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 Thursday, August 7 and results will be posted in the morning of Monday, August 11 (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 where being on a boat is important to the story
2. A book set primarily somewhere creepy or scary
3. A book with a location in the title
4. A book written in the present tense
5. A book whose title follows the "______ of ______" pattern
6. A sapphic story
7. A book that could fit the quote: “May you live in interesting times.”
8. A book related to a planet other than earth.
9. A book that features a horse in the title or on the cover
10. A book set in a country bordering the Indian Ocean
11. A book set in one of the world’s great cities.
12. A book with something edible in the title
13. A book related to the song “Singin’ in the Rain”
14. A book with a six word title
15. A book with an economically disadvantaged protagonist

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

Vote here: https://forms.gle/tPyhkmSwkWNZcqR48

THOUGHTS AND IDEAS FROM THE SUGGESTIONS THREAD

1. A book where being on a boat is important to the story
This includes anything from a raft to an aircraft carrier. Partial list of vessels: raft, canoe, kayak, dinghy, catamaran, riverboat, steam ship, sail boat, schooner, pirate ship, fishing boat, motor boat, tugboat, ferry, yacht, cruise ship, aircraft carrier (any naval ship)…

I think this could cover anything from James/The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to a "lost at sea" memoir/story, military non-fiction, pirate stories, murder mystery on a yacht, romance on a cruise ship, adventure on a commercial fishing boat, etc.

Listopias:
Boat Books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Best Titanic Books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5...
Maritime Classics: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Best Seafaring History Books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Lusitania: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
What to Read on a Boat: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
Up on the Deck: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Cruise Ship YA: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
Nautical Historical Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Great Stories: Sailors, Ships, Sea Adventures Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Pirate Books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
Nonfiction Whitewater Adventure: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Ships Ahoy!: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Paddle Steamers, Large River Boats: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
YA Shipwreck/Lost at Sea Books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Sailing Memoirs: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

2. A book set primarily somewhere creepy or scary
There is some openness as to how this is interpreted. It could be a a creepy house, a cemetery, a dark forest, the compound of cult, a serial killer’s lair, a battlefield, etc. It could work for fiction or nonfiction.

3. A book with a location in the title
Examples:
Anne of Green Gables (a house/farm)
The Boston Girl (a city)
From Russia With Love (a country)
Murder on the Nile (a river)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (a fictitious place)

4. A book written in the present tense.
Anna Dorn wrote a piece about this concept for LitHub https://lithub.com/no-tense-like-the-...

5. A book whose title follows the "______ of ______" pattern
Ever notice there's a lot of books like Lord of the Flies, The Picture of Dorian Grey, The Guns of August, etc?

Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

7. A book that could fit the quote: “May you live in interesting times.”
Whether you interpret the phrase as a blessing or a curse, pick a place and time that you would find most interesting.

You might pick the Renaissance, the French or American Revolution, the height of the tech boom in Silicon Valley, Game of Thrones, or something more recent

8. A book related to a planet other than earth
This could be a book set on an unknown planet in a sci-fi, connected to the horoscope sign related to a planet, the god related to the planet, the name of the planet or any other fun thing you can think of.

9. A book that features a horse in the title or on the cover
In the previous round of voting, "a book with a horse as a character" was quite unpopular, so proposing a broader prompt! As 2026 is the year of the horse.

"Horse in the title" could also include mare, stallion, filly etc.

Listopia for horse on the cover: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

10. A book set in a country bordering the Indian Ocean
List from Wikipedia:
Africa
Comoros Djibouti Egypt Eritrea France Mayotte Réunion Kenya Madagascar Mauritius Mozambique Seychelles Somalia Somaliland South Africa Sudan Tanzania

Asia
Bahrain Bangladesh Christmas Island (Australia) Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia) India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Malaysia Maldives Myanmar Oman Pakistan Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Thailand Timor-Leste United Arab Emirates Yemen

Antarctica
Australia

11. A book set in one of the world’s great cities
Past, present or future. Fiction or nonfiction.
Sample list:
https://www.worldsbestcities.com/rank...

This is one list of great cities, but you are free to choose another list. To make it more challenging you might limit yourself to the top 5, or choose a non western continent

12. A book with something edible in the title
Ideas: As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
The House on Mango Street
Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show
The Grapes of Wrath
The Price of Salt
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
A Clockwork Orange
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories

13. A book related to the song “Singin’ in the Rain”
Singin’ in the Rain (Song by Gene Kelly)

I'm singin' in the rain,
Just singin' in the rain,
What a glorious feeling,
I'm happy again!
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above,
The sun's in my heart and I'm ready for love!
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place,
Come on with your rain,
I've got a smile on my face!
I'll walk down the lane
With a happy refrain,
Just singin', singin' in the rain!
Why am I smiling and why do I sing?
Why does December seem sunny as Spring?
Why do I get up each morning to start
Happy and head-up with joy in my heart?
Why is each new task a trifle to do?
Because I am living a life full of you!
Hey, I'm singin' in the rain,
Just singin' in the rain,
What a glorious feeling,
I'm happy again!
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above,
The sun's in my heart and I'm ready for love!
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place,
Come on with your rain,
I've got a smile on my face!
I'll walk down the lane
With a happy refrain,
Just singin', singin' in the rain!

15. A book with an economically disadvantaged protagonist
Basically anyone who is broke, struggling, or just trying to make ends meet. Financial trouble can drive a plot in all kinds of ways like pushing characters to take risks, commit crimes, enter a marriage of convenience, chase dreams, or simply survive. This can be fiction or nonfiction, serious or funny, inspiring or heartbreaking. Some examples and lists:
The Girl with the Louding Voice
Margo's Got Money Troubles
Writers & Lovers
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive
Nightcrawling
Pretty Things
When We Ride
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1....
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

I'm a bit confused - #5 says a title that follows "______ of the ______" which 2 of the 3 examples do not, and the Listopia is a different pattern altogether "the ___ of ___ and ____". Can we clarify what the actual pattern for this prompt is and if it's supposed to be flexible? If something like The Picture of Dorian Gray counts, then the pattern is simply a title containing the word "of".

I will let Pamela chime in when she gets back, as I believe this was her prompt suggestion.

Emily wrote: "I will let Pamela chime in when she gets back, as I believe this was her prompt suggestion."

I left a comment about this, too, with a couple of links to Listopias that more closely match the pattern she put in the prompt suggestion.

I've just added those links here, Dixie. Thanks for that.

Irene wrote: "I'm a bit confused - #5 says a title that follows "______ of the ______" which 2 of the 3 examples do not, and the Listopia is a different pattern altogether "the ___ of ___ and ____". Can we clari..."

You're right... I supposed the answer is the you can fill in the blanks with whatever- so you can use one word or two. In the same way there's books like The Half Life of Valery K which have two words in the front.

Hi Pamela! To clarify, does it need the word "the" in the title? As written, the prompt say it should contain "of the" but a lot of the examples only have "of" without "the". If it only needs "of" (which opens it up to many more books) then I think the prompt should be reworded to prevent confusion.

Pamela wrote: "Irene wrote: "I'm a bit confused - #5 says a title that follows "______ of the ______" which 2 of the 3 examples do not, and the Listopia is a different pattern altogether "the ___ of ___ and ____"..."

The title would have to be 'The Half Life of THE Valery K' or 'The Portrait of THE Dorian Gray' for it to fit the prompt as it is currently written. So the wording should be _____ of _____ .

I don't mind removing the "the" from the middle of the prompt to reflect that! That's also why I removed "the" from the beginning of the prompt.

Just from first impressions and some initial research, here are my opinions on each of the poll options for Poll 7.

1. A book where being on a boat is important to the story
Most likely would downvote.

2. A book set primarily somewhere creepy or scary
Kind of like this prompt, though it would take me a bit to find a book to read for it. Most likely would upvote.

3. A book with a location in the title
Vaguely intrigued, though I don't know if it would be a first choice for me in upvoting.

4. A book written in the present tense
Sounds interesting and I think it could be a good challenge. Most likely to upvote this one.

P.S. The 52 Book Club did this prompt for their 2023 challenge and I have the list of books people recommended here if anyone wants to check that out: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

5. A book whose title follows the "______ of the ______" pattern
I usually read a lot of fantasy/romantasy books, so this wouldn't be too difficult of a prompt for me to complete. Would upvote.

6. A sapphic story
Don't think it would be too difficult to complete. Probably would upvote this one.

7. A book that could fit the quote: “May you live in interesting times.”
I don't really know what to read for this option, so most likely would downvote.

8. A book related to a planet other than earth.
Not interested.

9. A book that features a horse in the title or on the cover
Also not interested in this one.

10. A book set in a country bordering the Indian Ocean
Wouldn't really be opposed to this one if books set in Australia would count. However, I don't think this would be a first choice in terms of upvoting.

11. A book set in one of the world’s great cities.
Honestly, I'm indifferent about this one. If it gets in, great. If not, wouldn't be the end of the world.

12. A book with something edible in the title
Not opposed to this one and I could see myself upvoting this.

13. A book related to the song “Singin’ in the Rain”
Personally, I don't particularly care about this prompt.

14. A book with a six word title
Interesting option and definitely would be a potential upvote.

15. A book with an economically disadvantaged protagonist
Another prompt I could see being a potential upvote for me.

My concern about Book written in the present tense is that there is no way to tell ahead of time except what is in a Listopia.

I like all the settings options, and I like prompts from songs. Since I read sci-fi, the other planet would be fine for me, but I'll be very surprised if it is chosen.

There are so many good ones this week (and ones that were left behind). Sucks we only get 8 votes and only a few make it through.

I will say, I started the voting sheet before the nominations started (it's easiest to do multiple things at the same time) and it originally had a boat on it. I switched it out so not to prejudice anyone.

Emily wrote: "I don't mind removing the "the" from the middle of the prompt to reflect that! That's also why I removed "the" from the beginning of the prompt."

Yes please.... clearly taking and making nominations simultaneously is not my strong suit. Plus it was so quiet, I felt the need to nominate something!

I've made the change!

Robin P wrote: "My concern about Book written in the present tense is that there is no way to tell ahead of time except what is in a Listopia.

I like all the settings options, and I like prompts from songs. Sinc..."

I get that since it would be hard to determine at first to see if it is written in present tense. However, you could try to read an excerpt to see if it's in present tense. Or you could just wing it with picking the first book you see that's written in present tense.

I was unsure of "____ of the _____" so I looked through my shelves for books that would fit to get an idea of how difficult it would be (going on a strict interpretation). I found more than I expected! Here are a few:
The Phantom of the Opera
Lord of the Flies
The Lord of the Rings
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner
Out of the Silent Planet
The Female of the Species
The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers' Guild
The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories

So yeah, I think I like this...

Wendy wrote: "I was unsure of "____ of the _____" so I looked through my shelves for books that would fit to get an idea of how difficult it would be (going on a strict interpretation). I found more than I expec..."

Just to piggy-back off of this, here are some more book recs for the "_______ of the ________" prompt:

The Witch at the Edge of the Wood
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands
Tress of the Emerald Sea
The Will of the Many
Trial of the Sun Queen
Throne of the Fallen
Bride of the Sea King
Court of the Vampire Queen
Bride of the Shadow King
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
Kingdom of the Wicked
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Voyage of the Damned

Or if you want to do "________ of ________" here are some options here:

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
The War of Two Queens
A Sweet Sting of Salt
Blood of Hercules
A Touch of Darkness
A Promise of Peridot
King of Sloth

Rachael wrote: 4. A book written in the present tense....
P.S. The 52 Book Club did this prompt for their 2023 challenge and I have the list of books people recommended here if anyone wants to check that out: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Thank you for that list - it was really helpful.

Rachael wrote: "Wendy wrote: "I was unsure of "____ of the _____" so I looked through my shelves for books that would fit to get an idea of how difficult it would be (going on a strict interpretation). I found mor..."

______ of ____ opens up more possibilities. I go with that.

A book written in the present tense will be very hard for me. It’s just not something I notice. I read one of the books on the list only 1-2 weeks ago, and I didn’t notice the tense. I couldn’t tell you about the book I was reading this morning.

Do these books have a greater sense of immediacy, or are they better in some ways? Is this something that might be good for my appreciation of good books? Or my own writing skills? I noticed that when I write reviews I use “is” and “was” interchangeably.

I would be much more comfortable if we could find additional lists of books, preferably from experts, such as writing teachers. It’s a short listopia and most of the books have only 1 or 2 votes.

===
I’m searching. So far..

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
2010

https://lithub.com/no-tense-like-the-...

https://shepherd.com/best-books/writt...

This spreadsheet looks very informative, with examples of all options.
https://stormwritingschool.com/100-bo...

Rachael wrote: "Robin P wrote: "My concern about Book written in the present tense is that there is no way to tell ahead of time except what is in a Listopia.

I like all the settings options, and I like prompts ..."

Actually, since I read more than 52 books in the year, I'm quite sure I'll run across one totally at random. Sometimes I don't even notice the tense of the book.

Thanks to NancyJ for all the links!

Random thoughts

A book set in the present could be an interpretation of the today from yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Neither the book set in a country bordering the Indian Ocean or the book set in one of the world’s great cities are hard to do. I can't think of a year when without trying at least one book I read wasn't set in NYC, London, Paris, or Dublin. Shout out to 6 Canadian cities being on the list.

A book with a location in the title needs a listopia and I found one:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Bonus - it was ours from 2020, but I wasn't in the group in 2020.

I am loving:
A book set primarily somewhere creepy or scary
A book that could fit the quote: “May you live in interesting times.”
A book related to a planet other than earth.
A book related to the song “Singin’ in the Rain”

I haven't seen these prompts before. And I love having a song lyric prompt. Those are always such fun.

A book whose title follows the "______ of ______" pattern

I have seen this and will still vote for this one because it will help me read one of the books on my TBR list.

For anyone tired of horse prompts, we almost had a A book related to a Zodiac symbol. If that gets in next week, the horse people could use a horse and everyone else could use another symbol.

Dubhease wrote: "Neither the book set in a country bordering the Indian Ocean or the book set in one of the world’s great cities are hard to do. I can't think of a year when without trying at least one book I read wasn't set in NYC, London, Paris, or Dublin. Shout out to 6 Canadian cities being on the list.."

Last year we had the most beautiful cities in the world and I made a rule not to do NYC/London/Paris cause they would be too easy.

Singing in the Rain isnonnof my family's favourite movies. The performance of this song is so happy and funny to watch.

It's a great prompt because you can make it as BIO or easy as you want.

Dubhease, the prompt isn’t “a book set in the present”, it’s “a book written in present tense”, so IS instead of WAS.

First impressions:

1. A book where being on a boat is important to the story - I'm glad the quotation marks were removed from the word boat because it was throwing me off. However, either way I'm not sure I'd vote for it since I'm not that interested in books that focus heavily on boats/sailing...but I might be open to locked room thrillers set on boats.

2. A book set primarily somewhere creepy or scary - Love this! I've been getting more and more into horror lately and I also love thrillers, so this is a definite upvote for me

3. A book with a location in the title - A strong maybe. I'd need to look at my options

4. A book written in the present tense - Completely indifferent to this one. I feel like it might be annoying to research in advance

5. A book whose title follows the "______ of ______" pattern - Most likely an upvote. I have plenty of books that would fit.

6. A sapphic story - Another likely upvote since I have many on my TBR. I might leave it neutral if I have too many other votes.

7. A book that could fit the quote: “May you live in interesting times.” - Love the creativity of this one! I'd have to think a bit about how to tackle this one, but it's another likely upvote.

8. A book related to a planet other than earth. - I can't think of much on my TBR offhand that would fit so I'd probably leave it neutral.

9. A book that features a horse in the title or on the cover - I still feel like my options are fairly limited on this one. Definitely not an upvote, but not sure if I'd downvote.

10. A book set in a country bordering the Indian Ocean - I'm burnt out on geography prompts, so I'm not particularly interested in this.

11. A book set in one of the world’s great cities. - Same thing. I've had similar prompts many times before and I'm tired of choosing books by geography

12. A book with something edible in the title - A strong maybe. Somehow this seems more fun than the usual "food in the title" even though it's basically the same thing

13. A book related to the song “Singin’ in the Rain” - I've never been a fan of the song and didn't see much in the lyrics that I'd really connect to books

14. A book with a six word title - I'm okay with this one, but there are other things that I want more strongly so likely won't vote for it.

15. A book with an economically disadvantaged protagonist - I really like this one. I don't necessarily have any books in mind, but it's a prompt that I don't think I've ever seen before

Dubhease wrote: "Random thoughts

A book set in the present could be an interpretation of the today from yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Neither the book set in a country bordering the Indian Ocean or the book set..."

Thanks for the Listopia for a book with a location in the title! https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Mods, could we add this to the Thoughts & Ideas? With Deborah's approval?

Thanks for the clarification all! It sounds like the wording of the prompt is now "___ of ____" so functionally a book title with "of" in it since 99% of the time it's between words. That makes it a neutral prompt for me because it's easy but not especially interesting.

I'll do some more research tonight but my first impressions of this week's suggestions are:

Likely upvotes:
- A book that could fit the quote: “May you live in interesting times.”
I like this one a lot. At first I thought it was too easy since you can argue that any book has something interesting, but I think focusing on time periods helps narrow it down, like "a time period that interests you".
- A book related to the song “Singin’ in the Rain”. My favorite prompt this round! I love the movie so I'm biased but the lyrics also lend themselves really well to cover interpretations - a book with storm clouds on the cover, a dark cover ("so dark up above"), a cover with someone walking down a street, a romantic book cover, etc.
- A book with something edible in the title. Sometimes title prompts can be on the dry side so I like that this one is fun and neither too hard nor too difficult.

Likely downvotes:
- A book written in the present tense. This is hard to research ahead of time (I would have to flip through each of my books to see what my options are) and it's also not a style I enjoy.

On the fence:
- A book set in one of the world’s great cities. Last year when we had "A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world," it was really time-consuming for me to try to figure out where every book I had was set (and my only options ended up being books set in London). But "great cities" is more broad so I guess it could mean any large city (including fictional), which makes it a lot easier.
- A book with a six word title. We had "A book with a title containing 6+ words" last year so this seems too similar. Not sure if I'm missing some significance with the number 6 but I preferred the 6+ version.
- A book set primarily somewhere creepy or scary. This is following in the vein of a haunting book this year and a chilling book last year. I like that it's basically a genre prompt but I wish we had other genre prompt options that aren't as redundant (as much as I enjoy spooky books!).

Robin P wrote: "Rachael wrote: "Robin P wrote: "My concern about Book written in the present tense is that there is no way to tell ahead of time except what is in a Listopia.

I like all the settings options, and..."

Thanks Robin. Sometimes I read a prompt and think ‘blah, I don’t know anything about it, and I don’t want to have to learn about it at my age’ Eventually it turns into, ‘ooh, I get to learn about something new that i might appreciate later!’ Today it only took about 10 minutes for the mind shift.

Today ended up being way more hectic than I anticipated. I had intended to add more ideas for:

A book related to a planet other than earth

So here were my thoughts:
Set on any other planet real or imagined.
Mercury is the smallest. It is also a Chemical Element.
Venus is earths twin
Mars - red planet
Jupiter - gas planet
Saturn - rings
Uranus - ice giant
Neptune - blue planet

Gods:
Mercury – Roman Hermes - God of boundaries, roads, travelers, merchants, thieves, athletes, shepherds, commerce, speed, cunning, language, oratory, wit, and messages
Venus – Roman Aphrodite - Goddess of love, lust, passion, pleasure, beauty, and sexuality
Mars – Roman Ares - God of war and courage
Jupiter – Roman Zeus - King of the gods
Saturn – Roman Cronus - Leader of the Titans
Neptune - god of the sea

Astrology:
Aries: Mars.
Taurus: Venus.
Gemini: Mercury
Cancer: Moon.
Leo: Sun - technically a star
Virgo: Mercury.
Libra: Venus.
Scorpio:Pluto

Irene wrote: "Thanks for the clarification all! It sounds like the wording of the prompt is now "___ of ____" so functionally a book title with "of" in it since 99% of the time it's between words. That makes it ..."

Yes, I like that approach to “… interesting times.” I want to pick a time that is distinctive, exciting, and a little mystifying. The French Revolution, the Chinese cultural revolution, the Opium Wars (outrageous!), The American revolution, the Renaissance, the late 1960s- 1970’s, and maybe the McCarthy era. Also, the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall.

I read or want to read:
A Tale of Two Cities
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Witness to the Revolution: Radicals, Resisters, Vets, Hippies, and the Year America Lost Its Mind and Found Its Soul - this also works for the soul prompt,
The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain
I’ll be looking for a revolutionary war book that contains information they wouldn’t teach us in school.

☔️Singin in the rain just makes me happy. I love the song and the dance in the movie,

🦑 I love the choice of the word “Edible” in that prompt. It leads me to believe we will see some creative or weird choices. It really does feel a little more fun than similar food prompts.

💀I’ve been thinking about the spooky place. I don’t think I could pick just any scary book. It ‘s a setting prompt, so the place itself matters.
I was thinking about it tonight while walking the dog. My own neighborhood felt scary with the owls, the orange cloudy moon, missing streetlights, frogs, and my dog jumping at every little sound.

Tracy wrote: "Dubhease, the prompt isn’t “a book set in the present”, it’s “a book written in present tense”, so IS instead of WAS."

Is it possible to write a book in the present tense that isn't set in the present, the today, or the now for the characters?

Regardless, I think the book written in the present tense is going to be the highest maintenance prompt on the list. I agree with the person who said that it's hard to know if a book fits before you read it.

Dubhease wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Dubhease, the prompt isn’t “a book set in the present”, it’s “a book written in present tense”, so IS instead of WAS."

Is it possible to write a book in the present tense that isn't ..."

Dubhease, ironically I just finished a novella, written in 1940, that was written in "present tense". Weirdest book I ever read and loved it. The Invention of Morel

I want to thank all those members of the group who have been talking about people voting and not reading the notes. Until about two polls ago, that would have been me. When I read the prompts today moving to voting I could only find 4 that I wanted to do. Then I read the write-ups. Not only did I come up 8 upvotes but I know that I already have books to fill most of them (after some research). So thank you!

Hey Gail - thanks for trying something new! I’m glad it worked for you. Welcome to the party 🥳

This is a list where there's nothing that really leaps out at me as 'I love this prompt', but most are doable and it's quite hard to decide which ones to upvote. Two definite downvotes - the horse prompt and 'Singing in the rain'. I usually like song prompts, but I don't think that song has enough variety in it to be a prompt, just doesn't excite me.

NancyJ wrote: "Thanks Robin. Sometimes I read a prompt and think ‘blah, I don’t know anything about it, and I don’t want to have to learn about it at my age’ Eventually it turns into, ‘ooh, I get to learn about something new that i might appreciate later!’ Today it only took about 10 minutes for the mind shift."

I always find the ones I love during voting I find blah when doing the challenge and the ones I side-eyed end up being interesting. Mostly cause those often make me look into my backlist to read something creative, Except scifi. I'm done with that.

NancyJ wrote: "I love the choice of the word “Edible” in that prompt. It leads me to believe we will see some creative or weird choices. It really does feel a little more fun than similar food prompts.."

I agree- it's making me think I need to nominate "a second book that meets your favorite prompt" in the future.

I love that idea Pamela!

GailW wrote: "I want to thank all those members of the group who have been talking about people voting and not reading the notes. Until about two polls ago, that would have been me. When I read the prompts today..."

Awesome! Sometimes it's impossible to put the whole intent or feeling of an idea into a one-line suggestion. The notes really help clarify the scope of what can be done with some of the prompt ideas.

4 up, 4 down, and a bunch that I'm not excited by but would be fine with if they get in. Favorites are on a boat, location in the title, bordering the Indian Ocean, and a planet other than Earth. All location-related, now that I think about it! No scary/creepy for me, nor sapphic (LGBT+ would be fine but sapphic feels too limiting). Not enough good present tense to choose from, and I would rather have horse as part of a future Zodiac prompt than by itself.

6 up, 2 down.

5 up, 3 down

Up
1. Set on a boat
3. Location in title
5. __ of __
7. Interesting times
10. Country bordering India Ocean

Down
2. Creepy/scary
6. Sapphic
15. Economically disadvantaged

Nothing really grabbed me with this list; however, several I could work with. Two up, six down.

Those I voted up were sapphic and one set on a planet other than Earth. I don't expect that either will make it; however, I do enjoy science fiction from time to time and #8 affords me the opportunity.

My downs were:

4. A book written in the present tense. As someone already said, this prompt does require addditional time to discern if it is written present tense. If selected, I will probably stumble into one.
9. A book that features a horse in the title or on the cover. I struggled the last time a similar prompt was used selecting a book I wanted to read..
12. A book with something edible in the title. Reviewed my TBR and found I had either read many that included something edible with little else to chose from.
13. A book related to the song “Singin’ in the Rain." I didn't find much in the lyrics as a springboard - love and rain.
14. A book with a six word title. Too limiting. Would have beens better with a six plus prompt.
15. A book with an economically disadvantaged protagonist

This is the toughest vote yet, I like 12 of the ideas this round.

Favorites:
6. A sapphic story
10. A book set in a country bordering the Indian Ocean
7. A book that could fit the quote: “May you live in interesting times."
8. A book related to a planet other than earth
11. A book set in one of the world’s great cities
In the running:
12. A book with something edible in the title
4. A book written in the present tense

I like the boat and poverty ideas, but not the tentative wording. My journalism teacher would ask, “Was this line written by a committee?” You can’t please everyone, so say what you mean.

A book set on a boat. A book set around boats.
A character living in poverty. A character with a hardscrabble life.
A book with a creepy or scary setting.

I have a western, so I would like
A Western. Or. A book with horses

This round was difficult, so many interesting ideas! It was very difficult indeed to choose between location and city and no, there wasn't space for voting both of them in. This was one of the funniest voting rounds so far.

My one regret is that I did not have more votes to give.

Judy wrote: "I like the boat and poverty ideas, but not the tentative wording. My journalism teacher would ask, “Was this line written by a committee?” You can’t please everyone, so say what you mean."

I'm with you on that- I think people are so eager to get their prompts in they try to be as broad as possible. I would have gone with "a book that mostly takes place on a boat."

My esp beef is "related to." Just be.