Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Another prompt with a connection to the year, and this time, we are checking author's names for the most popular from 1923. This prompt could encourage you to dip back to the most popular names in the world, or you can broaden the borders and look for most popular names in a specific country.

Most Popular in the US: https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names...
Most Popular in the UK: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulati...
Most Popular in New Zealand: https://www.behindthename.com/top/lis...
Most Popular in France: https://www.behindthename.com/top/lis...
Most Popular in Germany: https://www.behindthename.com/top/lis...
Most Popular in Canada: https://www.behindthename.com/top/lis...

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

What are you reading for this one? How did you pick the author?

I'm planning on having some light relief with this one and reading Forever Rumpole: The Best of the Rumpole Stories by John Mortimer. I chose this because John was the most popular boys' name in England and Wales in 1923, and John Mortimer was actually born in that year.

I'm reading The It Girl by Ruth Ware. I picked her as she is my favourite modern mystery writer (I also used her name in the literature map.) Since I didn't get around to reading this book in 2022, this is the perfect prompt for it.

I had quite a few authors to choose from, and I was originally going to do something from Virginia Woolf (US list). I loved Mrs. Dalloway and unaccountably have just never gotten back to reading more of her fiction, and I wanted a name that used to be more common than it is now. But then I remembered that I really really need to read Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood (pretty much all the English name lists) because a friend's review has intrigued me. So probably that one, but maybe still a Woolf.

I have three Marys penciled in for this prompt:

A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal

How does one even begin to select a single title when there are so many interesting choices... ?

I've narrowed each prompt to 12 selections. My 2023 plan is to read the prompts in order, so I'll make the final decision when I get there.




Elizabeth Letts, Margaret Atwood, Richard Osman, Mary Doria Russell, Anthony Marra


John Marrs, Ruth Ware, John Green, Mary Stewart, George Saunders, Richard Russo

Paper Towns is the only book of John Green's I haven't read yet, so I may do that.

I also have two books by Mary Kubica on my TBR - The Good Girl and The Other Mrs.

My third possibility is to read If You Ask Me by Betty White.

My plan is to stick with the top 5 names from either the US or Germany. I’m doing a German author Buddy read next year so my first choice is Günter (Grass) and read either The Tin Drum Drum, Cat and Mouse, or Crabwalk. Other German choices are Carl (Hiassen) and Ursula (K. LeGuin). From the US, I want to read another book by Betty Smith set in Brooklyn. My grandmother’s name was Betty and she lived in Brooklyn, as did my parents, so I like the nostalgia.

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "But then I remembered that I really really need to read Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood (pretty much all the English name lists) because a friend's review has intrigued me. So probably that one, but maybe still a Woolf."

I really enjoyed that book, and it's one of them on my list of recommended possibilities!

So, I figured I would make it simple with women's names and the US, and I did a Google search of women's names popular 1923, and this list popped up: Mary, Dorothy, Helen, Margaret, Betty, Ruth, Mildred, Virginia, Frances, Elizabeth

Here are a few that I would recommend:
Women in Prehistory by Margaret R. Ehrenberg - This book is fantastic!
Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
Mrs. Polifax books by Dorothy Gilman
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Stillwatch Mary Higgins Clark
Cat's Eye or The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Here are my possibilities from my TBR: (I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to choose this year in almost all of the categories - LOL)
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Something by Elizabeth Peters (she wrote a ton of books, so I still have a lot left on my TBR!)
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
And Yet They Were Happy by Helen Phillips
The Fountain of Age or The Second Stage: With a New Introductionby Betty Friedan
Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden
Cavedweller by Dorothy Allison
The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas

I decided to go for two books for this, since the lists of names are separated by gender, so I'll be reading American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett and Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica.

Misty wrote: "So, I figured I would make it simple with women's names"

Such a good idea. My recommendations:
Mary: Frankenstein
Virginia: Mrs. Dalloway
Elizabeth: Wylding Hall
Elizabeth: The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
Frances: The Secret Garden

For the fellas:
John: A Prayer for Owen Meany
Robert: Treasure Island
William: Much Ado About Nothing
Charles: Oliver Twist
Edward: Amphigorey
Richard: Crush (I wasn't going to recommend poetry but this is so good.)
(Unrecommended: James, George, Joseph, and Donald.)

Since I'm Swedish I'll choose a name that was common in my country 100 years ago. I hope that's okay?

Nike - of course! If Fredrik (Backman) is one of those names, please let us know.

Can someone clarify the definition of popular for this prompt? I thought it was the top 10 male, and top 10 female names in your country. Some have stretched this to the top 40. It's confusing if we use different rules on the listopia.

Judy wrote: "Can someone clarify the definition of popular for this prompt?"

I just went back through the Wild Discussion thread to refresh my memory about what was intended for the prompt. (And always, 'author intent' doesn't really matter so much; we are all free to fill the prompt however make sense to us. But I agree it can be helpful to narrow down.)

The restriction to top ten was expressly left off the prompt when it was suggested to make it easier to use lists from more countries, since not every country publishes a yearly list of top ten most popular names. It's up to you how to define it. If you have a definition in mind and know what names qualify for you, it's pretty easy to scan the Listopia or your TBR to find those names.

I may also read a book from the male list and then the female list. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray or The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner or The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert or Open House by Elizabeth Berg or Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates or [Author: Elizabeth von Arnim|2098] one of her many books such as The Solitary Summer, The Enchanted April, Father, Vera, The Caravaners

Judy wrote: "I thought it was the top 10 male, and top 10 female names in your country..."

So many countries don't have yearly data for that period it's not really fair to make it that specific. I've gone through the 1914 and 1924 lists for the UK and picked out a few names that are top 30 in both decades, so it's likely they were popular in 1923...but I'd be fine with using a different country's list. I did find a 1920's one for Japan when we were voting but now the google gods are being mean and I can't find it again.

The prompt wording doesn't even restrict it to be a top baby name for 1923, it could just be a name that crops up a lot in media from 1923? I try not to add any KIS options to listopias any more, but other people do, and I think there are many ways to interpret this.

Judy wrote: "Nike - of course! If Fredrik (Backman) is one of those names, please let us know

I'm sorry but no 🙂 - Fredrik is a much more modern name. But Stig was one of the most common names at that time so if you'd like to read the books about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (he spelt Stig in the most uncommon way, I've never seen it written like this by anyone else) that would be an alternative choice if you'd like to read something by a Swedish author. 🙂

I have so many unread John Grisham books on my shelf. Might do one of those

I read The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal this year which I loved and I would highly recommend if you enjoy scifi.

I'm choosing between a couple of Marys and a couple of Elizabeths:

Giant's Bread - Mary Westmacott
The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell
Missing Joseph (Inspector Lynley #6) - Elizabeth George
Sylvia's Lovers - Elizabeth Gaskell

My "just for fun" searches

Norwegian names
https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Norwe...

Danish names (slightly less accurate)
https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Danis...

Swedish names (ditto)
https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Swedi...

Indian
https://forebears.io/india/forenames/...

Colombia
https://forebears.io/colombia/forenam...

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Paper Towns by John Green
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Morrighan by Mary E. Pearson
The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler

I read In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers: The Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, and Years after the 9/11 Attacks by Don Brown

(Donald is #10 on the list of boys names)

I read The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi which was loads of nerdy fun.

I am reading Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore.

I read Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert. I highly recommend this book or her earlier book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History.

She writes essays about science topics that are entertaining, readable and timely. Some of the stories are almost humorous, many are about the unintended consequences that occur when man tries to play God.

I read ...And Ladies of the Club

I read Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah Richard Bach
This is a powerful short book

Name Richard is number 9 on US boys names popular in 1923

I am reading Ups and Downs by Mary Jane Staples. I enjoy the books by this author and luckily her name was extremely popular in 1923.

I read Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey (#10 girl's name in France in 1923).

How did I pick? I checked author's first names for books that weren't yet used for a prompt against the various lists in the first post of this thread. That's my usual strategy for at least the first half of the year/challenge: read whatever books I feel like reading and see which prompts they might fill. :-)

For this prompt, I read:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré - 3* - My Review

What are you reading for this one?
I read Surfeit of Suspects by George Bellairs

I read The Perfect Ending by Rob Kaufman. Robert was #2 on the list of names I looked at.

I read The Story of Arthur Truluv Elizabeth Berg

elizabeth is number 9 on US list

I read Heriot by Margaret Mahy, a New Zealand author. Margaret was the most popular female name in that country in 1923 and 4th popular in England and Wales.

This was a very good young adult fantasy - it reminded me a bit of Ursula Le Guin. Although it is set in a make believe fantasy land, the descriptions of the landscape and references to a first people in the country could be references to New Zealand.

For my multi-choice challenge, I also read Rumpole and the Primrose Path by John Mortimer. John was the most popular boys' name in England and Wales in 1923, when Mortimer was actually born. It's always a pleasure to read a Rumpole book; Mortimer keeps them light and very entertaining, but always with an eye on what's happening in the legal world.

Joy D wrote: "For this prompt, I read:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré - 3* - My Review"

I just feel like this is a missed opportunity for prompt #24! :)

For this one, I really wanted to read something authored by a Mildred, which was my mother's name. She was born around that time. Nothing tickled my fancy. But I just now noted one of my fellow challenge comadres read a novel by prolific author, Mildred D. Taylor, a young adult novelist, so I'm going to table something by her for another time.

Instead, I read the wholly satisfying The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips, an existentialist, Kafaesque take on the absurdity of life.

I read The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker. Nancy I think was 75th on the USA list and my mothers name so when I saw that I had a book by a Nancy on my TBR it seemed like a good choice even if it wasn't super high on the list of popular names.

Oddball by Sarah Andersen 3 stars.

I read The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts by Arthur Miller. "Arthur" was on the 19th place in the US list and it's either under top 15 or top 10 in other places so even if it's not strictly under top 10 in the author's own country, you get the idea that overall, Arthur was a popular enough name back then.



P S. I couldn't go for my own country for this prompt because I couldn't find any database regarding popular Indian names in 1923.

I read a short story collection called the Laws of Evening By Mary Yukari Waters. I didn't;t choose the author...I joined this challenge and late and looked at the books I had read in 2023 to find prompts they fit...and Mary was popular in 1923 (and forever)

I suddenly realised that I had missed Liechtenstein off my Reading around Europe plan, and so had to slot Stamping Grounds by Charlie Connelly into this prompt. Charles was a popular name in the USA and England and Wales in 1923 (5th and 14th) ; Charlie in the top 100.

Despite my total lack of interest in football, I enjoyed this book and was rooting for the team by the end. It was an interesting insight into the small country too.

GEORGE is on the 2023 list


Bettyville – George Hodgman – 4****
Hodgman, recently out of a job, moved back home to Missouri to help shepherd his mother along a path neither of them wanted to take. I found this tender and funny, heartbreaking and hopeful. There were times when I wanted to slap him (or Betty) upside the head and force one or both of them to face reality. There were times when I wanted to just wrap them in a blanket and give them little “now, now and there, there” comforting pats.
LINK to my full review

I (finally) picked up East of Eden by John Steinbeck for this prompt, mainly because I've been wanting to read it and couldn't easily fit it anywhere else. It's been a while since I've read Steinbeck, and so far it's not exactly what I was expecting, especially the diabolical origin story of Cathy...(insert flame emoji here).

This is what I’m planning to read for this prompt as well!

That’s funny. I have it planned for September for a different challenge- if a roll of the dice brings me to that spot on my game board. I’m on the space for Demon Copperhead now.

I read 10 books this year that fit this prompt (based on what I put on the listopia.) Some of them also fit other prompts.

Originally I was going to take advantage of this prompt to read a classic: East of Eden by John Steinbeck (at least I think it's a classic...). But when my library hold came up I found that I wasn't that interested in his writing style.

So instead I read Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl, which a friend had passed on to me a few years ago. It was enjoyable enough — a good palate cleanser if you had read something heavy or dark and needed to get out of that mood. I didn't really know much about Ruth Reichl, except that she is/was the food critic for the NYT (this was a memoir). WELL, she certainly had a more colorful life than I expected, at least her early life, as this one only goes until her early 30s. I have another of her books that the same friend gave me, but this one is fiction (Delicious!), so maybe I'll save this for when I need another palate cleanser.