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Happy Results Day, and boy, do we have some results!

Top
A book that you consider comfort reading
A book with a female villain or criminal
A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list
A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry

Bottom
A book recommended via the Readers Also Enjoyed feature on the ŷ������ page from a book you gave 5-stars in the past 3 years

Close Call
A book from the first 20 books on your GR to-read shelf when sorted by “date added�� in ascending order
A book about a books

Polarizing
A book from the Tournament of Books
A book related to the 21st chemical element Scandium

The next suggestions poll will open tomorrow around 7 AM GMT.

Listopias:
A book that you consider comfort reading
A book with a female villain or criminal
A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list
A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry

Note: You can find a list of suggestions that haven't made the final list here.

Well... Not happy about the collection one to be honest... That one will probably be the one that will take me the longest to fullfill unless I cram it out in the beginning of the year...
The other ones are fine, lokking forward the the villian one!

4 winners! I voted for 3 of the 4. I didn't vote for comfort read either way, but I have a great book for it so that'll be fine.

I'm sad Scandium didn't make it. I'll have some thinking to do now about how I'll use A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list

Thank you to all who voted for my suggestion. i will in fairness not suggest one in the next poll but I may second another suggestion. If that is allowed?

Thomas, you are allowed to second or suggest in the next poll if you'd like!

Just as a mod note (since announcements are working): The prompts for the Close Calls poll will be posted later today, so keep an eye out on that before suggestions open for Poll 17!

WOW I am simultaneously really thrilled and extremely disappointed in the results!!

Pleased we got four prompts filled, not keen on short stories but easily done. I mostly read crime so that will be easy, and there have been some good suggestions made that didn't make the list. I didn't vote for any of these, as they were too easy for me, but others on the list will be a stretch so it all helps the overall list.

I am so surprised the collection got in, I voted for it but I wasn't expecting it to be very popular. I don't read collections very often but there are a bunch I'd like to read and never get round to. For those not so keen, I suggest reading just a story, essay or poem at a time between your main reads.

I voted for female villain and I am happy we got four results in total. Comfort reading will probably be my Becky Chambers spot, depending on where it falls in the list.

I read Eight Detectives last month and I think you could argue for something like that for story collection because it is seven short stories with a framing narrative around them. I didn't care much for the framing story personally, bit it's an idea.

Excited we had 4 winners and DELIGHTED that the collections prompt was one of them. I urge readers to give essay collections a chance. Several years ago, I would not have been advocate, but since having read some great collections of essays, I am a huge fan.

In glancing at the Listopias, I noticed that the covers for female villain tend to be very dark, lots of black and deep navy blue there, and the covers for the comfort reads tend to be pastels. I guess that makes sense but it still surprised me.

I always love a good collection and although I didn’t vote for it, I like the female villain or criminal taking center stage. Was hoping for Scandium 21, since it was both unique and challenging, but will try to work it in for the close call prompt.

I thought the tournament of books was a good prompt and I voted for it. I'm happy with the results though. I've already researched some books for the prompts. I also like the prompt to read one of the first 20 books on your tbr. I was trying to do that this year and knocked a fair amount off but I got sidetracked with other shiny books.

I can’t remember how I voted on comfort read, but upvoted the other 3!!

For the “prompt that didn’t make it in��, I think a way to make it tougher is to pick a prompt now (or after voting) and stick to it. Then the prompt can be as hard or easy as you want. This year, I wasn’t part of voting so it was definitely a freebie where I picked a book and found a prompt that matched. But I’m glad that next year I’m more invested to pick one ahead of time.

Reminder that for the moment, ŷ������ has a glitch where no one is receiving email notifications. So if you want to vote on the next poll, and it isn't yet fixed, remember to check the appropriate threads. (This has been an issue for a day or so already.)

Nadine wrote: "In glancing at the Listopias, I noticed that the covers for female villain tend to be very dark, lots of black and deep navy blue there, and the covers for the comfort reads tend to be pastels. I g..."

Absolutely! In my local Half Price Books store (when I used to go there), I noticed the paperbacks are shelved by genre. You can just glance and know which row is suspense/thriller and which is romance by the colors of the spines.

My rule next year is no rereads unless the prompt requires it. I feel that maybe the case with comfort reading

So, for the female villain/criminal prompt, is the idea that the female character should be the antagonist? There are a number of fantasy books, for example, that I can think of where the main character is a female thief/assassin. What do people think - does that fit the spirit of the prompt?

Hannah wrote: "So, for the female villain/criminal prompt, is the idea that the female character should be the antagonist? There are a number of fantasy books, for example, that I can think of where the main char..."

I'm counting books where the protagonist is a criminal but not the villain. The fact that it says villain or criminal suggests they don't need to be the bad guy.

Hannah wrote: "So, for the female villain/criminal prompt, is the idea that the female character should be the antagonist? There are a number of fantasy books, for example, that I can think of where the main char..."


Yes, a thief or an assassin is a criminal, so even if she's not a villain, it still fits. This prompt also doesn't require it to be the main character, so any book with a female villain or criminal will work, such as any book in the Lunar Chronicles series , where the villain is Queen Levana (not a spoiler!)

Thomas wrote: "My rule next year is no rereads unless the prompt requires it. I feel that maybe the case with comfort reading"

For the comfort read, I'm interpreting it more as like a go-to author or light hearted book that I know I'll enjoy, so for me this won't be a re-read. I'm going to read a collection of Peanuts comic strips Peanuts Dell Archive

Yes, for comfort reading, I can go with pretty much any Regency romance, but Georgette Heyer is always good. I was surprised to find that a friend of mine who is a retired political science professor and lifelong activist enjoys Georgette Heyer as her escape. Also humorous mystery series like Her Royal Spyness or Chet and Bernie. There have been some lists lately of "up lit" - books that make you feel good or have a positive message.

I love and voted for all of these. Woot!

I have a pretty firm plan for short stories/essays/poetry.

I'll probably use comfort reading to do a reread of a beloved series.

My plan for the "didn't make it" prompt will be to choose one prompt from the list of rejects and make that the new prompt for this category.

I have some ideas for female villain but am excited to see the listopia.

I am excited that the short stories/essays/poetry is part of the challenge. Right now I am planning to read Barbara Kingsolvers’s new poetry collection, How to Fly: In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons but I love essay collections so I may change my mind.

Not really excited by three of those if i'm honest.
Disappointed the Scandium prompt didn't get through. I now have two topics I really like to fight for the 'prompt that didn't make it' category.

Only voted for the collections prompt; downvoted both the comfort read (not my preferred type of reading) and prompt that didn't make it (too much of a free prompt for me). I upvoted the 2 polarizings and 1 of the close calls. Off to the close calls poll to vote for it!

I think the beauty of the comfort reads prompt is that you get to define what "comfort read" means to you. Maybe you enjoy winding down with a philosophical tome or classic? Maybe your favorite distraction from a hard day is a horror book? I'll be using this prompt for an up lit book, probably, but may reread a favorite instead.

As I have not actually read the book (just found it on a list), can someone confirm whether or not (view spoiler)[Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (hide spoiler)] counts as a female villain/criminal and whether or not this fact is considered a spoiler. I don't mind knowing.

Also, is the fact that (view spoiler)[Carrie's mother in Carrie by Stephen King is clearly a villainous figure (hide spoiler)] considered a spoiler? I'm not sure what I can and can't add to the listopia.

Angie, I would say that the book in your first spoiler tag would be a spoiler and I wouldn't add it to the list. Can't speak to the second one though!

Can you remove the tags on the books, though? When you tag a book, it pops up on the side of the page as a book tagged in the discussion, so the spoiler tags aren't enough to keep people from seeing it.

Glad to see we have lots of winners again! I voted for 2/4 this time. I didn't vote for the short story/essay as they aren't usually my thing but I have a couple of essay collections on my TBR so definitely do-able. The suggestion that didn't make it always feels like a freebie so I didn't vote for it but since I'm just working through my TBR, I'll probably slot in a book I'm excited for that doesn't fit any other prompts next year.

For comfort read I'm thinking a reread of Norwegian Wood or maybe Rebecca.

A little disappointed scandium and/or tournament of books didn't make it.

Emily wrote: "Angie, I would say that the book in your first spoiler tag would be a spoiler and I wouldn't add it to the list. Can't speak to the second one though!

Can you remove the tags on the books, though?..."

Done. So the first book definitely counts as a female villain? I've been wanting to read it for a while, and if it counts, it'll likely be my frontrunner.

Angie wrote: "Emily wrote: "Angie, I would say that the book in your first spoiler tag would be a spoiler and I wouldn't add it to the list. Can't speak to the second one though!

Can you remove the tags on the ..."

I would having read it that one fo the supporting characters counts as a female villain so yes.

A book that you consider comfort reading

Definitely planning on an uplit for this one! It’s not my favorite but I do enjoy reading 1 or 2 each year. I especially enjoy uplit by British authors...they do it so well!

A book with a female villain or criminal
I’m hoping to find something on the listopia since this is an aspect of the story that can be really hard to tell from the synopsis. Most of the books I added to the listopia are about people who are accused of crimes and/or are in prison (though whether they are truly a guilty criminal or not is subjective).

A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list
I was planning to do a few rejects anyway so this is super easy.

A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry
I always read at least one story collection each year so this is another easy one. I might force myself to read a book of essays, though. A friend gave me a copy of Between the World and Me so I kind of feel obligated to read it.

I'm not sure Between the World and Me is a book of essays, I thought it was one extended essay (but maybe that would be a KIS option). I usually don't read collections, short stories, or anything short. But I think I voted for this because we didn't seem to have any genre prompts (as opposed to 2020 where we have fantasy, mystery and history/historical fiction.) I do have some collections of mysteries and sci-fi, for instance a collection of stories about Sherlock Holmes by various modern writers. For those who read mystery, sci-fi or fantasy series, there are sometimes "between the numbers" books that have several stories in them.

I voted for 2 of the top 4, but I am ok with the others. I figured a book that didn't make it would, well, make it, so chose to put my vote elsewhere.

I'm disappointed Scandium didn't make it, I have no idea what I'd read for it but I loved it anyway.

For those that loved Scandium, that can always be the prompt you use for the one that didn't make it!

I interpret comfort read AS my preferred reading i.e. the opposite of books that push me, and as such subjective.
For me that's probably going to be a book in a series by an author I know I'll enjoy: Like a Discworld novel or a book in Gail Carriger's Parasolverse.

Disappointed but not surprised Tournament of Books didn’t make it. My taste in prompts doesn’t align well with the group’s and over several years I’ve never managed to get a prompt voted in. Much like all the prompts in this poll as a whole I’m fine with the winners . Nothing really excites me but I’m pretty sure I won’t need to go out of my way to fill them either. More and more I think my approach to next year won’t be to plan but just read and slot in as I go.

Allie Brosh's new book Solutions and Other Problems now officially fits in my plans for next year! Penciled in for either short stories/essays/poetry or comfort read. I might use it for comfort read since I have a bunch of story and essay collections on my TBR. So excited!

Stefanie wrote: "Well... Not happy about the collection one to be honest... That one will probably be the one that will take me the longest to fullfill unless I cram it out in the beginning of the year...
The other..."

The last time we had that prompt I subbed with a wild card and I will again. Not something I'm interested in at all. I do read poetry, I just don't track it and am not interested in tracking it.

I figure female villain is almost a gimme so that's find and am happy with the comfort read- I always feel like I waste a spot finding a place for the latest Royal Spyness book, but next year I can put it here!

I'm honestly shocked so many people don't read short stories! Nothing wrong with that, of course, I just find it surprising. Maybe it's harder if you don't read genre fiction? Most of the ones that come to mind for me are genre writers: Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Kelly Link, Brian Evenson, Ted Chiang, etc...

Excellent results for me. I'm particularly happy a prompt that didn't make the final list got through. I love browsing through the rejects!

Serendipity wrote: "Disappointed but not surprised Tournament of Books didn’t make it. My taste in prompts doesn’t align well with the group’s and over several years I’ve never managed to get a prompt voted in. Much l..."

I hope you're not discouraged from making suggestions! I really think in this case it's logistics, at least it is for me. I don't have anything against that particular group of books (or any other awards or designations.) I just dislike prompts related to any lists or anything I have to look up. I want to be able to quickly know what I have that fits the prompts, or realize while I'm reading a book that it fits one of the prompts. This is also why I didn't like "book published in a year that is a prime number" or prompts about books published in a certain year or month. Obviously, I did all those prompts and will again but I don't upvote them.

I'm committed to just reading books from my TBR list this year, but I'm surprised at how hard it is to tell whether or not a book contains a female villain. Nothing on the listopia list intersects with my own TBR.

I'm very happy the female villain prompt got in. I read a lot of thrillers, so that should fit several books that are already on my radar. I'm not thrilled about the "suggestion that didn't make it" since it's such a freebie. I'm already planning on a rejects challenge involving the prompts I voted for that didn't get in. I might pick a prompt that I didn't vote for, but it's still pretty open.

Comfort read screams re-read to me, but that might be Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened since I want to read her next book too. Actually, would those books count as short stories/essays? It seems a bit weird to me since they are also comics, but it would be a great way to fit them in, especially since I'm not thrilled about the short stories/essays/poetry prompt otherwise.

I can't decide if I want to re-read a favorite or use the next in a series for the comfort read.

I love short stories and don't read enough collections of them so I definitely voted for that prompt.

Another option is an Amazon Original Stories collection, there are so many of those I want to read.

I like short stories, and you can find them in all genres I believe.

I like short stories and essays. I was happy that prompt was added to the list. I'll probably read an essay collection. If I read short stories I may read a collection of classic short stories.

I generally don't pick short stories or novellas, or essays or poetry. I like something with more "meat" to it. I tend to think of short stories as the ambiguous "literary" ones in The New Yorker magazine. But some series I read (mystery, sci-fi, etc.) have "between the numbers" books that are collections of stories. There are romance collections with stories from 3 or more famous authors. And if you like Sherlock Holmes, there are multiple collections of Sherlock stories by modern authors.

I also tend to think of essays as some kind of abstract rumination on nature or philosophy. But then I realized I actually do read essays on some subjects, for instance I have Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Trump's America that is a grouping of numerous writings from different women.