Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2022] Poll 7 Voting
Mod
1. A book by a Latinx author
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2. A book by an Asian or Pacific Islander author
Pacific Islander refers to the indigenous people of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.
Books written by Asian Authors
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Asia Authored books in 2021
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Asian Speculative Fiction by Asian Authors #ownvoices
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Queer books by AAPI Authors
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Pacific Island Authors
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3. A book with a Jewish character or author
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4. A book with a strong sense of place
A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles
Rules Of Civility by Amor Towles
The River by Peter Heller
The Guide by Peter Heller (Pub. Date 8/24/2021)
Inspector Armand Gamache by Louise Penny � 1st book is Still Life
Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil by john Berdendt
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Joe Pickett series by C.J. Box � 1st book is Open Season
The Cork O’Connor series by William Kent Krueger � 1st book is Iron Lake
A Year In Provence by Peter Mayle
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
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5. A book set on or near a body of water
This could be a book set on a ship in the ocean, a white water river raft, sailboat racing, a deep sea diving vessel, or a book on the beach with people surfing, swimming, snorkeling, or playing beach volleyball with the A team. It could be about the ocean, whales, an ocean oil rig, sonar, ecosystems, temperature change. hurricanes, scuba diving, shipwreck discoveries, fish, fishing or life on an island.
The Deep
This Tender Land
Migrations
Malibu Rising
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes
6. A book about a minority group in a country that is not your own
Basically, I like the idea of reading a book about another country, but NOT the "typical" story you might read from that country. So, Midnight's Children, which is focused on the story of a Muslim family in majority-Hindu India, or Pachinko, which is about Korean immigrants to Japan, or Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, which is about a Sikh community in the UK.
7. A book related to one of the 22 Tarot Major Arcana cards
Here's a list of them with pictures and meanings:
I think they have a lot of possibilities for interpretation with all kinds of genres. They're beautiful and there are 22 of them for 2022!
0-The Fool
1-The Magician
2-The High Priestess
3-The Empress
4-The Emperor
5-The Hierophant (aka The Pope)
6-The Lovers
7-The Chariot
8- Strength
9-The Hermit
10-Wheel of Fortune
11-Justice
12-The Hanged Man
13-Death
14-Temperance
15-The Devil
16-The Tower
17-The Star
18-The Moon
19-The Sun
20-Judgement
21-The World
9. A book in translation
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10. A classic non-fiction
Read a non-fiction book that's stood the test of time or is a modern classic.
Examples:
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Silent Spring
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
best science non-fiction
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best historical non-fiction
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best non-fiction
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11. A book with an unusual narrator or narration style
This could be a book with non-human narrator (animals, ghosts/dead people, aliens, vampires, faeries, gods, etc.), a book with a narrator who is somehow different or unique (a child/unborn child, someone with mental illness or a neurodiverse narrator, etc.), or it could be a book like The Virgin Suicides, for example, which is narrated in the first person plural.
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12. A book that is related to the phrase “Birds Eye View�
Topics:
Book that inspires you to have a bigger view of the world
Book about birds
Book that reflects a different viewpoint (religious/Political/etc) than one you hold
Covers:
Book with a view from above on the cover
Book that has birds on the cover
Something that flies on the cover
Eyes on the cover
Characters:
Birds
Character that flies
Character that has different Philosophy/Religion/Politics than you
14. A book related to the dystopian film classic "Soylent Green," which is set in 2022
Think similar topics/themes such as overpopulation, depleted resources, euthanasia, poverty; a Charlton Heston connection; you could read the book the Film was based on (Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison) or another book by that author...
15. A book related to The Wizard of Oz
In honor of what would have been Judy Garland's 100th birthday in 2022
I admit I will probably downvote prompt 1. because the term 'Latinx' is not without controversy even though I read a lot of authors the prompt would cover
Last round there wasn’t a lot that grabbed me. This week I’ve got the opposite problem. I like too many of them.
I hope the LatinX, Jewish and AAPI prompts don’t cancel each other out. I’ll be voting for all three because they are right up my alley! Will also be upvoting a book in translation because my favorite book of the year was introduced to me via the Warwick prompt this year and I want to go through that list again. Also probably upvote Wizard of Oz, because I mean Dorothy, Judy, Liza. The possibilities are a musical fan’s dream!
I love dystopian novels but have never heard of that movie or book. I need to investigate more. It sounds dark but I like it in a disturbing way.
I don’t mind the classic nonfiction, because I can read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. But I fear it makes it a more limited non-fiction prompt for those that aren’t fans.
I like this group of prompts much better than last week’s so it will be hard to narrow it down! Wizard of Oz ideas: person with a dog or who rides a bike (Flavia de Luca, Father Brown, bike race books), author Amos Oz, rainbow on cover, non-fiction on the brain. Book published during my teenage years would have to be Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I don’t know how I’ve never read it! I’m so glad someone suggested my 2 Wild Discussion ideas (Jewish author/character and strong sense of place) which I’ll def upvote! Olympics is a big yes! Probably no downvotes this time for me.
Read a book set on or near a body of waterBeing on the water can be exhilarating, relaxing, romantic, scary, and make you feel connected to the world. It's almost primal. Books about the water can connect you to those same feelings. Oceans, lakes and rivers are important to the health of our entire planet, and many of these books address environmental issues, ecosystems, or climate change.
Your book might involve a voyage on a ship in the ocean, a white water river raft, sailboat racing, a deep sea diving vessel, or a book on the beach with people surfing, swimming, snorkeling, or playing beach volleyball with the A team. It could be about the ocean, whales, an ocean oil rig, sonar, ecosystems, climate and temperature change, hurricanes, scuba diving, shipwreck discoveries, fish, fishing or about life on an island.
/list/tag/ocean
List of lists. You might also search for islands, climate change, beach reads, and specific countries or locations of interest.
Fiction ideas
The Deep
This Tender Land
Migrations- This has every weird thing I like.
Malibu Rising
Wide Sargasso Sea
Canyon Solitude: A Woman's Solo River Journey Through the Grand Canyon - (meditative)
When We Believed in Mermaids
The Exiles
Death on the Nile
Seasons of the Moon
The Whale Rider
The Island of Sea Women
A Tale for the Time Being
Life of Pi
Nonfiction
Shadow Divers
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness
Sharks in the Time of Saviors
Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins
The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean's Are One
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
I'd like some more suggestions for "A book about a minority group in a country that is not your own."
Angie wrote: "I'd like some more suggestions for "A book about a minority group in a country that is not your own.""The main character in Helen Oyeyemi's The Opposite House is a Cuban immigrant in London
This is going to take some narrowing down. I'm loving the diversity prompts so hope we get a couple onto the list.
I like a lot of these. At first glance I think I'll only have one downvote. Prompts that make me read a book from the 90s are now a pet hate of mine. 🤣 I don't think I fully understand classic non-fiction. The lists just seem to be of books people have voted as "best"?
Really like a lot of these prompts, but I have the same worry as Alicia that the Latinx/API/Jewish/minority group prompts might cancel each other out. As much as I like them all, I'd probably vote for 2-3 of my favorites because I'm guessing none of them will be "top" prompts if they all get roughly the same number of votes - especially given how many great suggestions there are this round.
Juliet Brown wrote: "I admit I will probably downvote prompt 1. because the term 'Latinx' is not without controversy even though I read a lot of authors the prompt would cover"I would like us to find a good way of wording the prompt because I think its essence is good. I have never seem Latinx used outside the bookish community, except to see Spanish speakers asking English speakers not to use it.
Emily has explained in the past that the results don't really work in that way. If there are a lot of prompts with equally high votes they will all get in. They will only cancel each other out if people decide to only vote on one because they think only one will get in.
Ellie wrote: "Emily has explained in the past that the results don't really work in that way. If there are a lot of prompts with equally high votes they will all get in. They will only cancel each other out if p..."Sorry, my wording was confusing. I guess I meant that since there are lots of great prompts in general this round, including the 4 diverse prompts, I'm thinking we won't get as many winning prompts just because of the votes spreading out (since we could all up-vote up to 8, which I honestly might do). But I'll be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong, I really love this batch of prompts.
This is such a great group of suggestions!!! I’ve got six definite up votes and I’m not sure what I’ll do with my last two votes, I might end up with eight upvotes. There are a few suggestions that I’m not super enthusiastic about, but none that are a strong NO for me.
Mod
Most Latino people prefer “Latino� and they suggest “Latine� if one feels the need to be gender-neutral. The term “Latinx� was created by a Latinx American woman in an attempt to remove the masculine from a term used to describe all genders, so the complaint that it was created by white people and used only by white people is not 100% accurate. But it’s definitely getting strong backlash. A common comment is that it makes no sense in Spanish, and can’t be pronounced, which I don’t understand, because it also makes no sense in English and can’t really be pronounced. But I am not a native Spanish- speaker so I guess I don’t get it.
I just did some research and it seems that Latine is a more excepted gender neutral term by Spanish speakers.
So far this is looking like a 5 up votes and 3 down, but still could change. I want to read at least one non fiction next year, but not sure if I really want it to be a classic.
Mod
Angie wrote: "I'd like some more suggestions for "A book about a minority group in a country that is not your own.""I recently readDaughters of Smoke and Fire which is a novel about the lives and oppression of Kurdish people in Iran.
It feels contrary to the assumed intention of the prompt but I guess ex-pat groups and imperialists (eg the British in India) are minority groups?
Until reading this thread, I had never even heard of the term “latine�. Based on my experience of living in New Mexico, I don’t think Latinx or Latine are widely used. The word Hispanic is much more common. Just some clarification though based on definitions I found, whichever word is used, it only refers to a person living in the US, correct?
I think I'm looking at 4 upvotes and 3 downvotes this round. The most downvotes I've had in a round so far this year, but after last round I'm just glad we have some really interesting ideas on the table again! Even if some of them are the kind of interesting that makes me dislike them. :-)I've gone through a range of positive and negative reactions to classic non-fiction already, but I think I'm settling on neutral. I like classics and non-fiction, and the combination does seem limiting, but I've read a few that I loved (The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano and The Law and Orthodoxy) and have a few more on my TBR (notably book:A Short History Of England|946494] and South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-1917.
The prompts I really like are:
API author: I've enjoyed a lot of the Asian-lit that I've read, and have a lot more on my TBR. Some of my recommendations would be:
The Housekeeper and the Professor (Japan, literary fiction, themes about the beauty of math and short term memory loss)
Almond (South Korea, YA, about a boy with a brain condition that restricts his ability to feel and understand emotions)
The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story (nonfiction/memoir, her journey to escape North Korea leads her through several other countries, especially spending time in China).
Set on or near a body of water:
Not sure why this appeals to me, except that it's less restrictive than the 'at sea' prompt I did a few years ago, while still providing a distinctive setting that seems enjoyable.
Related to winter olympics in Beijing: I've hardly even watched the Olympics in years, but I have really fond memories of combing the TV guide for all my favorite events (okay, mostly just for figure skating). None of the really strictly related options for books are really easy for me to fill (unless I happen upon a book set in Beijing that I really want to read), but there are plenty of different mildly challenging directions to go with it.
A book related to Wizard of Oz:
Again, this is mostly an upvote on fond memories. Could be the nudge I need to finally read Finding Dorothy though.
I'll probably use my last unallocated vote to upvote something like Latine author or minority group, but haven't decided for sure yet.
I love these prompts, and I'm happy so many of them can apply to nonfiction. This may be the first time I have nothing but upvotes! I'm excited to see how the voting turns out.
I was also not aware that the term Latinx was problematic, and I'm happy to learn why that is, but I don't think it's fair to downvote that prompt because of that, especially when the person who suggested it wasn't aware of that. Wording can be workshopped, and it feels very petty to reject a perfectly good diversity prompt based solely on that.I actually think I first heard the term "Latinx" in this group, come to think of it (European here). Even when you make a point of keeping up with recent developments in the English language, it's impossible to keep up ^^
Too many good prompts this time around. I really like the Tarot card prompt, and I'm thinking I'll do a side challenge of all the Tarot cards like some of us did with the NATO prompt for 2020.
Pam - It is not exclusive to people in the USA. The terms are often used synonymously but there are subtle differences.
“Latino� refers to anyone living in or descended from people from any Latin American country, which includes Mexico, Central America, and all of South America (including Brazil).
“Hispanic� refers to anyone whose native language is Spanish, plus any one descended from someone whose native language is Spanish, so this includes people from Spain but excludes Brazil.
From Wikipedia: Latinx or Latine is a term for a group identity used to describe individuals in the United States who have Latin American roots.
We don't tend to use Latino/Latinx/etc in the UK. I don't really understand why people of Spanish or Portuguese descent are people of colour if they come from Latin America but are white if they're from Europe.However I tend to accept the US definition for reading challenges.
Ellie wrote: "I like a lot of these. At first glance I think I'll only have one downvote. Prompts that make me read a book from the 90s are now a pet hate of mine. 🤣 "Dude, same.
I have 6 up an 2 down right now. As always that could change, though I've found I tend to vote my first instincts with little variation.
Mod
A book with a a strong sense of place is something you may not realize till after you read it, although sometimes the blurb is revealing. Something like Where the Crawdads Sing or How Much of These Hills Is Gold has the landscape almost as a character. Also mystery series by Tony Hillerman or Craig Johnson are highly tied to the place.
Four up and four down, my favorite is "A book with a Jewish character or author," because my favorite author is Alice Hoffman, who is Jewish and writes about Jewish characters.
Also, I am really happy with this round of suggestions. I don't really understand what qualifies most of the examples given as "classic nonfiction" so I probably won't vote for that one.
Other than that I am going to have a difficult time narrowing down to 8 up votes this week.
I have narrowed my votes down to 3 up and 5 down. I prefer, prompts based on characters instead of the authors so I will up vote the Jewish author or character prompt. (I also really like having ‘or� prompts though I know some members dislike them). I’m down voting all location prompts. We already have several on the list and sense of place was a confusing past prompt for me.
The 'Latinx' prompt was my suggestion so apologies if anyone is offended by the wording! I hadn't really heard of the term before I moved to the US last year and I assumed that was the preferred version. I have come across it a few times at my library here in Seattle which is very pro-diversity so I thought they would be using the correct term at least!Please feel free to reword to whatever people feel is most appropriate.
Ellie wrote: "We don't tend to use Latino/Latinx/etc in the UK. I don't really understand why people of Spanish or Portuguese descent are people of colour if they come from Latin America but are white if they're..."In most countries of Central and South America and the Caribbean, a big percentage of folks are descendants of a mix of Spanish, Indigeneous and/or African people. Not the case with European Spanish people, generally.
Since Latinx is a non-binary form of Latino, and Latino is short for Latinoamericano, I would think "Latin American author" would capture the intent of the prompt without controversy.
Beth wrote: "The 'Latinx' prompt was my suggestion so apologies if anyone is offended by the wording! I hadn't really heard of the term before I moved to the US last year and I assumed that was the preferred ve..."I don't think Latinx is necessarily offensive, it just isn't widely used (and Latine is actually used even less). According to only about a quarter of US Hispanics have even heard of the term and around 3% actually use the term. I have seen an article that stated VERY strong feelings against the term but that one person doesn't speak for the entire group of course. So, I guess that still leaves us with the conundrum of how best to word the prompt. Maybe "Hispanic" since that is a commonly used gender neutral term?
Ellie - I agree, people of Spanish or Portuguese descent are not POC. But here in the Americas, we are used to most Latino people being a mix of European, African, and Indigenous peoples. So it gets confused.
°ʴ° wrote: "Beth wrote: "The 'Latinx' prompt was my suggestion so apologies if anyone is offended by the wording! I hadn't really heard of the term before I moved to the US last year and I assumed that was the..."There is a lot to learn from this thread! Thanks, Amy.
I'm open to any wording that is most appropriate/least controversial. I'm far from being the most qualified here so if anyone has any more input, please share.
It looks like Hispanic or Latin American author might be the most fitting options?
With Latin American author would it be clear that they can be a descendent of those countries and not necessarily born there?
If Latinx = Latine = Latin American, I say go with Latin American.
Angie wrote: "I'd like some more suggestions for "A book about a minority group in a country that is not your own.""I see lots of options here. I'm going to just assume that you are American?
You could read about Indigenous People in various countries like
Canada's First Nation
Australian Aborigines
New Zealands Maori.
But also Religious Minorities like Muslims in Canada, Europe, Great Britain, Jewish People about everywhere except Israel, BIPOC in most western countries, any kind of Immigrants.
LGBTQ+ people are minorities too.
You could even read one of the many books written about/from white people in Asia, Africa or the Middle East or christian Missionaries in Africa.
Some that I can think off the top of my head:
Rabbit-Proof Fence: The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time -Indigenous Australian
Too Much Lip -Indigenous Australian
The Diary of a Young Girl -Jewish in Europe
Sarah's Key -Jewish in Europe
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - Jewish in Europe
Shantaram -Australian in India
Out of Africa White colonialists in Africa
All of Henning Mankell Africa Novels - White colonialists in Africa
Open Water - BIPOC in the UK
Arrow of God -White colonialists in Africa
White Teeth -BIPOC Immigrants in the UK
Little Bee - Nigerian Immigrant in the UK
A Long Petal of the Sea - European Refugees in South America
With Latin American author would it be clear that they can be a descendent of those countries and not necessarily born there?I think origin or descent is implied by any prompt like this.
Beth wrote: "The 'Latinx' prompt was my suggestion so apologies if anyone is offended by the wording! I hadn't really heard of the term before I moved to the US last year and I assumed that was the preferred ve..."I am not a part of the Latin American community myself , but experience with friends and relatives is that 'Latinx' is not liked at all because it makes no sense within Spanish, and 'Latine' is sliightly more accepeted but only when one is specifically referring to nonbinary individuals, the Latin American people I know still find that one offensive when referring to ALL Latin American people.
So yes, I agree with other that Latin American is probably the best term.
I like nearly all of these too, and I feel reassured that the ones that don't get in can be resubmitted. A prompt can be resubmitted as long as it's not in the bottom, is that correct? Top choices so far:
Asian Authors
Body of Water
Jewish Authors
'Body of water' and 'sense of place' trigger a sort of yearning feeling. My first book of the year involved the ocean, and it set the tone for the whole year. Many of the sense of place books overlap with other lists (such as rural/small town), and I have two on my plan for this month's cultural tag. So I might wait on this one.
I will probably vote for these, and hope they get resubmitted if they don't get through right away,
- Latin American Authors - I could use a continent prompt for a South American book if this prompt doesn't get in.
- Translated books - I really liked the ones that I read this year.
-Minorities in other countries - I really want a prompt like this, but I might wait for a resubmitted version. This one isn't as clear as the diversity related author prompts. It could benefit from a bit of workshopping or list development. I will definitely vote for a resubmitted version if it doesn't make it through now.
I also like these, but I don't have enough votes!
-Unusual narrators - Several seem creative and literary, and might delight or stretch me in a different way.
-Birds Eye View - I still like it this one.
-Classic non-fiction. I'm not sure "classic" applies to all these titles, but there are several I still want to read.
-Olympics is fun and timely
-Tarot cards - This sounds fun, and I like the eye candy. I don't think I would do the complete 22.
-Wizard of Oz - this fills me with warm fuzzy feelings, but it doesn't make my top 8. I might like a broader variation related to Hollywood or musicals.
My least favorites:
-Soylent Green -This is one of those titles that is a part of the cultural knowledge of my generation, but it makes me feel a little queasy. I saw a new title this year that reminded me of it. I would read a more hopeful climate change dystopian for this prompt.
- Books published when I was a teenager. I might revisit Godfather, or read a literary book that I wouldn't have considered until now.
Mod
I have voted. I just got annoyed with myself for keep changing my mind so went ahead and committed.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Myanmar Gold (other topics)Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family (other topics)
Make Room! Make Room! (other topics)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity (other topics)
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Anna-Marie McLemore (other topics)Adam Silvera (other topics)
Henning Mankell (other topics)
Alice Hoffman (other topics)
Helen Oyeyemi (other topics)
Voting will open in the morning of Saturday, August 7 and results will be posted in the morning of Wednesday, August 11.
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 (usually between 2 and 5 depending on how the votes are spread)
As a reminder: You have a total of 8 votes to use among your top and bottom votes. The mods have access to each individual vote, so we can see if you use more than 8 votes. If you use more than 8 votes in the poll, your vote will have to be deleted, so please make sure to follow the directions so your voice can be heard.
Possible Prompts:
1. A book by a Latin American author
2. A book by an Asian or Pacific Islander author
3. A book with a Jewish character or author
4. A book with a strong sense of place
5. A book set on or near a body of water
6. A book about a minority group in a country that is not your own
7. A book related to one of the 22 Tarot Major Arcana cards
8. A book related to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
9. A book in translation
10. A classic non-fiction
11. A book with an unusual narrator or narration style
12. A book that is related to the phrase “Birds Eye View�
13. A book that was published when you were a teenager
14. A book related to the dystopian film classic "Soylent Green," which is set in 2022
15. A book related to The Wizard of Oz
Feel free to discuss the prompts below, but please remember to be respectful to the other group members.
VOTE HERE: