Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Weekly Topics 2019
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18. A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elements
I'm going with number 88 and will read The Radium Girls. I do enjoy science. Insisted on studying chemistry at school even though my school didn't actually teach it at my level - long story there. Now my interest is more zoology, animal behaviour, evolution, ecology, and conservation.
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Gold by Chris Cleave [Au]
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak [Ag]
Yes Please by Amy Poehler [Ne]
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick [Ag]
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys [NaCl]
I'm looking for more content-driven books for this one, because I think it would be interesting.
A Discovery of Witches is a good book (and series) to read for this prompt -- the main character is an alchemy history professor and they talk a lot about the elements. (It also has witches and vampires and a love story and lots of action!)
Oh, I didn't even think of Salt as an option but I am adding Salt to the Sea now since that's already on my TBR.The others I have so far are Silver Sparrow and House of Gold.
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When the idea for this prompt came up, I looked at the periodic table to see if any element immediately jumped out at me. And one did - chlorine - the perfect element for Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller.
Emily wrote: "Salt is probably stretching the prompt just a little... you could include water as being H2O as well, I guess? (Although after this year, I'm way over water-based books!) I'm planning on reading Sa..."Yeah, re-reading the prompt, it does specify "one element" so salt probably doesn't really fit.
Oh well, I like the two others I have and good call on chloring Dalex! Swimming Lessons is on my TBR as well so I'll probably make that my third option.
I think Gold by Chris Cleave. I loved Little Bee so I'd like to try something else that he's written. I also stole Salt to the Sea off Emilys ideas because I honestly haven't read it yet and I feel like I'm missing out. ( Not bothered that its actually 2 elements)
The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing
Swimming Lessons - Claire Fuller (Thanks for the suggestion dalex!)
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I'm thinking I'm going to read Gold as well! I own it (random library book sale, I think), and this is the perfect prompt for it!
I'm going to use The Kingdom of Copper because I loved The City of Brass (brass sadly isn't an element though).
I didn't even think about salt not being synonymous with sodium until I read this thread. Sigh. I might still just go with Salt. It does say 'related to' and I think salt has a strong link to sodium, so it seems fair.
Shelley wrote: "The newest Flavia de Luce book coming out next year is called The Golden Tresses of the Dead. Yes,"There is a GR Giveaway starting today for this book.
Does the whole table count? I have The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements that I picked up from a book sale.
Crystal, I’m going to read this one too!
Crystal wrote: "Does the whole table count? I have The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements that I picked u..."That's the one I plan to read, too!
Emily wrote: "I have a short list of books that are mostly overlapping with other prompts, so I need more suggestions on this one. Gold by Chris Cleave [Au]
Spinning Silver by N..."
Silver Linings Playbook is one of my favorite reads and movies of the last few years! I think the fact that it's set in the area of South Jersey in which I live is a driving factor, too! But I really enjoy Matthew Quick's writing style.
I’m going to kind of cheat here and read The Night Shift: Real Life In The Heart Of The E.R. by Brian Goldman. The element is in the authors last name.
Iron Council by China Miéville might be the perfect fit for me, if I don't go with Altered Carbon instead.Other ideas:
The Swimming-Pool Library
The Golden Bough
The Golden Bowl
Oxygen
Diary Of An Oxygen Thief
The Golden Tresses of the Dead
Love and Hydrogen: New and Selected Stories (the title story refers to the Hindenburg)
I might read The Disappearing Spoon too. I LOVED The Periodic Table by Primo Levi!!
I found a lot of silver between my books, most have been mentioned but I also found Silverthorn by Raymond E. Feist. But I already read all of them.I found one book on my TBR with two elements: gold and silver:
Låna är silver, råna är guld by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg so that is my pick (for now).
But in english the title doesn't contain any elements: The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again!
dalex wrote: "When the idea for this prompt came up, I looked at the periodic table to see if any element immediately jumped out at me. And one did - chlorine - the perfect element for [book:Swimming Lessons|303..."LOL that is clever!! (but I think their swimming lessons are in open sea water, not a pool. I cant' remember now because the actual swimming lessons were not a big part of the plot.)
I'm not sure which book I will read - I might go for the entire table, with either The Periodic Table or The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements (I have to know why the spoon disappears!!!), or focus on one single element with The Neon Rain, Normandy Gold, Flow Down Like Silver: Hypatia of Alexandria, The Iron Thorn, or The Iron Heel.
Crystal wrote: "Does the whole table count? I have The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements that I picked u..."I also have this one on my TBR. Would be great for this task.
I might read something from the Flavia de Luce series. The titles are not directly related to the periodic table, (at least where I am in the series), but she's a major chemistry nerd (I use "nerd" in the most endearing way, by the way. :) ).And if I don't go with one from the series, I'll probably read either Spinning Silver, The Silver Linings Playbook, Helium, or David Copperfield.
One of the MC's in Sacred Baned by Joseph D. Carriker Jr has a superpower related to metal -- a slight fudge, maybe, but I want to read it and nothing else I could think of for this prompt really grabs me.
A few nonfiction books that I've enjoyed:Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements
Deadly Sunshine: The History and Fatal Legacy of Radium -- Ra
Uranium: War, Energy and the Rock That Shaped the World and Uranium Wars: The Scientific Rivalry that Created the Nuclear Age -- U
I was planning on reading The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women, but just realized that the magic system in the Mistborn trilogy used metals listed on the periodic table. Does anyone know if the same and/or other metals from the periodic table are used in the next series of books in Mistborn, starting with The Alloy of Law? If this is the case, then I have a lot more options for this category.
Just got so excited when I realized that Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup would work here because silicon. It's something way up on my want to reads.
Brittany wrote: "Just got so excited when I realized that Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup would work here because silicon. It's something way up on my want to reads."Ooooh nice choice. I want to read that book too, especially because I work in a lab testing patient blood.
I'm reading How to Breathe Underwater, which covers hydrogen & oxygen without being remotely scientific. I'm not really a science fan...accept for medical things. Bizarrely I did really well in chemistry at school, but I just didn't find it very interesting. Physics was like gobbledigook to me though.
Nadine wrote: "dalex wrote: "When the idea for this prompt came up, I looked at the periodic table to see if any element immediately jumped out at me. And one did - chlorine - the perfect element for [book:Swimmi..."That's ok though, isn't it? Because hydrogen + oxygen = water?
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That being said, it's your challenge and you can interpret the prompt as you'd like!
I just found out that 2019 is actually the International Year of the Periodic Table!!Here are some ideas which I stole from my dad's new 2019 calendar:
• The word carbon is derived from the Latin carbo or “coal” / “charcoal” (Internet says both coal and charcoal).
• The word sodium is derived from the Arabic word suda which means headache. (Because “sodium compounds were used in early periods for its headache relieving properties”.)
• The word phosphorus comes from the Greek word "phosphoros", meaning "bringer of light". So potentially a book with religious themes (Lucifer?) or Venus (the planet), would fit this prompt.
• For Venus the goddess, “copper gets its name from the Latin word Cuprum, meaning from the island of Cyprus. In the Ancient Roman world (whose common language was Latin), most copper was mined in Cyprus. Copper used to be the symbol for the Roman goddess Venus, to whom the island of Cyprus was sacred.”
• For platinum: “the metal looks like silver, and the Spaniards at first thought it an inferior sort of silver, hence the name platina . It was first obtained from Spanish colonies in Mexico and Colombia, brought to Europe in 1735, and identified as an element 1741.” — so perhaps a book set in Mexico, or in Colombia.
Some more word origins here.
I may crosspost this to the making the prompt easier / harder thread.
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For this prompt I'm probably going to read The Disappearing Spoon if I can get my hands on it. Love me some pop science.
If I read these in order we are in the month of May which is middle grade month. I try to read as many middle grade books as I can. I'm choosing Golden Compass by Philip Pullman 
Mom2triplets04 wrote: "If I read these in order we are in the month of May which is middle grade month. I try to read as many middle grade books as I can. I'm choosing Golden Compass by Philip Pullman [bookcover:The Go..."
what is middle grade month? sounds interesting. too late for me though, my oldest is in 7th grade now!
Nadine wrote: "Mom2triplets04 wrote: "If I read these in order we are in the month of May which is middle grade month. I try to read as many middle grade books as I can. I'm choosing Golden Compass by Philip Pull..."it's a goodreads group where you read as many middle grade books as you can in one month. My kids are now freshmen in high school and I still read middle grade books. I work in an elementary school. That's how I have read harry potter. I have one book left and I'm done with the series.
Serendipity wrote: "I'm going with number 88 and will read The Radium Girls. I do enjoy science. Insisted on studying chemistry at school even though my school didn't actually teach it at my level - long story there. ..."I got on here to specifically recommend this one! It was such an informative and poignant read! Every single person in our book club loved it!
Ack! I really need to read The Silver Linings Playbook for this prompt. I have owned that book for at least 2 years. Then I want to watch the movie!
Lynn wrote: "Ack! I really need to read The Silver Linings Playbook for this prompt. I have owned that book for at least 2 years. Then I want to watch the movie!"I loved that book. The movie wasn't good.
Here are some simple ideas for interpreting this prompt (reposted from the More/Less Restrictive thread):A book set in location that is sort of like a periodic element (Americium = America, Indium = India, Californium = California)
A book by an author whose initials are the same as a periodic element (Pb = Pearl Buck, At = Anne Tyler, As = Anita Shreve)
A book with a title that contains a word similar to a periodic element (calcium = milk, sodium = salt)
A book with a color in the title that relates to a periodic element (cobalt blue, cadmium yellow)
A book with a word in the title that connects to an element (When Breath Becomes Air for oxygen [you breathe oxygen], Slaughterhouse Five for nickel [a nickel is 5 cents], The Ocean at the End of the Lane for iodine [seawood is in the ocean and seaweed contains iodine])
If you want to use an author's name then this would work. Written by Josie Silver.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair That Rocked the Crown (other topics)Iron Gold (other topics)
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (other topics)
Xenon Phobia (other topics)
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Penny Junor (other topics)Mary Doria Russell (other topics)
Lindsey Davis (other topics)
Naomi Novik (other topics)
Hugh Aldersey-Williams (other topics)
More...
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Suggestions:
Goodreads: Periodic Table Elements in Titles
Ranker: The Best Books With Silver in the Title
Goodreads: Romance Novels with Silver in the Title
Ranker: The Best Books With Gold in the Title
Goodreads: Romance Titles with Gold in the Title
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Optional questions:
- What are you reading for this category?
- Which element did you use?
- Do you enjoy science?