Sarah's 2021 ATY reading list

[Sarah]

1. A book related to “In the Beginning...”
A Deadly Education
2. A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y
Poison
3. A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favourite Things" from The Sound of Music
Rebel Rose
4. A book with a monochromatic cover
The Dhammapada
5. A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read
White Teeth
6. A love story
The Viscount Who Loved Me
7. A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list
Moxie
8. A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited
Thin Air: A Ghost Story
9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year
Awful Auntie
10. A book with a female villain or criminal
Part of Your Nightmare
11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum
She
12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
Heidi
13. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020
Down Among the Sticks and Bones
14. A book set in a made-up place
Piranesi
15. A book that features siblings as the main characters
Gods Behaving Badly
16. A book with a building in the title
Howards End
17. A book with a Muslim character or author
Aladdin: Far from Agrabah
18. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Past
Ariadne
19. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Present
Bruised
20. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Future
To Be Taught, If Fortunate
21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"
Puddin'
22. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
23. A cross genre novel
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
24. A book about racism or race relations
Uncle Tom's Cabin or Pirates!
25. A book set on an island
The Mysterious Island
26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author
A Hippo Banquet
27. A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards
Half a King
28. A book connected to ice
Away with the Penguins
29. A book that you consider comfort reading
Go the Distance
30. A long book
The Secret Commonwealth
31. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years
The Secret Commonwealth
32. A book whose cover shows more than 2 people
Mars Evacuees
33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry
Elsewhere: One Woman, One Rucksack, One Lifetime of Travel
34. A book with a travel theme
The Painted Garden
35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer
Zulu Dawn
36. A book with six or more words in the title
In the Full Light of the Sun
37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator
Diamond
The Diamond of Drury Lane
39. A book involving an immigrant
Freddie Mercury
40. A book with flowers or greenery on the cover
The Duke and I
41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author
The Three-Body Problem
42. A mystery or thriller
The Case of the Missing Marquess
43. A book with elements of magic
The Witness for the Dead
44. A book whose title contains a negative
Unbirthday
45. A book related to a code word from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
Zulu Dawn
46. A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards
Children of Virtue and Vengeance
47. A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
48. A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?”
Kill Your Friends
49. A book with an ensemble cast
The Moonstone
50. A book published in 2021
Malibu Rising
51. A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name
One True King
52. A book related to "the end"
The Island at the End of the World

[Sarah]

My local library isn't going to reopen this year so I'm going to plan next year with only books I own in case it stays closed.

[Sarah]

[Sarah]

January Update

The first month of the year went great reading-wise. I had more five star books this month than I had in the entirety of last year (I suspect that was more a reflection of my general mood than the actual books.)

Stand Out Read
This is hard because I loved so many of them this month but I'm going to go for Bruised because it was so unexpectedly good. I only picked it up to fulfil a difficult challenge prompt and I was blown away by it. It was a very accurate portrayal of mental illness, which does not magically get cured by the end of the novel after a heart to heart, but the main character, Imogen, is still growing and working on herself. I ended up staying awake until 3am to finish it.

Biggest Disappointment
I had 3 DNF books, all with gorgeous covers. It's so disappointing when the inside doesn't match the outside. I mean, look how pretty:


Up next
I'm still working my way through the massive library haul (and I have a bunch more to pick up this week) so I'm starting with Half a King

ATY: 5/52
Pop Sugar: 5/50
Non-Fiction: 1/10
Classics: 1/10
Books I own: 60%

[Sarah]

February Update

Reading's been going pretty well still. I think the Read-A-Thon helped (although it does mean I picked a bunch of shorter books so I have a lot of long ones left).

Stand Out Read
I had really low expectations going into Poison because it was a book I picked up on a whim from the Pound Shop but I really loved it. I was completely immersed in the worlds created in the book and I adored the way it seamlessly morphed into a different kind of story. Poison was the perfect mardy, contrary teenager without being annoying and all of the side characters were endearing. The bone witch was genuinely terrifying! I wish there were companion books because I wanted so much more.

Biggest Disappointment
I love indulging my inner child with the Twisted Tales series but Unbirthday was the weakest so far. Alice is still stomping around like a spoiled brat, even though she's supposed to be an adult, the Queen of Hearts is supposed to be the villain but she barely features in the whole book and every time Alice seemed to be in any kind of Wonderland peril, she woke up. This happened at least three times and it was so irritating. I really hope the next book in the series is an improvement.

Up Next
I'm not sure. I started Supernova but I can't seem to get back into this series. I think I stopped caring about Nova. I'm not sure if I'll keep reading.

ATY: 10/52
Pop Sugar: 10/50
Non-Fiction: 1/10
Classics: 1/10
Books I own: 60%

[Sarah]

March Update

My reading seems to have slowed down in March, but I think the books are longer or need more concentration than February's books so I'm not going to be too worried about it.

Stand Out Read
I'm not a big romance reader so I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed The Duke and I. From the reviews, I thought it was going to be too corny but it was a nice change of pace for me. It helped that the cover had the gorgeous Regé-Jean Page on the front of it too :D

Biggest Disappointment
Not really a disappointment because I still liked the book, but ending of Piranesi was a let down. The world building and the mysterious goings on were great and seemed to be building up to more than what actually happened. I think it is one of those books which would improve on a second reading once you know what is going on

Up Next
Still plodding through The Three-Body Problem and The Angel of the Crows, which are both slow going for completely different reasons. Once they're done, I think I'll need something fluffy, maybe middle grade as a brain refresher.

ATY: 13/52
Pop Sugar: 13/50
Non-Fiction: 2/10
Classics: 1/10
Books I own: 46%

[Sarah]

April Update

I've been on a roll recently. After I finished The Three-Body Problem which took FOREVER, I've had a few fluffy books to read which has helped me catch up.

Stand Out Read
It has to be One True King. I adore Sophie and Agatha. I didn't like Sophie's crappy "happy" ending but I loved being back with the gang.

Biggest Disappointment
I was so looking forward to The Angel of the Crows because The Goblin Emperor was so phenomenally good but it wasn't for me. I was super confused that there is literally zero reference to it being a Sherlock retelling on the blurb but it is pretty much just a bunch of Sherlock stories with supernatural creatures thrown in. It would have been better broken down into short stories because there didn't seem to be any sort of plot line running through, so I gave up about half way through.


I have quite a few chonkers left on my plan for this year so I've got started on The Secret Commonwealth for now. I need to stop putting more library books on hold too.

ATY: 19/52
Pop Sugar: 19/50
Non-Fiction: 2/10
Classics: 1/10
Books I own: 35%

[Sarah]

May Update

I've been run off my feet lately so this'll be a quick update but I'm almost halfway there

ATY: 25/52
Pop Sugar: 25/50
Non-Fiction: 3/10
Classics: 2/10
Books I own: 44%

[Sarah]

June Update

Work has been insane but the few days of sunshine in the middle of the month helped me crack out a lot of books.

Stand Out Read
There were quite a few books I loved but I think the most unexpected was A Deadly Education. I almost sent it back to the library unread but decided to try the first few pages beforehand. That was it; I couldn't put it down. I was completely pulled in to the world created in the book and can't wait for the sequel.

Biggest Disappointment
I love Greek mythology but Ariadne left me wanting. Such a shame because it is based on one of my favourite stories

Up Next
The library keeps throwing shiny new books in my path and distracting me from the books I need for the challenge. I have Malibu Rising, Black Water Sister and Circus of Wonders tempting me right now.

ATY: 35/52
Pop Sugar: 35/50
Non-Fiction: 5/10
Classics: 2/10
Books I own: 47%

[Sarah]

July Update

A pretty slow reading month for me, but I blame that almost entirely on one book.

Stand Out Read

I really enjoyed Malibu Rising. I read it whilst soaking up the sun in the garden, feeling like I had been transported to California.

Biggest Disappointment

Definitely Captain Corelli's Mandolin. It started slow, but then really picked up in the middle...but the ending! I was so frustrated by the ending. I still can't think about it without getting angry.

Up Next

A lot of the books I need for challenges are chonky classics that I already own, but the library keeps throwing shiny new books at me as a distraction. I started The Mysterious Island for now because I normally read Jules Verne pretty quickly.

ATY: 38/52
Pop Sugar: 37/50
Non-Fiction: 5/10
Classics: 2/10
Books I own: 48%