Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Next year I will attempt to read 52 books in 52 weeks, although I think I might not manage them all I will at least try!

I'm currently studying literature in UNI and will therefore use this challenge to read some of my school reads.

To make it clean I will post two posts where the one is my plan, which I will fill out as I go, while the other one is my planned books I want to read.

1. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016 - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
2. A book with at least 2 perspectives (multiple points of view)
3. A book you meant to read in 2016
4. A title that doesn't contain the letter "E"
5. A historical fiction
6. A book being released as a movie in 2017
7. A book with an animal on the cover or in the title
8. A book written by a person of color
9. A book in the middle of your To Be Read list
10. A dual-timeline novel
11. A category from another challenge - Popsugar 2017, A book with a title that's a character's name - Kong Oidipus by Sophocles
12. A book based on a myth - Faust I & II by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
13. A book recommended by one of your favorite authors
14. A book with a strong female character
15. A book written or set in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) - Isprinsessen by Camilla Läckberg
16. A mystery
17. A book with illustrations
18. A really long book (600+ pages) - Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
19. A New York Times best-seller
20. A book that you've owned for a while but haven't gotten around to reading
21. A book that is a continuation of a book you've already read - Predikanten by Camilla Läckberg
22. A book by an author you haven't read before - Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
23. A book from the BBC "The Big Read" list (link)
24. A book written by at least two authors
25. A book about a famous historical figure - Dantes guddommelige komedie by Dante Alighieri
26. An adventure book
27. A book by one of your favorite authors
28. A non-fiction
29. A book published outside the 4 major publishing houses (Simon & Schuster; HarperCollins; Penguin Random House; Hachette Livre) - check all the editions - A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
30. A book from Goodreads Top 100 YA Books (link)
31. A book from a sub-genre of your favorite genre
32. A book with a long title (5+ words, excluding subtitle) - Hundreåringen som klatret ut gjennom vinduet og forsvant by Jonas Jonasson
33. A magical realism novel
34. A book set in or by an author from the Southern Hemisphere
35. A book where one of the main characters is royalty
36. A Hugo Award winner or nominee (link)
37. A book you choose randomly
38. A novel inspired by a work of classic literature
39. An epistolary fiction
40. A book published in 2017
41. A book with an unreliable narrator
42. A best book of the 21st century (so far)
43. A book with a chilling atmosphere (scary, unsettling, cold)
44. A recommendation from "What Should I Read Next" (link)
45. A book with a one-word title - Hamlet by William Shakespeare
46. A time travel novel
47. A past suggestion that didn't win (link)
48. A banned book
49. A book from someone else's bookshelf
50. A Penguin Modern Classic - any edition - Manon Lescaut by Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles
51. A collection (e.g. essays, short stories, poetry, plays)
52. A book set in a fictional location

12/52 challenges completed
Pages read: 4.645
Books read with female authors: 2
Books read with male authors: 9
Classics: 7
2017 release:

1. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

2. A book with at least 2 perspectives (multiple points of view)

- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
- Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

3. A book you meant to read in 2016

The Book of Lost and Found by Lucy Foley

4. A title that doesn't contain the letter "E"

- DNA by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
- Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

5. A historical fiction

- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- 1900, Morgenrød by Gunnar Staalesen

6. A book being released as a movie in 2017

- Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
- The Circle by Dave Eggers
- Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

7. A book with an animal on the cover or in the title

- The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
- The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-time by Mark Haddon

8. A book written by a person of colour

- My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
- Morgen i Jenin by Susan Abulhawa

9. A book in the middle of your To Be Read list

- Beatles by Lars Saabye Christensen
- Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

The first book "Beatles", was on 18th place on my TBR shelf on goodreads, for the books I already own. The second book is from my other "want to read, but do not own shelf".

10. A dual-timeline novel

- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
- A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

11. A category from another challenge

From the Popsugar reading challenge 2017:
- A book with a title that's a character's name: Kong Oidipus by Sophocles

12. A book based on a myth

Faust I & II by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Based on the famous German myth of Faust

13. A book recommended by one of your favorite authors

- Året by Tomas Espedal, recommended by Linnéa Myhre

14. A book with a strong female character

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

15. A book written or set in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland)

Isprinsessen by Camilla Läckberg

This is the first instalment in Läckberg's crime series about a small town near the Swedish coast. So both the author and the setting is from Sweden

16. A mystery

Flaggermusmannen by Jo Nesbø

17. A book with illustrations

Paris for én by Jojo Moyes

18. A really long book (600+ pages)

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

19. A New York Times best-seller

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

20. A book that you've owned for a while but haven't gotten around to reading

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

21. A book that is a continuation of a book you've already read

Predikanten by Camilla Läckberg

22. A book by an author you haven't read before

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

23. A book from the BBC "The Big Read" list (link)

1984 by George Orwell

24. A book written by at least two authors

Let It Snow

25. A book about a famous historical figure

Dantes guddommelige komedie by Dante Alighieri

About Dante's adventure through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise

26. An adventure book

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

27. A book by one of your favorite authors

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

28. A non-fiction

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

29. A book published outside the 4 major publishing houses (Simon & Schuster; HarperCollins; Penguin Random House; Hachette Livre) - check all the editions

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

As far as I can see this book is published by Candlewick Press, and it's not a sub publisher to any of the 4 major publishing houses!

30. A book from Goodreads Top 100 YA Books (link)

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

31. A book from a sub-genre of your favorite genre

Sci-Fi - Dystopian: Gemina by Amie Kaufman

32. A book with a long title (5+ words, excluding subtitle)

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

33. A magical realism novel

- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

34. A book set in or by an author from the Southern Hemisphere

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

35. A book where one of the main characters is royalty

Cress by Marissa Meyer

36. A Hugo Award winner or nominee (link)

Animal Farm by George Orwell

37. A book you choose randomly

38. A novel inspired by a work of classic literature

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige - A retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

39. An epistolary fiction

Carrie by Stephen King

40. A book published in 2017

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

41. A book with an unreliable narrator

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

After I read Bird Box by Josh Malerman I got really exited about creepy and unsettling books, so I hope this one meets my standards!

42. A best book of the 21st century (so far)

- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
- Room by Emma Donoghue
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

43. A book with a chilling atmosphere (scary, unsettling, cold)

- We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
- Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
- Pet Sematary by Stephen King


44. A recommendation from "What Should I Read Next" (link)

- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- Night Film by Marisha Pessl
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown

45. A book with a one-word title

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

I hope this counts as a book, even though it's a play! I have to read this one for school, so why not put it on my challenge?

46. A time travel novel

- Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

47. A past suggestion that didn't win (link)

A book with liquid on the cover: Hver gang du forlater meg by Linnéa Myhre (water)

48. A banned book

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

49. A book from someone else's bookshelf

Doppler by Erlend Loe

Kinda took this from my fathers bookshelf, because I'm a book hoarder

50. A Penguin Modern Classic - any edition

Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost

51. A collection (e.g. essays, short stories, poetry, plays)

Dubliners by James Joyce

52. A book set in a fictional location

- The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
- Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

I loved The Book Thief, so I hope you'll enjoy it. I think it's a beautiful book!

I'm also planning on reading A Monster Calls next year and hope to hear some thoughts about the book :-)

Marina H wrote: "I loved The Book Thief, so I hope you'll enjoy it. I think it's a beautiful book!

I'm also planning on reading A Monster Calls next year and hope to hear some thoughts ..."

That's great! I'm really looking forward to read it! And yeah, I can't wait to get into A Monster Calls and be able to discuss it with other who have read it!

Katie wrote: "I also loved The Book Thief, and I'm also planning to read Sorcerer to the Crown, A Monster Calls, and Don Quixote next year :)"

That's great! I'm actually cheating a little and have already started Don Quixote, but it's so massive so I won't be able to finish it until next year anyways haha!

And I've never heard about anyone else knowing about Sorcerer to the Crown, looking forward to see what you think about it!

Katie wrote: ":) I think Don Quixote is so big that no one would fault you for starting early. I think a few people are starting the long book early.

I've seen Sorcerer to the Crown on one or two more lists bes..."

That's great! Yeah I'm not the fastest reader so I'm doing my best!

Yup, you can totally start the doorstops before January, but if it's the 600+, you need to keep 600 pages for 2017 :)

I want to read Sorcerer of the Crown next year, so I'll join the discussion for this one.
The Book Thief is on my 2017 plan, it'll help me to try it as I don't like books set in war time.

Zaz wrote: "Yup, you can totally start the doorstops before January, but if it's the 600+, you need to keep 600 pages for 2017 :)

I want to read Sorcerer of the Crown next year, so I'll join the discussion fo..."

Ah thank you for clearing that up! I think I'll read A Game of Thrones for my 600+ challenge so I'm good!

It's so exiting to see that there are several people who wants to read Sorcerer to the Crown, really looking forward to the discussion!

Katie wrote: "Yeah, I'm not the fastest either, and it can be hard to find the time as well, but hopefully we'll all manage to read lots next year :)"

We'll manage, I'm sure! :)

Update:

I've finished challenge number 29 - To read a book outside the four major publishing houses. I chose A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, and as far as I know it's not published under any of those four houses. If I'm wrong you're more than welcome to correct me!