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

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

Yes! So the idea is that you read as many books as you want, and you use those books as votes. So if you really want the purple cover prompt to make it, you can read 5 books that all have purple covers, and "vote" for that prompt 5 times.

May 4: SURPRISE! We are having a May Mini-Thon, and it comes with some BIG SURPRISES! (Hint: It involves our 2025 ATY list!)

Check out the Read-a-Thon folder and get all the details here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

EMILY'S TRACKING POST


CURRENTLY READING


Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists)
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman)

COMPLETED BOOKS & PROMPTS


The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer (A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman)

TBR & POSSIBLE PROMPTS


Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman)
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross (A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman)


PROMPTS I LIKE
COVER OR TITLE
A book with girl, boy, man, or woman in the title
A book where something on the cover is tilted or upside down
A book with orange on the cover

CHARACTER OR SETTING
A book with a character who is neurodiverse
A book told from multiple character POVs
A book that features a child character
A work of fiction based on a real person or real event

GENRE, AUTHOR, & PAGE LENGTH
A biography, autobiography, or memoir
A sci-fi novel
A book over 500 pages
A book that includes a love story
A book shelved as literary fiction
A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman
A dark academia book

AWARDS, LISTS, & RECOMMENDATIONS
A book nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award
A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists
An Audie award winner (in any format)
A book featured on a list for a media or celebrity book club

OTHER
A book involving a STEM topic
A book that includes a ritual or ceremony
A book with a secret passage

Use this thread to track your reading over the course of the Mini-Thon!

Use this thread to discuss the prompts, your books, and what you plan on voting for!

CLOSED - FINAL PROMPTS:
A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman
A book with an animal on the cover
A book set in a different hemisphere than where you live
A book that involves art, music, dancing or acting
A book told from multiple character POVs

You will have 3 votes to use on the pre-poll, however you choose to use them (3 up, 1 up 2 down, 3 down, etc.). That poll will go live on June 26th!

FAQs

How do I vote?
You read a book, then you place that book on the spreadsheet next to a prompt it fits and that you want to vote for. The prompts with the most "votes" will get on our pre-poll.

What's the page length requirements?
Books must be at least 100 pages long to count. If it is a graphic or illustrated novel, it must be at least 200 pages. If you started a book before the read-a-thon, it must have at least 100 pages (200 for graphic novels) remaining when you wake up on Sunday.

Can we read more than one book for a prompt?
Yes! So the idea is that you read as many books as you want, and you use those books as votes. So if you really want the purple cover prompt to make it, you can read 5 books that all have purple covers, and "vote" for that prompt 5 times. You can, of course, place different books on different prompts, but you can also "vote" for the same prompt twice.

THE PROMPTS

COVER OR TITLE
A book with girl, boy, man or woman in the title
A book with a hidden object on the cover
A book with a lock and/or a key on the cover
A book where something on the cover is tilted or upside down
A book with a body part in the title
A book with a color in the title or author’s name
A book with orange on the cover
A book with a purple cover
A book with a door on the cover
A book with an animal on the cover

CHARACTER OR SETTING
A book set in Paris
A book where a main character is a writer, a librarian or a bookseller
A book with a ranch or farm setting
A book set in a different hemisphere than where you live
A book with a character who is neurodiverse
A book told from multiple character POVs
A book that features a child character
A work of fiction based on a real person or real event
A book set in a group living situation
A book set during the Roaring Twenties (1920's)

GENRE, AUTHOR, & PAGE LENGTH
A biography, autobiography, or memoir
A sci-fi novel
A book over 500 pages
A book that’s a collection of short stories or essays
A historical fiction book that takes place before the 20th Century
A book that includes a love story
A book shelved as literary fiction
A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman
A book whose the author goes by three names
A dark academia book

AWARDS, LISTS, & RECOMMENDATIONS
A book nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award
A book you meant to read in 2023
A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists
A book from the Canada Reads Book list
An Audie award winner (in any format)
A book featured on a list for a media or celebrity book club
A book connected to something you read in 2023
A book that can be found on Project Gutenberg
A book that’s mentioned in the Rory Gilmore Book Challenge
A book from one of the Millions Most Anticipated lists

OTHER
A book that features a hobby
A book involving pirates, maps, or treasure
A book related to masks or a masquerade
A book involving a STEM topic
A book related to an invention or a discovery
A book related to summertime blues
A book that involves art, music, dancing or acting
A book that includes a ritual or ceremony
A book related to the Harlem Renaissance
A book with a secret passage

SPREADSHEET : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Welcome to our first May Mini-Thon!


WHAT IS IT
Rather than having a full read-a-thon in the month of May, we are hosting a mini read-a-thon. It's shorter and has a more condensed challenge.

WHEN IS IT
It begins when you wake up on Sunday, May 12 and runs until when you go to sleep on Saturday, May 18.

WHAT'S DIFFERENT
This read-a-thon has a fun twist. We will be using this read-a-thon as a precursor to our 2025 list making process!

HOW IT WORKS
You have a list of possible prompts, pulled from our Suggestions That Didn't Make It In list from the last two years. You will read books for prompts you want to "vote" on. Each book counts for ONE vote for a prompt. The top 5 prompts that get "voted" for will go into our pre-poll to start our list making process.

This is an individual challenge - there will be no team challenge for this mini-thon!

Whew, April was a whirlwind! I'm just catching my breath.

Here's my ATY reads for April:

14. A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
✔️ Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

15. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX)
✔️ Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl González

16. A book related to the phrase "It's Raining Cats and Dogs"
✔️ Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Dog character, hurricane

17. A book involving intelligence
✔️ Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
artificial intelligence

And here's my plans for May:

18. A book with a botanical cover
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer


19. A book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
I didn't write down how it fits and I'm regretting that now

20. A book with a single word title
Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

21. A book with a title containing 6+ words
As I was typing this, I realized the book I chose only had 5 words, not 6, so tbd

22. A book by an author from an African country
Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola


In additional to these 5, I have my BOTM pick, The Ministry of Time, and my current audio, Just for the Summer, planned. We will see how the rest of the month goes.

I'm right there with you, Jillian. It took me more than half the month to read one print book (Anita de Monte Laughs Last, which was really good, but whew, took me a while).

APRIL
14. A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
✔️Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

15. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX)
✔️ Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl González

16. A book related to the phrase "It's Raining Cats and Dogs"
✔️ Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

17. A book involving intelligence
Currently reading: Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

MAY PLANS
18. A book with a botanical cover
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

19. A book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

20. A book with a single word title
Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate

21. A book with a title containing 6+ words
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

22. A book by an author from an African country
Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola

Here's the shortlist!

The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright
Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure

You would spell out the number, so 20 would be with a T.

My friend pointed out that she had originally picked The Maiden by Kate Foster to be our March book club pick before she changed it because our library didn't have The Maiden. So I guess I've heard of that one lol.

I would like to get around to reading some of these, because I usually like the Women's Prize shortlist, but we will see how it fits into my plans lol

That's great! I'm jealous!

My reading in order has really sidetracked me... I've finished 4 audiobooks and zero print books this month, and all of my ATY books for April are print. I just haven't been able to sit and concentrate!

The longlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction was announced and I have read (or even heard of) exactly zero of them!

Hangman by Maya Binyam
In Defence of the Act by Effie Black
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright
The Maiden by Kate Foster
Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee
The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure
A Trace of Sun by Pam Williams

Anyone read any of these and give some recommendations on where to start?

Misty wrote: "Any plans I made have pretty much gone out the window. LOL. Oh well. I've read a lot of good books this year so far - mostly 4 and 5 stars. I've read some that were yawn-worthy, but nothing below a..."

Check the shelf that you have the books on... if it's not counting correctly, the books may be shelved incorrectly!

We do the pre-poll (if we continue doing it) in the last week of June, and our first suggestions thread kicks off July 1!

Haha Misty, I'm having the same regrets.

I'm still trying to decide what to read for the BIPOC main character. I have lots on my TBR, but not many that I want to do on audio, and I picked up Yellowface, which does not fit the prompt, even thought it's written by an Asian author. Alas.

Happy April y'all! The year is flying by, and we are already on the 13th week! How's your ATY challenges coming along? Still following plans, or have we ditched them all? Use this thread to discussion your March reads, your April plans, and any books you just need the group to know about!

Chrissy, I'm using The Fox Wife for the wild animal prompt later in the year (that was a really hard one to find a book for so I scooped it up from Book of the Month). I'm excited to see what you think about it!