Weekly Question - Jan 8 - Starting 2023

[NancyJ]

Aimee wrote: "I started the year with Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones (better known for An American Marriage) for prompt #1 as it's set in Atlanta. I enjoyed it and would recommend..."

I loved that book. I think it might be worth rereading some day.( It’s bugging me that I can’t remember how it ends.) I’m glad you liked it too.

[Bana AZ]

Kristin wrote: "My first book this year was Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, which I used for 37. About returning home. In the beginning of the year at least, I tend to pick books more or l..."

Nice! It's an interesting series. I hope you'll continue with it. I liked Book 2 even better than Book 1.

[NancyJ]

♞ Pat wrote: "I started the year with a magical realism book - a genre I don't read a lot of.

Midnight at the Blackbird Café by [author:Heathe..."

I’m really looking forward to Demon Copperhead. I’m glad you liked it. She’s one of my favorites authors. I’ve been waiting a long time too. Some are saying it’s too sad, but I trust that it will be worthwhile.

[NancyJ]

Trish wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Lonesome Dove and Sarum: The Novel of England are both chunksters, but worth it."

Lonesome Dove is on my "one day" list. My curiosity was piqued as Cra..."

I loved it. I read it with a group when it was on the pbs 100 Great American Reads. Once I got used to the way they talked, it was a very fast read. I watched the whole series right after.

[NancyJ]

Emily wrote: "Katherine, thank you for saying that Dinosaurs works for ATY setting! I'm not a huge fan of setting prompts and I'm also reading the TOB list, so I can slot that in!"

I just finished it. It’s rather laid back but I liked it. I have too many choices for birds bees bunnies, and ATY location, so I’ll be moving books around all year. It’s funny that I read it after a book that had real dinosaurs. I wonder what other links I can find.

[Marie]

I decided to start with Elizabeth, The Queen, because it's the longest on my plan and with being non-fiction I know I'll be slower with it, so I wanted it out of the way - although it does mean I'm behind already! It's for the multi-week prompt, books set in different centuries.

[Rose]

My first read of the year was Vici. I didn't use it for ATY (it's very, very small). I wanted to start the year with something I could finish quickly.

My first ATY read was Ninth House, which I finished yesterday. I picked it because the sequel comes out today! Yay!

[Ashlea]

Hello all! My first book of the year was Expect Me Tomorrow, but the first for ATY was How the Penguins Saved Veronica. Much of it takes place in Antarctica!

[Tiffy]

My first completed book of the year was This is How You Lose the Time War. I can't stop raving about how gorgeous and delightfully devastating it was. My whole family is going to disown me at this point. Everyone in my life is sick of hearing about this book. LOL

I used it for prompt 34 - A Novella, but it could have fit in so many!

[Kristin]

Ana AZ wrote: "Nice! It's an interesting series. I hope you'll continue with it. I liked Book 2 even better than Book 1."

That's very interesting to hear! I certainly would like to, only issue is that I try to not buy too many books and my library don't have the rest of the series. I'm very intrigued by it though, so I might cave in and buy at least the second one..

Tiffy wrote: "My first completed book of the year was This is How You Lose the Time War. I can't stop raving about how gorgeous and delightfully devastating it was..."

Ooh, I've been seeing SO much praise for that book! It's on my TBR too for this year, and I'm really looking forwards to it!

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Trish wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Lonesome Dove and Sarum: The Novel of England are both chunksters, but worth it."

Lonesome Dove is on my "one day" list. My curiosity was piqued as Cra..."

I also loved Lonesome Dove even though I rarely read anything that classifies as western. It's actually about friendship, love, adventure, and life. Really engaging, and the movie/miniseries was very good too. It may be available from your local library.

[Tracy]

Robin P wrote: This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You
by Susan Rogers . I used it for the prompt on a cover with many colors on it! The book explains how music has various attributes - familiarity vs. novelty, lyrics vs. instrumental, rhythm vs. melody - and we all have preferences. None are inherently better or worse. The book has a list of songs that you can look up on youtube to see how you feel about them. I didn't take the time to do that, but it would be interesting. I was trying to explain to my family that I like "deedle-deedle music" but that only meant something to me. I guess I meant that I like "catchy", upbeat tunes, fairly simple. I don't generally appreciate classical or choral music or slow, sad songs.

@Robin P. - My husband is reading this book now and is LOVING it! He has his headphones on while reading it so he can listen to all the music the author(s) refer to. SO up his alley. I found this book for him from an interview on NPR. The authors background is such a good story as well.

[Tracy]

Kira wrote: "The first book I have read is Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan which had been recommended to me by a friend. I am using it for the birds, bees and bunnies prompt."

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan is my first book of the year as well! It's my first only because it's what became available on my library holds first after the start of 2023. I'm also using it for Birds, Bees, and Bunnies. It could also fit as Cover w/Repeated Object, Theme of Returning Home, Title w/Recipe Word. I ended up loving this book, but I almost didn't finish it because I don't especially enjoy police/courtroom dramas. Luckily there is SOOO much more to this book. Highly recommended.

I'm now reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir after waiting FOREVER for a library copy (ok, I did put it off a few times too because I was busy with other books and this is not a quick read). Also loving this book, but for entirely different reasons. Using it for Geometric Shape Related (all the A's on the cover are stylized as triangles). There also happens to be a lot of geometric shape discussion in the book (at least at the point I'm at currently).

[Joan]

The first book I read for 2023 was It Starts with Us. I thought it would be a quick read to start the year off with and my daughter had gotten it for me as a Christmas present. I used it for prompt 13 a book that has something repeat on the cover. I didn't really want to start off prompt 13 but it is what it is!!!

[Nina]

Ashlea wrote: "Hello all! My first book of the year was Expect Me Tomorrow, but the first for ATY was How the Penguins Saved Veronica. Much of it takes place in Antarctica!"

I adored How the Penguins Saved Veronica. The protagonist is such a wonderfully feisty old gal.

[Tiffy]

Kristin wrote: "Ooh, I've been seeing SO much praise for that book! It's on my TBR too for this year, and I'm really looking forwards to it!

I cannot recommend the audiobook narrated by Cynthia Farrell and Emily Woo Zeller enough. It is very, very well done.

[Kathy]

I started the year by finishing up two books that I had started at the end of December. From Doon With Death I used for 8. debut novel. I listened to another by Ruth Rendell, A Sleeping Life, for 28. a book that is dark.

The first book I started and finished in 2023 was The Final Revival of Opal & Nev which I used for 4. interracial relationship.

Now I'm going back to #1, location starting with A,T, or Y. I finished Crossed Skis, a mystery from 1952 set in Austria.

I feel like I had a "messy" start and will now try to basically go in order - except for when those library holds come in!

[Sydney]

I read Honor by Thrity Umrigar. I didn't know anything about this book before picking it up except that it was part of Reese's book club. It ended up being a very poignant and genuinely enjoyable read. The book tackles some heavy subject matter but manages to do it in such a gentle way that I at times forgot how *evil* the bad parts actually were.

I would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for something that will touch you in multiple ways. Great way to start out 2023. :)

[Anastasia]

I had two books carry over into 2023. The Priory of the Orange Tree and Mother of All. Both were large books that I was unable to complete before they were returned to the library, landing me on the hold list again.

The first book of 2023 was The Woman in the Library. It was the perfect read for my long drive home from visiting family. The mystery made the trip that much faster.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Anastasia wrote: "I had two books carry over into 2023. The Priory of the Orange Tree and Mother of All. Both were large books that I was unable to complete before they were returned ..."

The challenging thing about stopping a long and complex book like Priory of the Orange Tree is remembering the characters, places, and plot (though maybe you are better at it than me!) I don't buy many books new in hardback, but when I do they are usually books like that, ones that are long enough that I might not finish in one library borrowing session.

[Kristin]

I am a tad OCD, so I started in order.
I surprised myself that I was capable of finishing a 600 something page book in a week when in the past I have failed at this challenged miserably.

This book was fantastic. I am typically not a fan of science-fiction novels, but this one was intriguing. There was a ton of descriptive language which painted a visual in my head as I read. Even though there was tough passages, I was able to retain and retell what was happening when someone asked.

I saw the topic for the first week, and had a few books that I was in the middle of reading that I wanted to finish up, but none of them had an A, T, or Y setting. I had to use the suggestions page, and noticed that this book was mentioned. My significant other has already read this book and is passionate about stuff like this. At first I read it simply because I wanted to impress him. Who knew I would end up loving it?

If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it!

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Kristin wrote: "

I am a tad OCD, so I started in order.
I surprised myself that I was capable of finishing a 600 something page book in a week when in the past I have failed at this chal..."

Congrats, that is a complex read to get through so fast. But you're right it's not so much sci-fi, maybe more fantasy, and these days the cli-fi (climate fiction) aspect stands out as well.

[Lisa]

The first book I both started and finished in 2023 was Lightning in a Mirror. It was the last book in a series I was reading before the end of the year.

[Anastasia]

Robin P wrote: "Anastasia wrote: "I had two books carry over into 2023. The Priory of the Orange Tree and Mother of All. Both were large books that I was unable to complete before t..."

I did have to reread a few pages to pick up the plot of the story. Usually 3 weeks is enough time for me to finish a book of this length. There were a few other things on my plate that month cutting into my reading time. :)
It has taught me to borrow less books when I have a long one waiting. LOL

[Bea]

My first book started and finished in this new year was The Balloon Man. No prompts were chosen for it; just my favorite genre.

The first book that applied to ATY challenge was Scotland with a Stranger. This was an audible memoir about a vacation to Scotland. It was chosen for ATY #3 (In honor of Queen Elizabeth II, a book set in Kenya, South Africa, or Scotland)and to set the scene for my planned for visit to Scotland on my goal sheet for the year.

[Chrissie]

My first read of 2023 was . This is an author I've read for ages and ages and I've always enjoyed everything he's written. Used it for the prompt 'related to a geometric shape' because Star.

[May]

My first book this year was A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz, actually for the Popsugar prompt of 'book you planned to read last year'. I've been wanting to read it for years but only got it last year, so it counts.

It was actually less grim than I thought it was going to be (probably because it was YA, which I didn't realise before!) but I really liked the world and the dreamy narration.

[Dana]

In the last days of December 2022 I started A Darker Shade of Magic for the third time (I always loved the idea, but I had others and I couldn't give my full attention to the former) and because I coulnd't finish it before the end of that year, I continued it in 2023.

Let me tell you, it's one of the best books out there!
I can't wait to continue with the second book.