Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

2025 is around the corner, but before we head into the new year, what were your favorite books of December 2024?

Answer the following questions:

- Title
- Author
- Rating
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio)
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable)
- Brief reason why it was the best

Best Books Listopia

Fiction:
- Title: Time of the Child
- Author: Niall Williams
- Rating: 5 stars
- Format: ebook & audio
- ATY Prompt you used it for: na
- Brief reason why it was the best: This is a beautifully written novel about love set during the days leading up to Christmas 1962 in a rural community in Ireland. When a baby is left at the fair, a young man brings it to the local doctor, and events are set in motion. The town and its residents are skillfully drawn. Themes include parent-child relationships, compassion, regret, aging, and death. It is a perfect read for the holiday season. It is truly a wonderful story with wide appeal. It will make my short list of favorites of the year.

Non-Fiction:
- Title: Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
- Author: Max Tegmark
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Format: ebook & audio
- ATY Prompt you used it for: na
- Brief reason why it was the best:I think AI is an important issue that is already here, and we are at a juncture where it makes sense to figure out how we plan to use it, especially since there is a possibility of super-intelligence, and we need to give it the best possible chance of doing the greatest good for our world. I am particularly impressed by the goal alignment discussion (Chapter 7), which is clear and compelling. I am going to recommend Chapter 7 to everyone, even if you don't read the whole book. Goal Alignment between AI and humans is essential and needs to be addressed now!

- Title The Library of the Dead
- Author T.L. Huchu
- Rating 💀💀💀💀💀 (5 stars)
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio) Ebook
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable) A book by an author from an African country
- Brief reason why it was the best Snappy narrator, engaging story, just the kind of comedy horror/dark fantasy I like best.

- Title: Just Kids
- Author: Patti Smith
- Rating: 5
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio): e-book via Hoopla
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable): n/a
- Brief reason why it was the best: Mostly because the writing was so good. It chronicles her 20 year long relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, both as a love interest and just friends and you feel their connection through the writing

I ended the year strong with four 5-star reads!

- Title: The Bell Jar
- Author: Sylvia Plath
- Rating: 5 Stars
- Format: Audio
- ATY Prompt you used it for: Winter Challenge: a book with a mostly blue cover
- Brief reason why it was the best: The quintessential sad girl lit, this reflective novel follows a young woman as she struggles with personal ambition, societal pressures, and mental illness. The writing is hauntingly beautiful and Maggie Gyllenhaal brings it expertly to life in the audiobook.

- Title: A First Time for Everything
- Author: Dan Santat
- Rating: 5 Stars
- Format: Print
- ATY Prompt you used it for: Winter Challenge: written by a BIPOC author; Winter Read-a-thon: a book that includes a kiss
- Brief reason why it was the best: An inspiring true coming-of-age story about an awkward teenager who steps outside his comfort zone, experiences new things, and in the process gains confidence on a fateful trip to Europe.

- Title: Lola in the Mirror
- Author: Trent Dalton
- Rating: 5 Stars
- Format: Audio
- ATY Prompt you used it for: Winter Challenge: written by an author you have read before
- Brief reason why it was the best: This book masterfully balances the grit of Brisbane's criminal underbelly with the hope and resilience of its teenage narrator, an aspiring artist who dreams of escaping her harsh reality to one day showcase her work at The Met. Part gritty thriller, part atmospheric mystery, and part fairy tale romance, Lola in the Mirror is as compelling as it is heartfelt.

- Title: Patriot: A Memoir
- Author: Alexei Navalny
- Rating: 5 Stars
- Format: Audio
- ATY Prompt you used it for: Winter Challenge: is non-fiction
- Brief reason why it was the best: For a book about Russian politics, I was pleasantly surprised by Navalny's sharp sense of humor, which shines through as he highlights the absurdities of life under Putin's regime. His hope for a free Russia and his impassioned plea for others to wake up and fight back are both inspiring and heartbreaking. Through Patriot, I gained a deeper understanding of contemporary Russia and how Navalny's upbringing shaped his unwavering beliefs, even in the face of an attempted poisoning and imprisonment. A truly courageous man taken too soon, his legacy leaves one hoping that his efforts will inspire change for generations to come.

- Title: The Spy Wore Red
- Author: Aline, Countess of Romanones
- Rating: 5 stars
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio): Audio
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable): n/a
- Brief reason why it was the best: This book was fascinating. This woman was a spy at the end of the World War II in Spain. This story should really be made into a movie. The part she played had a major impact on the end of the war.

- Title: Do Not Disturb
- Author: Freida McFadden
- Rating: 5 stars
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio): Audio
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable): n/a
- Brief reason why it was the best: I had never read a McFadden book before this year. I was briefly in a thrillers Facebook group, and everyone was raving about her work. I found three on Audible that were included, and I read them all. This one was great. There were twists and turns and more than one story going on. I really enjoyed it.

- Title: Where They Last Saw Her
- Author: Marcie R. Rendon
- Rating: 5 stars
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio): Audio
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable): n/a
- Brief reason why it was the best: I have read all three of the books in Rendon's Cash Blackbear series, and I enjoyed them all. I was really excited to see that she had written a stand alone novel. It was so good. Women are disappearing from the reservation, and no one knows why. One woman is out running when she hears a woman scream. It starts her on a quest to find out what is happening.

Honorable Mentions:
Gwendy's Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar - This book revisits Gwendy who is all grown up now and a U.S. Representative. I really enjoyed the first book and was worried that the second wouldn't live up to the first, but it did!

An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris - Lizbeth Rose is a "gunnie" (a hired gun) who transports people from Texoma to Mexico in this dystopian world that images a US that was split up into different sections. Some of the US went back to Mexico, some became Texoma, some went to the Russians (because Czar Nicholas II and his family escaped assassination and fled to the US), and some went back to the UK. It was a really good book. I can't wait to read the next two.

- Title: Brightly Shining
- Author: Ingvild H. Rishøi
- Rating: 5
- Format: Print
- ATY Prompt you used it for: Winter Challenge, 10. Has a mostly blue cover

- Brief reason why it was the best: This is not a happy, happy Christmas story. Actually it is a bit sad. But the author did such a lovely job portraying the two young sisters trying to live a life with an alcoholic father, no mother, and mounting pressures from the authorities from the perspective of the younger 10 year-old sister. The ending is a bit of a fantasy, but is hopeful.

- Title: Small Things Like These
- Author: Claire Keegan
- Rating: 5+
- Format: Print
- ATY Prompt you used it for: Winter Challenge, 7. Features a winter holiday: Christmas
- Brief reason why it was the best: This hard topic was beautifully written with a family man the main character really. He owns his own business, has five daughters. As he delivers coal to the convent, he finds a young girl lying in the basement. No shoes, no coat. It's Christmas Eve and it is snowing. The beauty of the writing, the beauty indeed of the whole story is marred by the fact that you learn that this barbaric punishment from the Magdalen Laundries is maintained into the 1990's. How does a religion, how does a country, allow that to happen for so long!?!

- Title
All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis
- Author
Ed. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson
- Rating
5/5
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio)
Mixed print with audio
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable)
#19 A book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (Fossil Fuel)
- Brief reason why it was the best
This is one of the best books I read all year. It alternated essays and poetry by women authors about all different aspects of climate change, I learned about the Green New Deal and so much more! I will definitely be rereading this one!

Listopia updated!

Title: The History of Sound
Author: Ben Shattuck
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Audio
ATY Prompt you used it for: Published in 2024
Brief reason why it was the best:
I had very low expectations for this book... not great cover, short story anthology. But it surpassed all expectations. There were ZERO SKIPS. Every story was rich with depth and meaning, and the audio really transported me.

(I've added it to the listopia)

- Title: The Tainted Cup
- Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
- Rating: 5/5
- Format: Kindle
- ATY Prompt you used it for: #18 A book with a botanical cover
- This book was SO GOOD! One of my top reads of the year. The fantasy world is rich with detail and intriguing. The detective story was also very satisfying, I love a good mystery. Sherlock Holmes / Poirot in an Attack on Titan setting.

- Title: Romancing Mister Bridgerton
- Author: Julia Quinn
- Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio): Ebook
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable): N/A
- Brief reason why it was the best: I just really enjoyed this romance and now I have to get around to watch the show.

- Title: Luke and Billy Finally Get a Clue
- Author: Cat Sebastian
- Rating: 5/5
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio): Ebook
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable): n/a
- Brief reason why it was the best: A really lovely romance, with a lovely strong message about hope even in adversity.

- Title: Very Good, Jeeves!
- Author: PG Wodehouse
- Rating: 5/5
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio): A mixture of print and ebook
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable): n/a
- Brief reason why it was the best: Just absolutely hilarious, made me laugh so many times!

Listopia updated!

-Title: The Grey Wolf
-Author: Louise Penny
-Rating: 5 stars
-Format: Print
-ATY Prompt: Winter Reading Challenge, Mostly blue cover
-Why best: Combination of exciting mystery with literary fiction

- Title: Up the Down Staircase
- Author: Bel Kaufman
- Rating: 5 stars!
- Format: eBook
- ATY Prompt you used it for: none
- Brief reason why it was the best: I enjoyed how the author used a unique writing style (memos, school directives, notes, letters, suggestion box tips, etc. and conversations) to tell the story of a first-year teacher's struggles in a multi-cultural, low income NYC school in the 1960s. It was funny and relatable with lots of heart!