Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

1. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016
✔ The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

2. A book with at least 2 perspectives (multiple points of view)
✔ The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

3. A book you meant to read in 2016
✔ In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

4. A title that doesn't contain the letter "E"
✔ Audition by Ryū Murakami

5. A historical fiction
✔ Emma by Jane Austen

6. A book being released as a movie in 2017
✔ The Gunslinger by Stephen King

7. A book with an animal on the cover or in the title
✔ The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

8. A book written by a person of color
✔ In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami

9. A book in the middle of your To Be Read list
✔Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

10. A dual-timeline novel
✔The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

11. A category from another challenge
✔ Popsugar 2017 - Recommended by a Librarian
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

12. A book based on a myth
✔Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

13. A book recommended by one of your favorite authors
✔ The Hot Zone: The Chilling True Story of an Ebola Outbreak by Richard Preston

14. A book with a strong female character
✔ The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

15. A book written or set in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland)
✔ The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff

16. A mystery
✔ Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

17. A book with illustrations
✔ Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Graphic Adaptation by Seymour Chwast

18. A really long book (600+ pages)
✔ Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

19. A New York Times best-seller
✔ All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

20. A book that you've owned for a while but haven't gotten around to reading
✔ The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

21. A book that is a continuation of a book you've already read
✔ How the Marquis Got His Coat Back by Neil Gaiman


22. A book by an author you haven't read before
✔ All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

23. A book from the BBC "The Big Read" list
✔ Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

24. A book written by at least two authors
✔ Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

25. A book about a famous historical figure
✔ The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden

26. An adventure book
✔ Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

27. A book by one of your favorite authors
✔ After the Quake by Haruki Murakami

28. A non-fiction
✔ Murderous Minds: Exploring the Criminal Psychopathic Brain: Neurological Imaging and the Manifestation of Evil by Dean A. Haycock

29. A book published outside the 4 major publishing houses (Simon & Schuster; HarperCollins; Penguin Random House; Hachette Livre) - check all the editions
✔Poseidon's Steed: The Story of Seahorses, from Myth to Reality by Helen Scales - Published by Gotham Books

30. A book from Goodreads Top 100 YA Books
✔ The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

31. A book from a sub-genre of your favorite genre
(Supernatural Horror)
✔We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

32. A book with a long title (5+ words, excluding subtitle)
✔ The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

33. A magical realism novel
✔The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

34. A book set in or by an author from the Southern Hemisphere
✔ The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera

35. A book where one of the main characters is royalty
✔ Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

36. A Hugo Award winner or nominee
✔ American Gods by Neil Gaiman

37. A book you choose randomly
✔ The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

38. A novel inspired by a work of classic literature
✔ Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

39. An epistolary fiction
✔The Screwtape Letters: includes Screwtape Proposes a Toast by C.S. Lewis

40. A book published in 2017
✔ Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
AND
✔ The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan

41. A book with an unreliable narrator
✔ The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

42. A best book of the 21st century (so far)
✔ The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

43. A book with a chilling atmosphere (scary, unsettling, cold)
✔ The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

44. A recommendation from "What Should I Read Next"
✔ Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

45. A book with a one-word title
✔Persuation by Jane Austin

46. A time travel novel
✔Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

47. A past suggestion that didn't win
A Popular Children's Book You've Never Read -
✔ Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

48. A banned book
✔ Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

49. A book from someone else's bookshelf
✔ The Secret History by Donna Tartt

50. A Penguin Modern Classic - any edition
✔ To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

51. A collection (e.g. essays, short stories, poetry, plays)
✔ How to Travel with a Salmon & Other Essays by Umberto Eco

52. A book set in a fictional location
✔ Red Queen by Christina Henry

Bit late to the party this year but will update the missing books this week. I am finding it surprisingly difficult to pick books this year!

~~ Any suggestions for the outstanding topics are gratefully received ~~

For the unreliable narrator prompt, if you haven't read We Have Always Lived in the Castle, I'd definitely recommend it. I loved it!

Katie wrote: "Good luck with your list, Bridget: if I think of any suggestions, I'll let you know! Looking through other people's lists can give great suggestions too :)"


Thanks Katie. I find looking at other people's lists tends to just make my TBR pile get monstrously large! Although, in the grand scheme of things that is not the worst thing!

Jody wrote: "For the unreliable narrator prompt, if you haven't read We Have Always Lived in the Castle, I'd definitely recommend it. I loved it!"

It sounds really interesting Jody, I think I will see if I can get my hands on a copy! Thank you :)

Good luck Bridget! The Other Me and The Firebird would all work for a dual timeline novel. I really enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See and Rebecca last year, so hope you enjoy those. Let us know what you think of the others, there are quite a few on your list I've thought about reading.

Martha wrote: "Good luck Bridget! The Other Me and The Firebird would all work for a dual timeline novel. I really enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See and Rebecca last year, so hop..."

Thanks for the suggestions Martha! The Other Me sounds rather interesting so I will keep an eye out for it.
I have had a change of job since last year so I have more time to read and am happily well on track. Rebecca is next on my list, after After The Quake (which is fabulous by the way!).

Katie wrote: "Bridget wrote: "Thanks Katie. I find looking at other people's lists tends to just make my TBR pile get monstrously large! Although, in the grand scheme of things that is not the worst thing! "

Ha..."

I always seem to acquire more books than I mean to when I spend a day out and that contributes to the obstacle course that is my home! The nice thing is that I am dead easy to buy for when Secret Santa comes round...

Completed weeks 1, 13, 21, 27, 34 and 43 (one day I shall master the art of strikethrough!)

Updated and added some titles for the weeks that had no books. Favourite so far has to be Jane Eyre!

Finally figured out how to do a tick! ✔

It pays to google...

Yes google is your friend! To master the art of html, just click on the "some html is ok" on the top right corner of this box.

I loved Jane Eyre too!

Sophie wrote: "Yes google is your friend! To master the art of html, just click on the "some html is ok" on the top right corner of this box.

I loved Jane Eyre too!"

Hi Sophie, thanks for the advice! Jane Eyre was a treat after reading (and despising) Emma. I do hope it was just Emma I have an aversion to and not Jane Austen as I have Persuasion up shortly!

Rebecca was also a fantastic read... and most of the books I have read this year!

Updated my read books and must say, Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill was a cracking book!

Updated read books - All the Light We Cannot See was breathtaking and I wish I had made it last a bit longer!

Updated read books and changed one prompt :)

Updated!

Almost done! Good luck for the last ones :)
I'm struggling with Jane Eyre (classics aren't my thing), I'd like to also have it checked in my plan!

Zaz wrote: "Almost done! Good luck for the last ones :)
I'm struggling with Jane Eyre (classics aren't my thing), I'd like to also have it checked in my plan!"

I am so slow at updating my list though... almost finished Till We Have Faces and will probably be onto The Bone Clocks by this afternoon.

I loved Jane Eyre (I thought I would find it a bit too slow and boring but boy was I wrong!) and Persuasion this year. In fact, I read so many excellent books this year :)

How many more books do you have to go on the 2017 plan? I need to up my game on making my 2018 list now!

I'm at 41 prompts completed, so just in tracks, but I've some short books scheduled, so I'll probably improve my pace a little soon.

Jane Eyre is a bit slow for the moment, the first part was easier to read but nothing interesting is happening where I'm, so I'm not motivated to pick the book. If it doesn't improve, maybe I'll switch to the audiobook, as I want to finish it!
Persuasion was a quick read, even if I don't really like what Austen writes :)

I read Emma first and loathed it with a passion. Everyone at work got an earful about it! I think Persuasion was better because Anne was less of a damsel in distress (she was well aware of her decisions and the consequences) and Frederick wasn't overly pushy or 'masterful' in his pursuit of Anne.

I bought The Tenant of Wildfell Hall which I am hoping to read in a few weeks. I have heard really good things about it and how risque the subject matter was for the times.

I have yet to listen to an audio book... I keep being recommended ones but I struggle to concentrate on radio dramas already and I fear I may zone out with a book and miss something vital. Plus, my car journey to work and back is only about 15 minutes each way so that would be a no go.

FINISHED! I failed to finish last year so I am super happy that I managed this year :)

Now to work out my books for the 2018 challenge :)

Way to go Bridget! Are you going to read side reads now or try a short challenge before the new year?

Anastasia wrote: "Way to go Bridget! Are you going to read side reads now or try a short challenge before the new year?"

Thanks Anastasia. I am thinking of taking a week off to finish my knitting project (a colourful winter reading blanket) then finishing off the year with knocking a classic or 3 off my TBR and joining my bestie with her book club reads. I do plan on doing 2 challenges simultaneously next year though :)

How is your challenge going? Are you preparing for next year yet?

Congrats :)
Which books were your favorites for the challenge?

Zaz wrote: "Congrats :)
Which books were your favorites for the challenge?"

Thanks Zaz!

I really enjoyed Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Persuasion, All The Light We Cannot See, Shantaram, The Whale Rider.... well, most of them!

I didn't enjoy The English Patient and Emma though. And I was very disappointed by Alice in Zombieland!

Congratulations!

Nice job!!! I saw lots of older books on your list is that ur preference or were u intentionally trying or read more classics in this challenge?

Of your books I loved Shantaram and All the light you cannot see!!! I was not a fan of The secret History, or American Gods neither one of those worked for me.

Enjoy planning for next year!

Kelly wrote: "Nice job!!! I saw lots of older books on your list is that ur preference or were u intentionally trying or read more classics in this challenge?

Of your books I loved Shantaram and All the light ..."

I actually enjoyed The Secret History and am going to try cram in The Little Friend next year... American Gods is not my favourite Neil Gaiman I must say.

I think the amount of older books is just because I had them and they fitted into the prompts. My mum recommended Rebecca and my best friend recommended Emma (I am still planning my revenge!). I think next year will have a vast array of older books again though.

All The Light We Cannot See BROKE me though. I finished it in a coffee shop and I think several customers were concerned for my mental state :/


Jody wrote: "Congratulations!"

Thanks Jodi :)

Way to go. So exciting.

Did u read nightingale by Kristin Hannah? I link those two books cause both WWII books set in France. Anyways that book made me ugly cry!!! I loved it!!!

Kelly wrote: "Did u read nightingale by Kristin Hannah? I link those two books cause both WWII books set in France. Anyways that book made me ugly cry!!! I loved it!!!"

Oooh I haven't heard of that one! I will add it to the list (mountain). I really enjoyed All Quiet On The Western Front as well this year. Thanks for the recommendation Kelly :)

Katie wrote: "Way to go. So exciting."

Thanks Katie! Are you the Katie that is going All Non-Fiction for 2018??

That's me. A whole challenge of nonfiction, wish me luck.

That is impressive. And dedicated. I will be following your progress :)
Good luck!

I am currently on track for this challenge. I am reprinting some burn out with it though.
Next year I may just read what I want and slot it in like a jigsaw puzzle. It maybe more fun that way.