Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
2018 Plans
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Sophie's 'Freedom In Order' Plan
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Those are all the books I read this year, not only for ATY.Total: 52
Books I want to read in 2018Series to finish
For a long time, I pledged to read one book per year of any series I was in the middle of. But now I really want to finish some of them in order not to feel too guilty when I start a new one!
I structured them by genre. The 10 with a * are the ones I really want to finish in 2018.
Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch: next is Whispers Under Ground 3/7
Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb*: next is City of Dragons 3/4
The Fitz and the Fool by Robin Hobb: next is Fool's Quest 🏔 2/3 (but I need to finish Rain Wild first)
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson: next is Oathbringer 🎧🏔🏔 3/10 (has just been published. at 1200 pages, this one deserves 2 mountains 😉)
Lockwood & Co by Jonathan Stroud: read The Whispering Skull, next is The Hollow Boy 3/5
Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud*: next is The Ring of Solomon 4/4 (actually it's 0.5, but it's the last one I need to read)
Dauther of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor: next is Days of Blood & Starlight 🏔 2/3
John Dies at the End by Michael Wong: next is This Book Is Full of Spiders 2/3
Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui 🖌🍬: next is Vol. 2 2/21
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams*: next is Mostly Harmless 5/6
Foundation by Isaac Asimov: next is Foundation and Empire 2/5
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan 🖌🍬: read Vol. 8, next is Saga, Vol. 9 (not published yet) 8/9
Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel: read Waking Gods, next is Only Human 3/3
Cormoran Strike by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling): read Career of Evil, n°4 hasn't been published yet
Hannibal Lecter by Thomas Harris: read The Silence of the Lambs, next is Hannibal 3/4
Dexter by Jeff Lindsay*: read Dexter's Final Cut, next is Dexter Is Dead 8/8
Harry Hole by Jo Nesbø: next is Cockroaches 2/11 (but I already read 7 & 8)
Dirk Pitt by Clive Cussler: next is Arctic Drift 🏔 20/24 (but I already read n°23, so I only have 4 left)
Sigma Force by James Rollins: next is Map of Bones 🏔 2/13
Inch' Allah by Gilbert Sinoué*: next is Le Cri Des Pierres ❣️ 2/2
Finished
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead*: Finished 6/6
American Gods by Neil Gaiman*: Finished 2/2
Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind: I decided to stop after Confessor (11/15) as the story finished there and the next books start a new story
Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris*: Finished 13/13
Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida 🖌🍬: Finished 14/14
The Dublin Saga by Edward Rutherfurd*🏔: Finished 2/2
I like the audiobook icon :DGood luck with your series, I'm also working on that and did really well this year (more than 25 sequels read and I nicely DNF some series when the 1st book wasn't enough good!). I'll continue next year :)
Is Saga 8 the end of the series or just the last one published?
I had a blast choosing icons last night, it's great we can use these little funny signs ;)I read 15 sequels this year, which made a good dent on my massive list! I hope to do even better next year!
It is the last one listed on GR, so maybe it's the last one? I haven't looked further.
It's hard to look at others' lists because every year I resolve to whittle away at my tbr list... not add! Good luck with the series and have so much fun traveling!
Have fun traveling, Sophie. I like how you're keeping track of your series. Another idea to borrow! ;)
I just finished my first book of the year: The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily for week 1, à book with ATY in the title. 🍬📚🎉★★★☆☆I was run, but not much more and a bit infuriating at times. But I’m glad to finish yet another series!
Finished The Silence of the Lambs, my pick for week 2, the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list. It was actually the very first one of the list I added back in 2013!I really like it, it's creepy as hell and now I need to re-watch the movie! I wasn't a fan of all the 'fat' talk, but apart from that, a very fine thriller. 🎧📚★★★★☆
Sophie wrote: "Finished The Silence of the Lambs, my pick for week 2, the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list. It was actually the very first one of the list I added back in 2013!I really ..."
I don't know why this book isn't already on my TBR, but it's a book I've considered reading. I might have to add it now!
It is a must when you like thrillers! I started with Red Dragon, but they’re not connected except for Hannibal being in them.
So, I've started this year sur les chapeaux de roues, as we say in French and already finished 11 books, including 6 for ATY!My reading in order is more or less working, and I think I'll manage to make it work for the rest of the year. Since I'm reading books in four different medium (ebook on my Kindle, library ebook on my iPad or iPhone (only US library have Kindle books), audiobooks and paper books), I'm starting the next one on my list for the medium I want to read next.
In order of finishing since my last update, I've read:
3. The Boy on the Bridge: I didn't like it as much as The Girl with All the Gifts, but I liked the ending. 📚🎉 ★★★★☆
5. Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood: I absolutely loved this book and could have listen to Trevor Noah the whole day (which I basically did at work, I finished it in 3 days) 🎧🗺❣️ ★★★★★
7. Dracula: I'm pleasantly surprised as to how much I liked this one. 🎧🏛 ★★★★☆
8. Aya of Yop City: a good second instalment of this Ivorian graphic novel. ❣️📚🍬🖌 ★★★★☆
I also had a few side-reads:
Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference: a very interesting read for everyone interested in feminism and psychology 📓 ★★★★☆
Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: such a touching and beautiful book! I ordered a copy for my mum straightaway 🍬🖌 ★★★★★
Texts from Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters: I found it hilarious when I read the book and mostly funny even when I didn't. 🍬 ★★★★☆
The Whale Rider: a beautiful story by a Maori author, I highly recommend to anyone interested in knowing a bit more about culture in New Zealand. ❣️ ★★★★★
Edgedancer: book 2.5 of the amazing Stormlight Archive series. I loved how different the tone is for this one (funny and silly) compared to the seriousness of the other books. ★★★★☆
I initially wanted to update every time I finished a book, let's hope I'll manage to do that from now on 😉
You had a great start! It sucks that the library doesn't have the kindle format (well, my library doesn't have ebooks lol).
I'll have to check Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too :)
Sophie - I think I'm going to steal a couple of your symbols.I'm glad you liked Dracula. I think we have mostly the same taste in books so that gives me hope. I'm hoping to read it at some point this year!!!
Awesome January so far!
Zaz: aliebn is so so cute!Joan: you're welcome! It does look like we have similar taste, that's good to know :)
Thanks Tracy!
Wow, 11 books ! Great start to the year, Sophie!
Argh I wanted to update my plan at work, but the cute emojis I see on my phone and Macbook are looking horrible on Windows! What a shame!I'll do that tonight then ;)
Since I last updated I read:4. Earth (4 Elements):
Parable of the Sower: it took me a while to get into it, but I liked the end and I want to read the sequel. ❣️📚🆕 ★★★★☆
11. Literary fiction:
The Picture of Dorian Gray: it wasn't bad but I found some parts pretty boring and the end quite anticlimactic. 🎧🏛 ★★★☆☆
16. A narrative nonfiction:
A Life in Parts: I really liked this book and how Bryan Cranston structured stories of his life by roles he played, but fiction and in real life. 🎧📓 ★★★★☆
6. Written in a foreign language:
Idylls: I found it was funny to read a book written in Ancient Greek for this prompt and Jean Menzies, a BookTuber I really like said it was a good introduction to Ancient Greece literature. The stories where good and sometimes even fun, but I'm really not a fan of poetry. I'm sure I would have enjoyed them more in a narrative format. 🏛🍬 ★★★☆☆
Top rejected prompts
A book where a character goes by a higher, honorific or professional title:
Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor, Vol. 3: Conversion: a nice Doctor Who adventure, although I preferred the first two volumes. 📚🍬🖌 ★★★★☆
A book that you consider a guilty pleasure:
Dead Ever After: the Sookie Stackhouse series was my second guilty pleasure after the Vampire Academy series and now I have finished them both! The quality definitely decreased in the last Sookie books, but I thought the end was fitting. 📚🎉 ★★★★☆
A book where the main character is in another age category than you:
La Belle Sauvage: I loved going back to Philip Pullman's world and the story was pretty good. I wonder what he has in store for the sequel. 📚🆕 ★★★★☆
A book with less than 2,018 ratings:
The Gender Games: The Problem with Men and Women, from Someone Who Has Been Both: I really liked this book and I'm shocked it only has less than 400 ratings as I've heard quite a lot about it! This is a really interesting read about Juno's transition as a woman, but also her view on the influence of gender on society and feminism. 📓❣️ ★★★★☆
January wrap-up
Last month, I read a total of 3000 pages and listened to a whopping 97 hours between audiobook and the Worm podcast.
I listened to A Life in Parts last year and really enjoyed it. I think I liked the audiobook better than I would have liked the print edition. Cranston did a great job narrating! Living in Albuquerque I was mostly interested in the Breaking Bad parts. But, I found the rest of his life was pretty crazy and interesting, too!
I also think I would have liked it less had I read it. Biographies are so much better when narrated by the person they talk about, like Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood or David Attenborough's Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster (which I still need to listen to).
I finished my 13th ATY books yesterday night, which means I have already completed 1/4 of the challenge, that's amazing!!!I never thought I would be going this quickly while reading in order, but I guess I'm driving my choices a bit more instead of just mood reading and using them for whatever prompt they fit in.
February wrap-up
ATY
10. An author's debut book
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban: not the best writing, but it was very interesting 🗺📓❣️ ★★★★☆
9. A book with a body part in the title:
The Whispering Skull: a fun ghost story, I like this series as palate cleanser 📚★★★★☆
13. A book with a plot centered around a secret:
Dexter's Final Cut: my least favourite Dexter book yet, although the final few pages suggest an interesting ending to the series 📚 ★★★☆☆
20. A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends:
Career of Evil: my favourite Cormoran Strike book so far, I really love this series and can't wait for the next one to be published! 📚🎧🏔 ★★★★★
12. A book set in Africa or South America:
Americanah: not the most engaging book, but I liked how real and raw it was ❣️ ★★★★☆
21. A book written in first person perspective:
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: after reading the
first two Sherlock Holmes novels, I have to say that I prefer the short format! No story filler, you get straight to the point! 📚🏛🎧 ★★★★☆
Reject challenge
I read 2 Tokyo Ghoul mangas, I like how the main character is evolving, but there are still times I'm not really sure what's happening.
A book that is part of a series of 5 or more books: Vol. 8 📚🍬🖌 ★★★☆☆
A book that involves the color yellow (the cover is yellow): Vol. 9 📚🍬🖌 ★★★★☆
I continued Lumberjanes, I really like this series even if it's a bit silly at times.
A book that is published in a year that has a "5" in it (2005): Lumberjanes, Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max 📚🍬🖌 ★★★★☆
A book in which one of the major characters has an animal companion: Lumberjanes, Vol. 3: A Terrible Plan 📚🍬🖌 ★★★★☆
A book with a 'made up' word in the title: Lumberjanes #13 📚🍬🖌 ★★★★☆
A book that takes place over the course of one day: Origin: a fun read, but not as great as other Dan Brown books 📚 ★★★★☆
February was a very good month, with 4158 pages read and 68 hours of audiobook (including 40h of Worm).
Well done Sophie, another great month for you!
Mod
I definitely love the girl power feel of Lumberjanes and would also be like to be friends with them ;)
March wrap-up
ATY
I only read 3 books for ATY in March:
17. A book you expect to make you laugh: That Bear Ate My Pants!: lots of fun as always, I really like this author! 📚📓 ★★★★☆
14. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #2 Fire: In a Sunburned Country: I'm leaving for Australia in 3 days so it was a really interesting (and fun) read. 📓 ★★★★☆
28. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #3 Water: Ripple: I needed to finish books borrowed from the library before leaving NZ, so I jumped a bit ahead for this one. A really endearing stroy about dolphins. ★★★★☆
Reject challenge
A book read/referenced by a fictional character: Pride and Prejudice: I really loved this classic and the narrator was very good. 🎧🏛 ★★★★☆
I finally finished the whole Tokyo Ghoul series. I liked it, but I need to read more manga to see if the 'I don't know what's happening' feeling is specific to this series or to the genre.
A book that none of your Goodreads friends have read/rated: Vol. 10 📚🍬🖌 ★★★★☆
A book with a supernatural character: Vol. 11 📚🍬🖌 ★★★☆☆
A book with a woman on the cover: Vol. 12 📚🍬🖌 ★★★☆☆
A book with an epic battle or fight scene: Vol. 13 📚🍬🖌 ★★★★☆
A book with an orphan character: Vol. 14 📚🍬🖌 ★★★☆☆
A book about/involving a child: Saga, Vol. 8: another great volume, can't wait for the sequel as usual. 📚🍬🖌 ★★★★☆
A biography/memoir/autobiography: David Attenborough's Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster: I absolutely love nature documentaries and thanks to this book I learned that David Attenborough almost created them! It was so interesting to learn how they did it in the 50s and 60s with the technological means they used to have and to see how fare they've gone now. I highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by the man himself! 🎧📓 ★★★★★
A book with a dinosaur: Jurassic Park: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book, even though the characters are utterly stupid and all deserved to be eaten by dinosaurs haha. 🎧 ★★★★☆
A book set on an island: The Thrill of Falling: a short story collection by one of the greatest Maori author. I liked the stories, but unfortunately they all had something that bothered me. ❣️ ★★★☆☆
A genre you feel will take you out of your comfort zone: Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race: this book definitely dragged my white ass out of its comfort zone, but it felt good confronting thoughts about race that were ingrained in me because of culture, experience and upbringing (insofar as realising you do still have a few racist reflexes even though you've tried to kill them for years can feel good). A great eye-opening read for everyone conscious about this subject or in need of a good shake-off. 📓❣️ ★★★★☆
A book with some mode of transportation pictured on the cover: Belgravia: I was in dire need of a little fluff after a heavy read and a historical fiction written by the creator of Downton Abbey was exactly what I needed! Not great literature or a very original story, but I liked it! And I also liked that the main characters were past middle-age, which is refreshing compared to all those young protagonists! 🎧★★★★☆
A nonfiction book about women: Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics: I recently joined The Feminist Orchestra Bookclub which was created by two BookTuber to try to read more about feminism. The first book is a great introduction to the movement and I highly recommend it to absolutely everyone. It is necessary that the stigma and wrong ideas about feminism stop right now if we are ever going to build a better society and this book is a great help. 📓❣️ ★★★★☆
In total I read 3077 pages and listened to 63 hours of audiobook.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Only Human (other topics)Women & Power: A Manifesto (other topics)
Everyday Sexism (other topics)
Bad Feminist (other topics)
The Rebels of Ireland (other topics)
More...
From the beginning of April, I'll be travelling in Australia, South East Asia and South America for a year, so that means a lot of reading, but also having to anticipate my reads a bit, either to read Kindle books I already have or putting hold on ebooks at the library.
But to add a additional difficulty, I'm going to try to read in order, giving me as many options as possible fo each week! I have a list of books I really want to get to next year, so they are going to be my priorities, but obviously they won't fit in all the categories.
Since editing on a phone is a pain, I'm also going to update prompt by prompt on this topic and update the first comment when I have time (and motivation).
▶️ = currently reading
✔ = read
★☆ = my rating
🎧 audiobooks
🏔 chunks of 500 pages
🍬 short reads (<200 pages)
🗺 for my Around the World in Books challenge
🏛 classics
📓 non fiction
❣️ diverse topics (feminism, LGBT, disability, mental health, cultural diversity, etc.)
📚 series (🆕 = started / 🎉 = finished / ✖️ stopped)
🖌 graphic novels/manga
Read 22/52
✔️ 1. A book with the letters A, T & Y in the title: The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily 📚🎉 ★★★☆☆
✔️ 2. A book from the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list:
The Silence of the Lambs 🎧📚 ★★★★☆
✔️ 3. A book from the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards: The Boy on the Bridge 📚🎉 ★★★★☆
✔️ 4. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #1 Earth (in title, cover, content, setting, author...): Parable of the Sower ❣️📚🆕 ★★★★☆
✔️ 5. A book about or inspired by real events: Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood 🎧🗺❣️ ★★★★★
✔️ 6. A book originally written in a language other than English: Idylls by Theocritus (yep, my foreign language is Ancient Greek) 🏛🍬 ★★★☆☆
✔️ 7. A gothic novel: Dracula 🎧🏛 ★★★★☆
✔️ 8. An "own voices" book: Aya of Yop City ❣️📚🍬🖌 ★★★★☆
✔️ 9. A book with a body part in the title (heart, bones, teeth, skin, blood, etc): The Whispering Skull 📚★★★★☆
✔️ 10. An author's debut book (their first book to be published): I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban 🗺📓❣️ ★★★★☆
✔️ 11. A literary fiction: The Picture of Dorian Gray 🎧🏛 ★★★☆☆
✔️ 12. A book set in Africa or South America: Americanah ❣️ ★★★★☆
✔️ 13. A book with a plot centered around a secret (forbidden love, spies, secret societies, etc): Dexter's Final Cut 📚 ★★★☆☆
✔️ 14. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #2 Fire: In a Sunburned Country 📓 ★★★★☆
✔️ 15. A book with a unique format/writing structure: Waking Gods 📚 ★★★★☆
✔️ 16. A narrative nonfiction: A Life in Parts 🎧📓 ★★★★☆
✔️ 17. A book you expect to make you laugh: That Bear Ate My Pants! 📚📓 ★★★★☆
✔️ 18. A book with a location in the title: The Rebels of Ireland 🏔🏔📚🎉 ★★★☆☆
▶️ 19. A book nominated for the Edgar Award or by a Grand Master author (books & authors): The Last Policeman 📚🆕
✔️ 20. A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends: Career of Evil 📚🎧🏔 ★★★★★
✔️ 21. A book written in first person perspective: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 📚🏛🎧 ★★★★☆
▶️ 22. A book you have high expectations or hope for: Oathbringer 🎧📚🏔🏔
23. A medical or legal thriller
24. A book with a map
25. A book with an antagonist/villain point of view
✔️ 26. A book with a text-only cover: Bad Feminist 📓❣️ ★★★★☆
27. A book about surviving a hardship (war, famine, major disasters, serious illness, etc)
✔️ 28. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #3 Water: Ripple ★★★★☆
29. A book with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or title (lead pipe, revolver, rope, candlestick, dagger, wrench)
30. A short book
31. A book set in a country you'd like to visit but have never been to
32. An alternate history book
33. A book connected (title, cover, content) to a word "born" in the same year as you
34. A suggestion from the AtY 2018 polls, that didn't win but was polarizing or a close-call (link)
35. A book featuring a murder
36. A book published in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018) by an author you haven't read before
37. A Women's Prize for Fiction winner or nominee
38. A science book or a science fiction book
39. A book with a form of punctuation in the title
40. A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list
41. A book by an author with the same first and last initials
42. A book that takes place on, in, or underwater
43. A book with a title that is a whole sentence
44. A ghost story
45. A book that intimidates/ scares you
46. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #4 Air
47. A book where the main character (or author) is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity than your own
48. A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth)
49. A book from one of the Goodreads Best Books of the Month lists (link)
50. A book with a warm atmosphere (centered on family, friendship, love or summer)
51. An award-winning short story or short story collection
52. A book published in 2018