Laura’s Comments (group member since Oct 05, 2015)

Laura’s comments from the Around the Year in 52 Books group.

July (Reserved)

June (Reserved)

May (Reserved)

April (Reserved)

March (Reserved)

February Goals
Coming Soon!

Book Spin Bingo List


Book Spin Bingo Card

January Goals
- 4 books from the first quarter of ATY 2020
- 2 books from previous ATY challenges
- 1 professional development book

Book Spin Bingo List:


Book Spin Bingo Board:

Past Challenges

Around the Year 2017
5. A historical fiction
18. A really long book (600+ pages)
20. A book that you've owned for a while but haven't gotten around to reading
23. A book from the BBC "The Big Read" list
25. A book about a famous historical figure
27. A book by one of your favorite authors
28. A non-fiction
33. A magical realism novel
36. A Hugo Award winner or nominee
37. A book you choose randomly
38. A novel inspired by a work of classic literature
44. A recommendation from "What Should I Read Next"
46. A time travel novel
47. A past suggestion that didn't win (2015-2016)
48. A banned book
50. A Penguin Modern Classic

Around the Year 2018
9. A book with a body part in the title (heart, bones, teeth, skin, blood, etc)
12. A book set in Africa or South America
29. A book with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or title (lead pipe, revolver, rope, candlestick, dagger, wrench)
38. A science book or a science fiction book
40. A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list
42. A book that takes place on, in, or underwater
46. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #4 Air

Around the Year 2019
1. A book that was nominated for or won an award in a genre you enjoy
2. A book with one of the 5 W's in the title (Who, What, Where, When, Why)
5. A book by Shakespeare or inspired by Shakespeare
7. 2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme: Book #1
10. A book featuring an historical figure
11. A book related to one of the 12 Zodiac Chinese Animals (title, cover, subject)
13. A book that is included on a New York Public Library Staff Picks list

✔14. A book with a title, subtitle or cover relating to an astronomical term
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James ★★★★☆

17. A speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy, scifi, horror, dystopia)
18. A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elements
19. A book by an author who has more than one book on your TBR
22. A book with a number in the title or on the cover
25. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #3 Something Borrowed
26. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #4 Something Blue
27. A book off of the 1001 books to read before you die list
29. A book published before 1950
30. A book featuring an elderly character
31. A children’s classic you’ve never read
32. A book with more than 500 pages
33. A book you have owned for at least a year, but have not read yet
37. A book set in a school or university
41. A book from the 2018 GR Choice Awards
43. A book related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) [fiction or nonfiction]
44. A book related in some way to a tv show/series or movie you enjoyed (same topic, same era, book appeared in the show/movie, etc.)
48. A book that was a finalist or winner for the National Book Award for any year
50. A book that includes a journey (physical, health, or spiritual)
51. A book published in 2019
52. A book with a weird or intriguing title

Around the Year 2020
3. A book that you are prompted to read because of something you read in 2019
6. A book with a mode of transportation on the cover
7. A book set in the southern hemisphere
10. A book that is between 400-600 pages
17. A book with a neurodiverse character
19. A fantasy book
20. The 20th book [on your TBR, in a series, by an author, on a list, etc.]
21. A book related to Maximilian Hell, the noted astronomer and Jesuit Priest who was born in 1719
24. A book with an emotion in the title
25. A book related to the arts
27. A history or historical fiction
29. An underrated book, a hidden gem or a lesser known book
30. A book from the New York Times '100 Notable Books' list for any year
32. A book related to the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan
34. A book from a genre or sub genre that starts with a letter in your name
35. A book with a geometric pattern or element on the cover
36. A book from your TBR/wishlist that you don't recognize, recall putting there, or put there on a whim
37. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #1
38. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #2
40. A book with a place name in the title
44. A book related to witches
46. A book about an event or era in history taken from the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire"
47. A classic book you've always meant to read
49. A book that fits a prompt from the list of suggestions that didn't win (link)
50. A book with a silhouette on the cover

Cover Collage

I loved this idea from Emily so decided to re-create it. I'm excited to see it come together along the way for 2021 but couldn't resist doing it to wrap up 2020 also.

Ana A wrote: "I still have 4 books left for the ATY challenge!
44. A book related to witches - currently reading Akata Witch
45. A book by the same author who wrote one of your best reads in 2019 ..."

You may have already found a book for it but I would recommend On the Come Up for #45. Looks like you enjoyed THUG by the same author. It's a quick read since it's YA and also has music passages.

New badges are now available!

This includes:
- 5 years of consecutive ATY challenges (2016-2020)
- Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter Reading Challenges
- Voting in the 2021 list making process
- Contributing a prompt to the final 2021 list

As always, please let us know if there is a specific badge you would like created :)

I've set a goal for 75 books the past 3 years and haven't made it yet. I was on a really good track in January/February but really couldn't focus on reading all the way from about March through October. I've been doing better since.

I started doing BookSpin Bingo on Litsy and that has really helped me. I've started to also just look at all the ATY challenges as one, since I'm behind on it. So I read a book and just pick a prompt from 2017-2020. I am trying to best to look at 2021 as a fresh start since I've gotten my mojo back a bit in the last few months.

Happy December! The year of true plot twists is finally coming to an end. That means it's time to wrap up those yearly goals and start looking ahead to new beginnings and opportunities to set fresh goals and take on new challenges.

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2020 Reading Challenge

It's the final month of our 2020 challenge!

As you finish your challenge, drop in on our Complete Challenges thread to let us know you've finished and give us the scoop on your favorite (and least favorite) reads of the year.

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Reading Discussions

The December Monthly Discussion is your one-stop-shop to discuss all things reading. Tell us how you're doing with your challenge, any daily happenings, and details about general reading progress. As always, you're free to create a discussion thread of your own if there's a book that really inspires you to talk in detail.

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2021 Challenge Prep

You can find a list of all of the 2021 prompts here.

Go to the 2021 plan section to create your plan for next year and poke around others' plans if you need some inspiration.

Make sure you also tell us about your favorite book of November so we can all grow our TBR! There's even a prompt for these books in the 2021 challenge so add your picks to help out the other members!

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Winter Reading Challenge

We are kicking off the winter reading challenge today! The format is a bit different than the previous challenges so be sure to check it out. Once you're ready to kick it off, just create a new topic within that folder for your own personal plan.

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Community Spreadsheet

The new spreadsheet is now live! Head on over and add your own plans for the upcoming list.

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Good luck with finishing up all those 2020 goals

I read some really great books during the read-a-thon so it's really difficult to choose the best.

Title: One True Loves
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rating: 5 stars
Format: ebook
ATY Prompt you used it for:
#45 A book by the same author who wrote one of your best reads in 2019 or 2018 (Daisy Jones & The Six)

Other favorites: In Five Years, Any Man

That’s a wrap on our final read-a-thon of 2020!

1. How many books did you finish? How many pages did you read?
2. Did you meet your reading goals? What were your biggest distractions?
3. Did you have fun? What were your favorite parts?
4. What was your favorite read of the read-a-thon?
5. Do you have any suggestions for how to make the read-a-thon better for next time? What would you like to see more of in future read-a-thons?
6. Do you plan to participate in future group read-a-thons?

Yay team! We’ll wait a bit to give everyone a chance to update their totals but great job, everyone!

I started a new book but didn’t get it done. It was great reading wee though :)

Happy Saturday! I finished One True Loves (very) late last night. It counts for Beethoven and Letters to Friend. I put it down for letters since the connection is a bit more direct. But, again, we can move it if needed.

I think that works, Bec.

I just finished In Five Years and absolutely loved it. It got me in all the feels so hopefully doesn't send me into a book hangover. I've added it to the renovation one but it could also work for the otter love one if we need to shift it.

Johanne wrote: "Aimee wrote: "...Also, I was hoping to use that article for The Silk Roads: A New History of the World (which I started before the readalong), on the basis that "street" and "road" are close enough..."

I like it for the hospital setting. Good catch! I finished it just so adding it to the spreadsheet

Do you think we’re okay to count My Sister, the Serial Killer for the Google street view? The book is in Nigeria and the article is Zimbabwe. So we’d have to broaden it to Africa.