Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Obviously everyone here loves books so why not read a book about books? Whether your book is about reading, books, or an author, this week is all about our favorite hobby.

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Suggestions:
Book Riot: 100 Must-Read Books About Books
Goodreads: Popular Books About Reading Shelf
Penguin Random House: The Book Lovers List
Read it Forward: 14 Books About Books
Of the Shelf: 12 More Books About Books for Big Book Nerds
Bustle: 11 Books All About Books, Perfect For Book Lovers
BookBub: 14 Must-Read Novels About Books
Literary Hub: The Best Books About Books
Flavorwire: Writers Writing About Writers: 9 Great Books About Authors
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Optional questions:
- What are you reading for this category?
- What is the connection to books (cover, content, etc.)

This is finally my year to read Among Others by Jo Walton!! I've been promised that it mentions lots of books, so it should fit here.

Backup plan: Magpie Murders (does this book even fit? I saw it on a list somewhere)

Nadine wrote: "This is finally my year to read Among Others by Jo Walton!! I've been promised that it mentions lots of books, so it should fit here.

Backup plan: [book:Magpie Murde..."

Yes, Magpie Murders fits. I liked it a lot.

I'm probably doingMr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore for this one, which takes place in a bookshop

I'm considering:
The Club Dumas - Arturo Perez-Reverte
The Library at the Edge of the World (Finfarran #1) - Felicity Hayes-McCoy
When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II - Molly Guptill Manning

I'm interested in Song of a Captive Bird, a novel about a real Iranian poet. Alternatively, maybe I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life.

I've got The Library Book by Susan Orlean pencilled in. It looks at the 1986 Los Angeles Public Library as well as the evolution of libraries and the role they play in society.

I am really excited about these books I have had them on my TBR since I heard them. I really want to read both so going to have to double up on this prompt!! I am super excited to read Anne Bogel's book Reading people. She is my favorite Podcaster. If you like podcasters check her out at her podcast.... "What Should I Read Next"

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian's Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life
Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything

Kelly wrote: "I am really excited about these books I have had them on my TBR since I heard them. I really want to read both so going to have to double up on this prompt!! I am super excited to read Anne Bogel's..."

I love her podcast! I have been a faithful listener since the beginning. I have slotted Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything for this one.

I;m kicking around a couple of Stephen King books. He uses characters who are writers so often that it would be an easy choice.

Also, I'm looking at one of these:

* The Uncommon Reader
* 84, Charing Cross Road
* Elementary, She Read

I have a couple dozen possibilities for this prompt (and at least that many recommendations I could give). I love books about books & writers! I am planning to use History of the Rain by Niall Williams.

Dalex, I would love if you would share your recommendations.

Milena wrote: "Dalex, I would love if you would share your recommendations."

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
Great House by Nicole Krauss
The Wolf in the Attic by Paul Kearney
The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
The Reinvention of Love by Helen Humphreys

I think Jasper Fforde's "Thursday Next" series would work well here, since it's about solving mysteries related to books and interacting with famous book characters, first book in the series is The Eyre Affair.


And the The Invisible Library series is about solving mysteries & collecting books from different worlds in the multiverse. (It's more about the mystery than the books, but I think it's still in the "spirit" of the category.)

I'd definitely second The Thirteenth Tale for this one. Other suggestions I would have would be The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, and 84, Charing Cross Road (for a short option).

A few I am considering:

All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost by Lan Samantha Chang
The Human Stain by Philip Roth
A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Nadine wrote: "I think Jasper Fforde's "Thursday Next" series would work well here, since it's about solving mysteries related to books and interacting with famous book characters, first book in the..."

Would The Big Over Easy be too meta for this? :P

Thank you everyone for the recommendations. I should read The Thirteenth Tale. It's been on my TBR forever, I own it, and it seems right up my alley. Not sure what has kept me from reading it all these years.

Shelley wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I think Jasper Fforde's "Thursday Next" series would work well here, since it's about solving mysteries related to books and interacting with famous book characters, fi..."

Nothing is too meta for a book about books!! It's about READING! :-)

Jill wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I am really excited about these books I have had them on my TBR since I heard them. I really want to read both so going to have to double up on this prompt!! I am super excited to rea..."

Love, love, love 84 Charing Cross Road. And if you enjoy it, there are more by that author: The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Underfoot on Broadway, Q's Legacy...all short, lovely reads like 84.

For this one I'll probably read S.. My backup will be The Thirteenth Tale.

I enjoyed All the Beautiful Lies. If you are a Stephen King fan I highly recommend Misery and Finders Keepers (this is #2 in a trilogy though).

These are my top contenders:
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel
The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell

Oh no...I have an infinite list for this one. Ok what I put as possibilities on my plan:
The Thirteenth Tale
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
The End of Your Life Book Club
Fahrenheit 451

Erin Morgenstern (author of The Night Circus) is
publishing a new book in 2019!!! The Starless Sea

It sounds like it would this prompt quite well - "The novel will feature a grad student named Zachary Ezra Rawlins who discovers a strange book hidden in the library that has many interesting stories—including his own. In his search to discover the meaning behind the book, he follows clues to a masquerade party and eventually to a library far below the earth’s surface: a realm that has been fiercely protected but is now under threat."

dalex wrote: "Erin Morgenstern (author of The Night Circus) is
publishing a new book in 2019!!! The Starless Sea

It sounds like it would this prompt quite well - "The novel will feature a grad ..."

My list of possibilities kind of just imploded. I want to put this on preorder.

There is also a new book out called The Library Book

I came across The Shadow of the Wind while I was looking up stuff for the Mediterranean prompt and it fits perfectly here and sounds wonderful.

I loved it, Brittany. Great choice for this prompt.

There are so many books I want to read for this prompt, but I already know one of my bookclub reads next year is Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, so I'm sure this is where I will slot it in.

Liz wrote: "There are so many books I want to read for this prompt, but I already know one of my bookclub reads next year is Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, so I'm sure this is where I will slot it in..."

I just added this to my TBR so fast LOL.

I wonder if the library has it. Theres no kindle version.

I have several choices for this prompt but I will probably go with the one that I just won from a GR giveaway - Talent, which was one of my original choices. I haven't won anything in ages, so it was a big surprise!

I highly recommend Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Readerfor those who haven't read it. What a treat! I agree that 84, Charing Cross Road is also wonderful.

For myself, I'm planning on Fahrenheit 451 or My Life in Middlemarch.

Congrats on the win, Pam. I have only won once.

Mindy, I want to read My Life in Middlemarch. Sigh, I never find enough time!

I feel the obvious choice is The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (or any one of the others in the series). But there are so many other possibilities ...

The Paris Wife would work for this challenge. I also enjoyed The End of Your Life Book Club

I'm going for On Writing by A.L. Kennedy. I've read a few of her books now, and I'm interested in what she has to say about her craft. Plus, I harbour destined-to-be-unfulfilled dreams about writing myself one day...maybe this will push me forward.

I'm considering either The Lime Works (although the main character will probably fail at writing his book altogether, so I don't know) or Autobiography of a Corpse

By the way, thanks Mindy for reminding me of Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader I added it years ago to my wishlist on other site and forgot about it.

This is one which I recently hauled from a library sale. I'm going with Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

I have I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life on my TBR pile, and that seems like the perfect fit. I am also going to be reading Fahrenheit 451 for another challenge, so I have a back up in case I need it.
I'm doing my very best to NOT purchase any books for the challenge, and to just tackle my TBR pile, the library, and whoever will loan me a book or 12. :)

I am reading Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper. I figure a book about writing dictionaries will fit this prompt, and I am excited about this book in particular!

Think I might do Talking about Jane Austen in Baghdad: The True Story of an Unlikely Friendship for this one.

Read a very fun book from my TBR list for this prompt called Shelf Discovery. Basically a look back at YA reads featuring female lead characters, with a strong focus on 70s/80s books. Very enjoyable trip down memory lane to revisit some favorites I’d completely forgotten about!

I just started reading the choices in Reese Witherspoon/Hello Sunshine Book Club and the January book is this one which is perfect:

What are you reading for this category?
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, by Matthew Sullivan


What is the connection to books (cover, content, etc.)
It's a mystery set in a bookshop.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is really good and there is even a list of all the books mentioned in it avaible for download on the author's website.
I have both of these on my list to read
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
Mr. Lemoncello's Great Library Race
and there is another one coming out this year I think
Mr. Lemoncello's All-Star Breakout Game

I was bad and I bought 2 of these ( so much for not buying more kindle books) Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, and Book Girl: A Journey Through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life.

Neither one of these is on my original plan LOL.

What are you reading for this category?
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society byMary Ann Shaffer
- What is the connection to books (cover, content, etc.)
a book club and an author. I loved the Netflix movie.

- What are you reading for this category?
I read The Friend by Sigrid Nunez.
- What is the connection to books (cover, content, etc.)
The narrator is a writer and the friend that she is mourning and writing about is also a writer.

Michelle wrote: "I just started reading the choices in Reese Witherspoon/Hello Sunshine Book Club and the January book is this one which is perfect:
"

I plan on reading this book this year, and I hadn't even thought about using it for this prompt! It's perfect -- thanks!

I"m reading Love and Ruin and although I plan to use it for another prompt (at least as of right now), it fits perfectly for this. The main character is an aspiring author who falls in love with Hemingway.