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It's now time to get ready to vote for our next set of prompts! This thread will be open for around 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 Friday, August 13 and results will be posted in the morning of Tuesday, August 17.

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 featuring a character with paranormal or supernatural abilities
2. A book related to the Wizard of Oz
3. A book related to the title of a song from an animated Disney/Pixar movie
4. A book that features loving LGBTQIA+ relationship
5. A book with a return or repeat as a major plot element
6. An epistolary novel
7. A book that was nominated for or won the Hugo award
8. A book related to the lyrics of "Bohemian Rhapsody"
9. A book related to Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock
10. A book with the theme of revenge and getting even
11. A book related to mythology
12. A book related to the 22nd chemical element Titanium.
13. A book related to 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
14. A book with one of the Monopoly tokens on the cover
15. A book related to Year of the Tiger

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

VOTE HERE:

IDEAS FROM THE SUGGESTIONS THREAD

1. A book featuring a character with paranormal or supernatural abilities
Examples: angels, zombies, wizards, vampires, werewolves, necromancers

2. A book related to the Wizard of Oz
Can be related to the book or to the movie

There are many different ways to go with this prompt:
- a reread or further book in the series (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Oz: Ozma of Oz etc)
- read a retelling (Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West Dorothy Must Die),
- a book with a character trait similar to the book (wicked, heartless, scatter brained, a coward, etc).
- A book with a runaway character, or featuring a witch or wizard
- a book made into a play, movie or tv series
- a book about Judy Garland, or any of the other actors in the film
- a book with a yellow cover (yellow brick road)

4. A book that features loving LGBTQIA+ relationship
There are TONS of books that would fit this prompt, most not falling under the dreaded "romance" genre. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I would love to read a book that shows our relationships in a positive light.

Some recent books I've loved were Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and Carry On.

5. A book with a return or repeat as a major plot element
Such as reunions, homecomings, second chances, time travel to fix things

6. An epistolary novel
These are novels constructed out of fictional letters, diaries, newsclippings, etc.
/list/show/3...

8. A book related to the lyrics of "Bohemian Rhapsody"


Some ideas: fantasy, about poverty, murder mystery where victim is shot, silhouette of a man on the cover, about the devil, a scary book (shivers down your spine), historical fiction around Galileo's time, thunderbolts/lightning on cover, etc. Some people also interpret this as Freddie Mercury's coming out song, so could be a LGBT+ read.

10. A book with the theme of revenge and getting even
/list/show/1...
/list/show/7...

11. A book related to mythology
Here's a good reads list of books that would work: /genres/myth...

You could use any type of mythology, it wouldn't have to be limited to any specific region or religion.

Also you could use classics like The Illiad and the Odyssey. Or something new like a retelling or just a modern story with mythological elements. I feel like there would be a lot of non-fiction options as well!

12. A book related to the 22nd chemical element Titanium
It could be (but not limited to):
� Set in Cornwall (where it was discovered)
� Related to Greek mythology (named after the Titans)
� By or about a clergyman (discovered by a clergyman)
� Published in the 18th century (discovered in 1791)
� Author or title initials TI
� Have the letters SIA in the title or authors name
� About chemistry
� Related to one of it's uses (paint, golf clubs, planes, ships, wheelchairs etc.)

14. A book with one of the Monopoly tokens on the cover
All the different options are here but the current ones are Scottish Terrier, battleship, race car, Top Hat. Penguin, T-Rex, Cat and Rubber Ducky but there's lots of others with either retired pieces or the special editions

I would just like to point out that reading a Hugo award winner is already on the final list as it is one of the awards on Powell’s list of book awards.

Well done Team Fun Coup! I regretted not voting for titanium previously after I realised it was the perfect place for a robot book (I checked, Boston Robotics do indeed use titanium). The loving LGBTQIA+ relationship is an instant upvote.

I like the Monopoly piece one, we have the Fallout edition, but I didn't realise so many of the regular pieces had changed.

I doubt I'll downvote any of these, not sure which others I'll upvote though. While I would normally jump on the Hugo's award, it's included in the Powell's awards, so probably not that one. I'm sure I could find an epistolary novel to read but none are jumping out at me.

This prompt allows for nominees as well as winners, so we will allow it to move forward as it is a narrowing of the Powell's prompt while also allowing for nominees.

I really want to vote for the Bohemian Rhapsody prompt, but reading through the lyrics, nothing is jumping out at me. Can anyone give some specific book suggestions (besides Scaramouche, which doesn't interest me and isn't available at my library even if it did)?

I don't plan to downvote any of these so just need to figure out how to allocate my 8 ups.

I can't believe how behind I am on Monopoly pieces. My board is about 20 years old and I didn't realise they changed the pieces. I understand irons not being popular anymore but T-rex and penguin seem like weird choices.

Sorry to say it but I'm really not a big fan of this list.

The only one I really like is epistolary. I'm also considering titanium, LGBTQIA and theme of revenge but I will have a lot of downvotes so will probably only choose 2-3 to upvote.

I'm also surprised by T-rex and penguin! I'll definitely need to look into this more.

All upvotes this week to help finalize the coup! Upvotes = (1) Wizard of Oz (2) Disney/Pixar (3) LGBTQIA+ (4) Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock (5) mythology (6) Titanium (7) Beijing and (8) Year of the Tiger

I really hope Hugo doesn't get in, because while I understand it's a narrowing of Powell's list, to me it's the same.

For Bohemian Rhapsody, you can do any fantasy book (Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?), you can do a book on royalty such as Queenie(the band is Queen), a book about the arts (in reference to Bohemian), plus any murder mystery. I view this prompt as having a lot of broad categories v. specific books that fit.

Nancy wrote: "I really want to vote for the Bohemian Rhapsody prompt, but reading through the lyrics, nothing is jumping out at me. Can anyone give some specific book suggestions (besides Scaramouche, which does..."

There's lots you could do with this. If I think of the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody, the first thing that comes to mind is "Mama, just killed a man..." So I am thinking any murder mystery would technically fit. I also think, "He's just a poor boy from a poor family..." Lots of books out there about poor boys from poor families.

I don't think I am going to have any down-votes this time. I think I can easily use my 8 votes for up-votes. Lots of fun prompts this time around! :)

No downvotes for me this time around and that NEVER happens! Great job everyone!

Emily wrote: "This prompt allows for nominees as well as winners, so we will allow it to move forward as it is a narrowing of the Powell's prompt while also allowing for nominees."

Rachel wrote: "I would just like to point out that reading a Hugo award winner is already on the final list as it is one of the awards on Powell’s list of book awards."

I also thought it was different, as the Powell's list has all kinds of genres.

Epistolary novels these days can include emails, texts, tweets, etc. There are a number of humor and romance books in those formats.

Alicia wrote: "I'm also surprised by T-rex and penguin! I'll definitely need to look into this more.

All upvotes this week to help finalize the coup! Upvotes = (1) Wizard of Oz (2) Disney/Pixar (3) LGBTQIA+ (4)..."

T rex and penguin threw me for a minute too! How did I not know they had changed pieces, and WORSE how do I not know what they replaced? lol

Funnily enough I just read Queenie, but I didn't even consider the Queen connection because the prompt is about the lyrics and I can be a bit of a purist. If it was "related to the song" then yes I would do that, but I want to stick to the lyrics.

I'm sure I could find a murder mystery to read though, I read a lot of those.

Kat wrote: "I can't believe how behind I am on Monopoly pieces. My board is about 20 years old and I didn't realise they changed the pieces. I understand irons not being popular anymore but T-rex and penguin s..."



yes that jumped out at me too! the horse, the wheelbarrow, and the shoe were always my favorites (in that order, depending on if the person I was playing chose one first). I better take good care of my old Monopoly game!!!

I'd love to see some examples of books for the suggestion: a return or repeat as a major plot element. I'm intrigued, but I'm also not quite sure what that means, nor what I could read for it.

The first book I thought of is In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren, a Groundhog Day-esque story of a woman who repeats events until she figures out why and how to fix it.

There's also Life After Life or Recursion, both of which contain themes of repeating.

Congrats this is a fun list!!!!!

The only one that stuck out (in a bad way) was the Hugo nominee. And it's not that I object, it's just that that's the one I was going to use from Powell's list, so it is way too redundant. But Given I'm going to have trouble decided which 8 to vote for, I don't think I'll waste a downvote on it.

I found a couple of lists about returning home after a long absence.

@Nancy it is thought to be the main singer's coming out song. So an LGBTQ+ book could also work for this.

I was at work and on my phone for the suggestion round so I'm just now getting the extra idea stuff copied over for 9. A book related to Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock


Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock was first mentioned in the Season 2 episode of Big Bang Theory, The Lizard-Spock Expansion, the title of which references the game.

As Sheldon explains, "Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock crushes lizard, lizard poisons Spock, Spock smashes scissors, scissors decapitates lizard, lizard eats paper, paper disproves Spock, Spock vaporizes rock, and as it always has, rock crushes scissors."


(copied from poll 6)

Rock:
A rock on the cover or in the title (also, the moon and many mountains are rock!)
A diamond on the cover or in the title
A book connected to music (rock n roll, punk rock)
A character named Rock

Paper:
A book about books
A book about an author or a journalist
A book written by a newspaper or magazine journalist
A book with PAPER in the title
A book with paper on the cover
A book with a character who creates art with paper (or works with paper
A nonfiction about Paper making or paper crafting

Scissors:
A book with scissors in the title or on the cover
A book with a character that commonly uses scissors in their job or hobby (nurse, manicurists, gardeners, tailor/seamstress, hairdresser, etc)
A book that involves swords ("cutting")
A book with something cut on the cover
A book about "cutting ties" or with a "cutting edge" concept
Or Emily's suggestion: "My brain went to scissors = cut = stab = murder, so you could go with a thriller type book for scissors" 😮

Another idea: transform rock / paper / scissors to: earth science / biology (trees=paper!) / physics & chemistry (metallurgy is sort of about chemistry)
(copied from poll 4)

I have 8 possible up votes and 5 possible down votes. I really don't like my down votes so I'm going to have to narrow down my top picks a lot.

I really like the Monopoly option, and we only have one cover prompt so far. In my time, the popular tokens were the car and the Scotty dog.

Definite upvotes:

3. Disney Song - I'll probably use Circle of Life, for a book about ecosystems, wildlife, mortality, leadership succession. or a story of a long life. I recommend Once There Were Wolves for the first 4, and When All Is Said for a story of a life.

4.LBGTQIA+ love story. I'm reading Evelyn Hugo for a local bookclub soon, and I'm sure I'll find more next week.

8. Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) This song energizes me. The lyrics point me to a fantasy, murder mystery, Scaramouche, a book about Bohemians (la boheme), a gay man, something big and operatic.

Probable upvote
9. Rock... Spock, with a big bang interpretation. I could use this spot for a book about an earthquake, book about books, a cutting edge new NF book, science fiction or neuropsychology (Amy's field)

My least favorites:
6. An epistolary novel
10. A book with the theme of revenge and getting even
15 with one of the Monopoly tokens on the cover - probable downvote due to vision issues.

I like all the rest but I'm not sure which ones will get the 3 extra votes.
5. Repeat - This type of book might also fit into the Alternate reality/world/history prompt, but I want to use that for an alt history book.
11. A book related to mythology - does Madeline Miller have a new book coming out next year?

I think I might be reading more sci-fi next year, so the next two could be useful, but I'm not sure.
7. A book that was nominated for or won the Hugo award -
12. A book related to the 22nd chemical element Titanium. - Robot or Strength theme

both might involve Chinese books
13. A book related to 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
15. A book related to Year of the Tiger

Definitely will upvote mythology, Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock, and the Wizard of Oz

Probably will upvote Bohemian Rhapsody as well because it has so many possibilities:

Is this the real life? = Biography

Is this just fantasy? = Fantasy novel

Caught in a landslide = Geology / books about earthquakes or avalanches / books about elections

No escape from reality = Book about someone who is stuck in a situation they can’t escape

Look up to the skies and see = Astronomy, science fiction

Just killed a man = Murder mystery

Any way the wind blows / Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening = A book with a nasty storm as a plot element / A book about climate science

Figaro = A book connected to opera/classical music

He’s just a poor boy from a poor family = A novel featuring a character living in poverty aka pretty much anything by Charles Dickens

Bismillah! = A book about Islam, a book featuring a Muslim character

Nina, I really like your ideas on Bohemian Rhapsody.

I have 5 upvotes for sure and 1 or 2 possible downvotes. I am still thinking about what my final vote will look like.

This is a very mixed list for me. Two of them were downvotes the first time they were suggested, and I was hoping not to see them again.

There are a couple of others that don't excite me, but I don't mind them enough to throw away a vote on them.

That being said, I do like a fair few of them. I need to do a little research before I decide what to do.

I do have a downvote or two this round, but the hardest part will be narrowing down my upvotes! The ones I'm most excited about are:

Disney song prompt (again)!: I'll probably aim for using a song I know (can sing along to), maybe even just using one of the Beauty and the Beast Retellings on my TBR, but a more creative connection might be more fun.

Monopoly pieces: This is just a fun prompt idea! I might restrict myself to just the original pieces since cannon, thimble, top hat, iron, battleship, and boot are a great range of options, at least for me, and restrict it just enough to make the hunt fun.

Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock: Yep, still a Trekkie...

Lots of other good ones here though! Is it too much to hope for four winners two rounds in a row? :-)

I really like the variety with this week's prompts! I voted for the Bohemian Rhapsody, Spock, and Olympics prompts when they were on for the other weeks, so I'm excited to see them back up. I will probably also upvote the prompts for a character with supernatural abilities and the epistolary novel since there aren't many character or genre prompts yet and those both interest me.

The only one I'm considering downvoting is the mythology prompt since I already have a lot of mythology in my 2021 list and already in my 2022 plans. If it does go through I'll probably come up with a few "bring it on" challenges to spice it up.

Emily, just a heads up that you included the old dates in your first post: Emily wrote: "Voting will open in the morning of Saturday, August 7 and results will be posted in the morning of Wednesday, August 11."

Nancy wrote: "I really want to vote for the Bohemian Rhapsody prompt, but reading through the lyrics, nothing is jumping out at me. Can anyone give some specific book suggestions (besides Scaramouche, which does..."

RRafael Sabatini who wrote Scaramouche also wrote Captain Blood and The Sea-Hawk so you can fairly easily stretch to any sort of pirate/nautical adventure book I think.

More obscurely I listen to a podcast called Authors and Dragons, which is a bunch of authors playing Dungeons and Dragons. One of the characters in that is named Fandango, so I will likely choose a book by one of those authors.

Whoops I’ll get that corrected when I get back to my computer.

Kat wrote: "I can't believe how behind I am on Monopoly pieces. My board is about 20 years old and I didn't realise they changed the pieces. I understand irons not being popular anymore but T-rex and penguin s..."

I loved the iron. It was like ironing the board as I went. If this prompt wins. I will only read something connected to an iron out of protest!

Nadine wrote: "I'd love to see some examples of books for the suggestion: a return or repeat as a major plot element. I'm intrigued, but I'm also not quite sure what that means, nor what I could read for it."

Apparently reunion is a theme in romance novels: /list/show/1...

high school reunions: /list/show/2...

Second chance at the timeline: /list/show/1...

Or even titles like The Return of the Native, I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away, The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion, The Return of the King, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming

You know, I had mostly figured out which 8 I was going to vote for, and now you have me loving the monopoly prompt so much..... Are you sure we can't have more than 8 votes??????????? Please🥺🥺🥺

This is second week in a row that I will have only upvotes and zero downvotes. I love all these prompts and will have a hard time narrowing it down to just 8.

This is a truly magnificent set of prompts! My certain upvotes are:

A book featuring a character with paranormal or supernatural abilities (I have a bunch of matching books already on my TBR)
A book related to the title of a song from an animated Disney/Pixar movie (I voted for this the first time around, hope it'll get in this time)
A book that features loving LGBTQIA+ relationship (happy to have the "loving" relationship specified)
An epistolary novel (I love them!)
A book related to mythology (I have Lore sitting unread on the TBR and still have to tackle the Trials of Apollo series, and I've been ogling Song of Achilles, too)

I'm conflicted about the Hugo prompt for reasons stated by others before, because the book I've already chosen to use for the Powell's prompt is a Hugo winner, too, and it's the only Hugo winner on my TBR (which just made me realize that apparently no individual book of the Expanse series has ever won a Hugo ... what?! Apparently the whole series won it in 2020 for Best SF series, but can I use that for an individual book ...?).

I think I would find ways to make most of the others work as well, particularly the Wizard of Oz, Bohemian Rhapsody, and repeat and revenge ones. Titanium and Rock paper Scissors Lizard Spock would be a fun scavenger hunt. Year of the Tiger, too.

That leaves the Beijing and Monopoly prompts, and I'm probably not going to vote either way on the Beijing one, but the Monopoly prompt will be a downvote. I absolutely hate Monopoly (sorry, guys, I know it's hugely popular especially in the U.S.), and I remember how much I struggled with the "Clue" weapon cover prompt a few years back. Monopoly would probably be easier, though, so I won't be lost if it makes it, but I certainly will not vote for it^^

I’m relieved that it doesn’t have to be Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard AND Spock as I had been thinking!

That’s an upvote for me and I have a book about a local hero to read for rock: Jim Marshall - The Father of Loud: The Story of the Man Behind the World's Most Famous Guitar Amplifiers

Missed the discussion and suggestions thread this time, but I am so ecstatic about these prompts! I really love 10 of the 15 so I'm torn between upvoting 8 or upvoting my top 3 and downvoting the 5.

I really like the creativity of the Monopoly token prompt, and it reminds me of the prompt I'm using for this year's prompt-that-didn't-make-it (book with clue weapon on the cover). Bohemian Rhapsody is one of my favorite songs so I will never not vote for it! Especially since the lyrics provide so many options.

If I downvote, it would probably be the Hugo prompt (don't like list prompts based on awards and it has some overlap with the Powell's prompt) and the revenge prompt. I actively avoid revenge stories because I don't really think revenge is the right way to respond to something done to you (the whole eye-for-an-eye thing). I would have to stretch that one, like someone living well and being successful as their form of revenge, rather than seeking to punish someone.

I was talking to my 15-year-old daughter about these prompts last night, and she reminded me that I still need to read the 3rd book in Rainbow Rowell's Simon Snow series. It is Any Way the Wind Blows. I know what I am going to read if the Bohemian Rhapsody prompt gets through! The first book in this series, Carry On, would also work perfectly for this prompt. (These books would also work well for the LGBTQIA+ relationship prompt.)

I found a list of all the soundtracks!

And here is a list of soundtracks (click on each to see the full list of songs.

Emily - would it be possible to add the links to the list up above?

The coup was very successful, congrats!

I have 10 upvotes and only 2 no's, but not enough to use a vote to downvote them. I'm good with the others if they get in.

Can't wait to see the results of this poll!

Conny wrote: "I'm conflicted about the Hugo prompt for reasons stated by others before, because the book I've already chosen to use for the Powell's prompt is a Hugo winner, too, and it's the only Hugo winner on my TBR (which just made me realize that apparently no individual book of the Expanse series has ever won a Hugo ... what?! Apparently the whole series won it in 2020 for Best SF series, but can I use that for an individual book ...?)."

Leviathan Wakes was nominated for a Hugo, so it works for this prompt but not the Powells one.

Marie wrote: "Conny wrote: "I'm conflicted about the Hugo prompt for reasons stated by others before, because the book I've already chosen to use for the Powell's prompt is a Hugo winner, too, and it's the only ..."

I don't think I am going to vote FOR Hugo but I like it enough to not down vote it. Most years I prefer the nominees over the winner, usually several of them!

For anyone who might have already clicked on my link to Disney songs, I replaced that with a much better soundtrack list from Wikipedia. I also found and added a Pixar list. :)

I recently came across a website for an LGBTQ bookshop. They have a great website and I discovered loads of new books I want to read. They have a page for Romance and Young Love which might be of use.

Beth wrote: "Sorry to say it but I'm really not a big fan of this list.

The only one I really like is epistolary. I'm also considering titanium, LGBTQIA and theme of revenge but I will have a lot of downvotes..."

I am with you Beth.

I was looking for some books that would satisfy the prompt about a return or repeat. I found this list that has some good books on it: