Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
2019 Plans
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Peter's 2019 Challenge List!
Cover Collage - As I complete books, I'll add their covers here!
I'm changing things up a little bit this year. Normally I'm all over the planning and pick books as we create the list. This year, I'm creating my plan after our whole list is finished. I'm planning on including options for at least some of the prompts and it will likely undergo many changes and alterations throughout the year as I go.
Oooh, I like your cover collage idea Peter. Hope you don't mind if I steal it!
Rachelnyc wrote: "Oooh, I like your cover collage idea Peter. Hope you don't mind if I steal it!"Not at all! I actually got the idea from a post in our group - possibly one of the readathons? One of the mods made a book cover "quilt" with all the books we read during that readathon.
My plan this year has the titles and covers, but I found it just looks really blocky in the posts. I really like the idea of showing the covers, so I wanted to find a way to include the covers but keep the list a little more readable.
Ooh, I think I'm going to do that too. Then I can add the covers in order of how I read them, where the first post will be in order of the prompts. Love that idea.
Katie wrote: "Ooh, I think I'm going to do that too. Then I can add the covers in order of how I read them, where the first post will be in order of the prompts. Love that idea."That's exactly what I planned for too.
I like this idea a lot. I definitely prefer seeing plans with just the title since cover's are not always easy to read and I agree it's not aesthetically pleasing to do both in list form. Excited to make a "quilt" of covers!
I've added a few books up in message #3 as "priority" books I want to fit into next year, but I'm unsure of where. If anyone has any suggestions, they are appreciated
I really enjoyed But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past. It’s fascinating.
Peter wrote: "I've added a few books up in message #3 as "priority" books I want to fit into next year, but I'm unsure of where. If anyone has any suggestions, they are appreciated"Oryx and Crake fits Speculative fiction, STEM and I am sure it has been on several lists (NY Public Library list I´ll bet).
Lincoln in the Bardo could be:Book featuring an historical figure
A Book with a person's name in the title
A book not written in a traditional novel format (I think it qualifies but I'm not sure if technically it does because it is a novel)
A Book that includes a journey
A Book with a strong sense of place (again, this is probably more of an opinion than official but I thought the author did a great job of making the location come "alive").
Oryx & Crake (Love this series btw!)
A speculative fiction
A book by an author with more than one on your TBR (If you have the whole series or another Atwood)
A book with strong sense of place
A book with a person's name in title
And I believe these would apply but it's been awhile and I don't remember what happens in which book so hopefully someone else will chime in:
A book with a criminal character
A book with a monstrous character
Rachelnyc wrote: "Lincoln in the Bardo could be:Book featuring an historical figure
A Book with a person's name in the title
A book not written in a traditional novel format (I think it qualifies but I'm not sure ..."
I have managed to read The Year of the Flood before realising it was second in a series, and I haven´t actually read Oryx and Crake (yet), but it might also fit journey (the second one does as far as I recall).
Johanne wrote: "Rachelnyc wrote: "Lincoln in the Bardo could be:Book featuring an historical figure
A Book with a person's name in the title
A book not written in a traditional novel format (I think it qualifies..."
Yes, good call. IIRC, both of them had a journey of some sort. Oh and I actually don't think it matters which order you read the first two, as long as you save MaddAddam for last.
Rachelnyc wrote: "Johanne wrote: "Rachelnyc wrote: "Lincoln in the Bardo could be:Book featuring an historical figure
A Book with a person's name in the title
A book not written in a traditional novel format (I th..."
I didn´t notice reading it, that it wasn´t a standalone, I just felt a bit stupid when I found out. I still have the other two in the series TBR :)
Thanks for the suggestions. I've updated my list so far. It will likely change around a fair bit more as I add more books, but I'm liking the choices I've got so far.Chinook wrote: "I really enjoyed But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past. It’s fascinating."
I'm also really looking forward to this one!
I've got a question for anyone following the 2019 plans being made...Abridged or unabridged? Specifically for the Count of Monte Cristo. I'm planning on using that for the Mediterranean prompt, but it's nearly 1300 pages.... so I was going to listen to an audio version of it, but so far can only find an abridged version. Am I going to be missing anything important by listening to the abridged version? I've never read or listened to an abridged edition of a book before.
I loved American War! I hope you enjoy it too.I'm never sure how much or what they take out of the abridged versions, so I always have the exact same question :-(
I generally think abridged versions suffer languagewise: They become a sort of summary of the book and beautiful, characteristic writing styles are changed (edit: I do not mean that they necessarily change the writing itself, but what tends to get taken out is 'floral' and 'unnecessary' passages, which often changes the feel of a book). I am not sure if this is only true of children's books - lots of abridged children's classics which are the ones I am referring to. And I don't know about the Count of Monte Cristo. But I wouldn't do it, mainly because I wouldn't consider it the same book, and you don't know what's changed.
Tracy wrote: "I loved American War! I hope you enjoy it too.I'm never sure how much or what they take out of the abridged versions, so I always have the exact same question :-("
I'm really looking forward to American War too. And you pinpointed exactly my issue with abridged books - all I can think about is "Who gets to decide what isn't important? How do they decide what can be taken out?? What if they took something out I would consider important??? Am I missing out by reading an abridged version????"
And then I just give up and find an unabridged version....
My library has this unabridged audio edition: The Count of Monte Cristo, maybe you can get a hold of that?I also like listening to long books on audio :)
After a little more digging, I found my library has an unabridged audio book copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. But it's on CD: 37 discs at a whopping 47 hours of audio. Lately I've been using an app on my phone to listen to audiobooks and with long ones I turn the playback speed up to 1.25 to cut down on time. With the the CDs I can't increase the playback speed. I guess I've gotten a little spoiled when it comes to audio books, lol.
Bummer about the CD's Peter. I like to turn my audio up to chipmunk speed as long as I can still understand it. Otherwise I take it down a notch. So few books I can listen to on audio though, I have no attention span, unless I'm doing immersion and reading along on my kindle. I've about given up on them lol. I think the only 3 that have ever managed to keep my attention are Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood, Rebecca and Outlander. Otherwise, I find I have to keep going back to see what I've missed, which is pretty much everything.
I just listened to a podcast in which the guest recommended The Boat People. I’m also thinking about using it for the multiple perspective prompt. Either that or Refugee by Alan Gratz, another recommendation.
I first saw The Boat People on the CBC Canada Reads competition, and was interested after that. The Marrow Thieves was also in that competition.
I read two of your books for this year's challenge and thought they were both wonderful - All Systems Red and Lincoln in the Bardo. Enjoy! I was not crazy about Oryx and Crake, but everyone else I know who read it has thought it was really good. What a wonderful year you have ahead!
All Systems Red has been in my radar for a while so I'm glad you say it's good. As for Oryx and Crake... I've never read any Margaret Atwood and feel like I probably should at some point and I'd heard good things about this series.
Peter wrote: "Rachelnyc wrote: "Oooh, I like your cover collage idea Peter. Hope you don't mind if I steal it!"Not at all! I actually got the idea from a post in our group - possibly one of the readathons? One..."
You already said it was Ok, so I am going to steal the cover idea too :)
This year I listen to the Count of Monte Cristo. it went much quicker than I thought. I finished in about a month to 6 weeks! It was long and it was written in installments so it did seem choppy at times. And the characters did get a little confusing but overall I thought it was a pretty good book and I was glad that I tackled it in its entire ready not abridge. I got it from my library. There are lots of versions… So just listen to the samples and pick the narrator’s voice you like the best! ;)
Oh please when you finish Relic move on to Reliquary. I had so much fun with these. I actually just told my aunt to read them. I thought the second one was so much better than the first.
I definitely plan on reading more from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I read Thunderhead this year and really enjoyed it. It was kind of a mash up of a Michael Crichton and Dan Brown novel (although I think Crichton's writing is generally stronger). I was interested enough to look into more by them though and found that it was loosely connected to a few of the other series they have written through common characters that appear in their other books. So I want to read Relic because it's the first book and the other one I'm interested in and have heard good things about is Gideon's Sword and sequels (I'm hoping to find a spot in my list for Gideon's Sword too).
Peter wrote: "I definitely plan on reading more from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I read Thunderhead this year and really enjoyed it. It was kind of a mash up of a Michael Crichton and Dan Br..."I know I went through a phase where I read a few of their books, but Relic and Reliquary are the ones that stand out to me. I also have one or two unread ones on my shelf somewhere. And yes I agree, a mashup between Michael Crichton and Dan Brown is pretty accurate.
If listening to 47 hours of The Count of Monte Cristo is too daunting, you could consider breaking it up with the Serial app! I wanted to do that, but they only have the English version on it, and of course I want to read it in French.
Go for the full version of The Count. It normally takes me forever to read such chunksters, but this one just flew by, all 1200 pages done in less than a month. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, making it hard to put down. One tip though, could be good to write-down a character list as you go to keep them all straight. I read it with another group, and we all benefitted from the character list. I loved it, hope you will enjoy it too:)
The Library at Mount Char is ridiculously good. It was seriously underhyped.
Yeah, I really liked that one as well.
I'll chip my way through the 47 hour version. I will definitely need to renew it a few times at the library but I'll work my way through it.I'm actually looking forward to The Library at Mount Char too. It's been on my radar for a while now and I've just never gotten to it. I'm glad to hear it's worth it.
I've decided this year to include more than one option for a lot of the prompts. I have no hope of getting through all of them (my current reading rate puts me at about 32-35 books a year), but I'm definitely a mood reader so I think the options will be good. I always find by the end of the year I'm not as interested in the books on my list as they've become "stale" to me. So, hopefully having options will eliminate that feeling.I'm happy with a lot of my choices so far, but I'm a little stuck on a few prompts. Specifically the following:
Inspired by Shakespeare
Set in a school or university
Related to food
If anyone has any suggestions for those topics, I'm all ears at this point.
The Shakespeare Requirement - I haven’t read this one yet but her previous book Dear Comittee member’s was hilarious (and it’s set in a university!)Have you read The Secret History? I was a big fan of it, having been a classics major myself.
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly was really good - I listened to the audio. He had a wild life, for sure.
Thanks Chinook - I'll look into those. Kitchen Confidential looks interesting. I never watched his show, but it does look like he led a pretty interesting life!Tracy wrote: "Oh please when you finish Relic move on to Reliquary. I had so much fun with these. I actually just told my aunt to read them. I thought the second one was so much better than the first."
For Tracy or anyone else who may have read Relic and or Reliquary - is it necessary to read them in order? My library doesn't have Relic and it's not available on ILL, but my library does have Reliquary. Sooo, if order doesn't matter, I may be going for that instead.
Not only do I like your book cover idea, i also like the legend to show if a book is on audio, potential to be swapped out or 500+ pages. What a great idea! I may use it if you don't mind.
Peter wrote: "For Tracy or anyone else who may have read Relic and or Reliquary - is it necessary to read them in order? My library doesn't have Relic and it's not available on ILL, but my library does have Reliquary. Sooo, if order doesn't matter, I may be going for that instead."Oh boy, its been a long time. From what I can see in the reviews book 2 does mention book 1 and some of the events seem to be related. I only came across one review that said you need to read book 1 first. I have a feeling it makes more sense if you do, and also that there are spoilers for the plot of book 1 in book 2, so probably better to read in order.
I don't normally do audiobooks but as a big fan of Anthony Bourdain I really want to listen to Kitchen Confidential in his voice. I placed a hold on the eaudiobook months ago and it should come through just in time for me to listen in the beginning of January.For university or school, so far I'm thinking either The Secret History or Stoner
List complete. For now. At least I have an option or two for each prompt now. It took a while to figure some out, and I'm sure it will change many times over the next year as I swap things in and out based on my mood or other books I come across.I think I have a pretty good variety of genres and topics. I've tried to branch out a little more than usual this year based on the fact that I ended up really liking Sing, Unburied, Sing from this year. So I have a few more contemporary/literary/drama type books that I wouldn't normally read. I've also got a bunch of Canadiana literature including classic and more contemporary books.
Such a great list! I had to add some from this list to mine. Good luck and happy reading!
Tweaked my list a little bit. Switched a few things out moved things around a bit. As of right now, I think these are my top most anticipated reads of next year:
All Systems Red: A quick sci-fi read (just under 150 pages) rated 5 stars by Patrick Rothfuss? This definitely sounds like my kind of book.
But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past: A thought experiment examining the errors and misconceptions we may now believe to be true that may ultimately be proven incorrect in the future. I enjoy books that challenge and expand my perspective and stimulate critical thinking so this one will be very interesting.
Dark Age: The continuation of the Red Rising saga!!
The Marrow Thieves: A Canadian First Nations author with a chillingly intriguing premise. As a Canadian myself, I'm a little ashamed to admit I've read very few Canadian authors so I'm excited to be adding this award winning author to my list.
The Hod King: The first book in this series, Senlin Ascends was an absolute gem of a find this year, so much so that I quickly added in the sequel Arm of the Sphinx. I can barely wait to continue with Senlin's quest to find his wife and the adventures of the friends he makes along the way. I was severely disappointed when Senlin Ascends didn't make it to the final round in this year's Goodread's Choice Awards. If you haven't heard about this series, and you like quirky characters, witty dialogue, action (but no gratuitous violence) and intellectual thought provoking prose all while reading a great story in a richly imagined world, then this book is for you!!!!! The first (or any of the sequels) would fit incredibly well into the 2019 prompt of a book in which the setting comes to life!
I love this list!! I find myself looking at yours for ideas now that I've realized how much I enjoy SFF ( which I never thought I liked). And there are so many great choices here! I'm excited to hear your thoughts on your challenge next year. You really took a jump with branching out and I love that! I don't know how I missed The Library at Mount Char, I literally NEVER heard of it until people started listing it on their plans for next year, but I finally just looked at the description and I really want to pick it up.Also love that you had to throw Serena in there after all that searching you did for the last read a thon LOL.
Have a great reading year and enjoy watching that little guy grow up! He'll be walking before you know it!!
Tracy wrote: "Also love that you had to throw Serena in there after all that searching you did for the last read a thon LOL..."That's the reason it's on there. I'm not really sure if I'm going to enjoy it - but at this point I feel like I have to read it because of how much effort I put into figuring it out during the readathon, lol.
And yes, watching him grow up is so much fun! He's 7 months today and he's really starting to show his personality; when he's excited he yells and coos at us, when he's happy he sort of almost purrs like a cat, and when he's upset at us he blows raspberries at us, lol.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Ark (other topics)Emergency Skin (other topics)
The Last Conversation (other topics)
Summer Frost (other topics)
Randomize (other topics)
More...
✔1. A book that was nominated for or won an award in a genre you enjoy (Best Novella Nebula 2017)
All Systems Red ♾
★★★★★
✔2. A book with one of the 5 W's in the title (Who, what, where, when, why)
But What If We're Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past ♫
★★★☆☆
3. A book where the author’s name contains A, T, and Y
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
4. A book with a criminal character
Bearskin
✔5. A book by Shakespeare or inspired by Shakespeare
A Study in Scarlet ♾ ♻
★★★☆☆
6. A book with a dual timeline
Time and Time Again
✔7. 2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme: Social Commentary - Book #1
The Hate U Give ♫
★★★☆☆
✔8. 2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme: Social Commentary - Book #2
I'm Afraid of Men ♫
★★★★☆
✔9. A book from one of the top 5 money making genres (romance/erotica, crime/mystery, religious/inspirational, science fiction/fantasy or horror)
Forward Collection
★★★☆☆
✔10. A book featuring an historical figure
Dracula vs. Hitler ⚠ ♫
★★★★☆
✔11. A book related to one of the 12 Zodiac Chinese Animals
The Poppy War ⚠ ♾
★★★★★
✔12. A book about reading, books or an author/writer
Misery ♫
★★★★☆
✔13. A book that is included on a New York Public Library Staff Picks list
Dark Matter ♻
★★★☆☆
✔14. A book with a title, subtitle or cover relating to something astronomical
Morning Star
★★★★★
15. A book by an author from a Mediterranean country or set in a Mediterranean country
The Count of Monte Cristo ⚠ ♫
✔16. A book told from multiple perspectives
The Boat People ♫
★★★★☆
✔17. A speculative fiction
Dark Age ♾ ⏳
★★★★★
✔18. A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elements
Iron Gold
★★★★★
✔19. A book by an author who has more than one book on your TBR
The Lost Symbol ⚠ ♫
★★★☆☆
20. A book featuring indigenous people of a country
Indian Horse
21. A book from one of the polarizing or close call votes (A book about a disaster)
Countdown City ♾
✔22. A book with a number in the title or on the cover
Rogue One: A Junior Novel
★★★★☆
23. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #1 Something Old
Relic ♾
Reliquary ♾
✔24. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #2 Something New
Vicious ♾
★★★★☆
25. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #3 Something Borrowed
Ancillary Mercy ♾
✔26. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #4 Something Blue
Thrawn ♫ ♾
★★★☆☆
27. A book off of the 1001 books to read before you die list
The Catcher in the Rye
✔28. A book related to something cold
City of Thieves
★★★★★
29. A book published before 1950
To Have and Have Not
To Kill a Mockingbird ♫ ♾
✔30. A book featuring an elderly character
The Ghost Brigades ♾
★★★★☆
✔31. A children’s classic you’ve never read
Anne of Green Gables ♫
★★★☆☆
✔32. A book with more than 500 pages
Lost Stars
★★★★☆
33. A book you have owned for at least a year, but have not read yet
Let the Right One In ⚠ ♻
34. A book with a person's name in the title
Serena
The Traitor Baru Cormorant
35. A psychological thriller
The Troop ♻
✔36. A book featured on an NPR Best Books of the Year list
The Marrow Thieves ♫
★★★★☆
✔37. A book set in a school or university
Red Rising
★★★★★
✔38. A book not written in traditional novel format
The Shape of Water ♫
★★★★☆
✔39. A book with a strong sense of place
A Conjuring of Light ⚠ ♫ ♾
★★★★★
✔40. A book you stumbled upon
The Enchanted ♫
★★★★☆
✔41. A book from the 2018 GR Choice Awards
Elevation
★★★☆☆
42. A book with a monster or "monstrous" character
An Unattractive Vampire
✔43. A book related to STEM
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World ♫
★★★★☆
✔44. A book related in some way to a tv show/series or movie you enjoyed
Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction
★★★★☆
✔45. A multi-generational saga
There There
★★★★★
✔46. A book with a (mostly) black cover
Golden Son
★★★★★
✔47. A book related to food (i.e. title, cover, plot, etc.)
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly ♫ ♻
★★★★☆
48. A book that was a finalist or winner for the National Book Award for any year
The Leavers ♫
49. A book written by a Far East Asian author or set in a Far East Asian country
The Dragon Republic ⚠ ♾ ⏳
✔50. A book that includes a journey (physical, health, or spiritual)
The Hod King ♫ ♾ ⏳
★★★★★
51. A book published in 2019
The Butterfly Girl ♫ ♾ ⏳
52. A book with a weird or intriguing title
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane ♫ ♻
Legend:
♻ = Potential to be swapped out
⚠ = 500+ pages
♫ = Possible audiobook
♾ = Series
⏳ = Pending publication
✔ = Completed (and bolded)
★ = Star rating