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

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

My best book this month is The Fox Wife by Yangtze Choo. 4.5 stars, and I read the ebook. I used it for the wild character prompt... I got it from BOTM earlier this year knowing I would use it for this prompt.

It was so delightful! The main character is a fox who can transform into a human, based in Chinese folklore. There was mystery and excellent characters and a lot of whimsical magic.

Robin, you put this in the October discussions instead of the BOTM thread!

This week, you are sorting your TBR and checking out the books that have been sitting there the longest. For an extra challenge, you can look for books that had been one your TBR for over a year at January 2024.

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

What are you reading for this prompt?

Sometimes it's nice to get outside and enjoy the fresh air... or at least get caught up in a book set in nature. This week, in honor of Earth Day, you are looking for a book that is set primarily in nature.

Mostly or Entirely Outdoors: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Rainforests and Jungles of the World: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Fiction Books Set on a Lake: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Amazon Rainforest: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Forest Themed Romances: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
Wilderness Thrillers: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Desert Islands: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Gibbs Smith Literary Naturalists (almost all non-fiction): https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Books Actually About Nature (non-fiction): https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Stories set in Antarctica: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Ships And The Sea Books with a maritime theme: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Fiction set in the Wilderness: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
Best Books for Mountain Lovers: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
Isolated Locations: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
A Walk in the Woods: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Walks and Rambles - Books on Walking Journeys:https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Trees, Woods, Forests: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

What are you reading for this prompt, and how does it fit?

For so long, the publishing world was dominated by white men. Even after female authors started to find their footing, the genres of fantasy and science fiction were far behind.

Luckily, as time goes on, we are getting more and more options for female points of view in these genres. This week, you are seeking out a book that falls in the fantasy or science fiction genre that was written by a woman.

Science Fiction Books by Female Authors Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...
25 Classic Science fiction Stories by Women: https://www.loa.org/books/583-the-fut...
27 Female Authors Who Rule Sci-Fi and Fantasy: https://ew.com/books/27-female-author...
Women in Speculative Fiction Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_i...
High Fantasy Written by Women Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Top-Tier Epic Fantasy Written by Women: http://stephenjtaylor.com/blog/epic-f...

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

What are you reading for this prompt, and how does it fit?

It's from this year's tournament! Excellent choice!

Oh man! We never updated that thread with the 2024 listopia? If you go to any of the Best of the Month threads, you will see the 2024 listopia linked!

Up to you! If it were for a read-a-thon or had a prize attached to it like the summer challenge, we would have a requirement of 200 pages, but for a challenge that is informal like this one, you're free to use it as you see fit!

Dubhease, I don't think anyone would say that 10 books isn't a challenge, especially one like that!

As we enter the last couple of months of the year, let us know what your best book of October was!

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

One of my favorite features of our Goodreads group is our Book of the Month threads! Each month, members list their favorite books from that month, giving recommendations on what to read and what prompts to use those reads for.

This week, you are combing through our BOTM threads to find a book recommended by another member of this group.

2024 ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
2025 ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

Hi Connie, totally understand your frustration... you're more than welcome to add a new column with the books you had read. This is something I do every year in order to keep an accurate data count, and my thinking is that if someone does want to come back and add to the spreadsheet after not adding for a while, they can always re-add the books. The spreadsheet is intended to be a supplementary tool, with the threads being our main source of book tracking.

I won a GR giveaway for Wild Dark Shore! It just arrived at my house last night and I am VERY excited. Not sure if I'll hold off reading it until 2025, but if I do, I'll likely use it for this prompt or waves on the cover.

🎶Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name, I call myself
Far, a long long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
And that brings us back to Doe🎶

While the notes of this song were around in the 1800s, this song was made popular by the Sound of Music in 1965. This week, you are looking for a book that is connected to something mentioned in this song. It can be an item on the cover, the name of a character, or an important plot point that connects to a word in the song.

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

What are you reading for this prompt, and how does it fit?

A collective noun is a word used to represent a group of people, animals, or things, e.g., a herd of cows.


Some examples of collective nouns for animals and how they might be used:

Murder of Crows (murder mystery)
School of Fish (campus story)
Parliament of Owls (political drama)
Flamboyance of Flamingos (over the top character or drag queen)
Skein of Flying Geese (cozy mystery in a yarn shop)
Mob of Kangaroos (gangster/gang story)
Conspiracy of Lemurs (Area 51 or other conspiracy story)
Colony of Ants (colonialism story)
Quiver of Cobras (Robin Hood - arrows)
Confusion of Wildebeest (amnesia story)
Congregation of Alligators (revolves around a house of worship)
Lounge of Lizards (character works at or frequents bars)


This is such a fun prompt, because you can go as wide open (like murder of crows = murdery mystery) or as detailed (quiver of cobras = Robin Hood) as you'd like!

For more collective animal names, check out these lists:
https://list.fandom.com/wiki/Animal_C...
https://www.grammar-monster.com/list_...
https://www.thewildlifediaries.com/co...
https://www.yourdictionary.com/articl...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
(be sure to check the column headers on this one)

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

What are you reading for this prompt, and how does it fit?

Oh thanks for pointing that out, Charlsa. I have that book from BOTM in September but haven't read it yet.

Finished The Fox Wife! Best book of my month so far (I've only read 4 books... it's been an incredibly slow month for me). It's definitely worth finishing.

This week is a fun hunt and a chance to dive into a topic across multiple books. For the next two weeks, you are looking for two books that are connected in some way but are in different genres.

What does that look like?
Same author (like John Green's The Fault in Our Stars and The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet)
Same setting (like Legends & Lattes and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe)
Same topic (When Breath Becomes Air and My Sister’s Keeper)

The ATY listopia can get a bit wonky for our multi-week prompts, so use it at your discretion (and utilize the notes feature!)

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

What are you reading for this prompt, and how does it fit?

Light and Dark.
White and Black.
Wet and Dry.
Day and Night.

For the next two weeks, you are looking through your TBR for books that have opposites in their titles.

The ATY Listopia can get a bit wily with our multi-week prompts, so use your own discretion (and the notes feature) to sort through it!

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

What are you reading for this prompt, and how does it fit?

I'm kind of leaning towards "published in 2016", which feels fully in the spirit of the main prompt. I don't know that I have any books from 2016 on my TBR at the moment, but the Tournament of Books longlist for that year has a few that caught my eye.