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It's now time to get ready to vote for our next set of prompts! But as we discussed before the process began, we are going to open the poll one day after we've gathered the suggestions. 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 on Monday 23 September and results will be posted on Saturday 28 September.

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 favourite and least favourite prompts (you can also use less than 8 votes)
- The poll will be open for five days, so you don't have to rush and vote straightaway
- The prompts with the more "positive" votes (top minus bottom) will be announced shortly after the end of the poll and added to the final list (expect between 2 and 5 depending on how the votes are spread)
- We are asking people to include their ŷ������ 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 ŷ������ profile, please post your full ŷ������ name with enough identifiable information that we'll be able to access your profile. We’ve introduced this for two reasons:

1. On a few occasions in each poll, people have used more than the allotted number of votes, either because they aren’t familiar with the rules or just by mistake. When this happens our only option is to disregard the vote as we can’t identify the voter to ask them to resubmit. By asking for your profile address we’ll be able to message you and ask you to vote again if you’ve accidentally used more than the allotted number of votes.

2. Unfortunately a very small number of people have voted more than once per poll and so we are asking for this information to prevent duplicate votes.

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.

Poll Entries:
1. A book that was nominated for one of

The prizes cover just about every kind of book - literary fiction, popular fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, crime & thriller, translated literature, poetry, non-fiction, autobiography, food & drink, young adult, childrens, audio books.

The prizes are:
1. Specsavers National Book Awards
Popular fiction, crime & thriller, YA, childrens, popular non-fiction, autobiography, food & drink, audio book, new writer, UK author, international author

2. Nobel Prize in Literature
literary fiction

3. The Booker Prize
literary fiction

4. Pulitzer Prize
Fiction and non-fiction

5. Costa Book Awards
Novel, first novel, poetry, biography, children's

6. Neustadt International Prize for Literature
literary fiction

7. Hugo Award
Sci-fi and fantasy

8. Guardian First Book Award
literary fiction

9. National Book Award
Fiction, non-fiction, translated literature, young people’s literature, poetry

10. Women's Prize for Fiction
literary fiction

2. An own voices book
An own voices book is one where the protagonist and author share a marginalized identity eg race, sexual orientation, religious identity etc . A fuller discussion of the term can be found here.

3. A book with a unique or unconventional narrator
/shelf/show/...


/list/show/4...

4. A book with a character that has animal-like personality traits

5. A book that has a character with an addiction
(e.g. alcohol, drugs, sex, tobacco, gambling, porn, internet/social media, adrenaline, food, etc)

6. A collection of short stories or essays

7. A book where the main POV character is not the protagonist of the story
(The antagonist, an anti-hero, a secondary character narrating the story, etc.)

8. A book featuring or with a theme of co-existence
(immigrants or refugees, humans & nature, otherworldly/paranormal & human, different religions, financially wealthy & poor, etc.)

9. A book that has a character who is a character (unusual or eccentric personality) or has character (moral strength)

10. A book that you obtained in a non traditional way
(take/leave a book pile, book exchange, donated, used book sale at fund raisers, )

11. A book with a paranormal or supernatural protagonist

12. A book about/involving social media or technology

13. A book with the word in the title that was the twentieth word on the twentieth page of one of the other books you read for the challenge

14. A book with a political theme

15. An "up lit" fiction with an optimistic character or storyline

Vote here:

I have 2 planned up votes and I’m hoping the discussion will help me figure out how to use my remaining votes.

Reposting this list so people have some suggestions to work from for the social media/technology prompt, but you are obviously not limited to just these:

- YA
The Takedown (viral video)
Warcross (virtual reality)
Sadie (podcast)
Emergency Contact (texting)
The Lunar Chronicles (cyborgs)
Illuminae (AI, spaceships)
I Hate Everyone But You (texting)
The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily (instant messaging)
Tash Hearts Tolstoy (vlogging)
If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say (online comments)
Eliza and Her Monsters (webcomic)

- Mystery/Thriller
Friend Request (Facebook)
Kiss Me First (online community)
You (stalking via social media posts)
Copycat (Facebook)
Reconstructing Amelia (using social media to find out what happened)
Don't Try to Find Me (using social media to find out what happened)

- Contemporary
The Status of All Things (Facebook)
Attachments (email)
Read Bottom Up (email)
Goodnight Tweetheart (Twitter)
Save as Draft (email and various social networks)
Gena/Finn (text, IM, blogging)

- Sci-Fi
Crosstalk
Feed (blogging)
The Circle

This list has tons of suggestions from a variety of genres, including many non-fiction: /shelf/show/...

I have four that I immediately upvoted and four that I immediately downvoted so it will be an easy week for me.

I’m really excited about the awards list.. it gives such a variety of options while still being limiting enough to help me narrow down my choices. Plus, I know it will challenge me a bit, so I hope it gets in.

I’m also really excited by the character that’s a character or has character prompt. I could go with an easy, humorous book if I need a break, or I can take on a biography for the “has character�� side of things. I think it’s so unique and it’s so easy to have fun with.

I think I might have 8 down votes on this poll. Not too keen on any of the suggestions.

At first glance I have 2-3 upvotes and quite a number that I *might* like the idea of, but I'm not sure how to research/approach them. For instance, deciding what counts as a 'non-traditional' way of obtaining a book--I almost never buy a new book for full price, so it's all shades of non-traditional for me. A used book store probably doesn't count, but how about a library book sale? A book I received from a giveaway?

And anyone have any suggestions for how to find books with characters that have animal-like personality traits? (Also would it be cheating if I just read a book that has an animal as the main character...?)

Lots of interesting possibilities, I just hope there's a LOT of discussion around this batch to help spark some specific ideas.

At first glance, I have only a couple that I really like. There are several more that I kind of like the idea of, but have no idea how to approach. I hope there are some lists or suggestions coming in the discussion period to help me decide! I've started to look up a few of them myself, but there are several I don't even know how to search for.

Raquel wrote: "At first glance I have 2-3 upvotes and quite a number that I *might* like the idea of, but I'm not sure how to research/approach them. For instance, deciding what counts as a 'non-traditional' way ..."

I would count a library book sale or give aways as non traditional, given that libraries usually lend, but then again, people could choose to define the prompt however they want.

Raquel, I suggested the prompt because not too long ago, people mentioned not having easy access to books, so I thought it would be a good prompt to discuss even if it doesn’t get voted in. Given how many books we all read, we could probably all use additional ideas for how to feed our habit, especially with low cost tips.

I would love to hear how and where people get give aways, and ARCs (which I only recently learned about). How does Amazon prime work? Is that the “Book of the month��?

One of my colleagues collects rare books on



I’d love to hear about other similar sites.

When I lived in Toronto back in the 90s, one of the universities held a huge week-long used book sale in the fall as an alumni fund raiser. You could get books for a quarter. I bought hundreds of books over several years. I still have several that I haven’t read, especially classics. It was a great way for a student to build a library for a very low cost. Now we can get all the classics for free online, but back then, they would have cost a bundle.

Our kids�� school has a book sale at their spring fair to raise funds. They ask families to bring in books they no longer want, and then they sell them to other families relatively cheap. Most books have been read only once and they are relatively recent popular books for both children and adults.

Sophie wrote: "I would love to hear how and where people get give aways, and ARCs (which I only recently learned about). How does Amazon prime work? Is that the “Book of the month��?..."

I think the most likely way to get hold of ARCs, without having an established platform for your reviews, is to follow publishers and publicists on Twitter and enter their giveaways, or respond to requests for reviewers. Generally to get on a regular reviewer list, you need a blog, YouTube channel or bookstagram. I can only speak from a UK perspective, and I've had my book blog for 8 years now, so there's lots of people who are nice to me because they know me from when I was a very active blogger.

There's also NetGalley which is a website where you can request digital ARCs. I think ŷ������ giveaways are US only now. Some people manage to get books just to review on ŷ������ without having anywhere else, but I don't know that secret!

It's Monday morning so I'm drawing a blank on a lot of these prompts.

I put up-lit on my rejects challenge this year, but so far the only book I've read that was pushed by the media as up-lit, was really very saddening, so I'm more confused about that subgenre now than I was last year.

Just a curious question.
Since ''12. A book about/involving social media or technology'' was in poll 14 how can it be in poll 15 as well?
I thought when it wasn't selected it couldn't be suggested again. Or have I misunderstood the rules.

Anabell wrote: "Just a curious question.
Since ''12. A book about/involving social media or technology'' was in poll 14 how can it be in poll 15 as well?
I thought when it wasn't selected it couldn't be suggested ..."

Only prompts that are "bottom" of the results are barred from being resubmitted. Everything else is allowed another chance.

List of links for the prize suggestion

1.
Popular fiction, crime & thriller, YA, childrens, popular non-fiction, autobiography, food & drink, audio book, new writer, UK author, international author

2.
Literary fiction

3.
Literary fiction

4.
Fiction and non-fiction

5.
Novel, first novel, poetry, biography, childrens

6.
Literary fiction

7.
Sci-fi and fantasy

8.
Literary fiction

9.
Fiction, non-fiction, translated literature, young people’s literature, poetry

10.
Literary fiction

There are certainly a lot of unique suggestions this round, though I must say that some of them seem very hard to research and/or plan for.

The unconventional narrator suggestion has come up in previous years and I'd really like to see some lists of books instead of just the same ones that include the ashtray and the fetus. I like the idea of the prompt but those lists are just uninspiring to me.

Rachel wrote: "Reposting this list so people have some suggestions to work from for the social media/technology prompt, but you are obviously not limited to just these:

- YA
The Takedown (viral ..."


I'm up-voting this for the same book I mentioned last time: Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language

dalex wrote: "There are certainly a lot of unique suggestions this round, though I must say that some of them seem very hard to research and/or plan for.

The unconventional narrator suggestion has come up in p..."

If you count an unreliable narrator as unconventional (I would):
/shelf/show/...



Second person narrator (not very common, one can discuss whether it is unconventional)
/shelf/show/...


Non-human narrator (objects or animals fx)

/list/show/3...


And a bit of everything:
/list/show/4...

I suggested a political themed book since there are lots of interesting possibilities & many of us will have politics in mind in 2020. Some political fiction authors that come to my mind are George Orwell, Ayn Rand, Margaret Atwood, Sinclair Lewis, Uptown Sinclair, Ian Fleming, George RR Martin, Frederick Forsyth, Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games- prequel is supposed to come out in 2020), Jonathan Coe, and Terry Fallis (Canadian/humorous). There are lots of political thrillers! I’m thinking of movies like The Manchurian Candidate (Richard Condon) and The Dead Zone (Stephen King). If you can think of a movie, usually there is a book! I would also include science fiction books like Dune, where politics are key to the story. I can post lists later. It also works obviously for non-fiction - history, memoirs, biographies, environmental & social topics.

I have lots of books that I have acquired in non-traditional ways. I have a bunch of unread Giveaway wins (including ARCs) from GR and FaceBook. Several places I go have community bookshelves - Multi-Generational Center, cancer hospital, & church coffeehouse where I go to concerts. I even picked up a few free books at a resort on our last vacation. This would be an easy prompt for me to fill!

Thanks for the suggestions, ideas, lists, etc. Johanne! Those definitely give me (us) some other ways of interpreting that prompt.

For political themed books, would that include espionage-type thrillers (such as from Vince Flynn or David Baldacci) in which an assassin is sent by his/her government on a mission for political reasons?

The political prompt is growing on me. It's nicely specific but also lots of ways to approach it. Dystopian societies, political thrillers, books exploring current hot topics in politics wherever you are (housing/poverty/immigration/drugs/reproductive rights/etc.), or biographies of politicians past or present if that's your thing.

Nadine, I think state funded espionage is always political isn't it? So I would definitely count those types of books.

Here are some links to some Up-lit (up lifting) books:




ŷ������ listopia for Uplifting Fiction
Best happy, Inspiring or uplifting books

Some more ideas for the political prompt:

fiction or non-fiction about wars, coupes, etc.
historical fiction or biographies about presidents, royalty, etc.
historical fiction about historical "hot topics" like slavery, women's suffrage, indigenous rights, etc.
sci-fi or fantasy with a detailed system of government or royalty


I think there is some overlap between this prompt and several already on the list - four horsemen, news story, We Didn't Start the Fire. However, it's interesting in its own way and I'm strongly considering upvoting it.

I've got 3 up-votes and 3 down-votes that jumped right out at me as I read through the list. I'll follow the discussion and do some researching of my own to figure out what to do with my other two votes.

Sophie wrote: "Raquel wrote: "At first glance I have 2-3 upvotes and quite a number that I *might* like the idea of, but I'm not sure how to research/approach them. For instance, deciding what counts as a 'non-tr..."

Well, since you're specifically looking for ideas, here are all the ways I get books that aren't just the library, a (used) book store, or buying them on Amazon:

NetGalley: As mentioned, free digital ARCs (which you don't get to keep, FYI, it's like a kindle loan) in exchange for review. I've only ever posted reviews on ŷ������ and occasionally Amazon, and get approved for maybe 2/3 or more of the ARCs I request.

Kindle Unlimited/Prime Reading: If you are an Amazon Prime member you can borrow certain kindle books for free through Prime Reading. Kindle Unlimited has a larger pool of kindle books to borrow and is generally too expensive for me, but frequently goes on sale for 99 cents for 3 months, and I get it once or twice a year when that sale happens.

Amazon First Reads: Again, for Prime members, one free about to be released Kindle ARC from a selection of 6 books. Sometimes there's not even one book that looks good, sometimes it's hard to narrow it down to one--just all depends on the month.

(Doesn't quite deserve it's own category, but along similar lines to the previous two, as a prime member I can get $1 digital credit every time I choose a slower shipping speed for an order. I do that whenever I don't need something urgently and save up the credits to buy kindle books from my TBR that aren't available from my library.)

Giveaways: This includes the ŷ������ giveaways, but also readathon giveaways, giveaways from bookstagrammers I follow, online giveaways (this usually involves signing up for a lot of author e-mail newsletters, but I have a specially 'spam' e-mail account I used for that sort of thing), and sometimes if you follow a favorite author on e-mail/facebook/etc they'll have special free codes or giveaways or ARCs for fans.

Library book sales: This includes the semi-annual fund raising sales, but also most libraries in my area have standing book sale rooms/areas for getting rid of discarded books, or the trickle of donated books that comes in through the year.

Book swaps: This isn't always a super cheap options with shipping and everything, but it can be fun to get a surprise book from your book swap partner. (A reading Facebook group I was in organized a couple of these--I'm sure you can find goodread groups and other places that do these too.)

Book swap party: I've never done one of these, but I did a pantry swap party once, which was a TON of fun, and leftover books no one wants would be a lot easier to donate somewhere than the leftover random food no one wanted (only because some of them were slightly out-of-date or otherwise not eligible for donation).

Little Free Libraries: They have a website with a map where you can look up local Little Free Libraries and see if you have one you didn't know about. I'd put any kind of 'take a book/leave a book' in this category if it's not 'officially' an LFL.

Garage Sales, Thrift Stores, Facebook Marketplace: Any place you'd buy anything second had is going to have books come through occasionally. Mostly romances and other super popular mass market paperbooks, but you can find a few treasures too, especially if you check often.

Raquel wrote: "Well, since you're specifically looking for ideas, here are all the ways I get books that aren't just the library, a (used) book store, or buying them on Amazon:"

And here's one more idea: - a subscription service where they send you one book of your choice from five options that month!

On the political theme, there are also a smattering of classics you could read--North and South immediately comes to mind. It deals a lot with labor unions and strikes from both sides of the issue. You could maybe even sneak in The Scarlet Pimpernel as it doesn't deal a lot with the politics directly, but there was definitely a strong connection between politics and the events of the French Revolution in the book.

No idea how I’m voting yet but just now realized you are now a mod Emily. That’s awesome!

Raquel wrote: "Sophie wrote: "Raquel wrote: "Well, since you're specifically looking for ideas, here are all the ways I get books that aren't just the library, a (used) book store, or buying them on Amazon:"

For book swaps, I use . I've been using it for the past two years and have sent out & received over 100 books. Instead of having to swap directly with one person, you receive a credit for sending out a book which you can redeem on any book on the site. It's not great if you are looking to get a particular book right away (unless it was a mega best seller a few years ago, e.g. Gone Girl). Instead I keep a wishlist and receive the books randomly as they become available.

If the non-traditional acquisition gets in, I will probably do a KIS option and use ebooks that I check out online from the library. It has only been a few years that this option has become available in my area. I also interpret an ebook as a non-traditional format anyway. I was an old school librarian from the days before the internet existed so that format will always be non-traditional for me. Of course, it is very rare that I read a physical book these days.

I don’t like categories that require us to acquire the book in a certain way, so I’m not voting for “non traditional source�� but if it wins, we have book swap shelf in our cafeteria at work so I’ll just grab one there.

I would also like to suggest Joel Rosenberg for a political themed book. He has written political thrillers from a lens of Christian prophecy. As a messianic Jew and a "failed political analyst" (his words), he has a unique perspective. He has also written several non-fiction books looking at Middle East politics.

Nadine wrote: "I don’t like categories that require us to acquire the book in a certain way, so I’m not voting for “non traditional source�� but if it wins, we have book swap shelf in our cafeteria at work so I’ll..."

My gym has a whole book swap bookcase, looks like those Ikea bookcases. I thought that was a crazy thing for a gym when I first saw it, but also really cool.

Short stories or essays are rarely my "go to" choice when I think about what to read next. However, I find myself wondering why I don't read more of them each time I read stories or essays. Our classics book club is reading Joan Didion's Slouching Toward Bethlehem which, as a child of the 60s, was fascinating. Collections can include multiple authors or, more often, the work of a single author (think Ta-Nehisi Coates, Ann Patchett, Mark Twain, Hemingway, Stephen King). So many to choose from!

Karissa wrote: "Raquel wrote: "Sophie wrote: "Raquel wrote: "Well, since you're specifically looking for ideas, here are all the ways I get books that aren't just the library, a (used) book store, or buying them o..."

I used to use PaperBackSwap all the time! But then they went to the fee associated site instead of a completely free (aside from the price of postage) site. I haven't used it in years now, sadly.

Ellie wrote: "Anabell wrote: "Just a curious question.
Since ''12. A book about/involving social media or technology'' was in poll 14 how can it be in poll 15 as well?
I thought when it wasn't selected it couldn..."

Ahhhh okay... Thanks for clearing that up :-)

Rachelnyc wrote: "No idea how I’m voting yet but just now realized you are now a mod Emily. That’s awesome!"

Thanks Rachel! :)

Can we get some examples or lists for: A book where the main POV character is not the protagonist of the story
(The antagonist, an anti-hero, a secondary character narrating the story, etc.)

I love the idea but I'm blanking on anything that would qualify. The Great Gatsby is all that's coming to mind. (I may just be tired...)

I'm currently reading The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and the protagonist is January. She finds a diary that she reads, and around half of the book is taken from that diary.. I'd probably allow that book to count, even though it's not the main/only POV.

A lot of books use a framing device with a historian or someone else in present day learning about a past person who becomes the protagonist. Wuthering Heights is the classic, but today Lauren Willig, Beatriz Williams, Kate Morton, and Susanna Kearsley are some of the many popular authors who often write these types of books. I would guess these books would qualify?

Steve wrote: "Can we get some examples or lists for: A book where the main POV character is not the protagonist of the story
(The antagonist, an anti-hero, a secondary character narrating the story, etc.)

I lov..."

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Hawk and the Dove (Middle grade, narrated by a girl retelling stories as her mother told them to her, with the real protagonist being inside the stories she tells, IMO)
The Story Girl (MG/YA, arguably this is more of an ensemble cast, but the narrator character definitely fades into the background compared to the The Story Girl, and even some of the other more colorful characters)

Steve wrote: "Can we get some examples or lists for: A book where the main POV character is not the protagonist of the story
(The antagonist, an anti-hero, a secondary character narrating the story, etc.)

I lov..."

The main POV characters in The Last Mrs. Parrish and You are both villians!

The Sherlock Holmes books are a great suggestion for those and definitely one I wouldn’t have thought of. Some of the Hercule Poirot books would work too, with Hastings as the narrator.

Avery wrote: "Steve wrote: "Can we get some examples or lists for: A book where the main POV character is not the protagonist of the story
(The antagonist, an anti-hero, a secondary character narrating the story..."

The way I'm reading the prompt, I don't think You would count. Even though Joe is a villain, he's still the protagonist.

Less and The Song of Achilles both have narrators that are not the protagonist.

Also found this link:

Here are a few list for ideas on political themes:

Popular Political Fiction



Popular Political Nonfiction - Which happens to include everyone's favorite Becoming by Michelle Obama!

Oh also Where'd You Go, Bernadette would work for the POV one! This prompt is like a scavenger hunt that I can only play if I've already read the books lol

For principal POV not the protaganist, I can think of To Kill a Mockingbird, Wuthering Heights, and I Married a Communist. But I've already read those and I have no idea how to research this for books I have not yet read.

This is a difficult one to narrow down. It maybe shorter to list ones I do not like.
Own Voices are good prompts, but I have many of those books with no need to be pushed to read them. I really do not understand the co-existence theme so I would struggle to find a book for it. All of the other prompts look like fun.

A book where the main POV character is not the protagonist of the story....

Isn't this basically third person point of view?

For some reason this prompt is perplexing me.