested in it but I will always vote for an indigenous prompt cause I know I might need that freebie spot! I was going to use this prompt to read a Canadian but might branch out to an Australian indigenous person as I don't think I've ever read one:
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/cont...

Nike wrote: "°~Amy~° wrote: "Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main langu..."

My opinion is similar to yours. Last year I suggested a prompt relating somehow to colonialism and it was not popular.

I’ve got a small shelf of Indigenous authors who reside in Canada. It would be bigger, but I forget to update my shelves as I go.

Choosing a prompt to read "A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand" is no more discriminatory than choosing "A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea" or choosing "A book by an author from an African country." We have geography-based prompts every year and those prompts have covered numerous regions of the globe. If we're missing an area, feel free to suggest it.

And Canada, Australia, and New Zealand each have indigenous populations that are included in the prompt if one finds this prompt too colonial in nature.

Another thought for a prompt...

Replace a prompt with one that was rejected

Rae wrote: "Choosing a prompt to read "A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand" is no more discriminatory than choosing "A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea" or choosing "..."

Exactly, every year we change location prompts. Sometimes the prompts are based on the author and sometimes the setting. Everyone is welcome to make a prompt narrower for themselves with out make other people feel guilty because they like popular authors. We don’t all have the same access, time or energy. Personally, my life is emotionally difficult. I pick books to escape.

ooh!

Definitely glad about the five books one, pleased about the intelligence one and tentatively excited for the pronoun one. A little surprised the Canada/Australia/new Zealand one got in but definitely not against it, at the very least I'm constantly rereading a series by an Australian author so can slot that in if all else fails.

Can't believe we're so close to the end of voting! excited to see what prompts we've got left.

Pamela wrote: "Nike wrote: "I really, really don't like the Canada, Australia and New Zealand-prompt. I think it's discriminating of all those other countries that have English as their main language/national lan..."

January is a long time to wait to read a book as good as Birnum Wood

Anyone else thinking about reading one book from each country for Canada, Australia and New Zealand? I am also going to try my best to read an indigenous author from each country (provided I can get a book from the library).
Two indigenous authors I have read from Australia are Ambelin Kwaymullina and Alexis Wright.

Love your pick Judy!

Debbie wrote: "Another thought for a prompt...

Replace a prompt with one that was rejected"

Isn’t that what the WC is ( although I know you can just pick anything as well)

Just goes to show you never know what the last 24 hours of voting will hold! still relatively happy about these prompts and excited to see what I can slot into intelligence. I'm more of a read what I want and then put them in where they fit over a big planning session type of reader.

Milena - Yes, I plan to read an author from each of the 3 countries. I have at least 10 Australian books on my shelves and one NZ author I’m interested in (hopefully I can find something at the library) and I want to continue reading Richard Wagamese books. I love his writing! I also have a Louise Penny mystery. I’ve only read one book in her series. I might save that for the prompt - book in a series.

Pam wrote: "Milena - Yes, I plan to read an author from each of the 3 countries. I have at least 10 Australian books on my shelves and one NZ author I’m interested in (hopefully I can find something at the lib..."

Well there are like 18 books in the Louise Penny series, so you can do one for series and one for Canada.