Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Weekly Topics 2020
>
37. and 38. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites
I've been kind of worried about this prompt, because I'm filling in the prompts as I go, rather than planning ahead. I assumed that at some point in the year I'd have to just choose two books and read them as a pair. But then the perfect idea occurred to me! I'm committed to reading The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin this year, because I started it last year and had to return the book to the library before I moved, so didn't get to finish it. I hadn't decided what prompt to use it for, as it could fit quite a few. But if I use it here, I can read Possession by A. S. Byatt for its opposite, a book I've been wanting to read ever since I loved The Weight of Ink and seen them compared to each other. Plan set! Both books on hold on Libby!
Hannah, what a coincidence! I'm also doing The Dispossessed although my possession book is a different one (Possession: The Curious History of Private Collectors from Antiquity to the Present) which I've had for a while and was not excited about reading until this prompt came up. I'm glad someone else had the same kind of idea!
Bree wrote: "Hannah, what a coincidence! I'm also doing The Dispossessed although my possession book is a different one..."Ha, love it! I'm really looking forward to The Dispossessed - The Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favorite books and I just love Le Guin's worldbuilding and philosophical depth.
Mod
Possession (the novel) is one of my favorite books ever. If you aren’t an English major, feel free to skip the long poems though.
I'm going to reread The Overstory for book group in October and will read Underland: A Deep Time Journey when it comes out in paperback in August. This meets the challenge with Over and Under as opposite words.
I've decided on A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War IIand A Wanted Man.
My opposites are sort of a feminist statement: Man (Wanted) versus Woman (not important)
I'm tentatively going for red/green and fiction/nonfiction.The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick which is nonfiction/green.
and I'm tentatively slotting Parasite as Fiction/Red
Week 21 37. Two Books that are Related to Each Other as a Pair of Binary Opposites- Book #1: The Island by Gary Paulsen
Week 22
38. Two Books that are Related to Each Other as a Pair of Binary Opposites- Book #2: Inland by Téa Obreht
I had Inland already on my TBR book for the year as I chose it for the Western prompt with the Popsugar 2020 challenge so I decided to find a book about an island and there's a LOT of islands books out there. Inland and Island are opposites as one is the middle of a chunk of land and the other refers to a small chunk of land in the middle of water. I enjoyed both of these but neither blew me away, I rated them both 3.5 stars.
I considered a Sun/ Moon or Genius/ Idiot as I have books with those in the titles also on my TBR shelf
I'm thinking of Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death and The Body by Bill Bryson. Dead bodies vs live bodies.My other thought was Elton John's Me and Malcolm Gladwell's Talking to Strangers.
Thoughts on either pair?
I read Old Man's War by John Scalzi and The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. The opposites are old men vs young boys. Also, the first one is about old men who join an army to be young again, while the second is about boys who have to grow up too fast.I wish I had come up with the Dispossessed vs Possession. Possession is one of my favorite books of all time.
Steven wrote: "I read Old Man's War by John Scalzi and The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. The opposites are old men vs young boys. Also, the first one i..."I finished Possession last week and LOVED it! What an absolutely beautiful book.
For this challenge I read Chopsticks and am starting The Disappearing Spoon: Young Readers Edition . Chopstick was not a book I would typically have picked as a lot of it is images instead of reading but the online community and translating parts to english was a lot of fun. Just starting The Disappearing Spoon. I thought those 2 titles fit this category pretty well as they relate to titles involving shapes and the actual way the utensils are used. Also, fiction versus informational.
1. What are you reading for this category?I read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules.
2. Which "opposites" did you choose?
Young and Old. The protagonist of Sweetness is 9 and the protagonist of Little Old Lady... is 79.
3. What other ones did you consider?
None really. When I read Sweetness in March, I figured it'd be perfect for the young part, so I deliberately picked another book with an older protagonist.
Can we go with The Blood of Stars Duology by Elizabeth Lim??? Spin the Dawn vs Unravel the Dusk........ I wanted to fit those in to the challenge somehow!
I thought this would be among the hardest prompts for me this year. While reviewing my 2020 Goodreads challenge thus far, I was surprised to discover that I already had reads that satisfied!my pair is major/minor
Murder in G Major and Minor Mage
For this one, I chose the opposites, stop/go, reading for it Stop at the Red Apple and Go with Me. While both take place in rural settings, they have absolutely nothing else in common. The Red Apple Rest Stop was a place in upstate New York I fondly remember from my childhood, while Go with Me is a gritty, noir-ish novella.
Stacey wrote: "For this one, I chose the opposites, stop/go, reading for it Stop at the Red Apple and Go with Me. While both take place in rural settings, they have absolutely nothi..."We used to stop at the Red Apple Rest Stop on the way to sleep away camp every year. Good memories.
Milena wrote: "Stacey wrote: "For this one, I chose the opposites, stop/go, reading for it Stop at the Red Apple and Go with Me. While both take place in rural settings, they have a..."Milena, we used to stop there en route (and returning from) the summer bungalow colonies in Fallsburg, NY. Such a big part of my summertime memories. Are you interested in reading it? I could send it to you when I'm done - it's hard to find in bookstores.
Stacey wrote: "Milena wrote: "Stacey wrote: "For this one, I chose the opposites, stop/go, reading for it Stop at the Red Apple and Go with Me. While both take place in rural settin..."That is such a nice offer, Stacey. I would love to read it, and of course I would send it back when done. Only if it's not too cost-prohibitive for you
I’ve been struggling to come up with ideas for this one so came to browse the thread for inspiration. I’m currently reading War and Peace which would be perfect by itself but is only one book. So then I thought since it will probably be the largest book I read all year why not pair it with the shortest. I know I’ve read a few slim poetry volumes and a I have a novella coming up that’s only about 40 pages. Problem solved.
Mod
Serendipity wrote: "I’ve been struggling to come up with ideas for this one so came to browse the thread for inspiration. I’m currently reading War and Peace which would be perfect by itself but is only one book. So t..."Love this point that War and Peace could count all in itself. I love Tolstoy (Anna Karenina is one of my all time favorite books) but I have to laugh at him for War and Peace. That's just everything, Tolstoy! Your book wants to be about everything!
What are you reading for this category?I read Light Thickens by Ngaio Marsh and Darkside by Belinda Bauer
Which "opposites" did you choose?
Light and Dark
What other ones did you consider?
I found lots of books that were opposites on my TBR list, so it took me a while to decide which ones to go with.
I read Freya Stark, A Winter in Arabia and Tove Jansson, The Summer Book for these two prompts.
I'm going with the shortest and longest books on my list, largely because this was the easiest for me to approach right now. At 64 pages, I will use Tree in the Trail by Holling Clancy Holling for short. And for long, with 720 pages, I am using The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010.
Jill wrote: "For this prompt I decided to go with a book about Indigenous people and a book featuring an immigrant story. I am going to read Monkey Beach for my story about indigenous people and [..."I loooove this idea! I was so stuck on how to approach this, but this suggestion is exactly what I didn't know I was looking for!
1. What are you reading for this category? Strike Me Down and Last Tang Standing2. Which "opposites" did you choose? Strike down and standing
3. What other ones did you consider? A bunch of stuff that I just couldn't make work.
1. What are you reading for this category?The Lady's Companion by Carla Kelly
Reforming Lord Ragsdale by Carla Kelly
2. Which "opposites" did you choose?
Lord and Lady.
I had a lot of options to choose from, but I finally decided on Caught and The One That Got Away. Both were on my kindle for a while and this seemed like a great opportunity to read them.Others I considered:
SHOUT + Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
Before I Called You Mine + After I'm Gone
Before We Were Strangers + After the End
The Night Before + The Morning After
The Shadows + A Conjuring of Light
Plus numerous titles with boy/girl, over/under, truth/lies...
Mod
The Lady's Companion by Carla Kelly
Reforming Lord Ragsdale by Carla Kelly
2. Which "opposites" did you choose?
Lord and L..."
I love Carla Kelly but she's not very well known. Her main characters are such decent people. And her historical background seems more real than many.
I think I finally figured what I will attempt for this prompt. Base idea was to take highest and lowest rated book from my tbr, but once I looked into options it turned out there are more differences ;) Highest-Rated: (4.75)
- nonfiction
- about past
- "set" in Egypt
- blue elements on the cover
- didn't win any awards as far as I know
- eye well-visible
- written in English
Lowest-Rated: (3.18)
-fiction(short stories)
-somewhat contemporary setting
-set in Poland
-red sweater
-won an award, nominated for 2 others
-concealed eyes
-written in Polish
And if any of above will turn out unreadable for me, it will be easy to switch to replacement (e.g. second highest-rated, second lowest-rated). I wonder with which to start :)
. What are you reading for this category?A Life Without End by Frédéric Beigbeder - A man in search of eternal life.
2. Which "opposites" did you choose?
Haven't decided yet.
3. What other ones did you consider?
Books that have to do with death/suicide/self-destructive behavior:
Go Ask Alice
Impulse
Death and the Penguin
A Matter оf Death аnd Life
Pardon my saying so, but I'm tickled by what I came up with for this one: 
The Day the World Came to Townand
That Day the Rabbi Left Town.
I’m going to read Night Film and A Conjuring of Light contrasting Day and Night with the light!
Janell wrote: "Pardon my saying so, but I'm tickled by what I came up with for this one: The Day the World Came to Townand
[bookc..."
cute!!!
Janell wrote: "Pardon my saying so, but I'm tickled by what I came up with for this one: The Day the World Came to Townand
[bookc..."
I love it!
1. What are you reading for this category? Heartstopper: Volume Two &The King's Men
2. Which "opposites" did you choose?
Both involve a gay romance. however, the first one is extremely wholesome, bright, warm and everything cute and fluffy. The second book is extremely dark, brutal, both boys have been scarred by their pasts. Their romance is far from the generic cute and fluffy romance. It's not fluffy, it's awkward and still has a long way to go before they get more comfortable with the idea of being with someone.
3. What other ones did you consider?
I had a heartstopper decided for my first book a long time ago. All I needed was a dark book to support contrast to the overly bright heart-stopper.
I'm going with Outliers: The Story of Success and Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World as they (so I've heard) present cases for very different models of how people succeed. Also, I haven't read any of these pop psychology/sociology books in a long time, so this will be a nice change of pace.
1. What are you reading for this category? The Last Mrs. Parrish and The First Mrs. Rothschild2. Which "opposites" did you choose? First and Last. However, the books are complete opposites as well.
3. What other ones did you consider? I considered Mr. and Mrs.
Mod
War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line, David Nott
Sweep in Peace, Ilona Andrews
War Doctor was for my FTF book club, so it was an obviously choice as one half of the combination.
Mod
scary A House at the Bottom of a Lake
I'm a big wuss and so I read this one first, with the plan of warding off nightmares with sweet Americana if necessary. Ultimately it wasn't that kind of horror; more an eerie sense of having a run-in with something that definitely could have hurt you.
cozy Little House in the Big Woods
I'm honestly unsure if I ever read Little House on the Prairie as a kid, but I definitely hadn't read this one. The narration gives off strong bedtime-story vibes. Also there was so much food in this book! I just want a pantry full of salted meat and dried peppers and big wheels of cheese and maple sugar and...
Would the first and last book of the same series work for this or would it have to be different series?
Taking it literally, I might do: - The Suspect and Alibi
- A Noble Radiance and A Darker Domain
- The Thirst and The Hunger
- With No One as Witness and Masterpieces of Murder: And Then There Were None / Death on the Nile / The Murder of Roger Ackroyd / Witness for the Prosecution (the latter title)
- Ein liebender Mann = a loving man and Eine unbeliebte Frau: Der erste Fall für Bodenstein und Kirchhoff = a woman nobody likes
-
...
Mod
There is no hard & fast rule, it's up to you.
This prompt has been the hardest for me to decide on! I finally started reading a book Devil in a Blue Dress that came in on a library loan but doesn't fit any remaining prompts. So, I found a way for it to fit this one! My opposite book is Archangel: Fiction. Angel and Devil.
I went with two contemporary romance novels with opposite words in the title: Up/Down and read Mai Tai'd Up by Alice Clayton and Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl
I read a book called Supernaturally, and the memoir Naturally Tan. Will that count? I thought this refers to the title, but now it looks like it's more the concept of the books. Wish I knew!
Azuki wrote: "I read a book called Supernaturally, and the memoir Naturally Tan. Will that count? I thought this refers to the title, but now it looks like it's more the concept of the books. Wish I knew!"You can do it either way, Azuki! I think Supernaturally/Naturally is very clever.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Tell Me Lies (other topics)Cursed (other topics)
Messenger of Truth (other topics)
Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (other topics)
Sworn to Silence (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Scott Lynch (other topics)Kelley Armstrong (other topics)
Victoria Dahl (other topics)
Alice Clayton (other topics)
Frédéric Beigbeder (other topics)
More...
The Little Android by Marissa Meyer - 3 stars
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi - TBR
The first is a short story in The Lunar Chronicles series which I had to fit somewhere and thought this prompt would do. Then I proceeded to look for a title with the opposite of "little", either big, huge, but then found "large" in my TBR and liked the pairing because even though they're opposites, they both start with L.
For anyone still struggling with this prompt, I'd like to suggest lives & deaths:
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
I've read the first book last year and enjoyed it very much. I haven't read the second book yet but I thought they would make a great pair because of their interesting and similar title formats.
My ATY 2020