Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

READ: 52/52
※※※※※※※※※

✓ 1 → with the letters A, T & Y in the title → Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick | ★★★

✓ 2 → from the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list → The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst | ★★★★

✓ 3 → from the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards (link) → The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo | ★★★★

✓ 4 → 4 linked by the 4 elements: Book #1 Earth (in title, cover, content, setting, author...) → Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel | ★★★½

✓ 5 → about or inspired by real events → The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth | ★★★★★

✓ 6 → originally written in a language other than English → German → Fangirl auf Umwegen by Amelie Murmann | ★★★

✓ 7 → a gothic novel short story → The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman | ★★★

✓ 8 → an "own voices" book → Running With Lions by Julian Winters | ★★★

✓ 9 → with a body part in the title (heart, bones, teeth, skin, blood, etc) → Pretty Face by Lucy Parker | ★★½

✓ 10 → an author's debut book (their first book to be published) → Frühlingsglück und Mandelküsse by Emilia Schilling | ★★½

✓ 11 → a literary fiction → Die Kieferninseln by Marion Poschmann | ★★★½

✓ 12 → set in Africa or South America → Black Panther, Book 1: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates | ★★

✓ 13 → with a plot centered around a secret (forbidden love, spies, secret societies, etc) → Doubting Abbey by Samantha Tonge | ★★★

✓ 14 → 4 linked by the 4 elements: Book #2 Fire → Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan | ★★★

✓ 15 → with an unique format/writing structure → Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel | ★★★★½

✓ 16 → a narrative nonfiction → Ich mache mich selbständig: Von der Geschäftsidee zur erfolgreichen Firmengründung by Norbert Winistörfer | ★★★

✓ 17 → you expect to make you laugh → Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh | ★★

✓ 18 → with a location in the title → Oslo by J.T. Rogers | ★★★

19 → nominated for the Edgar Award or by a Grand master author (books & authors) → Long Way Down

✓ 20 → rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends → Saga, Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan | ★★★★★

✓ 21 → written in first person perspective → The Cruel Prince by Holly Black | ★★★★½

✓ 22 → you have high expectations or hope for → Wenn's einfach wär, würd's jeder machen by Petra Hülsmann | ★★★★★

✓ 23 → a medical or legal thriller → Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose | ★★★★

✓ 24 → with a map → Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo | ★★★★★

✓ 25 → with an antagonist/villain point of view → Vicious by V.E. Schwab | ★★★★

✓ 26 → with a text only cover →
Hey Ladies!: The Story of 8 Best Friends, 1 Year, and Way, Way Too Many Emails by Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss | ★

✓ 27 → about surviving a hardship → Dein Bild für immer by Julia Hanel | ★★★★★

✓ 28 → 4 linked by the 4 elements: Book #3 Water → Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller | ★★

✓29 → with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or title (lead pipe, revolver, rope, candlestick, dagger, wrench) → Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl | ★★★★

✓ 30 → a short book → The Little Book of the Hidden People: Stories of elves from Icelandic folklore by Alda Sigmundsdóttir | ★★★

✓ 31 → set in a country you'd like to visit but have never been to → Ireland → Once: The Musical by Enda Walsh | ★★★★★

✓ 32 → an alternate history book → The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brook Bolander Cline | ★★★

✓ 33 → connected (title, cover, content) to a word "born" in the same year as you →
1985 words → 24-7, anime, IP adress → Ready Player One by Ernest Cline | ★★

✓ 34 → a suggestion from the AtY 2018 polls, that didn't win but was polarizing or a close-call → A book that you're reading as part of a reading group → Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer | ★★½

✓ 35 → featuring a murder → Der Stier und das Mädchen by Stefán Máni | ★★

✓ 36 → published in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018) by an author you haven't read before → 2018 → The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo | ★★★★½

✓ 37 → A BOOK BY AN AUTHOR WHO IS a Women's Prize for Fiction winner or nominee → Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | ★★★

✓ 38 → a science book or a science fiction book → science fiction → Invictus by Ryan Graudin | ★★

✓ 39 → with a form of punctuation in the title → Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke | ★★★★½

✓ 40 → from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list → Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne | ★★

✓ 41 → by an author with the same first and last initials → Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman | ★★★

✓ 42 → that takes place on, in, or underwater → Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller | ★★★½

✓43 → with a title that is a whole sentence → Ach, wär ich nur zu Hause geblieben by Kerstin Gier | ★★

✓ 44 → a ghost story → Batman: Noël by Lee Bermejo | ★★★

✓ 45 → that intimidates/scares you → North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell | ★★★★★

✓ 46 → 4 linked by the 4 elements: Book #4 Air → Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones | ★★

✓ 47 → where the main character (or author) is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity than your own → Noteworthy by Riley Redgate | ★★★★½

✓ 48 → related to one of the 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth) → Maaß für Maaß Wie einer mißt, so wird ihm wieder gemessen by Shakespeare | ★★

✓ 49 → from one of the Goodreads Best Books of the Month lists → Save the Date by Morgan Matson | ★★★

✓ 50 → with a warm atmosphere (centered on family, friendship, love or summer) → Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow | ★★★★★

✓ 51 → an award-winning short story or short story collection → The Paper Menagerie by Ken Lieu | ★★★★

✓ 52 → published in 2018 → Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry | ★★★★

Books in reading order:

Around the Year in 52 Books







Reject Challenge



Side-reads



DNF

Reject Challenge 2018 - Prompts I voted for which didn't end up in the list:

+ set in a circus
+ book published in a year you haven't read from yet (me)
+ book that mentions its own title in the contents
+ a literary western or western
+ by a Nobel prize author

+ written before 1800 → Die Juden. Ein Lustspiel in einem Aufzuge verfertiget im Jahre 1749 | ★★★★★

+ a memoir written by a person from a country different than your own.
+ from Goodreads Top 100 Children's Books (me)

+ where a featured character has either a title (Lord, Lady, Sir, etc) or a military rank (Captain, Major Lieutenant, etc). → Catharine and Other Writings | ★★★

+ about feminism or with feminist themes.

+ written during the 19th century (1801-1900) → An Ideal Husband | ★★★★

+ that is part of a series of 5 or more books
+ Three authors who have different publishing experience, all from the same genre (me)

+ with an epigraph → Persuading Annie | ★★

+ an average book of your TBR (pages, publishing date or avg rating) (me)

+ that is an Audie Award winner or nominee (any format)
+ made into a movie that has been nominated for an Academy Award (me)

+ that is set during the winter or in a snowy environment → Love and Lies at the Village Christmas Shop

+ from any genre where cooking/food is a major theme

+ related to the Olympics - athlete, sport, etc. → Check, Please! | ★★★★

+ by an author who has published at least 30 fiction books or 10 non-fiction books → Pünktchen und Anton | ★★★★★

+ with an unforgettable character (me)

+ with a supernatural character → Icelandic Folk Legends: Tales of Apparitions, Outlaws and Things Unseen.

+ a seasonal book (me)

+ published or set before 1900 → The Rivals A Comedy | ★★

+ adapted into a live performance piece (as opposed to tv/movie adaptations)

+ about or involving the arts (visual arts [painting, sculpture, illustration, etc], performing arts [music, dance, theater, etc], literature, architecture, etc.) → The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang | ★★★★★

+ that takes place in a school setting → Deadly Class, Vol. 1: Reagan Youth | ★★★

+ with less than 2,018 ratings (me) → Florindo und die Unbekannte | ★★★

+ with a character featured in a previous/other book by the author → The Lost Sisters | ★★★

+ with the main character is in another age category than you → Mrs. Smith's Spy School for Girls | ★★★

+ related to an animal → Herding Cats | ★★★

2018 Reading Goals

18 books published in 2018 ※ 19/18 ✓

12 physical books I own ※ 13/12 ✓

12 plays ※ 9/12

12 graphic novels ※ 9/12

12 mangas ※ 4/12

6 classics ※ 8/6 ✓

6 non-fiction ※ 8/6 ✓

Read in ※ January ※


Read in ※ February ※


Read in ※ March ※


Read in ※ April ※


Read in ※ May ※


Read in ※ June ※


Read in ※ July ※


Read in ※ August ※


Read in ※ September ※


Read in ※ October ※


Read in ※ November ※


Read in ※ December ※

Nice reading goals (and plan!). I hope you'll share your ratings for the 2018 releases :)

Thanks! :) I want to do monthly updates this year and plan to include my side-reads as well. So all the 2018 releases should pop up somewhere. :) Hmm.. and maybe I list the books as well under the specific 2018 reading goal :)

※ January update ※

47 → where the main character (or author) is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity than your own → Noteworthy | ★★★★½

1 → with the letters A, T & Y in the title → Scrappy Little Nobody | ★★★

7 → you expect to make you laugh → Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened | ★★

14 → 4 linked by the 4 elements: Book #2 Fire → Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness | ★★★

38 → a science book or a science fiction book → science fiction → Invictus | ★★



Reject Challenge:
Die Juden. Ein Lustspiel in einem Aufzuge verfertiget im Jahre 1749 | ★★★★★

Side-Reads:
The Cherry Project 1 | ★★★★★
The Cherry Project 2 | ★★★★
The Cherry Project 3 | ★★★★★
ま・り・あ | ★★
Buckingham Palace: Official Souvenir Guide | ★★★

※ February update ※

✓ 13 → with a plot centered around a secret (forbidden love, spies, secret societies, etc) → Doubting Abbey | ★★★

✓ 11 → a literary fiction → Die Kieferninseln | ★★★½

✓ 31 → set in a country you'd like to visit but have never been to → Ireland → Once: The Musical | ★★★★★

✓ 10 → an author's debut book (their first book to be published) → Frühlingsglück und Mandelküsse | ★★½

✓ 4 → 4 linked by the 4 elements: Book #1 Earth (in title, cover, content, setting, author...) → Waking Gods | ★★★½



Reject Challenge:
+ related to the Olympics - athlete, sport, etc. → Check, Please! | ★★★★
+ that takes place in a school setting → Deadly Class, Vol. 1: Reagan Youth | ★★★

Side-Reads:
Deadly Class, Vol. 2: Kids of the Black Hole | ★★

※ March update ※

5 → about or inspired by real events → The Ferryman | ★★★★★

9 → with a body part in the title (heart, bones, teeth, skin, blood, etc) → Pretty Face | ★★½

39 → with a form of punctuation in the title → Nice Try, Jane Sinner | ★★★★½



18 books published in 2018 ※
1/18
Nice Try, Jane Sinner
Amazing contemporary debut! I loved the concept of the script within a diary, it fitted the story and our main character Jane very well. Speaking of Jane Sinner. I loved her voice. She‘s very relatable, honest and funny and simply wonderful. The writing style of Lianne Oelke is great and I will follow her path for sure. (4.5 stars)

※ April update ※

21 → written in first person perspective → The Cruel Prince | ★★★★½

33 → connected (title, cover, content) to a word "born" in the same year as you →
1985 words → 24-7, anime, IP adress → Ready Player One | ★★

34 → a suggestion from the AtY 2018 polls, that didn't win but was polarizing or a close-call → A book that you're reading as part of a reading group → Annihilation | ★★½

30 → a short book → The Little Book of the Hidden People: Stories of elves from Icelandic folklore | ★★★



Reject Challenge:
+ related to an animal → Herding Cats | ★★★

18 books published in 2018 ※
2/18
The Cruel Prince
Ohhh was this goooood! This was thrilling, full of twists and turns with amazing characters! I'm so excited for what comes next for Jude, Cardan and all of faerie! (4.5 stars)

※ May update ※

6 → originally written in a language other than English → German → Fangirl auf Umwegen by Amelie Murmann → ★★★

2 → from the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list → The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst | ★★★★

42 → that takes place on, in, or underwater → Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller | ★★★½

28 → 4 linked by the 4 elements: Book #3 Water → Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller | ★★

15 → with an unique format/writing structure → Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel | ★★★★½



Reject Challenge:
+ with the main character is in another age category than you → Mrs. Smith's Spy School for Girls | ★★★

18 books published in 2018 ※
3/18
Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller | ★★
4/18
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel | ★★★★½

※ June update ※

36 → published in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018) by an author you haven't read before → 2018 → The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo | ★★★★½

18 → with a location in the title → Oslo by J.T. Rogers | ★★★

8 → an "own voices" book → Running With Lions by Julian Winters | ★★★

26 → with a text only cover →
Hey Ladies!: The Story of 8 Best Friends, 1 Year, and Way, Way Too Many Emails by Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss | ★



Reject Challenge:
+ about or involving the arts (visual arts [painting, sculpture, illustration, etc], performing arts [music, dance, theater, etc], literature, architecture, etc.) → The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang | ★★★★★
+ with less than 2,018 ratings (me) → Florindo und die Unbekannte | ★★★

Side-Reads:
Runaways, Vol. 1: Find Your Way Home | ★★★

18 books published in 2018 ※
5/18
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo | ★★★★½
6/18
Running With Lions by Julian Winters | ★★★
7/18
Hey Ladies!: The Story of 8 Best Friends, 1 Year, and Way, Way Too Many Emails by Michelle Markowitz and Caroline Moss | ★

※ July update ※

Reject Challenge:
+ where a featured character has either a title (Lord, Lady, Sir, etc) or a military rank (Captain, Major Lieutenant, etc). → Catharine and Other Writings | ★★★
+ with an epigraph → Persuading Annie | ★★
+ published or set before 1900 → The Rivals A Comedy | ★★

Side-Reads:
First & Then | ★★★★
The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built | ★★
The Jane Austen Pocket Bible | ★★★

※ August update ※

32 → an alternate history book → The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brook Bolander Cline | ★★★

29 → with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or title (lead pipe, revolver, rope, candlestick, dagger, wrench) → Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl | ★★★★

22 → you have high expectations or hope for → Wenn's einfach wär, würd's jeder machen by Petra Hülsmann | ★★★★★

46 → 4 linked by the 4 elements: Book #4 Air → Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones | ★★

49 → from one of the Goodreads Best Books of the Month lists → Save the Date by Morgan Matson | ★★★

20 → rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends → Saga, Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan | ★★★★★

41 → by an author with the same first and last initials → Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman | ★★★



18 books published in 2018 ※
8/18
The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brook Bolander Cline | ★★★
9/18
Wenn's einfach wär, würd's jeder machen by Petra Hülsmann | ★★★★★
10/18
Save the Date by Morgan Matson | ★★★

※ September update ※

40 → from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list → Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne | ★★

25 → with an antagonist/villain point of view → Vicious by V.E. Schwab | ★★★★

23 → a medical or legal thriller → Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose | ★★★★

52 → published in 2018 → Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry | ★★★★

48 → related to one of the 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth) → Maaß für Maaß Wie einer mißt, so wird ihm wieder gemessen by Shakespeare | ★★

35 → featuring a murder → Der Stier und das Mädchen by Stefán Máni | ★★



Reject Challenge:
+ by an author who has published at least 30 fiction books or 10 non-fiction books → Pünktchen und Anton | ★★★★★

Side-Reads:
The Deal | ★★★★

18 books published in 2018 ※
11/18
Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry | ★★★★

※ October update ※

16 → a narrative nonfiction → Ich mache mich selbständig: Von der Geschäftsidee zur erfolgreichen Firmengründung by Norbert Winistörfer | ★★★

45 → that intimidates/scares you → North and South | ★★★★★



Reject Challenge:
+ written during the 19th century (1801-1900) → An Ideal Husband | ★★★★
+ with a character featured in a previous/other book by the author → The Lost Sisters | ★★★

※ November update ※

7 → a gothic novel short story →
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman | ★★★

19 → nominated for the Edgar Award or by a Grand master author (books & authors) → Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds | ★★★★★

50 → with a warm atmosphere (centered on family, friendship, love or summer) → Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend | ★★★★★

24 → with a map → Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo | ★★★★★



Side-Reads:
Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You | ★★★

※ December update ※

44 → a ghost story → Batman: Noël by Lee Bermejo | ★★★

3 → from the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards (link) → The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo | ★★★★

51 → an award-winning short story or short story collection → The Paper Menagerie by Ken Lieu | ★★★★

43 → with a title that is a whole sentence → Ach, wär ich nur zu Hause geblieben by Kerstin Gier | ★★

✓ 12 → set in Africa or South America → Black Panther, Book 1: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates | ★★

27 → about surviving a hardship → Dein Bild für immer by Julia Hanel | ★★★★★

37 → A BOOK BY AN AUTHOR WHO IS a Women's Prize for Fiction winner or nominee → Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | ★★★



Reject Challenge:
+ that is set during the winter or in a snowy environment → Love and Lies at the Village Christmas Shop | ★★