Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Nothing will get your blood pumping more than a race for survival. This week, we are reading books with the theme of survival featuring a major role. Maybe it's your main character trying to survive in the Arctic, or maybe it's a protagonist in a domestic abuse situation. Either way, we're keeping our fingers crossed for these characters to make it out alive!

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Suggestions:
Teens vs. Nature
30 Great Novels about Survival
Man vs. Nature
Books about Disease and Being Sick
10 Fictional Pandemics
Alarming Books about Apocalyptic Plagues
Best Dystopian Novels
Listopia: Thriller Fiction
Listopia: Best Wilderness Survival Books
Listopia: Best True Survival Stories
Goodreads Genres: Survival

ATY Group Listopia

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Optional Questions:
1. What are you reading for this category?
2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book?
3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race?

Since I'm one of the few people on Earth who hasn't read The Martian, I'm planning to do that.

Right now I’m leaning towards Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

Because thrillers are my preferred genre, I am planning to read something related to survival in that sense. Not exactly sure which book, yet, though.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the Hunger Games prequel, totally fits this prompt.

Angie wrote: "Since I'm one of the few people on Earth who hasn't read The Martian, I'm planning to do that."

Such a fantastic book, perfect for this prompt!

I'm going with The Outcasts of Time for this one, keep hearing good things about this book :)

Severance is my most likely pick.

From my physical/TBR shelves I've got
Night
The Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan
The Road
Kidnapped

I'm interested in nautical survival and exploration, so here's a few from my shelves (both read and unread):

- The Terror
- The North Water
- The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
- In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
- The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty

I'm also a fan of mountaineering and otherwise outdoorsy survival books, fact and fiction:
- Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
- Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season
- Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day
- Lost on a Mountain in Maine
- The Luminous Dead
- My Side of the Mountain
- Julie of the Wolves

Most of these would work for the "sparsely populated area" category, too.

Wendy wrote: "I'm interested in nautical survival and exploration, so here's a few from my shelves (both read and unread):

- The Terror
- The North Water
- [book:The Perfect Storm: A..."

I am also a fan of all those things. Thank you for the recommendations.

There's a lovely little book called Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival about (you guessed it!) two old women who are abandoned by their starving tribe and need to survive on their own. I thought it was wonderful.

This is totally a tongue in cheek, but I am going with Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable-Path Adventure by Ryan North.

It is YA choose your own adventure book based on the Shakespeare play, and so finding a way to survive a fairly death-heavy plot is a challenge.

I'm in the middle of it now, and it is a super fun, entertaining little read.

What do people think about Parable of the Sower for this prompt?

1. What are you reading for this category?
I'm listening to Joseph Conrads's novella Typhoon, which is a group read in another GR group.

2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book?
Typhoon survival in the South China Sea.

3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race?
I like adventure stories but not thrillers, per se.

1. What are you reading for this category?
Starters by Lissa Price
2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book?
Its a dystopian YA where all of the adults aged 20-60 have died off due to a kind of plague. The older adults now control everything and all of the kids that do not have grandparents are left to fend for themselves and are not allowed to work because of laws.
3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race?
most definitely

Hatchet by Paulson

I’ve gone a bit out of left field with this one. I just finished Quiet Girl in a Noisy World. It’s all about surviving as an introvert in a world that seems to expect extrovertism.

Serendipity wrote: "I’ve gone a bit out of left field with this one. I just finished Quiet Girl in a Noisy World. It’s all about surviving as an introvert in a world that seems to expect extrovertism."

Left field is the best kind of field!

Does anyone reckon I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings fits this?

The Road and the Martian are excellent by the way :)

I just read Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz.

Susie wrote: "Does anyone reckon I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings fits this?

The Road and the Martian are excellent by the way :)"

Absolutely!

Susie wrote: "Does anyone reckon I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings fits this?"

Not really? I mean, if you really want to stretch it, you could say that Angelou has to emotionally survive some difficult experiences, but her life isn't ever really in danger.

I just finished reading The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. Excellent book!

It's a dual survival theme: surviving the harsh Alaskan frontier of the seventies and surviving domestic abuse.

I just finished a book on the Donner party for this.

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book?
Slavery - selling of slaves - the treatment of slaves who try to run away - the treatment of slaves who stay - the Underground movement
3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race?
Different kind of survival here, I think. This one simultaneously made my heart hurt and lifted it up. I had to read it to understand that.

I read American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins for this prompt. In it, a mother and son survive a cartel massacre and attempt to escape to the US. They are joined by other people trying to survive this dangerous journey, too.

My heart did not really race during this read, but it did flutter a bit towards the end. The story just did not seem plausible enough to draw a visceral response from me.

1. What are you reading for this category?

I read Thirst by Benjamin Warner

2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book?

All fresh water inexplicably disappears. It doesn't take long before some people will do anything to survive.

3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race?

Love them. Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic stories are my favourite.

1. What are you reading for this category?
Broken Lands

2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book?
Zombie apocalypse, from the POV of young adults who were born after the outbreak and have known nothing but the apocalypse.

3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race?
I do, but that wasn't this book.

I would recommend FantasticLand
It was SOOOOOOOOO AMAZING!!!!! I read it last year.

1. What are you reading for this category?
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book?
Ellen is an eleven year old who survives abuse, parental death, indifference and mistreatment, and loneliness.
3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race?
This book did not make my heart race like a book in which a person survives against nature or a plane crash would, but it made me cringe in a way those books would not, because there are children out there enduring this every day.

You could definitely read Where the Crawdads Sing for this, since a girl lives alone in the swamps. I am one of the few people who didn't care for this book.

I don't generally read survival stories as such, but since almost anything with war, disease, frontier life, etc. would count, I'm sure I'll find something. It could also be a fantasy or sci-fi book where the future of humanity is at stake.

What are you reading for this category?
I read Death in Captivity by Michael Gilbert

How did the theme of survival play a role in this book?
It was set in an Italian prisoner of war camp where prisoners were being held during WW2

Do you enjoy books that make your heart race?
I do, but this book just did not do it. It all seemed a bit more civilised compared to a German POW camp.

1. What are you reading for this category?


2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book?
Survival plays in this book when the character has to survive different alternative universes to find the correct one.

3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race?
I love mystery books that keeps me in suspense.

I listened to Salt to the Sea. It was excellent. A group of strangers must evacuate in war torn Europe. A trip across land and then by sea.

1)Wilder Girls by Rory Power
2)A girls boarding school trying to survive during a plague
3)Sometimes. A lot lately I've been more in the mood to read lighter content bc I've not been in the head space for heavier topics.

1. What are you reading for this category?


2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book?
It is the main theme, a game where everyone dies but the winner.

3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race?
Yes

does anyone think All The Bright Places would fit into this one? I think its about suicide, so technically the characters are trying to survive? is that too much of a stretch?

Optional Questions:
1. What are you reading for this category? Conjure Women
2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book? This is a book about slavery and about a "conjuror" perhaps we would call her a witch. Not only dose the MC have to survive the slavery but the "hate" of others who blame her for their woes
3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race? I do and I enjoyed this although it isn't a theme that should be enjoyed

1. What are you reading for this category? is Rita Woods debut book, published in January 2020.
2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book? It told the story of escaped slaves who created a safe place called Remembrance.
This was one of ten books I grabbed before the public library closed for the duration of the COVID pandemic. It was an excellent read.

For this prompt I read by Ann Napolitano
I would say surviving a plane crash and figuring out how to go on living your life is a pretty big feat of survival. I enjoy thriller books and mysteries in general so I would say that i like books that make your pulse race

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://titlesurfingwithtraci.blogspo...

So I am reading The Poison Tree for this prompt. So far I'm about 75% done and I can't for the life of me figure out why I'm using it for this category, LOL??!! It's a thriller so there's that. I must have picked it off of a list or suggestion somewhere (because that's how I made my plan this year), but now I can't find it. Or maybe I'm reading the wrong book/same title. I guess I will know by later tonight if this works or if I just spent time on a side read.

What are you reading?
The 7 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

1. What are you reading for this category? Last Chance to See
2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book? IT's about animals on the brink of extinction and the efforts to keep them alive. It's an older book (1990) but all of the main animals focused on except the white rhino are still surviving.
3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race? I really enjoy thrillers, although this one definitely didn't qualify.

I read this one:

22. A Book with the Major Theme of Survival: Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

It was a phenomenal book about survival and gave a really different perspective!

I read Lori Lansens, The Mountain Story for this prompt - excellent, even though this isn't a genre I would usually choose.

1. What are you reading for this category? A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa
2. How did the theme of survival play a role in this book? Author survived starvation in North Korea and experienced and witnessed numerous beatings and deaths
3. Do you enjoy books that make your heart race? Yes, but this one didn't really. The tragedy of Masaji Ishikawa's life is heartbreaking, not exciting

I'm considering . Would this count?

I just finished My Sister's Keeper. I love the author and this book was equally good, about having another baby to provide placental blood for the sick older child. But the ending sucked. Just saying.

I just started

It is very good so far. The basis is a group of contestants are recruited to compete in a reality show (similar to Survivors), but something goes horribly wrong.

For this prompt I kinda found a prompt to fit the book. Last week I finished Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller. Chanel is also known as "Emily Doe," the victim in the Stanford swimmer rape trial. Her memoir really details what she went through after her sexual assault and how she managed to survive the aftermath. I wouldn't consider this a reach, but it's also not the first book that would come to mind when thinking about survival.

Oh that's a good idea! I might do this too as I was meaning to read Know My Name this year.