Martha G's 2023 Reading Challenge

[Martha]

I'm not going to read in order. I'll fit books to prompts as they come up. I'm doing most of my tracking on StoryGraph.

[Martha]

Read: 52/52
COMPLETED 12/17/23

THE 2023 LIST
1. A book set in a location that begins with A, T, or Y: The Marsh Queen **** 1/12/23
2. A book by an author you read in 2022: Blood Betrayal **** 11/25/23
3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the 2023 list: Factory Girls 1/21/22 ****
4. A book with an interracial relationship Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow 1/23/22 ****
5. A book with 4 or more colors on the cover: Weyward 4/16/23 ***

6. A book where books are important: Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times
7. A book with ONE of the five "W" question words in the title: When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice 4/9/23 ****
8. An author's debut book: Between Shades of Gray 1/28/23 ****
9. A book nominated for an award beginning with W: Trespasses 6/1/23 *****

10. A book related to one of the Spice Girls' "personalities": The Queen of Dirt Island: A Novel (Baby) 3/24/23*****
11. A book about a person/character with a disability: The Sign for Home 1/27/23 ****
12. A book connected to birds, bees, or bunnies: Counting Creatures 4/2/23 ***** I will also read a novel, just couldn't pass this one up.

13. A book that has an object that is repeated on the cover: Maame 2/26/23 *****

14. A book with a con, deception, or fake: The Brutal Telling 1/3/23 ****
15. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 1: The Dance Tree 3/26/23 *****
16. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 2: Midnight Blue 2/17/23 ***
17. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 3: River Sing Me Home 2/23/23 *****

18. A book related to science: The Last Animal 6/13/23 ****.5
19. A book related to the arts: The Trayvon Generation
20. A book with a cover or title that includes a route of travel: The Trackers 5/4/23 ***
21. A book by an Asian diaspora author: Our Missing Hearts 4/8/23 ****
22. A book with a faceless person on the cover: The House of Eve 02/15/23 **** 4.5

23. A book with a body of water in the title: Sea of Tranquility: A novel
24. A character that might be called a Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, or Spy: Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater 6/19/23 ****
25. A book with a tropical setting: Now You See Us 7/27/23 ****
26. A book related to pride: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 6/23/23 ****

27. A book by an author from continental Europe: Go, Went, Gone 3/16/23 ****
28. A book that is dark: It Would Be Night in Caracas 4/25/23 ***
29. A book that is light: Summer Stage **** 5/28/23
30. A book related to a chess piece: My Father's House 6/3/23 *****
31. A book found by inputting a favorite author on https://www.literature-map.com: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store 8/29/23 *****

32. A book set in a UNESCO City of Literature: The Book of Everlasting Things (Lahore) ***** 2/6/23
33. A book by an author with a first name popular in 1923: Tom Lake 7/1/23 ****
34. A novella: Foster 6/3/23 ****
35. A book with a school subject in the title: Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home 11/10/23 ****

36. A book that has been translated from another language: War and Peace 5/23/23 ****
37. A book with the theme of returning home:Other Birds 4/15/23 ***
38. A book with the sun, moon, or stars on the cover: Gilded Mountain 2/11/23 ****
39. A western: Lone Women 9/23/23 ****

40. A book with a full name in the title: The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho 4/28/23 ****.5
41. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists: Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation 3/10/23 *****
42. A book related to a ghost, spirit, phantom, or specter: Séance Tea Party **** 2/17/23
43. A book that involves a murder: Rogue Justice 6/9/23 ***.5
44. A book where the cover design includes text that is not completely horizontal: Drift 5/24/23 *****

45. A book whose author has published more than 7 books: The Invisible Hour 9/10/23 ****
46. A title that contains a word often found in a recipe: Milk Blood Heat 12/17/23 3.5*
47. A book related to a geometric shape: Wandering Souls 7/14/23 *****
48. A book with an unusually large version of an animal in the story: Legends & Lattes **** 11/18/23 (What a surprise! I really didn't think I'd be able to fulfill this prompt)

49. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2022 or 2023: Still Life 9/17/23 *****
50. A second book that fits your favorite prompt: Stolen ***** 7/2/23 (Book in translation)
51. A book published in 2023: Small Worlds ***** 7/19/23
52. A book with an unusual or surprising title: My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World's Deadliest Migration Route ***** 3/5/23

[Martha]

PROMPT POSSIBILITIES:
THE 2023 LIST
1. A book set in a location that begins with A, T, or Y:
Three Daughters of Eve
The Beekeeper of Aleppo
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
The Ardent Swarm
The Stationery Shop

2. A book by an author you read in 2022:
Kate Atkinson, Thrity Umrigar, Jean Hanff Korelitz, Isabel Allende, Geraldine Brooks, Toni Morrison, Maggie O'Farrell, Elizabeth Strout, Percival Everett. I'm going to try and place these authors in other prompts.
Three Daughters of Eve
Life After Life
Olive, Again

3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the 2023 list: I have a long rejects list. Whichever one of those I read first:
The Magician (biographical fiction)

4. A book with an interracial relationship:
Snow Falling on Cedars
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

5. A book with 4 or more colors on the cover:
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
A Girl Is a Body of Water
Yerba Buena
The Puma Years

6. A book where books are important:
The Book of Form and Emptiness
The Plot
Hell of a Book
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
The Book Eaters

7. A book with ONE of the five "W" question words in the title:
What Comes After
Where the Forest Meets the Stars
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
When We Were Orphans
What Strange Paradise

8. An author's debut book: BOMC has many debut novels and I'll pick one of those. If not, possibilities include:
Behind the Scenes at the Museum
Olga Dies Dreaming
We Need New Names
The Nix
Rules of Civility

9. A book nominated for an award beginning with W: This could easily be my repeat prompt at the end of the year:
The Books of Jacob
Osebol
Still Life
China Room
Rose Nicolson
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

10. A book related to one of the Spice Girls' "personalities"
11. A book about a person/character with a disability: I've mentioned this before, but the Victorian age is a time of medical advances in such things as optometry and it is also an age that has some backwards attitudes toward illness and disability. I have two books from this time that I want to read:
Olive
Poor Miss Finch

12. A book connected to birds, bees, or bunnies
13. A book that has an object that is repeated on the cover

14. A book with a con, deception, or fake
15. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 1
16. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 2
17. Three books, each of which is set in a different century: Book 3

18. A book related to science
19. A book related to the arts
20. A book with a cover or title that includes a route of travel
21. A book by an Asian diaspora author
22. A book with a faceless person on the cover

23. A book with a body of water in the title
24. A character that might be called a Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, or Spy
25. A book with a tropical setting
26. A book related to pride

27. A book by an author from continental Europe
28. A book that is dark
29. A book that is light
30. A book related to a chess piece
31. A book found by inputting a favorite author on https://www.literature-map.com

32. A book set in a UNESCO City of Literature
33. A book by an author with a first name popular in 1923
34. A novella
35. A book with a school subject in the title

36. A book that has been translated from another language
37. A book with the theme of returning home
38. A book with the sun, moon, or stars on the cover
39. A western

40. A book with a full name in the title
41. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists
42. A book related to a ghost, spirit, phantom, or specter
43. A book that involves a murder
44. A book where the cover design includes text that is not completely horizontal

45. A book whose author has published more than 7 books
46. A title that contains a word often found in a recipe
47. A book related to a geometric shape
48. A book with an unusually large version of an animal in the story

49. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2022 or 2023
50. A second book that fits your favorite prompt
51. A book published in 2023
52. A book with an unusual or surprising title

[Martha]

REJECTS CHALLENGE (IN POLL ORDER)
1. Biographical Fiction: My Father's House
2. Connected to Ireland: Factory Girls I used this as the book for prompt 3, a prompt that didn't make the list.
3. Nonfiction nature book.
4. 4 books connected to 4 seasons:Winter:
5. Summer:
6. Spring:
7. Fall:
8. Two books from 2 different genres that are connected in some way: 1: My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World's Deadliest Migration Route
9. Two books from 2 different genres that are connected in some way: 2: Go, Went, Gone
10. A book from Tookie's List:
11. A book where faith is a major theme:
12. A book involving aspects of language, linguistics or spoken word:
13. A book related to soul:
14. A book that involves a moral dilemma or question:
15. A book related to loneliness:
16. A book set on the Indian subcontinent:
17. A family saga:
18. A book by an author who has been threatened because of their work:
19. A well-known classic:
20. A book with 500+ pages:
21. Dark academia:
22. A book involving journalism or journalist:
23. A book about colonialism:
24. A book involving friends, family, found family:
25. A book club read:
26. A book featured in blog or podcast:
27. A book that has won a diversity award: Healer of the Water Monster
28. A book related to first contact.
29. A book shelved as literary fiction:
30. A book about farming or farmer's family:

[Martha]

BOOK TUBE AND SEASONAL EVENTS: I like these but I'm not always aware they are going on. If anyone knows of monthly readathon events going on that I have not mentioned, please let me know.

January:


February:
Black History Month

March
March Mystery Madness
March of the Monsters
Middle Grade March
Irish Readathon

April
Earth Day

May
Possible Historical Fiction Month (? repeat)
Jewish American Heritage Month
Older Americans Month
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Mental Health Awareness Month

June
Pride Month
Caribbean Heritage Month

July

August
Booker Prize Longlist announced - my reading list for the rest of the year.
Women in Translation

September
Hispanic Latino Heritage Month
Banned Book Week
Read a New Book Month

October
Victober

November
Nonfiction November
Native American Heritage Month
Picture Book Month
Historathon (historical fiction)
World War November (WW1): I'll be combining NF November, Historathon with this Readathon. It sounds amazing. Novels I will be looking to read include At Night All Blood is Black, The Book of Secrets, The Pat Barker Regeneration Trilogy, Covenant With Death (not published in US -- I'll check Waterstones) and All Quiet on the Western Front. The Group Read is the memoir Testament of Youth. Film suggestions have been made and I definitely want to see the most recent Testament of Youth film.

December
Remember December Readathon (rereads)

[Martha]

January and February Notes
January was getting comfortable with the reading pace of the year. I started out slow in January, my original intention, but the Readathon happened and I read 10 books instead of the 6 I intended to read.

Now it's February and I decided maybe 8 books would be my goal, but YouTube Book Award long list came out and I have decided I want to read as many as I can (there are 96 books and to read the entire long list is not practical).

[Martha]

March Notes
This is a busy reading month. I'm participating in Middle Grade March, March of the Mammoths (continuing with War and Peace), trying to read as many books by women as possible, and continuing with the You Tube Book Award long lists. I've been concentrating on the nonfiction books on the YT Awards lists because most of the books I want to read I've had to get from the library. but would like to start on the fiction list asap.

[Martha]

April Notes
I've gone overboard with library holds and I'm going to start abandoning those en masse. It doesn't help that there are so many award long lists out but I'm going to start holding off on new releases.

Goals for this month are to complete at least 4 Book of the Month Club books and to read some spring reads related to Earth Day.

I also need to finish War and Peace. I was supposed to finish this month and I'm not half way yet. Oops! I am enjoying it though.

The YouTube Book Awards are down after the Quarterly cuts. I'm not trying to read the nonfiction books now. I'll keep chipping away at the fiction lists, namely Demon Copperhead, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, Our Missing Hearts and Trespasses.

[Martha]

Summer Reading Challenge Planning

June
1. Father's Day:
111 countries around the world celebrate Father's Day, with the most common date being the third Sunday in June, which was started by Sonora Smart Dodd in Spokane, Washington in 1910.
a. Book whose main character is a father
b. Biography or history nonfiction book
c. Author's initials can be found in PATERNITY
Possibilities: Razorblade Tears, Don't Cry for Me, or The Road for father as main character.
A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan for history or PATERNITY.

2. Estival Solstice:
For the Northern Hemisphere the summer solstice on June 21st is the day with the longest period of daylight and shortest night of the year
a. Book with a title that is 5 or more words
b. Cover has plants on the cover
c. Book is set in the Northern Hemisphere

3. Hibernal Solstice:
For the Southern Hemisphere the winter solstice on June 22nd is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year.
a. Book that is at least 400 pages long
b. Book with fire on the cover
c. Book is set in the Southern Hemisphere

4. Pride Month:
A month celebrating LGBT+ communities and their history which was started following the 1969 Stonewall Riots
a. Written by an author who identifies as LGBTQIA+
b. A banned or challenged book
c. A coming of age novel

July
1.Let's Play:
Whether it's your summer or winter, it's always a good time to have some fun
a. First letter of the book's title is in HORSE AROUND
b. Includes a character who plays a sport
c. Published in a year ending with 3

2. Travel Season:
Armchair travelling is definitely the cheapest, but exploring in real life is nice too!
a. Set in multiple countries
b. A book with a map
c. Cover has vehicle (car, plane, boat, train, hang glider, etc)

3. Halfway there!
a. Book with an even number of pages
b. The next book in a series
c. An author's second book

4. Turn Up the Radio:
Invented in the 1890s and probably much more fun now
a. Book featuring or about musicians
b. Set in the 19th century
c. Author's initials can be found in GUGLIELMO MARCONI

August
1. Book Lovers Day:
It's on August 9th, celebrate accordingly.
a. Book written by your favorite author
b. Main character works in a book shop or library
c. First letter of the book's title appears in BIBLIOMANIA

2. Perseid Meteor Shower:
An annual meteor shower peaking around Aug 11-12. According to the American Meteor Society this year will be a particularly good year for viewing.
a. Science fiction book
b. Sun, moon, or stars on the cover
c. Inspired by or retelling myths

3. Make Waves:
Fun fact: about 2.5 million Americans are employed in ocean-based tourism and recreation (as of 2018).
a. Author's initials can be found in SURFBOARD
b. Set in a coastal town or city
c. A sea creature is on the cover

4. Go Camping:
Fun fact: The American National Park Service employs approximately 20,000 people (full time, part time and seasonal).
a. A book connected to birds, bees, or bunnies
b. A ghost story
c. A book primarily set outdoors

[Martha]

July Notes:

I think I've given up all my challenges except for the 52-week challenge for this year. I've been through my 2023 challenge to see what prompts I have left to fulfill. The following 8 prompts will influence the next months' reading lists:

2. A book by an author read in 2022: I read Kate Atkinson, Thomas Hardy, Steven King, Maggie O'Farrell, Toni Morrison, Elizabeth Strout, Geraldine Brooks and Angie Cruz, Nguyen Phan Que Mai, Brendan Slocumb and Bolu Babalola and Amor Towles. All have books I haven't read yet and that I own. This prompt will not be a problem except I can only choose one!

35. School subject in title:
1. Babel: An Arcane History
2. French Braid.
3. A Deadly Education.
4. The History of Love

39. A Western:
Who knows. Not too thrilled with this prompt and may do a wild card.

45. Author published more than 7 books:
1. My Name is Lucy Barton.
2. East of Eden
3. The Green Mile.
Louise Erdrich, Alice Hoffman and Toni Morrison have taken up some room on my shelves and I haven't read everything they've written yet.

46. Title with Word Found in Recipe:
Hardest one for me.
1. Salt to the Sea
2. Honey and Spice
3. The Years of Rice and Salt.
4. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

47. Geometric shape:
1. The Kingdoms.
2. Middlesex.
3. Lady Tan's Circle of Friends (Probably this one).

48. Unusually large animal:
This is the hardest for me!
Fevered Star.

31. Favorite author input on map.
I'm not finding this map to be helpful. I may cheat on this one or use a wild card.

49. Best ATY BOM thread.
1. Project Hail Mary
2. The Winners.
3. The Ardent Swarm.
4. Far From the Madding Crowd.
5. Still Life (most likely this one).

[Martha]

Last Quarter Notes
It's October and I'm down to 4 prompts. I have zero motivation in finishing them because they are all title prompts.

To be honest, I have challenge disillusionment. Challenges with 24+ prompts was a new thing to me when I started doing them in 2012-2013 or so and my bookshelves exploded. As the years have gone by when I look back on my reading it feels directionless and purposeless. I'm older and my tastes have changed, my purpose for reading has changed. I want my books to have meaning and I want them to provide opportunities for education, reflection, connection and emotional impact. I've become more interested in book projects or experiences around books and I'm going to try to fit a few projects rather than accumulate challenges. I'm going to start listing project ideas for next year.

1. I enjoy prize lists and I may borrow the Book Prize Bingo idea from a summer challenge in another group I'm part of to get to know a few other book prizes. I'll try to make one letter all nonfiction prizes.

2. I especially enjoyed the YouTube Book Prize experience this year and will again start reading books when the 48 Fiction and 48 Nonfiction books are listed in February.

3. I'd like to track other Little Free Libraries and make a few LFL expeditions. I love Booktubers who do vlogs about their LFL visits.

4. Victober and Nonfiction November are fall seasonal experiences I will continue. I hope to participate in more monthly topical reading experiences like Middle Grade March or March Mystery Madness.

I'm probably not done with this book challenge but I'm no longer motivated to finish it either.

[Martha]

November

I'm down to one book left in this challenge - recipe word in the title = and I'm debating on whether to wild card that prompt just to say I'm done. I have the month of December to decide.

I read 7 books in November, 4 of them nonfiction. I love this yearly event and look forward to next year but hoping I'll keep nonfiction going throughout 2024.

[Martha]

December

No December plans. It's going to be comfort reads including rereads. I love having a no-pressure month to look forward to. I plan to enjoy every reading moment!

I completed this challenge on 12/17/23! I'll do a favorites summary soon.