Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

We've all been there. You're sitting on a train or waiting in a doctor's office, and you pull out the book you're reading, before realizing that... it might make people look at you sideways. "What the heck are you reading?!" Maybe it has a weird title or a salacious cover. Maybe it is 1000 pages long or written in another language. Maybe it's a whole book about cadavers? Bring your weirdest and wackiest books to this prompt!

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Suggestions:

Books with Funny Titles
The Diagram Prize for the Oddest Title of the Year
50 Must-Read Microhistory Books
GR Listopia: You Read a Book About What?
26 Very Long Books Worth Your Time
Very Long Classics Worth Reading
15 Alternate History Books
Best Pandemic Books
13 Experimental Books With Unusual Formats

ATY Group Listopia

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Optional Questions:
1. What are you reading for this category?
2. How does it fit the prompt?
3. What would you recommend to others for this prompt?

OMG Cooking with Poo has given me such a good laugh. What were they thinking?!

My wife will ask me what I'm reading and when I try to explain it to her she gives the "you're reading what?" look. This usually applies to sci-fi (especially robots and time travel) but also a lot of fantasy and monster horror. I also have a slight obsession with cult/commune themed books and her reaction to that is much the same.

I also categorize Murakami novels this way because I once knew someone who was an avid fan and when she would try to explain the plots to me my reaction was definitely "You're reading what?" I actually haven't read any Murakami except for a story collection because of exactly this reason.

And I have some excellent weird titles on my TBR List. For example - The Queen of Bloody Everything, Smart Ovens for Lonely People, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac, The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics, The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry, and The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic.

I'm looking at:

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

Most are because of weird titles or the content. I did go back and look through our weekly thread from 2018 when we had the prompt "a book with a weird or intriguing title" for some inspiration!

I decided to tell my mom about this prompt and asked if she had something in mind. She Googled ideas (no idea what search terms she used) and recommended The Wasp Factory (dark controversial novel about a child psychopath) and A Light in the Attic (collection of children’s poetry - the “light and airy” alternative). I’m going with A Light in the Attic since both children’s books and poetry are out of my normal reading scope.

From my TBR, Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation Into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin and The Sexual History of London: From Roman Londinium to the Swinging City---Lust, Vice, and Desire Across the Ages might be good options since their titles are eye-catching.

Also, I read The Pisces this year and when I described the premise to my mom she was a little surprised lol

I'll probably read something during the year that will make my husband say: "say what?"
Otherwise I have my eye on Når hjertet er en elpisker, which means "when the heart is an electric whisker". I have no idea why that's the title, but it definitely made me take notice.

Kristina I saw someone tweeting about Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation Into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin and made a note of it exactly for this prompt.

I think my top two options right now are The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina—Separating the Myth from the Medicine and Bleak House, for different reasons!

Kristina wrote: "I decided to tell my mom about this prompt and asked if she had something in mind. She Googled ideas (no idea what search terms she used) and recommended The Wasp Factory (dark contro...".

I LOVED A Light in the Attic as a kid!!! This is a cool idea to re-read and see how it holds up, I definitely think I still have some poems memorized from that and Where the Sidewalk Ends.

But for this topic, I have a strong fear of death so my you read what???? works both objectively and subjectively. I'm going to read From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty, because I really appreciated her voice and her unflinching exploration of death in Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory.

I've had Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers on my TBR forever so was so happy when this prompt got voted in.

Just about anything by Mary Roach fits this one, IMO.

I read Stiff years ago. Really good book, but don't read if you are faint of heart, lol.

Ok I don't know if these two count:

The Meaning of Mariah Carey: I'll admit I feel slightly ashamed to want to read this so bad, but I mean she IS Christmas. Does my shame count as you read WHAT?!?! lol

Snape: A Definitive Reading: This is one where people that really know me wouldn't be surprised by because they all know my pure love for Snape and how I will defend him till the day I die. But most people hate Snape (my poor Severus) so they may be shocked.

Then I think the one that surprises everyone, as I'm finishing up the first book now and people think I'm creepy, is Honeybee Democracy. Bees are actually quite fascinating!

Another really excellent book, that I've already read, but also seems to shock people is Suicidal: Why We Kill Ourselves

Here are a few that caught my eye as I went through my TBR list. This one is a little challenging for me, because I'm always reading weird stuff and I don't think it would surprise anyone who knows me!

Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish

Riddance: Or the Sybil Joines Vocational School for Ghost Speakers & Hearing-Mouth Children

Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse

At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others

As I was going through my book shelves this summer decluttering, I found a book, Dracula Prince of Many Faces His Life and his Times, that I’ve had forever and haven’t read. I like it for this prompt. My other choice would be a long classic, which I have plenty to choose from!

I think the easiest interpretation for me is a book with a strange title. The kind that will make people take a second look if I am reading it on the subway
So I'm thinking either Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death or Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

I would recommend Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

Oh I hadn't thought of using Erotic Stories, but you're right, it definitely fits the brief!

I saw Convenience Store Woman on the listopia and I have that on my tbr so I'm going with that.

One of my goals for next year is to read the Outlander series, so I may use one of those books for this since they are so long!

I was looking through the Goodreads Choice nominees and found The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World. That's being added to my weird microhistory wishlist!

Ellie wrote: "I was looking through the Goodreads Choice nominees and found The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World. That's being added t..."


Great choice!! I read that this year, and I LOVED it!!! And I have no interest in eels, none at all. It's sort of a memoir combined with a history of scientific study of eels. Even Freud shows up (apparently as a college student he spent a summer of research in a lab trying to find an eel's testicles).

I am planning to read a microhistory for this, maybe Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages or Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World.


Most likely, I'll read The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York for this - I mean, that's bound to get someone to say "you're reading WHAT??"


Or I might read a non-fiction graphic novel like Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth which seems to be about Bertrand Russell and other philosophers.

Of the books on my shelf, I was thinking Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation might work for this prompt

I promised myself I'd read Infinite Jest for this task (and I uh...sort of committed to it with another GR group, oh shucks) so, THAT will be interesting.

I started learning German this year, so I think I'm going to try a German-language book for this as it would surprise people that I've stuck with the language lessons long enough to try books.

Other options are a couple books on my TBR with odd titles: The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts and Dak Ackerthefifth and the Ethics of Heroism

I think for this task I will put down all 3 of these and see which one fits the bill at the time:
Good Girls Do Swallow: The Darkly Comic True Story of How One Woman Stopped Hating Her Body

Hunting the Unabomber: The FBI, Ted Kaczynski, and the Capture of America’s Most Notorious Domestic Terrorist

A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming

Id recommend

After seeing people discuss in other threads about the idea of reading some kids picture books as a counter balance i thought of a book my parents read me as a child but I never read for myself called I Want My Potty!

Edible: An Adventure into the World of Eating Insects and the Last Great Hope to Save the Planet is fantastic and I got a lot of sideways glances while reading it.

I read I Could Pee On This: And Other Poems By Cats a few years ago, so maybe I should read I Could Pee on This Too: And More Poems by More Cats

I'm thinking of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. I plan to do something like this in the next few months anyway.

I am so into animals right now I think I will read Does It Fart?: The Definitive Field Guide to Animal Flatulence

The animal-related book comments made me think of one of the strangest books on my shelf that I had forgotten all about:

21st Century Dog: A Visionary Compendium

It has art, comics, very short stories, about "the hopes of Dog in general for the coming era." If you like dogs, try to track down a copy of this book (I found it for 50 cents at a small-town gift shop/hardware store).

Robin P wrote: "I'm thinking of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. I plan to do something like this in the next few months an..."

i loved this & The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

For anyone stuck the 42nd Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year has just been won by Dog Pissing at the Edge of a Path.
The full 2020 shortlist Is here:
https://www.thebookseller.com/news/bo...
While Wikipedia has all the previous winners:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books...

Joyce wrote: "For anyone stuck the 42nd Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year has just been won by Dog Pissing at the Edge of a Path.
The full 2020 shortlist Is here:
https://www.thebookseller.com/news..."


That's an interesting prize!! A Dog Pissing at the Edge of a Path: Animal Metaphors in an Eastern Indonesian Society has ZERO reviews! I wish they confined themselves to more common books - a look at the short list from 2020 shows quite a few nonfiction books that of course have odd titles, because they are niche studies that I'm sure are fascinating to the group of people studying that (lawn mowers, for example). Some sound like PhD dissertations ("Classical Antiquity in Heavy Metal Music" for example)

Ellie wrote: "OMG Cooking with Poo has given me such a good laugh. What were they thinking?!"

My boyfriend and I actually have that book! Sure, the title made us laugh too, but it's actually a wonderful book on Thai street food and family recipes. The author's name is Poo, which appears to be quite a common name in Thai.

Every language has these, I guess^^

I loved that prompt when Avery suggested it and I voted for it, but then I found it incredibly difficult to fill :D
I worked out this clever workaround:
I had an Audible trial subscription and was asking for audiobook recommendations in the Popsugar Facebook group, and several persons recommended The Sandman. My immediate reaction to that was, "Wait, what, but that's a graphic novel?!"
Guess who spent one of her credits on that exact audiobook :D So I'm going to use that for the prompt, stretching it a bit but not too far I think.

1. What are you reading for this category?
I've gone with the weird title aspect, and was going to read The Trouble with Goats and Sheep but switched it out for The Zookeeper's Wife
2. How does it fit the prompt?
It's not as strange a title as Goats and Sheep, but it does sound pretty random
3. What would you recommend to others for this prompt?
Scenes of a Graphic Nature, Mostly Dead Things, How to Breathe Underwater

Maybe this category is the excuse I needed to read Kissing the Coronavirus

Ha yes Alana, what a cover!

I'll probably do a picture book for this challenge. I have McElligot's Pool by Dr. Seuss penciled in. I think it fits the challenge because I once saw a post in a group where someone got up in arms over adults reading fantasy books marketed to kids, so I'm guessing a picture book would really make them go WHAT?!?!

Conny wrote: "I had an Audible trial subscription and was asking for audiobook recommendations in the Popsugar Facebook group, and several persons recommended The Sandman. My immediate reaction to that was, "Wait, what, but that's a graphic novel?!"
Guess who spent one of her credits on that exact audiobook :D"

On that note: I talked to a friend about audiobooks the other day and told them the story how several people recommended "The Sandman", and they literally said, "They recommended what?!"
I rest my case :D

when I read that prompt my first thought was the 50 shades books lol my second thought was 'the secret', bc it has a bad reputation here.

So I could use this prompt to read any of Caitlin Doughty's books that I want to read.

But on the other hand, I'll probably use them for other prompts so I've decided to go for something completely insane and will be reading Gef The Talking Mongoose: The "Eighth Wonder of the World" instead. I remember reading about him in one of those 'unsolved mysteries of the world' type books as a kid, and it's finally time to delve deeper!

1. What are you reading for this category?
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
2. How does it fit the prompt? Is about funerary customs about different cultures.
3. What would you recommend to others for this prompt?
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory Caitlin Doughty

I just finished reading A Good Girl's Guide to Murder for this prompt. It was recommended by another teacher at my school who has an interest in keeping up with YA fiction like I do.
I really enjoyed it, and I would definitely recommend it to other readers, regardless of an interest in YA books. It is a mystery with an interesting format, a great pace, and a didn't see that coming ending@

I read By Fairy Means or Foul by Meghan Maslow


Now, I loved this book. I rated it 4.75/5. But I was apprehensive about it before starting because of the cover. Let's say I am not a huge fan of covers with actual people on the cover.
Again, I have seen covers way worse than this. This one is pretty mediocre but I swear if I , by chance, ever bring this book in front of my friends, I would be judged so bad. So yes. I think this fits really well.

But on the side note, this book was amazing. It was funny and super entertaining. And the audiobook was the best audiobook I have ever come across. Totally reccomend it for fantasy and mm romance fans.

Sarah wrote: "Here are a few that caught my eye as I went through my TBR list. This one is a little challenging for me, because I'm always reading weird stuff and I don't think it would surprise anyone who knows..."

Sarah, I love your list! The book about Fish fits with my growing interest in science and ecology. My friend and family have no idea.

I might read:
The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World
Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish
The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time

I highly recommend:
Lab Girl
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
It's a wonderful novel (and it's not erotica - well maybe just a tiny bit).

I read Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson. I really loved this book. I picked it for the prompt after I described what I was reading to a friend and they literally said WHAT??!

Who knew a book about a US politician and his children who set themselves on fire would cause that reaction....

I'm reading Pigeon Post by Arthur Ransome.
It's a child's book which some people might think a bit strange.
I can recommend The Fishing Fleet: Husband hunting in the Raj by Anne de Courcy. non fiction.

I'm slotting in Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses here. I thought I would find something much weirder for this prompt, but I think this qualifies. Most of my friends would take it in stride, but I definitely know a few people who would be startled and confused if I tried to explain that I was reading a book that compared turning into a werewolf to a chronic illness!

Recommendations:
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey Into Christian Faith I imagine the premise of this memoir would get some big reactions in some circles.

Masque It's like a cozy mystery crossed with a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient - Powered by the Science of Games It's all about how video games are good for your brain!

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York Self explanatory, and a book I highly recommend!

If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating This one doesn't seem that weird to me, but I think it might be in 'normal people' circles...

Tetris: The Games People Play "Oh, yes, I was just reading this graphic novel about the history of Tetris... you know, the video game..."