Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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January 2020 Monthly Reading Discussion
AHHH I have three books from the library that all came in at the same time! I'm going to have to shuffle the first couple weeks to get them in before they need to be returned! I'm trying to finish Verity by Colleen Hoover quick to move on to the others!2. A book by an author whose last name is one syllable Black Leopard, Red Wolf (MBs Library) Marlon James and A Woman is no Man by Etaf Rum
15. A book set in a global city Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y Wilder Girls by Rory Power ( I own this one so it comes 3rd or 4th)
Happy Reading!
I have three (different challenges) ready to go tomorrow and I've cleared my GR currently reading shelf today (feeling quite smug!) ATY: Pines / Blake Crouch (kindle)
Popsugar challenge, book with a map: Six of crows / Leigh bardugo (audiobook)
book club monthly read: Red sister / mark Lawrence (hbk)
the idea of reading challenges has enthused our whole household - husband, who is a very slow reader and prefers film is halfway through his first book already (Jaws / Peter Benchley) and my sons keep asking for recommendations!
2020 is going to be a good reading year.
I'm doing an "Own Books Only Winter" for the next few months to really prioritize the many books that I've bought. It works anyway since it's harder for me to get to the library in the winter, and many of the books I'd like to read are newer, so this gives my library a chance to buy them before I want them. I haven't fully decided what book to start with yet!
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My jar of prompts had me choose #40: A book with a name place in the title as my first prompt, so I'm going to go with Miracle Creek, since it's one of the few I already own that fit the prompt and the library closed early today because of New Years Eve. I'm so excited for tomorrow!
My first books of the year that will count for ATY are, 1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y-•
Circe/Madeline Miller (audio-book)2. A book by an author whose last name is one syllable-
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City of Dragons/Robin Hobb (ebook). I'm also reading on Where the Crawdads Sing and The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. I'm attempting to read in order so both of these books will count as side reads.
I'm also trying to focus right now on reading books I already own. I tend to prioritize library books and don't get around to reading the books I have bought.
For the month of December our library system doubled our Hoopla borrows for the month, so I waited until the last day to take them out and will start reading them tomorrow. I still am in the middle of Feed and Bluebeard's Egg for 2019 prompts that I will have to finish off first.
By virtue of having shown up in my library queue at just the right time, The Goblin Emperor has volunteered to be my first book. I'll be reading it for the Fantasy category.Of course, I'm doing multiple challenge like many here, so I will probably be reading a few other things at the same time. I still have The Stand to finish from 2019.
Chinook wrote: "For the month of December our library system doubled our Hoopla borrows for the month, so I waited until the last day to take them out and will start reading them tomorrow. I still am in the middle..."Dang, thanks for reminding me about Hoopla. I just went on a borrowing frenzy.
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Circe/[author:Madeline Miller|..."Crawdads wasn’t one of my favorite reads of 2019. I hope you love it as much as I did :)
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I’m currently about halfway through Britt-Marie Was Here so I. Hopi g to finish that tomorrow. Depending on how much have left after tonight, I might go ahead and count it for 2019.
I’m planning on completing the challenge in month order this time in hopes it helps me stay on track better. Since I have multiple options listed for each prompt, I’ll be choosing between:
Kill Creek
Ask Again, Yes
Recursion
Dry
Triptych
The Secret Place
The Black Witch
I have all them requested at the library (some immediately available) so pick ups will help me decide which is first.
Going to start the New Year with The Starless Sea and the audio version of The Dutch House. We will play it by ear from there. I have a few books that look like they will be available from the library soon but I also have plenty on my library wish list that are available for immediate checkout.Haley New Year and Happy Reading!
My husband gave me a Kobo Clara for Christmas. I love how compact and light it is and am excited to start using it! The first book I downloaded is As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (Flavia de Luce #7), which I’m starting tomorrow for the Mystery prompt. After that, I plan to tackle Middlemarch and whatever library ebooks come in! Happy 2020 everyone!
Right now I'm halfway through American Pop so I'll finish that in the opening days of the new year. I have a bunch from the library right now that I'll pick from throughout the month: Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970, The Line Becomes A River: Dispatches from the Border, Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen, Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever, Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult, and The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers.I also have Normal People checked out right now through Libby as an audiobook. I'll likely also get Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know and The Nickel Boys on holds this month.
I started first book for challange bit in advance, because it's a chonk - 1Q84. I've got to 39% today, so it will be quite difficult for me to finish it in time nevertheless. I'm thinking about getting audiobook too, so I can listen while I work and speed things up, but then again I'm pretty bad at listening to audiobooks, so I don't know if it will work out at all.
I was so excited this morning to pull out my first prompt from my jar! It was n°30, A book from the New York Times '100 Notable Books' list for any year. I had tons of great options on my TBR, but I needed a book to read on my Kindle and the only one was Behold the Dreamers. This year I'm going to focus on diversity, so it's a great book to start!
Rachel wrote: "I'm doing an "Own Books Only Winter" for the next few months to really prioritize the many books that I've bought. It works anyway since it's harder for me to get to the library in the winter, and ..." I am having a "whole year own books" challenge this year. My goal is 47 books from my shelves.
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I'm currently reading Absolutely Truly: A Pumpkin Falls Mystery by Heather Vogel Frederick
Laura, I'm enjoying Where the Crawdads Sing. I'm listening to the audio book and the narrator really adds to the story.
Charlie wrote: "I have three (different challenges) ready to go tomorrow and I've cleared my GR currently reading shelf today (feeling quite smug!) ATY: Pines / Blake Crouch (kindle)
Popsugar challenge, book wi..."
My currently reading shelf seems ever populated. Congrats on the closure!!!
Sophie wrote: "I was so excited this morning to pull out my first prompt from my jar! It was n°30, A book from the New York Times '100 Notable Books' list for any year. I had tons of great options on my TBR, bu..."
A great start indeed. I read it a couple years ago and had great discussions with a Camaroonian friend about it. I am also trying to read a better reflection world around me. Last year was a big improvement - I deliberately look for and track diverse books now.
Jillian wrote: "My first books of the year that will count for ATY are, 1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y- I'm not so far as City of Dragons yet, but a year-long personal goal of mine is to finish the Realms of the Elderings series, the whole thing, so I'm reading Golden Fool for week 3, "a book you are prompted to read because of something you read in 2019"--which can mean a lot of things but definitely covers continuing a series I was already reading. I finished Fool's Errand last week and it was so good!
As for what I started today, that's Sunshine for "no A, T, or Y in the title."
I started out with A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts for #10, a book of 400-600 pp. I started it in 2019, but didn’t have time to finish until today, so it gets 2020. For those looking for a long book that doesn’t “feel” long, and if one likes historical fiction this is a good choice. My full review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...I love this challenge. This is my 3rd year and I couldn’t wait for it to start. My reading choices and enjoyment have expanded since participating. I know it is a lot of work to moderate so Bravo to those who do the work!!! It is much appreciated.
Elena wrote: "Jillian wrote: "My first books of the year that will count for ATY are, 1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y- I'm not so far as City of Dragons yet, but a year-long p..."
Robin Hobb is one of my favorite authors. Golden Fool was my favorite of the Tawny Man trilogy. I skipped the The Rain Wild Chronicles and read The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy so know I'm working on finishing the Rain Wild Chronicles.
I'm currently listening to Wunderland, I started it the other day and am trying to finish it by today. I am also reading Where the Forest Meets the Stars for a monthly book group I am in, due by Friday.I plan to start Red Queen ( A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y-) and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan for the second (A book by an author whose last name is one syllable).
I'm excited to get 2020 started! I set a goal of 101 books :)
I am reading, Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker for my face to face book club.If fits several ATY prompts but I will use it for only one. Not sure which one yet. It fits #4 A book set in a place or time you wouldn’t want to live in. #19 A fantasy book.#22 A book with a major them of survival. #27 A history or historical fiction.
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Sherri wrote: "I am reading, Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker for my face to face book club.If fits several ATY prompts but I will use it for only one. Not sure which one yet. It fits #4 A book set in a place o..."Sherri, I’m reading The Silence of the Girls as well. I’ve only read about 40 pages, but I’m really enjoying it so far. I’m think of using it for either #32 Olympics or #19 A fantasy book, as I think for me, these are the ones that I would actually need to look for something to fit the prompts.
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sssnoo wrote: "A great start indeed. I read it a couple years ago and had great discussions with a Camaroonian friend about it. I am also trying to read a better reflection world around me. Last year was a big improvement - I deliberately look for and track diverse books now."Thanks, I'm excited to read it now!
Jillian wrote: "Robin Hobb is one of my favorite authors. Golden Fool was my favorite of the Tawny Man trilogy. I skipped the The Rain Wild Chronicles and read The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy so know I'm working on finishing the Rain Wild Chronicles."
Robin Hobb is one of my favourite author! I was disappointed by the first book of the Rainwild Chronicles, but the story picked up and I really enjoyed the series!
Hey y’all :) I’ve missed talking to everyone but I don’t think I’m going to do the challenge this year. As it turns out, as fun as making one giant list of books to read is, I just don’t stick with it (and tbh I’m not super interested in the prompts this year but to each their own!) This is the group that really got me back into reading though so I don’t want to leave! Seeing this new monthly thread though, I’m hoping I can stick around to chat anyways. And I love giving suggestions for challenges even if I won’t be doing them myself lol. I think I am doing the book riot challenge though, which I know some of you also do so I’d love to talk about those prompts with people too. One of my main reading goals this year (other than finally making it to 100 books) is to broaden my reading horizons and seek out marginalized voices, and that challenge is perfect for it! My other goal is to finally make a dent in the long list of marvel comics I need to get to.
So anyway, I’m starting January off rereading great gatsby (it is the roaring 20s after all) and listening to pretty girls by Karen slaughter
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Sabrina wrote: "Hey y’all :) I’ve missed talking to everyone but I don’t think I’m going to do the challenge this year. As it turns out, as fun as making one giant list of books to read is, I just don’t stick with..."
What's the book riot challenge?
What's the book riot challenge?
19. A fantasy book The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (PB)
So I started with the #1 book on my tbr list. I want to whittle down the older books that have been on my list for awhile. The book is Sam's Letters to Jennifer. I couldn't really fit it anywhere else but in prompt 49. A book from the list of suggestions that didn't win. It's only 263 pages and should be a quick read. The next book on my tbr list is The Help. I"m planning on slotting that in the prompt with a two word title starting with The. This kind of makes it hard to figure out what my 20th book is going to be for the year though so I'm leaving that spot open for awhile.
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker will also fit #43 A book related to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. I am enjoying the book too.
I'm trying to read 52 books set in 52 countries that aren't the US or UK for ATY this year, so reading randomly instead of in order as I have the last few years. I also generally don't let books be on my TBR more than 3 years.This month, I'm planning to read the 3 books that would be over 3 years:
From Sand and Ash (Italy) - probably for rejects because I think I have Italy elsewhere
The Forgotten Garden (Australia) - #28 author from Australia, N. Zealand or Canada (unless it's more UK)
The Madonnas of Leningrad (Russia) - #40 book with place name in title
Also, need to dig into the list with multiple settings or that I'm unsure of the setting but hope to fit them into ATY:
The Sparrow - #21 Maximillian Hell
A House in the Sky - #35 Geometric Pattern
Gold - #32 Related to Olympics
A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa - #11 Published in year that is prime number
The Time in Between - #52 Related to time
I'm probably missing some, and I probably won't read all of those, and will fit in some mood reads.
My first book wasn't really a thoughtful choice :D End of December I picked up Russel Brand's memoir (My booky wook) from an acquaintance to finish before the end of the year but due too various holiday constraints I only managed to read 12 pages.. Since it fits the prompt of a neurodiverse character I've decided to count it towards the challenge.
Entropia wrote: "I started first book for challange bit in advance, because it's a chonk - 1Q84. I've got to 39% today, so it will be quite difficult for me to finish it in time nevertheless. I'm th..."I ended up really liking this book, though it took me awhile to get into. I would have gotten lost in audio, but I also have to be pretty selective in my audio to not either zone out or get confused.
I have started with Pompeii for 1.Book with a title that doesn´t contain A, T or Y. Just two chapters in so far. I will probably use this for Popsugar as well as it works for two prompts for me there as well, just has to chose which one.
I have tried to chose as much as I can from my TBR and this came from there. I also try to borrow as much as I can from the library so availability there also has to be taken into account. So far I can stick to read in order though. Will see how that will go in the long run.
One of my goals is to stick with the order of the prompts as much as I can as I love that some of the prompts will help me read books I otherwise may not have picked up (see prompt #4 below as an example). Most of the books I've used come from my "already owned" shelves so that helps.Here's my January TBR:
- #1: no A, T or Y
- #2: one syllable author name
- #3: prompted by reading the first one in the series last year
- #4: place/time I wouldn't want to live
- #5: the first book in a seriesMy typical reading pace is 5 books a month so I'm feeling good about the list so far. Happy reading all!
Kelly wrote: "One of my goals is to stick with the order of the prompts as much as I can as I love that some of the prompts will help me read books I otherwise may not have picked up (see prompt #4 below as an e..."Kelly, I really enjoyed Darkmatter. I hope you do as well! It was one of those books I just could not put down.
So, funny story. I finished my last book of 2019, The Forsyte Saga, several days ago, and wanted a quick read to fill the interval before I could start the 2020 challenge. The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein was on sale on my Kindle and I'd been wanting to read it, so I picked that up. I was about halfway through the book and started to think "hmm... this seems to be building to some kind of climax, but I'm only 47% through... there must be a big twist coming!" Then... (view spoiler)... and there's an epilogue! The book was only 52% over! What???It turns out the second half of the Kindle book is the entire text of the original Frankenstein, so I guess that will be my first book of 2020! There go my plans to read in order already. I should be able to slot it in for prompt 3, so I'm only a few weeks off. Red Clocks (for prompt 1) will just have to wait, I guess.
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I read 193 pages today (!!!) and also went see Little Women, which HOLY COW IT WAS SO SO GOOD. I haven't read the book since college, but now I want to go back and read it again because the movie was just so beautifully done.
I so want to see Little Women. I’m tempted to take my five year old, but maybe it’s too old for her.
Emily wrote: "Strongly resisting clicking the "View Spoiler" on this one, Kelly, because that's my book club's April pick and I'm super excited about it. I'll have to make sure I don't get a copy that also comes..."I really hope you like it! I did, but I think I would have gotten more out of it if I were more familiar with the original story. I've never read the book or seen the movie. I guess I'm fixing that now!
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Kelly, I taught Frankenstein to my classes last year, so I'm very familiar with the story!
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Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
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Under the Dome (other topics)
Soulless (other topics)
The Word is Murder (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Candice Millard (other topics)Liz Moore (other topics)
Liz Moore (other topics)
Chautona Havig (other topics)
Brenda Novak (other topics)
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How are you starting your year? Have you picked your first book yet?