Emma’s Comments (group member since Jan 05, 2017)

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

I am reading H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald.



I have no idea how I would describe this cover as a sentence.

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. I picked a book I have wanted to read, and I also picked this because it was easily available on my Libby account.

I picked Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. I wasn't blown away by a lot of the books on this list, but I like short stories, so I figured I would give this one a go.

I picked The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco. I good book, but a LONG one!

The 2018 List - challenges completed are crossed out, challenges in progress are in italics, and challenges not yet started are in bold. Ideas for these are appreciated!

The 2018 List

1. A book with the letters A, T & Y in the title - Paddling with Spirits: A Solo Kayak Journey by Irene Skyriver

2. A book from the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

3. A book from the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards - The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

4. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Earth - The Waking Land by Callie Bates

5. A book about or inspired by real events - Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery

6. A book originally written in a language other than English - Small Country by Gaël Faye

7. A gothic novel - The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

8. An "own voices" book* - I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

9. A book with a body part in the title - You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson

10. An author's debut book - Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color by Chandler O'Leary

11. A literary fiction - Elmet by Fiona Mozley

12. A book set in Africa or South America - State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

13. A book with a plot centered around a secret - The All Of It by Jeanette Haien

14. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Fire - Smokejumper: A Memoir by One of America's Most Select Airborne Firefighters by Jason A. Ramos

15. A book with an unique format/writing structure - The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

16. A narrative nonfiction - The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable by Amitav Ghosh

17. A book you expect to make you laugh - Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood

18. A book with a location in the title - Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

19. A book nominated for the Edgar Award or by a Grand master author - The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

20. A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends - The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf

21. A book written in first person perspective - The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

22. A book you have high expectations or hope for - Celine by Peter Heller

23. A medical or legal thriller - Bones on Ice by Kathy Reichs

24. A book with a map - The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer

25. A book with an antagonist/villain point of view - The Vital Abyss by James S.A. Corey

26. A book with a text only cover - The Princess Saves Herself in this One by Amanda Lovelace

27. A book about surviving a hardship (war, famine, major disasters, serious illness, etc) - The Road from Home: A True Story of Courage, Survival, and Hope by David Kherdian

28. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Water - The Seagull by Ann Cleeves

29. A book with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or title - Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell

30. A short book - Holy the Firm by Annie Dillard

31. A book set in a country you'd like to visit but have never been to - Rabbit-Proof Fence: The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time by Doris Pilkington

32. An alternate history book - The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

33. A book connected to a word "born" in the same year as you - Transgender History, second edition: The Roots of Today's Revolution by Susan Stryker

34. A suggestion from the AtY 2018 polls, that didn't win but was polarizing or a close-call (link) “A book (fiction or nonfiction) about a subject that made headlines” - The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities, and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church by John Thavis

35. A book featuring a murder - Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich

36. A book published in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018) by an author you haven't read before - A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

37. A Women's Prize for Fiction winner or nominee - Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

38. A science book or a science fiction book - Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story by Kendall Haven

39. A book with a form of punctuation in the title - Eat My Words: Reading Women's Lives Through the Cookbooks They Wrote by Janet Theophano

40. A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list - Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

41. A book by an author with the same first and last initials - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

42. A book that takes place on, in, or underwater - Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

43. A book with a title that is a whole sentence - H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

44. A ghost story - Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

45. A book that intimidates/ scares you - Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey

46. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Air - The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

47. A book where the main character (or author) is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity than your own - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

48. A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth) - The Bling Ring: How a Gang of Fame-Obsessed Teens Ripped Off Hollywood and Shocked the World by Nancy Jo Sales

49. A book from one of the Goodreads Best Books of the Month lists - Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

50. A book with a warm atmosphere (centered on family, friendship, love or summer) - Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery

51. An award-winning short story or short story collection - Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang

52. A book published in 2018 - Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

I had a bunch of natural science books I could have chosen, but I started reading an old ARC I was given called The Waking Land by Callie Bates, and it was too perfect of a fit.

I read Bones on Ice by Kathy Reichs. I typically like her books, but I am not a huge fan of the genre, so I definitely picked this one because it was easy and short. It was fine.

I read Elmet by Fiona Mozley. It was fine.

I picked Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. It was a Best Book of The Month in September 2016.

I picked this for 49, a Goodreads Best Book of the Month. I did not love this book, although I can see why some do.

I think I might just be one of those people who is not a "something terrible happened and now we are all dealing with it terribly" books.

I went with "intimidate" and picked Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey. I love this series, but the books are so long it always takes me time to gear up and actually read them.

I read Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi. It is definitely creepy, and I think it qualifies as a ghost story in a few ways.

I also liked it because it is not your typical horror book, although that is a part of it. Instead, it is a book that incorporates horror with social commentary and a look at a world that most of us in the English speaking world have never experienced first hand.

This was my pick for week 41 (an author with the same first and last initials). I am not a huge fan of romance novels, so it wasn't a book I loved, but it was interesting, and I enjoyed the unusual perspectives it offered.

I read The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. It was new for me in that I don't read a lot of romance novels, and I had never read a book featuring a women who was on the Autism/Asperger's spectrum.

I read Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story by Kendall Haven. I actually read a lot of both science and science fiction books, so I could sort of pick and choose what I fit into this category.

I read Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood. I was interested in it because I love Shakespeare and I was intrigued by the Hogarth Shakespeare series. Quite a few of the books I have read in the past few years, and the boks I am reading here were Women's Prize nominees or winners. It is an odd prize, and I haven't loved everything, but it is a fun place to start looking for new books.

I read this for week 37, a nominee for Women's Prize for Fiction. I have read The Tempest and actually acted in it as well, and for me this was wonderful! It wasn't realistic, but I absolutely loved the layers of adaptation that Atwood includes.

I read A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan, published in 2017. I read it for my book club, and it was not a huge success.

- What are you reading for this category?

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

- Why did you choose this book?

I have been hearing about it for a while, and I like funny world building books on occasion

- What history element did the author change?

Quite a few - the Crimean War, a few things about France that were left mysterious

- What are you reading for this category?

Holy The Firm by Annie Dillard

- Why did you choose this book?

This was one of those books I had had on my shelf for ages, and I figured I would pick it up one afternoon.

- Do you usually try to insert shorter reads between big books?

Definitely, especially when I am getting into a slump, as it always helps to feel like I have finished something.