Emily’s Comments (group member since Jan 04, 2017)

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

Welcome Neenu! You have a good lineup ahead of you!

Chain-Gang was my best book of 2024! You have a good lineup Jennifer.

Listopia updated through here!

If you're looking for books that are not depressing, Kennedy Ryan has some great romance books! Before I Let Go and This Could Be Us were both wonderful.

Oh I loved Office of Historical Corrections!

I wish I would have saved some of the Tournament of Books books by Black authors for this month but I did not (mostly due to library holds).

I gotta say, it feels so freeing to not be reading in order this year. I've come to accept that my new job (and having a 2 year old) doesn't allow me to read quite as much as I am used to, especially in January, so it's nice to know that I can just pull books and they will fit somewhere.

I have.. ambitious... plans for February, mostly because they involve finishing the Tournament of Books shortlist. I've left some of the least favorites (according to the GR group) for last, which was not super smart of me, but alas, here we are.

Book Club Pick:
The Forest of Stolen Girls
18. A book set primarily in nature

ARCs Due:
Show Don't Tell
25. A book with waves on the cover

The Otherwhere Post
4. A book set underground, under sea or in an underworld

Tournament of Books Remaining (In Order of How I'll Read Them)
The Book Censor's Library
14. A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman

Someone Like Us
6. A book with a serpentine element on the cover

The Book of George
26. A book by an author with a common noun in their name

Rejection
8. A collection of short stories or novellas, essays, poetry, or a mix of various brief writings

Orbital (if I can get it from the library)

The Extinction of Irena Rey

Hey y'all!

Every February, I try to prioritize books by Black authors. I figured I would use this thread to crowdsource recommendations!

I currently have How to Say Babylon on audio, but I'd love some more audio recommendations!

Love the stats, dalex!

Happy February, y'all! We made it, after 78 days of January.

Use this thread to talk about how you did on your January goals, what you plan to read in February, and anything else along the way.

I just picked up Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao - do we think this would count as an author who goes by three names? The author is based in Manila and I don't know if Sotta Yambao is actually two words or considered one (Goodreads has it as Sotta Yambao, Samantha so that makes me unsure).

It's possible I'm overthinking this.

listopia updated through here

Whoops, thanks for the reminder, Jillian!

It will be end of February/beginning of March! Exact dates will be announced in the February newsletter.

Welcome Michelle!

listopia updated through here

Title: My Friends
Author: Fredrik Backman
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Ebook - NetGalley Early Release (Publishes May 20)
ATY Prompt you used it for: A book that involves art, music, dancing or acting
Brief reason why it was the best:
Backman has a great way of making simple moments poignant. This book features a set of friends, one of which is an artist, and is set in the present day with flashbacks to the friend group's childhood. It had beautiful insights on life, humanity, friendship, societal struggles, and art. I loved it so much.

Oh man, My Friends was SO GOOD. It was my first book of 2025 and it will be hard to beat.

First month of the new year is almost over, so it's time to drop your best books of January 2025!

Answer the following questions:

- Title
- Author
- Rating
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio)
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable)
- Brief reason why it was the best

Best Books Listopia (2025)

I went with Onyx Storm for this one!

My Kindle edition was 743 pages, though I know the hardcover is in the 500 range!