Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
2018 Plans
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Completed Challenges 2018
According to the group spreadsheet, a few other people finished before I did. But I guess I'll be the first to post in this thread.Challenge completed June 30
My favorite prompt
48. A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins
I had fun hunting for a qualifying book for this one. Five of the sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, wrath) were part of the plot in some way.
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
Rating: 5 Stars
My least favorite prompt
40. A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list
Not a fan of prompts that force me to pick a book from a list (especially a short list).
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Rating: It was better when I was 10 years old.
My most creative twist on a prompt
23. A medical or legal thriller
I do not like popular fiction so this one was difficult. I used a sci-fi thriller (sort of) about a virus. I still didn’t like it much.
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith
Rating: 2 Stars
The prompt I cheated on
50. A book with a warm atmosphere
A book about a man and his dog should be warm & fuzzy...at least a little bit, right? It really kinna wasn’t. But I left it in this category anyway.
Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume
Rating: 4 Stars
My most “out of my comfort zone” prompt
17. A book you expect to make you laugh
I don’t do funny books so this was a challenging one. I was pleasantly surprised that I was amused. In fact, I may have actually laughed out loud occasionally.
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
Rating: 4 Stars
My “I gotta use a Wild Card” prompt
16. A narrative nonfiction
I do not read nonfiction. Like, ever. So I used a Wild Card for a book that I couldn’t quite fit anywhere else.
Defender by G.X. Todd
Rating: 4 Stars
My #1 favorite book so far this year was
The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar
I used this for the "a book by an author with the same first and last initials" prompt.
Congrats! I read A Wrinkle in Time for the first time this year and I was underwhelmed. I can see how it would be great for kids but as an adult, I was not impressed.I need to get back on the ball and read my last 6 books for this challenge!
dalex wrote: "According to the group spreadsheet, a few other people finished before I did. But I guess I'll be the first to post in this thread.Challenge completed June 30"
Congratulations, Dalex!
Congratulations on finishing your challenge, Dalex! You have a lot of cool looking books I'll be investigating.
Mod
I finally finished the challenge, though Dalex beat me. Good job Dalex. I started a second column in the spreadsheet and will TRY and go through twice. Book I liked best was Before We Were Yours. I read it for prompt 3, the goodread choice awards. Like Dalex, I found it hard to choose from a list and was surprised when I liked it so much.
Prompt and book I liked least was 15, a unique format. I looked around a lot and chose Songs of the Humpback Whale, but man, the story went from present to past and then past to present. AHHHHH!
Out of my comfort zone was a medical or legal thriller and the gothic. Though I enjoyed both books, it was a struggle. Don't know what to read the second time through.
Ann wrote: "I finally finished the challenge..."Congrats! Yay you! :)
Thanks, everyone, for the congratulations! I look forward to seeing you all cross the finish line too!
Mod
YAY! My grands and I also finished the children's challenge. They loved it, but I loved it more. Not only the sharing of books and challenges with kids, but look at all the new kids books I got to read. Such fun. Our favorite book was The Dinosaur That Pooped A Planet!. The least favorite and disappointing was We're All Wonders. Expected more from it.
Congrats to Dalex and Ann for reading around the year in half a year!I completed my 1st of 3 ATY challenges on May 31. I love the way Dalex broke out her picks and pans, so I'm going to give it a go (with a few tweaks)!
Prompt that had my highest average ratings (4.58 Stars):
40. A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list
I did not have high hopes for this prompt. I only had about 25 left to choose from and I felt really limited. Alas, all three selections were really good!
Prompt that had my lowest average ratings (2.25 Stars):
36. A book published in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018) by an author you haven't read before.
I've only read two out of three on this one, but the last book will have to rank a 4 to cause the Goodreads best books of the month to drop down to the lowest.
(haven't read it yet)My most creative twist on a prompt
33. A book connected (title, cover, content) to a word "born" in the same year as you:
There were a lot of medical terms or words that offered up with slim pickings for books. I had a very hard time picking 3 books for the prompt. I saw a new David Bowie book out at the library that I wanted to read. My logic went like this: Ziggy Stardust was born the year I was born, therefore I could read a book that talked about Ziggy. Unfortunately the book was only so so.
The prompt I cheated on
7. A gothic novel
The Yellow Wallpaper isn't really a novel but I really wanted to read it. I figured that I'd already read two other gothic novels so what'd the harm be with a little cheat. I tend to be a rules girl, though, so I imagine I will read another gothic novel before the year is done.
My most “out of my comfort zone” prompt
51. An award-winning short story or short story collection
I have a hard time with short stories. I don't hate them or love them but they are usually just not long enough to get my attention. Fortunately for me, these were good.
(This is one of my last few books that I need to complete my third ATY.)My “I gotta use a Wild Card” prompt
I didn't need to use a wild card. I found that there was always something that I could work with to fill a prompt even if I wasn't dying to read it. Sometimes the topics I dreaded most (Amazon 100) ended up giving me some of my most thrilling reads.
My #1 favorite book so far this year was:
For pure kicks and fun:
For making me really think:
There are too many but here are a few...
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter is one of my absolute favorite books! I read it last year and it has really stuck with me. I'm glad you liked it too! Congratulations on completing the first of your challenges! Good luck on finishing the other two! :)
Ann, I love that you did the challenge with your grandchildren! That is adorable. :)Congrats Tammy! I really like how you listed your books.
Nice Job Ladies!!! Dalex, Ann, Tammy impressed that you love the structure of the challenge so much you are reading multiple books and can remember so much about the challenges.... For me I do the challenge and like it but can't wait to get thru some of the lessor desiring books so I can read whatever I want thru the rest of the year without a guide. I have 9 books to go... so see when I finish. By the way Tammy I loved Interpreter of the Maladies it is one of the books I might not have found without the challenge so I was thankful for that one!! And congrats to the other ANN I love that you did it with your grandkids that is so awesome!!
Mod
Finished a 4th round of AtY topics on 13 July.✓✓✓✓1. A book with the letters A, T & Y in the title - Lay This Laurel by Richard Benson 4★; Man in the Yellow Raft by C.S. Forester 4★; Fix Bayonets! by John Thomason 4★; From War to Peace in 1945 Germany by Malcolm Fleming 3★;
✓✓✓✓2. A book from the 1st 10 books added to your To Be Read list - Fifty Grand by Adrian McKinty 3★; Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne 5★; Eyes of the Hammer by Bob Mayer 4★; The Hour of Lead by Bruce Holbert 5★
✓✓✓✓3. A book from the 2017 GR Choice Awards - Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun 4★; The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve 4★; Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan 4★; Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon by Jeffrey Klugger 5★
✓✓✓✓4. 4 books linked by the 4 elements:Earth - Death Angel by Harry Spiller 4★; We Walked Across Their Graves: Vietnam 1967-The Que Son Valley by John Strunk 3★; Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens by Patricia Lauber 4★; Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne 4★
✓✓✓✓5. A book about or inspired by real events - One Gallant Rush by Peter Burchard 4★; Waterloo by Hilaire Belloc 3★; Escape from Hell by Stan Smith 2★; Krakatoa by Robert Furneaux
✓✓✓✓6. A book originally written in a language other than English - Run For It: Stories Of Slaves Who Fought For Their Freedom by Marcelo d'Salete 3★; Im Frühling sterben (To Die in Spring) by Ralf Rottman 3★; A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 4★; Stalin's Meteorologist by Olivier Rolin 4★
✓✓✓✓7. A gothic novel - The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman 4★; The Lottery by Shirley Jackson 4★; Laid Waste by Julia Gfrorer 3★; The Cat With The Really Big Head by Roman Dirge 5★
✓✓✓✓8. An "own voices" book* - I Can Never Forget: Men of the 100th/442nd by Thelma Chang 4★; The Labrador Pact by Matt Haig 2★; A Week at Waterloo by Magdalene de Lancey 4★; Echoes from the Halls by Gregg Stoner 4★
✓✓✓✓9. A book with a body part in the title - Knights of the Skull by Wayne Vansant 3★; Thumb on a Diamond by Ken Roberts 3★; The Overcoat and The Nose by Nikolai Golgo 4★; Skin by Peter Milligan 5★
✓✓✓✓10. An author's debut book - A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 3★; A Long Time From Home by Michael Costello 3★; The Long Dry by Cynan Jones 5★; Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit 5★
✓✓✓✓11. A literary fiction - The Giver by Lois Lowry 4★; Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald 4★; The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry 4★; The Sun Also Rises by Earnest Hemingway 4★
✓✓✓✓12. A book set in Africa or South America - Chike and the River by Chinua Achebe 3★; Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom by Tim Byrd 4★; Mogo, the Third Warthog by Donna Napoli 3★; The Hunters by Tom Young 4★
✓✓✓✓13. A book with a plot centered around a secret - Ben Hogan's Secret by Bob Thomas 4★; Honus & Me by Dan Gutman 4★; Babe & Me by Dan Gutman 4★; Jackie & Me by Dan Gutman 4★
✓✓✓✓14. 4 books linked by the 4 elements:Fire - Fire in the Streets by Eric Hammel 3★; Only Killers and Thieves by Paul Howarth 5★; Onslaught: The War with China--the Opening Battle by David Poyer 4★; Inferno!: Fourteen Fiery Tragedies of Our Time by Hal Butler 4★
✓✓✓✓15. A book with an unique format/writing structure - Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer 1★; Time's Arrow by Martin Amis 3★; Destiny: A Novel in Pictures by Otto Nuckel 3★; Frenchtown Summer by Robert Comier 4★
✓✓✓✓16. A narrative nonfiction - Last Chapter by Ernie Pyle 4★; Rifles by Mark Urban 4★; London War Notes, 1939-1945 by Mollie Panter-Downes 4★; Their Backs against the Sea by Bill Sloan 4★
✓✓✓✓17. A book you expect to make you laugh - Rickles' Book: A Memoir by Don Rickles and David Ritz 4★; It's Not Easy Bein' Me by Rodney Dangerfield 4★; F in Exams by Richard Benson 3★; For Laughing Out Loud by Herman Masin 2★
✓✓✓✓18. A book with a location in the title - From Dam Neck to Okinawa by Robert Wallace 3★; Waterloo; by Thomas E. Watson 4★; Waterloo: June 18, 1815: The Battle For Modern Europe by Andrew Roberts 4★; Vietnam: The Bloodbath at Hamburger Hill byJohn Disconsiglio 4★
✓✓✓✓19. A book nominated for the Edgar Award or by a Grand master author - The Big Bang by Grand Master Award winners, Spillane (1995) Collins (2017) 4★; Grifter's Game by Lawrence Block GMA (1994) 4★; Day of the Guns by Mickey Spillane 2★; Quarry's War by Max Allan Collins 3★
✓✓✓✓20. A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends -Everybody's Son by Thrity Umrigar 1★; The Humans by Matt Haig 3★; When Books Went to War by Molly Manning 4★; Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimore 3★
✓✓✓✓21. A book written in first person perspective - I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max 3★; Welcome To Hell by Patrick Turley 5★; A Ticket for a Seamstitch by Mark Harris 3★; War Year by Joe Haldeman 3★
✓✓✓✓22. A book you have high expectations or hope for - A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa 5★; Death in Yellowstone by Lee Whittlesey 4★; Thin Air by George Simpson 4★; Battleship Yamato by Jan Morris 4★
✓✓✓✓23. A medical or legal thriller - Goldilocks by Ed McBain 2★; The Cobra Event by Richard Preston 4★; Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence 5★;
Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk 5★
✓✓✓✓24. A book with a map - Okinawa 1945 by Gordon Rottman 3★; Thermopylae: The Battle for the West by Ernle Bradford 4★; Battle Story: Waterloo 1815 by Gregory Freemont- Barnes 3★; Defense of Hill 781 by James McDonough 4★
✓✓✓✓25. A book with an antagonist/villain point of view - Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet, 1941-1945 by Mochitsua Hashimoto 3★; Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates 2★; The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson 4★; Getting Off by Lawrence Block 4★
✓✓✓✓26. A book with a text only cover - A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seifert 3★; Hi, Barney! by Marie McSwigan 4★; Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman 4★; Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 4★
✓✓✓✓27. A book about surviving a hardship - The Second Wagon Driver by Darcy Vernier 4★; Dien Khanh: Republic of Vietnam by Regis Murphy 2★; 438 Days by Jonathan Franklin 4★; Volcano: First Seventy Days, Mount St. Helens, 1980 by Robert Shangle
✓✓✓✓28. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Water - Bloodstained Sands by Michael Walling 3★; The Titanic by Richard Wormser 3★; Tipping Point by David Poyer 2★; Flush Decks and Four Pipes by John D. Alden 3★
✓✓✓✓29. A book with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or title-The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark (Rope) 4★; Dagger of Flesh by Richard S. Prather 2★; The Bosun Chair by Jennifer Delisle (Rope) 4★; Over The Candlestick by Wayne Montgomery (Editor) 3★
✓✓✓✓30. A short book - The Moon Reflected Fire by Doug Anderson 3★; The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald 3★; The Defense of Duffer's Drift by Earnest Dunlop Swinton 4★; Waterloo and Gettysburg by George E. Teague 3★
✓✓✓✓31. A book set in a country you'd like to visit but have never been to - Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell (Scotland) 1★; Waterloo by James F. Rusling (Belgium) 3★; Rifleman Dodd (Death to the French) by C.S. Forester (Portugal) 4★; Company K by William March (France) 5★
✓✓✓✓32. An alternate history book - 1901 by Robert Conroy 4★; Custer's Gatling Guns by Donald F. Myers 4★; Disaster at Stalingrad by Peter Tsouras 4★; Upon Further Review by MikePesca (Editor) 4★
✓✓✓✓33. A book connected to a word "born" in the same year as you - Tour of Duty by Douglas Brinkley (flak jacket) 4★; Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridell (red dog) 4★ The Cruiser by David Poyer (SAM -surface-to-air missile) 3★; LSD by Mary Ann Littell 2★
✓✓✓✓34. A suggestion from the AtY 2018 polls, that didn't win but was polarizing or a close-call - The Other Side by Jason Aaron 3★; Cavalry in the Waterloo Campaign by Evelyn Wood 4★ The Homecoming by Ray Bradbury 3★; Mickey & Me by Dan Gutman 4★
✓✓✓✓35. A book featuring a murder - The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming 4★; The Tragedy of Brady Sims by Ernest Gaines 4★; Murder Book by Ed Brisson 3★; Normandy Gold by Megan Abbott 3★
✓✓✓✓36. A book published in the last 3 years by an author you haven't read before - Pumpkinflowers by Matti Friedman 4★; The Irregular by H.B. Lyle 3★; Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon 4★; Raid of No Return by Nathan Hale 4★
✓✓✓✓37. A Women's Prize for Fiction winner or nominee - The Undertaking by Audrey Magee 4★; Eleven Days by Lea Carpenter 4★; Comfort Woman by Nora Keller 4★; My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout 4★
✓✓✓✓38. A science book or a science fiction book - R Is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury 4★; Artemis by Andy Weir 3★;The Iron Tactician by Alastair Reynolds 3★; Earthling! by Mark Fearing 3★
✓✓✓✓39. A book with a form of punctuation in the title - Dog! by Mike Robbins 4★; Too Much! by Richard Simms 2★; So You Think You Know Gettysburg? by James Gindlesperger 4★; Heather, the Totality by Matthew Weiner 3★
✓✓✓✓40. A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list - Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein 4★; Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris 3★ A Wrinkle in Time by Hope Larson & Madeleine L'Engle 3★; A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah 4★
✓✓✓✓41. A book by an author with the same first and last initials - Undying Glory Clinton Cox 4★; Stay!: Keeper's Story by Lois Lowry 4★; The Marines of Montford Point by Melton McLaurin 4★; World War Ii: The Pacific by Sean Sheehan 3★
✓✓✓✓42. A book that takes place on, in, or underwater - Tommy by William Atkinson 4★; The True Story of Lord Nelson: Naval Hero by Richard Houghton 3★; Hunter Killer by David Poyer 4★; Titanic by Filson Young 4★
✓✓✓✓43. A book with a title that is a whole sentence - Kill Me If You Can, You Sob by Bob Miller 3★; A Complete Guide to the Grand Circle National Parks by Eric Hinze 4★; It Ain't Cheating If You Don't Get Caught by Dan Gutman 3★; The Day the World Ended by Gordon Thomas 4★
✓✓✓✓44. A ghost story -The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde 4★; The Ghost Prison by Josepf Delaney 4★; Ghosts of Salem by Sam Baltrusis 3★; The Lady Paranorma by Vincent Marcone 4★
✓✓✓✓45. A book that intimidates/ scares you - Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett 4★; The Odyssey by Homerr 4★; by The Stranger by Albert Camus 1★; Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito 4★
✓✓✓✓46. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Air - Flight to Arras by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 4★; Flights of No Return by Steven Ruffin 3★; Assault from the Sky by Tom McGowen 3★; Thin Air by George Simpson 4★
✓✓✓✓47. A book where the main character (or author) is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity than your own - Atomic Bomb by Mark Selden 4★; Even the Women Must Fight by Karen Turner 3★; The Secret of Hoa Sen by Nguyen Phan Que Mai 4★; Go for Broke by Tom McGowen 3★
✓✓✓✓48. A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins - Dancing with Mermaids by Miles Gibson (Lust) 4★; Blackmail by Rick Campbell (Greed) 4★; The Wrath of Hurricane Katrina by Robert Shangle 3★; Envy by Joseph Epstein 3★
✓✓✓49. A book from one of the GRs Best Books of the Month lists - You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon 4★; Final Girls by Riley Sager 4★; The Great Quake by Henry Fountain 4★; White Rose, Black Forest by Eoin Dempsey 5★
✓✓✓✓50. A book with a warm atmosphere - The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo by Ian Stansel 5★; A Grizzly Tale: A Father and Daughter Survival Story by Johan Otter 4★; A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Tiss 4★; Summer of Fire: Yellowstone 1988 by Susan Lauber 3★
✓✓✓✓51. An award-winning short story or short story collection - The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu 5★; The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. Le Guin 4★; An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce 5★; Dear Mr. President by Gabe Hudson 4★
✓✓✓✓52. A book published in 2018 - Peach by Emma Glass 3★; The Disappeared by C.J. Box 5★; Normandy Gold by Megan Abbott 3★; Star of the North by D.B. John 5★
Wow, that's fantastic, Ted!! Congrats :)
You are a reading machine, Ted. I think I have 13 or 14 more books to go to complete my 2nd and 3rd rounds. Gravity's Rainbow set me back a week. After that I am going to finish off my Crazy 88 list. How do you select your books? Do you have a long TBR list or do you just grab what interests you when you when you see it? Are you reading e-books or the old fashioned paper variety? I can't imagine you are doing audio. They take too long!
Nice work, Erin! You've given me some new book ideas.
Congrats Erin! It looks like you had a great reading experience with the challenge.
Hurray! Round two is complete. 10 more books and round three will be done.
Finished today 8/3/18! I have been working on this list since January 1, but somehow I had never joined the group. Not very organized. I have been reading tons though! LOL
Karen wrote: "Finished today 8/3/18! I have been working on this list since January 1, but somehow I had never joined the group. Not very organized. I have been reading tons though! LOL"Yay Karen! Congrats!
Great work, Karen. Welcome to the club!
Congrats and well done Tammy and Karen!
Finished a 5th, and final, read of 2018 AtY topics on 09 August:A book with the letters A, T & Y in the title: Lay This Laurel by R.Benson 4★ Man in the Yellow Raft by C.S. Forester 4★ Fix Bayonets! by J. Thomason 4★ From War to Peace in 1945 Germany by M.Fleming 3★Arches & Canyonlands National Parks by J.Lowe 4★
A book from the 1st 10 books added to your To Be Read list: Fifty Grand by A. McKinty 3★ Rebel Yell by S.C. Gwynne 5★ The Hour of Lead by B Holbert 5★ Eyes of the Hammer by B. Mayer 4★ Dust Off by P Dorland 3★
A book from the 2017 GR Choice Awards: Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by J. Sun 4★ The Stars Are Fire by A. Shreve 4★ Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by M.Sullivan 4★ Apollo 8 by J.Klugger 5★The Best We Could Do by T. Bui 5★
4 books linked by the 4 elements:Earth: Death Angel by Harry Spiller 4★ We Walked Across Their Graves by J. Strunk 3★ Volcano by P. Lauber 4★ Journey to the Center of the Earth by J. Verne 4★Blood in the Hills by R. Maras 5★
A book about or inspired by real events: One Gallant Rush by P. Burchard 4★ Waterloo by H. Belloc 3★ Escape from Hell by S. Smith 2★ Krakatoa by R. Furneaux 3★The Attack and Defense of Little Round Top by O. Norton 4★
A book originally written in a language other than English: Run For It by M. d'Salete 3★ Im Frühling sterben (To Die in Spring) by R. Rottman 3★ A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by G. Garcia Marquez 4★ Stalin's Meteorologist by O.Rolin 4★ El fantasma de Gaudí (The Ghost of Gaudi) by E. Tores 3★
A gothic novel; The Yellow Wall-Paper by C. Perkins Gilman 4★The Turn of the Screw and Other Stories by H. James 4★ Laid Waste by J. Gfrorer 3★At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft 4★Frankenstein by M. Shelly 4★
An "own voices" book: I Can Never Forget by T. Chang 4★ The Labrador Pact by M.Haig 2★ A Week at Waterloo by M. de Lancey 4★ Echoes from the Halls by G.Stoner 4★ Life as an American Soldier in Europe by J.Wukovits 3★
A book with a body part in the title: Knights of the Skull by W. Vansant 3★ Thumb on a Diamond by K. Roberts 3★ The Overcoat and The Nose by N. Golgo 4★ Skin by P.:Milligan 5★White Knuckle by C.Dethan 2★
An author's debut book: A Study in Scarlet by A. Conan Doyle 3★ A Long Time From Home by M. Costello 3★ The Long Dry by C. Jones 5★ Anna and the Swallow Man by G.Savit 5★ Mourning Glory by D.Regan 4★
A literary fiction: The Giver by Lois Lowry 4★ Offshore by P. Fitzgerald 4★ The Silent Boy by L.Lowry 4★ The Sun Also Rises by E. Hemingway 4★Waiting for Teddy Williams by H Mosher 4★
A book set in Africa or S. America: Chike and the River by C. Achebe 3★ Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom by Tim Byrd 4★ Mogo, the Third Warthog by D. Napoli 3★ The Hunters by T. Young 4★Ashanti to Zulu by M.Musgrove 5★
A book with a plot centered around a secret: Ben Hogan's Secret by B.Thomas 4★ Honus & Me by D. Gutman 4★ Babe & Me by D. Gutman 4★ Jackie & Me by D. Gutman 4★ The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by J. LeCarre 5★
4 books linked by the 4 elements:Fire: Fire in the Streets by E. Hammel 3★ Only Killers and Thieves by P. Howarth 5★ Onslaught by D. Poyer 4★ Inferno! by Hal Butler 4★ The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire of 1911 by G. DeAngelli 4★
A book with an unique format/writing structure: Tree of Codes by J. Safran Foer 1★ Time's Arrow by M. Amis 3★ Destiny by O. Nuckel 3★ Frenchtown Summer by R. Comier 4★I Was Anastasia by A Lawhon 4★
A narrative nonfiction: Last Chapter by E. Pyle 4★ Rifles by M.Urban 4★ London War Notes by M. Panter-Downes 4★ Their Backs against the Sea by B. Sloan 4★Hilltop Doc by L. Adreon 4★
A book you expect to make you laugh: Rickles' Bookby D. Rickles 4★ It's Not Easy Bein' Me by R.Dangerfield 4★ F in Exams by R. Benson 3★Caddyshack by C, Nashawaty 4★Lenore: Wedgies by R. Dirge 4★
A book with a location in the title: From Dam Neck to Okinawa by R. Wallace 3★ Waterloo by T. Watson 4★ Waterloo: June 18, 1815 by A. Roberts 4★ Vietnam: The Bloodbath at Hamburger Hill by J.Disconsiglio 4★The Struggle for Guadalcanal by S.Braun 3★
A book nominated for the Edgar Award or by a GM author: The Big Bang by M. Spillane andM. Collins 4★ Grifter's Game by Lawrence Block 4★ Day of the Guns by M.Spillane 2★ Quarry's War by M.Collins 3★Death of a Doxy by R.Stout 4★
A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends: Everybody's Son by T. Umrigar 1★ The Humans by M.Haig 3★ When Books Went to War by M. Manning 4★ Rumpole of the Bailey by J.Mortimore 3★ Spoon River Anthology by E.Masters 5★
A book written in first person perspective: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by T.Max 3★ Welcome To Hell by P.Turley 5★A Ticket for a Seamstitch by M.Harris 3★ War Year by J.Haldeman 3★ Presumed Dead by B. Lay, Jr. 4★
A book you have high expectations or hope for: A River in Darkness by M. Ishikawa 5★ Death in Yellowstone by L. Whittlesey 4★Thin Air by G. Simpson 4★ Battleship Yamato by J. Morris 4★ The Unknowns by P. O'Donnell 5★
A medical or legal thriller: Goldilocks by Ed McBain 2★ The Cobra Event by R. Preston 4★ Inherit the Wind by J. Lawrence 5★Caine Mutiny by H. Wouk 5★The Case Of The Crying Swallow by E.Gardner 3★
A book with a map: Okinawa 1945 by G. Rottman 3★ Thermopylae by E. Bradford 4★ Battle Story: Waterloo 1815 by G.Freemont- Barnes 3★ Defense of Hill 781 by J. McDonough 4★The Battle of Beleau Wood by E. Rice Jr. 3★
A book with an antagonist/villain point of view: Sunk: The Story of the Japanese Submarine Fleet by M. Hashimoto 3★ Zombie by J. Oates 2★ The Killer Inside Me by J. Thompson 4★ Getting Off by L.Block 4★Tenderness by R. Cormier 4★
A book with a text only cover:A Boy in Winter by R. Seifert 3★ Hi, Barney! by M. McSwigan 4★ Leaves of Grass by W.Whitman 4★ Of Mice and Men by J.Steinbeck 4★Bad Blood by J.Carreyrou 5★
A book about surviving a hardship: The Second Wagon Driver by D. Vernier 4★ Dien Khanh by R.Murphy 2★ 438 Days by J. Franklin 4★; Volcano by R.Shangle 3★ How Can I Get Better? by R. Horowitz 4★
4 books linked by the 4 elements: Water: Bloodstained Sands by M. Walling 3★ The Titanic by R.Wormser 3★ Tipping Point by D.Poyer 2★ Flush Decks and Four Pipes by J. D. Alden 3★Battle of the Coral Sea by C. Henry 3★
A book with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or title: The Ox-Bow Incident by W. Clark (Rope) 4★ Dagger of Flesh by R. S. Prather 2★ The Bosun Chair by J. Delisle (Rope) 4★ Over The Candlestick by W. Montgomery (Editor)3★The Dagger in the Sky by K. Robeson 2★
A short book The Moon Reflected Fire :by D. Anderson 3★ The Bookshop by P. Fitzgerald 3★ The Defense of Duffer's Drift by E. Swinton 4★ Waterloo and Gettysburg by G. E. Teague 3★ Arches by D.Johnson 4★
A book set in a country you'd like to visit but have never been to: Ring of Bright Water by G. Maxwell (Scotland) 1★ Waterloo by J. F. Rusling (Belgium) 3★ Rifleman Dodd (Death to the French) by C.S. Forester (Portugal) 4★ Company K by W.March (France) 5★When the Soldiers Were Gone by V. Propp (Netherlands) 3★
An alternate history book: 1901 by R. Conroy 4★ Custer's Gatling Guns by D.F. Myers 4★ Disaster at Stalingrad by P. Tsouras 4★ Upon Further Review by M.Pesca (Editor) 4★ Lest Darkness Fall by L. de Camp 3★
A book connected to a word "born" in the same year as you: Tour of Duty by D. Brinkley (flak jacket) 4★ Clifford the Big Red Dog by N. Bridell (red dog) 4★ The Cruiser by D. Poyer (SAM -surface-to-air missile) 3★ LSD by M. Littell 2★Space Shuttle by George Torres 3★
A suggestion from the AtY 2018 polls, that didn't win but was polarizing or a close-call:The Other Side by J. Aaron 3★ Cavalry in the Waterloo Campaign by E. Wood 4★ The Homecoming by Ray Bradbury 3★ Mickey & Me by D. Gutman 4★ Red Pants and Other Stories by J.Thomason Jr 4★
A book featuring a murder: The Family Romanov by C. Fleming 4★ The Tragedy of Brady Sims by E. Gaines 4★ Murder Book by E. Brisson 3★ Casualties of War by D. Lang 4★ Livia Lone by B.Eisler 5★
A book published in the last 3 years by an author you haven't read before: Pumpkinflowers by M. Friedman 4★ The Irregular by H.B. Lyle 3★ Flight of Dreams by A. Lawhon 4★ Raid of No Return by N. Hale 4★The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor 4★
A Women's Prize for Fiction winner or nominee: The Undertaking by A. Magee 4★ Eleven Days by L. Carpenter 4★ Comfort Woman by N. Keller 4★ My Name Is Lucy Barton by E. Strout 4★The Bear and the Nightingale by K.Arden 4★
A science book or a science fiction book: R Is for Rocket by R. Bradbury 4★ Artemis by Andy Weir 3★The Iron Tactician by Alastair Reynolds 3★ Earthling! by M. Fearing 3★From Now On by M. Ward 3★
A book with a form of punctuation in the title Dog! by M. Robbins 4★ Too Much! by R. Simms 2★ So You Think You Know Gettysburg? by J, Gindlesperger 4★ Heather, the Totality by M. Weiner 3★So You Think You Know Antietam? by J. Gindlesperger 4★
A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime: Where the Sidewalk Ends by S. Silverstein 4★ Me Talk Pretty One Day by D. Sedaris 3★ A Wrinkle in Time by M. L'Engle 3★ A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah 4★The Little Prince by A. de Saint-Exupery 4★
A book by an author with the same first and last initials: Undying Glory C. Cox 4★ Stay!: Keeper's Story by Lois Lowry 4★ The Marines of Montford Point by M. McLaurin 4★ World War Ii: The Pacific by S. Sheehan 3★When Books Went to War by M. Manning 4★
A book that takes place on, in, or underwater: Tommy by W. Atkinson 4★ The True Story of Lord Nelson by R. Houghton 3★ Hunter Killer by D. Poyer 4★ Titanic by F. Young 4★Carrier War by T. McGowen 3★
A book with a title that is a whole sentence: Kill Me If You Can, You Sob by B. Miller 3★ A Complete Guide to the Grand Circle National Parks by E. Hinze 4★; It Ain't Cheating If You Don't Get Caught by D. Gutman 3★ The Day the World Ended by G. Thomas 4★The Only Glupmaker in the U.S. Navy by T..McGowen 3★
A ghost story: The Canterville Ghost by O. Wilde 4★ The Ghost Prison by J. Delaney 4★ Ghosts of Salem by Sam Baltrusis 3★ The Lady Paranorma by V.Marcone 4★ The Ghost Ship by R.Middleton 4★
A book that intimidates/ scares you: Waiting for Godot by S. Beckett 4★ The Odyssey by Homerr 4★ by The Stranger by A. Camus 1★ Fragments of Horror by J. Ito 4★ Three Tales of Horror by Poe, Ambrose, and Stevenson 4★
4 books linked by the 4 elements: Air: Flight to Arras by A. de Saint-Exupery 4★ Flights of No Return by S. Ruffin 3★ Assault from the Sky by T. McGowen 3★ Thin Air by G. Simpson 4★Naval Aviation 1911-1986 by S. Russell 4★
A book where the main character is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity than your own: Atomic Bomb by M. Selden 4★ Even the Women Must Fight by K. Turner 3★ The Secret of Hoa Sen by N. Phan Que Mai 4★ Go for Broke by T. McGowen 3★ Comfort Woman by M. Henson 4★
A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins: Dancing with Mermaids by M. Gibson (Lust) 4★ Blackmail by R. Campbell (Greed) 4★ The Wrath of Hurricane Katrina by R.Shangle 3★ Envy by J. Epstein 3★ Greed by L. Ron Hubbard 2★
A book from one of the GRs Best Books of the Month lists: You Know When the Men Are Gone by S. Fallon 4★ Final Girls by Riley Sager 4★ The Great Quake by Henry Fountain 4★ White Rose, Black Forest by E. Dempsey 2★Calypso by D.Sedaris 5★
A book with a warm atmosphere: The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo by I. Stansel 5★ A Grizzly Tale by J. Otter 4★ A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by J. Tiss 4★ Summer of Fire by S. Lauber 3★ The Only Child by Guojing 5★
An award-winning short story or short story collection: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by K.Liu 5★ The Wind's Twelve Quarters by U. K. LeGuin 4★ An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by A.Bierce 5★ Dear Mr. President by G.Hudson 4★ Cove (The Edge of the Shoal) by C.Jones) 5★
A book published in 2018: Peach by E.Glass 3★ The Disappeared by C.J. Box 5★ Normandy Gold by M.Abbott 3★ Star of the North by D.B. John 5★ Bearskin by J. McLaughlin 4★
Ted...please tell me you go to the library for your books! You'd go broke paying for them all (not to mention run out of space). Do you read books, e-books or listen to books on audible (or a combo of the three)? Great work on round 5! I have decided after round three (two more books to go) to focus on my Crazy 88 challenge.
Congrats! I'm half-way through the challenge, but my bookshelf makes it seem like read all 52 books. (Slight frowny face) Hmm. And what is this spreadsheet you are talking about?
Celeste wrote: "Congrats! I'm half-way through the challenge, but my bookshelf makes it seem like read all 52 books. (Slight frowny face) Hmm. And what is this spreadsheet you are talking about?"
On the top of the group's page, under Reminders, there is a sentence that says If you like spreadsheets... Open that link to access the spreadsheet.
Tammy wrote: "Ted...please tell me you go to the library for your books! You'd go broke paying for them all (not to mention run out of space). Do you read books, e-books or listen to books on audible (or a combo..."Tammy wrote: "Ted...please tell me you go to the library for your books! You'd go broke paying for them all (not to mention run out of space). Do you read books, e-books or listen to books on audible (or a combo..."
Ted wrote: "Finished a 5th, and final, read of 2018 AtY topics on 09 August:
A book with the letters A, T & Y in the title: Lay This Laurel by R.Benson 4★ Man in the Yellow Raft by C.S. Forester 4★ Fix Bayone..."
Tammy, Most of the books I read are indeed from my local library. I am very fortunate in living in Maryland which has a state-wide book loaning system. If a book is not available in my county I simply search for it elsewhere in the state. When found I place a loan request and the book is delivered to my local library. Sweet!
I do read e-books found on Hoopla, internet archive, and Openlibrary. My only rule there is if book is not also available in print I will not read it. Just a silly personal rule.
I do not listen to audio books. I leave those to the visually impaired.
I'm a fan of the library, too. I prefer good old fashioned books to e-readers. I just started listening to books on my commute about 8 months ago and, though I'd been rabidly anti-audio, I was shocked to find that I actually enjoy listening to books. They do take too long so I end up checking out the book so that I can read once I've gotten tired of listening.Hope you have a lot more good books lined up now that you've completed the challenge...5 times.
I finished up earlier this week and have finally put everything into the group spreadsheet. Favourite prompts were probably "A book you have high hopes for" since it gave me an excuse to buy Before We Were Yours which I really wanted to read but that my library didn't have. A also enjoyed the 4 linked prompts and finding creative ways to fill them. Didn't like 'A book that intimidates you'. I read Inferno which I didn't like - nor did I expect to. The book I hated the most though was The Piano Teacher which I chose for "A book set in a country you'd like to visit.' It seemed a shame to sully such a lovely country with such a horrible book so I found another book connected to Austria and counted that instead! Apart from Before We Were Yours a couple of my other favourites have been Hum If You Don’t Know the Words and A Place for Us. There have been a few other 5 star reads and plenty of 4 star reads so overall the challenge and the books I picked worked well for me.
Serendipity wrote: "I finished up earlier this week and have finally put everything into the group spreadsheet. Favourite prompts were probably "A book you have high hopes for" since it gave me an excuse to buy [book:..."Congratulations! What are your plans now?
Tammy, I'm a bit of a challenge junkie this year. I've got 2 books to finish for Popsugar, 2 to finish for Read Harder (I've got one book lined up that will knock off one prompt for each of them) and one for the Back to the Classics. Just this week I discovered a challenge from Bookish that was new to me when there were about ten categories there that I couldn't already tick off so I'll work through that. Plus I'm trying to read from a wider variety of countries and have a few titles on my TBR that will help with that goal.
I completed mine this weekend! This was my first year doing a reading challenge outside of just the number of books read and I think it's safe to say I'm officially obsessed!
I read some great books so instead of picking just one favorite, I'll share my 5 star reads for this challenge.
Rachelnyc wrote: "I completed mine this weekend! "Congrats Rachel!!!
Congrats, Rachel! I've read three books you listed, & I'm currently listening to The Great Alone. :)
Thanks Tracy and Liz!Liz, I hope you like The Great Alone. There are some very disturbing passages but I have become a big fan of Kristin Hannah. She's a great author for the "sense of place" prompt.
Congrats Rachel (and everyone else who has completed the challenge)! Well done! I haven't read the 5 books you have listed but The Night Circus is on my book shelf, waiting to be read. I saw the movie Never Let Me Go, which was really good.
Pam wrote: "Congrats Rachel (and everyone else who has completed the challenge)! Well done! I haven't read the 5 books you have listed but The Night Circus is on my book shelf, waiting to be read. I saw the ..."
Thanks Pam! I watched the movie after reading it and while I liked it (great cast!), I preferred the book which, of course, is usually the case. In the book, it teases out the mystery of who/what the characters are rather than stating it fairly early on in the movie but both are definitely worth checking out.
Rachelnyc wrote: "Thanks Tracy and Liz!Liz, I hope you like The Great Alone. There are some very disturbing passages but I have become a big fan of Kristin Hannah. She's a great author for the "sense of place" pro..."
Absolutely! I'm reading it for the "Earth" prompt because I knew combining Kristin Hannah w/ Alaska would really showcase the place. I don't generally mind disturbing passages, but now I'm a little anxious to get to them! haha
Liz wrote: "Rachelnyc wrote: "Thanks Tracy and Liz!Liz, I hope you like The Great Alone. There are some very disturbing passages but I have become a big fan of Kristin Hannah. She's a great author for the "s..."
ha! Sorry, I don't want to give anything away but I know some people like to have trigger warnings for (view spoiler).
Good call using it for the earth prompt. She really makes Alaska come alive and I kept alternating between wanting to book a trip there and wanting to stay as far away as possible!
I finished!!! I am having difficulty getting the shelf to link but will keep trying. I lost my longer post but will add more to this one later with my faves.
Finished today, the last day of the Readathon, which helped push me! I had SO many good reads this year! Most of my books were 4s and 5s, a few 3s, and only 1 1.Some of my favorites:
Sci-Fi - Kindred, The Sparrow, Ubik, Yellow Blue Tibia
,
Mid-Grade - Catch You Later, Traitor Shadow on the Mountain
Literary fiction- Lonesome Dove, Doña Barbara, Annabel, The Heart's Invisible Furies , Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family, Disgrace, A Gentleman in Moscow
Novella - Chess Story
I can't say that I had a favorite because I found so many favorites this year! I can't wait to find more great authors and books during the rest of 2018 and next year!
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Ulysses (other topics)Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President (other topics)
Down the River Unto the Sea (other topics)
Fates and Furies (other topics)
The Heart's Invisible Furies (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (other topics)Curtis Sittenfeld (other topics)
John Berendt (other topics)
Agatha Christie (other topics)
Adam Silvera (other topics)
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Have you completed the 2018 Challenge? Let the group know so we can celebrate with you! And please share your tips for success, your favorite and least favorite challenge prompts, the books you loved, etc.