Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

We are always looking for new resources that open us up to new authors and adventures, and this week is the perfect week to take advantage of a new website that matches you with a new author based on authors you've previously enjoyed. Whether you use this as an opportunity to discover a new favorite, or if you jump at the chance to read something by an author you already love, this prompt will bring you to new places.

Literature Map website: https://www.literature-map.com

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

What author did you use as your search? Who are you reading for the prompt?

(I couldn't put a URL in the topic of this thread, but the URL is in the real prompt.)

I really have no idea what I'm going to do for this one. I'm leaning toward putting in a favorite author and then choosing an author I haven't read before.

I put in eight of my must read authors and then pulled up the booklists for a handful of authors for each of them. A lot of books were already on my TBR, and I'll probably do one of those, but I might veer off and read something I've never seen before. This is the most up in the air prompt for me because I found so many good books.

Current plan is Magic for Liars (Seanan McGuire -> Sarah Gailey) because I've been meaning to read it for so long and I filled the other prompts it fit with other books.

I think I will use Anthony Marra. On the Lit Map, there are only 4 authors I’ve read, of which 2 I love - Anthony Doerr and Amor Towles. I want to choose an author I’ve never read, possibly Peter Heller, Sjón, or Nicole Krauss. Or, another Doerr novel.

I searched Fredrik Backman, and the list I got was enough to satisfy me considering most of them have new books out that I'd like to read or books I own and plan on getting to next year.

Taylor Jenkins Reid - Carrie Soto Is Back
Kate Quinn - The Diamond Eye
Liane Moriarty - I'm sure she will write something new soon enough
Emily Henry - Happy Place
Beth O'Leary - Hopefully a new book out soon
Mary Beth Keane - Ask Again, Yes (can't believe I have owned this one for so long and haven't read yet)
John Boyne - A Ladder to the Sky

Yes, for those of us who are trying to read from the too-large accumulation on our shelves or in our tablets, you might find an author whose book you own but hadn't gotten around to. Or of course, a brand-new author.

Ooh I didn't know Emily Henry had a new one coming out! Of course I should have guessed she did. I might steal your Fredrik Backman > Emily Henry!

I decided to use S.A. Chakraborty, who is one of those authors who is duplicated so I got two pages of suggestions, with some overlap. I have a smorgasbord of authors to choose from now:
Genevieve Cogman, Tasha Suri, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Leigh Bardugo, N.K. Jemisin, R.F. Kuang, V.E. Schwab, Marie Brennan, Alix E. Harrow, Ann Leckie.

I put in three of my favourite authors - Terry Pratchett, V.E. Schwab and Ben Aaronovitch. Patrick Rothfuss was the only author who was in the results for all three that I had something on my TBR for, so I'll be reading The Slow Regard of Silent Things.

I searched:
Anthony Trollope and found another favorite author, Barbara Pym, so I'll probably read (re-read) Some Tame Gazelle.

OR

Louise Erdrich brought up Zora Neale Hurston. I'd like to read her book, Dust Tracks on a Road.

Glad people are liking it. I learned of this site from another challenge group on GR. I never planned to suggest it as a prompt but I mentioned it in one of the discussion threads and people encouraged me to submit it. I don't yet know what I will read, but I have been having fun trying various authors.

It's an interesting prompt. I fairly randomly put in Elodie Harper because I enjoyed her novels about Pompeii and found Pajtim Statovci. I know nothing about this Finnish author, but he fitted with my European theme. I am reading his novel My Cat Yugoslavia

I put in Brandon Sanderson and from the authors that came up I had these on my TBR already

Malice
The City We Became
The Three-Body Problem

I tried this with different authors and I love it. I also entered authors on another part of the site to help add to their list and connections. Many of my favorite authors are close to many other favorites. You can enter three at a time in groups. It will give you a list of others, and ask if you like, dislike or don’t know them. This helps refine the map.

I’m looking for a couple new (or forgotten) authors to try this year, and I’ll go with an author who is connected to several of my favorites. As people add more to the site, there will be more options, so I’ll play with this again next year when I’m looking for something new.

So far I found Sue Monk Kidd, by entering Ann Patchett and Alice Hoffman, who are both favorites. Her The Book of Longings is a possibility for the 3 centuries prompts.

I participated in an author tournament this year, and many of those authors are linked to my favorite authors. Fredrick Backman was one of them. Note- he is in there twice with two different spellings.
Backman is close to Gail Honeyman, Celeste Ng, Anthony Doerr, Taylor Jenkins Reid, David Sedaris, Oliver Sacks, Min Jin Lee. The other spelling was close to Amor Towles, Emily St John Mandel. and Ann Patchett.

LeahS wrote: "It's an interesting prompt. I fairly randomly put in Elodie Harper because I enjoyed her novels about Pompeii and found Pajtim Statovci. I know nothing about this..."

How funny - my cousin recently recommended that I read My Cat Yugoslavia! I had never heard of it before that.

Good to have a recommendation - thanks.

I used a favorite author Lawrence Block and ended up getting down to Graham Greene and selected: Travels with My Aunt

I'm not sure if I understand this correctly. I put in Jane Austen and the page came up with 30+ authors. Is this right? (This is for the literature map)

Janice, I'd guess that an author that old and prolific would probably have a lot of connections, so that sounds right to me.

Janice wrote: "I'm not sure if I understand this correctly. I put in Jane Austen and the page came up with 30+ authors. Is this right? (This is for the literature map)"

Janice, every name I put in generates 30+ names, so I’ve been trying it with many different names. I’ve been focusing on the authors who are closer to the middle, but they’re all interesting. I’ll go with one of the authors that is connected to many of my favorites.

Jane Austen’s map is rather funny. It shows that Jane Austen lovers are a diverse bunch! Where else would you find Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Barbara Kingsolver, Descartes, and Dan Brown on the same page!? Her map has old classic masters, great literary authors, and mega popular authors from many time periods. The map doesn’t show you authors who write books in similar genres, but it shows you authors that other fans also like. It’s nice to see that I’m not weird (or I’m not alone anyway) for reading both Austen and Dan Brown.

Emily wrote: "Janice, I'd guess that an author that old and prolific would probably have a lot of connections, so that sounds right to me."

Thank you :)

NancyJ wrote: "Janice wrote: "I'm not sure if I understand this correctly. I put in Jane Austen and the page came up with 30+ authors. Is this right? (This is for the literature map)"

Janice, every name I put i..."

Thank you for explaining it to me. It makes sense now. :)

Emily wrote: "I searched Fredrik Backman, and the list I got was enough to satisfy me considering most of them have new books out that I'd like to read or books I own and plan on getting to next year.

Taylor Je..."

Emily, I found the last two on your list to be darker than Backman, but so good. Ladder to the Sky has several writer characters that you might like (or love to hate) and some wicked humor.

I am tentatively going with Maggie O'Farrell for my favourite author. I got a good number of authors I'm interested in but not so many I'm overwhelmed with options which is exactly what I was hoping for. :)

Matches from my TBR are:
Anne Tyler (A Spool of Blue Thread)
Kate Atkinson (Life After Life)
Sarah Winman (Still Life)
Sarah Moss (The Tidal Zone)
Amor Towles (The Lincoln Highway)
Dorothy Koomson (The Ice Cream Girls)

I started with Jim Butcher, found everything that came up was authors I already knew and loved. Then went down the rabbit hole clicking authors. I ended up on Christopher Paolini, who I love, and found an author I didn't recognize. She apparently wrote the Deltora Quest books, and I had vaguely heard of the series but know next to nothing about them or the author. I think I'm going with her for this task since it'd be a nice new author to try. Or I'll keep digging. I haven't fully decided.

I wasn't a fan of this prompt when it was suggested, and to be honest, using the map has just put me off it even further. I decided to put in a few names now to solidify a choice for my plans, and literally just stretching the window differently on my screen caused all the names to shift around and change positions, even without me changing the name that I typed in. I'm wondering if it's just a matter of everything expanding to fit the screen differently so the proportions of spaces between names stretches out, but it definitely gave the initial impression of the list changing/being inconsistent each time.

Rachel wrote: "I wasn't a fan of this prompt when it was suggested, and to be honest, using the map has just put me off it even further. I decided to put in a few names now to solidify a choice for my plans, and ..."

It's definitely possible that the screens change. Basically I just look at it as a bunch of suggestions. If none of them appeal to you, try a different name. If you find one you like but later it's not there, no problem. Nobody will be policing this, so go with whatever appeals.

I love this prompt too much! Such a great resource. All the author's I've entered have given me a good list of both other recognized favourites and new authors to check out.

I just can't decide and since it's prompt 31, I'm going to hold off and choose a bit closer to my reading date.

Robin P wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I wasn't a fan of this prompt when it was suggested, and to be honest, using the map has just put me off it even further. I decided to put in a few names now to solidify a choice for..."

I'm trying to figure out how best to tailor this. I was hoping it would give me a name of one of the authors that I'd been hoping to prioritize, but many of those seem to be lesser-known authors and their names don't show up (Karen Hamilton, Darby Kane, Kaira Rouda, just to name a few). Out of curiosity, I input them as the original name, and they gave me nothing or 2-3 additional names, so seems unlikely they will come up.

It seems this prompt will end up being an almost complete freebie for me, which is why I wasn't a fan in the first place. The names I've put in tend to yield the authors that I would easily expect to be connected to them or authors I have literally never heard of. Since my goal is to pull from my existing TBR, it seems most likely I'll end up just picking an author I've already read any enjoyed. It's fine, I guess, since at least I'm likely to enjoy the book, but it makes the literature map element of it a bit underwhelming for me.

I put in Riley Sager and I got Karin Slaughter and I've been meaning to try one of her books. I picked one up at Goodwill a bit ago. So I guess that works for me. I couldn't find somewhere to slot it so this works.

I am doing ATY by months. This prompt comes up in June. I think I will wait on planning for it , since my favorite author changes from time to time.

Beth wrote: "I am tentatively going with Maggie O'Farrell for my favourite author. I got a good number of authors I'm interested in but not so many I'm overwhelmed with options which is exactly w..."

Maggie O’Farrell came up on many maps I tried, as did a few others. I also tried her as a favorite even though I only read one of her books so far. I love the interesting authors I’m discovering on the map and the 3 author search on gnooks. Now that they’re on my radar I’m more likely to notice their new books, sales books, and awards.

Rachel wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I wasn't a fan of this prompt when it was suggested, and to be honest, using the map has just put me off it even further. I decided to put in a few names now to solid..."

Since you have time, you might make a note of the authors you found that you never heard of before. You might start noticing them on the BOM threads, listopias and other discussions. They might even turn out to be future favorites.

A month ago I had an idea for an author, which I might still use, but I’m hoping to read a lot of classics in 2023 so I’m probably going to go with Tolstoy or Kafka. Every one of the author choices for them, excluding the American and British authors, are ones I plan to read. Perfect!

I am a bit confused as to how this one works. Do I put the name of an author, and then I choose the book of an author that appears after I do the search?

Excited to do this one!

I put in Craig Schaefer who, as an indie author, I didn't expect the site would even recognize, let alone offer suggestions for. Two authors jumped out at me from the pool - I can either continue Daniel Jose Older's Bone Street Rumba series which I started years ago, or pick up something from Seanan McGuire. Yay!

Orrrr if I use Kate Quinn (another auto-read), she turns up with Taylor Jenkins Reid, which gives me another excuse to catch up on TJR's backlog.

Liz wrote: "I am a bit confused as to how this one works. Do I put the name of an author, and then I choose the book of an author that appears after I do the search?"

Yes that’s it, basically. You’ll get a lot of names linked to each author. I recommend trying it with several different author names to get the feel of it, and make a note of the names that interest you. You can search them on Goodreads to see the books they wrote. Then, while looking for books for other prompts, some of the names from the maps will start to jump out at you. That’s how I approach it anyway.

Welcome to the group!!

This is so fun!

I typed in Shea Ernshaw and got a lot of names.

Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
Stephen King - I have many on my tbr.
Rick Riordan - The Lightning Thief
Charlaine Harris - Dead Until Dark
Holly Black - Many on my tbr.
V.E. Schwab - Gallant, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue or others.
Sylvia Plath - Ariel
Joyce Carol Oates - Nothing in particular attracts me.
Christelle Dabos - A Winter's Promise was already on my tbr.
Victoria Aveyard - Red Queen
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games
Kendare Blake - Girl of Nightmares
Sarah Addison Allen - The Girl Who Chased the Moon sounds good.
Richelle Mead - I want to re-read Blood Promise.
Emily Henry - A Million Junes
Alwyn Hamilton - Rebel of the Sands
Taylor Jenkins Reid - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Kristin Cast - Kisses from Hell
Sally Green - Half Bad
Gillian French - The Missing Season
Rob Thomas - Not interested in any of his books.
Wendy Spinale - Everland sounds interesting.
Garth Stein - A Sudden Light
Lynette Noni - The Prison Healer or Akarnae.
Natasha Ngan - Girls of Paper and Fire
Erica Waters - The Restless Dark
Danielle Vega - Nothing interesting in particular.
Melissa Albert - The Hazel Wood
Krystal Sutherland - A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares

I typed in Benedict Wells and got Christian Kracht. Read Eurotrash.

BY inputting J D Robb I found Elizabeth Peters

and read The Mummy Case 11/01/2023

This was a fun prompt and I loved playing with the Literature Map!
I entered two of my all-time favorites, John Fowles and Hilary Mantel, who sadly passed away last year. Lots of authors whom I'd read previously appeared, but I ultimately chose School for Love by Olivia Manning, who was new to me but who matched with both authors. This was a good throwback coming-of-age novel set in Jerusalem during WWII, a time and place not often explored. I love a complex villain and a twisty ending and this novel offered both. Plus, a beautiful cat named Faro. Thanks for the introduction to Ms. Manning; I'll be reading more of her work in the future.

For this prompt, I put in Julian Barnes and found Paul Auster

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster - 4* - My Review (Julian Barnes)

Okay so I cheated....but it did work.
I was reading Carrie Soto Is Back and had already used the spice girls prompt so wanted a prompt for this one. Typed in Colleen Hoover and what do you know, Taylor Jenkins Reid....now I choose Colleen Hoover as she was the last author I gave 5 stars to....

The Speed of Dark
Elizabeth Moon
⭐⭐⭐⭐

The author I entered was Anne McCaffery

I am very happy that I discovered this new author. I will be adding more of her books to my TBR

I entered Ann Patchett & Barbara Kingsolver came up. I read Demon Copperhead. 5 stars.

When I decided to find a book for this prompt I was reading What Have We Done by Alex Finlay so used him. Deanna Raybourn had come up and I had been trying to find a place for Killers of a Certain Age so it was a great fit.

I needed a Russian author for my Round Europe ATY, so I reversed engineered this and tried Chekhov. That gave me enough authors I'd enjoyed to use him for this prompt. I read some early short stories:

The Woman in the Case

Malibu Rising - 4 stars. Only problem is I can't remember the original author I used!

Melmoth - 3 stars, although the narration was good.