Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Ready for another year of reading! This year I'm not going to post a detailed plan (with ideas) since I never stick with it. Maybe just 1-2 possibilities per prompt. My personal goals are:
1. Read books I own, especially LONG ones!
2. 5 books from the Are You Well Read in World Lit? list (post #4)
3. 5 books from the 2024 Booker Prize or International Booker Longlists (post #5)
4. 3 Nobel Laureates (post #6)

ATY Prompts
Goal: 30 (Reduced # since plan is to read doorstops.)
*= Priority prompts (30)

✅- Finished
R - Currently reading

1. A book with a cover that has an image of something that starts with A, T, or Y
✅2. A prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list
- Revolution, Revolt or rebellion
The Iron Heel by Jack London Fin: Jan 11 (2.5 stars)
3. A book connected to something mentioned in the Do Re Mi song
*4. A book set underground, under sea or in an underworld
- The Island of Sea Women
- Playground by Richard Powers
✅5. A book with a weird or intriguing title
Question 7 by Richard Flanagan Fin: 1/12 (4.75 stars)
6. A book with a serpentine element on the cover
*7. A book by an author that uses 3 names
Tan Twan Eng
Mario Vargas Llosa
*8. A collection of short stories or novellas, essays, poetry, or a mix of various brief writings
- The Wandering Earth by Liu Cixin
✅9. A book that has been long-listed for the Tournament of Books in any year
James by Percival Everett (Jan 4.5 stars)

10. A book about witches, goddesses or nuns
11. A book set in a fictional location

12. A book by an Irish author
*Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
13. A book involving a "group" with at least 4 members that's not a family

14. A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman
Orbital by Samantha Harvey

15. A book of secrets, lies, or deception
*16. A book that fits a prompt from the 2016 ATY list
- Beautiful Title
- Beautiful cover
- Seen the movie but haven't read the book
- First name in title
- Mentioned in another book
- About a major world event
R*17. A history or historical fiction book set prior to 1925
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
18. A book set primarily in nature

✅19. A book with a cover that has a building or cityscape
The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz
*20. A book with an animal, vegetable (plant), or mineral in the title
- Horse: Out Stealing Horses, Horse, All the Pretty Horses,
Bird: The Obscene Bird of Night
- Cat: My Cat Yugoslavia
- Dog: Heart of a Dog, A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World
*21. A book connected in some way to any collective noun for animals
- Pod by Laline Paull
*22. A translated novel from Asia
- Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong
23. A book that involves art, music, dancing or acting

✅24. A book with a main character who is a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, or a criminal
- Merlin's Tour of the Universe: A Traveler's Guide to Blue Moons and Black Holes, Mars, Stars, and Everything Far by Neil deGrasse Tyson (brain)
*25. A book with waves on the cover
*26. A book by an author with a common noun in their name
- Barbara Kingsolver
*27. A book set in the winter

✅28. Two books with a pair of opposites in their titles: Book 1
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Fin: 1/4 (4 stars)
*29. Two books with a pair of opposites in their titles: Book 2
*30. A monster book
Shōgun: Part Two by James Clavell
*31. A book with a coastal setting

✅32. A mystery or true crime book
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
*33. A book by an author you enjoyed but haven't gotten around to reading again for some time
- The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
34. A book title that could be a country song
- After the Fireworks by Aldous Huxley
- Lost on Me by Veronica Raimo

*35. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists
- Mater 2-10
- The Secret of Cooking: Recipes for an Easier Life in the Kitchen
- North Woods
*36. A book with a common household object on the cover
- My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
*37. A book featuring adult friendships
*38. Two books with a connection from different genres: Book 1
- The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serhii Plokhy
*39. Two books with a connection from different genres: Book 2
- The Bickford Fuse or The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov
✅40. A book you'd consider a comfort read
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
41. A book that involves digging up the past
42. A book set in a manor, mansion, or estate
*43. A book whose title has ten or fewer letters
- Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov
✅44. A haunting book
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
✅45. A book by an author whose publishing career spans at least ten years
Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon
46. A book related to one of the traditional full moon names
- Buck moon: The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
47. A book relating to fire
- There Will Be Fire: Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, and Two Minutes That Changed History by Rory Carroll
48. A book with a character dealing with death

49. A book that deals with time travel, alternate universes, or alternate timelines
✅50. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2024 or 2025
Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy
*51. A book published in 2025
*52. A book with a sunset vibe on the cover
- Whitehorn's Windmill by Kazys Boruta
- Dreams Of My Russian Summers by Andreï Makine

Anniversary Prompts

1. 2016: A book originally written in a language other than English:
✅2. 2017: A book whose title doesn’t contain the letter “E”:
Day of the Moron by H. Beam Piper Fin: 1/5 (1.5 stars)
3. 2018: An author’s debut book:
4. 2019: A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elements:
5. 2020: A book with an emotion in the title:
6. 2021: A book related to a code word from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet:
7. 2022: A book that uses all 5 vowels in the title and/or author’s name:
8. 2023: A book whose author has published more than 7 books:
9. 2024: A book that has been in your TBR for over a year:
10. 2025: A book involving a "group" with at least 4 members that's not a family

Continuing a personal challenge that I started in 2022 to read at least 5 books every year from the Are You Well Read in World Lit? list. My challenge ends when there are no more books on the list that I am interested in or if I can't find them.

1. The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz
2.
3.
4.
5.

My top choices:

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Waiting for the Dark, Waiting for the Light by Ivan Klíma
Whitehorn's Windmill by Kazys Boruta
Independent People by Halldór Laxness
Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng
Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov
My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

New personal challenge:
Read 3 books from the 2024 Booker Prize or International Booker Longlists. I only read 1 in 2024 so I have 25 to choose from.

Read: 1/3
✅- Read
*- Currently reading

Booker
Wild Horses
Headshot
✅James
Orbital
Creation Lake
My Friends
This Strange Eventful History
Held
Wandering Stars
Enlightenment
Playground
The Safekeep
Stone Yard Devotional

Booker International
Kairos
Not a River
The Details
*Mater 2-10
What I'd Rather Not Think About
The Silver Bone
Simpatia
Undiscovered
White Nights
The House on Via Gemito
A Dictator Called Ismail
Lost on Me

2nd new personal challenge:
Read 3 Nobel Laureates - 1/3

1, Kazuo Ishiguro (2017)
Never Let Me Go
2. László Krasznahorkai (2025)
The Last Wolf / Herman - I only read Wolf.
3.

My list is off-line but here are my top choices:

Anatole France (1921)
Thomas Mann (1929)
Herman Hesse (1946)
Halldor Laxness (1955)
Saul Bellow (1976)
Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1982)
Tonie Morrison (1993)
Kenzaburo Oe (1994)
Gunter Grass (1999)
Orhan Pamuk (2006)
Doris Lessing (2007)
Herta Muller (2009)
Mario Vargas Llosa (2010)
Mo Yan (2012)
Alice Munro (2013)
Patrick Modiano (2014)
Svetlana ALexievich (2015)
Olga Tokarczuk (2018) - The Books of Jacob
Peter Handke (2019)
Annie Ernaux (2022)
Jon Fosse (2023)
Han Kang (2024) - Greek Lessons
László Krasznahorkai (2025)

Reserved

Options for #2 Prompt that didn't make the list

1. A book with a tv or film adaptation
2. A book with illustrations
3. A book where you hope or expect to learn something new
4. A book published in a quarter-century year (e.g. 1925, 1950, 1975, 2000, 2025)
5. A book set in a nation, territory, or commonwealth whose predominant language is Spanish
6. A book that breaks the fourth wall
7. A book with food as a major theme or plot device
8. A children's book that is somehow related to a book you are reading this year
9. A book that includes a challenge to the health of the planet
10. A book with a main character who is an outsider
11. A book that is the last in its series
12. A book that was a finalist, runner-up, or winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
13. A book that plays with perceptions of reality
14. A book involving a politician or an election
15. A satire, comedy, or humorous book
16. A book connected to a place you’ve lived in
17. A book whose cover looks like a collage
18. A book with a title that is only a name or nickname
19. A winner or nominee from GR choice awards 2024
20. A book involving serendipity
21. A book set during or about a revolution, revolt or rebellion

reserved for who knows what!

I decided to make some changes after realizing how unrealistic my goals were! I still want some specific goals but want to focus on finishing those long books that I own and never get around to reading. For that reason, I'm going to set a goal of 30 ATY prompts. I'm not sure about the Anniversary prompts but will leave them in my plan.

I've finished 3 books plus 1 for the Anniversary list. Now, I'm going to start reading War and Peace. I hope to squeeze in some other shorter reads while working on this long one (over 1,300 pages) which will likely take me 2-3 months.

I haven't updated my plan since I'm frequently switching books between prompts. I think I'm 4 books behind but should finish Shogun today or tomorrow. I will focus on some shorter books in the upcoming months and try to catch up.

I plan to read a book by Mario Vargas Llosa this year for my Nobel Laureate challenge. I own several of his books but haven't decided on one. If anyone is familiar with his works, do you have a recommendation?

i just need 1 more to finish my 3 Nobel Laureates challenge, maybe something short like Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon?