Sherri’s Comments (group member since Nov 10, 2019)

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

THE 2023 LIST
1. A book set in a location that begins with A, T, or Y. Light to the Hills.
2. A book by an author you read in 2022. The White Lady
3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the 2023 list. Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver
4. A book with an interracial relationship. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
5. A book with 4 or more colors on the cover. Maame

6. A book where books are important. Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature
7. A book with ONE of the five "W" question words in the title. When We Believed in Mermaids
8. An author's debut book. The Violin Conspiracy
9. A book nominated for an award beginning with W. Memphis

10. A book related to one of the Spice Girls' "personalities". The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion
11. A book about a person/character with a disability. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
12. A book connected to birds, bees, or bunnies. The Empress of Salt and Fortune
13. A book that has an object that is repeated on the cover. Trophy Hunt

14. A book with a con, deception, or fake. Verity
15. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 1. The Marriage Portrait
16. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 2. The Dovekeepers
17. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 3. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

18. A book related to science. The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
19. A book related to the arts. Woman on Fire: A Novel
20. A book with a cover or title that includes a route of travel. Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy.
21. A book by an Asian diaspora author. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
22. A book with a faceless person on the cover. First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies

23. A book with a body of water in the title. Walden
24. A character that might be called a Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, or Spy. Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent
25. A book with a tropical setting. The Garden of Evening Mists
26. A book related to pride. Giovanni's Room

27. A book by an author from continental Europe. The Winners
28. A book that is dark. How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
29. A book that is light. The Guncle
30. A book related to a chess piece. Billy Summers
31. A book found by inputting a favorite author on https://www.literature-map.com. Demon Copperhead

32. A book set in a UNESCO City of Literature. The Madness of Crowds
33. A book by an author with a first name popular in 1923. ...And Ladies of the Club
34. A novella. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
35. A book with a school subject in the title. Lessons in Chemistry

36. A book that has been translated from another language. A Line in the World: A Year on the North Sea Coast
37. A book with the theme of returning home. From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home
38. A book with the sun, moon, or stars on the cover, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
39. A western. Whiskey When We're Dry

40. A book with a full name in the title. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
41. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists. The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family
42. A book related to a ghost, spirit, phantom, or specter. The Dead Romantics
43. A book that involves a murder. We Are the Light
44. A book where the cover design includes text that is not completely horizontal. The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury

45. A book whose author has published more than 7 books. The Invention of Wings
46. A title that contains a word often found in a recipe. Black Cake
47. A book related to a geometric shape. The Creative Act: A Way of Being
48. A book with an unusually large version of an animal in the story. The Witch's Heart

49. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2022 or 2023. Cloud Cuckoo Land
50. A second book that fits your favorite prompt. The Sisters Brothers
51. A book published in 2023. The Writing Retreat
52. A book with an unusual or surprising title. Sharks in the Time of Saviors

I just finished The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. I loved it. I thought it was a good fall read.

Thank You to all the moderators. You all do a great job every year. As usual the process has been interesting.

I'm saving The Winners for the 2023 challenge. A book by an author from continental Europe. I do like the series. I may have liked Beartown the most so far. There were parts in Beartown where it hurt to read the book. I needed to know what was happening but it physically hurt to read about it. I have a friend that has kept up with the series & we pass the books around.

I read Daisy Darker. 3 stars. I only mention it because it works for prompt # 44 A book with gothic elements if anyone is still looking for a book.

I put my first book on hold at the library for the 2023 ATY reading challenge. It was The Winners. The wait is 16 weeks. The battle with the holds is beginning early for me.

I went with Thistlefoot & Sign Here. I couldn't decided. They both looked good & both are debuts.

I finished the challenge 9/28/2022

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Razorblade Tears
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
The Warmth of Other Suns: the Epic Story of America's Great Migration
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America
A Little Life
The Trees
& many more
- My most creative twist on a prompt - None
- The prompt I cheated on. None
- My favorite prompt - #2 A book connected to a book you read in 2021.
- My least favorite prompt - #39 A book from the TIME list of 100 Best YA Books
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) Olga Dies Dreaming
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) The Memory of Us

That's it. I'm done.
48. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2021 or 2022 - A Psalm for the Wild-Built
49. A book connected to the phrase "Here (There) Be Dragons"- The Cartographers
50. A book that involves aging, or a character in their golden years - The Man Who Died Twice
51. A book that was published in 2022 - The Maid
52. A book with a time-related word in the title - Hour Game

I read Hour Game

I read The Maid. I thought I was going to like it better than I did. I gave it 4 stars because it was cute but nothing special.

I read The Maid

I read The Man Who Died Twice

Phil wrote, "I searched the annual Spur awards for Western Writers & I can recommend the award categories in providing a great reference in book selection for this prompt.
I checked out the link & this is a good resource. I also thought The Forgotten Botanist: Sara Plummer Lemmon's Life of Science and Art looked good. I also think these awards will work for the prompt of a book nominated for an award beginning with W.

I really enjoyed Cemetery Boys. I read it for banned book week

I want to thank everyone for an enjoyable week. Amy & Sheena thank you for a great job. I put in my totals for today & caught everything up.

9/18: 195 pages

Great. I put it under cornucopia #1 orange cover. We just need acorns on a few of them.

Okay. . Since the team challenge is low stakes I'm thinking it will work for orange or yellow cover. What do you all think?

I enjoyed The Unsinkable Greta James. 5 stars. I'm using it for the fall reading challenge Is one last summer read.