2021 ATY Completion Thread

[Pam]

It was getting down to the wire but I finished with 13 days to spare!

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge:
Cloud Cuckoo Land
The Boys : A Memoir of Hollywood and Family
Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea
Childhood's End
Murder on the Leviathan
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives
Dune: the Graphic Novel, Book 1
Kashtanka
The Thursday Murder Club

- My most creative twist on a prompt
The Rabbi's Cat for the Grand Egyptian Museum prompt. I figured that there are statues of cats in the museum.

- The prompt I cheated on
Technically, I didn't cheat but I used a picture book Mi papi tiene una moto for the NATO prompt. Because I also used it for myself in learning Spanish, I decided to count it. (With a 4 year old in my house, I read a lot of picture books!)

- My favorite prompt
A book set in a place you have never visited.

- My least favorite prompt
ATY Best Book of the Month thread (It's way too random for me.)
I wound up reading a book I had been waiting for on a library hold and I lucked out that someone had posted it in November! Thanks to the person who posted Cloud Cuckoo Land!

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
I am a Japanese Writer by Dany Laferrière (New-to-you BIPOC author)

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Codename Villanelle (female villain)
I only read it because I liked the TV show, which actually was better than the book IMO. The author did provide the inspiration for the show, so there is that.

[Carol]

I did it! Now I'm ready for next year. :-)

[Pearl]

This was my best reading year ever. Thank you ATY! I found this challenge when I was off work, and it was perfect. I'm back to work and school now, so you might not see much of me until next summer, but I'll keep chipping away at my new plan.

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge

The Vanishing Half
Olive Kitteridge
Beartown
Just Mercy
A Dog's Purpose
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
The Widows of Malabar
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Man Called Ove

- My most creative twist on a prompt - None really. I started later than most people, and I was able to get ideas from other users.
- The prompt I cheated on - I looked at other people's papers, is that cheating? : )
- My favorite prompt - A book involving an immigrant.
- My least favorite prompt - I put off the "future" book till the end. The Martian was very good though.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress was very different from my usual reading. Olive Kitteridge also fit an award winner for the fall readathon.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) Fever by Mary Beth Keane. It was just OK. Some of my least favorite books were selected before I decided to do this, so I'm very happy I joined in.

[Valerie]

Val's Pinch of this and that is finished! I have a few days to spare, too. :-)
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge: I read 7 books that I gave 5 stars. They were: How to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith, Becoming by Michelle Obama, Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman, Catalina Mountains: : A Guide Book with Original Watercolors by Frank S. Rose,
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing by Jacqueline Winspear, and Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley.
- My most creative twist on a prompt: I was running out of time and I needed to read a book about an immigrant, so I used Stardust by Neil Gaiman. A young man enters a magic land to search for a fallen star to give to his beloved. In that land, this star is a person and many of the land's inhabitants are searching for it; fighting over it, even. So since they have fallen in love, the young man and the star, the young man decides to live in the magic land. Thus, he becomes an immigrant.

- The prompt I cheated on: I only read a couple of the essays in The Best American Essays 2013. I had read some of them already in another challenge.

- My favorite prompt: Comfort reads...Why else do I read?

- My least favorite prompt: A long book...I like to read several books at a time. Reading a long book requires me to focus on one book for about a week. So far, I have not read a long book that captivated me for the long haul...they become a slog. Guess I am not a good chooser.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) I read a book by Fredrik Backman. It was I Britt-Marie Was Here. I so enjoy reading his books so I decided to read this one. In the end, it feels so good.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) For a book set on an island, I read Euphoria. It sounded so interesting being about Margaret Mead's life. It wasn't!!! It was an alternative universe book about what might have happened. I felt cheated.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Just completed my second round of ATY and I am SHOCKED that I managed to complete it with only minimal cheating lol

Limiting my answers to just my second round books...

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Flash Fire by T.J. Klune
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman (reread)
Gemina by Amie Kaufman (reread)
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

- My most creative twist on a prompt
I used Emergency Contact for the prompt that refers to a character without naming them, which I'm pretty proud of that use.

- The prompt I cheated on
I used a wild card for the short book prompt because the book I had slotted in was not one I feel like reading right now, and I had a few books that didn't fit anywhere else.

- My favorite prompt
I have been pleasantly surprised by the Warwick prompt... I had low hopes for it when it was first selected because of the limited options, but I really enjoyed both books I read for this one. I also liked the siblings as main characters prompt.

- My least favorite prompt
I hated the short book prompt. It was so hard for me to find books I wanted to read... I usually opt for longer over shorter. Also really hated the author whose career was 21+ years, since I rarely pick books based on authors and there were not many on the list that I wanted to read.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Convenience Store Woman for sure.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
There were quite a bit of books that I would have DNF'd if it wasn't for the challenge... The Marriage Plot, The World According to Garp, The Summer Book (I apparently don't like older novels lol)

[Melissa A]

If you're interested, feel free to answer these questions and let us know what you loved and didn't love about the challenge!

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge (So many)
The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern
How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House Cherie Jones
The Book of Two Ways Jodi Picoult
Circe Madeline Miller
Pachinko Min Jin Lee
Convenience Store Woman Sayaka Murata
City of Girls Elizabeth Gilbert
The Comfort Book Matt Haig
The Girl with the Louding Voice Abi Daré
The Elegance of the Hedgehog Muriel Barbery
Florence Adler Swims Forever Rachel Beanland
Transcendent Kingdom Yaa Gyasi
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family Robert Kolker

- My most creative twist on a prompt - I used Greenlights Matthew McConaughey for a book with a travel theme.

- The prompt I cheated on - probably “A book related to ‘in the beginning’” - I used Wedding Cake Murder Joanne Fluke(Hannah Swenson #19 in which Hannah FINALLY gets married) - as getting married can be considered a “beginning” but it was the 19th book in the series . . . and if you’ve read it, then you know why I might consider it a bit of a cheat.

- My favorite prompt - A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list (I like the “wildcard” aspect of this prompt)

- My least favorite prompt - A book related to a word given by a random word generator

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) - The Elegance of the Hedgehog Muriel Barbery

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) - none. I give myself permission to DNF a book I’m not enjoying and source another.

[JosLovesToRead]

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
* Yellow Bird Sings
* Things You Save In A Fire
* The Midnight Library
* The Nightingale
* The Great Alone
* The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
* Charlotte’s Web
* Travels with Charlie
* From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
* Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows
* And Then There Were None
* The Four Winds
* The Orphan’s Tale

[Sue]

Finished the challenge tonight! I have read in order in the correct week all year, only wavering by a couple of days here and there.
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Mantel Pieces: Royal Bodies and Other Writing from the London Review of Books by Hilary Mantel
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Bruny by Heather Rose
Jack Maggs by Peter Carey
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
The Orchard of Lost Souls by Nadifa Mohamed
A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

- My most creative twist on a prompt - didn't really need to be creative - I found all quite easy to allocate books to
- The prompt I cheated on - I didn't cheat!
- My favorite prompt - 21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"
- My least favorite prompt - A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) - The Art of War by Sun Tzu
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) - A Woman Of The Future by David Ireland

[Marin]

Finished today! This is actually a little less under the wire for me than usual -- it helped that the last book I read really picked up towards the end.

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
The Name of the Rose
Melal: A Novel of the Pacific
Kindred
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Tsar of Love and Techno
Tales from Firozsha Baag
Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia

- My most creative twist on a prompt
I didn't get really creative

- The prompt I cheated on
52. A book related to "the end" - I was doing a round-the-world time zone challenge along with ATY and Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia was "the end" of that challenge. That definitely feels like a cheat.

- My favorite prompt
45. A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet - a good combination of open and restrictive

- My least favorite prompt
I don't really like it when a prompt is too open or if I feel like I'm getting stalker-y researching authors

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Frangipani for 37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
My lowest-starred reads (The Gown, Mister B. Gone, The Melancholy of Resistance) were all already on my TBR and matched to prompts, so I have nobody to blame but myself.

[Katelyn]

Yay! I finished...later than last year but before December 31st so that's a win!

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge

I read so many 5 star books this year! Here are a few:

A Promised Land
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
Concrete Rose
These Silent Woods

- My most creative twist on a prompt

Not sure if this is creative, but I read Every Last Fear for a book that takes place on an island since part of the book takes place on Manhattan. Not really an island but still works.

- The prompt I cheated on

I actually didn't cheat at all this year. I almost used a couple prompts I didn't like as "free" spaces but I ended up finding books that fit.

- My favorite prompt

I liked the (3) Books from Past, Present, and future. It provided a lot of creativity on how you want to interpret Past, Present, and future.

- My least favorite prompt

A book from the Best Book of the Month prompt


- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows which I read for the book from the list of "Are you well read in world literature?"

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)

I DNF'd a lot of books this year, which I really hate doing. I chose some duds for prompts and abandoned them for others. I really did not like Catherine House but I liked it enough to actually finish it. I just kept waiting for something to happen, but it fell flat for me.

[Chrissy]

I finished last night, in time to count my last book for the readathon!

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge:
Black Sun
A Psalm for the Wild-Built
Travelling While Black: Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move

- My most creative twist on a prompt
One of my random words was “observation” and when I finished Whereabouts it struck me that this was a perfect but unplanned fit. (I read it for ToB summer camp.)

- The prompt I cheated on
I read Disappearing Earth for “connected to ice” because others had, but I think that’s a stretch.

- My favorite prompt
Warwick Prize

- My least favorite prompt
Are you well read in world literature list (the format was a pain, and the selection seemed kind of random, but there were some good ones in there…)

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) Travelling While Black: Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move for a book about traveling

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) A Rain of Night Birds which I chose as the “present” book for my fall of civilizations theme for the past/present/future multiprompt. I don’t remember anything about it, but it was my only 2-star review for AtY.

[Becky]

Last year I finished in August, and this year I'm just happy to squeak in a finish. Definitely a difference between having my second child be a newborn vs a toddler (along with the changes in the outside world...)

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
The Lions of Al-Rassan
Exhalation
The Goblin Emperor
Beartown
A Closed and Common Orbit
The Ministry for the Future
Paladin of Souls
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

- My most creative twist on a prompt: This isn't particularly twisty, but I ended up using Providence for #42 Mystery or thriller. I was expecting something like Alien based on descriptions, and it was not quite that.

- The prompt I cheated on: I felt a little cheat-y that I used books from the same series for 11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum and 35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer.

- My favorite prompt: 21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u" This was just the right amount of scavenger hunt for me.

- My least favorite prompt: I think if pressed to come up with one, I would say 23. A cross genre novel. It just felt confusing to determine what actually fits (even knowing that I'm the final arbiter for my own list.)

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!): Exhalation (33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry) - I just don't tend to pick up short stories without an external push, and this collection was lovely. I'll definitely check out his other one, and I will certainly vote for prompts that push me to read a collection so that I'll hit at least one each year...

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!): Summer of '69 (15. A book that features siblings as the main characters) Just fell flat for me.

[Brittany]

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Verity

- My most creative twist on a prompt
27. A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards

I read Sass & Sorcery and while none of the names of the individuals could be found in a deck of cards the four MCs collectively were known as the Rat Queens, so I counted it.

- The prompt I cheated on
I don't think I did, my rat queens stretch was about it.

- My favorite prompt
3 books related to "Past, Present, Future"

- My least favorite prompt
37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list

It was a long list; I just didn't want to read anything on it.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Malibu Rising

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Bunny It was just so strange and I'm not sure I knew what was really going on the entire book

finished 12/14/2021

[EILEEN]

Emily wrote: "CONGRATS! Feel free to post here once you've finished your 2021 Reading Challenge, and let us all celebrate with you!

If you're interested, feel free to answer these questions and let us know what..."

WOW! I finally made it! So close! I was very busy in Oct & Nov and got behind. AND....I caught up! YAY!

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
My Brilliant Life by Kim Ae-ran
Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story by Erin French
The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin
Night by Eli Weisel
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Good Talk by Mira Jacob
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Mr Terrupt Falls Again by Rob Buyea
When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Piccolt
Everybody's Fool by Richard Russo
Verity by Colleen Hoover

- My most creative twist on a prompt
#16.Mill Town by Kerri Arsenault (I considered a Mill a building.)

- The prompt I cheated on
#20 future book-- We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker (doesn't REALLY take place in the future--I feel it forces the future!)

- My favorite prompt
#50. published in 2021 (so many choices!)

- My least favorite prompt
#12 Warwick Prize (I abandoned 2 books before taking it as a WILD CARD!!!)

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (37. Are You well read in Wold Literature?)

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

[Andrea]

I actually finished this year's challenge with days to spare!!


5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

My most creative twist on a prompt
I would have to say that using the Greek gods as siblings in Lore by Alexandra Bracken was probably my most creative interpretation of a prompt.

The prompt I cheated on
After completing an unassigned, impromptu read, Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo, I used it as a book involving an immigrant even though it did not actually focus on the immigration process. It did, however, involve an immigrant and showcased the new terrain in a thoroughly memorable fashion.

My favorite prompt

I really enjoyed the search required for prompt #21: A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u." I eventually selected The Golden House by Salman Rushdie.

My least favorite prompt

A prompt that I dreaded was #33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry, but after reading The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans, I found that it was surprisingly painless.

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Nicotine by Nell Zink
(To be fair, I would have read it eventually for it was sitting on my physical shelf!)

[Pam]

It’s great to see so many people finishing up!! Congrats everyone! Thank you moderators for all of your hard work this year! 🏆 🏆🏆

[Katie]

Finished on 12/23/21 by (what felt like) the skin of my teeth!

+ 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge:
(A real mixed bag here. I am particular about my five star rankings but it's also entirely based on how I felt at the end of the book.)
Becoming
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Night Circus
Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman
A Gentleman in Moscow
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
The Song of Achilles
The Kite Runner
And Then There Were None
Flowers for Algernon
Humans of New York: Stories
Kindred
The Underground Railroad
Coraline
The Likeness
A Tale for the Time Being
The Anthropocene Reviewed
Dial A for Aunties
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams - not technically for ATY but too good not to mention.

+ My most creative twist on a prompt:
I used Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman for "A book whose title contains a negative." I was going to use And Then There Were None but wanted to fit Shrill in and thought that was another way that I could. I also used Flowers for Algernon for "A book with flowers or greenery on the cover," which was a very literal take on the prompt.

+ The prompt I cheated on:
I didn't cheat on any unless you consider things like the above to be "cheating" but I don't.
Some things I found valid but others might not:
I used The Wind in the Willows for "A book whose cover shows more than 2 people" even though the "people" in this case are sentient animals.
I guess another one was "A book with a monochromatic cover" since I was thinking of the edition of Artemis Fowl that my family had (which had a very gold-on-gold cover), but since I am primarily an ebook library reader, the edition I read didn't technically have a monochromatic cover. But since the edition I'm most familiar with does and I can't control what the library has, I don't count that as cheating.

+ My favorite prompt:
I think "A book that features siblings as the main characters," "A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name," and "A book with a building in the title" were categories where I had a ton of options and liked the flexibility I had within the category but also that it wasn't open-ended like some others. A perfect balance.

+ My least favorite prompt:
Either "A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music" or "A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum" because I didn't want to read anything I found for them.
Also "A book related to a word given by a random word generator" was the bane of my existence. I have no recollection what my first word was but none of the options were good so I eventually went with the group word "hand." I don't like prompts that require outside forces (quizzes/word generators) or "favorites" because they stress me out.

+ A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!):
I think most everything I read was on my TBR already but I'm glad it pushed me to read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (for "A long book") and got me into reading the Dublin Murder Squad books (I read In the Woods for "A book related to “In the Beginning...”" and then made room for The Likeness later in the year)

+ A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!):
I may have read all of these without ATY, but these are the clunkers that I felt were tied to the challenge in some way:
Convenience Store Woman
You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Remote Control
The Remains of the Day
The Wind in the Willows (a true bummer)

[Jane]

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Mexican Gothic
The White Tiger
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

- My most creative twist on a prompt

I was super straightforward all year - I shuffled things around a lot.

- The prompt I cheated on

I confess I rerolled the word generator until I got MONEY - which I used for The Nickel Boys which I really wanted to read!

- My favorite prompt

A book with a female villain or criminal
Shutter Island
- My least favorite prompt

Probably the NATO one?

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)

Shutter Island - had never really considered reading this book and I loved it.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)

My Husband's Wife - not for me!

[Tamula]

I finished 36 of the challenges. I need more reading time. Still, it continues to be a great experience.

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Longbourn by Jo Baker
The Invisible Woman by Erika Robuck
A Keeper by Graham Norton
Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear (my favorite so far in the Maisie Dobbs series)

- My most creative twist on a prompt
That would be the "Past, Present, and Future" challenge. I have book subscription box books piled up and was going to read an old one, one from the past year, and a new one. I only ended up reading a new one! Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher

- The prompt I cheated on
#23 A cross genre novel: Charlotte by Helen Moffett. It is about Charlotte from Pride and Prejudice and what happens to her after the original novel ends. I didn't know if it really fit the prompt but went with it because I wanted to read it.

- My favorite prompt #48 "You read what?!?" just because it was funny. A Secret Amish Love by Rebecca Kertz

- My least favorite prompt #11 The Grand Egyptian Museum - wasn't quite sure what to do with this one.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) #2 author's name doesn't contain A, T, Y. I read A Cup of Light by Nicole Mones. I had been meaning to read more by this author for years and this prompt got me to do it.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) Nothing for this one. If I am not liking a book by page 50, I DNF it!

[Donna]

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge: Blowout by Rachel Maddow; Free Country by George Mahood; We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker; Boy Swallows Universe, by Trent Dalton; Out of the Dark, by Gregg Hurwitz; Reckless Oath We Made, by Bryn Greenwood; Beneath a Ruthless Sun, by Gilbert King; Hunger, by Roxane Gay; Girl With The Louding Voice, by Abi Dare; Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier.

- My most creative twist on a prompt: I don’t think I got creative, but for Week 8. A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited, I chose Midnight in Chernobyl -- Nope I’ve never visited Chernobyl, and I never will!

- The prompt I cheated on: I don’t think I cheated.

- My favorite prompt: I can’t choose! I love this challenge, and making my list of books fit the prompts.

- My least favorite prompt: Week 6. A love story: I chose The Mothers, by Brit Bennett. I don’t like romances as a general rule, and I didn’t love this book.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!): Week 40. A book with flowers or greenery on the cover: I picked Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flyn for its beautiful green cover but I truly enjoyed it.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!): Week 28. A book connected to ice: I read Alone on the Ice, by David Roberts. It is about Arctic (or Antarctic?) expeditions. They took sled dogs, the dogs all died horrible deaths, and the reader has a front row seat for everything…yuck!

[Hélène]

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge:

The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf
Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
The Maid's Request by Michèle Desbordes
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin
The Republic of False Truths by Alaa Al Aswany
Jours de sable by Aimée de Jongh
Histoire de la Grande Maison by Charif Majdalani

- My most creative twist on a prompt:
None.

- The prompt I cheated on:
"You read what?" - I thought I wouldn't cheat this year because I liked all the prompts, but I hadn't anticipated the problem with book delivery. I was short of only one book at the end of November, but since the one I wanted to read for "You read what?" was not available at my library or on Kindle, I ordered a physical copy… that still hasn't arrived yet! So I chose another one to fulfill the prompt, but it was not so convincing.

- My favorite prompt:
A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list. I will keep coming back to this list in the years to come, and I'm really thankful to the member who suggested it and to the group for having voted it in!

- My least favorite prompt:
Short stories aren't my thing.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!):
Histoire de la Grande Maison. It was on my TBR but I probably would have waited longer before reading it or even forgotten all about it if not for the challenge.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!):
None. Three books have been particularly disappointing this year but I would have read them anyway : one was a gift from my sister, another had been recommended by one of my favorite authors, and I bought the third one because I couldn't resist its shiny cover!

[Sarah]

DONE!

[Laurii]

Finished on 12/27!

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
The Hate U Give
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster
Piranesi
Recursion
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

- My most creative twist on a prompt
I don't know that I was very creative with any of the prompts. Maybe a book realted to "the end"? I read The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)- a nonfiction book about different ways our universe could end.

- The prompt I cheated on
I rerolled the word generator until I got a word that fit a book I knew I wanted to read

- My favorite prompt
A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir. One of my reading goals this year was to read more non-fiction, so I was happy to see this prompt.

- My least favorite prompt
A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards. It didn't seem difficult, but I had a hard time finding something I wanted to read for this one.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World This was on my TBR, but I don't know that I ever would have got around to actually reading it without the challenge.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Radiance I was interested in the sci-fi aspects of this book, but that was really only a backdrop for a story about the movie industry that I just didn't care for.

[Sheena]

Finished today(12/31/21) just in time! Will edit later with question answers.

[Sophie]

finished with 6 hours to spare!

[Dana]

Unfortunately, only managed to read 49 out of 52, but in 2022 I will definitely finish the ATY challenge. I already organised my list.

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl
Stargazer by Dan Wells
The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
The Lake of Souls by Darren Shan
Home Body by Rupi Kaur
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

- My most creative twist on a prompt:
For the last prompt about a book related to the end I have read The End by Lemony Snicket.

- The prompt I cheated on
At 38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator, I clicked several times until I got "elevator", where I already had The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket, so I added this one.

- My favorite prompt
I loved the idea of 18, 19 and 20, 3 books about Past, Present and Future.

- My least favorite prompt
35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer - it was a hard one to find books for.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Mystery of the Indian Carvings by Gloria Repp is a book I have for free from Amazon but not sure I would have read it if not for prompt 45: A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
There is none, to be honest! I did hate My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones for prompt 41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author, but I initially read it for Literally Dead Book Club hosted by BooksandLala.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Congratulations to those finishing - and almost finishing - at the end of the year!

[Allegra]

Not read in any particular order, but I did start 1 in early January and finish 52 in late December. (any explanation is in parentheses)

THE 2021 LIST
1. A book related to “In the Beginning...” -- A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi (it was the first book shelved in my library when I went to start the year)
2. A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y -- New Year's Eve Murder by Leslie Meier
3. A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music -- The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (warm woolen mittens)
4. A book with a monochromatic cover -- Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking

5. A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read -- Jazz by Toni Morrison
6. A love story -- The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally & Nick Offerman
7. A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list -- The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune (A book related to Don McLean's "American Pie": Lucie loves Dead People Music)
8. A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited -- The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R.K. Narayan (India)

9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year -- The Chocolate Bunny Brouhaha by JoAnna Carl
10. A book with a female villain or criminal -- Year One by Nora Roberts (possibly ill-advised, given the state of the world, but the Female Villain was...Me! As in, her name was Allegra)
11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum -- Let's All Kill Constance by Ray Bradbury
12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation -- Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yōko Tawada

13. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020 -- The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens (from reading A Christmas Carol)
14. A book set in a made-up place -- The Cat Who Went Underground by Lilian Jackson Braun
15. A book that features siblings as the main characters -- The House on the Cliff by Franklin W. Dixon (no less than the Hardy Boys, for the unfamiliar)
16. A book with a building in the title -- The Crypt Thief: A Hugo Marston Novel by Mark Pryor

17. A book with a Muslim character or author -- Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
18. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 1 -- The Great Mistake by Jonathan Lee (all three take place in NYC)
19. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 2 --Empire State: A Love Story by Jason Shiga (all three take place in NYC)
20. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3 -- Glory in Death by J.D. Robb (all three take place in NYC)

21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u" -- An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten
22. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads -- Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
23. A cross genre novel -- The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
24. A book about racism or race relations -- Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour
25. A book set on an island -- The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman (there I am again... well, my name)
26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author -- The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson

27. A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards -- Matrix by Lauren Groff (the ever-present Queen Eleanor)
28. A book connected to ice -- The Call of the Wild by Jack London
29. A book that you consider comfort reading -- Fortune and Glory: Tantalizing Twenty-Seven by Janet Evanovich (Jersey Girl solving mysteries. Yeah!)
30. A long book -- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
31. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years -- Swimsuit by James Patterson
32. A book whose cover shows more than 2 people -- Finish the Fight! by Veronica Chambers

33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry -- Eight Tales of Terror by Edgar Allan Poe / Dearly by Margaret Atwood
34. A book with a travel theme -- Us by David Nicholls
35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer -- The Lady Matador's Hotel by Cristina García
36. A book with six or more words in the title -- The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list -- Heidi by Johanna Spyri
38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator -- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
39. A book involving an immigrant -- Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
40. A book with flowers or greenery on the cover -- Still Life by Louise Penny

41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author -- The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
42. A mystery or thriller -- Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist by Dorothy Gilman
43. A book with elements of magic -- The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham
44. A book whose title contains a negative -- Mouths Don't Speak by Katia D. Ulysse

45. A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet -- Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
46. A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards -- A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
47. A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir -- Cats Behaving Badly: Why Cats Do the Funny Things They Do by Celia Haddon
48. A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?” -- Texas Hold 'Em: How I Was Born in a Manger, Died in the Saddle, and Came Back as a Horny Toad by Kinky Friedman

49. A book with an ensemble cast -- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
50. A book published in 2021 -- No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
51. A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name -- The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
52. A book related to "the end" -- The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi (it was the last book shelved in my library when I went in December)

1 A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi 2 New Year's Eve Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #12) by Leslie Meier 3 The Friday Night Knitting Club (Friday Night Knitting Club, #1) by Kate Jacobs 4 Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking 5 Jazz (Beloved Trilogy, #2) by Toni Morrison 6 The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally 7 The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune 8 The Ramayana A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R.K. Narayan 9 The Chocolate Bunny Brouhaha (A Chocoholic Mystery, #16) by JoAnna Carl
10 Year One (Chronicles of The One, #1) by Nora Roberts 11 Let's All Kill Constance by Ray Bradbury 12 Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yōko Tawada 13 The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens 14 The Cat Who Went Underground (Cat Who..., #9) by Lilian Jackson Braun 15 The House on the Cliff (The Hardy Boys, #2) by Franklin W. Dixon 16 The Crypt Thief A Hugo Marston Novel by Mark Pryor 17 Persepolis The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1) by Marjane Satrapi
18 The Great Mistake by Jonathan Lee 19 Empire State A Love Story (or Not) by Jason Shiga 20 Glory in Death (In Death, #2) by J.D. Robb 21 An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten 22 Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 23 The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer 24 Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour 25 The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman
26 The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson 27 Matrix by Lauren Groff 28 The Call of the Wild by Jack London 29 Fortune and Glory Tantalizing Twenty-Seven (Stephanie Plum, #27) by Janet Evanovich 30 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 31 Swimsuit by James Patterson 32 Finish the Fight! by Veronica Chambers
33 Eight Tales of Terror by Edgar Allan Poe / Dearly by Margaret Atwood 34 Us by David Nicholls 35 The Lady Matador's Hotel by Cristina García 36 The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell 37 Heidi by Johanna Spyri 38 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 39 Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
40 Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #1) by Louise Penny 41 The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris 42 Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist (Mrs. Pollifax, #13) by Dorothy Gilman 43 The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham 44 Mouths Don't Speak by Katia D. Ulysse 45 Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan 46 A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost 47 Cats Behaving Badly Why Cats Do the Funny Things They Do by Celia Haddon
48 Texas Hold 'Em How I Was Born in a Manger, Died in the Saddle, and Came Back as a Horny Toad by Kinky Friedman 49 Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 50 No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood 51 The Tattooist of Auschwitz (The Tattooist of Auschwitz, #1) by Heather Morris 52 The Lady of Sorrows (The Greek Detective #4) by Anne Zouroudi (less)

[Tabitha]

*edit: sorry, totally realized I was only supposed to post here if I completed the challenge lol it's been a long couple months with the holidays and such. my apologies.*

I only ended up completing 46 of 52 prompts, but considering I didn't decide to do this until near the end of the year and a lot of the books I'd already read actually fit. . . Well, I feel proud. ^_^

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Not going to list them all, just some. . .



- My most creative twist on a prompt/the prompt I cheated on
I didn't really cheat or anything? I just ended up having to use a wild card to replace a prompt cause my library mixed up my hold and I couldn't get ahold of the book I wanted before the end of the year happened.
My favorite prompt
Probably the Past, Present, Future where you read 3 books related cause it finally let me get around to reading The Tea Dragon Society books which are absolutely adorable and have great rep. Definitely endorse them if you feel the mood to read something wholesome.
- My least favorite prompt
The 'Are You Well Read' literature one cause honestly most of those books were huge or classics or both that I wasn't in the mood to read, or just didn't interest me. Of the ones that did I had trouble finding them and then the book I chose was the one my library messed up my hold on. . . I've never been a fan of lists like that one or like 'books you have to read before you die' or 'books to read before you turn X age' cause there tends to be a lot of genre snobbery on those lists and the books are 90% not my cup of tea.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
There were a lot of prompts I liked, but I really enjoyed 31 (A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years) cause it finally got me to sit down and read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I've been wanting to read it for years so this finally made it happen.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
I really wasn't pleased with Camp Slaughter. . . It wasn't my worst read of 2021, but it ranked pretty far down. It was solely the fault of the ATY Challenge. It was a combination of seeing it on some TBRs and my curiosity + the generated word prompt giving me 'Borrowed' which I interpreted as a book I borrowed from KU. I probably wouldn't have read it though if not for the whole combo.

[Ed]

"Mar 28, 2021 05:56PM"
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge- -Mountolive by Lawrence Durrell-6/7/21
- Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson-8/10/21

- My most creative twist on a prompt- 23. A cross genre novel- graphic historical novel- Girl in Dior by Annie Goetzinger-7/7/21

- The prompt I cheated on-None

- My favorite prompt- A mystery or thriller- For Your Eyes Only by Ian Fleming-1/6/21

- My least favorite prompt- A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)- Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya 3/3/21

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)-38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator-my word"OVER"- Three Stars Over Luanda by Patrick Hughes-6/7/21