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

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

Ah these are great suggestions. I actually just got The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store from the library!

Thanks y'all!

Crowdsourcing!

I'm in charge of picking February's book for my IRL book club. I'd like to pick a book by a Black author. I was leaning towards Chain-Gang All-Stars, but reading the reviews makes me a bit nervous that it will be *too much* for my group. They aren't squeamish, but I'd rather not be the person to inflict graphic violence on them lol. (I did the same thing with Nightcrawling this year and ended up changing my pick after reading it...)

So I'm looking for recent-ish publications by Black authors that may give us some stuff to discuss in book club but isn't too graphic! Thanks!

It's time for a getaway! This week, you are looking for a book that involves travel of some type, whether it's a long epic journey, a journey through time, or a walk around Manhattan.

25 Best Travel Memoirs and Nonfiction Books About Travel: https://bookitletsgo.com/25-best-trav...
50 Best Travel Books to Feed Your Wanderlust: https://www.wildjunket.com/best-trave...
15 Best Travel Books to Inspire Your Next Trip: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment...
69 Greatest Fiction Travel Books of All Time: https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/20...
35 Best Books About Time Travel: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/lei...

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

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

I really love the comparison of The Guest and Yellowface

&

Different colors, different body parts, but it feels very, very similar. I would have used these but I already read The Guest and I plan on reading Yellowface early in the year!

This week, we are intentionally diversifying our reading and looking for a protagonist that is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color. There are increasingly a lot of options to choose from (thankfully!), so dive right in to this one.

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

What are you reading for this prompt?

These are great options, Joanna!

I love reading series in the fall, for whatever reason, so I'll likely pick up a new series for this prompt.

Ashley Marie, thank you for putting the Kate Quinn books on my radar! I knew about The Phoenix Crown but I hadn't heard of The Briar Club!

Marie, I love this story! And I love that the second book left behind was The Book of Lost and Found - what a perfect title!

Thank you for putting all those ideas, dalex! I just grabbed the prompts that didn't make the final list.

I'm trying not to overplan for next year's challenge, as I'm reading in order and I know that what I plan for the November prompts now won't be what I will end up with when the prompts come around.

But this is the first prompt! And here are the books I own that fit:

I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones
A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin
The Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore
The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel
The Hanging City by Charlie N. Holmberg
Broadway Butterfly by Sara DiVello

Unfortunately, I want to read exactly zero of these as my first book of the year lol so we will see what I end up with.

X is the 24th letter in the alphabet, and it inspired a myriad of prompts in our voting process. This prompt allows you to take a creative spin on the letter X. Here's some ideas:

A book that has an X in the title
A book by an author born between 1965-1980 (Generation X)
A book with an ex (romantic, friendship, family, etc)
A book with a character who could appear on the X-Files
A book related to X marks the Spot
A book with a cross or X on the cover
A book that's X-rated

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

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

Let's hop in our time machine and read a historical fiction or history book. This prompt allows for fiction or nonfiction, but you must go back in time!

50 Best Historical Fiction Novels of All Time: https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/hi...
25 of the Best Historical Fiction of the Last 10 Years: https://bookriot.com/best-recent-hist...
15 Historical Fiction Novels Not Set in WWII: https://www.toloveandtolearn.com/2017...
Historical Nonfiction - 30 of the Best Books of the Genre: https://bookriot.com/historical-nonfi...
100 Best Historical Nonfiction Books of All Time: https://www.shortform.com/best-books/...
9 Best Historical Narrative Nonfiction Books: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/n...

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

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

I preferred Gathering of Old Men (I did a study on him in college and read his entire works lol).

If you're looking for something more contemporary, I'm fairly certain Deacon King Kong featured an older guy - it's hard to say that he was the main character since it's an ensemble cast, but he was definitely a focal point.

What's better for October than magic? I've never been a spooky type of gal, but I love a book with a bit of magic! This week, we are reading a book that has a *touch* of magic -- how much of a touch is up to you!

Best Witch Books: https://bookriot.com/best-witch-books/
30 Magical Realism Books: https://www.beyondthebookends.com/30-...
100 Must Reads of Magical Realism: https://bookriot.com/100-must-reads-o...
42 Books with Magic and Mythology: https://www.epicreads.com/blog/books-...

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

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

Oh Lillian Boxfish is excellent. Definitely recommend.

If you're looking for a lighter read, Thank You for Listening and The Unmaking of June Farrow both feature protagonists who are close to their grandmothers.

It's another scavenger hunt week! This time, we are diving into our TBRs to find books that have a pronoun in the title.

In English, these pronouns include (but are not limited to): I, you, he, she, it, we, they, his, hers, its, our, their, him, her, them.

List of English Pronouns: https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Lis...

If you read books in a language other than English, feel free to use the pronoun equivalents in the language you read in!

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

What are you reading for this prompt?

While there's some debate about what constitutes "senior citizen", this week, we are looking for characters in the later stages of life, after kids are raised and out of the house. However you define "senior citizen" is up to you!

17 Books Featuring Charming Elderly Protagonists: https://www.bookbub.com/blog/books-wi...
25 Books with Older Protagonists: https://the-bibliofile.com/books-olde...
5 SFF Books Featuring Middle Aged and Elderly Characters: https://www.tor.com/2021/03/04/five-s...
15 Seasoned Romance Novels: https://www.buzzfeed.com/tabbykibugi/...
Books with Grandparents as Important Characters: https://readingladies.com/2020/09/13/...

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

What are you reading for this prompt?

Oh yes, Jillian. I loved both The Violin Conspiracy and Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb! And they are excellent on audio.

No, I've never read anything by him. I'll keep y'all posted when I do read it!