Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Book covers seem to go through trends, especially within genres. In historical fiction, you've got the "woman facing away from camera in a doorway, on stairs, or by a balcony". In young adult, you've the got the many girls whose faces are chopped off. Literary fiction has gotten into a phase of abstract representations of faces that I think look like tissue paper art. And of course there's the trend all book lovers seem to despise: movie poster tie-in covers. This week we will be bucking the trends and seeking out those books brave enough to present a cover without any people on them.

{I tried to find links to lists of books that didn't have people and all I found were lists of things I didn't know were cover trends. Empty dresses. Shoes. Animal silhouettes. Lens flares. I did come across this interesting article that takes an inside look into how book covers are designed and why they tend towards trends: https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/the-endl...]

Listopia:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

FYI this is in the wrong folder.

Dang nabbit. Fixed it.

This depends on my self-control. I have quite a few that will fit, but as I hit holiday breaks, I might demolish some of those. Right now, I have:

The Final Girl Support Group
A Pocket Full of Rye
Beloved
Jazz
The Cruel Prince

I’m reading Ghost Wall as the cover shows a landscape devoid of people which is significant in the book.

I am planning to narrow down this prompt a bit by restricting it to a cover without any identifiable object on it. There are just way too many options with landscapes, greenery, buildings, animals, cars, spaceships, etc.

Some options I'm considering:

There are a few that I'm considering for this one, some of which I'm considering for other prompts. Right now, my highest contender is The Last Battle, if I don't end up saving it for the "Next in a Series" prompt.

Here are some others I'm thinking about:

I'm going to BIO with this one and use a book that also doesn't reference a person in the title, which will help me narrow down the options as I have a ton of books on my TBR with no people on the cover.

I have This Might Hurt from NetGalley, or The Wedding Game already on my Kindle (I think it was a First Reads).

I'm considering these:
Fire in the Thatch: A Devon Mystery - E.C.R. Lorac
The History of Love - Nicole Krauss
One by One - Ruth Ware book
The Likeness - Tana French
Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation - Lynne Truss
On Beauty- Zadie Smith
The Most Fun We Ever Had- Claire Lombardo

I'm planning to read We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation, which would work for this, but there are so many options.
The Sentence
I Was a Stripper Librarian: From Cardigans to G-strings
The Witches Are Coming
All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake
The Way Through the Woods: Of Mushrooms and Mourning
Nobody's Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness
A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning
Ordinary Girls
Bluebird, Bluebird
The Jigsaw Man
Bringing Back the Beaver: The Story of One Man's Quest to Rewild Britain's Waterways
The Book of Rosy: A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border

I won't add all of my options as there are tons!

But I will come back here once I decide and/or finish a book that fits. :)

I'll be reading Faithful Place by Tana French. I think all the books in that series would fit, and I really enjoyed the first two.

I'd also recommend The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, A Monster Calls, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, The God of Animals and I Am the Messenger.

This will most likely be a slot in whatever prompt for me, as I have overflowing stacks of things with no people on them, even if I narrow it down. But if I really want to get in the spirit of the thing, if I can get ahold of the international version of Lemon, it is perfect:

I read The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. Loved the book.

I used The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.

Gail wrote: "I read The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. Loved the book."

I loved it too. I liked the cover, it was created by an artist in her family I think.

NancyJ wrote: "Gail wrote: "I read The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. Loved the book."

I loved it too. I liked the cover, it was created by an artist in her family I think."

This is the exact book I put here! Looking forward to reading it - good to know these positive reviews.

I read The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling. Its cover design contains torches, fish, pastry, etc. but no people! Another qualifying selection that I have sitting on my shelf and hope to read in the near future is Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach.

I read Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester for this prompt.

I read Death in High Heels by Christianna Brand

I've already picked mine.

The New Sorrows of Young W. (1972) - Ulrich Plenzdorf

Jill wrote: "I read Death in High Heels by Christianna Brand

"

I knew a band by that name. The lead singer had the tiniest little waist and must have worn the tiniest, skinniest jeans I ever saw.

Wasn't sure where I'd fit this, but I think I'll slide When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain in here.

I read The Shock by Marc Raabe for this prompt. I saw someone mention BIO with this prompt and read a book that doesn't reference a person in the title, so I was a little chuffed with my pick. Really enjoyed it, solid 4 star read!

Ronja von Rönne Ende in Sicht
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

For this one I read The Anthropocene Reviewed. I listened to it on audio. I enjoyed most of the short stories. I rated it 4 stars. I might listen to it again sometime.

I read Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey

I read:
The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution by Susan Hockfield - My Review

I read The Raven Spell by Luanne G. Smith. I really liked the cover:


This book would also work for #11 (historical fiction genre), #19 (alternate world - Victorian London with magic), #29 (on or near a body of water - the banks of the Thames is a major part of the story), #40 (Tarot Major Arcana - would work for the Magician or Death), or #51 (published in 2022).

I was saving this one cause I thought it was good catch-all challenge I could fit something into later this year, but ends up I needed it now for Louise Erdrich's The Sentence

In looking through my TBR I found a bunch of books that fit this prompt and had settled on but it just wasn't grabbing my attention. I did another search and The Good Lie was available so I went with it and ended up enjoying it.
.

I read . This was creepy and twisted and unpredictable and ....thoughtful? I don't even know how to describe it. It was a portrayal of the fears of motherhood, IMO and I couldn't put it down. Another random grab from the library. My original pick was

I read The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

I read The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider. I enjoyed it but the ending didn't feel like an ending (not a good ending I mean).

This one completely blindsided me with how good it was. It was creepy and unsettling, but not in the way you'd think by looking at this cover. So please don't judge this book by its' cover ;)

I just finished Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hamishi. Interesting way to learn a little about Afghan modern history. Also, given that Afghanistan is a mostly Muslim country, I supposed one could figure that there would be no people in the cover art.

Tracy wrote: "I just finished Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hamishi. Interesting way to learn a little about Afghan modern history. Also, given that Afghanistan is a mostly Muslim country, I supposed one could figu..."

I've got this one as my 3rd continent book. What'd you think of it, Tracy?

I read .

Not a book which could have homo sapiens on the cover. It was a very interesting book, with some necessary guess work on feelings and community. The chapter on flint working is vital but I did find it hard going (much like flint working, presumably).

I read a lot of romance, so I actually found this prompt pretty difficult!

In the end I went for: by Darren Shan

I read A History of Wild Places. This was a surprise. I got it last year from the Book of the Month Club. The synopsis sounded interesting. It was better than I expected. 4 stars.

Stacey wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I just finished Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hamishi. Interesting way to learn a little about Afghan modern history. Also, given that Afghanistan is a mostly Muslim country, I supposed ..."

I really liked it Stacey. I wouldn't say it was on my list of "favorite books ever", but a very solid read, and I would easily recommend it. One thing I noted is that the author is a physician. I have read several novels written by physicians (as well as a few non-fiction), and I have found them all to be very good books. One of THEM (Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, actually IS on my list of "favorite books ever", and could also be used for ond of the Continent prompts. But if you are interested in Sparks like Stars, and Afghanistan, I would encourage you to try it.

I have finished No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige. 2.75 stars.

For this one, I read by Denise Grover Swank

When I made my list for this year I put The Lacuna down for this prompt, but then Amongst Our Weapons came out at just the right moment (I'm doing AtY in order this year).

I thoroughly enjoyed Amongst Our Weapons, but the Rivers of London books have to be read in order. The first book in the series would also work for this prompt though (assuming you buy the UK covers not the US ones).

This was a really easy prompt. I chose The One by John Marrs. I listened to the audiobook. It was a decent read.

LeahS wrote: "I read .

Not a book which could have homo sapiens on the cover. It was a very interesting book, with some necessary guess work..."

Leah, so clever to use a book about neanderthals for this prompt! Love that.

I read Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers for this prompt. I read it because it was on the longlist for the Women's Prize in 2021, but I have to admit that I was drawn to it especially because it has one of my favorite covers of all time:

I ended up really enjoying the book and I was pleased to find that the cover is not merely decorative (I feel like many covers with flowers/fruit on them don't really relate back to the book at all, but this one really did - the cover is quite significant to the story. So then I was even more pleased to use it for this prompt!)

An awful lot of books I've read would fit this prompt, so it's a bit tricky to give recommendations! Just a couple of my recent favorites that would work:

Lots of options for this one. I went with The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier a nonfiction book about the basics of science.