Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
2020 Plans
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MJ's 2020 "One Of These Years I'll Finish An ATY Challenge" List
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First quarter progress: January
11. A book originally published in a year that is a prime number
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
8. A book with a two-word title where the first word is "The"
The Reef
40. A book with a place name in the title
Bay of Fires
27. A history or historical fiction
The Vineyard by María Dueñas
February
14. A book by an author on the Abe List of 100 Essential Female Writers (link)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
41. A mystery
DreadfulWater
March
April52. A book related to time
The Time in Between by Karen White
51. A book with an "-ing" word in the title
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
May
7. A book set in the southern hemisphere
The Lost Man
31. A book inspired by a leading news storyPeace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada
June
13. A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 Books
challenge (Link)...I chose from 2017 a prompt I did not compete:
(4.) A title that doesn't contain the letter "E"
A Cast of Falcons
28. A book by an Australian, Canadian or New Zealand author
Permaculture for the Rest of Us: Abundant Living on Less than an Acre
July34. A book from a genre or sub genre that starts with a letter in your name
A Siege of Bitterns
5. The first book in a series that you have not started
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
18. A book by an author you've only read once before
The Broken Kingdoms
August
19 A fantasy book
The Kingdom of Gods6. A book with a mode of transportation on the cover
Where the Crawdads Sing
16. A book set in a rural or sparsely populated area
Truly Devious
48. A book published in 2020
The Red Lotus
9. A book that can be read in a day
Shades in Shadow
September
17. A book with a neurodiverse character
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
3. A book that you are prompted to read because of something you read in 2019
The Fountains of Silence
35. A book with a geometric pattern or element on the cover
The Vanishing Stair
49. A book that fits a prompt from the list of suggestions that didn't win (link): [A book published in 2020]
The Hand on the Wall
15. A book set in a global city
The Name of the Star
37. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #1 [night]
The Night Swim
12. A book that is a collaboration between 2 or more people
October24. A book with an emotion in the title
Twelve Angry Librarians
1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y
Five Wives
50. A book with a silhouette on the cover
Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World
4. A book set in a place or time that you wouldn't want to live
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
45. A book by the same author who wrote one of your best reads in 2019 or 2018
Eleanor & Park
November
32. A book related to the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan
The Last Olympian
29. An underrated book, a hidden gem or a lesser known book
The Story Girl
25. A book related to the arts
Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation
December
44. A book related to witches
The Witches of New York
2. A book by an author whose last name is one syllable
The Body
36. A book from your TBR/wishlist that you don't recognize, recall putting there, or put there on a whiM
The Gown
22. A book with the major theme of survival
Educated
33. A book about a non-traditional family
Practical Magic
I had to add some of your books to my TBR. I like your goal of reading more indigenous books.
Anastasia wrote: "I had to add some of your books to my TBR. I like your goal of reading more indigenous books."I have so many indigenous books on my tbr and I'm having trouble fitting them into this challenge!
:) This year has opened my reading horizons to so many great Canadian authors. many of them indigenous. The amount of history and amazing stories in our own country that we do not hear about is sad. I just want to wallow in the different aspects of Canada's cultures with in a culture. So much to learn from people different then myself. I need to be immortal to soak it all up.
Anastasia wrote: ":) This year has opened my reading horizons to so many great Canadian authors. many of them indigenous. The amount of history and amazing stories in our own country that we do not hear about is sad..."I agree with all of this. I had originally hoped to read 50% indigenous in 2019 but found some of the content was too heavy and I needed more "fluff" to recover between readings - I've managed just over 25% this year and am happy with that. I really want to continue with that goal, because like you said, there's so much to learn and absorb. I've enjoyed seeing your Canadian content popping up on my screen whenever I'm on this site.
I like your indigenous people and bird goals! I added several of your books to my TBR. The Time In Between sounds interesting as does the Book about Australian birds! I hope you will post your thought about your books.
Pam wrote: "I like your indigenous people and bird goals! I added several of your books to my TBR. The Time In Between sounds interesting as does the Book about Australian birds! I hope you will post your thou..."At the beginning of the year I am better about updating my challenge thread and adding my thoughts - but by this time of year I just tick them off my list in relief that another prompt is complete!
I work for an indigenous organization and also make part of my living working with birds, so this is my way of getting myself to read a little bit of relevent-to-my-work non-fiction during my reading year.
Mod
ahh, I wondered about the bird theme
My first book for this year's challenge is John Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven. It's for:11. A book originally published in a year that is a prime number
I'd link it, but Goodreads is over capacity, and the site isn't being cooperative. Not the most uplifting subject to start the year on, but a digital copy was available this morning when I was looking to start the challenge.
Battling jet lag from getting back from Spain the day before yesterday. Happy new year everyone, and happy reading.
The "Goose" book #16 is a Kindle Unlimited book. Also, if some books are out of print you can look at Gutenburg. They have thousands of books you can read for free that are older books.
Valerie wrote: "The "Goose" book #16 is a Kindle Unlimited book. Also, if some books are out of print you can look at Gutenburg. They have thousands of books you can read for free that are older books."Thanks for this: I've read many classics using Project Gutenberg and use the Kindle app rarely - usually when I'm travelling.
Finished Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith for11. A book originally published in a year that is a prime number
it was a doozy. Not sure what I'll read next. I resolved some time last year that I'd do more side reads this year specifically to work on my classics challenge, but I'm not feeling like a classic at the moment.
I am reading The Reef by Edith Wharton for:8. A book with a two-word title where the first word is "The"
I added it to my tbr when I first joined GR.
I wanted to read The Time in Between but it wasn't available at the library, so I picked up another book by the same author, deciding I'd try to fit it into my challenge somehow. Me and the husband were in Spain over Christmas, and I really wanted to read something by a Spanish author. María Dueñas' The Vineyard is not as well known (it doesn't come up when I search for it), and the library had it available. I'm reading it for:
27. A history or historical fiction
I enjoyed it, but did not love it. I keep trying to put some thoughts down, but keep deleting them. I will say though, that I wish I had the ability to read her stuff in the original Spanish. I'd probably like it even more. I still plan to read The Time in Between.
Spain was incredible by the way.
I have Thomas King's DreadfulWater downloaded for 41. A MysteryI'm not reading much right now. Lots of things in life are taking my attention, and I'm doing some pretty heavy reading for work (so I guess I really am reading more than I say). Okay: I'm not reading for fun as much as I'd like.
Finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd for14. A book by an author on the Abe List of 100 Essential Female Writers (link)
Still working through Dreadful Water. I like King’s writing, but I’m just not very engaged with this particular story.
Just finished Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea for51. A book with an "-ing" word in the title
It will probably be my favourite of the year. Heart-wrenching non-fiction with interwoven stories of several individuals. History is a hard subject for me - too many facts makes me lose interest. The personal aspect of this one broke my heart and made me cry. I knew nothing of Korean history before reading this one.
FinishedThe Lost Man
7. A book set in the southern hemisphere
It has been a while since I’ve wanted to stay up all night to finish a book.
For 31. A book inspired by a leading news storyI read
Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada
I was expecting this book to be more specifically about Tina Fontaine and Colten Boushie, but it was not. Instead, I learned about the broader issue of how the Canadian justice system is stacked against indigenous people, and about this issue and how it plays out in northern Saskatchewan. Johnston is very readable, and I discovered that he also write fiction. A book I could have read in a day.
For 13. A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 Books challenge (Link)
I chose from 2017 a prompt I did not complete:
(4.) A title that doesn't contain the letter "E"
And read A Cast of Falcons
Mod
The Lost Man
7. A book set in the southern hemisphere
It has been a while since I’ve wanted to stay up all night to finish a book."
I recently read that, either for that prompt or the one that includes an Australian author. Both The Lost Man and The Dry are excellent and have an amazing sense of place. The landscape is practically a character in the book.
I am in the same situation. Been doing the challenge for four years and only finished once. I get too easily distracted by other books. This year a have read 8 non fiction books I have no idea where to fit. Good luck with your challenge. I hope it works out for you this time.
Robin wrote: "MJ wrote: "FinishedThe Lost Man
7. A book set in the southern hemisphere
It has been a while since I’ve wanted to stay up all night to finish a book."
I recently read that, eithe..."
The author does a really good job of describing her places. I finished The Lost Man and I immediately wanted to reread it. I can't remember the last time I wanted to do that either! It was a library copy so I had to return it. It's a book that is on my "reread someday" list.
Ira wrote: "I am in the same situation. Been doing the challenge for four years and only finished once. I get too easily distracted by other books. This year a have read 8 non fiction books I have no idea wher..."I know I'm in good company when it comes to not finishing the challenge. My concentration went out the window with Covid, and now I'm home for the summer for the first time in years - I'v looked to gardening instead of the reading I usually do at this time of year. Unless something crazy happens, I won't finish this year either. The non-fiction books I now want to read don't fit the list either!
I just finished Permaculture for the Rest of Us: Abundant Living on Less than an Acre, a book I did not plan on reading this year... or next year... but here we are. It fits for 28. A book by an Australian, Canadian or New Zealand author
The author is Canadian, and lives on the east coast, in Nova Scotia.
For 19. A fantasy book
The Broken Kingdoms
It took my too long to get into this one, but then I couldn't put it down for the last half. Going straight to reading the third book in this trilogy.
For 49. A book that fits a prompt from the list of suggestions that didn't win-The prompt I’ve selected is:
A book published in 2020
The Hand on the Wall
Now that I've binge-read the second and third book in this series, I am going to wait and wait for the fourth to come out... next year.
Since i can’t read the next book in her series, i just started The Name of the StarFor 15. A book set in a global city (London)
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Practical Magic (other topics)Educated (other topics)
The Gown (other topics)
The Body (other topics)
The Witches of New York (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
María Dueñas (other topics)María Dueñas (other topics)
Goals for 2020? Select books from my tbr. At least 25% of my reading will be indigenous (either by content or author). Another minimal 25% will have birds in the title or on the cover (either the word "bird" or a species of bird)
* denotes indigenous title
~ birds
10. A book that is between 400-600 pages
~Where Song Began: Australia's Birds and How They Changed the World
12. A book that is a collaboration between 2 or more people
*Sanaaq: An Inuit Novel
20. The 20th book [on your TBR, in a series, by an author, on a list, etc.]
Middlemarch 20th book on BBC's top 100 books according to List Challenges
21. A book related to Maximilian Hell, the noted astronomer and Jesuit Priest who was born in 1719
The Secret Speech
23. A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author
*Drowning in Fire by Craig S. Womack
*~Ravensong
26. A book from the 2019 Goodreads Choice
30. A book from the New York Times '100 Notable Books' list for any year
The Round House
38. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #2 [DAY]
39. A book by an author whose real name(s) you're not quite sure how to pronounce
Maggots, Murder, and Men: Memories and Reflections of a Forensic Entomologist
42. A book that was nominated for one of the ‘10 Most Coveted Literary Prizes in the World’ (link)
43. A book related to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse
The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine
46. A book about an event or era in history taken from the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire"
47. A classic book you've always meant to read
A cut and paste from my 2019 plan (It still applies): In previous years, I've planned to (and failed) to read a certain number of books from certain categories (new authors, classics, sci-fi, etc). This year? It would be nice to read more of:
Rick Riordan
Patricia A. McKillip
Life and Fate
The Secret Speech
Resurrection
I'm also working on reading all of Stephen King's books,
the Rory Gilmore reading challenge
and reading books from around the world.