Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Hey everyone! As we wrap up our polls for the year, now is the time to give some input on where you think each prompt should be placed in the list. Even for those of us who don't read in order, it can be fun to try to find unique connections to certain times of year or months for each prompt.

So leave your ideas below! And as always, you can find a full list of the prompts chosen in the introduction thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

My only thought is that it would help those of us who do each part of each prompt (e.g., read a book connected to each one of Santa's reindeer, or each Clue character, or blood, sweat, and tears) if there aren't too many multi-part prompts in the same month/close together. I don't know if I'll try to read in order, but if I do, having those spread out would be very helpful.

I had a bout of insomnia a few nights ago, so I looked for some ideas on some of these prompts. Here is what I have come up with so far.

19. Korean or Korean-diaspora author - Korea gained its independence and was split into North and South Korea on August 14, 1945. I couldn't find a specific date the diaspora began. Their most important holiday in the Lunar New Year which begins on February 17, 2026.

25. "QUEEN" of crime prompt: September 15th is traditionally the day that Agatha Christie is celebrated. It is also her birthday and cozy mystery day.

26. Clue or Cluedo was released in the UK in November 1949. I couldn't find an exact date. It was released in the US the same year.

31. Symbol of death on cover - Halloween is October 31st. El Día de los Muertos is celerated on November 1st and 2nd.

35. Vincent Van Gogh - birthday is March 30, 1853

37. History of historical fiction - World History Day is June 24th. World Book Day is April 23rd.

39. Wellness or beauty - Global Wellness Day is the 2nd Saturday in June, so June 13 2026. International Beauty Day is September 9, 2026.

41. Mystery or true crime - National Crime Junkie Day - December 18th

45. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen started recording Bohemian Rhapsody on August 24th, 1975. It was released on October 31, 1975, It hit #1 on the UK charts on November 29th, 1975 and stayed there for 9 weeks.

46. Frothy or Gothy - World Goth Day is May 22nd.
National Frappe Day: Celebrated on October 7, this day honors the iced, coffee-based drink.
National Bubbly Day: This holiday falls on the first Saturday of June and is dedicated to sparkling wines like cava and champagne. - June 6, 2026
National Bubble Bath Day: January 8 is for relaxing in a bubbly, warm bath.
International Bubble Blowing Day: On May 6, people are encouraged to find joy in blowing bubbles.

47. Woman over 40 - World heart day - December 29th - Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in women over 40. March is Women's History Month.

48. Bird on cover - World Migration Bird Day is the 2nd Saturday in May and Oct - For 2026k that i May. 9th or Oct 10th.

Wow, great research, Charlsa!

Maybe Z in the author/title should go at the end
Of course Santa's reindeer could go in December, though that would make it challenging for Dixie and others to get all the reindeer in. Maybe "Christmas in July" would work for it.

November is Native American/indigenous month in the US.

Wow Charlsa - thanks for all the great ideas!

I don’t have the list in front of me at the moment, so all I can think of at the moment is that Santa’s Reindeer should probably be in the week that contains December 24 (as that is their big work day) 😉

So maybe Santa's reindeer the week of Christmas and Z title/author the last week of the year. Thanks, Robin, I forgot to include Native Amerian/Indigenous month in the US. Also, International Day of the World's Indigenous People is August 9th.

National Punctuation Day is September 24 for punctuation in title prompt.

Robin P wrote: "Wow, great research, Charlsa!

Maybe Z in the author/title should go at the end
Of course Santa's reindeer could go in December, though that would make it challenging for Dixie and others to get al..."

But Indigenous People's Day in the U.S. is the Monday near Oct. 12, formerly celebrated as Columbus Day. Oct. 12 Columbus Day is still celebrated as such by Italian-Americans.

I do think Santa's Reindeer belong in December.

I'd rather see Bird on Cover in May than in the fall. And I'd rather not have Mystery or True Crime in December.

National Board Game Day is April 11 for Clue/Cluedo.

In Canada, June is National Indigenous History month. I’m not sure how many countries recognize have a month or day for recognizing/celebrating Indigenous people, but it’s likely different for every country. .

Charlsa and the others have had excellent suggestions. They all make sense.

Maybe for the multi-week prompt “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” place those in the last full week of June, the week that straddles June and July, and the first full week of July. This placement is the closest you can get to half the year being in the past and half the year being in the future.

Robin P wrote: "Wow, great research, Charlsa!

Maybe Z in the author/title should go at the end
Of course Santa's reindeer could go in December, though that would make it challenging for Dixie and others to get al..."

Thank you, that's kind of you to think of it. But I think I'm okay for that one in December -- maybe the other December prompts could be singles, though!

Tracy wrote: "Maybe for the multi-week prompt “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” place those in the last full week of June, the week that straddles June and July, and the first full week of July. This placement is..."

Clever idea!

Revolution- close to the 4th of July.
Road trips - summer
Vacation book - august or spring break, Presidents’ Day, Easter

Indigenous - I love the symbolism of replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous peoples day in October. I always read a North American indigenous book this week. This year I read a Scandinavian Indigenous book in the winter, and Australian in the spring,

Isolated and survival - I wouldnt want to read them close together
Multi week authors - spread them out in case people don’t love the author. I would put the new book later in the year in case someone is trying to finish a series.

Frothy or gothy - late May or June. This is the kind of book that I would read at the end of the academic year, when my brain needed something light.

Speaking of procrastination, I have a hard deadline at 6:30pm, so I'm working on this instead.

1. Road trip or long journey
National Road Trip Day – May 22, 2026
Marco Polo's birthday - March 15th
National Ride Your Horse Day - April 2, 2026

3. Blood, sweat, or tears
World Blood Donor Day – June 14, 2026
National Recommit to Your Fitness Day – April 5, 2026

10. Punctuation mark in title - National Punctuation Mark Day Sep 24th
Learn Your Name In Morse Code Day – January 11, 2026

18. book involving survival - Nothing to Fear Day – May 27, 2026

22. something edible in the title - Edible Book Day – April 1, 2026
National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day – April 12, 2026

23. set in Africa, Asia, or Australia
Travel Africa Day – February 17, 2026
African Liberation Day – May 25, 2026
Global Africa Day – May 25, 2026
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month – May 2026
Australia Day – January 26, 2026
Hug an Australian Day – April 26, 2026

33. takes places in a library, museum, school or public building -
Library Shelfie Day – January 28, 2026
Library Lovers Month – February 2026
National Library Day – April 6, 2026
International Libraries Day - Oct 24th
Museum Selfie Day – January 21, 2026
Museum Lover's Day – May 5, 2026
International Museum Day – May 18, 2026
Global School Play Day – February 4, 2026
Active School Week – April 20-24, 2026
International School Libraries Month – October 2026

34. Window on the cover - National Window Safety Week – April 7-13, 2025 or Fix Your Windows and Doors Day – June 24, 2026

36 A book with a number, ordinal, or iterative numeral in the title - Number Day – February 6, 2026
World Math Day – March 23, 2026
Trail of Tears Commemoration Day – September 16, 2026

38. A vacation book - National Plan for Vacation Day – January 27, 2026

40. Book you've wanted to read for a long time - There is no single "World Procrastination Day"; however, the unofficial National Fight Procrastination Day is observed on September 6th each year to encourage people to address their procrastination habits.

42. Science topic - World Science Day for Peace and Development is November 10th.

Tracy wrote: "Maybe for the multi-week prompt “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” place those in the last full week of June, the week that straddles June and July, and the first full week of July. This placement is..."

Love it!

Charlsa, not only are you a productive procrastinator (for our purposes anyway), but you are a creative researcher/Googler!

Vicki wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Wow, great research, Charlsa!


I agree with no mysteries in December. I like a love story (or sappy book) for December or February.

Charlsa wrote: "Speaking of procrastination, I have a hard deadline at 6:30pm, so I'm working on this instead.
."

Fun list! I like Feb 6 for numbers. 2/6/26

NancyJ wrote: "Vicki wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Wow, great research, Charlsa!


I agree with no mysteries in December. I like a love story (or sappy book) for December or February.

Charlsa wrote: "Speaking of proc..."


NancyJ, I am obligated to like all Feb 6 dates as that is my birthday.

Tracy wrote: "Charlsa, not only are you a productive procrastinator (for our purposes anyway), but you are a creative researcher/Googler!"

My gift is over-achieving on the unimportant things while procrastinating on the important ones.

Just some thoughts on how some of the books could be listed in next year's ATY:

A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die List
- #37 (the first edition of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die was published on March 7th, 2006)
- #10 (the last time the list was updated was in 2010)

A book by a new-to-you author
- #1 (why not start off the new year with an author you haven't read anything by)

A book related to the name of one of Santa's reindeer
- I've thought it might be cute to have this one be a December prompt, though I don't know where it would fall prompt # wise in this case
- #25 (since Christmas is on December 25th)
- #24 (since Christmas Eve is December 24th)

Bird on the cover
- #15 (National Bird Day in the U.S. is on January 5th)

A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution
- #21 (National Freedom Day is February 1st)

A nonfiction book
- #17 (National Nonfiction Day is November 7th)
- #14 (National Trivia Day is January 4th)

A book with cover text that is NOT black or white
- #22 (National Color Day is October 22nd)

A book set in the wellness or beauty industries
- #20 (National Clean Beauty Day was created in 2020)

Tracy wrote: "Maybe for the multi-week prompt “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” place those in the last full week of June, the week that straddles June and July, and the first full week of July. This placement is..."

I think that's a brilliant idea! And the books could be so different that it wouldn't seem like 3 of the same in a row.

I'm curious-- do we have any clue of how many people do the challenge in order? I do them in the order the library gives me books.

Pamela wrote: "I'm curious-- do we have any clue of how many people do the challenge in order? I do them in the order the library gives me books."

This year I read mine alphabetically by title, because that dovetailed with a different challenge I was doing. I would like to try reading them in order since that makes it easier to follow the discussions.

I would caution against putting Indigenous character or author in October. October gets associated with spooky or horror books and quite frankly a lot of Indigenous people have lived through enough horrors without sticking it there.

Either June , which is Indigenous history month. Or September (September 30 is Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada.) Or August (August 9 is the UN's International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples) or May (Australia has National Reconciliation Week (May 27–June 3) and National Sorry Day (May 26))

I especially like the idea of reading the indigenous character or author prompt near the UN's International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. I think this will remind us to maybe read about indigenous people who are not part of our own country’s history.

Better October prompts are:

-Symbol of death on the cover
-mystery or true crime
-Frothy or gothy


I like A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution for July since both Independence Day (US) and Bastille Day (France) are in July

Charlsa wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Vicki wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Wow, great research, Charlsa!


I agree with no mysteries in December. I like a love story (or sappy book) for December or February.

Charlsa wrote: "S..."

Dubhease wrote: "Better October prompts are:

-Symbol of death on the cover
-mystery or true crime
-Frothy or gothy


I like A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution for July since both Independence..."

So 2026 is a lucky month for you!

Charlsa wrote: "I had a bout of insomnia a few nights ago, so I looked for some ideas on some of these prompts. Here is what I have come up with so far.

19. Korean or Korean-diaspora author - Korea gained its in..."

Some inaccuracies here. Korean independence day is August 15th, not the 14th. It also wasn't the date Korea was divided into two countries, which occurred in September and was done by the U.S. and Soviet Union without Korean input.

Also, there wouldn't be a date for when the Korean-diaspora began because that would be the first time any Korean emigrated/moved to another country. I'd imagine the first Korean that relocated to Japan would have done so thousands of years ago.

I'll add that another date option for this prompt could be October 3, National Foundation Day in Korea. According to Wikipedia, it celebrates the formation of the first Korean state in 2333 BC and "has traditionally been regarded by Koreans as the date for the founding of the Korean race".

I'll request for "A book published in 2026" to be one of the last prompts if possible! Maybe in early December?

Maybe "A book with a primary character who is a woman over 40" could be the 40th prompt?

I second the Santa's reindeer prompt being around Christmas or at least in December - it would feel weird for it to be anywhere else on the list.

I think "A book from a genre that starts with A, T, or Y" should be #1 to keep the tradition of the ATY-related prompt starting off our challenge.

And if possible, if we could space out the Agatha Christie, Cluedo, and mystery prompts a little I think that would be helpful.

Irene wrote: "I'll request for "A book published in 2026" to be one of the last prompts if possible! Maybe in early December?

Maybe "A book with a primary character who is a woman over 40" could be the 40th pr..."

I agree with all these ideas. 2026 should be close to the end, 40 is good for women over 40, and the mysteries should be spread out. I would add the public building prompt to the mystery set.

I would prefer not to read multiweeks back to back.
Z is a very easy prompt, so it could be early in the year.

I’d keep the indigenous author in October. Indigenous Peoples day is celebrated today Oct 13, along with Italian Heritage day or Columbus Day. It’s a state holiday, and schools here have the day off. My irl book club is also reading an indigenous book this month. I never heard of the other holidays.

The first color film in Kinemacolor premiered on 26 February 1909, so perhaps we could use that week for either not "not black or white title" or the "primarily red, green, or blue cover" prompts :)

Conny wrote: "The first color film in Kinemacolor premiered on 26 February 1909, so perhaps we could use that week for either not "not black or white title" or the "primarily red, green, or blue cover" prompts :)"

I think I'd prefer that the "not black or white text" go with the February 26 week, since Kinemacolor only used red and green (didn't know this before, looked it up after Conny's suggestion).

I have two different suggestions for the "primarily red, green, or blue cover" prompt though:

1) Still in February, but a different week than the black and white text because: in web code (HTML/CSS) color codes are defined using a 6 digit number: #000000 (black) - #FFFFFF (white). Red is #FF0000, green is #00FF00, and blue is #0000FF. So "F" is very prominent. Since February is the only month with an "F", then this could fit.

OR, if we don't want all the color prompts in the same month:

2) RGB color is considered an "additive light" process. So if we used the "primarily red, green, or blue cover" prompt in the week of June 21, then in the northern hemisphere this would be the date where the light available per day has increased to the maximum level, and in the southern hemisphere it is the day when the light available per day begins to increase. Although the inverse could be used for December 21, we already have many prompts that are specifically appropriate in December.

Sorry for all the technical color stuff, but I hope it is helpful anyway.

Tracy wrote: "Conny wrote: "The first color film in Kinemacolor premiered on 26 February 1909, so perhaps we could use that week for either not "not black or white title" or the "primarily red, green, or blue co..."

Hahaha wow!! I'm impressed!

Some other ideas:

A book that has a punctuation mark: There are 2 months that have names that are also verbs (or a modal verb) and could be used as short statement that include punctuation:

March!, and May I?

So I propose this prompt be placed somewhere in either March or May.

A book with a character who appears in more than one book: the suffix "ber" appears in the most month names, so it is sort of a repeating character. Maybe this prompt could go in September, October, November, or December?

A book set in Africa, Asia, or Australia: these continents all start with "A", as do the months April and August — so maybe place this prompt in one of those months?

A book you want to read because of something you read in 2025: maybe early in the year so your 2025 read is more fresh in your memory?

A book you've wanted to read for a long time: closer to the end of the year to symbolize the long wait to read it?

A book with something edible in the title: some time in the autumn, as many harvest festivals are in the autumn. Exact months vary with climate and crop, so I'm thinking we can be flexible with the exact month to allow prompts with more specific reasons to be in a particular month be placed appropriately. Even Australia's harvest season is partially during months of most northern hemisphere harvest seasons.

Dixie wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Conny wrote: "The first color film in Kinemacolor premiered on 26 February 1909, so perhaps we could use that week for either not "not black or white title" or the "primarily red, gre...

Hahaha wow!! I'm impressed!"

My husband would just roll his eyes, and lovingly call me a "nerd". But hey, I have to keep my brain busy with something.

Hmm,some people tend to view indigenous people as people living in the US or North America. The National Day of the Sami people for example is the sixth of February. The Sami people are indigenous people living in Norway, Sweden, Finland and the very north west parts of Russia.

Since I will probably read a book by a Sami writer I would have preferred to read it in February but more than anything I believe that days for indigenous people worldwide are spread all over the year and therefore the INTERNATIONAL day for indigenous people would be the best date to show respect. The US day for Indigenous people solely focuses on people in US. Indigenous people are all over the world and therefore I believe it's more respectful to follow the International day for Indigenous people which is the ninth of August.

I agree with you Nike, the International Day for indigenous people would make more sense, be more respectful, and remind us Americans that the native peoples that we ‘affected’ (to put it mildly) are not the only ones out there.

Tracy wrote: "I agree with you Nike, the International Day for indigenous people would make more sense, be more respectful, and remind us Americans that the native peoples that we ‘affected’ (to put it mildly) a..."

(⁠✿⁠ ⁠♡⁠‿⁠♡⁠)

Conny wrote: "The first color film in Kinemacolor premiered on 26 February 1909, so perhaps we could use that week for either not "not black or white title" or the "primarily red, green, or blue cover" prompts :)"

That is brilliant!

Tracy wrote: "Conny wrote: "The first color film in Kinemacolor premiered on 26 February 1909, so perhaps we could use that week for either not "not black or white title" or the "primarily red, green, or blue co..."

That is so much deeper than I would have gone and in the best of ways. I like both of those suggestions.

Conny wrote: "The first color film in Kinemacolor premiered on 26 February 1909, so perhaps we could use that week for either not "not black or white title" or the "primarily red, green, or blue cover" prompts :)"

Great idea!

Nike wrote: "Hmm,some people tend to view indigenous people as people living in the US or North America. The National Day of the Sami people for example is the sixth of February. The Sami people are indigenous ..."

Oh! I just read Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius.

Stöld

It is about a Sami girl who is trying to stop the killing of her reindeer. It takes places in Sweden.

Nike wrote: "Hmm,some people tend to view indigenous people as people living in the US or North America. The National Day of the Sami people for example is the sixth of February. The Sami people are indigenous ..."

Great point, there are some excellent books from Australia and New Zealand by indigenous authors there.

Irene wrote: "I'll request for "A book published in 2026" to be one of the last prompts if possible! Maybe in early December?

Maybe "A book with a primary character who is a woman over 40" could be the 40th pr..."

Hi Irene! I definitely agree with you that we should try to space out the Christie, Clue, and mystery/true crime prompts since I think that would help in not having one month be too focused on a particular type of prompt.

Charlsa wrote: "Nike wrote: "Hmm,some people tend to view indigenous people as people living in the US or North America. The National Day of the Sami people for example is the sixth of February. The Sami people ar..."

Oh, yes! That's the one! I was planning to finally read it this year for the prompt in the 10 year anniversary list. But I'll save it for next year, I'm so glad the prompt turns up in the main challenge. The book has been such a success here and made way for more Sami writers.

I agree with a couple suggestions above that onr and two should be something based on what you read in 2025 and a new to you author. Also agree that the last three should be published in 2026, santas reindeer, and Z.

Robin P wrote: "there are some excellent books from Australia and New Zealand by indigenous authors there..."

This is where I usually turn for books related to indigenous populations. My daughter and I spent some time in Australia in 2008, right after the official apology by PM Rudd to the indigenous people for their treatment by the Europeans. We were fortunate enough to visit Arnhem Land with a native Australian guide (required to go there), and also visited the Tiwi Islands group and its people. So I've always had a special interest. My Place by Sally Morgan is a classic and a great read by a native Australian.

Dixie wrote: "Robin P wrote: "there are some excellent books from Australia and New Zealand by indigenous authors there..."

This is where I usually turn for books related to indigenous populations. My daughter ..."

Yes, I was thinking of No Place, which I randomly found in a thrift shop some years back.