Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Happy March! It's one of my favorite months of the year - Women's History Month (which means I read a ton of historical fiction), the Tournament of Books beginning, and spring!

Use this thread to share how you did in February, your plans for March, and discuss books you've read or are looking forward to reading!

Alright, I had some big goals in February but hit a bit of a rut and didn't quite make it to where I wanted to. But March! It's usually a pretty good reading month for me!

Here's my plans:

The Phoenix Crown - 10. A history or historical fiction book
Mercury - 11. A book with an X connection
The Vibrant Years - 12. A book that has been on your TBR for over a year
Exiles - 13. A book that is on a Five Books List

I also plan on reading The Women and The Frozen River for book club.

I chose Murder Road, Anita de Monte Laughs Last, and None of This Is True from BOTM, so I will read at least one of those.

And then my book club is reading Jesmyn Ward's memoir next month so I'd like to read at least one fiction book by her before then.

Eep. That's a lot of books!

Emily wrote: "Alright, I had some big goals in February but hit a bit of a rut and didn't quite make it to where I wanted to. But March! It's usually a pretty good reading month for me!

Here's my plans:

[book..."

I'm loving The Women right now! However, It is an emotionally roller coaster.

Yea that's what I'm hearing about a lot of my picks (The Women, The Frozen River, Jesmyn Ward's books), so I'm going to try to space them out a bit.

I did ok in February in finishing books but only 1 really exceptional one.

March reads:

FINISHING:
Demon Copperhead
Around the World in 80 Days
West With Giraffes
Braiding Sweetgrass
There , There

Working on:
Before We Were Yours
The Sun Also Rises
The Mists of Avalon

Year long project: Dear California ( it contains letters and journal entered in chronological order, I only read the ones that match the day e.g. today I will read "March 1")

Demon Copperhead is quite good but I'm not sure it's meeting the hype it had before I starting reading it. But that's how it always is with hyped up books, I think it will be a satisfying read in the end (I'm about 45% in)

West With Giraffes is a pleasant surprise. The writing is formulaic but the story is interesting and keeps me wondering what will happen next.

I read all books scheduled for February. In fact, I'm currently seven books ahead for the year, including two books scheduled for March.

Currently, I'm reading two:
-The Women by Kristin Hannah
-The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier

I am also reading ahead one from my April's selection:
-Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Although not begun, I will probably listen to an audiobook:
-Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

I'm also reading another book which I have not paired with a future: The Bird's Nest by Shirley Jackson. I hope to link it to one not already taken.

I finished four books in February:
- The Library Book (crime that's not murder)
- The Mysteries of Udolpho (Set in Mediterranean countries)
- The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of- Human Endurance (go for the gold)
- One, No One and One Hundred Thousand (number in title)

I'm currently still working on two more:
- Magpie Murders (cozy mystery)
- The Historian (related to night)

I didn't have a standout book this month like I did in January, but my most enjoyable read (listen, actually) was Rise of the Ultra Runners. I enjoy reading about people who push themselves to the brink of human endurance and I was happy to slot in a running book this year! I was also surprised how much I'm still thinking about Mysteries of Udolpho. It was a challenging brick of a book, but surprisingly readable for the era it was written in, and had some twists and I wasn't expecting, considering it established a lot of the gothic tropes we all know today.

My least favorite was One, No One, and One Hundred Thousand. It was mostly philosophical musings in the guise of a "novel", but little happens for the first half and much of the philosophy got repetitive rather quickly. I just wasn't in the mood for it.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping to finish up The Historian this weekend before my library checkout comes due. It's yet another big tome, and I was enjoying it for the first half but it's become increasingly longwinded and the vampire stuff doesn't really mesh with the long historical asides. The travel descriptions around Eastern Europe are probably the best part.

I'm not quite halfway into Magpie Murders, but I'm enjoying it more than expected. It's my commute audiobook, and it's a good sign when I'm looking forward to my daily commute due to a book!

I'm going to assess my mood going into my next reads. I had challenged myself to finally read Don Quixote this year, so if I get my motivation up I may start that, and then take some breaks between the sections to read other stuff. I also may tackle another fun crime/mystery for my next commute audiobook, and keep the lit fic and classics as my "armchair" reads.

I was lucky to get an ARC of The Women by Kristin Hannah, which was a great way to start February.

I finished 5 prompts, all with 2 books each, so I got a lot of books cleaned off my TBR shelves.

I'm looking forward to the books I have peeled out for March, but we'll have to see if I can keep up the pace I've set for myself because the weather here is starting to get nice enough for me to want to be outside with my horses!

My February was a slow reading month. I read five books though I originally aimed for 10. Those books were:
When Women Were Dragons - favorite
Get a Life, Chloe Brown
Who Moved My Cheese?
Fourth Wing - caused a reading slump
The Starless Sea

This March I plan to finish the five books I'm "currently reading":
1. The Winners
2. The Eye of the World
3. The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want
4. Flights of Fancy: Defying Gravity by Design and Evolution
5. Weyward
and to start and finish another 5 (which is ambitious, but let's aim high):
6. Spin the Dawn
7. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
8. The Shadow of the Wind
9. The Fury
10. The Atlantis Complex

February was a good reading month for me! I finished 9 books with 8 counting for the ATY challenge. My favorites were Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning and Diva.

In March, I plan to finish The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa. After that, I HOPE to read at least some of these books, realizing that this is a very ambitious list for me:

1. Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux
2. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
3. Crick Crack, Monkey by Merle Hodge
4. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
5. The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson
6. The White Darkness by David Grann
7. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Pam wrote: "February was a good reading month for me! I finished 9 books with 8 counting for the ATY challenge. My favorites were Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning and ..."

I recently just got Parable of the Sower but I'll be reading it later in the year (hopefully).

I finished 5 books in February.

The Name of the Rose
Dragons in the Waters
The End of Her
The Fisher Maiden
First Among Sequels

My plans for March are:

Meddling Kids (half done)
Nothing More to Tell (Karen Mc Manus - a Gen X author) - almost done
Something by William Golding that isn't Lord of the Flies
The Westing Game
And the next Skuldugery Pleasant book for my series book of the month.

I'm currently reading Husband and Wife by K. L. Slater. It's so good. I will likely finish that one today. I am also reading The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart. I am only one chapter in, but the first book was really good. Beyond that, I am not sure yet. Plenty in the TBR pile, so it won't be hard to figure out. :)

In a fit of apparent insanity, I put in 12 holds to the library, so other than my "required" reads (for monthly challenges) that's all I'll be reading. My library haul includes: The Witches of New York, Foundryside, A Dowry of Blood, Tress of the Emerald Sea, Our Share of Night, That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon, North Woods, A Memory Called Empire, The Library at Mount Char, Paladin's Strength, Lapvona, and my required reads are Hester and Winds of Strife

I completed my 52 books today - had a lovely time again, thanks!
Jazzy's Literary Tea PArTY 2024
52/52



☕1. A book with a title that ends in A, T or Y
West Side Story (1961) - 11/1/24 5🍰
☕2. A book connected to something you read in 2023
The Teeth of the Tiger (1920) - Maurice Leblanc 5/1/24 5🍰
☕ 3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the final list
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901) - Beatrix Potter A book that takes place in 24 hours 7/2/24 5🍰
☕4. A book related to something mentioned in the lyrics of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
What Maisie Knew (1897) - Henry James I hear babies cry/I watch them grow/They'll learn much more/Than i'll ever know 17/2/24 🍰

☕5. A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world
A Long Way From Home (2017) - Peter Carey Sydney 30/1/24 5🍰


☕ 6. A book with wings on the cover
The White Stag (1937) - Kate Seredy 5🍰
☕ 7. A book with a pronoun in the title
Our Man in Havana (1958) - Graham Greene 22/1/24 4🍰
☕ 8. A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
For the Patriarch (1982) - Angelo Loukakis 29/1/24 5🍰 Australian author
☕ 9. A book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads
Alexander's feast : or, The power of music : a song in honour of St. Cecilia, 1697 (1697) - John Dryden 16/1/24 5🍰


☕ 10. A history or historical fiction book
Scott, Shackleton, and Amundsen: ambition and tragedy in the Antarctic (2002) David Thomson 21/1/24 5🍰
☕ 11. A book with an X connection
A Scone to Die For (2016) - H.Y. Hanna Ex-lovers
☕ 12. A book that has been on your TBR for over a year
The Street of Crocodiles (1933) - Bruno Schulz 18/1/24 5🍰
☕ 13. A book that is on a Five Books List; reader’s choice of which list
Rebecca (1938) - Daphne du Maurier 4/2/24 5🍰


☕ 14. A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Colour
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010) - Rebecca Skloot 2/2/24 5🍰
☕15. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX)
The Mysterious Island (1874) - Jules Verne 25/1/24 5🍰
☕ 16. A book related to the phrase "It's Raining Cats and Dogs"
The Rabbi's Cat (2002) - Joann Sfar Pouring rain in Paris 7/2/24 5🍰
☕ 17. A book involving intelligence
The Underground Army: Fighters of the Bialystok Ghetto (1965) - Chaika Grossman 31/1/24 5🍰


☕ 18. A book with a botanical cover
A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery (1950) - Agatha Christie 9/1/24 5🍰
☕ 19. A book connected in some way to any of the flavours of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
The Sugar Queen (2008) - Sarah Addison Allen Sweet Like Sugar 4/2/24 3🍰
☕ 20. A book with a single word title
Mosaic (1998) - Diane Armstrong 16/1/24 55🍰
☕ 21. A book with a title containing 6+ words
The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (1997) - Tim Burton 31/1/24 5🍰
☕ 22. A book by an author from an African country
The Fellowship of the Ring (1954) - J.R.R. Tolkien Bloemfontein, Mangaung, Free State, South Africa 4/2/24 5🍰


☕ 23. A book related to Boats, Beaches, Bars, Ballads, or Jimmy Buffett
Lewis Sinclair and the Gentlemen Cowboys (2023) - D.M.S. Fick 17/2/24 5🍰
☕ 24. A book with a secondary color on the cover (orange, green or purple)
Romeo and Juliet (1597) - William Shakespeare 1/1/24 5🍰
☕ 25. A book involving a crime other than a murder
Arsène Lupin: The Island of the Thirty Coffins (1919) - Maurice Leblanc 2/3/24 5🍰
☕ 26. A book by an author known by their initials
Two Down, Bun to Go (2016) - H.Y. Hanna 10/2/24 5🍰


☕ 27. A book related to land
Arabian Sands (1959) - Wilfred Thesiger 27/1/24 5🍰
☕ 28. A book related to sea
The Mystery of Swordfish Reef (1939) - Arthur W. Upfield 13/2/24 5🍰
☕ 29. A book related to air
Five Weeks in a Balloon: A Journey of Discovery by Three Englishmen in Africa (1863) - Jules Verne 29/1/24 5🍰
☕ 30. A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea
Julia; or, the Italian lover. A tragedy. As it is acted at the Theatre-Royal, in Drury-Lane. By Robert Jephson, Esq. (1787) - Robert Jephson Italy 8/1/24 4🍰
☕ 31. A book related to “Going for the Gold”
The Golden Triangle (1917) - Maurice Leblanc 28/1/24 5🍰


☕ 32. A book with a number in the title
I Am a Cat: I (1910) - Natsume Sōseki 29/1/24 5🍰
☕ 33. A book involving travel
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979) - 3/2/24 5🍰
☕ 34. A book related to the name of one of Snow White's seven dwarfs
The Sleeper Awakes (1899) - H.G. Wells Sleepy 15/1/24 5🍰
☕ 35. A science or science fiction book
A Princess of Mars (1912) - Edgar Rice Burroughs 17/1/24 4🍰


☕ 36. A book featuring a character in education
Stoner (1965) - John Williams 5/1/24 5🍰
☕ 37. A book that is part of a series
Inspector Cadaver (1943) - Georges Simenon 19/1/24 5🍰 Inspector Maigret #24
☕ 38. Two books with similar covers: Book 1
Tasmanian Devil: A Unique and Threatened Animal (2005) - David Owen 3/3/24 5🍰
☕ 39. Two books with similar covers: Book 2
My Wonderful World Of Slapstick (1960) - Buster Keaton 7/3/24 5🍰


☕ 40. A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover
Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1919) - Edgar Rice Burroughs 6/1/24 4🍰
☕ 41. A book with a chilling atmosphere
The Two Towers (1954) - J.R.R. Tolkien 7/2/24 5🍰
☕ 42. A book with a sound-related word in the title
K-Pop Now!: The Korean Music Revolution (2014) - Mark James Russell 3/2/24 4🍰
☕43. A book by an Edgar Award-winning Author
The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) - Agatha Christie 30/1/24 5🍰
☕ 44. A book with a touch of magic
Roadside Picnic (1972) - Arkady Strugatsky 27/1/24 5🍰


☕ 45. A book that is not a novel
When Poems Fall From the Sky (2022) - Zaro Weil 28/1/24 5🍰
☕ 46. A book related to night
Counting Stars (2000) - David Almond 29/1/24 5🍰
☕ 47. A book with a two-word title beginning with THE
The Hobbit (1937) - J.R.R. Tolkien 2/2/24 5🍰
☕ 48. A second book that fits your favourite prompt
West Side Story (2021) - Tony Kushner A book with a title that ends in A, T or Y 11/1/24 5🍰


☕ 49. A book with an OAP character
Tea with Milk and Murder (2016) - H.Y. Hanna "The Old Biddies" 6/2/24 5🍰
☕ 50. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2023 or 2024
All Creatures Great and Small (1972) - James Herriot 13/1/24 5🍰
☕ 51. A book published in 2024
Dancing on the Edge: A Journey of Living, Loving, and Tumbling through Hollywood (2024) - Russ Tamblyn 28/2/24 5🍰
52. A cozy mystery
All-Butter ShortDead (2016) - H.Y. Hanna 10/1/24 5🍰

Congratulations, Jazzy!

Yes, congratulations! And wow, talk about speedy!

Congratulations Jazzy…. If I hadn't read your list , I would never have known that Tolkien was born in Africa… I may use that! Thanks.

Many thanks Kathy, Joanna, and Lizzie!!

There's a show about Tolkien on Disney+ which was quite good too!

It is March 9th and I have yet to complete a book in March. Bleh! I've been in a slump since the read-a-thon last month, but I'm hoping to get some good reading in today.

Emily wrote: "It is March 9th and I have yet to complete a book in March. Bleh! I've been in a slump since the read-a-thon last month, but I'm hoping to get some good reading in today."

You do have a toddler now, I was lucky to get through a magazine article at that point!

Haha I appreciate that! And you're not wrong!

I finished The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Jamie Cheng last night and it was excellent! A good historical fiction about a time period I haven't read much about.

My "baby" turns 6 next month and I *still* have days where I can barely read an article! lol

I also haven't done much reading this month, but I caught a cold and that just kills what little energy I do have! I think I'm mostly over it and hope to make some progress this week.

Jennifer W wrote: "My "baby" turns 6 next month and I *still* have days where I can barely read an article! lol

I also haven't done much reading this month, but I caught a cold and that just kills what little energy..."

Hope you get well soon, Jennifer!

Thank you, Bana!

Jennifer W wrote: "My "baby" turns 6 next month and I *still* have days where I can barely read an article! lol

I also haven't done much reading this month, but I caught a cold and that just kills what little energy..."

Yes, I remember those days! I still refer to my youngest as my "baby" and he'll be turning 24 late this spring.

Karin wrote: "Yes, I remember those days! I still refer to my youngest as my "baby" and he'll be turning 24 late this spring."

My mom died when I was 48, and she still called me her baby. <3 I think it's always that way with us moms! :)

I have recently6 discovered author Percival Everrett... Just finished JAMES... an AMAZING retelling of Huck Finn... from Jim's perspective. Highly recommend.

Debbie wrote: "I have recently6 discovered author Percival Everrett... Just finished JAMES... an AMAZING retelling of Huck Finn... from Jim's perspective. Highly recommend."

I'm planning to read his book Erasure, which is the source material for the movie American Fiction. Excellent movie, looking forward to the book

Debbie wrote: "I have recently6 discovered author Percival Everrett... Just finished JAMES... an AMAZING retelling of Huck Finn... from Jim's perspective. Highly recommend."

I just got it from the library. So excited to read it!