Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Time to search the stacks and find a book with a building in the title. You could go with a generic building word like 'house' or a specific building like "Buckingham Palace" (which I wouldn't mind being my house!).

Some ideas to get you started: house, cottage, castle, fort, palace, mansion, hall, abbey, shop, school, hut, mansion, church, library, hotel, monument, casa, manor, store, palace, office, skyscraper, brewery, distillery, etc.

Listopia Link: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Optional questions:
1. What book are you reading for this prompt?
2. How important to the book was the building in the title?
3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book?
4. What book would you recommend?

I have a multitude of options for this prompt, but I've narrowed it down to these five, which I know I'll read all five at some point next year:

The Library of Legends by Janie Chang
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Emily wrote: "I have a multitude of options for this prompt, but I've narrowed it down to these five, which I know I'll read all five at some point next year:

The Library of Legends by Janie Cha..."

That's funny, two from your list are on mine as well, The Library of Legends and The House in the Cerulean Sea
The other two I could read for this prompt are
The Glass Hotel
The Love Goddess' Cooking School

Honestly, The House in the Cerulean Sea will probably be the first book I read in 2021. I've been hearing such good things and it fits so many prompts! I own The Library of Legends so I'll definitely be reading it sometime next year as well.

I think The Stationery Shop or House of Stone are my most likely ones, unless a new release fits!

Thinking of going with Northanger Abbey for this one. I had quite a few options, so decided on a book where the building is a very important element.

From my owned TBR, I have The Gray House, Hotel on Shadow Lake, and The Rooster Bar. I'm going with The Gray House since it also covers a prompt that I liked that didn't make the list (a book by or about a person with a physical disability). Also, from the description, the House (with a capital H) is pretty important for the story.

I read The Library of Legends this year and really enjoyed it.

Chrissy wrote: "I think The Stationery Shop or House of Stone are my most likely ones, unless a new release fits!"

Funny, those are my top two options as well!

The Glass Hotel
The White Hotel
The Electric Hotel
Up in the Old Hotel
Hotel du Lac

All these would also work for NATO alphabet prompt Hotel

emily, i'm in love with all of your picks so far haha! The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my favourite books of this year so i hope it lives up to the hype for you

robin, that's a good idea to combine the two!

What are you reading for this category?

Ninth House! i know it's super basic option but it's been sitting on my shelf since it first came out. i loved leigh bardugo's previous books but i'm extremely nervous about this one.

i also have

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
A House of Rage and Sorrow by Sangu Mandanna

What book would you recommend to someone else?

i highly recommend The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith! i pitch this book as The Good Place meets Supernatural with a splash of Sorcery of Thorns. it's about the head librarian of Hell's Library's Unwritten Wing, the place where all books which have yet to be finished reside. one day, a Hero from a book escapes to Earth to try and convince his author to finish writing his story and she pairs up with her assistant, an ex-Muse, an anxious newbie demon & a reluctant archangel to get him back. it's sooooo good!

I have a lot of options for this prompt on my Owned and Unread List. I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to do something easy (like house in the title) or something clever (like The Archive of Alternate Endings or The Priory of the Orange Tree or The Far Pavilions).

I have so many for this prompt:
The Dutch House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The House of Mirth, The Hotel New Hampshire, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, The Island House, The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home, The Maze at Windermere and Murder in the Locked Library.
There are 3 or 4 of these that I definitely plan to read this year, it will be interesting to see which grabs me when I do the prompt.

*Edit: Murder in the Locked Library won out!

I'm going to try to find something other than library, house or hotel. A few early options:
The Dead Mountaineer's Inn
The Post-Office Girl
The Curse of Braeburn Castle
Northanger Abbey

I'm pretty sure I'm going to use I Capture the Castle for this prompt: it's another one that I physically own, haven't read, and has been on my TBR for a long time. So this is a perfect opportunity to do so.

As far as recs for others, I LOVE The Girl in the Tower (but it helps/is necessary to have read The Bear and the Nightingale first). The House of the Spirits and Home Fire are GREAT. And if you'd like nonfiction options, Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory are both excellent and important, if IMO a little hard to read (for very different reasons).

Castle In The Air by Dianna Wynne Jones. I'm planning on reading Howl's Moving Castle next week so I figured I'd continue with the series.

I thought I would have a lot of options for this prompt but only actually found 5 on my TBR.

I think I will end up reading The Glass Castle as it's been on my kindle for a while and one of my goals is to read more non-fiction in 2021.

I was super excited when I read Matt Haig has a new book coming out, and even more excited that it fits this prompt! The Midnight Library

My backup is The House by the River.

I'm also narrowing down to 5 options for each prompt (less if I'm dedicated enough) and have a lot of the same ideas as others:

Ninth House
The Library of Legends
The Midnight Library
The Paris Library
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (I believe Styles is the name of the place, correct?)

I clearly enjoy books about libraries!

It looks like I'm not going to get to The House in the Cerulean Sea this year, and everyone seems to love it, so that will probably be my book.

I dont have many for this so its going to have to be one of the following:
Chop Shop
The Museum of You
The House We Grew Up In

I have quite a few option on my physical tbr:
Little Hut of Leaping Fishes
My House in Umbria
The Harmony Silk Factory

Hoping this counts The Princes in the Tower ( tower is a building as it refers to The Tower of London)

1. What book are you reading for this prompt?
The Haunting of Hill House

2. How important to the book was the building in the title?
I gather (as I haven't watched the Netflix show yet either) that it's pretty important.

3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book?
No, I don't think I did much searching!

4. What book would you recommend?
I recently read Alice Hoffman's Blackbird House and it was stunning. Also recommend The House of the Spirits.

First prompt completed! Murder in the Locked Library by Ellery Adams (4 stars)

I was hoping this would fit the locked-room mystery prompt from Pop Sugar, but it really didn't, but it fit this one nicely instead. I'm going to try not to double dip between the two challenges this year, as much as possible.

I read The Dead Mountaineer's Inn by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. It fits numerous categories but it was my first choice for this prompt so it's going here. The building is the setting for the entire story so the building in the title is very important!

I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig for this prompt.

1. What book are you reading for this prompt?
I just finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

2. How important to the book was the building in the title?
It played a central role in Nora Seed's tale.

3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book?
Books with a library as the building in their title immediately drew my attention because I miss browsing mine.

4. What book(s) would you recommend?
Selections that would satisfy this prompt and appealed to me in the past include Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

I have also heard positive words about a candidate that just landed on my doorstep, The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson, too.

What book are you reading for this prompt?
I read The Lighthouse by P.D. James

How important to the book was the building in the title?
Important, but not overly so.

Did you notice any trends in your search for a book?
No. It would seem that I have a lot of books with buildings in the title

1. What book are you reading for this prompt?
Longbourn by Jo Baker
2. How important to the book was the building in the title? It was central to the book
3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book? Not really
4. What book would you recommend? Last year, I enjoyed The Stationery Shop and Diary of a Witchcraft Shop

1. What book are you reading for this prompt? The Midnight Library
2. How important to the book was the building in the title? It was pretty important.
3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book? I had this one in mind once I saw the prompt so didn't really have to search.
4. What book would you recommend? This is a pretty great book so would very much recommend.
The Warehouse
Catherine House
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

1. What book are you reading for this prompt?
Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
2. How important to the book was the building in the title?
Fairly important, it's the last scene in the book.
3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book?
I had a lot of options, but I managed to walk into this one. I needed a comfort read, and picked Howl's Moving Castle which then made me want to finish off the series!
4. What book would you recommend?

These books are a series, although loosely connected, I strongly recommend reading Howl's first. But if you've read it and HAVEN'T read the two after, I strongly recommend them!

I'm planning on reading The Russia House by John Le Carre for this one. It's been in my TBR pile for quite sometime. I haven't read one of his books in a while, so I am looking forward to it.

I would recommend Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. I loved it!

dalex wrote: "I have a lot of options for this prompt on my Owned and Unread List. I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to do something easy (like house in the title) or something clever (like [book:The Archive of..."

Please read The Far Pavillions!!! One of my favourite books!

1. I read The House on Mango Street.
2. The house in which the author lived was not as important as the street as a whole.
3. I was looking for books by global or minority authors, and have wanted to read this book for some time, so it was a good fit.
4. I would recommend this book, also House of the Tiger King: The Quest for a Lost City, I Capture the Castle, The Dutch House

1. What book are you reading for this prompt? Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

2. How important to the book was the building in the title? Extremely, a lot of the story took place at the cafe.

3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book? I never realized how many book titles have the word "house" in them.

4. What book would you recommend? Northanger Abbey

1. What book are you reading for this prompt?
High Towers

2. How important to the book was the building in the title?
Not at all, they were mentioned once and no part of the plot took place there. Total bummer.

3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book?
Lots of libraries!

4. What book would you recommend?
The Citadel by A.J. Cronin is excellent, though the word citadel in this case does not refer to a fortress or building of any kind, but the ideas of the medical community in Wales and England in the early 1900s. Slaughterhouse-Five, Ninth House, and The Paragon Hotel are all good.

I chose The Library Book by Susan Orlean and finished it yesterday. It is in the top 3 books I’ve read so far this year (total 56). I LOVED it. It wasn’t as “true crime” as the blurbs suggest, but is an ode to libraries and books. It’s organization is a bit haphazard, and at times feels more like a collection of essays, but each chapter is wonderful. If you have a passion for libraries I expect you will find wonderful things here.

It could also work for the nonfiction book prompt as well as the monochromatic cover.

I ended up going with The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins.

I knew going in that this book was weird based on the reviews, but was hoping it would become less weird the more I read. Instead it just seemed to get weirder. Somehow I still found myself enjoying it though.

1. What book are you reading for this prompt? I read Midnight at the Blackbird Café

2. How important to the book was the building in the title? It was central to the plot and a lot of the book took place in the café

3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book? "House" is probably the most used building word in book titles.

4. What book would you recommend? The one I read was great. I gave it 4 stars.

1. What book are you reading for this prompt? The Watergate Girl by Jill Wine-Banks
2. How important to the book was the building in the title? Extremely. Simply put, without the Watergate complex, this book would not exist.
3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book? Mainly 'house', but when I came across this title, I knew it was the one.
4. What book would you recommend? The Dutch House, Meet Me at the Museum, Wolf Hall, The House of Broken Angels

Optional questions:


1. What book are you reading for this prompt? The Blue Castle
2. How important to the book was the building in the title? not a lot
3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book? I struggled to find something to read for this prompt there are lots of House and Hotel books. I stumbled on this by chance
4. What book would you recommend? Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

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I read Dragons at Crumbling Castle by Terry Pratchett. It's a collection of short stories, the building is important to the story that shares a title with the book.

I didn't search much for this prompt, this book was on my "must read" list for this year, and it was a perfect fit so no opportunity to notice trends.

I'm struggling for recommendations, I don't have many in my read list that would fit, but I would suggest The Priory of the Orange Tree, or if you don't like fantasy The Dollhouse. There's also Madhouse, but that's number 3 in a series.

I read 4 Years Trapped in My Mind Palace for this prompt. The building in the title is not a physical place, but is VERY important to the plot.

This is one I didn't really search for ahead of time, but just slotted in a book I was going to read anyway. Considering that I was 80% of the way through the challenge before an obvious candidate appeared, it would appear I don't real a whole lot of books with buildings in their titles!

Recommendations:
The Blue Castle
The Red House Mystery
Bleak House
Tuesdays at the Castle
The Castle in the Attic

1. What book are you reading for this prompt?
I read Summer at Mulberry Cottage by Victoria Connelly

2. How important to the book was the building in the title?
Most of the book was about the events in her life since buying the cottage, so I'd say it was integral.

3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book?
Just that I thought this would be a hard one to do, but there were far more books with buildings in the titles than I expected.

4. What book would you recommend?
I would recommended We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, one of the best books I've ever read

I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel was my choice. I enjoyed her other book Station Eleven but did not like this one.

There are so many imaginative interpretations of this prompt.

I read Jane Austen at Home. The whole book was a biography of her with a focus on the various places she lived.

The Suicide House by Charlie Donlea

I recommend the Dutch House for this prompt or the one involving siblings.

1. What book are you reading for this prompt?
I read The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien

2. How important to the book was the building in the title?
The two towers in the title are part of the framing device of the book: the first half centers around Merry and Pippen's journey to Orthanc, the evil wizard Saruman's tower, and the battle that is fought there. The second half of the book follows Frodo and Samwise as they approach Mordor, where they are headed to attempt to destroy the ring. Interestingly, there are several towers in Mordor that the title might be referring to - apparently Tolkien came up with the title in a bit of a crunch and was never fully satisfied with it. So basically, there are like five significant towers in this book, and while cover illustrations usually seem to portray Orthanc and Minas Morgul (the fortress at the entrance to Mordor inhabited by the Nazgul), Frodo and Sam don't actually go to that tower at all, whereas they do go to Cirith Ungol when Frodo is captured by orcs towards the end of the book and they are ultimately heading towards Barad-dur, Sauron's tower (furthermore, the book does heavily focus on the alliance between Saruman and Sauron, Orthanc and Barad-dur). But frequently, when "two towers" are talked about within the book, they're referring to Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul, which were twin cities before Minas Morgul fell to Sauron. But certainly, the only two towers visited in the book are Orthanc and Cirith Ungol.

Okay, forgive me for the Lord of the Rings trivia dump there!

3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book?
I knew from the start that this was the book I wanted to read, since I'm reading the first and last in the series for the beginning and end prompt. But there are a lot of books I want to read that would have fit! I do tend to like books that have strong settings and worldbuilding and I wonder if books with buildings in the name are more likely to be focused on specific places in a way I like?

4. What book(s) would you recommend?
I love Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - the building in question is quite significant to the story and fabulously whimsical.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is one of my favorite books of all time, again with a particularly whimsical building. It's relevance to the story is essential but not actually mentioned that much, since it's more equivalent to the wardrobe into Narnia.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata was one I read earlier this year and loved - the convenience store is an extremely central location, both literally and symbolically.

Is a tent a building? If so, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is an old favorite of mine - the tent in question is literally present in the story but is much more strongly present as a symbol of femininity and female relationships.

And finally I'd say this would be a great opportunity to read a Jane Austen book focused on a particular manor or other place where the characters are living, like Mansfield Park or Northanger Abbey.

1. What book are you reading for this prompt? The Invisible Library
2. How important to the book was the building in the title? Very much so- it's about librarians who work for it
3. Did you notice any trends in your search for a book? I didn't search- I took my book club books for this year and matched them to a week!
4. What book would you recommend
So many good recommendations upstream! I kinda wish I had thought of Northanger Abbey!