35 - A book with a constellation on the cover or in the title

[Meghann]

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue has constellations on the cover. I believe it was a Book of the Year finalist last year. I plan on reading it for this prompt.

[Jung]

For anyone looking to add more Latinx / trans / queer authors and/or more speculative fiction to their 2022 reads, I'd recommend Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space, edited by Zoraida Córdova. It comes out in a few weeks in February and after reading a galley copy, I found it enjoyable and even (as opposed to anthologies with big disparities between highs and lows).

[Danielle]

I’ve had Dogsbody on my shelf for a little while. Seems like a good fit for this prompt!

[Sandra]

Can anyone tell me if there's a constellation in the field of stars on the cover of A Brief History of Time?

[Kita]

Does anyone know why Normal People is on the Listopia? I'm not seeing stars on any versions of the covers.

[Stephanie]

I’m currently trying to figure out if The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred has any constellations on it or if it’s just generically a bunch of stars.

[Sandra]

Kita wrote: "Does anyone know why Normal People is on the Listopia? I'm not seeing stars on any versions of the covers."

There's a constellation called Norma visible from the Southern Hemisphere.

[Jessica]

I am reading The Star Thief and I am slogging through it.

[Juulna]

Would Zodiac by Neal Stephenson count, for its title? Is the zodiac part of constellations....?

Oh, actually, thanks Wiki: "In Western astrology, and formerly astronomy, the zodiac is divided into twelve signs, each occupying 30° of celestial longitude and roughly corresponding to the star constellations: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces."

So basically constellations ARE part of the Zodiac itself.

Cool. I'll add that to the list, or The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. *thumbs up*

[Victoria]

I read Star Mother, the cover art is a fox constellation.

I really enjoyed it. I thought she created a fascinating Mythos that felt really unique.

[Jackie]

Sandra wrote: "Can anyone tell me if there's a constellation in the field of stars on the cover of A Brief History of Time? "

Yeah I can see a couple, I think you're good.

[Sandra]

Jackie wrote: "Sandra wrote: "Can anyone tell me if there's a constellation in the field of stars on the cover of A Brief History of Time? "

Yeah I can see a..."

Thanks!

[Karen]

A book of poetry from Djibouti - The Nomads, My Brothers, Go Out to Drink from the Big Dipper by Abdourahman A. Waberi.

[Dea]

Theresa wrote: "Has everyone already forgotten about The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue? Addie has a constellation of freckles across her nose, likened to a constellation of 7 stars, and the Pleiade..."

Wow, you didn't forget Addie LaRue! :D

Great suggestion. Thanks!

[Jamie]

Certain editions of Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit and Betty by Tiffany McDaniel have constellations on the covers. Or at least I think they're constellations on Men Explain Things to Me ... maybe?

Sputnik's Children
The Constellation of Extinct Stars and Other Poems
A Constellation of Roses
Constellation Myths: With Aratus's Phaenomena
The Stars We Share
The Mythic Dream

[willaful]

Is the prompt not meant to be taken literally? I've been looking at book covers and none seem to have actual constellations, just stars. If it's not mean to be literal, Blackout would work.

[Regan]

I think I'm going to use this opportunity to finally read The Scorpio Races

[willaful]

Would Exhalation work?

[Nadine in NY]

willaful wrote: "Is the prompt not meant to be taken literally? I've been looking at book covers and none seem to have actual constellations, just stars. If it's not mean to be literal, Blackout wou..."




It's open to reader interpretation. I'm still hoping to find that unicorn book: a book I haven't read yet, that I want to read, that depicts a real constellation on the cover art.

Jamie gave some interesting examples. The Stars We Share depicts a real constellation on the cover (what we call the Big Dipper in the northern hemisphere). But it gets really bad reviews, and it doesn't sound like my kind of book, so I'm not reading that! A Constellation of Roses depicts several real constellations, and it gets great reviews, but it doesn't sound like my kind of book. Sputnik's Children depicts an imaginary constellation (at any rate, I'm not aware of a double martini constellation!), but it looks really good! And the prompt doesn't say it has to be a real constellation, so it's a possibility for me.

I don't know what to make of the Exhalation cover. Are those stars? If they are stars, are they constellations? Maybe? I can't tell. I'm not much of a star gazer, so maybe those are real constellations, or maybe they are made up constellations, or maybe they are not meant to be stars at all and have something to do with air or breathing, or maybe they are random specks of white. If they look like constellations to you, then it works.

[Heather L]

willaful wrote: "Would Exhalation work?"

To me it looks like dissolving bits of the title and author’s name, not stars.

[Joanna G]

I can recommend The Conductors and The Undertakers, both of which have constellations on the front - both the stars and then an outline showing the shape they make. I'm not sure that they're actual, visible-to-us constellations, but I think they'd definitely count.

And for anyone who likes to find books to fit multiple prompts, I just picked up The Winter Garden at the library, based on reading the back. But then I looked at the cover and see it has a tiger constellation (same thing as above, both stars and outline) at the top!

[willaful]

Heather L wrote: "willaful wrote: "Would Exhalation work?"

To me it looks like dissolving bits of the title and author’s name, not stars."

Ah, I guess you're right. :-(

[sassysistah]

I read The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo. It was a beautiful tale set in colonial Malay about multiple sets of families that are intertwined around a death. It was a vivid read with lots of interesting details about Chinese culture. I would recommend it!

[Debbie]

Several of the books in the Ender Saga (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, etc.), the Shadow Series (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, etc.), and the First Formic War series (Earth Unaware, Earth Afire, and Earth Awakens) have space ships in space sky - constellations in theory, but maybe not a specific one that we know....

[Amy]

A children's graphic novel
When Stars Are Scattered

[Jamie]

A few more I came across ...

Stargazer by Anne Hillerman
Zodiac by Romina Russell
Finding Orion by John David Anderson
The Gemini Contenders by Robert Ludlum

[Heather L]

Read Murder in Scorpio by Martha C. Lawrence for this one. Good, fast read for anyone who likes mysteries (note: it’s a bit seamier than cozies).

[Nadine in NY]

I know this was asked before, but I'm wrestling with it now so let me ask: how are you all approaching this? Are you choosing a book with a REAL constellation, or just any arrangement of stars that COULD be a constellation?

I'm reading These Broken Stars and those are definitely stars on the cover, in various arrangements, but I can't make out any constellations I recognize. (I only recognize a few, however, so these may well be actual constellations visible from Earth and I'm just not recognizing them.) Or maybe they are actual (well, "actual") constellations visible from wherever the spaceship Icarus is in space. That's kind of the argument I'm going with, to allow me to read this book for this category.

[L Y N N]

Theresa wrote: "Has everyone already forgotten about The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue? Addie has a constellation of freckles across her nose, likened to a constellation of 7 stars, and the Pleiade..."
Ooohhh...I sure had! Great observation/memory!

[L Y N N]

Nadine in NY wrote: "I know this was asked before, but I'm wrestling with it now so let me ask: how are you all approaching this? Are you choosing a book with a REAL constellation, or just any arrangement of stars that..."

You know me...always up for my own unique interpretation of prompts! LOL 😄

[Lilith]

I read The Cold Heart of Capricorn by Martha C. Lawrence . I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.

Originally, I just picked a constellation I liked, Scorpio, and then picked a title, Murder in Scorpio.

But this came via interlibrary loan first - - and it has the constellation on the cover. Can't wait to read another in the series.

[Chrissie]

I'm reading Songs in Ursa Major because it is an actual constellation. Songs in Ursa Major

[Roberta]

I've got "A Cat's Guide to the Night Sky" by Stuart Atkinson for this. Another for sharing with my granddaughter
A Cat's Guide to the Night Sky

[Katherine]

Just throwing it out to the group, thanks for all the research y'all do so I can expand my TBR more than is feasible.

That being said, I have so little knowledge of the constellations, you could show me any bunch of specks and I would tell you there is probably at least one constellation in there.

[Janette]

Hi any constellations on this cover?



Main character is named Nova also.

[chysodema]

The recently published Octavia Butler biography Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler was a quick and lovely read. I didn't realize until I finished that the intended audience was children, but I learned a lot about an author I love in a creative way, so I do recommend it even for adults.

[Patricia]

I've already read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

[Meg]

Debbie wrote: "For constellations on the cover, the first ones I thought of were from the same author: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, [book:Aristotle and Dante Dive into..."

I feel so clueless but would you mind sharing what constellation(s) is on the cover of the Aristotle and Dante books? I tried to google it to no avail

[Denise]

willaful wrote: "Heather L wrote: "willaful wrote: "Would Exhalation work?"

To me it looks like dissolving bits of the title and author’s name, not stars."

Ah, I guess you're right. :-("

But you could make the argument that they are dissolving into stars.

[Nyla]

Would Ready Player Two work?

I see stars on the 2 different covers.

[willaful]

I'm reading The Book of Form and Emptiness and it has pieces of star maps on the cover.

[Sherri]

I read our group read for August The Dog Stars

[LeahS]

I read The Pisces by Melissa Broder.

Hmmm. Some parts of this were very interesting and I liked the writing in general, but the MC was so self-absorbed and selfish that I was glad to finish. I know that she was meant to be like that, but it did make it a hard read for me. A lot of graphic sex if that bothers you - I just didn't find it very erotic, and some ill-treatment (not violent) of an animal.

[Jamie]

I ended up reading The One Hundred Nights of Hero for this prompt. I don't read graphic novels very often but I absolutely loved this one!

[Kathy]

The Bear by
Andrew Krivak

[Jana]

Patricia wrote: "I've already read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz."

I was going to say the same thing :)

[Lisa]

Meg wrote: "Debbie wrote: "For constellations on the cover, the first ones I thought of were from the same author: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, [book:Aristotle and ..."

I'm wondering the same thing, I still can't figure it out... Any luck on your end? I would very much like to read this book, and it's high up on the list for this prompt, but I can't tell why.

[Joanna]

If I hadn't gone with The Dog Stars, I was planning on using Star-Crossed for this prompt.

[Nadine in NY]

Joanna wrote: "If I hadn't gone with The Dog Stars, I was planning on using Star-Crossed for this prompt."



wow that looks so cute! I'd not come across it when I was searching for books for this category. Reviews are using words like "adorable" and "sweet" and "heart-warming" so I'm thinking this must be not too steamy? My 20yo daughter loves astrology, this might be right up her alley.

[Kaia]

I read Star Mother and really enjoyed it. Thank you to whoever recommended it!