Liz A's First Reading Challenge 2024

[Liz]

1. A book with a title that ends in A, T or Y
✔ The Magic Factory (Oliver Blue and the School for Seers #1) by Morgan Rice
2. A book connected to something you read in 2023
✔ The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2) by Rick Riordan
3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the final list (a book about an invention or discovery)
✔ Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
4. A book related to something mentioned in the lyrics of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
✔ Room by Emma Donoghue
5. A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world (Paris)
✔ Tombent les anges by Marlène Charine
6. A book with wings on the cover
✔ The End of all Things by John Scalzi
7. A book with a pronoun in the title
✔ The Life We Bury (Joe Talbert #1) by Allen Eskens
8. A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
✔ Outsider: An Old Man, a Mountain and the Search for a Hidden Past by Brett Popplewell
9. A book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads
✔ Profile K by Helen Fields
10. A history or historical fiction book
✔ The Refuge by Jerome Loubry
11. A book with an X connection
Deep Storm by Lincoln Child (doctor/x-rays)
12. A book that has been on your TBR for over a year
✔ The Bancroft Strategy by Robert Ludlum
13. A book that is on a Five Books List; (five best thrillers of 2021)
✔ The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
14. A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
✔ Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
15. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX)
✔ The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
16. A book related to the phrase "It's Raining Cats and Dogs
✔ Arf by Spencer Quinn
17. A book involving intelligence
✔ Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
18. A book with a botanical cover
✔ Ceci n'est pas un fait divers by Philippe Besson
19. A book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
✔ Black Coffee by Agatha Christie
20. A book with a single word title
✔ Inconditionnelles by Marlène Charine
21. A book with a title containing 6+ words
✔ How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
22. A book by an author from an African country
✔ My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
23. A book related to Boats, Beaches, Bars, Ballads, or Jimmy Buffett
✔ Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
24. A book with a secondary color on the cover (orange, green or purple)
✔ Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
25. A book involving a crime other than a murder
✔ The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
26. A book by an author known by their initials
✔ The Girl With all the Gifts by M.A. Carey
27. A book related to land
✔ The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
28. A book related to sea
✔ The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex
29. A book related to air
✔ Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
30. A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea (France)
✔ La Protégée by Marlène Charine
31. A book related to “Going for the Gold”
✔ Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
32. A book with a number in the title
✔ The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
33. A book involving travel
✔ The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
34. A book related to the name of one of Snow White's seven dwarfs
✔ Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
35. A science or science fiction book
✔ Emperor Mollusk and the Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez
36. A book featuring a character in education
✔ One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
37. A book that is part of a series
✔ Heir of Uncertain Magic (Whimbrel House #2) by Charlie N. Holmberg
38. Two books with similar covers: Book 1
✔ Now You See Me by Sharon J. Bolton
39. Two books with similar covers: Book 2
✔ The Evil Beneath by A.J. Waines
40. A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover
✔ Real Tigers by Mick Herron
41. A book with a chilling atmosphere
✔ Les sœurs de Montmorts by Jérôme Loubry
42. A book with a sound-related word in the title
✔ The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
43. A book by an Edgar Award-winning Author
✔ The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
44. A book with a touch of magic
✔ Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg
45. A book that is not a novel
✔ Tiger by Tash Aw
46. A book related to night
✔ Middle of the Night by Riley Sager
47. A book with a two-word title beginning with THE
✔ The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt
48. A second book that fits your favorite prompt
✔ Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman
49. A book with a senior citizen character
✔ Frank and Red by Matt Coyne
50. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2023 or 2024
✔ Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
51. A book published in 2024
✔ First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
52. A cozy mystery
✔ Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

[Liz]

17. A book involving intelligence
Completed 07/31/2024
3 stars

The book Annie Bot by Sierra Greer was my choice for this prompt and I must say, I'm still chewing on it hours after turning the last page.

I normally don’t have a visceral reaction to characters in a novel. But, in this case, I had to consistently fight the urge to drop the book and go do something to lift my spirits. Maybe I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to read this book. Or maybe the author did such a fantastic job at creating an insufferable narcissistic loser that I couldn’t help but feel my stomach churn every time he uttered a word.

My review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[Liz]

I really enjoy looking at reading stats, which is why my e-reader has become the greatest thing to me since sliced bread.

I also like to see other people's reading stats because they tell me what people enjoy.

Of the 29 books I've read for the ATY 2024 challenge so far, I see that I've been reading more thrillers and sci-fi than than other genres.

Numbers this year:

Sci-fi/Fantasy 28%
Thriller 28%
Mystery 21%
Literary Fiction 10%
Contemporary Fiction 3%
Young Adult 3%
Biography 3%

Some of the books may fall under more than one category (e.g. literary and historical fiction) but I chose the most prominent genre for this purpose.

[Liz]

Updated stats:

Total books 43
Sci-fi/Fantasy 9 (21%)
Crime/Mystery 9 (21%)
Thriller 12 (28%)
Literary Fiction 3 (7%)
Contemporary Fiction 5 (12%)
Young Adult 4 (9% )
Biography 1 (2%)

[Liz]

ATY 2024 challenge completed!

[Liz]

Final tally:

Total books 52

Thiller 27%
Sci-fi/Fantasy 23%
Crime/Mystery 21%
Contemporary Fiction 12%
Young Adult 8%
Literary Fiction 6%
Biography 2%
Historical Fiction 2%