Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Kathy E. - 2021 ATY Reading Challenge

CHALLENGES AND PROGRESS
ATY Official: 52/52
ATY2: 52/52
NATO: 26/26
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Read Your Age: 9/9
Nobel Authors: 10/4
World Lit: 9/4 (chosen from “Are You Well-Read in World Literature?” List Challenge)
Life List: 26/4 (my own list)
Nonfiction: 9/4
ABE Authors: 7/4
100 Black Novelists You Should Read - USA Today: 8/4
25 Top-rated: 14/25
On TBR the longest: 5/20
Eight Perfect Murders Challenge 8/10
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

ATY Possible Choices - Message 4

Group Spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

✅ - Finished ➡️ - Currently reading

ATY PROGRESS POST - PART 1
1. A book related to “In the Beginning...”
✅The Garden of Small Beginnings - Abbi Waxman 4*


2. A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y
✅Atomic Love - Jennie Fields 3.5*


3. A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music
✅The Satapur Moonstone - Sujata Massey 3.5*


4. A book with a monochromatic cover
✅In Chancery (The Forsyte Chronicles #2) - John Galsworthy 4*


5. A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read
✅The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin 4*


6. A love story
✅North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell 5*


7. A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list
✅Eugénie Grandet - Honore de Balzac 4*


8. A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited
✅ An Unnecessary Woman - Rabih Alammedine 4*


9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year
✅I'll Be Your Blue Sky - Marisa de los Santos 4*


10. A book with a female villain or criminal
✅Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham 5*


11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum
✅The Curse of the Pharaohs - Elizabeth Peters 4*


12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
✅The Little French Bistro - Nina George 4*


13. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020
✅500 Miles from You - Jenny Colgan 4*


14. A book set in a made-up place
✅The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken 3.5*


15. A book that features siblings as the main characters
✅Tiny Little Thing - Beatriz Williams 4*


16. A book with a building in the title
✅Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie 4*


17. A book with a Muslim character or author
✅Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo 4*


18. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 1
✅Along the Infinite Sea (Schuyler Sisters #3) - Beatriz Williams 4*


19. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 2
✅Little Beach Street Bakery - Jenny Colgan 4*


20. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3
✅Illuminae - Amie Kaufman 3.5*


21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"
✅The Hunting Party - Lucy Foley 3.5*


22. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads
✅When All Is Said - Anne Griffin 4*


23. A cross genre novel
✅The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab 2*


24. A book about racism or race relations
✅ Jack - Marilynne Robinson 4*


25. A book set on an island
✅Evil Under the Sun - Agatha Christie 3*


26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author
✅Hag's Nook - John Dickson Carr 3.5*

Read Your Age (9 books left from 1955-2021)
Started in 2016 so I want to finish!
Started this 12/2020

Finished 8/4/2021

1968
✅Under the Glacier - Halldor Laxness

1973
✅Borrower of the Night (Vicky Bliss #1) - Elizabeth Peters 12/27/2020

1974
✅Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - John Le Carre

1975
✅Villa Triste - Patrick Modiano

1976
✅Sleeping Murder - Agatha Christie

1979
✅Kindred - Octavia E. Butler

1981
✅The Curse of the Pharaohs - Elizabeth Peters

1982
✅Light Thickens - Ngaio Marsh

2021
✅Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage - Anne Lamott

Nobel Authors

Read 4 in 2021
Finished 10 authors



2014
✅Villa Triste - Patrick Modiano

1928
✅Kristin Lavransdatter 3: The Cross - Sigrid Undset

1954
✅The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories - Ernest Hemingway

1932
✅The Forsyte Saga - John Galsworthy

1955
✅Under the Glacier - Halldór Laxness

1989
✅The Family of Pascual Duarte - Camilo José Cela

1951
✅Barabbas - Pär Lagerkvist

1915
✅Pierre and Luce - Romain Rolland

1962
✅Travels with Charley: In Search of America - John Steinbeck

2020
✅A Village Life - Louise Gluck

World Lit
(chosen from “Are You Well-Read in World Literature?” List Challenge)

Read 4 in 2021
Finished 9

✅An Unnecessary Woman - Rabih Alammedine (Lebanon)
✅Anecdotes of Destiny - Isak Dinesen
🔺Fifth Business - Robertson Davies (NTLTRC Dec.)
✅The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
✅Half of a Yellow Sun- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
✅Oblomov - Ivan Goncharov
✅Beowulf - Unknown (translated by Seamus Heaney)
✅Annie John - Jamaica Kincaid
✅The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson
✅The Cross - Sigrid Undset

Life List

Read 10 in 2021

✅Eugénie Grandet - Honore de Balzac
✅Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson
✅Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maughan
✅Barchester Towers - Anthony Trollope
✅Old New York: Four Novellas - Edith Wharton
✅Transcendent Kingdom - Yaa Gyasi
✅North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
✅The Man of Property (The Forsyte Chronicles #1) - John Galsworthy
✅In Chancery (The Forsyte Chronicles #2) - John Galsworthy
✅Annie John - Jamaica Kincaid
✅To Let (The Forsyte Chronicles #3) - John Galsworthy
✅The Innocence of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton
✅This Close to Okay - Leesa Cross-Smith
✅Villa Triste - Patrick Modiano
✅Shirley - Charlotte Bronte
✅The Pioneers - James Fennimore Cooper
✅Queen Lucia - E.F. Benson
✅The Gathering - Anne Enright
✅Notes of a Native Son- James Baldwin
✅The Story of the Lost Child - Elena Ferrante
✅Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
✅Oblomov - Ivan Goncharov
✅Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
✅Travels with Charley: In Search of America - John Steinbeck
✅A Village Life - Louise Gluck
✅Home Fire - Kamila Shamsie

Nonfiction

Read 4 in 2021


✅The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here - Hope Jahren
✅The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain
✅The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West - David McCullough
The Seine: The River that Made Paris - Elaine Sciolino
✅Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave - Frederick Douglass
✅Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage - Anne Lamott
✅Notes of a Native Son- James Baldwin
✅The Salt Path - Raynor Winn
✅Voodoo in New Orleans - Robert Tallant
✅Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants - Robin Wall Kimmerer

Abe List of 100 Essential Female Authors
https://www.abebooks.com/books/best-f...

Read 4 in 2021 (already started 12/2020)

✅Ayiti - Roxanne Gay 12/2020
✅Shirley - Charlotte Bronte
✅Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo
✅Kindred - Octavia E. Butler
✅The Pull of the Stars - Emma Donoghue
✅Half of a Yellow Sun
✅Alexander's Bridge - Willa Cather

100 Black Novelists You Should Read - USA Today:
https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gall...

Read 4 in 2021 (already started 12/2020)

✅Ayiti - Roxanne Gay 12/2020
✅Notes of a Native Son - James Baldwin
✅Kindred- Octavia Butler
✅Transcendent Kingdom - Yaa Gyasi
✅The Fire Next Time
✅Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo
✅Annie John - Jamaica Kincaid
✅Half of a Yellow Sun

25 Top-rated books on my TBR (with 10,000 or more ratings)


✅The Absolute Sandman, Volume One
✅Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
✅The House in the Cerulean Sea
The Girl with the Louding Voice
A Promised Land
✅How the Light Gets In
✅Girl, Woman, Other
✅The Poet X
✅The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
✅The Story of the Lost Child
Jayber Crow
✅Notes of a Native Son
✅The House at Pooh Corner
These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901
✅Hannah Coulter
Cutting for Stone
Half of a Yellow Sun
✅Call Your Daughter Home
✅Illuminae
The Fifth Season
The Giver of Stars
The Souls of Black Folk
✅Kindred
Memoirs of Hadrian
A Light in the Window

Wow - quite a lot of good choices, Kathy. How will you decide? Choose Winter for #9 and we can discuss later on. I'm disappointed I didn't pick Bangkok Wakes to Rain, but I'm going to try to work it in somehow, apart from ATY. Death in Zanzibar also sounds fun and I'm adding it to my out-of-control TBR. Happy holidays and happy reading!

I know, Stacey, I just kept adding and adding books to each prompt. I usually choose by what I'm in the mood for, or end up choosing a different book altogether!

I must admit that I just finished reading Winter so I won't be reading for 2021, but we can still discuss it. Ali Smith's books are interesting, and a challenge for me.

Keep on reading! Happy holidays!

On TBR the Longest


The Gray Notebook - Josep Pla (Life List)
✅Shirley - Charlotte Bronte (NTLTRC April) (Life List)
The Professor - Charlotte Bronte (Life List)
✅Villa Triste - Patrick Modiano (Nobel)
The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd
✅Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nora Webster - Colm Toibin (Life List)
Sunset Song (A Scots Quair #1) - Lewis Grassic Gibbon
✅Eugénie Grandet - Honore de Balzac (NTLTRC January) (Life List)
Daughter of Fortune- Isabel Allende
The Orphan Mother - Robert Hicks
Dubliners - James Joyce
The Shadow Land - Elizabeth Kostova
Laughter on the Stairs - Beverley Nichols DNF
Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden - Eleanor Perenyi
Two By Two - Nicholas Sparks
Lives of Girls and Women - Alice Munro
✅The Gathering - Anne Enright
On Beauty - Zadie Smith

Eight Perfect Murders Challenge
✅ - have read

The Eight Perfect Murders:
✅1. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne.
✅2. Double Indemnity by James M. Cain
3. Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles
4. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
✅5. The Drowner by John D. MacDonald
✅6. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
✅7. The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie
✅8. Deathtrap by Ira Levin

You should also read:
✅9. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

and then finish up with
✅10. Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

January Update
I read 19 books in January, 15 of them for ATY.

1. A book related to “In the Beginning...”
The Garden of Small Beginnings - Abbi Waxman 4*

7. A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list
A book from the first 20 books on your GR to-read shelf when sorted by “date added” in ascending order
Eugénie Grandet - Honore de Balzac 4*

10. A book with a female villain or criminal
Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham 5*

11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum
The Curse of the Pharaohs(Amelia Peabody #2) - Elizabeth Peters 4*

13. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020
500 Miles from You (Scottish Bookshop #3) - Jenny Colgan 4*

23. A cross-genre novel
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab 2*
This book seemed to me like it could have been 100 pages shorter. Too much repetition.

24. A book about racism or race relations
Jack (Gilead #4) - Marilynne Robinson 4*

28. A book connected to ice
Under the Glacier - Halldor Laxness 3*

29. A book that you consider comfort reading
The Scapegoat - Daphne du Maurier 4*

30. A long book
Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner (569p) 5*

31. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years
Sparkling Cyanide - Agatha Christie 4*

32. A book whose cover shows more than 2 people
Old New York: Four NovellasOld New York: 4 Novellas - Edith Wharton - Edith Wharton 4*

33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry
Old New York: Four Novellas - Katherine Mansfield 3.5*

42. A mystery or thriller
The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman 2*
Okay, but I just didn't enjoy it. ?

46. A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards
I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf - Grant Snider 4*

Other books finished:
The Old Nurse's Story - Elizabeth Gaskell 3*
Really a short story
Beowulf - Unknown (trans. by Seamus Heaney) 3.5
Beowulf - Gareth Hinds (graphic novel) 3.5
Incidental Inventions - Elena Ferrante 4*

I finished 28 books and 7128 pages in February. Lots of audio this month.

ATY
8. A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited
An Unnecessary Woman - Rabih Alammedine 4*

11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum
The Curse of the Pharaohs - Elizabeth Peters 4*

12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
The Little French Bistro - Nina George 4*

14. A book set in a made-up place
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken 3.5*

19. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 2
Little Beach Street Bakery - Jenny Colgan 4*

21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"
The Hunting Party - Lucy Foley 3.5*

22. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads
When All Is Said - Anne Griffin 4*

25. A book set on an island
Evil Under the Sun - Agatha Christie 3*

39. A book involving an immigrant
Transcendent Kingdom - Yaa Gyasi 4*

40. A book with flowers or greenery on the cover
Hannah Coulter - Wendell Berry 5*

41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave - Frederick Douglass 4*

47. A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir
The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here - Hope Jahren 4*

48. A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?”
Nothing to See Here - Kevin Wilson 4*

Other books finished
The Metamorphosis
Little Fires Everywhere
The Poet X 5*
Jane, the Fox, and Me
The House at Pooh Corner
By the Pricking of My Thumbs
The Turn of the Key
Strawberry Shortcake Murder
My Man Jeeves
The Lost Art of Mixing
Spoon River Anthology
The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores
Sanditon
N or M?
Roseanna 5*

Best Books of February

Finished 3/6/21:
18. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 1: Past
Tiny Little Thing - Beatriz Williams 4*


Edit: Changed this to #15 A book that features siblings and main characters because this book featured Tiny and Pepper throughout the book. Their relationship was part of the book.

Finished: 3/9/21

35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer
Seven Little Australians: Children's Classic - Ethel Turner 3.5*


50. A book published in 2021
Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage - Anne Lamott 5*

Finished 3/15/21

2. A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y
Atomic Love - Jennie Fields 3.5*


Finished 3/16/21
18. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 1
✅Along the Infinite Sea (Schuyler Sisters #3) - Beatriz Williams 4*

Finished 3/18/21
6. A love story
✅North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell 5*


Finished 3/19/21
26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author
✅Hag's Nook - John Dickson Carr 3.5*

Finished 3/23/21
51. A book whose title refers to a person without giving their name
✅Notes of a Native Son - James Baldwin 4*


Finished 3/26/21
17. A book with a Muslim character or author
✅Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo 4*


Finished 3/27/21
52. A book related to "the end"
✅The Last Garden in England - Julia Kelly 4*


Finished 3/29/21
5. A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read
✅The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin 4*


20. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3 (Future)
3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3
Illuminae - Amie Kaufman 3.5


Finished 4/4/21
49. A book with an ensemble cast
The Man of Property - John Galsworthy 4*

Finished 4/5/21
3. A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music
The Satapur Moonstone - Sujata Massey 3.5*


4/10/21
43. A book with elements of magic
The Lost Apothecary - Sarah Penner 4*


Finished 4/11/21
45. A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
An Ideal Husband - Oscar Wilde 4*


Finished 4/11/21
4. A book with a monochromatic cover
In Chancery - John Galsworthy 4*

2021 Around the Year in 52 Books - 2nd Round

✅Have read ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating

52/52 Finished 10/19/21

1. A book related to “In the Beginning...”
✅The Poet X- Elizabeth Acevedo ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

2. A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y
✅A Contract With God - Will Eisner ⭐⭐⭐⭐

3. A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music
✅The White Monkey (Forsyte Chronicles #4) - John Galsworthy (girls in white dresses)⭐⭐⭐⭐


4. A book with a monochromatic cover
✅Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson ⭐⭐⭐⭐


5. A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read
✅Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

6. A love story
✅The Forsyte Saga: Swan Song - John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

7. A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list (1st 20 books on TBR)
✅Villa Triste - Patrick Modiano ⭐⭐⭐

8. A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited
✅At Bertram's Hotel- Agatha Christie (England) ⭐⭐⭐

9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year
✅Beach Read - Emily Henry ⭐⭐⭐

10. A book with a female villain or criminal
✅Lord Edgware Dies - Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐

11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum
✅The Mummy Case - Elizabeth Peters ⭐⭐⭐⭐

12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
✅Miss Iceland - Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

13. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020
✅By the Pricking of My Thumbs (Tommy and Tuppence #4) - Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐

14. A book set in a made-up place
✅The House at Pooh Corner - A. A. Milne ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

15. A book that features siblings as the main characters
✅The Gathering - Anne Enright ⭐⭐⭐.5

16. A book with a building in the title
✅Barchester Towers - Anthony Trollope ⭐⭐⭐⭐

17. A book with a Muslim character or author
✅Home Fire - Kamila Shamsie ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

18. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 1
✅When We Left Cuba - Chanel Cleeton ⭐⭐⭐⭐

19. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 2
✅Live and Let Chai - Bree Baker ⭐⭐⭐

20. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3
✅Migrations - Charlotte McConaghy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"
✅Strawberry Shortcake Murder - Joanne Fluke ⭐⭐⭐⭐

22. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads
✅Olive, Again - Elizabeth Strout ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

23. A cross genre novel
✅The Bombay Prince - Sujata Massey ⭐⭐⭐⭐(historical mystery)

24. A book about racism or race relations
✅Kindred - Octavia E. Butler ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

25. A book set on an island
✅Anne of the Island - L.M. Montgomery ⭐⭐⭐⭐

26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author
✅A Cafecito Story: El Cuento del Cafecito - Julia Alvarez ⭐⭐⭐⭐

27. A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards
✅Queen Lucia - E.F. Benson ⭐⭐⭐

28. A book connected to ice
✅The Virgin in the Ice - Ellis Peters ⭐⭐⭐

29. A book that you consider comfort reading
✅Cards on the Table - Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐

30. A long book
✅Shirley - Charlotte Bronte (624 pages) ⭐⭐⭐.5

31. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years
✅N or M? (Tommy and Tuppence #3)- Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐

32. A book whose cover shows more than 2 people
✅To Let (The Forsyte Chronicles #3) - John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐

33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry
✅Incidental Inventions- Elena Ferrante ⭐⭐⭐⭐

34. A book with a travel theme
✅Miss Benson's Beetle - Rachel Joyce ⭐⭐⭐⭐

35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer
✅Colour Scheme - by Ngaio Marsh ⭐⭐⭐⭐

36. A book with six or more words in the title
✅Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery - Jenny Colgan ⭐⭐⭐.5

37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list
✅The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson ⭐⭐⭐.5

38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator
✅The Shivering Sands - Victoria Holt 4*

39. A book involving an immigrant
✅The Fire Blossom - Sarah Lark ⭐⭐⭐⭐

40. A book with flowers or greenery on the cover
✅The Wife Upstairs - Rachel Hawkins ⭐⭐⭐⭐


41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author
✅This Close to Okay - Leesa Cross-Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐

42. A mystery or thriller
✅The Turn of the Key - Ruth Ware ⭐⭐⭐

43. A book with elements of magic
✅Bed-Knob and Broomstick - Mary Norton ⭐⭐⭐.5

44. A book whose title contains a negative
✅The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse - Louise Erdrich ⭐⭐⭐⭐

45. A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
✅The Innocence of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton (Papa) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

46. A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards
✅The House in the Cerulean Sea - T.J. Klune ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

47. A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir
✅Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants - Robin Wall Kimmerer ⭐⭐⭐⭐

48. A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?”
✅Why Shoot a Butler? - Georgette Heyer ⭐⭐⭐⭐

49. A book with an ensemble cast
✅The Silver Spoon - John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐

50. A book published in 2021
✅Malibu Rising - Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐⭐⭐⭐

51. A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name
✅Call for the Dead - John Le Carre ⭐⭐⭐⭐

52. A book related to "the end"
✅Postern of Fate - Agatha Christie (last of Tommy and Tuppence series) ⭐⭐⭐

Week of April 18-April 24
37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list
Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid⭐⭐⭐⭐
I listened to this coming of age story set in Antigua and enjoyed the narrator. Annie John went through a lot in her young life.

I only have 6 more books in my first round of ATY, so I'm starting a second round. These two books I read for the second round:

3. A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music
The White Monkey by John Galsworthy (girls in white dresses on the cover) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is the 5th book in the Forsyte Chronicles by Nobel winning author, John Galsworthy. I actually started listening to the series this month, beginning with The Man of Property. I just love the large cast of characters and events of the Forsyte family. Don't let this cover of The Man of Property put you off. The story is so good.
This could also fit the "ensemble cast" prompt.

45. A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton (Codeword: "Papa") ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I enjoyed most of these short stories about the mystery-solving Father Brown.

Side read:
Scales of Justice by Ngaio Marsh ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A good mystery by the Golden Age of Mystery author.

Week of April 25 - May 1
I finished 6 books this week. Two were audiobooks, one was only 54 pages, two were physical books and one was an ebook.

Five were for my second round of ATY. one for my first round. I have 5 left in that round.

9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year
I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I think this book was on a list which suggested to read it in spring. An easy to read style but some heavy issues.

15. A book that features siblings as the main characters
The Gathering by Anne Enright ⭐⭐⭐.5
This book was depressing to me. About a family gathering for the funeral of their brother, Liam. Lots of family secrets are divulged. Glad I read it since it's one of the books that's been on my TBR the longest.

26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author
A Cafecito Story by Julia Alvarez ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Only 54 pages, about free trade coffee. The author fit the Spring challenge "jellybean."

48. A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?”
Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I thought the title was humorous. Published in 1933, a good mystery. Has some racist language.

49. A book with an ensemble cast
The Silver Spoon (The Forsyte Chronicles #5) by John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I've listed to 5 books in the Forsyte Chronicles series this month. I've given them all 4 stars, but as a whole so far they are 5 stars.

52. A book related to "the end"
Postern of Fate (Tommy and Tuppence #5) by Agatha Christie (final book in the Tommy &
Tuppence series) ⭐⭐⭐
Not Christie's best, but entertaining.

Update - May 2 - May 16

Read:

Light Thickens - Ngaio Marsh ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spring Challenge Author: rainstorm
Read Your Age - 1982

The Transatlantic Book Club - Felicity Hayes-McCoy ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY 38: related to a random word generator - "attract"
Spring Challenge Title: rainstorm

Olive, Again - Elizabeth Strout ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY 22: book posted in ATY Best Books of the Month
NATO Challenge: Bravo
Spring Authors: eggs

The Forsyte Saga: Swan Song - John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY 16: a love story

The Virgin in the Ice - Ellis Peters ⭐⭐⭐
ATY 28: book related to ice
Spring Challenge Author: spring break

Double Indemnity - James M. Cain ⭐⭐⭐⭐
8 Perfect Murders Challenge

The Hand That First Held Mine - Maggie O'Farrell ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
ATY 36: 6 or more words in title
Spring Challenge Author: bloom

End of the Chapter: Maid in Waiting - John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐
Never Too Late to Read Classics - Nobel Prize

Barabbas - Par Lagerkvist ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Never Too Late to Read Classics - Translated Classic

End of the Chapter: Flowering Wilderness - John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Never To Late to Read Classics - Nobel Prize

Uncle Fred in the Springtime - P.G. Wodehouse ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Never Too Late to Read Classics - That One Book Challenge-Humor

May 17-31

I read 12 books, 7 for ATY and finished my first round of the ATY challenge.

4. A book with a monochromatic cover
Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson
⭐⭐⭐⭐

16. A book with a building in the title
Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐

34. A book with a travel theme
The Salt Path - Raynor Winn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer
Colour Scheme - Ngaio Marsh ⭐⭐⭐⭐

39. A book involving an immigrant
The Fire Blossom - Sarah Lark ⭐⭐⭐⭐

41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author
This Close to Okay - Leesa Cross-Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐

44. A book whose title contains a negative (No, Don't, Isn't, Never, Not, Nobody, Can't, etc.)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Others
End of the Chapter: Over the River - John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐

To Kill a Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel - Harper Lee; Fred Fordham ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Seventeenth Summer - Maureen Daly ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pierre and Luce - Romain Rolland ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Share in Death - Deborah Crombie ⭐⭐⭐⭐

June 1 - June 5
I finished 3 books, one for ATY, one nonfiction book, and one for my IRL Book Club

ATY:
34. A book with a travel theme
Miss Benson's Beetle - Rachel Joyce ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (also used for Summer Challenge)

Nonfiction: (have read 8 so far this year)
The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West - David McCullough ⭐⭐⭐
Started in Feb. 2020, but my husband and I only listen in the car, so I finally finished even though it took 15 months!

Book Club:
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - John Le Carre ⭐⭐⭐ (also used for Summer Challenge)

June 6 - June 19

I finished 7 books, 4 for my second round of ATY, 6 for the Summer Challenge.

ATY:
7. A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list: A book from the first 20 books on your GR to-read shelf when sorted by “date added” in ascending order
Villa Triste - Patrick Modiano ⭐⭐⭐ (also used for Summer Challenge)

9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year
Beach Read - Emily Henry ⭐⭐⭐ (I'm sure other people will like this a lot) (also used for Summer Challenge)

24. A book about racism or race relations
Kindred - Octavia E. Butler ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (also used for Summer Challenge)
Excellent. Can't believe it was published in 1979.

50. A book published in 2021
Malibu Rising - Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 (also used for Summer Challenge)

Summer Challenge:
Washington Square - Henry James ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodbye to All That - Robert Graves ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Nobel Prize winner:
Cannery Row - John Steinbeck ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

June 20-June 26

I finished 5 book this week, 3 for ATY and the Summer Challenge.

ATY & Summer Reading Challenge
19. A book related to "the present."
Live and Let Chai - Bree Baker ⭐⭐⭐
A cozy mystery.

23. A cross-genre novel (historical mystery)
The Bombay Prince (Perveen Mistry #3) - Sujata Massey ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I've liked this best in the Perveen Mistry series.

29. A book that you consider comfort reading
Cards on the Table (Hercule Poirot #15) - Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I liked the set-up for this Christie mystery.

Other:
Charlotte Temple - Susanna Rowson ⭐⭐
The Cracked Spine (Scottish Bookshop Mystery #1) - Paige Shelton ⭐⭐⭐

June 27 - July 4

I finished 5 books this week, 3 for the ATY Challenge and 3 for the Summer Challenge.

ATY & Summer
36. A book with six or more words in the title
Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery - Jenny Colgan ⭐⭐⭐.5

46. A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards
The House in the Cerulean Sea - T.J. Klune ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ATY Only
12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
Miss Iceland - Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summer only
This Is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar ⭐⭐

Other
The Pioneers - James Fennimore Cooper ⭐⭐⭐

July 5-July 17

The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories - Ernest Hemingway

The Works of Edgar Allan Poe: Volume 1

The Mummy Case - Elizabeth Peters ATY #11

The Shivering Sands - Victoria Holt ATY #38

Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver

Unnatural Death - Dorothy L. Sayers

The Wife Upstairs - Rachel Hawkins ATY #40

July 18-August 21

It's been awhile since I updated. I have 3 books left for my second round of the ATY challenge. I've also finished the Summer Reading Challenge.

Books Read
A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories - Will Eisner ⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y

Queen Lucia - E.F. Benson ⭐⭐⭐
27. A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards

The Franchise Affair - Josephine Tey ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Side read

When We Left Cuba - Chanel Cleeton ⭐⭐⭐⭐
18. A book related to the past

Shirley - Charlotte Brontë ⭐⭐⭐.5
30. A long book (over 500 pages)

Migrations - Charlotte McConaghy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
20. A book related to the future

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson ⭐⭐⭐.5
37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list

Call for the Dead - John le Carré ⭐⭐⭐⭐
51. A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name

Dawn O'Hara: The Girl Who Laughed - Edna Ferber ⭐⭐⭐
Side read

The Third Man - Graham Greene ⭐⭐⭐⭐
26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author

Sleeping Murder - Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Side Read

The Story of the Lost Child - Elena Ferrante ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
36. A book with six or more words in the title

The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse - Louise Erdrich ⭐⭐⭐⭐
44. A book whose title contains a negative (No, Don't, Isn't, Never, Not, Nobody, Can't, etc.)

Barchester Towers - Anthony Trollope ⭐⭐⭐⭐
16. A book with a building in the title

Band of Sisters - Lauren Willig ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
50. A book published in 2021

Oblomov - Ivan Goncharov ⭐⭐⭐⭐
31. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years

Cocktail Time - P.G. Wodehouse ⭐⭐⭐
48. A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?”

I have one book left to finish my second round of ATY. Most of these are books I read for other challenges or the Readathon.

For ATY
5. 100 Black Authors list - Half of a Yellow Sun ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Best book of the month

43. elements of magic - Bedknob and Broomstick ⭐⭐⭐⭐

For NATO Challenge
QUEBEC - How the Light Gets In ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Unbelievably wonderful Armand Gamache novel

ZULU - The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Haven't read a No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency book in a while and this was fun

Everything else:
Waiting for Willa ⭐⭐⭐.5
Kristin Lavransdatter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - re-read the first 2 books, then read the third. This is so good.
The Yellow Dog - Georges Simenon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Murder at Melrose Court ⭐⭐⭐
The House in the Mist ⭐⭐⭐
Kings in Disguise - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ wonderful graphic novel about a boy's experience in the depression
The Sense of an Ending ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Finally read this. It's moving.
Three Act Tragedy ⭐⭐⭐⭐a pretty good Agatha Christie
Murder at the Mena House ⭐⭐⭐ - Would work for the Egyptian museum prompt
Deathtrap ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Whispering House ⭐⭐⭐ Gothic
Diary of a Provincial Lady ⭐⭐⭐
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen ⭐⭐⭐
James Herriot's Cat Stories ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved these stories. Read for the "animal print" for the Readathon
The Distant Hours ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Re-read
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets ⭐⭐⭐
Salvation of a Forsyte ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Pull of the Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Finished between October 1 and November 11, 2021

Excellent Women ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Village Life - Louise Glück ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Nobel Prize 2020)
Bleak House ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Haunted Hibiscus ⭐⭐⭐
The Valley of Fear ⭐⭐⭐
Crome Yellow ⭐⭐⭐
Voodoo in New Orleans ⭐⭐
The Mystery of Edwin Drood ⭐⭐⭐
Endless Night ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Anecdotes of Destiny⭐⭐⭐.5
Anne of Windy Poplars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Invisible Man ⭐⭐⭐
Travels with Charley: In Search of America ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hospital Sketches ⭐⭐
Alexander's Bridge ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Long Bright River ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Lager Queen of Minnesota ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Campion at Christmas: 4 Holiday Stories ⭐⭐⭐.5

I love seeing your selections and ratings. For so many of the books that we’ve both read, we give the same rating. So if you give something a 5 star rating, I put it on my list. Thanks for all your past, and I’m sure future, book suggestions.

Congratulations to you on a great reading year!! 🍾🥳

Thanks Lizzie and Stacey! I always check both of your plans for suggestions too.

Finished between November 12 and December 19, 2021
Edited: added books read through Dec. 31, 2021

Lolly Willowes ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Inspector Imanishi Investigates ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Where the Crawdads Sing ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories ⭐⭐⭐
Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Moving Toyshop ⭐⭐⭐
Dr. Thorne ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes; The Amateur Emigrant ⭐⭐⭐
Disappearing Earth ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Pursuit of Love ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The History of Love - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Tempest-Tost ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Leaven of Malice ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Long Way Home ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The Maias ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Merry Christmas and Other Christmas Stories ⭐⭐⭐
Maigret in Exile ⭐⭐⭐.5
Here ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mistletoe and Murder ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Tapestried Chamber; Or, the Lady in the Sacque ⭐⭐⭐
The Canterville Ghost ⭐⭐⭐
The Chosen and the Beautiful ⭐⭐⭐.5
American Melancholy: Poems ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Framley Parsonage ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Death in the Clouds ⭐⭐⭐.5