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

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

Happy November! I can't even believe we are here.

Drop your books read in October, your plans for November, and let us discuss here!

This is a tough question, mostly because I've finished my challenges for the year and now I'm just... picking books all willy nilly!

I'm currently reading:
Finding Me by Viola Davis
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok (possibly DNF?)

My book club is reading:
November - The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
December - Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

This is what I have checked out from the library:
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
The Unfortunates by J.K. Chukwu
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Still Life by Sarah Winman
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane
(I know, there's so many...)

So... taking suggestions on where to even start with this list... and if any of these are better with audiobooks, I'd appreciate knowing that!

Rereads count! We want to know your favorite reads of the month, whether it's the first or seventy-first time you've read it.

Listopia updated through here

Listopia updated through here!

Title: Tress of the Emerald Sea
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Print
Brief reason why it was the best:
This book was the perfect mix of fantasy and adventure and contemporary life commentary. I loved Tress, and I really loved the narrator, who would sprinkle little insights inbetween his jokes and storytelling.

One book that I tried and hated this year was The Covenant of Water, which is narrated by the author and it was... not great. I think it's a book I could have enjoyed, but the audio is 30 hours long and the narration was a struggle.

Thank you for this question, Robin. The very worst part about being a reader is trying to decide what audiobook to listen to. I'm super particular about what types of books I listen to, but I also pretty much only listen to audiobooks (no podcasts, though today has been a Taylor Swift day).

I don't really pay attention to the names of the narrators, though I do have some that I recognize immediately and I enjoy that. The exception would be Julia Whelan, who narrates some of my favorite rom-coms but also other more literary (and apparently nonfiction!) works. She also wrote and narrated Thank You for Listening, which I loved.

I've been sitting here scrolling Libby trying to find my next audiobook, but now that I think about it, I may just go look up Julia Whelan's works and find something from her.

Hey Sherri, it should be fixed now!

Chrissy wrote: "I feel like students aren't "in education", which to me connotes someone who is making a living in the education field. I suppose most novels about students will have teachers, etc. in them as side..."

I'm currently reading I Have Some Questions for You, which is about a woman who returns back to the boarding school she attended to teach a two week class. It's literary fiction, with a side of murder mystery, so if that's your jam you should check it out.

Time for our best books of October! Did you go spooky? Or was the the time for cozy fall books? Let us know your favorite!

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

2023 Best Books Listopia

Thanks for this recommendation, Faith!

I watched the first episode tonight... I thought it was excellent! I'm borrowing the Apple+ login from a friend, so I'm trying not to get ahead of her in watching... so I'll be saving the next few episodes for a later time. I guess I'll read... lol.

Any book you read in 2023 will work! I'd say using an ATY book is a BIO option.

Jillian, I'm glad it's lining up so nicely for you! Anything to get more people to read the Devabad series lol

Pam, I read that one a few years ago after it sat on my shelves for a while! The size is intimidating, but it was such an engaging read that took me in so many different directions I wasn't expecting. That book is a large reason why I have Birnam Wood on my TBR.

Bang! Chirp! Clang!

This week, we are diving into the lists to find a book with a sound-related word in the title. Popsugar had a prompt that required onomatopoeia, so there are plenty of lists out there in reference to that.

But there are other ways of looking at this prompt. You could use the word "noise" (White Noise), "sound" (The Sound of Glass), or "conversation" (Conversations with Friends). Check out the listopia for more inspiration.

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

What are you reading for this prompt?

It's time for the Summer Olympics, and in honor of all of those noble athletes competing for their country, we are reading a book related to the phrase "Going for the Gold".

There's a wide variety of ways you could go with this prompt:
- Gold color on the cover
- Word in the title i.e. “The Golden Compass”, “The Goldfinch”, etc
- Author's name (William Golding, Arthur Golden, William Goldman, Lily Gold, etc.)
- Gold medal/award (a character striving to be the best, related to the Olympics, a character seeking the top prize in any competition or race, or an achievement such as a gold record or golden globe award)
- Money or jewelry (big business, a character with a gambling addiction, a bank robber or jewel heist, a ""gold digger"", treasure seekers/pirates, someone trying to steal a leprechaun's pot of gold or a dragon's treasure.)
- Metal seekers (an alchemist, a prospector/set during the gold rush)
- The search for anything “golden” (golden ticket, Golden State killer, golden snitch, Golden Fleece, entrance into the Golden Dawn, etc)

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

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

I went through my kindle this weekend and removed all of the library holds that were lingering in my kindle library. What was left was mostly Amazon Prime First Reads, most of which (surprisingly) have very few ratings. So my goal is to read one of those books.

But also, inevitably, there will be one or two books on the Tournament of Books list that have a low number of ratings, so given the timing of this prompt, I may go that route instead.

About three years ago, we decided to vote on genres for the year. Before, we were just going down the list and everyone was picking something they wanted, but it was leading to a lot of duds and a lot of WWII fiction lol.

So now, in October, we vote on genres we would like to see, like to see twice, or would not like to see. After a few years of dud YA books, we voted to not include that one this year, and same with classic.

Then, once I have the genres assigned to months, I send out a ballot and everyone votes on the month they want to choose a book. That way, everyone gets something they feel comfortable choosing for the group. It's been a really good process and has ensured that we have a variety of books during the year.

2024 looks like:

JANUARY: Literary Fiction
FEBRUARY: Fiction by a BIPOC Author
MARCH: Historical Fiction
APRIL: Nonfiction/Memoir
MAY: Mystery/Thriller
JUNE: Literary Fiction (LGBTQIA+)
JULY: Romance/Rom-Com
AUGUST: Historical Fiction
SEPTEMBER: Fantasy
OCTOBER: Mystery/Thriller
NOVEMBER: Literary Fiction
DECEMBER: Holiday Rom-Com

I'm choosing for February and August!

Thanks y'all! I put up a poll with these options: The Women Could Fly, Chain-Gang All-Stars, The Unfortunates, and The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store!

Tracy, I love the suggestion, but we only do one nonfiction book a year (per member request lol) and that's not my month to pick!

dalex wrote: "Portal fantasy! One of my favorite subgenres of fantasy!

I have a couple of options that I'm deciding between."

I just finished reading The Unmaking of June Farrow, which is portal fiction, and I really enjoyed it. Slow to start, but it picked up and ended beautifully.