Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Use this thread to discuss books you read in September, books you're hoping to read in October, and anything you loved and want to discuss!

I haven't planned my monthly reads in a while, and I think that's (one reason) why September was such a low reading month for me. So here's a tentative October plan:

BOTM: The Unmaking of June Farrow
Book Club Pick: I Have Some Questions for You
Library Books: Still Life, The Celebrants
Borrowed Books: As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, The Secret Book of Flora Lea

Other possibilities:
Birnam Wood
The Vaster Wilds
All My Rage
The Librarian Spy
Weyward

I have a plan, but it's all subject to library availability.

Focused prompt of the month - A book with a full name in the title - Daisy Darker
A series - still reading City of Heavenly Fire
Want to read Like a Charm
A spooky book - The Final Girl Support Group
A random book - The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life (It was due back at the library August 25, so any day now - insert eye roll)

I have 4.5 books to finish for the ATY challenge and I'm hoping I can finish by mid-November or earlier with these books:

1. This Other Eden (Pub in 2023) - 1/2 finished
2. The Passenger (Lit Map - input Larry McMurtry) or
Station Eleven for an October library book club meeting. (Lit map - input Anthony Doerr).
3. The Chilli Bean Paste Clan or Strange Beasts of China (audiobook) by Yan Ge (Asian diaspora author)
4. The Traitors' Gate (Con, deception, or fake)
5. Lenin's Kisses Yan Lianke (character with a disability)

I also checked out Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas which I will probably read a few chapters but not the whole thing. DNA and genetics is a field I'm very interested in.

Becoming Leidah is the debut novel by Canadian author Michelle Grierson. Set in 19th Century Norway it has selkies, witch trials, Nordic legends and Celtic mythology. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

For once, I'm actually a little bit ahead, which is amazing, but I'm going to try to stay ahead so that I can finish on time or maybe a little early. I just finished The Thirteenth Tale which I liked but didn't love. I'm going to lean into the October spirit and read some mystery books next.

This month I am planning on reading the Poppy War trilogy, Firekeeper's Daughter, Rose Madder (my monthly Stephen King book), Sistersong (which I started but put aside so I could read Children of Blood and Bone with my daughter), Wicked as She Wants (which I have also started, but I can't find! Gah! So frustrating!), and who knows what else. :)

Ooooh I loved Firekeeper's Daughter!

Emily wrote: "Ooooh I loved Firekeeper's Daughter!"

Great! I haven't heard much about it, so I'm glad to hear from people who liked it. :)

I've never participated in these reading discussions because I rarely have a plan each month. My reading is generally dictated by library availability, mood, and IRL book club assignment.

I have a tiny bit of planning this month though:

1) Finish A People's Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers - an ebook I bought a while ago and have been reading in between other books, as it is a collection of short stories. I haven't read it "through", one - because I tire of too many short stories in a row, and two - because some of them are darker or a little hard to understand, so I need a break. But it's time to finish it, so that is first to be done this month. Using this for "3 Different Centuries" Multi-week prompt, as "Future".

2) It was my turn to choose this month in my IRL book club, and I chose a slightly longer book than we normally read, so this will be next to make sure I'm done in time: Greenwood (paperback edition with tree rings). Using this for "A book where the cover design includes text that is not completely horizontal", which was my suggestion as prompt also, so having book choice and prompt choice together is a nice set!

3) I never choose reads based on season, but since I have two books that fit nicely with Halloween I figured I might as well try it. I'll read either The Library at Mount Char (my first horror book), or The Historian (dracula related).

I'm currently reading The Terror, a fictionalized account of an expedition to attempt to locate the Northwest passage that lost two ships in the ice. I'm mentioning it here though because while I'm not reading it for a challenge prompt, it struck me while reading that it would be absolutely perfect for next year's chilling atmosphere. Unfortunately I was too far in at that point to decide to hold off! But I'd recommend it, especially for anyone with an interest in expeditions / naval history / supernatural stalking monsters. Warnings for excessive gore and length (700+ pages) but I'm very much enjoying it.

I got distracted by some other options on my last library visit and took out some non-prompt books, but I hope to get back to finish up what I have left later this month.

The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story as the title suggests is a memoir by North Korean defector Hyeonseo Lee. It is a gripping read that tells the story of the difficulties of life in North Korea, of the terrifying ordeal of escape and the adjustment to life outside the regime. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ here is my review

Joanna wrote: "I'm currently reading The Terror, a fictionalized account of an expedition to attempt to locate the Northwest passage that lost two ships in the ice. I'm mentioning it here though becau..."

I read his sci-fi books decades ago, and have had another one of his non-fiction books in my tbr for ages (it’s related to Custer and S Dakota…?). Terror is high on my list for next year because the arctic and the NW passage are favourite topics of mine. I am daunted by its length. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.

I’m working my way through The Plague of Doves for the “object that’s repeated on the cover” prompt. I’ve been meaning to read an Erdrich book, and I am really enjoying her writing. I seek out books by Indigenous writers, so that’s why I’ve wanted to read something of hers.

I needed a break from a heavy chapter in that book, and picked up A Time of Light and Shadow: To Asia, Africa, and the Long Way Home … it took forever to find something “light” related that I actually wanted to read, and this one is ok so far. It’s a pretty typical single female travel memoir, but she’s a nurse who ends up working for the Red Cross, so it’s a mix of her falling for foreign men and then working in war zone and poverty-stricken places.

While looking for “a light book” I came across What Light Can Do: Essays on Art, Imagination, and the Natural World that I plan to use for the arts prompt.

I read Mammoths at the Gates last night. Hooooo boy does it pack a punch. Only 120 pages and it made me stop and savor a passage more than once AND made me cry.

If you like light-fantasy or books about the importance of stories, I HIGHLY recommend picking up the Singing Hills Cycle books. They're all novellas and they don't need to be read in order.

I love the Singing Hills cycle!!

My aim for the rest of October is to get to 110 books read this year. I'll be happy with that, if nothing else! Here are my loose plans:

1: Something Spectacular by Alexis Hall (Currently reading)
2: Off Base by Annabeth Albert
3: The Lady's Scandalous Night by Jeannie Lin
4: At Attention by Annabeth Albert
5: The Hermit of Eyton Forest by Ellis Peters
6: On Point by Annabeth Albert
7: The Lord I Left by Scarlett Peckham
8: Wheels Up by Annabeth Albert

I just finished my first of the year - As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow - and it was devastating. Heartbreaking. Oof.

I'll be looking for some fluffier books going forward!

@Joanna, I enjoyed Terror when I read it a few years ago. It didn't feel long when reading it, as the story was so well told.

I am listening to the last book in the Silo Series by Hugh Howey, Dust.

I was able to borrow Never Whistle in the Dark from the library. It is a dark anthology by Native Americans. I am almost done. It is like all collections of short stories. Some are good, some are okay, and some are amazing. I will be adding a few new authors to my TBR.

I will be rereading Killers of a Flower Moon for IRL book club. This time, it will be in written format instead of audio. I want to make some notes. I am looking forward to watching the movie.

Anastasia wrote: "@Joanna, I enjoyed Terror when I read it a few years ago. It didn't feel long when reading it, as the story was so well told."

My library has close to 100 requests for Terror! It made me think it was a new release! I had to check after your saying “a few years ago.”

@MJ LOL, I am glad it is gaining popularity again.

Anastasia wrote: "@MJ LOL, I am glad it is gaining popularity again."

Please laugh harder now. My bad, it’s The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder that I’m thinking about. Not even the same author!! It’s been a pretty stressful few weeks and it’s getting to me!

@MJ, I just added it to my TBR. I have read 2 books by that author and liked both.

Anastasia wrote: "@MJ, I just added it to my TBR. I have read 2 books by that author and liked both."

I have five of his books on my tbr. I’d better get to it!

I think the goodreads unread topics glitch may be fixed? Crossing my fingers because that was driving me nuts!

Sameeeee. I kept checking threads over and over expecting to see new posts.

Bulls Island – Dorothea Benton Frank – 1*
Boring melodrama, with a weak plot and unbelievable characters. Frank seemed to throw in every idea from unwanted pregnancy to long-lost lovers, to alcohol and drug abuse, to environmental terrorists. Oh, and a mysterious New Jersey Mafia type she seemed to not know what to do with once she had written him into the story. The audio performers kept me sufficiently entertained to keep listening, but I’ve already forgotten it.
LINK to my full review

September wasn't a good book month. let's look forward to October:

I finished the cat Who Saved Books ad Killers of the Flower Moon, both good books.

I am going to read:
Before We Were Yours
The Midnight Library (reread)
The Parable of the Talents
Hamnet
Yellowface

I think I will be able to finish the ATY52 challenge this month! I finished a book published in 2023 This Other Eden by Paul Harding (and highly recommend it) and Psycho by Robert Bloch (con, deception, or fake). I’m almost finished with The Chilli Bean Paste Clan by Yan Ge (Asian diaspora author) and Fall Down 7 Times Get up 8 by Naoki Higashida (person with a disability - autism). My last prompt is the Lit-Map and I’m planning to read Sweetland by Canadian author Michael Crummey, after inputting Richard Wagamese.

At this point I've got five prompts left to fill! I'm not planning on reading more for the challenge this month; I want to read some mysteries and spooky books in October and I have already read a couple of challenge books for this month. My plans are:
A book by an author from continental Europe: Cathedral of the Sea
A book set in a UNESCO City of Literature: Our Last Days in Barcelona
A book by an author with a first name popular in 1923: Kantika
The above three are because we are hoping to travel to Spain in November so I'm planning to read these books by the end of November.
For December:
A book found by inputting a favorite author on https://www.literature-map.com A Marvellous Light
A book published in 2023 Menewood

I was eagerly looking for the Best Books of October thread, but of course it's too soon. But one will definitely be The Running Grave, latest in the Cormoran Strike series. I don't care what controversial things the author, who is J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith, says or does, as long as she keeps writing this series. It is totally engaging. I stayed up several nights listening to the excellent audiobook. I usually stay away from darker themes but I care so much about the characters here that I am willing to go anywhere with them.

When I was younger, I used to get so engrossed in books that it was hard to stop thinking about them when I finished. I guess that is what people call a "book hangover". It doesn't happen often now but that's how I feel after this one.

A friend has just bought this book and will lend it to me later, so I should get it in December. I'm strengthening my wrist in preparation for holding it (but also looking forward to the read)!

The War That Saved My Life – Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – 5*****
Ten-year-old Ada lives in a one-room apartment with her mother and younger brother. Ada, however, has never left the apartment. She has a club foot and her mother doesn’t want anyone to see Ada. So, she sits at her window and watches the neighbors. She has no friends. She’s never attended school. Still, when her brother Jamie, reports that the children of London are to be sent to the country due to the war with Germany, Ada makes up her mind to go with him. This is a marvelous story of courage and tenacity. Bradly doesn’t sugarcoat the difficulties Ada faces, from her abusive mother, to her ignorance of things we take for granted, to the anger and fear that sometimes overwhelm her. But Ada is a very strong girl. And with perseverance, she will overcome the poor start she’s had in life.
LINK to my full review

Book Concierge wrote: "

The War That Saved My Life
– Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – 5*****
Ten-year-old Ada lives in a one-room apartment with her mother and younger broth..."

This one and the sequel are outstanding on audio. Not just for kids.

I'm feeling a bit anxious with my reading at the moment as I have lots of ARC's to read (my fault - requested a lot on Netgalley and then some authors I ARC for put out some 'next int he series' book I couldn't say no to.

I've finished the 2 challenges i've done this year (this one and the A-Z in the Aussie readers group) so means I'm open to read whatever I like...
So far in October I've finished:
Kindle
*Chosen Wolf: Iron Beast Pack - ARC
*The Boyfriend Candidate - ARC
*Life Ghost On - ARC

Audio
*One Last Stop
*Fourth Wing

I'm planning to get through
*Vendetta - ARC - currently reading
*Boy Swallows Universe - currently listening
*Off the Hook - ARC
*Talk to the Heart - ARC
*The Mystery Guest - ARC

And hoping to get to:
*Encore: A Dark Gang Romance - ARC
*Down For The Word Count: - ARC
*Notes on a Murder - ARC

That's impressive, Bec! I have trouble reading ARCs unless they are books I'm already interested in reading. Getting into NetGalley might be my retirement hobby, but right now I don't have enough time to read the books I want to read AND new releases I haven't heard of.

I commented earlier, but I have actual plans for the rest of the month, so I'm updating again.

I'm currently 100 pages from the end of Looking Glass Sound and oh my goodness. I'm like the math woman meme in the best way possible. I'm loving it.

This weekend I'm going to read Rouge because it's Mona Awad and my FOMO is real.

After that, I'm traveling for a week, so I'll only have my kindle with me. I have a bunch of stuff to choose from, but given the season I'll probably read A Song for the Void and The Housemaid.

And at the end of the month I have two anthologies that I want to read: Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology and Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror.

Emily wrote: "That's impressive, Bec! I have trouble reading ARCs unless they are books I'm already interested in reading. Getting into NetGalley might be my retirement hobby, but right now I don't have enough t..."

Some of these ARCs are books I really wanted to read - so not books I hadn't heard of. The one I just finished yesterday for example was third in the series and I loved the first 2, and I'm currently reading The Mystery Guest, which is the sequel to The Maid which I loved.
Off the Hook is a brand new series from an author whose previous series I loved so pretty excited for that one and Encore: A Dark Gang Romance is the fifth book in a series - again one I really enjoyed. Down For The Word Count: is the third in a series.
Hmm, lots of series.
Basically what I'm saying as these are books I do really want to read and getting them early and for free is a bonus! I just requested a few too many from Netgalley at the same time not realising there were some exicing ones from authors coming out too.

I'm not too fussed about reading the 'hyped' new relesases (although I just finished Fourth Wing and loved it), so quite enjoy the ARCs. I really like it when I see one of the ARCs I've read in a book shop!

Bec wrote: "Basically what I'm saying as these are books I do really want to read and getting them early and for free is a bonus! I just requested a few too many from Netgalley at the same time...."

I only request things I am excited to read too. I just got my ratio up to 80% so that's a big incentive for me to not go overboard.

@Pam, that is great. I am cheering you on.

@Amanda I just finished Never Whistle in the Dark. There are some really good stories. I was disappointed that a few of the authors don't have other books out.

Thank you Anastasia! I actually finished the challenge a few days ago! The only change I made to my last few reads was to read The Tiger Risingby Kate DiCamillo for the Lit-Map prompt. I’ve never read any of her books. Her most well-known ones are Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux. I haven’t seen the movies either!

I’ve never finished this early so now I don’t know what to read! 🤷‍♀️ I have challenges to finish in other groups but am not super motivated. I am listening to Hercules Poirot’s Christmas BBC Radio full cast dramatization and borrowed The October Country by Ray Bradbury (audiobook). I also have several Latin American classics that I haven’t finished so I may try to finish a collection of short stories or 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez. I put The End of the Alphabet by Canadian Author C. S. Richardson on hold at the library and it’s in transit so that may be up next.

That's why I'm reading in order next year, Pam. I've not had fun trying to figure out what to read since I finished the challenge back in August!

I have a little less than 2 hours left on Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson which will complete my 2023 ATY challenge, but I’m not ready to be done.

Next year will be the first time, I have preplanned books to read for this challenge. (I have failed at reading preplanned books in other challenges). I’m have so much fun and I’m using it to help pick which books to ready until the start of the year.

I figured I should pick something long so I started Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King and Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. I have a few other books going but mainly reread audiobooks to fall asleep to.

Oooh what do you think of Tress? A friend recommended it to me and I just got it from the library.

Emily wrote: "Oooh what do you think of Tress? A friend recommended it to me and I just got it from the library."

This is not addressed to me but I really, really liked Tress! If I didn't read A Man Called Ove in the same month, Tress would be my favorite of the month. It's fun and has a really interesting world.

Emily wrote: "Oooh what do you think of Tress? A friend recommended it to me and I just got it from the library."

Have you read other books by Sanderson? There are somethings that tie into his Mistborn and Stormlight Archive series. I don’t think, you have to have read them, but it definitely adds to the book. It is a whimsical fantasy. I really like it, but I can other people not enjoying it as much as I do.

No, I've never read anything by him. I'll keep y'all posted when I do read it!

@Pam, have you read Bradbury's "Illustrated Man"? It gave me some delightful chills that are perfect for a fall read.