Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

THE 52 TOPICS OF THE 2026 ATY READING CHALLENGE

1. A book from a genre that starts with A, T, or Y: I Shock Myself: The Autobiography of Beatrice Wood by Beatrice Wood-- Autobiography, Art
2. A book with a primarily red, green or blue cover: Exteriors by Annie Ernaux - Blue
3. A book that fits a prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list: What the Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World’s Ocean by Helen Scales - Conservation
4. A book by a new-to-you author
5. A book you want to read because of something you read in 2025: Key to the Door by Alan Sillitoe Seaton#2

6. A book related to blood, sweat, or tears: Sweat by Lynn Nottage
7. A book with a character who appears in more than one book: Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory - Jane Boleyn
8. A book set in Africa, Asia, or Australia: The River Between by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o or Half of Man Is Woman by Zhang Xianliang or Inland by Gerald Murnane
9. A book with a number, ordinal, or iterative numeral in the title: Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf

10. An award winning book
11. A history or historical fiction book
12. A book with cover text that is NOT black or white
13. An author's second/sophomore book: The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante or Shirley by Charlotte Brontë
14. A book related to a painting by Vincent Van Gogh: Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin by Sue Prideaux - Painting partner during volatile period

15. A book you've wanted to read for a long time
16. A book featuring a character with a similar occupation to one of the Clue/Cluedo characters: The Professor by Charlotte Brontë
17. A book set in the wellness or beauty industries: The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk
18. A book with a location in the title: Visualizing Palestine: A Chronicle of Colonialism and the Struggle for Liberation by Jessica Anderson or Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

19. A book related to yesterday: All Our Yesterdays by Natalia Ginzburg
20. A book related to today: Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein
21. A book related to tomorrow: NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman
22. A book by a Korean or Korean-diaspora author

23. A book with a road trip or long journey: The Odyssey
24. A book that is either frothy or gothy: Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand or Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
25. A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list
26. A book with a Z in the title and/or author name: Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola
27. A nonfiction book

28. A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution
29. A vacation book: Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
30. The most recently published book by an author and a book from that same author's backlist: Frontlist Book: Knave of Diamonds by Laurie R. King
31. The most recently published book by an author and a book from that same author's backlist: Backlist Book: Castle Shade by Laurie R. King

32. A novella of 100-250 pages: A Frozen Woman by Annie Ernaux Autofiction 192 pages
33. A book with an Indigenous character or author
34. A book with a window on the cover: The House with the Blind Glass Windows by Herbjørg Wassmo
35. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building: That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America by Amanda Jones
36. A book with a primary character who is a woman over 40: The Young Man by Annie Ernaux

37. A book that includes a science topic: Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
38. A book that's part of a series: Punishment of a Hunter by Yulia Yakovleva
39. A book connected in some way to the "Queen of Crime", Agatha Christie: The Potter's Field by Ellis Peters - A successor Englishwoman writing a cozy series with the same detective,
40. A book that has a punctuation mark in the title: Here's to You, Jesusa! by Elena Poniatowska

41. A mystery or true crime book: The Lantern's Dance by Laurie R. King
42. A book set in an isolated location: Floreana by Margret Wittmer
43. A book involving survival: Escape from Mariupol: A Survivor's True Story by Adoriana Marik
44. A book with a symbol of death on the cover: The Montreal Massacre by Louise Malette

45. A book connected to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen: The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride
46. A book that is not a novel
47. A book with "this", "that", "these", or "those" in the title: These Possible Lives by Fleur Jaeggy
48. A book with something edible in the title: Milk Fed by Melissa Broder
49. A second book for your favorite prompt

50. A book with a bird on its cover: Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams
51. A book published in 2026
52. A book related to the name of one of Santa's reindeer: The Fox by D.H. Lawrence or Dances by Nicole Cuffy or Renoir's Dancer: The Secret Life of Suzanne Valadon by Catherine Hewitt