Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
ATY 2026
>
[2026] Poll 2 Voting
date
newest »

message 51:
by
Nike
(new)
Jul 08, 2025 02:06PM

reply
|
flag

I live in what's known as "high desert". Not all Oregon is green!
"High desert" can be found in many of the Western US states: Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Southwest Idaho, most of Nevada, New Mexico, and Western Utah. Tons of historical novels set in those areas, particularly concerning the Westward Expansion (pioneers).

There are so many books, fiction and non, about the American Revolution. My intent was to give those outside the US an option to read something "non-American" by saying "Any Location".

There are so many books, fiction and non, about the American Revolution. My intent was to give those outside the US an o..."
🙏🌸

I think it is part of the Great Basin Desert. That is how I counted it. Should I count it separately?

Part of it is. I looked at a map of the Great Basin Desert.
Wikipedia: The Oregon High Desert is located in the southeast of the U.S. state of Oregon, east of the Cascade Range and south of the Blue Mountains. The desert covers most of five Oregon counties and averages 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in altitude.
This is the Oregon part, but it extends into Idaho and Nevada

There are so many books, fiction and non, about the American Revolution. My intent was to give those outside the US an o..."
I like that idea. I have books set in 1767 and 1789 that are related to the revolution, so I wish the time range was wider to cover all the historical fiction set in the years before and after the war itself. If the prompt doesn’t get in the first time, maybe it could be revised to cover more years. Or make it “related to a revolution.” If people don’t want an American prompt, make the range 1750 -1850 to cover other revolutions, the Austen years, Regency romance, and so forth.

There are so many books, fiction and non, about the American Revolution. My intent was to give those o..."
I'll read a non-fiction for this and for the Declaration of Independence. Most likely something by Jon Meacham. He is a great historian.




Ditto


Maybe something to do with karma? Buddhist literature, hindu literature. Or symbolic about someone going through mayor changes in their life and feeling reborn.

There seems to be a lot of books that deal with reincarnation in one way or another:
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

I would enjoy that prompt more. Like Elizabeth, I'm not a fan of historical fiction and would too do a wildcard if the American Revolution gets on the final list.


I would enjoy that prompt more. Like Elizabeth, I'm not..."
I had something similar a few years ago and read books about the cultural revolution in China. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China was epic. There was also the French Revolution, the industrial revolution, the sexual revolution ; )

I think it’s a funny song. I hope it gets in. I also love the Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. I sing silly songs to my 90 year mom to get her out of a grouchy mood, and I get dramatic with the mama mia part.

I was going to suggest books about starting over - after divorce, a career loss, recovery from substance abuse, mental illness or cancer, etc.
I like Dixie’s list a lot more. Life After Life, The Midnight Library, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
For dog lovers- A Dog's Purpose, The Art of Racing in the Rain
(I gave A Dog’s Purpose on audio to my husband for a long trip. He loved it but it actually made him cry. It could have killed him if he couldn’t see!)



You could also start with the birth of something not human -> animals, inventions, countries etc. And with rebirth - someone starting over after a life changing event, someone having a late in life career change.
NancyJ wrote: "I think it’s a funny song. I hope it gets in. I also love the Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. I sing silly songs to my 90 year mom to get her out of a grouchy mood, and I get dramatic with the mama mia part."
It's hard NOT to get over-dramatic with the mamma mia bit! :-)
It's hard NOT to get over-dramatic with the mamma mia bit! :-)

Yes. If neither makes it, I may try suggesting something more generic like independemce. Even independence from Britian includes 65 countries, The US was just the first.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

I like this idea of a way to recognize American independence.
Your link had an interesting list. I found it surprising that all the countries that gained independence after us (with an exception noted below) gained their independence in the 20th century — NONE in the 19th century!
The notable (and unknown to me) exception was:
The Vermont Republic! Formerly known as "New Hampshire Grants".
This happened on 15 January, 1777.
Independence was declared from the British colony of Quebec as well as from New York (which was contested between Britain and the newly-independent United States during the American Revolutionary War) and New Hampshire (which was fully under United States control). The Vermont Republic was admitted into the United States on 4 March 1791.
I had no idea that Vermont had at one time belonged to Quebec, New York, and New Hampshire

😄

I turned 18 a few days after the bicentennial celebrations. I think it was a healing experience after Watergate and Nixon were over. It was a glorious summer.
I have a memory of making my own declaration of independence speech to my parents. LOL . They probably just laughed, but I don’t think they held me to a curfew after that.
Books mentioned in this topic
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (other topics)Life After Life (other topics)
The Midnight Library (other topics)
The Art of Racing in the Rain (other topics)
A Dog's Purpose (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Nnedi Okorafor (other topics)Kader Abdolah (other topics)
Naïri Nahapétian (other topics)
Barbara Kingsolver (other topics)
Tahar Ben Jelloun (other topics)
More...