Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Welcome, Team Batman & Robin! The theme of this Read-a-Thon is Get to Know You!

Each group will be asked a series of questions, which you will answer with the books you read. You can answer these questions using the title, cover, or plot of the book.

THE QUESTIONS

Who You Are
Which of your personality traits are you most proud of?
What's your highest priority in life?
What do you look for in a friendship?
What’s your favorite thing about your current job?
What’s an essential part of your daily routine?
What’s your favorite family memory?
How do you show kindness to others?
What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
What is your definition of success?
What's your love language?
What’s on your bucket list?
If you had unlimited money to start your own business, what would it be?
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
What dreams did you have as a little kid?

Personal Time
What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?
What was the best vacation you ever took?
Where’s the next place on your travel bucket list?
What are your hobbies?
What's one thing that can instantly make your day better?
Ideally, how would you spend your birthday?
How do you enjoy spending your alone time?
Do you like group activities, or prefer doing things solo?
If you could live in a book, which one would it be?

Favorites
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
What’s your comfort movie or show?
Do you have any pet peeves?
What's your favorite season?
What's your favorite board game?
What’s your favorite content genre?
What's your most prized possession?
Who is your favorite author?
What's more important: family or friends?
Who do you most like spending time with?
Do you have a favorite holiday?
Who or what never fails to make you laugh?

Beliefs
What causes are you passionate about?
Do you believe in second chances?
Do you believe in soulmates?
Do you believe in love at first sight?
Do you believe in astrology?

Weird Questions
What’s your game plan in a zombie apocalypse?
If you could have a super power, what would it be?
If you could time travel, when and where would you go?
Which famous person in history would you want to spend the day with?
If you came back in your next life as an animal, what animal would you be?
What would be the title of your memoir?
If you had to wear just one color for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Would you rather be a superhero or a villain?
If you won the lottery, what would you do with all the money?
What's something you've always wanted to learn how to do?

THE SPREADSHEET: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Hi Team Batman and Robin!

Batman & Robin
Captain: JennH
Captain: Roxana
Sherri
JessicaMHR
NancyJ
Joan
Kellie Lyn

Borrowing this idea from the other team captains because this readathon's a bit different from others we've done before, and putting the link for the FAQs here for reference...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Also, a tip Mod, Robin P, posted in the FAQ:

"General tip -

Some of our members are very conscientious in following exact directions. For this Read-a-thon, creativity in answering questions is encouraged!

Literal truth is unnecessary - maybe your favorite food is actually pizza but you have a book with salad on the cover - use it! But if something does actually describe you, that's fine too. That would be one way to narrow down the many choices.

Remember you can use the title, the cover, or plot. For instance, questions on success, ideal vacation, favorite memory could be a cover with a picture of a home, a beach, a party, etc. A question about your hobbies or interests could be answered with a book that has such an activity, even if it's not obvious from the title or cover."

I'm pretty excited to read with you all for this readathon! I see some names I recognize from previous readathons and some new ones too. I'm pretty excited about this readathon, too. It's so different and creative! But I think I say this about every readathon. haha The mods have been awesome about putting together all these readathons, making them fun and new. :)

The gist of what I see in the FAQs are:

- Wild Cards are for every 2000 pages read or 30 hours listened to - question still needs to be answered

- For every 9th question answered/book read, a book from the recommendation thread must be read

- On the spreadsheet, we must post the question and answer for the book we're reading. Multiple members can answer the same question but each member can only answer a question once.

- The goal is not to answer all the questions but to get to know our team members!

Feel free to ask if you have any questions. This readathon is so different, so I'm figuring this out along with you. :)

JennH wrote: "I'm pretty excited to read with you all for this readathon! I see some names I recognize from previous readathons and some new ones too. I'm pretty excited about this readathon, too. It's so differ..."

Thanks for taking on the responsibility for leading us! I’m really excited to work with you all.

I made a list last night of books I want to read this week, but I’m not sure if they’ll fit the questions. I want to read some of this year’s TOB shortlist books, and I hope someone answers The Wedding People on the last question posted on the TPBM game. ( I hope Emily doesn’t mind the obvious plant. )

Based in the questions about trips, I’m suddenly craving a book about a Mediterranean cruise or Greece, Italy or Paris, if anyone has any recommendations.

I’m working through the questions now to find some

For the extra books #10, #20, etc (or is it #9, #18) from the TPBM recommendation thread.
From the list I would like to read.
**The Book Censor's Library - in progress
The History of Sound - I can’t use this after all
The Wedding People -
Wild Dark Shore - preordered- arrives March 5
James - might fit question about vacation, friendship, kindness?

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
The Well of Lost Plots - movie question
The Puma Years - animal question
Genesis kindle unlimited audio
A Week in Winter
How to Say Babylon
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales
The Housemaid
The Good Sister
The Fox Wife
Some Desperate Glory - thriller
The Vibrant Years
My Family and Other Animals - Greece
Slow Horses
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern - fits the question about second chances

NancyJ, great idea sharing what would be your potential recommendation read. Not really knowing how that post would be significant to the readathon, I made a list of what books I'd read and most importantly had access to. And according to the spreadsheet, it'll be the 10th, 20th.... books.

My list of potential recommendation thread reads:
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
James by Percival Everett
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

Also, a tip Mod, Robin P, posted in the FAQ:

"General tip -

Some of our members are very conscientious in following exact directions. For this Read-a-thon, creativity in answering questions is encouraged!

Literal truth is unnecessary - maybe your favorite food is actually pizza but you have a book with salad on the cover - use it! But if something does actually describe you, that's fine too. That would be one way to narrow down the many choices.

Remember you can use the title, the cover, or plot. For instance, questions on success, ideal vacation, favorite memory could be a cover with a picture of a home, a beach, a party, etc. A question about your hobbies or interests could be answered with a book that has such an activity, even if it's not obvious from the title or cover."

I'm also going to put this in my first post. :)

"Holy Toledo, Batman!" I'm very excited to be part of Team Batman & Robin. I love a read a thon. I don't have a plan yet but I'm thinking about it.

Hi Team Batman & Robin!

Very excited to get going on this readathon and play with all y’all! I hadn’t been paying much attention to the relevant thread (these forums don’t do well on the mobile app, lol) so I’ll have to head over there and make a list for myself out of the books that have been recommended. 😊

JennH wrote: "NancyJ, great idea sharing what would be your potential recommendation read. Not really knowing how that post would be significant to the readathon, I made a list of what books I'd read and most im..."

Awesome. I own the first seven I listed, plus James. I’ll try to find other spots for them too, since we’ll probably have more than enough.

I love that we can fantasize when finding books that answer the questions. I’m retired, so for the question about your job, I could imagine that I became a spy in my 60’s, just like Mrs Pollifax.

In looking at the questions, I think many of my answers could be satisfied by books about books, time travel, travel, friendship, family, environment, music, or teaching. It would be nice if I could stumble across a book with a good family reunion or birthday party scene (we just had a reunion for my mom’s 90th) , or a short book about solitude in nature. The bucket list questions have me dreaming about a vacation in the Mediterranean, Paris, Ireland, or the Pacific NW.

I need thrillers for another challenge, so maybe I’ll find one that fits those locations. Or a thriller about people who do brave things they didn’t think they could do, or were afraid to do. (Which is an exaggeration of a couple of my answers .)

My first books will be Devil’s Element, and The Book Censor’s Library. I also started Black Rain but I’m not sure where it will fit.

Hi everyone!

I am excited for this Read-a-thon and hoping this will get my reading going again, I've been having a bit of a lag lately.

I have started a sheet on the spreadsheet listing all the person below me books off of the thread. I just needed it all in one place & figured since I was gonna do it anyway I'd share it with everyone.

**I will finish later I have to head to town with my sister to get me new glasses.**

JessicaMHR wrote: "Hi everyone!

I am excited for this Read-a-thon and hoping this will get my reading going again, I've been having a bit of a lag lately.

I have started a sheet on the spreadsheet listing all the p..."

Thanks Jessica! Jenn and I posted some of them above, and I think people in other groups are making lists too. So you might want to check what they did to save the extra typing. I would have added them all if I had my laptop. I have to type with one finger on this device and I make a lot of mistakes.

@Sherri & @Roxana - Glad you are excited! Love a good readathon!

@NancyJ - Love your enthusiasm and all your plans. :)

@JessicaMHR - I hope this readathon kicks you out of your slump. I know it definitely helps me. And thanks for taking the initiative and putting all the TPBM books on the spreadsheet. I don't know if this helps but it was shared on a couple of other teams. It's a link to the books mentioned in the thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/menti...

I’m not finding it easy to match books to the actual questions, especially before reading the book.

I have a vague idea that there will be friendship or kindness in James, but maybe I’m wrong. We had a great vacation on the Mississippi when I was a kid, so I could use that question if needed. (This was before the blue-green algae that is poisoning people now. Actually, since the book I’m reading now is partly about the Mississippi, I guess I could link it to the same question. Otherwise I’ll use Devil’s Element for the color question for the green cover.)

Hello! I was hoping I was on the Batman and Robin team!

I haven't looked at the challenge yet but I'll look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow and start planning. It's a good time to plan because I need something to get me excited to read my next book!

Well I lied - I looked at the list. Some books I'm considering:

There There
Legends & Lattes
Snow Bound
Desert Places

I'm also reading Skeleton Crew by Stephen King. I was thinking about pausing that and just read some shorter books.

Ok, now that I have typed them all out there is only one book on there that I might do: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. It was Kismet, because I randomly picked this up at the library today.

A huge majority of those books I have never heard of before.

JessicaMHR wrote: "Hi everyone!

I am excited for this Read-a-thon and hoping this will get my reading going again, I've been having a bit of a lag lately.

I have started a sheet on the spreadsheet listing all the p..."

Thanks so much for this helpful addition, Jessica!

(I've stolen your spreadsheet list for my own team, thank you for the resource, Jessica!)

Good morning Everyone. Thank You Everyone that typed the the list of books. Great resource. Do I have this correct? We can read any book we want except for the bonus books which I think is #10,20…? We’re not doing the entire read a thon with books from the game. Is this correct?
I have another question. I have 2 hours 21 mins left in an audiobook. Can I use this book in the read a thon?

NancyJ wrote: "I’m not finding it easy to match books to the actual questions, especially before reading the book.

I have a vague idea that there will be friendship or kindness in James, but may..."

Don't think too hard on it. I've based my first couple of reads on the summaries and just sticking with that. :)

I've haven't read James yet but as it's a Huckleberry Finn retelling, I think it's safe to say that there's friendship.

Joan wrote: "Hello! I was hoping I was on the Batman and Robin team!

I haven't looked at the challenge yet but I'll look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow and start planning. It's a good time to plan because I ne..."

Ya, so glad you're part of Team Batman and Robin, too! All your book choices look great!

JessicaMHR wrote: "Ok, now that I have typed them all out there is only one book on there that I might do: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. It was Kismet, because I randomly picked thi..."

You are beyond awesome, Jessica! Thanks for taking the time to do this!!

Sherri wrote: "Good morning Everyone. Thank You Everyone that typed the the list of books. Great resource. Do I have this correct? We can read any book we want except for the bonus books which I think is #10,20…?..."

Yes, you're correct. You read whatever books you'd like, to answer any of the questions. The TPBM books are only needed after ever 9th book read/question answered.

And as long as you have 100 pages or 100 minutes left in a book, you can use for the readathon. I remember this being asked for previous readathons.

Hope this helps.

Happy 1st Day of the Readathon!

I'm still finishing up another readathon, so when filling out the spreadsheet, I realized I had to be strategic about my reading. So I just tried to make my current books work for the questions....

I also realized another thing different about this readathon. I'm so used to having to check off as many prompts as possible or taking other members' reading choices into consideration. It's odd not having to worry about any of that this time around.

Happy reading, everyone!

Emily wrote: "(I've stolen your spreadsheet list for my own team, thank you for the resource, Jessica!)"

No problem, and your welcome.

I finished The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement. I was going to put it under What Causes are you passionate about but nothing is on the spread sheets & I didn't want to mess anything up.

Sherri wrote: "I finished The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement. I was going to put it under What Cau..."

Woohoo! Congrats on finishing the first book for Team Batman and Robin for the readathon, Sherri!

I'm not seeing your book on the Plans tab, so I just entered your info on the Completed tab. I see you started the first entry for the Completion tab. All you have left is to add how the book fits, look to Emily's examples for how to answer. :)

I haven't done a plans tab. I have no idea what I'm reading next. I didn't know I started an entry on the Completion tab. I will look.

Looking good at the end of Day 1! We have 5 questions answered already. More than half way. I think we're going to have to start thinking about the TPBM book....

I've organized the spreadsheet a little bit and moved the finished Plan books to the Completed tab, according to the Completion (question/answer) tab.

Don't forget to put in your daily pages read and hours listened to on the Tracking tab. That's how we're going to accrue Wild Cards.

If you're having any problems with the spreadsheet, just let me know and I'll be glad to update for you!

JennH wrote: "Looking good at the end of Day 1! We have 5 questions answered already. More than half way. I think we're going to have to start thinking about the TPBM book....

I've organized the spreadsheet a l..."

Thanks for doing that! My current book is on the TPBM list. Book Censor’s library. Does anyone else need the slot for a book that can’t fit elsewhere?

I'm a little late to join in (I had to work today), but I at least got quite a bit of reading done in the process!

I finished off Butcher & Blackbird, which I started before the readathon but had about 120 pages left to read today.

I also listened to the full audiobook of Growing Up Urkel while working.

I'm not great with spreadsheets and this one seems especially confusing to me since there isn't always a clear connection between the book and the prompt. As it is, I always have a hard time keeping up with the spreadsheets...

Rachel wrote: "I'm a little late to join in (I had to work today), but I at least got quite a bit of reading done in the process!

I finished off Butcher & Blackbird, which I started before the r..."

Welcome to the team, Rachel!

Given the way this readathon works, where we're not trying to collectively complete a specific set of prompts but rather answer any of the questions you feel like answering, really, I feel like a good way to use the spreadsheet is more for your personal planning than the usual readathon method of working out what other people are planning, which prompts we still need, etc. So you might want to mark down a prompt you especially want to remember this particular book would be good for, before you finish it - but you might also just wait til you finish the book, then decide which question you think it best answers at that point. So how much you use the planning aspect of the spreadsheet or not is really up to how much it's useful to you, I think.

Like Jenn said - and this goes for everyone, not just to Rachel :) - if anyone is finding the spreadsheet overwhelming, or having any technical issues (they can be more tricky on mobile, for instance), just let us know and we'd both be happy to do updates for you! :)

I haven't finished a book today but made a good amount of progress in multiple (I'm very much a "read several at the same time" kind of reader, which sometimes looks amazing when I finish, like, seven in one day, but means I look like I've had a drought before that, lol). Hoping to finish The Plus One tomorrow, as well maybe as Water Moon, and hopefully one more that's short enough to probably be a one-dayer.

Good Morning Team Batman & Robin. I had a good day yesterday. I completed an audio book & finished Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life. I can't use Inner Excellence for the Read- A-Thon because I only had 50 pages left to read. I started Unfixable: A Buck Lawson Mystery for our team challenge. I haven't read this author or series before but so far I like it.
I put my audio hours & pages read on the spreadsheet tracking. I put Unfixable on the plans tab. I think I'm caught up.
I need to find an audio book to start but will work on that later today.

Good Morning, I finished my second book, This Is Not A Love Letter, and updated the spreadsheet. I have three 100 page books/novellas lined up but will wait until I finish Divine Rivals, hopefully tomorrow. I will look at the TPBM list for another one, hoping there is one that is already on my over full list.

Rachel wrote: "I'm a little late to join in (I had to work today), but I at least got quite a bit of reading done in the process!

I finished off Butcher & Blackbird, which I started before the r..."

Hi Rachel! Welcome! I've got you. I've entered your numbers on the Tracking tab and your books on the Completed Plans tab. However, you're going to have to say which questions your books answer and how it fits, for the Completion tab. You can add to the spreadsheet yourself, or post your question and answer here and we'll update the spreadsheet for you. However, you want.

I think Roxana has explained it well. And I think not having the clear connection between the book and the prompt is why we have to answer the question in the 'how it fits' portion. I hope this helps. :)

Roxana wrote: "I haven't finished a book today but made a good amount of progress in multiple (I'm very much a "read several at the same time" kind of reader, which sometimes looks amazing when I finish, like, se..."

Haha, I love it. I will be duly impressed when you suddenly finish a bunch of books in one day! 😉

Sherri wrote: "Good Morning Team Batman & Robin. I had a good day yesterday. I completed an audio book & finished [book:Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life|5..."

Looks great. Any pages read, even if not counted for the readathon prompts, count towards the Wild Card. So every bit counts!

Kellie Lyn wrote: "Good Morning, I finished my second book, This Is Not A Love Letter, and updated the spreadsheet. I have three 100 page books/novellas lined up but will wait until I finish [book:Div..."

Awesome. Sounds like a plan. I also want to steal your idea and find a book set on an island, because I love your answer about living 'on a beautiful island by myself."

Good morning, Team! We have 6 books/prompts read. 8 books/prompts, when Rachel updates us with her questions/answers. And we have our first Wild Card!

A great start to the readathon! Go, Team Batman and Robin!

I entered my page number for yesterday. The book is going relatively fast. I should get it done by Wednesday or sooner. Today unfortunately I'm working but should be able to get in a few pages tonight and then Monday I will have some audio hours.

This may have already been asked and answered and I missed it....For the TPBM list, does the exact book have to be on the list or can the book represent the series? I have already read A Deadly Education and have The Last Graduate on my list for this week. Sorry if asked and answered.

Kellie Lyn wrote: "This may have already been asked and answered and I missed it....For the TPBM list, does the exact book have to be on the list or can the book represent the series? I have already read A Deadly Education and have The Last Graduate on my list for this week. Sorry if asked and answered."

Does the Last Graduate take place in Autumn? Because that is the next TPBM question.

Edit

I finished The Book Censor's Library.
It fits TPBM - or the hero v villain question.

Hi Kellie Lyn. Emily has said that we can read any book in a series mentioned in the TPBM thread. So go ahead and read The Last Graduate. :)

Thanks Jenn and Roxana! I'd love if someone could help me with my spreadsheet updates. That's always where I struggle most in readathons.

For the books I've already read, I'm thinking these:

Growing Up Urkel fits for "What's your comfort show/movie?" Family Matters is one of many shows that I'd want to rewatch since it's something I grew up watching. I haven't been able to watch it again because it's not available on any streaming services that I have, but it would definitely be a comfort watch for me!

Butcher & Blackbird I think could fit for "Would you rather be a superhero or villain?" question. The characters in it are both serial killers but at least one of them only targets other killers, so is arguably doing it for a "good" reason. Since they are kind of at that line between hero and villain, that's the question that stood out to me. In terms of what I'd prefer to be, probably hero (even though it seems like a lot of pressure) because I'd want to help people, especially with how anxiety-provoking the news is on a daily basis over the past couple of years.

JennH wrote: "Hi Kellie Lyn. Emily has said that we can read any book in a series mentioned in the TPBM thread. So go ahead and read The Last Graduate. :)"

Awesome!! I needed another one from my March TBR to fit so hopefully by Wednesday I will have that one complete as well.

I finished The Book Censor's Library.
It fits TPBM - or the hero v villain question.

There is one line open before the TPBM line. I put my book in the TPBM line for now. If the next person who finishes a book has a preference, please feel free to put your book where you need it to go, and I’ll take the other slot.

Added
Rachel, I just saw your note. I’ll enter those for you.

I entered my book in the TPBM line, for a book about someone with the moral courage to do the right thing. Messages 8 and 9 on the TPBM thread.

I did wind up finishing two books today after all (not quite seven in one day, but a little earlier than otherwise, lol) and added them into the list! 😊

NancyJ wrote: "I finished The Book Censor's Library.
It fits TPBM - or the hero v villain question.

There is one line open before the TPBM line. I put my book in the TPBM line for now. If the ..."

Thanks, Nancy! I wasn't able to get to my computer to get at the spreadsheet til now. It takes a village.... :)