Jackie M's 2021 ATY Challenge

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My personal rules for 2021:

1. Less planning, more reading.
2. Ignore rule 1 as much as you want.
3. Fit whatever you want wherever you want. YOLO.
4. In order to count, it must get at least 3 stars.
5. Only one book per series.

I've had a bit of a problem with feeling like I *have* to read books I'm not that interested in, or that I *have* to finish books I'm not enjoying in order to complete a prompt. My goal for 2021 is to flip my priorities. Don't worry so much about finding a book that's a 'perfect' fit for a prompt, and focus more on finding and reading books you actually like.

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1. A book related to “In the Beginning...”
Murder Past Due
first in a series

2. A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y
Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown

3. A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music
The Woman in White
for girls in white dresses

✓4. A book with a monochromatic cover
Home: A Memoir of My Early Years★★★

5. A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

✓6. A love story
Check, Please!, Book 2: Sticks & Scones★★★

7. A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list
a book related to the 2021 Pantone Color of the Year, which is actually two colors: Ultimate Gray and Illuminating Yellow, which both show how absolutely tone-deaf Pantone actually is. Pun intended :)
The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness

8. A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited
Walden
set in Massachusetts, which I have never visited

9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year
Haunt Me Still
I always feel like mysteries belong to fall, especially October, but this book also surrounds Macbeth which is a very October-y play

10. A book with a female villain or criminal
Fatal: The Poisonous Life of a Female Serial Killer

11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum
In Search of King Solomon's Mines
about archeology

12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
Winter in Sokcho

13. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020
The Project

14. A book set in a made-up place
The Starless Sea
pretty sure at any rate

✓15. A book that features siblings as the main characters
Educated★★★★

16. A book with a building in the title
The Priory of the Orange Tree

17. A book with a Muslim character or author
A Burning

18. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 1
19. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 2
20. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3
I decided, at least as a preliminary theme, to go with books about people dealing with a disaster
The Lost Village: people making a documentary about a village whose residents suddenly disappeared
Illuminae: main character is on a spaceship fleeing an invasion of earth
The Sundial: about a family prepping for doomsday
So I've got a book about people investigating a disaster of the past, a book about people currently experiencing a disaster, and a book about people prepping for the disaster they believe is coming

✓21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson ★★★★

22. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
I don't remember which one but I think several people have mentioned it

23. A cross genre novel
Radiance
steampunk, mystery, fantasy

✓24. A book about racism or race relations
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents★★★★★

25. A book set on an island
The Decagon House Murders
I get strong And Then There Were None vibes from this

26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author
Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World

27. A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
the character Justice from the Tarot deck

28. A book connected to ice
Icebreaker: A Voyage Far North

29. A book that you consider comfort reading
Lumberjanes, Vol. 11: Time After Crime
this series is so sweet and charming; Saturday Morning cartoons feeling

30. A long book
The Goldfinch
771 pages. God help me

✓31. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years
To Perish In Penzance★★★

✓32. A book whose cover shows more than 2 people
Lumberjanes, Vol. 11: Time After Crime★★★

33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry
✓Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains★★★★
essay collection

✓34. A book with a travel theme
The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road★★★★

35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer
Mexican Gothic

36. A book with six or more words in the title
Down Among the Sticks and Bones

37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list
The Shadow of the Wind

38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator
I got the word: hostile. Thanks 2020.
Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt

39. A book involving an immigrant
Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience

✓40. A book with flowers or greenery on the cover
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail★★★

✓41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author
Voyage of the Sable Venus and Other Poems★★★

42. A mystery or thriller
Quiet Neighbors

43. A book with elements of magic
Akata Warrior

44. A book whose title contains a negative
The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures

45. A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet


✓46. A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards
The Adventurer's Son★★★★

✓47. A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir
Epic Measures: One Doctor. Seven Billion Patients.★★★★★
about how we determine what the biggest medical problems are and where to put our collective efforts

48. A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?”
Anathema!: Medieval Scribes and the History of Book Curses
yes please

✓49. A book with an ensemble cast
Woman World★★★

✓50. A book published in 2021
What's Up, Beanie?: Acutely Relatable Comics★★★

51. A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name
A Burglar's Guide to the City

52. A book related to "the end"
The Ends of the World: Supervolcanoes, Lethal Oceans, and the Search for Past Apocalypses

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The Twelve Oldest Books On My TBR

I really want to knock these off my TBR. Either read em or ditch em.

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Books the Universe Really Wants Me to Read

The Priory of the Orange Tree
To Be or Not To Be: A Chooseable-Path Adventure
A Burning
Mexican Gothic
Sense and Sensibility (reread)
Le Comte de Monte-Cristo I (reread)
Illuminae

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Disqualified Books:

books that failed to meet the 3-star requirement

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First book of the year!

Lumberjanes, Vol. 11: Time After Crime
3 stars, a comfort series for sure, though I miss the original art style.