Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Congratulations! Feel free to post here once you've finished your 2024 Reading Challenge, and let us all celebrate with you!

If you're interested, feel free to answer these questions and let us know what you loved and didn't love about the challenge!

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
- Any twists on the challenge? (ie in order, all nonfiction, all picture books, etc)
- My most creative twist on a prompt
- The prompt I "cheated" on
- My favorite prompt
- My least favorite prompt
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)

Congratulations!!!

I finished last night

b>- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge - I had four:
- The Colour of Law by Mark Gimenez
- The Strength of the Few by James Islington
- The Confusion by Neal Stephenson
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

- Any twists on the challenge? (ie in order, all nonfiction, all picture books, etc)- I read a lot more non-fiction books this year than I normally do. Not sure if that was the prompts or just where I am gravitating at the moment.

- My most creative twist on a prompt- The Confusion by Neal Stephenson. I read this for "A book featuring a character with a similar occupation to one of the Clue/Cluedo characters". That book has a lot of characters which meant there were a lot that could fit that prompt.

- The prompt I "cheated" on- I don't think I did.

- My favorite prompt- "A book that is not a novel" which I thought was a fairly broad prompt. I read The Moth: This Is a True Story which was a collection of short true stories. It was an interesting read.

- My least favorite prompt- "A book related to the name of one of Santa's reindeer". I found it hard to find a book for this one. Ended up reading The Year of the Comet. It wasn't a great book.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)- "A book with a symbol of death on the cover". I read History's Strangest Deaths: A Half-Arsed History Book which was a really fun read on what could have been a dark topic.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)- I didn't have any one star reads this year but Fruit of the Flesh came close. I read it for the "A book published in 2026" prompt.

Tricia wrote: "I finished last night

b>- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge - I had four:
- The Colour of Law by Mark Gimenez
- The Strength of the Few..."

You are done already? Congrats! So impressive.

Congrats on a quick finish. Well done!

Completed 5/10/2026

5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge: The History of Sound: Stories, Jane Austen's Bookshelf, An Unnecessary Woman, Raising Hare: A Memoir, Woodworking, Sipsworth
- Any twists on the challenge? No
- My most creative twist on a prompt
- The prompt I "cheated" on Two books by the same author: Abscond is a novella. Or maybe just a long short story. But it is the most recently published
- My favorite prompt A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building
- My least favorite prompt The most recently published book by an author and a book from that same author's backlist:
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) Woodworking, An Unnecessary Woman
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) Shelter, The Tennis Partner, Veronika Decides to Die

Around the Year in 52 Books
THE 52 TOPICS OF THE 2026 ATY READING CHALLENGE 52/52, completed 5/10/2026

XX 1. A book from a genre that starts with A, T, or Y autobiography (Cher: A Memoir, Part One,
XX 2. A book with a primarily red, green or blue cover How to Be Ok When Nothing Is Okay,
XX 3. A book that fits a prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list, related to one of five basic tastes (Aftertaste),
XX 4. A book by a new-to-you author The History of Sound: Stories
XX 5. A book you want to read because of something you read in 2025 Yellowface, The Elsewhere Express,
XX 6. A book related to blood, sweat, or tears More Than Enough (tears), T
XX 7. A book with a character who appears in more than one book Soul Music (Death, Dibbler)
XX 8. A book set in Africa, Asia, or Australia The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years,
XX 9. A book with a number, ordinal, or iterative numeral in the title The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours Four Patients’ Lives,
XX 10. An award winning book Blackouts (National Book Award Fiction, Cal Book Award Fiction), A
XX 11. A history or historical fiction book Jane Austen’s Bookshelf, P
XX 12. A book with cover text that is NOT black or white Audition (rainbow striped text),
XX 13. An author's second/sophomore book Love by the Book,
XX 14. A book related to a painting by Vincent Van Gogh When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (cover a VG painting)
XX 15. A book you've wanted to read for a long time Autumn,
XX 16. A book featuring a character with a similar occupation to one of the Clue/Cluedo characters Baghdad Without a Map (wealthy estate owner, businessman, maid),
XX 17. A book set in the wellness or beauty industries The Secret to Superhuman Strength,
XX 18. A book with a location in the title Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
XX 19. A book related to yesterday The Enchanted April
XX 20. A book related to today Loved One,
XX 21. A book related to tomorrow The Future Saints, s
XX 22. A book by a Korean or Korean-diaspora author Shelter, ,
XX 23. A book with a road trip or long journey The Elsewhere Express,
XX 24. A book that is either frothy or gothy Heated Rivalry,
XX 25. A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list Veronika Decides to Die,
XX 26. A book with a Z in the title and/or author name The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, T,
XX 27. A nonfiction book Psych Ward Adventures
XX 28. A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution The Lion Women of Tehran
XX 29. A vacation book The One
XX 30. The most recently published book by an author and a book from that same author's backlist: Frontlist Book Abscond
XX 31. The most recently published book by an author and a book from that same author's backlist: Backlist Book
The Tennis Partner
XX 32. A novella of 100-250 pages Sipsworth,
XX 33. A book with an Indigenous character or author The Prince of Frogtown,
XX 34. A book with a window on the cover The Hallmarked Man
XX 35. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building Is This a Cry for Help? (public library),
XX 36. A book with a primary character who is a woman over 40 An Unnecessary Woman,
XX 37. A book that includes a science topic Raising Hare: A Memoir,
XX 38. A book that's part of a series Ancillary Justice
XX 39. A book connected in some way to the "Queen of Crime," Agatha Christie The Ending Writes Itself (compared to And Then There Were None)
XX 40. A book that has a punctuation mark in the title So Old. So Young,
XX 41. A mystery or true crime book Wild Dark Shore
XX 42. A book set in an isolated location Travel Light,
XX 43. A book involving survival A Marriage at Sea Maurice and Maralyn: An Extraordinary True Story of Love Shipwreck and Survival,
XX 44. A book with a symbol of death on the cover Dark Moon Shallow Sea XX 45. A book connected to "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen killed a man The Blinds
XX 46. A book that is not a novel Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction
XX 47. A book with "this," "that," "these," or "those" in the title You Could Make This Place Beautiful,
XX 48. A book with something edible in the title The Satsuma Complex,
XX 49. A second book for your favorite prompt Woodworking
XX 50. A book with a bird on its cover The Cemetery of Untold Stories, XX 51. A book published in 2026 Mad Mabel,
XX 52. A book related to the name of one of Santa's reindeer Heart the Lover (Cupid)

Completed 5/14/26

-5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass: The Graphic Novel
Middlesex
Lady Tremaine

-Any twists on the challenge? (ie in order, all nonfiction, all picture books, etc)
No twists

-My most creative twist on a prompt
I don't think I had any

-The prompt I "cheated" on
No cheating!

-My favorite prompt
I enjoyed a lot of the prompts on the list, so none really jumped out as a stand-out favorite. I did end up reading a lot of books that could have been used for "a book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die" list so maybe that one?

-My least favorite prompt
"a book related to a painting by Vincent Van Gogh" only because I struggled with how to comply with the prompt. In the end I chose a book whose cover used similar colors/elements to one of his paintings.


-A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Virgin Suicides- after 10+ years on my TBR, I finally read this for "a book you've wanted to read for a long time" and it did not disappoint!
Kiss of the Spiderwoman- the last prompt I had left was "a book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building", and I picked this book from my shelf since it's set in a prison. I really enjoyed reading the bond between the two cellmates!
The Swan's Daughter- I used this for "a book that has a punctuation mark in the title". I had my reservations going in since I typically stay clear of YA Fantasy, but this was actually better than a lot of Adult Romantasy books I've read this year, lol.

-A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Conform- read this for "a book related to tomorrow" since it was a futuristic dystopian romance. I rolled my eyes at the love triangle, and will not be continuing with the series.
Moderation- read this for "the most recently published book by an author and a book from that same author's backlist: Frontlist Book" since I had read one of the author's backlisted titles earlier this year. This book tried to do many things, and I don't think it succeeded in all of them.
The Ex-Perimento- picked this up on a whim and used it for "a book related to the name of one of Santa's reindeer" since it was a romance (Cupid). I spent too much time cringing over the FMC's attempts in winning over her ex and not enough time swooning over her musician friend.

Completed 5/15/26

Since I read so much, I do the challenge 3 times once for fiction, once with nonfiction, and once with all picture books.
Last night I finished the challenge with picture books.

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
The Polar Express
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth
How to Have a Thought: A Walk with Charles Darwin
The Gift of Freedom: How Harriet Tubman Rescued Her Brothers
Steam Train, Dream Train: Next Stop, Christmas!
The Day the Crayons Made Friends
Millie Fleur Saves the Night

- Any twists on the challenge? (ie in order, all nonfiction, all picture books, etc)
All picture books.

- My most creative twist on a prompt
nothing very creative this time.

- The prompt I "cheated" on
I usually don't cheat, but I had only one prompt left that was particularly hard to fulfil with a picture book.
A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list. The only one I found was Watchmen. I liked the movie, so I thought it would be fine and I did drag it home from the library, but it's 415 pages. Maybe there's a way to cheat, it's listed in the completion thread for a reason, right? So I found 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up And the polar express was available as an ebook from my library, so I read it and completed the challenge.

- My favorite prompt
A book that fits a prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list


- My least favorite prompt
A book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list is hard and restrictive especially if you've already read the ones you would really like, but now I'm very interested in the 1001 childrens books to read before you grow up, even though I have read a lot of them.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth for A book you've wanted to read for a long time. I added it to my list in 2018, I don't know why I kept putting it off.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
The Worrier's Guide to Life
and Once Upon a Tune: Stories from the Orchestra

Completed 5/16

5 Star Reads
- A Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams
The Inheritance
Mad Mabel
The Secret Book Society
The Maid
The Shippers
Strixhaven: Omens of Chaos
Installment Immortality
Mate
Dungeon Crawler Carl
The Queen's Coronation

Any twists on the challenge? (ie in order, all nonfiction, all picture books, etc)
No twists on the challenge

My most creative twist on a prompt
17. A book set in the wellness or beauty industries - I read The Break-Up Retreat which was really about getting over a break up but I considered it wellness.

The prompt I "cheated"
I didn't really cheat on any.

My favorite prompt
A book with a primary character over 40. I love that there are more and more books with older women and not just your typical 20 year olds. I read The Frozen River

My least favorite prompt
A book related to Santa's reindeer. I found the books very limiting. I know I could have stretched it more but I was looking for something in the title. I read Cupid's Match

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Death on the Nile- I don't know if I ever would have gotten around to reading Agatha Christie. I did enjoy the novel.

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Birds of America: Poems- A book that was not a novel. I am not a huge poetry fan. It was a super quick read but poetry is just not my favorite.

Pamela wrote: "Congratulations! Feel free to post here once you've finished your 2024 Reading Challenge, and let us all celebrate with you!

If you're interested, feel free to answer these questions and let us kn..."

Has anyone mentioned that completion is spelled wrong in the name of the thread? Sorry, English teacher here, and it's driving me nuts.

Finished 29 May. I think this is the earliest that I've ever finished.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
I don't give books a star rating, so these are not necessarily brilliant, they have just stood out for me:
The Pharmacist; To Be Taught, If Fortunate; Harvest;Tell Me Everything; Before Dorothy;Heat Wave; The Dream Hotel; Patsy; The City and Its Uncertain Walls;A Year of Marvellous Ways; Haven; Shy Creatures; The Dance Tree; On Savage Shores; The Mighty Red; Butter; The Little Wartime Library; A Year with Gilbert White: The First Great Nature Writer; Death and the Gardener; The Eagle and the Hart

- Any twists on the challenge? (ie in order, all nonfiction, all picture books, etc)
For my first round, I only used books available in my local branch library.

- My most creative twist on a prompt
For #34, I used Gliff, a book with a physical window on the cover.

- The prompt I "cheated" on
Not in terms of what I read, but I used 'book by a new-to-you author' for #49, to fit in a couple of books I'd read, whereas my favourite prompt was probably 'book with a road trip or long journey'.

- My favorite prompt
See above.

- My least favorite prompt
#25 A book from the ‘1001 books to read before you die’ list. There seemed to be several versions of the list, who decides this anyway?, it took ages to scroll through, and, for a list of 1001 books, it was strangely restrictive, as Deborah says above. But I found two books, which were fine.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Two: I would never have picked up The Little Wartime Library without the challenge. The title seemed twee, and the cover looked a bit 'old-fashioned romance' (she says snobbily). It was a good read, which illuminated a small but fascinating part of London's history in World War II. I don't go for pop star biographies, but I liked the way John & Paul used songs to illustrate the partnership of Lennon and McCartney.

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Nothing I hated.

Thanks to the mods for keeping this going.

I finished on May 29th: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman
Turtle Diary
The Serpent Sea
The Siren Depths
The Tin Flute
The Correspondent
I Am Dust
A Very Fine Place: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
Transit
The Judge and His Hangman
Two Storm Wood

- Any twists on the challenge? (ie in order, all nonfiction, all picture books, etc)
No

- My most creative twist on a prompt
None

- The prompt I "cheated" on
None

- My favorite prompt
14. A book related to a painting by Vincent Van Gogh, such a creative prompt

- My least favorite prompt
17. A book set in the wellness or beauty industries, something I have no interest in

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman - I probably would have read this sometime, but not this year

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Nine Perfect Strangers, which I read for the wellness/beauty prompt because I've enjoyed other books by this author, but I didn't enjoy this one.

Finished! Yay!

- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
• 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
• Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
• Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
• The Terror by Dan Simmons
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Snow by Orhan Pamuk

- Any twists on the challenge? (ie in order, all nonfiction, all picture books, etc)
• nope

- My most creative twist on a prompt
• . A book set in the wellness or beauty industries: We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida

- The prompt I "cheated" on
• Technically, all of them, because I'm using the same books for two different reading challenges.

- My favorite prompt
• A vacation book: Disco Witches of Fire Island by Blair Fell

- My least favorite prompt
• A book that's part of a series: Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
• Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
• Bubblegum by Adam Levin

I finished! 5/30/2026

1. No 5 star books but lots of 4 stars.
2. I tried to read mysteries whenever possible.
3. I didn’t really cheat on anything. I might have stretched things a tad but that’s not cheating.
4. Was there a book I read that I wish I hadn’t? No
5. Was there a book I read that I’m glad I did? Interestingly enough, I didn’t read this book for a prompt. It’s called Elegy for Eddie and it’s fiction. But this author takes a real historical event and makes that the backdrop of her story. So the historical context is between WWI and II, a group of journalists and authors recognized that moral in England was very low and if another war were to erupt, patriotism was so low, no one would be willing to fight. So they set out on a campaign to remind England why they were so great. Every week positive stories appeared about the good things happening in the country, etc. It changed people’s perception from downtrodden, and defeated to proud and hopeful.

ATY "OFFICIAL CHALLENGE" WRAP-UP
Completed 41/ 40 prompts

5 Star books that I read for the Official ATY Challenge:
* A Few Rules for Predicting the Future by Octavia E. Butler
* All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
* Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History by Lea Ypi
* Glimmer of Hope, Glimmer of Flame by Ag Apolloni
* Heartwood by Amity Gaige
* I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
* Mina's Matchbox by Yōko Ogawa
* One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This - Omar El Akkad
* The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem
* The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
* The Library by Zoran Živković
* What Remains After a Fire: Stories by Kanza Javed
* Zoli by Colum McCann

Any twists on the challenge?
I set up my challenge to be a combination of "official" (40) and rejects (50), for a total of 90 prompts.

My most creative twist on a prompt:
#44. A book with a symbol of death on the cover - the symbol is actually a painting from 1772, titled "The Death of Niobe's Children", showing Niobe prostrate in her grief over the death of her children, the mythological story of which is referenced in the book's themes of maternal grief and loss following the Kosovo War of 1999. 

The prompt I "cheated" on - a stretch maybe:
#7. A book with a character who appears in more than one book - I read the second book of a series to fit another challenge without reading the first book.

My favorite prompt:
#28. A book related to a resistance, rebellion, or revolution

My least favorite prompt:
didn't complete it

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Milkman by Anna Burns, used for #28, noted above

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
none really - my lowest rating for books used in the challenge were 3's.

5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse (29. Vacation book)
Jon Fosse: Vaim (32. Novella)
László Krasznahorkai: The Melancholy of Resistance (44. Symbol of death on the cover)

Any twists on the challenge? (ie in order, all nonfiction, all picture books, etc)
Most books were either already on my shelf, checked out from the library, or parts of book subscriptions.

My favorite prompt
10. Award-winning. - I like keeping up with literary prizes and was able to fit in quite a few prize-winning books and authors.

My least favorite prompt
52. Santa's reindeer. I ended up using a romance (a least favorite genre) for Cupid, but I'm also about to finish up Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, which would have been a good fit for Dancer.

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Han Kang: Greek Lessons

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Alas, I have a few:
Ray Bradbury: Dandelion Wine - too sentimental
Frank Abagnale: Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake - terrible writing
Amanda Jones - That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America - disappointing writing for such a good story

I finished 6/15/2026! Books are in my 2026-aty shelf or on column DR on the A-F tab on the excel.

This is my first year actually committing to finishing a reading challenge other than the scant amount of GRs seasonal ones so I am proud! I finished 51/52 books about a month ago, but number 52 was a slow one (the Agatha Christie prompt- 39, I tried to read and DNFed about 6 books before I forced myself to finish one).

———————
For the questions:
• 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge - The Will of the Many (James Islington) and Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir), plus a few 4.5s
• Any twists on the challenge? (ie in order, all nonfiction, all picture books, etc) - Haha I wish, no repeating books was a win at least!
• My most creative twist on a prompt - I really liked reading Donner Dinner Party (Nathan Hale) for the Reindeer prompt, it’s about the Donner party and was a fun graphic novel.
• The prompt I "cheated" on - I read The Pit and the Pendulum (Poe) for the 1001 Books to Read before you Die (25) prompt. It’s on the list, but it’s like a 30-minute read so felt like cheating.
• My favorite prompt - Books Published in 2026! I love reading new releases and getting to talk about them with all of the other people reading new releases. It takes me back to the era of when we would all get excited about a new Hunger Games book or something (to note, not a fan of the recent HG).
• My least favorite prompt - The Agatha Christie one (39), if I never have to see another Agatha Christie book again it will be too soon.
• A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) - Yolk (Mary H.K. Choi) this was a strong 4.5, I loved it!
• A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) - (1) The Queens of Crime - Marie Benedict, this might have been the most boring book I have finished in a while, but it’s better than every other Agatha Christy related book I tried. (2) Arsenic and Adobo - Mia Manansala, this book was very ableist, and made me feel gross reading it.