Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

What's that lurking under your bed? Hiding in the shadows of your to-read list? Haunting your dreams? It's a monster book!!!

There's many ways to approach this one and creative interpretations are always welcome. You could go with a book featuring monsters like zombies, werewolves, the creature from the black lagoon, etc. You could read true crime about real life monsters. You could go for a more metaphorical monster book and read a book that's extra long or a classic that you find intimidating.

Some links to get you started:
Best Monster Books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Sea Monster Books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...
Big Fat Books Worth the Effort https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Best True Crime https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

What monster book are you reading for this prompt?

I read Relic last year and loved it. This prompt is perfect for the second book in the series. I'm excited to read this book.

Reliquary by Douglas Preston

I've been meaning to read The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill ever since I read and loved When Women Were Dragons two years ago! With a Swamp Monster named Glerk, this prompt is the motivator I need to finally read it.

I plan to read Let the Right One In by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. I’ve seen both the Swedish and the American movies.

I have a ton of vampire books and a few ghost books, so I'm definitely going with that definition of monster.

I'm reading Whale Fall for a book with a monster sized animal, and Black Water, where a character is haunted by a monstrous act.

I'll be reading a long novel. My first choice is The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (998p) because I'm reading it in my classics group in 2025.

A couple more choices:
I Know This Much Is True - Wally Lamb (912p)
Daniel Deronda - George Eliot (850p)

I'm going to read The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith.

I have the paperback of this, it's 1,012 pages long, almost three inches thick and weighs over two and a half pounds. It's physically a monster!

I used to love the Strike books, I wasn't that keen on the last one and I'd heard bad things about this one so I wasn't sure about continuing the series, but I couldn't resist when I saw it for a dollar in a charity shop two years ago. Since then it's been lurking on my shelves, taunting me with its unreadability, so it's going to feel like vanquishing a monster when I read it and then send it back to the charity shop :)

I had to actually rest my arm on the arm of a sofa while reading this. I couldn't hold it any other way. I think the next book in the series is a bit shorter, and better, but it makes sense to read them in order.

I prefer the TV adaptations which cut out a lot of verbiage.

Good luck!!

Pam wrote: "I plan to read Let the Right One In by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. I’ve seen both the Swedish and the American movies."

I loved this book and wish I could read it for the first time again.

Lindsey - That’s good to hear! I hope I still enjoy it, even though I know how it ends. That’s my problem with reading a book after seeing the movie.

I might start the challenge with this promt because it´s the one I don´t look forward to. Still in the look for a book that fits it...

Tell me I am not the only one who sees this prompt and immediately thinks, "Monster Book of Monsters"? :)

With all the fantasy I read, I will likely pick a book about an actual monster. I do have a couple of true crime books though, so I might go with a human monster.

I have a couple very long books that I’ve put off reading, and this prompt will give me a little added push to get to one or more of them.

An Echo in the Bone
The Covenant of Water

I just bought A Cosmology of Monsters. I'm assuming that would work.

This is one prompt I’m using to push myself and finally tackling Jerusalem which is described as Alan Moore’s love letter to Northampton. It’s 1266 pages and over a million words plus it contains some actual monsters.

Joyce wrote: "This is one prompt I’m using to push myself and finally tackling Jerusalem which is described as Alan Moore’s love letter to Northampton. It’s 1266 pages and over a mi..."

Oh dear, published in 2016, which is my theme - you might have convinced me to read it. Obviously, will have to start in January!

I’m going to read Ducks, Newburyport
At 1020 pages it’s a monster of a book

I took this one literally and read The Monsters in our Shadows by Edward J. Cembal.

I read House of Gucci: A True Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed

Obviously as true crime the murderer is a monster. The whole book was a story of a family of greed who behaved deplorably towards one another But it is also a large 544 pages that could probably have been condensed to about 200

I decided to go with a monster for this one. I am reading Black by Catherine Winters. It is an urban fantasy with vampires.

For this prompt, I decided to read a metaphorical monster of a book - this on is 1,169 pages:
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset - 4* -My Review

Read that book about 45 years ago and have never forgotten it.

I actually read what I said back in October, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I'm glad I read the book but it was long and difficult. 998 pages

I was planning to go with the hefty metaphorical "monster" of Don Quixote originally, but I just got back from a beach vacation and picked up Jaws to read on the flight home (not before/during!). Yes, I suppose it could be a "coastal setting" book, but I just like how well it fits this category. I'm sure I can fit DQ elsewhere (adult friendships??), if only I can get the energy to start it after far too long...

My full review of Jaws can be found here.

I'm considering When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

I read So Thirsty a vampire book. It was odd it kind of felt silly. It just didn't feel like it was a horror book but more a contemporary book about finding yourself built around vampires.

I read This Charming Man, which had 885 pages, and contained a character that was a monster in his dealings with women. I thought it could have been shorter! but that would have meant losing the light relief character, who I thought was necessary.

I also read Lovecraft Country, which had actual monsters inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and some monstrous characters - it is set at the time of the Jim Crow laws. I was most scared by the actions of some of the law enforcers....

I just picked up a copy of The Kraken Wakes for this. My other choice is The Lost World.

I hate zombies, but I really enjoyed Hollow Kingdom a few years ago. I just read the sequel Feral Creatures, which is very fun. It’s unlike anything else I’ve read. Narrated by a crow.

I read:
Monster: A Novel of Frankenstein by Dave Zeltserman

REJECT: A Gothic book

Finished: 05/07/2025
Rating: 5 stars

I don't usually read "horror" or "gothic" books, but this one was outstanding! I could not put it down. A retelling of Frankenstein from the monster's point of view.

I read 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King for this topic (Read June 6th; 4*) The vampires featuring in this book are often referred to as monsters

I've used Someone You Can Build a Nest In, by John Wiswell here. Cozy horror, if you can believe such a thing exists. The MC is actually a shapeshifting monster.

I read Circe.

I read Golden Child by Claire Adam. The book asks the question "If you had to choose between one of your two children, would you? Could you?" And that's not even the "monster" in the story...

Hi All,
I am reading Onyx Storm as my hold finally came in from the library. Do you think this would qualify as a monster book? I remember from the first two in the trilogy that there are some pretty daunting monster-like characters. Also the book is 527 pages which is not that huge a number, but still it's pretty monstrous.

I read To You Shall All Flesh Come - an interesting take on vampires.

I read The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara. Part biography, part Hollywood history, with a little memoir sprinkled in. This is a great story of a trailblazing woman in Hollywood and an interesting peak at how such a book gets researched. I am not a horror fan and this was a fun way to fill the prompt. I learned a lot!

I read Ducks, Newburyport. It is 988 pages of stream of consciousness writing where a sentence can last 50+ pages. It weighs 2.66 pounds. The climax is a monstrous event.

I think it qualifies as a monster book

I read Loch Ness Uncovered: Media, Misinformation, and the Greatest Monster Hoax of All Time, which was a quick and interesting look at the Loch Ness monster hoax. I especially appreciated how the author put the Loch Ness monster sightings in its historical context (e.g., recent scientific discoveries like the Komoda dragon that made the sightings seem more plausible, yellow journalism that sensationalized the events, etc.).

I was going to read A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, which is MONSTER in size (737 pages on Kindle). But because I need a little more time for "life" right now, I'm keeping this one for next year for "Korean author" and using an extra book I already read (on audio, to sneak in extra books). So, for Monster Book I'm using a book ABOUT a monster, Greenteeth by Mollie O'Neill. The monster is a lake monster and was the protagonist.

This was not my usual kind of book, especially on audio, but the narrator's voice (Catrin Walker-Booth) was soothing, and she did a great job of differentiating between several characters (male and female) very naturally.

I read The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

I originally read Moby-Dick or, The Whale (monster in size and Ahab considers the whale a monster) but I decided it would work better in the 2 connected books week, so I moved Siren Queen about a 1920s actress who becomes famous for playing monsters.

1️⃣Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline (Rougarou)
2️⃣Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

Empire of pain had human monsters and was long. I highly recommend it.

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I just read Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova - I don’t usually like horror but it was amazing. It’s great for Halloween.