Sue’s Comments (group member since Dec 28, 2017)

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

I have a question on prompt #4 - "can't see their whole face" - is the intent that you can see part of their face? So many covers have people facing completely away and none of their face can be seen. I know I can interpret it my own way, but I'm curious of the original intent.

Title - Inheritance
Author - Nora Roberts
Rating - 5 spooky stars
Format (Print, eBook, Audio) - ebook
ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable) - n/a
Brief reason why it was the best - I'm not usually one for ghost stories, but I was so impressed with Nora Roberts after reading Identity, that I had to give this one a try. Great story with fun characters including our spunky heroine who is not going to give up her inherited house to the ghost who has been killing her ancestors for a couple hundred years. Throw in a mystery and a cliffhanger (it's the first of a trilogy) and you'll be sucked right in.

Full disclosure - I read this in July as an ARC. It will be published November 21, 2023. Go pre-order or suggest it at your library.

Title - The Last Exchange
Author - Charles Martin
Rating - 5 swoony starts
Format (Print, eBook, Audio) - ebook
ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable) - n/a
Brief reason why it was the best - I couldn't put it down. I read it in a day. Charles Martin writes with heart, and his characters have a very real quality to them. This book is about unconditional love, and it's worth every minute you'll spend reading it.

Full disclosure - I read this book in June as an ARC. It releases on October 3, 2023. Goodreads currently has a giveaway for it through July 31. Go enter!

Title - Drowning
Author - T.J. Newman
Rating - 5 glorious stars
Format (Print, eBook, Audio) - ebook
ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable) - n/a
Brief reason why it was the best - this started with a bang (literally the first sentence is a plane engine exploding) and it never let up. Perfectly paced with high action content and a little backstory thrown in to break up the tension. I read a lot in this genre, and this might be the best action thriller I've ever read.

3 books - one for each of the three forms of water - solid, liquid, gas

examples: books with ice or snow on the cover, books with water in the title, genres such as steampunk

Two excellent prompts as winners. I've been delighted with all the winners so far.

Another great list! I see a lot of upvotes in my future.

What a great group of prompts! Kudos to you all. I could easily upvote all of them.

I've heard great things about The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip. That's the one I'm going with.

I'm a huge fan of C.J. Box who writes about a game warden in Wyoming. If you like crime novels, this should be up your alley. They are considered Westerns, and Box has won several awards in that genre.

This is the year for me to read The Stormlight Archive series so I'm going with Rhythm of War from the Whitney Awards.

I'm planning to read The Bridge. Looking through the list at all the excellent choices, my recommendation is for anyone who hasn't read Fahrenheit 451 to put that on your list. It's so good.

I'm doing the super duper easy one of a book written in 2023 since I have so many that will fit this. Right now, I have Breakneck penciled in.

Martha wrote: "I may read a Charles Dickens book since this prompt is due to be set around the time Victober starts."

Me too. David Copperfield is what I'm tackling for this prompt. I'm choosing the audio version - all 34 hours of it.

Kim wrote: "My book club is reading The Stationery Shop in the new year, which is set in Tehran. Love it when that works out so well!"

Good book.

I read a lot of series, and almost all of them have a novella that's a .5 book in the series. Lots to choose from for me. The one I currently have slotted is An Awestruck Christmas Medley.

Thomas wrote: "I will probably use it to reread A Christmas Carol. I’m assuming no one needs me to tell them who wrote it"

That's one of those books I thought I'd read because I've seen so many TV/movie versions of it. When I actually read it, I discovered a) I'd never read it before, b) it's a bit different than those movie versions, and c) I really enjoyed it.

I guess 2023 is finally my year for Verity. I'm really late to that party.

THE 2023 LIST
√1. A book set in a location that begins with A, T, or Y
Texas Troubles by N.C. Lewis 10/23/23
√2. A book by an author you read in 2022
Tranquility Falls by Davis Bunn 7/20/23
√3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the 2023 list - a Christmas book
Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock 12/4/23
√4. A book with an interracial relationship
Tides of Fire by James Rollins 8/24/23
√5. A book with 4 or more colors on the cover
Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews 7/1/23


√6. A book where books are important
The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman 1/29/23
√7. A book with ONE of the five "W" question words in the title
Adoption: What Joseph of Nazareth Can Teach Us about This Countercultural Choice by Russell D. Moore 2/6/23
√8. An author's debut book
Still Life by Louise Penny 8/25/23
√9. A book nominated for an award beginning with W - Whitney Award
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson 7/30/23

√10. A book related to one of the Spice Girls' "personalities" - sporty
The All-American by Susie Finkbeiner 6/20/23
√11. A book about a person/character with a disability
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller 7/6/23
√12. A book connected to birds, bees, or bunnies
He Should Have Told the Bees by Amanda Cox 5/12/23
√13. A book that has an object that is repeated on the cover
Roommaid by Sariah Wilson 3/14/23


√14. A book with a con, deception, or fake
Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg 3/12/23
√15. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 1 - future
Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton 1/15/23
√16. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 2 - 1400 BC
The Crimson Cord: Rahab's Story by Jill Eileen Smith 11/3/23
√17. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 3 - 1382 AD
Cloak of Scarlet by Melanie Dickerson 7/4/23

√18. A book related to science
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot 10/3/23
√19. A book related to the arts
To Bring You Back by Emily Conrad 5/14/23
√20. A book with a cover or title that includes a route of travel
The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane by Davis Bunn 7/27/23

√21. A book by an Asian diaspora author
Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini 1/29/23
√22. A book with a faceless person on the cover
Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan 4/14/23


√23. A book with a body of water in the title
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger 9/15/23
√24. A character that might be called a Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, or Spy
Burner by Mark Greaney 3/10/23
√25. A book with a tropical setting
Somewhere on Maui by Toby Neal 3/19/23
√26. A book related to pride
Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Alice McVeigh 6/15/23

√27. A book by an author from continental Europe
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne 5/31/23
√28. A book that is dark
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King 1/9/23
√29. A book that is light
Light Bringer by Pierce Brown 8/14/23
√30. A book related to a chess piece
The Persistent Road by Tim Bishop 5/6/23
√31. A book found by inputting a favorite author on https://www.literature-map.com - Brad Thor
The Devil's Ransom by Brad Taylor 1/29/23

√32. A book set in a UNESCO City of Literature
Prague Counterpoint by Bodie Thoene 4/16/23
√33. A book by an author with a first name popular in 1923
Double Indemnity by Robert Whitlow 3/26/23
√34. A novella
An Awestruck Christmas Medley by Emily Conrad 5/14/23
√35. A book with a school subject in the title
A History of Burning by Janika Oza 2/2/23

√36. A book that has been translated from another language
An Impossible Return by Caroline Laurent 10/25/23
√37. A book with the theme of returning home
The Homecoming by Dan Walsh 4/7/23
√38. A book with the sun, moon, or stars on the cover
In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros 11/12/23

√39. A western
The Longmire Defense by Craig Johnson 9/11/23

√40. A book with a full name in the title
The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh 4/22/23
√41. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan 3/19/23
√42. A book related to a ghost, spirit, phantom, or specter
Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella 3/16/23
√43. A book that involves a murder
Only the Dead: A Thriller by Jack Carr 5/26/23
√44. A book where the cover design includes text that is not completely horizontal
To Begin Again by Emily Conrad 5/18/23


√45. A book whose author has published more than 7 books
Dead Fall by Brad Thor 8/3/23
√46. A title that contains a word often found in a recipe
A Feather on the Water by Lindsay Jayne Ashford 10/24/23
√47. A book related to a geometric shape
The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears by Mark Batterson 1/21/23
√48. A book with an unusually large version of an animal in the story
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas 2/22/23

√49. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2022 or 2023
A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon 4/18/23
√50. A second book that fits your favorite prompt - a book published in 2023
Breakneck by Marc Cameron 1/19/23
√51. A book published in 2023
Code Red by Kyle Mills 10/12/23
√52. A book with an unusual or surprising title
The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Brunsvold 3/28/23

I live in Texas so... Texas Troubles is my book.