Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Weekly Topics 2019
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14. A book with a title, subtitle or cover relating to an astronomical term
What are you reading for this category?Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
What is its connection to astronomy?
Dark Matter is a hypothetical form of matter that is thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe at least Wikipedia says it is. :)
- What are you reading for this category?I chose The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- What is its connection to astronomy?
Night is in the title, and while that is technically not "astronomical", the cover also has stars on it, and many of the internal pages feature constellations, so I think it qualifies
- What are you reading for this category?
by Denise Grover Swank- What is its connection to astronomy?
There is a moon on the cover and in the book, there's a restaurant named New Moon and there are references to astronomy in the book.
- What are you reading for this category?The Sun Is Also a Star
- What is its connection to astronomy?
It has both sun and star in the title, and there were a bunch of references to astronomy within the book itself.
What are you reading for this category? The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky ChambersWhat is its connection to astronomy? The title, but also the story is about a journey on an aging spaceship with an exotic crew including a reptilian pilot and a noble captain. The description brought Star Trek and The Orville to mind, both of which I enjoy.
I just finished the audio of All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Watching Star Trek and decided to slot it in here over my original choice. While there are general connections to astronomy all over the place in this book and cover, I figured having 'star' in the title was a solid connection to the prompt. :-)
What are you reading for this category?The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
What is its connection to astronomy?
Studying galaxies definitely constitutes part of astronomy.
- What are you reading for this category?I read Star Witch by Helen Harper
- What is its connection to astronomy?
"star" in the title.
- What are you reading for this category?
- What is its connection to astronomy? I think it is supposed to be a picture of someone on the moon. But there are also a lot of stars in the background.
What are you reading for this category? The Lady Astronaut of Mars, by Mary Robinette KowalWhat is its connection to astronomy? Mars!
This is a great short story. It's heartbreaking, saying so much in so little time. I'm not a sci-fi reader, but Mars and space exploration are really just the stage for this story. This core of this story is about the difficult choice between two things you love, and about facing the end of life in a relationship, of someone you love becoming old and having to chose how to say goodbye. It's sensitive and beautifully told.
I am going to read Blood Moon: An American Epic of War and Splendor in the Cherokee Nation by John Sedgwick. Besides the fact that a Blood Moon is a lunar eclipse, I have no idea how it will tie to this story of Cherokee soldiers during the Civil War.
I read A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. Orbit is the connection I chose it for but google tells me a closed orbit is a thing: "orbiting bodies in closed orbits repeat their paths after a constant period of time". and a closed orbit is one in which the orbiting body will eventually return to the same angular position it began at. I like how that connects in with the story. Unfortunately if I google common orbit it just gets me lots of reviews of this book, so that will remain a mystery.
I started reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena yesterday and I am so bored (and slightly confused). All the Russian politics....ugh. Khassan and his history book...ugh. I feel like there's no plot or character development. 43% of readers gave it 5 Stars so obviously this is an amazing book. Can someone - anyone - give me some encouragement to not DNF it?
I read A Thousand Splendid Suns and it was an amazing reading. The best challenge book I've read so far. Highly recommend (also fits the week 22).
I read Gardens of the Moon and did not like it at all. The POV would stay with a character for only a few pages and there were a good 5 or 6 different POVs (the fact that I'm not sure how many shows how confusing it was). Some of the names were also very similar. If the author had just combined all of a character's part within a chapter together, I probably would have followed along well enough to like it.
dalex wrote: "I started reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena yesterday and I am so bored (and slightly confused). All the Russian politics....ugh. Khassan and his history book...ugh. I feel..."I'm so sorry you aren't liking it, Dalex. I'm in that 43% that found it magnificent. The situation is so harrowing and realistically set out. I do hope you persist and find the magic.
What are you reading for this category?I read A Place for Us
What is its connection to astronomy?
There is a large moon on the cover and looking up at the moon/sky was discussed throughout the novel.
I had high expectations for this one and it did not disappoint. It's probably my favorite of the year so far. I love that it provides some insight into the lives of Muslim immigrants raising first generation Muslim American children and also includes Urdu phrases and Indian culture but ultimately this book could be about a family from anywhere.
It amazed me that this is a debut effort and that the author is under 30. Her insight into the sibling and parent/child dynamic was incredible and I related to each of the characters at one point or another throughout the book. Highly recommend.
What are you reading for this category?I read The Calculating Stars
What is its connection to astronomy?
Well, the word "stars" is in the title, and the plot revolves around an international space programme.
I read The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard. I have had it for a long time, unread, so was pleased to be pushed by this prompt to get to it.
Well, I persisted and finished A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra but I was honestly bored the entire time I was reading it! As I mentioned above, there just didn't seem to be much plot or character development. I did give it 3 Stars because even though I didn't really like it I would admit that it's well written as far as grammar and construction, and it seemed well researched, and the setting was rather vivid.
dalex wrote: "Well, I persisted and finished A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra but I was honestly bored the entire time I was reading it! As I mentioned above, ..."Dalex, I'm with you here. I gave this snoozer three stars, but in the end, I just didn't get all the hype. Life's too short for plodding plots!
Stacey wrote: "Dalex, I'm with you here. I gave this snoozer three stars, but in the end, I just didn't get all the hype. Life's too short for plodding plots! "Thanks Stacey! I'm glad to know someone agrees with my opinion of this book. Given the ratings, I was shocked at how boring I thought it was. I was really expecting something marvelous.
- What are you reading for this category?Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler
- What is its connection to astronomy?
"celestial" means heavenly and directly related to astronomical term meaning positioned in or relating to the sky.
I was disappointed in this one, I think I have worn out on Anne Tyler. I loved A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, by the way, which just goes to show we are all very different in our tastes.
Moon of the Crusted Snow
was my pick for this week. It is a dystopia that takes place in Northern Ontario on a First Nations reserve. The reference is to a time of year when the snow is crusted over a certain way. The astronomical term is Moon.
What are you reading for this category?
Arabella The Traitor of Mars (Adventures of Arabella Ashby, #3) by David D. Levine
- What is its connection to astronomy? The planet Mars is the setting
I read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch for this one and it was a fast easy read and pretty enjoyable overall. Apparently it's going to be made into a movie or series, which I can totally see.
- What are you reading for this category?I started reading The Killing Moon and I love N.K. Jemisin but I just wasn’t in the mood for a fantasy read this week. I picked up Moonrise by Sarah Crossan and am flying right through it. I actually found this book on the NYPL staff picks list while I was looking for something for last week. I can see myself going back to that list for other prompts too.
- What is its connection to astronomy?
Moon in the title and on the cover.
Courtney wrote: "What are you reading for this category?Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
What is its connection to astronomy?
Dark Matter is a hypothetical form of matter that is though..."
That is our book club book for May. I am super excited. But I chose something else for this week.
This month's book club choice was The Promise of Stardust so I am using that.
Stardust in this book refers to us after we die.
What are you reading for this category?I think I'm gonna go with The Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard: The Story of One of Starfleet's Most Inspirational Captains
What is its connection to astronomy?
It's about exploring the galaxy!
Reading Full Dark, No Stars.It’s a lot longer that I thought it would be. Long novellas rather than short stories in this collection.
Johanne wrote: "Pisces is in the title, and it's a constellation of stars, so I'd say it 100% fits."Is Pisces not Astrology as opposed to Astronomy?
Mod
Is Pisces not Astrology as opposed to Astronomy?"
The Astrological zodiac symbols are based on constellations of stars. So like astronomers will talk about a star being in the Pisces constellation, but they wouldn't being using that to predict the future or anything.
What are you reading for this category? How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike BrownWhat is its connection to astronomy? Pluto is an astronomical body.
What are you reading for this category?I’m reading A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
What is its connection to astronomy?
The word orbit is in the title, and the story is partly set on a moon.
I’m not much of a sci-fi reader but I’m really enjoying this series. It’s a lot more character driven than many sci-fi books which I think is why I like it so much.
- What are you reading for this category?Rust & Stardust
- What is its connection to astronomy?
Stardust in the title
I read W.G. Sebald, The Rings of Saturn for this prompt. I completely agree with a reviewer's description of it as 'a great, strange and moving work'. Stunning - certainly one to be re-read.
- What are you reading for this category?The Calculating Stars
- What is its connection to astronomy?
The word stars in the title. The whole book is an alternate history of the space race.
Kathleen wrote: "Jackie wrote: "What are you reading for this category? How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike BrownWhat is its connection to astronomy? Pluto is an astr..."
I loved this book! Enjoy!
What are you reading for this category?The Luminaries, by Eleanor Catton
What is its connection to astronomy?
The cover has different lunar phases.
The Zodiac Killer. Zodiac is an astronomical terms and it has all the zodiac signs on the cover. This is also a common theme through the book.
I will be reading 'The Sunrise' by Victoria Hislop, a great author.
What are you reading for this category?I read Rabbit in the Moon by Deborah Shlian
What is its connection to astronomy?
The title has moon in it.
What are you reading for this category?I read Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury
- What is its connection to astronomy?
Mercury is one of the planets
- What are you reading for this category? Morning Star- What is its connection to astronomy? The title has star in it
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (other topics)Morning Star (other topics)
Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury (other topics)
Rabbit in the Moon (other topics)
The Sunrise (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Deborah Shlian (other topics)Mike Brown (other topics)
John Green (other topics)
Becky Chambers (other topics)
Mike Brown (other topics)
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The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
What is its connection to astronomy?
Earth is a planet.