Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
ATY 2026
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[2026] Choosing List Order
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My only thought is that it would help those of us who do each part of each prompt (e.g., read a book connected to each one of Santa's reindeer, or each Clue character, or blood, sweat, and tears) if there aren't too many multi-part prompts in the same month/close together. I don't know if I'll try to read in order, but if I do, having those spread out would be very helpful.
I had a bout of insomnia a few nights ago, so I looked for some ideas on some of these prompts. Here is what I have come up with so far. 19. Korean or Korean-diaspora author - Korea gained its independence and was split into North and South Korea on August 14, 1945. I couldn't find a specific date the diaspora began. Their most important holiday in the Lunar New Year which begins on February 17, 2026.
25. "QUEEN" of crime prompt: September 15th is traditionally the day that Agatha Christie is celebrated. It is also her birthday and cozy mystery day.
26. Clue or Cluedo was released in the UK in November 1949. I couldn't find an exact date. It was released in the US the same year.
31. Symbol of death on cover - Halloween is October 31st. El Día de los Muertos is celerated on November 1st and 2nd.
35. Vincent Van Gogh - birthday is March 30, 1853
37. History of historical fiction - World History Day is June 24th. World Book Day is April 23rd.
39. Wellness or beauty - Global Wellness Day is the 2nd Saturday in June, so June 13 2026. International Beauty Day is September 9, 2026.
41. Mystery or true crime - National Crime Junkie Day - December 18th
45. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen started recording Bohemian Rhapsody on August 24th, 1975. It was released on October 31, 1975, It hit #1 on the UK charts on November 29th, 1975 and stayed there for 9 weeks.
46. Frothy or Gothy - World Goth Day is May 22nd.
National Frappe Day: Celebrated on October 7, this day honors the iced, coffee-based drink.
National Bubbly Day: This holiday falls on the first Saturday of June and is dedicated to sparkling wines like cava and champagne. - June 6, 2026
National Bubble Bath Day: January 8 is for relaxing in a bubbly, warm bath.
International Bubble Blowing Day: On May 6, people are encouraged to find joy in blowing bubbles.
47. Woman over 40 - World heart day - December 29th - Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in women over 40. March is Women's History Month.
48. Bird on cover - World Migration Bird Day is the 2nd Saturday in May and Oct - For 2026k that i May. 9th or Oct 10th.
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Maybe Z in the author/title should go at the end
Of course Santa's reindeer could go in December, though that would make it challenging for Dixie and others to get all the reindeer in. Maybe "Christmas in July" would work for it.
November is Native American/indigenous month in the US.
Wow Charlsa - thanks for all the great ideas!I don’t have the list in front of me at the moment, so all I can think of at the moment is that Santa’s Reindeer should probably be in the week that contains December 24 (as that is their big work day) 😉
So maybe Santa's reindeer the week of Christmas and Z title/author the last week of the year. Thanks, Robin, I forgot to include Native Amerian/Indigenous month in the US. Also, International Day of the World's Indigenous People is August 9th.
National Punctuation Day is September 24 for punctuation in title prompt.
Robin P wrote: "Wow, great research, Charlsa!Maybe Z in the author/title should go at the end
Of course Santa's reindeer could go in December, though that would make it challenging for Dixie and others to get al..."
But Indigenous People's Day in the U.S. is the Monday near Oct. 12, formerly celebrated as Columbus Day. Oct. 12 Columbus Day is still celebrated as such by Italian-Americans.
I do think Santa's Reindeer belong in December.
I'd rather see Bird on Cover in May than in the fall. And I'd rather not have Mystery or True Crime in December.
National Board Game Day is April 11 for Clue/Cluedo.
In Canada, June is National Indigenous History month. I’m not sure how many countries recognize have a month or day for recognizing/celebrating Indigenous people, but it’s likely different for every country. .
Charlsa and the others have had excellent suggestions. They all make sense.
Maybe for the multi-week prompt “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” place those in the last full week of June, the week that straddles June and July, and the first full week of July. This placement is the closest you can get to half the year being in the past and half the year being in the future.
Robin P wrote: "Wow, great research, Charlsa!Maybe Z in the author/title should go at the end
Of course Santa's reindeer could go in December, though that would make it challenging for Dixie and others to get al..."
Thank you, that's kind of you to think of it. But I think I'm okay for that one in December -- maybe the other December prompts could be singles, though!
Tracy wrote: "Maybe for the multi-week prompt “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” place those in the last full week of June, the week that straddles June and July, and the first full week of July. This placement is..."Clever idea!
Revolution- close to the 4th of July.Road trips - summer
Vacation book - august or spring break, Presidents’ Day, Easter
Indigenous - I love the symbolism of replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous peoples day in October. I always read a North American indigenous book this week. This year I read a Scandinavian Indigenous book in the winter, and Australian in the spring,
Isolated and survival - I wouldnt want to read them close together
Multi week authors - spread them out in case people don’t love the author. I would put the new book later in the year in case someone is trying to finish a series.
Frothy or gothy - late May or June. This is the kind of book that I would read at the end of the academic year, when my brain needed something light.
Speaking of procrastination, I have a hard deadline at 6:30pm, so I'm working on this instead.1. Road trip or long journey
National Road Trip Day – May 22, 2026
Marco Polo's birthday - March 15th
National Ride Your Horse Day - April 2, 2026
3. Blood, sweat, or tears
World Blood Donor Day – June 14, 2026
National Recommit to Your Fitness Day – April 5, 2026
10. Punctuation mark in title - National Punctuation Mark Day Sep 24th
Learn Your Name In Morse Code Day – January 11, 2026
18. book involving survival - Nothing to Fear Day – May 27, 2026
22. something edible in the title - Edible Book Day – April 1, 2026
National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day – April 12, 2026
23. set in Africa, Asia, or Australia
Travel Africa Day – February 17, 2026
African Liberation Day – May 25, 2026
Global Africa Day – May 25, 2026
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month – May 2026
Australia Day – January 26, 2026
Hug an Australian Day – April 26, 2026
33. takes places in a library, museum, school or public building -
Library Shelfie Day – January 28, 2026
Library Lovers Month – February 2026
National Library Day – April 6, 2026
International Libraries Day - Oct 24th
Museum Selfie Day – January 21, 2026
Museum Lover's Day – May 5, 2026
International Museum Day – May 18, 2026
Global School Play Day – February 4, 2026
Active School Week – April 20-24, 2026
International School Libraries Month – October 2026
34. Window on the cover - National Window Safety Week – April 7-13, 2025 or Fix Your Windows and Doors Day – June 24, 2026
36 A book with a number, ordinal, or iterative numeral in the title - Number Day – February 6, 2026
World Math Day – March 23, 2026
Trail of Tears Commemoration Day – September 16, 2026
38. A vacation book - National Plan for Vacation Day – January 27, 2026
40. Book you've wanted to read for a long time - There is no single "World Procrastination Day"; however, the unofficial National Fight Procrastination Day is observed on September 6th each year to encourage people to address their procrastination habits.
42. Science topic - World Science Day for Peace and Development is November 10th.
Tracy wrote: "Maybe for the multi-week prompt “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” place those in the last full week of June, the week that straddles June and July, and the first full week of July. This placement is..."Love it!
Charlsa, not only are you a productive procrastinator (for our purposes anyway), but you are a creative researcher/Googler!
Vicki wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Wow, great research, Charlsa!I agree with no mysteries in December. I like a love story (or sappy book) for December or February.
Charlsa wrote: "Speaking of procrastination, I have a hard deadline at 6:30pm, so I'm working on this instead.
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Fun list! I like Feb 6 for numbers. 2/6/26
NancyJ wrote: "Vicki wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Wow, great research, Charlsa!I agree with no mysteries in December. I like a love story (or sappy book) for December or February.
Charlsa wrote: "Speaking of proc..."
NancyJ, I am obligated to like all Feb 6 dates as that is my birthday.
Tracy wrote: "Charlsa, not only are you a productive procrastinator (for our purposes anyway), but you are a creative researcher/Googler!"My gift is over-achieving on the unimportant things while procrastinating on the important ones.
Just some thoughts on how some of the books could be listed in next year's ATY: A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die List
- #37 (the first edition of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die was published on March 7th, 2006)
- #10 (the last time the list was updated was in 2010)
A book by a new-to-you author
- #1 (why not start off the new year with an author you haven't read anything by)
A book related to the name of one of Santa's reindeer
- I've thought it might be cute to have this one be a December prompt, though I don't know where it would fall prompt # wise in this case
- #25 (since Christmas is on December 25th)
- #24 (since Christmas Eve is December 24th)
Bird on the cover
- #15 (National Bird Day in the U.S. is on January 5th)
A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution
- #21 (National Freedom Day is February 1st)
A nonfiction book
- #17 (National Nonfiction Day is November 7th)
- #14 (National Trivia Day is January 4th)
A book with cover text that is NOT black or white
- #22 (National Color Day is October 22nd)
A book set in the wellness or beauty industries
- #20 (National Clean Beauty Day was created in 2020)
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I think that's a brilliant idea! And the books could be so different that it wouldn't seem like 3 of the same in a row.
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Pamela wrote: "I'm curious-- do we have any clue of how many people do the challenge in order? I do them in the order the library gives me books."This year I read mine alphabetically by title, because that dovetailed with a different challenge I was doing. I would like to try reading them in order since that makes it easier to follow the discussions.
I would caution against putting Indigenous character or author in October. October gets associated with spooky or horror books and quite frankly a lot of Indigenous people have lived through enough horrors without sticking it there.Either June , which is Indigenous history month. Or September (September 30 is Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada.) Or August (August 9 is the UN's International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples) or May (Australia has National Reconciliation Week (May 27–June 3) and National Sorry Day (May 26))
I especially like the idea of reading the indigenous character or author prompt near the UN's International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. I think this will remind us to maybe read about indigenous people who are not part of our own country’s history.
Better October prompts are:-Symbol of death on the cover
-mystery or true crime
-Frothy or gothy
I like A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution for July since both Independence Day (US) and Bastille Day (France) are in July
Charlsa wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Vicki wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Wow, great research, Charlsa!I agree with no mysteries in December. I like a love story (or sappy book) for December or February.
Charlsa wrote: "S..."
Dubhease wrote: "Better October prompts are:
-Symbol of death on the cover
-mystery or true crime
-Frothy or gothy
I like A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution for July since both Independence..."
So 2026 is a lucky month for you!
So leave your ideas below! And as always, you can find a full list of the prompts chosen in the introduction thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...