Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

D-O-N-E!!

46. A book about an event or era in history taken from the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire"



First book of the year -- done! Gabriel Sherman's biography about Roger Ailes and the ascendancy of right wing politics and Fox News spends considerable time describing Ailes' work with the Nixon Administration as a media and campaign consultant. Billy Joel mentions the Nixon Administration and the rise of television in his song We Didn't Start the Fire.

2. A book by an author whose last name is one syllable

10. A book that is between 400-600 pages



Finished reading Hillary Clinton's account of her perspective of what happened in the 2016 presidential election and what led to her defeat. 560 pages. Last year I read Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign by Jonathan Alan and Amie Parnes, and if I ever have the time, I think I would re-read both of these books again and simultaneously. They both share concrete evidence and data about events leading up to the election but they both contradict each other in strategic evidential ways. If I ever have the time...

31. A book inspired by a leading news story



This is a riveting tale about the downfall of Silicon Valley tech giant Uber and it's former founder Travis Kalanick. Kalanick's rise to prominence and subsequent removal from the company has been covered extensively in the news, and quite heavily by the author of this book who is himself a NYT journalist.

17. A book with a neurodiverse character



Carrie Fisher was diagnosed with manic depression and bipolar disorder.

33. A book about a non-traditional family



I really loved listening to this autobiographical collection of stories about Drew Barrymore's life. She barely knew her father, and was raised by her mother, only to seek emancipation from both when she was 14. She considers her best friends -- people that she chose to be in her life -- as her family. She also talks a lot about the type of mother -- and family -- that she intends to be for her children.

34. A book from a genre or sub genre that starts with a letter in your name



This is an autobiography by the comedian Tiffany Haddish. The 'a' in autobiography is in my name.

12. A book that is a collaboration between 2 or more people



This is a collection of essays based on the podcast of the same name. This book is a collaboration between the two podcasters Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff.

15. A book set in a global city



Leah Remini's memoir of growing up in the church of Scientology and her very public departure from the church years later, takes place largely in Los Angeles.

50. A book with a silhouette on the cover



Oddly, it is a different cover than my library copy. But still has a silhouette!

23. A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author



Absolutely loved this memoir by Elton John. He was so real, connected and authentic in telling his story that I often found myself laughing out loud or feeling a little tear well up in my eyes on account of hearing his experience. I listened to the audiobook version of his memoir, and while Elton John did not narrate his story as most celebrities often do, his decision to allow Taron Egerton to narrate was brilliant. Egerton is so natural in sharing this story, that I often felt like i was just sitting beside him listening as he was speaking.

I would choose another audiobook just on Egerton's participation alone!

32. A book related to the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan



Phil Knight, founder of Nike the worldwide athletic and shoe apparel business, began his company by importing and distributing Tiger athletic shoes which were made in Japan. Without early Japanese investors and commitment, Nike might never have become the company that it did.

51. A book with an "-ing" word in the title

22. A book with the major theme of survival



This book is all about surviving the cutthroat world of daytime talk shows.

24. A book with an emotion in the title

52. A book related to time



This book is about 3 leading women in broadcast journalism -- Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, and Christiane Amanpour. As journalists, their sole responsibility has been to record and analyze momentous occasions in our collective lives. Over decades, they have recorded time and shared it with their audiences.

1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y

26. A book from the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards



This should be required reading for all high school and college students. Incredibly moving, authentic. I am sad that the story had to be told, but I am glad that it was told and her own voice, he own words. I will be purchasing a hard copy to keep on my bookcases for years to come.

36. A book from your TBR/wishlist that you don't recognize, recall putting there, or put there on a whim

43. A book related to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse



"According to Edward Bishop Elliott's interpretation of the Four Horsemen as symbolic prophecy of the history of the Roman Empire, the second seal is opened and the Roman nation that experienced joy, prosperity and triumph is made subject to the red horse which depicts war and bloodshed—civil war."

This relates so well to Nick Bilton's book about the founding and emergence of the social networking site, Twitter. This is a story that ultimately drives the 4 founders apart -- despising one another and turning on each other in a type of high stakes corporate war.

9. A book that can be read in a day

25. A book related to the arts



This book by Bill Carter reviews television late night entertainment in depth and the incidents leading up to the big shake ups between Letterman, Leno and Conan that forever changed the landscape.

30. A book from the New York Times '100 Notable Books' list for any year



Excellent. Riveting account, particularly of the journalistic triumphs in unveiling Harvey Weinstein's decades long sexual predatory behavior. Very proud of the work done here, and the female voices that came forward to share their stories.

NYT 100 Notable Books list for 2019

29. An underrated book, a hidden gem or a lesser known book



Simple, very direct and full of non bs wisdom that you can apply to your life immediately.

41. A mystery



This is a riveting account of intrigue, suspense, mystery and creepy characters surrounding Ronan Farrow's investigative work in sexual harassment abuse in America and the institutions that worked to cover it up.

18. A book by an author you've only read once before

3. A book that you are prompted to read because of something you read in 2019

48. A book published in 2020

16. A book set in a rural or sparsely populated area



Backdrop for Sedaris' collection of essays is the Carolina coast, where he buys a beach house.

Young / Old

38. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #2



For this prompt I'm slotting in Beastie Boys Book which is the autobiographical story of 3 band mates who came together in NYC to form this iconic punk rock band of the '80s. These guys are in their mid 50s now and share plenty of wisdom, lessons learned as musical artists.

13. A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 Books challenge (Link)

I'm using this prompt from the ATY 2018 list of prompts:
52. A book published in 2018



Very good. Lots of easy to adopt tips to help develop and maintain good habits.

39. A book by an author whose real name(s) you're not quite sure how to pronounce

47. A classic book you've always meant to read



Classic business read

6. A book with a mode of transportation on the cover

27. A history or historical fiction



A retrospective of Instagram and how the social platform came to be.

45. A book by the same author who wrote one of your best reads in 2019 or 2018

20. The 20th book [on your TBR, in a series, by an author, on a list, etc.]

"the 20th book you get from the library"

8. A book with a two-word title where the first word is "The"

16. A book set in a rural or sparsely populated area

14. A book by an author on the Abe List of 100 Essential Female Writers (link)



by Alice Walker

19. A fantasy book



An 1895 classic. A very odd and peculiar read.

4. A book set in a place or time that you wouldn't want to live



Would not want to live in 5th century BC China.

21. A book related to Maximilian Hell, the noted astronomer and Jesuit Priest who was born in 1720



Based on Michael Lewis' high school baseball coach, Billy Fitzgerald who was a veteran science teacher at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans.

35. A book with a geometric pattern or element on the cover

37. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #1



For book #1 of these 2 binary opposites, I chose young and book #2 is old. This book is Jessica Simpson's autobiography of her coming of age in the music business. She was very young when she first emerged from her gospel background and became a pop star.

40. A book with a place name in the title

For this prompt I read my first graphic novel that depicted 2 of Sherlock Holmes' early stories, one of which is The Boscombe Valley Mystery.

11. A book originally published in a year that is a prime number



Published in 2017

28. A book by an Australian, Canadian or New Zealand author



Authors are Canadian

5. The first book in a series that you have not started




In the late '80s this graphic novel was originally introduced as a series of 12 installments. I was alive in the '80s but have no memory of The Watchmen. I've seen bits of the HBO show, and now understand it a bit better having read this book.