Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2019] Team: Random
First, I wanted to read in order, but because I read a lot of library books I don't want to get behind on schedule. So, I am, with you. :)
I am, Jody! Last year I made it through prompt 39 reading in exact order, then after that it was "sort of" in order. This year I'm starting with some "winter" related books among others. My first is Snow by Orhan Pamuk for prompt 28, a book related to something cold.
Me, for sure! Iāve got 6 library books checked out and several on hold. None of them work for January. Iām also planning on doing group reads with other GR groups so those books will be timed with the groupsā schedules. I have several books, like Circe, that fit multiple prompts, so I may post the covers as I read them and on the first of each month assign them to a week. I think I will do that for the first few months. My plan is to not move books around once Iāve slotted them. I have enough choices where I shouldnāt have to do that!
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Good luck to all of you this year! I may be switching teams midway through š
I never read in order because I'm balancing several challenges, and have books from different series scattered across them all. I literally just finished putting holds on the majority of the books I need from the library, and I'm so excited to get started!
I'm definitely team random! Between mood reading, multiple challenges and library holds, trying to read in order would drive me crazy.Rachel, good idea about placing holds now. I already have several books out and a bunch coming through in the next month or so but there are some popular books on my list that I know I'll need to wait ages for.
Kathy wrote: "I am, Jody! Last year I made it through prompt 39 reading in exact order, then after that it was "sort of" in order. This year I'm starting with some "winter" related books among others. My first..."
Oh and Kathy, Snow is a favorite of mine. I hope you love it!
Rachelnyc wrote: "I'm definitely team random! Between mood reading, multiple challenges and library holds, trying to read in order would drive me crazy.Rachel, good idea about placing holds now. I already have sev..."
That's exactly why I do it. It reserves my place in line for the more popular items so I can take them when I'm ready.
I'm team random & team not planning ahead. And I am so excited about it.
I am definitely team random. I usually plan ahead and then read what I feel like. :DBut I have come across books because of the challenge that I wouldn't have read otherwise and some of those have become favourites. Most of these are litarary fiction and non-fiction.
Katie wrote: "I'm team random & team not planning ahead. And I am so excited about it."I'm with you all the way! No plans at all which is why I'm note sure where to start.
And I'm also team 500+ pages... Well I reckon it's a one man team :-D
I am team completely random. I have a sort of plan for which books to read, that I have no intention of following, let alone read in order :)
I am definitely Team Random!Since I want to leave more room for my current reading mood and try to focus more on what I actually want to read, than on what fits prompts, this is the only way it makes sense to me.
Yay friends! šIām on team 500+ pages too, Marina!
Do you mean ALL books to be 500+? That's... Impressive. And sort of scary.
I am definitely team random and also team not planning ahead! I have so many other books I want to read and I hope they fit some prompts. And I usually start reading a lot of books at the same time, so I can switch when I need to change it up a bit.
I am team random too - first year doing the challenge.I'm actually the opposite of 500+. This is a big study year so my plans are instead Team Shorter Books/Novellas and Short Stories.
Hi team, LOL.I'm over here because of library holds and my mood. Also, I planned out too many challenges again this year but ATY is always my priority.
Not sure what I'm going to read first, I'm still having a hard time concentrating so I think my approach this year is going to be pick up a book and if I can't put it down then thats great , if I can't get into it Im not going to struggle with it. I'm not worrying about finishing this year. I set my goals high again in case something turns around but I'm not pressuring myself.
I like that approach, Tracy.I'm right with you, Marina. I have no idea where to start or even what I feel like reading. I spent a good amount of time this morning before work cruising my library app.
And yes, tell us more about this team 500+.
I with you, Team Random! I'm both a mood reader and want to read new releases which just refuse to be released in AtY order. I'm excited to get going.
Definitely with you as well, Team Random :)It never even incurred to me to attempt this by going in order before I saw some of you doing it last year. I always try to get in some BoTM in other groups etc., which would make reading in order hard. But, I see the point that choosing your next book will be easier.
Excited to start the new reading year, good luck everyone!
Katie wrote: "And yes, tell us more about this team 500+"The last couple of years I've been working on so many challenges and it have made me avoid many of the longer books on my tbr. So I had this crazy idea of doing the ATY with only 500+ books and who other than Jody is crazy enough to join me?!? š
It will definitely be a challenge and I don't really expect to finish the challenge unless my boss will accept me reading books all day. But I'll give it a go!
Team Random! Reading in order appeals, but that's not practical and doesn't leave as much room for catering to my reading whims.
Definitely Team Random!!! I am doing a couple challenges (all of them randomly). I participate in two book club groups on GR too so I will be linking those books to my challenges when I can and mood reading when I can't.
Marina H wrote: "So I had this crazy idea of doing the ATY with only 500+ books and who other than Jody is crazy enough to join me?!?"I love that you guys are doing this! That is definitely something I will put in the holster to consider next year. After I see how it goes for you guys, hahaha.
I'm trying to combat my need to just read as many books as possible by setting my Goodreads goal at 102 which is 52 for ATY & 50 for PopSugar, and then just not feeling like I need to do extra to achieve some arbitrary number.
I was kinda team in order last year, but a few things wound up out of order because I wanted to read things in series order or I didn't get my library hold on time. This year, I'm definitely taking things more randomly as it seems most of my picks have long waiting lists at the library. The main goal is to expand my reading and have fun, so definitely don't want to worry about the waiting lists! :)
I have been always part of the random team, mainly because I depend on the library, but anyway, I prefer the challenge in this way.
well its a good thing I said I'd be on this team because I just picked up all of the library holds I have that came in and they're either for Pop Sugar or rejects. I do think I'm starting my random reading with book #1 for ATY though,because the one I picked wasn't available at any library in this state and I found it on kindle for $3 on New years.
Marina H wrote: "Katie wrote: "And yes, tell us more about this team 500+"The last couple of years I've been working on so many challenges and it have made me avoid many of the longer books on my tbr. So I had th..."
I'm not doing only 500+ page books, but I do have quite a few on my list for the year (although mixed in with a bunch of graphic novels/shorter books to offset). I feel the same way though, that doing challenges made me very hesitant to pick longer books because I felt like they would take me "too long" and put me too far behind schedule.
Hi, I will also be likely reading out of order. I'm currently working on promt 2 and 4 one via audio book and one actually book.
How are y'all doing? What books did you read in this first week of the new year? Some good books you'd like to recommend?
I just finished my first for the challenge! it was for #41 (Goodreads Award), and I read Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami. I'm not sure I'd recommend it. What did you read, Bernadette?
Jody wrote: "I just finished my first for the challenge! it was for #41 (Goodreads Award), and I read Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami. I'm not sure I'd recommend it. What d..."I never read a book by Haruki Murakami, even though his books get good ratings, I'm not really drawn to them.
I read The Handmaid's Tale, The 7Ā½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and Eeny Meeny. Unfortunately, I did not like the handmaid's tale as much as I hoped I would. Maybe I expected too much of it.
I'm totally "team random" because I just browse and decide what's catching my eye at any given moment. The other day I went to the library and browsed the new stack to wind up with some books I really wanted to read, but are all over the map for prompts. As I settle in, I'll probably get more methodical, but right now it's whatever catches my fancy.So far I've hit #36 (An American Marriage for NPR's best books list) and #41 (Educated for 2018 GR Awards). I'm currently working on Dear Fahrenheit 451 for either #12 (a book about reading) or #38 (not a traditional novel format), and Word by Word for #3 (A, T, and Y in author's name).
Iāve finished Stoner for a book set in a school or university and loved it. Now Iām reading Snow by Orhan Pamuk which Iām having a hard time getting into but Iāll keep plugging away. Itās for the related to something cold prompt.
Steve, what did you think of American Marriage? It was one of my favorite reads last year.I'm super excited to have read 4 books for my challenge in the first week. It's amazing how energizing a new year & a new challenge is. Especially exciting is that two of the four were 5 star reads (American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures and There There). I'm especially stingy with giving out 5 star reviews, so it's kind of amazing to get 2 in one week. (I only rated 13 of my 150 reads last year as 5 stars.)
Katie wrote: "Steve, what did you think of American Marriage? It was one of my favorite reads last year.I'm super excited to have read 4 books for my challenge in the first week. It's amazing how energizing a ..."
I liked it overall; I enjoyed her prose. I had some issues with the acceleration of plot through the letters and the use of the epilogue to reverse the previous chapter basically, but overall I thought it was a good read. I think Educated and An American Marriage have been a solid one-two punch to open the reading year, and Word by Word will also be at the top of my "favorite reads" for 2019 when the year ends. Hopefully it's not all downhill from here! :)
Absolutely, I am on Team Random! Juggling several challenges, a book club and the unpredictable timing of when books will make their way off hold at the library, it's the only way to go. It also allows me to read according to my mood.
So I guess I'm reading out of order but by month for now to try and keep it manageable and on track. I pulled the first months books from each of my challenges so I'll be doing the first 4 weeks first but not in order. 2 of my ATY books came from the library so I'll do those first and then do the other 2 that I own. I'll try and keep to that plan for the year. Its working the same way with m other challenges.
Right now I'm on #1 for ATY with The Marrow Thieves, then I'll move on to #4 with I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, so I can get them back to the library. #2 is on my kindle and #3 I had to go search for a new book and change my plan because I can't find my copy of the original pick ( girls keep playing with my books and moving everything around on my shelves).
I have decided to focus on the Tournament of Books shortlist before it begins in March so it's a good thing I chose team random since my original plan for several prompts is already out the window.My first two challenge books were There There and The Italian Teacher and I loved both. I'm currently reading Call Me Zebra and am having a love/hate relationship with this book so I'm eager to see how it ends and which side wins out for me!
Whoa, go Katie! Four books down! šš» You're killing it!
I will not finish my challenge on December 31st this year! Time to break that cycle.
I just read The Shape of Water and it works for many ATY prompts! Not all of these may work for everyone, but this is how I would classify it!#4 Criminal character--Strickland! Although he was ordered by his military/governmental superior, he was still a criminal for kidnapping, abusing, and almost killing the Gill-god!
#7 or #8 Two books related to the same topic, genre, or theme--FANTASY, HISTORICAL FICTION, SCIENCE FICTION, ROMANCE (it is listed as all of these in Goodreads!)
#9 Top money-making genres--ROMANCE/EROTICA, SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY
#10 Book featuring a historical figure--the Gill-god
#16 A book told from multiple perspectives
#17 A speculative fiction-FANTASY
#23 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme
Book #1 Something Old--Deus Branchia,
the Gill-god
#26 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme
Book #4 Something Blue--Cover is mostly blue and water is considered to be blue!
#39 A book with a strong sense of place or where the author
brings the location/setting to life--Occam, isolated & oppressive--the climate and weather, first very dry/drought conditions, and then extremely rainy with immense flooding
#42 A book with a monster or "monstrous" character--Strickland was definitely monstrous, and that's being nice!
#43 A book related to STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, Math) [fiction or nonfiction]--scientific
"research" on an one-of-a-kind unique creature
#44 A book related in some way to a TV show/series or movie
you enjoyed (same topic, same era, book appeared in the
show/movie, etc.)--I LOVED the movie!
#50 A book that includes a journey (physical, health, or
spiritual)--physical as Strickland hunts down the Gill-god, spiritual for Elisa and Hoffstetler, physical and health for the Gill-god as he endures capture and shipping to Occam and then confinement, torture, and discovering Elisa.
I am new to the group and this is my first year doing this challenge. I am definitely Team Random. I am a very moody reader and never have been able to do a prompt based challenge in order LOL. I am very thankful for this team : )
I am switching team this year. I read in order last year and it was fine but sometimes I just donāt want to read the book up next and something further down the line looks more interesting. So GO TEAM RANDOM!
I always try to read in order but sometimes I am just not in the mood to read certain books. And also, I like to use it as an opportunity to finish certain book series.
Iām three chonky books down - yay! Next up for me is Week 34, and Iām reading East of Eden. Iām already a third of the way through it so now I feel like I have to actually bite the bullet and finish it.
I originally had plans to try reading in order, but I'm way too much of a mood reader to stick to that. Not much progress yet, because I'm using owned books for this challenge as much as possible and had several library books to finish up at the beginning of the year, plus getting a little distracted by my Popsugar challenge. I have started Les MisƩrables for "39. A book with a strong sense of place or where the author brings the location/setting to life". (I figure long explanations of the history of everything tangentially related to the plot should count. :-P) I have no plans to finish it anytime soon--I want lots of time to read it in small chunks between other books.
I also started The Mystery of Agatha Christie today for "34. A book with a person's name in the title".
Les MisƩrables absolutely works for a strong sense of place (and time). Such a wonderful book!
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Mystery of Agatha Christie (other topics)Les MisƩrables (other topics)
The Shape of Water (other topics)
There There (other topics)
The Italian Teacher (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Haruki Murakami (other topics)Haruki Murakami (other topics)
After reading in order last year (surprisingly I survived!), I've decided to read out of order this year. I'm actually taking a totally random approach this year and am picking topics out of a jar as I go along.
Who's on Team Random with me this year?