Amber's First ATY Challenge

[Amber]

Tackling my first ever reading challenge primarily focusing on the backlist books that have been collecting dust on my shelves with a mix of some newer releases I have had my eyes on.

1. A book with a title that ends in A, T or Y: The Only One Left by Riley Sager ✔
2. A book connected to something you read in 2023: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (reread)
3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the final list: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (a book that has woman/man/boy/girl in the title) ✔
4. A book related to something mentioned in the lyrics of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong: Sourdough by Robin Sloan ("I see skies of blue"/cover)
5. A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world: The Vegetarian by Han, Kang (Seoul, S Korea)
6. A book with wings on the cover: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
7. A book with a pronoun in the title: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
8. A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (reread)
9. A book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads: The Trouble with Happiness: And Other Stories by Tove Ditlevsen
10. A history or historical fiction book: The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris
11. A book with an X connection: Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica (Gen X author)
12. A book that has been on your TBR for over a year: The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
13. A book that is on a Five Books List; reader’s choice of which list: TBD
14. A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
15. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX): The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
16. A book related to the phrase "It's Raining Cats and Dogs": The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide
17. A book involving intelligence: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
18. A book with a botanical cover: Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
19. A book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream: The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald (New York Super Fudge Chunk)
20. A book with a single word title: Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
21. A book with a title containing 6+ words: Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson
22. A book by an author from an African country: TBD
23. A book related to Boats, Beaches, Bars, Ballads, or Jimmy Buffett: The Deep by Alma Katsu
24. A book with a secondary color on the cover (orange, green or purple): Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
25. A book involving a crime other than a murder: All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky
26. A book by an author known by their initials: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
27. A book related to land: Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
28. A book related to sea: Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
29. A book related to air: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
30. A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea: Circe by Madeline Miller
31. A book related to “Going for the Gold”: TBD
32. A book with a number in the title: Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
33. A book involving travel: TBD
34. A book related to the name of one of Snow White's seven dwarfs: TBD
35. A science or science fiction book: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
36. A book featuring a character in education: Stoner by John Williams
37. A book that is part of a series: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
38. Two books with similar covers (Book 1): West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman
39. Two books with similar covers (Book 2): The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County by Claire Swinarski

40. A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover: Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor
41. A book with a chilling atmosphere: With Love, from Cold World by Alicia Thompson
42. A book with a sound-related word in the title: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
43. A book by an Edgar Award-winning Author: A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie
44. A book with a touch of magic: The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
45. A book that is not a novel: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (reread)
46. A book related to night: Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon
47. A book with a two-word title beginning with THE: The Sellout by Paul Beatty
48. A second book that fits your favorite prompt: TBD
49. A book with a senior citizen character: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
50. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2023 or 2024: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
51. A book published in 2024: TBD
52. A cozy mystery: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

[Laura]

Amber wrote, “10. A history or historical fiction book: The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine by Lindsey Fitzharris”… “29. A book related to air: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell”... I’m reading those 2 books as well for this challenge. The Butchering Art…I’m reading for Prompt 45; Gone with the Wind I’m using for Prompt 41. I’m not sure exactly when I’ll be reading them as I’m not going in order of the prompts and have 10 novels I have to return for a digital library by the end of February. However, I own both of Gone with the Wind and The Butchering Arts...so can read them anytime throughout the rest of the year. When you’re finished with them, I’m very interested in discussing with you about your viewpoints, thoughts, and opinions. Happy Reading!

[Amber]

JANUARY WRAP-UP
Prompts Completed: 2 (1 & 3)
Total Books Completed: 3


Bite Size Reviews
(1)The Only One Left By Riley Sager: Fast paced, bogged down ending with multiple twists but not enough to turn me off the book, sparked a new enjoyment in Sager's work that has me looking forward to his new release later this year. 4/5
(3)Convenience Store Woman By Sayaka Murata: I feel this book is best summed up with a quote from reviewer Sam Quixote: “I feel like there’s a good novel somewhere in ‘Convenience Store Woman’ but Sayaka Murata didn’t realise it. Her commentary on conformist society and the individual is inane and unoriginal though far worse is her muddled placement of the main character within that commentary.” 2.25/5
The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science By Sam Kean: From piracy to lobotomies to awkward paleontologists it was a quick easy listen. Book did contain outdated/inappropriate terminology in regards to indigenous groups and those in the sex work community which I do not think should be excused just because the book is pop history. Picked this up because I thought the audio would read like a podcast-which it did. However the author frequently would plug their own podcast and website into the book which would take me out of it when I sat there to listen to the narrator read me a URL. 3/5