Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

This prompt is based on the Time Traveler page on the Merriam-Webster website, which lists all the words that have started to be used from several centuries ago until 2010. The goal of the prompt is to have a look at your birth year page and pick a book that's related to a word 'born' the same year as you.

Now, we understand that some selections can be quite hard (I wonder why, but I think it is going to be hard for me to find a book related to 'molecular chaperone', born in 1987 like me), so you can be as flexible as you wish, with the word in the title, in the theme, brushed lightly in your book or by a character in the book or that is remotely linked to one of your word (I would definitely count a book where the characters go play 'paintball' on one occasion, because yes, this fun activity also celebrated its 30th this year).

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Suggestions:
It's really hard to give suggestions for this one, but don't hesitate to list a few of your words below and ask people if they have read books linked to them!

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Optional questions:
- What are you reading for this category?
- What word is it linked to and how?
- Can you list a few funny words born the same year as you?

My phrases :
Force of nature, and I have on pre-order Force of Nature ( I read The Dry this year)

and Date Rape, possibilities for this are
The Tenth Circle
and
Rape Girl

This is my favorite category this year because of its originality and challenge! The 2 books I am considering are:
The Long War (Multiverse) and
Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (neuroscience)

I'm going to go with Snow Crash for the word virtual reality.

I'm going with the word time travel. I don't think I'll have a problem finding a book to match this word, the problem will be narrowing down the book.

I was born in 1981 so for this I'll be reading:

Body Double


There were a lot of choices for my year. I had to find a book for my daughter as well since she is participating. There were only 17 words for the year 2003. We finally settled on:

Unfriended

For the word unfriend

This is a really fun prompt. My top choices at the moment are Angels in America (linked to the word AIDS) or Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients (because there are several drugs on the list of words for my birth year).

This is a terrific prompt! I'm lucky, though, and have tons of great words -- educational television, nerd, birth control pill, autistic disorder, cable television, coffee break, genetic engineering, biowarfare, black tie, brownie point, carbon dating, cybernetician, double whammy, flab, gunpoint, hash browns, home fries, integrationist, short-term memory, nit-picking, sangria, stake out, support group, teleprompter, trailblazing, time line, trash man, truck stop, white board, winner's circle, zero gravity -- just to name some!

I'll probably go with genetic engineering and read either Never Let Me Go, which has been on my TBR for awhile, or How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): How the Silver Fox Became a Dog, which just sounds so interesting!

My year featured the word “cyberpunk” so that makes it pretty easy—I’ll probably read either Neuromancer or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep for this one.

I'm thinking of The Takedown, linked to the word "cybersecurity." Well..."cyberporn" was also an option for my year and fits this book, but since I post about my books on Facebook and my page is connected to my job, I don't really want to have "cyberporn" on there.

I feel like I lucked out w my year! I found some other good options: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (2D), On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks (mind expanding- definitely a 60s word), and Disgrace or any other book by J. M. Coetzee (South African).

Pam wrote: "I feel like I lucked out w my year! I found some other good options: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (2D), [book:On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World L..."

I love Flatland! It's one of the books that I read again every few years. Have fun!

some weird words for 1989 are helicopter parent, extremophile, cybernaut, right click and cyberporn. Lovely ideas for a book! Can't wait to see what I can find

My birthyear (1995)had some quite interesting words :genderqueer ; webcast ; partial-birth abortion; eurozone ;date-rape drug... how do I choose? If anyone has good suggestions,I am open for it 😊.

Michele wrote: "My birthyear (1995)had some quite interesting words :genderqueer ; webcast ; partial-birth abortion; eurozone ;date-rape drug... how do I choose? If anyone has good suggestions,I am open for it 😊."

Hi Michele! I have a great suggestion for you, which I just read. For the word "webcast"- Tash Hearts Tolstoy. It's a pretty decent YA book revolving around the production of a web series. The Circle would probably work, too. You got a tough year but I'm sure you will find something good!

Pam wrote: "Michele wrote: "My birthyear (1995)had some quite interesting words :genderqueer ; webcast ; partial-birth abortion; eurozone ;date-rape drug... how do I choose? If anyone has good suggestions,I am..."

Wow thank you so muchfor the suggestions both seem very different from what I am used to reading, so perhaps I will pick one of them up :)

I've got some good words (from way back...):
DIY, empty calories, flatmate, idiot box, liner notes, mind-boggling, motormouth, sheesh, situation ethics, solar collector, yin-yang symbol

Probably will go with "liner notes" which opens up any book about music or DIY if I feel like nonfiction:

The Natural Kitchen: Your Guide to the Sustainable Food Revolution - Deborah Eden Tull 283p (DIY)

High Fidelity - Nick Hornby (liner notes) ebook

Making Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings, Structures Forms - Alisa Golden 256p (DIY)

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami 296p (liner notes)

The Music Shop - Rachel Joyce 320p (liner notes)

Actually my year had another interesting word : stalkerazzo -"a freelance photographer or videographer who aggressively stalks celebrities for candid photographs or videos" I would like a good stalker thriller ( including taking photographs) for this one so..got any reccommendations ? :)

My word is "clergyman" ... I go with Priest by Sierra Simone ...

I'm old so I seem to have a lot of words. 1969 is my year so Martin Luther King Day was born on that year for obvious reasons. I was thinking about doing an audio on his life. Otherwise I was trying to turn the words into a fiction book that I wanted to read with not much luck. Courtside was also born in my year. I thought there would have been more space words but the only one really is spacey. Homophobia, microchip and microprocessor are other words on there.

Erika wrote: "some weird words for 1989 are helicopter parent, extremophile, cybernaut, right click and cyberporn. Lovely ideas for a book! Can't wait to see what I can find"

I'm 1989 as well!

I was really intrigued with "multiculti" -- Nicola Yoon's The Sun Is Also a Star would be perfect (two main characters from two different cultures!)

Cutting for Stone, where the main character's parents are Indian and British, or How the García Girls Lost Their Accents would also be good reads for "multiculti".

I'm also really leaning towards using Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe for "intersectionality" -- written by a Latin American about LGBTQ+ teens.

Also, "gangsta rap" could lead to some interesting poetry selections.

If those are all too heavy, caffeinate should be an easy word to find a book for -- any novel that features a coffee shop would work! You could also stretch it to be coffee table books!

Oh my, 1977 was not such an inspiring year for words to choose from. I've narrowed it down to...beam weapon, bioequivalence, brewski, brownfield, buzz cut, chemo, chop shop, cringeworthy, download, ear candy, Ebola, food insecure, gamer, gazillion, guilt-trip, headbanger, head game, intranet, megahit, Munchausen syndrome by proxy, recovering, shopaholic, stepparenting, strip mall, upload, warp speed. Most others were medical or food related. Any suggestions?

1990 was a tough one! There weren't many words and they were all computer- and internet-related. So for the word "spam" , I'm reading the Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Hahaha this one made me laugh when I looked up 1983. Words like lap dance, Asian Pear, cyber punk, and onesie were all the rave I guess. Not to mention all the computer slang. Pretty clueless where to begin on this but I went with the first word, lap dance and found Teased

Can’t wait to see what everyone else picks!

Michelle, the only ones that came to mind straight away were Ready Player One for gamer and Confessions of a Shopaholic for shopaholic. If you don't mind non-fiction sport stuff, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen would work for ultramarathon.

I have 'Ebola Virus' for one of my words (1976), and I've got The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus as an option for it.

Possibilities from my birth year are:
Angsty
Asian American
Postapocalyptic

Michelle- There are probably lots of sci-fi titles you could fit. For strip mall - Mr. Mercedes. For megahit, how about any book that was really popular?

Michelle wrote: "Oh my, 1977 was not such an inspiring year for words to choose from. I've narrowed it down to...beam weapon, bioequivalence, brewski, brownfield, buzz cut, chemo, chop shop, cringeworthy, download,..."

I have a book sitting unread on my shelf ,More Than It Hurts You, its about Munchausens by Proxy, which is a really scary and fascinating psychological disorder.

Tracy wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Oh my, 1977 was not such an inspiring year for words to choose from. I've narrowed it down to...beam weapon, bioequivalence, brewski, brownfield, buzz cut, chemo, chop shop, cringe..."

Thanks Tracy! That was one of the phrases I was thinking, but the subject is one that I find a little fascinating and disturbing. I will put is as one of my options. Also thinking something Military related (buzz cut) or on Ebola.

Michelle wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Oh my, 1977 was not such an inspiring year for words to choose from. I've narrowed it down to...beam weapon, bioequivalence, brewski, brownfield, buzz cut, chemo, cho..."

for Military related I highly recommend Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

For Ebola, The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus

Both non- fiction which typically isn't my thing but both really really fascinating stories

Michelle wrote: "Oh my, 1977 was not such an inspiring year for words to choose from. I've narrowed it down to...beam weapon, bioequivalence, brewski, brownfield, buzz cut, chemo, chop shop, cringeworthy, download,..."

Chemo could go any cancer related book (The Fault in Our Stars or The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters)

Definitely went straight to Ready Player One for gamer!

Headbanger would be a great opportunity to read a memoir from a famous musician (I don't know any, but I'm sure there's some good ones out there?)

Confessions of a Shopaholic is a light, easy read, but you could also do The Devil Wears Prada or any other books centered around the fashion industry (I hear Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life is a great biography.)

And if all else fails, cringeworthy could be used to read something super cheesy, like a romance novel or a fluffy YA book.

My year is 1964 and I found three terms that might fit: "golden years", "graphic novel", and "soul food". Any suggestions for "soul food"? I can default to "graphic novel" if nothing else.

Tamula wrote: "My year is 1964 and I found three terms that might fit: "golden years", "graphic novel", and "soul food". Any suggestions for "soul food"? I can default to "graphic novel" if nothing else."

I don't have an great suggestions for soul food, other than maybe Eat, Pray, Love or a memoir with food in the title?

Golden years caught my attention though, and would be great for a book with an elderly protagonist (A Man Called Ove and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry come to mind!)

It took me a long while to find a good word to use because my birth year has some strange selections, but I finally settled on "mouse potato" (a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer) & I'm going to take that word as an opportunity to finally read Wasting Time on the Internet.

Mel wrote: "It took me a long while to find a good word to use because my birth year has some strange selections, but I finally settled on "mouse potato" (a person who spends a great deal of time using a compu..."

😂😂😂

Thanks, Emily. A Man Called Ove sounds like a wonderful choice and I already own the book!

Mouse potato - I've never heard that term. Love it. And your book choice sounds perfect.

Stephanie wrote: "Haven't made my selection yet, but it's definitely some "interesting" options:

1986 words: bioremediation, HIV (HIV-1 and HIV-2), Hepatitis D, insulin resistance syndrome, pulse oximeter, arena fo..."

Techno-thriller is one of the words for us 1986-ers, so I'm using it as excuse to finally read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

My year is 1961, and my word is chocoholic. I have a LOT of chocolate-related books on my kindle, but I think I'm going with Dark, Witch & Creamy

Anybody else have the Year 1997?

Heather wrote: "Anybody else have the Year 1997?"
The Lovely Bones or In the Woods could work for Amber alert. I'm sure there's some other crime novels that involve missing kids.

Uglies or Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence would work for judgy.

I'm not 97 (yikes, I'm not the young one anymore!) but figuring this out is fun!

The word 'beatdown' stood out to me right away (for year 1989). I found a new book, All American Boys and now it's one of the ones I'm most looking forward to reading this year.

anybody else born in 1998 struggling with this one?

Sabrina, I would say to hone in on the cyberbullying or social networking words.

For social networking you could do The Circle or even Ready Player One. For cyberbullying, there is Thirteen Reasons Why or Reconstructing Amelia. I'm sure there's more for both.

Laura wrote: "Sabrina, I would say to hone in on the cyberbullying or social networking words.

For social networking you could do The Circle or even Ready Player One. For cyberbu..."

Feed came to my mind.

Sabrina wrote: "anybody else born in 1998 struggling with this one?"

In addition to other suggestions for social networking, how about The Affinities? For "dark matter", there are lots of books with that phrase in the title. If you like science, you could read something on astronomy. For "exogen", use a book with "hair" in the title, since exogen is related to hair growth cycle.

1975 is my year and I think I'm going with "Date Rape" and am going to read The Mockingbirds

~*Kim*~ wrote: "1975 is my year and I think I'm going with "Date Rape" and am going to read The Mockingbirds"

In my year 1995 there is a word "date-rape-drug " perhaps I can copy you :P

1967 had many different words, but so many of them could not really work-- Here are a few just the top couple of letters of the alphabet: aerobics, agroecology, air ball, andropause, anti-marijuana, anti-pot, antisocial personality disorder, assertiveness training, audiocassette, automatic teller machine, b-ball, Beeb, bias-belted tire, bikie, biotech, blue flu, boardsailing, B-school, cannabinoid, cannellini bean, cephalexin, Chicana, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chump change, circular file, cluster bomb, cochair, codec, command sergeant major, conceptual art, crackback, credentialism, cutoff man DBCP, delocutive, dextromethorphan, dietary supplement, dirtbag

I settled on "Group Home" and picked White Oleander for my book since it seemed to fit.

1987 - Thank god the word "Steampunk" was invented that year! Looked at a list of the best steampunk novels and decided on The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.