Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

THE 2021 LIST
1. A book related to “In the Beginning...” The Gunslinger by Stephen King
2. A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
3. A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
4. A book with a monochromatic cover Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
5. A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
6. A love story Asunder by Curt Locklear
7. A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list The Ghost Road by Pat Barker
8. A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternac
10. A book with a female villain or criminal Artemis by Andy Weir
11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum The Museum of Unconditional Surrender by Dubravka Ugresic Translator Cecilia Hawkesworth
12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones
13. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020
The Waste Lands by Stephen King
14. A book set in a made-up place The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
15. A book that features siblings as the main characters Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
16. A book with a building in the title The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
17. A book with a Muslim character or author The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
18. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 1 The Once and Future King by T.H. White
19. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 2 The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
20. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3 Later by Stephen King
21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u" Rabbit Redux by John Updike
22. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
23. A cross genre novel The Saloon Lawyeer by C.J. Petit
24. A book about racism or race relations To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
25. A book set on an island The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
27. A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
28. A book connected to ice Snow by John Banville
29. A book that you consider comfort reading Call of the Wild by Jack London
30. A long book Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl
31. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years The talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
32. A book whose cover shows more than 2 people Law Man by Lee Leighton
33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry Everything's Eventual by Stephen King

34. A book with a travel theme The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs
35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
36. A book with six or more words in the title The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang
37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch
39. A book involving an immigrant My Antonia by Willa Cather
40. A book with flowers or greenery on the cover Splintered by Curt Locklear
41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author Americhanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
42. A mystery or thriller Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
43. A book with elements of magic Gwendy's Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar
44. A book whose title contains a negative No One Writes to the Colonel by Gabriel García Márquez
45. A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet Heartbreak Tango by Manuel Puig
46. A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang
47. A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir Eternal Flame by Bruce Engelman
48. A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?”
What the Hell Did I just Read by David Wong
49. A book with an ensemble cast Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon
50. A book published in 2021 Billy Summers by Stephen King
51. A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
52. A book related to "the end" The Fifth Season

30. A long book Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl I actually read this in Nov.-Dec 2020 but I am going to count it since at 1668 pages it was the longest book I have ever read.

3. "raindrops on roses" For this prompt I read Umberto Eco's book The Name of the Rose. I gave this book 3 stars. Interesting mystery plot but because of their sheer numbers I had a hard time remembering the characters. There was too much Latin and other languages I did not know which confused things. The history of the various orders was unknown to me so I had little background to understand the ecclesiastical themes. I think Eco wrote several far better novels.

8. England- The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

1. Beginning of a series The Dark Tower. The Gunslinger