Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

LEGEND


🍁 Canadian
🏳‍🌈 LGBTQIA+
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First Quarter of ATYB 2021

✔1. A book related to “In the Beginning...”

The Art of War 🌎 ⭐⭐
First Man https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213641/... 🎬


✔2. A book by an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y

This One Looks Like a Boy: My Gender Journey to Life as a Man by Lorimer Shenher🏳‍🌈 🍁 🎧
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


✔ 3. A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music

Snow/Mountains

The Canterbury Trail by Angie Abdou 🍁⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🏳‍🌈


✔4. A book with a monochromatic cover


Drowned Country by Emily Tesh ⭐⭐🏳‍🌈


✔5. A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read


Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🎧🌍

🎬Think Like a Man https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1621045/...

✔6. A love story

The Choices We Make by Karma Brown 🍁 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🎬 Bridgerton https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8740790/...


7. A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list

✔8. A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited - Yukon Territory, Canada


A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong 🍁 🎧⭐⭐

9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year

Summer


✔10. A book with a female villain or criminal

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots 🍁🏳‍🌈
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum

The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind by Justin Pollard 🌎 🎧⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


✔12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation


Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk 🌎⭐🎧

✔13. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020
by Brent Weeks
The Blinding Knife 🎧⭐⭐⭐⭐

Second Quarter of ATYB 2021

✔ 14. A book set in a made-up place


Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb 🏳‍🌈 ⭐⭐⭐

✔15. A book that features siblings as the main characters


The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 🎧🏳‍🌈⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔16. A book with a building in the title

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
🍁🎧⭐⭐

✔17. A book with a Muslim character or author

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah
⭐⭐⭐


Science Fiction - Past, Present, Future
✔18. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 1

Past

John Carter in A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs 🎧 ⭐⭐

✔ 19. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 2

Present

Decision at Doona
Anne McCaffrey
⭐

✔20. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3


Ten Low by Stark Holborn
⭐⭐⭐⭐🏳‍🌈


✔21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter "u"


The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse: An Extraordinary Edwardian Case of Deception and Intrigue by Piu Marie Eatwell
⭐⭐

✔22. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads
by Delia Owens 🎧⭐⭐

✔23. A cross genre novel


Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
⭐⭐⭐🏳‍🌈

✔24. A book about racism or race relations


The Illegal by Lawrence Hill 🎧🍁⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


🎬They Gotta Have Us
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9268756/...

✔25. A book set on an island


The Company by K.J. Parker
⭐⭐⭐

🎬Hamilton
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8503618/...

✔26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author


Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Third Quarter of ATYB 2021

✔27. A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards- Magician


The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
⭐⭐

28. A book connected to ice

Iced in: Ten Days Trapped on the Edge of Antarctica by Chris Turney
Minds of Winter by Ed O'Loughlin

✔29. A book that you consider comfort reading


Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey
⭐⭐⭐⭐


30. A long book

31. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years

Anne McCaffrey

32. A book whose cover shows more than 2 people

33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry
Boobs: Women Explore What It Means to Have Breasts by Ruth Daniell - okay I had to go through quite a few pages on Goodreads to find this book to post it. There are quite a few books of pornography about this subject. YUCK

34. A book with a travel theme

The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power

✔35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer


The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo 🎧🌍⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔36. A book with six or more words in the title


Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim 🎧⭐

37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list


Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator

39. A book involving an immigrant

Fourth Quarter of AYTB 2021

40. A book with flowers or greenery on the cover

Cathedral of the Wild: An African Journey Home by Boyd Varty

✔41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author


When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
🎧⭐⭐⭐

✔ 42. A mystery or thriller


The Long Call by Ann Cleeves 🏳‍🌈⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔43. A book with elements of magic


The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk 🍁⭐⭐⭐⭐

44. A book whose title contains a negative

45. A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

✔46. A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards


Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse ⭐⭐⭐⭐🏳‍🌈

47. A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir

What Love Is: And What It Could Be by Carrie S.I. Jenkins 🍁


48. A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?”

✔49. A book with an ensemble cast


The Burning White by Brent Weeks 🎧⭐⭐⭐

50. A book published in 2021

✔51. A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name


The Secret Daughter
Shilpi Somaya Gowda
🎧🌍⭐⭐⭐🍁

52. A book related to "the end"
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher

"Resurrection" AYTB Discard Challenge 2021

Related to money

alternate history

✔Involving a team or organization

Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams ⭐⭐⭐

✔Related to technological advancement

Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet by Claire L. Evans
⭐⭐

✔Theme of second chances

The Don: The Story of Toronto's Infamous Jail by Lorna Poplak 🍁⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mental Health

✔Brain Candy


Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline by Darrell Bricker 🎧🍁⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔Beauty

The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin
⭐⭐⭐

✔Brains

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔ Brawn


Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente 🎧⭐⭐⭐

Spring

Summer - Wingfield's World: The Complete Letters from Wingfield Farm by Dan Needles

Fall - Lost in September by Kathleen Winter

Winter

Related to a featured Wikipedia article or randomized article

✔Related to the name of a professional sports team

The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell
🌍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🎧

✔A book set in one of the 5 communist countries


Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
🌍⭐


Related to the google doodle

✔Involving non-European royalty

King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village by Peggielene Bartels
🎧🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🌍


✔ Featuring a ghost, lost soul or vengeful spirit


The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James 🎧🍁⭐⭐⭐

Related to a local industry or small business

at least one shoe on the cover

✔A satire

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
⭐

✔Featuring a member of a religious organization

The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks
🎧⭐⭐⭐⭐
Featuring a mode of communication

Something lost

A triangle

NATO challenge

✔Alpha - First

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔Bravo - Actor

If We Were Villains
🎧🏳‍🌈⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


✔Charlie - Enemy, fool, cocaine

Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey
⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔Delta - Messengers, flight, means change or difference in math and science


The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving by Leigh Gallagher
🎧⭐⭐⭐

✔ Echo - retelling


Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas 🎧⭐⭐⭐


Foxtrot - Dancing

✔Golf - terms related to golfing

Albatross by Terry Fallis
🍁⭐⭐

✔Hotel - Setting in a hotel or vacation spot


Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba & Then Lost it to the Revolution by T.J. English
🎧🌍⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔India - Setting in India

Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March
🌍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔Juliet

The Switch by Beth O'Leary
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

✔🎬 Rebecca https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2235695/...


Kilo -
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

Lima - Peru

✔Mike - Singing, announcing, stand up comedy


Escape from Fire Island! by James H. English
⭐⭐⭐🏳‍🌈

November - Dark, dreary, rainy

October - Thanksgiving, orange, fall, leaves, halloween

Papa- Father?

Quebec - the Algonquin tribe is from here.

✔Romeo

Waiting for First Light: My Ongoing Battle with PTSD by Roméo Dallaire
🍁⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Sierra - Setting in mountains, Sierra Leone

✔Tango - mistaken identity

Agent Sonya: Moscow's Most Daring Wartime Spy by Ben Macintyre
🎧🌍⭐⭐⭐⭐

Uniform - Something that breaks the mold, people in uniform, unidentified, under cover

✔Victor - Conflict


War: How Conflict Shaped Us by Margaret MacMillan 🍁🎧 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Whisky - Temperance?

✔X-ray - Medical, Science


Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA by Neil Shubin

✔Yankee - Abolution, BLM, Set in Northern USA


I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad by Karolyn Smardz Frost
🎧🍁⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Zulu - Warriors

I will be doing a TV/ Movie challenge again this year. It is a fun way to include my family in the challenge.

Further ideas/thoughts

I may start keeping track of how many BIOPC authors I read.

This may be in addition to the around the world challenge that I will be continuing. I really need to track that one better. In 2020 I was horrible at actually tracking where the books took place.

I really love the idea of a movie challenge to include the family. I’ve considered it before, but this might be the year I actually do it (aiming for 26 of the prompts is probably more realistic for me).

Liz wrote: "I really love the idea of a movie challenge to include the family. I’ve considered it before, but this might be the year I actually do it (aiming for 26 of the prompts is probably more realistic fo..."

I will probably weed out some of the more difficult prompts for the movie challenge. Some just do not transfer over very well.

14. Set in a made up place


Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb
⭐⭐⭐

It is such a satisfying book. Robin Hobb always has such a wide range of characters that challenge what society thinks of as the norm. Either in sexuality, physical or moral. The good guy always wins in the end too.

2. an author whose name doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y


This One Looks Like a Boy: My Gender Journey to Life as a Man by Lorimer Shenher
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

There are quite a few transgender people in my life. It was good to read a positive, empathetic book about being transgender. It will help in my day to day interactions with those in my circle.

10. a female villain or criminal


Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
💛💛💛💛💛

I laughed, smiled and just felt tingly all over with this one.

NATO alphabet

V - Victor


War: How Conflict Shaped Us by Margaret MacMillan
⭐⭐⭐⭐

This seemed a fitting book for this topic. Who really is the victor in war? Do we always, as a species, war with each other? What has war done to us as humans, as a community?

1. A book related to " In the beginning ...."


The Art of War by Sun Tzu
⭐⭐

The first self-help book. At least that is how I viewed it for this challenge.

It is a list of how to's. Some of it does have application in today's world. I would not suggest using some of the authoritarian leadership advice that he advocates though. People do not go blindly where you lead them in this day, the majority don't anyway.

42. A mystery or thriller


The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
⭐⭐⭐⭐

There were a few books that could have fit in this slot. This one had so many things that I liked about it. The characters were very diverse.

The main character was LGBTQ, who was developed as a full character. It did not focus on his sexuality. Such a refreshing thing in a novel.

The dead man was homeless. We discover that there is much more to him then being homeless. The police treat the man with as much respect as a person with more means.

There are two characters that have Downs Syndrome that play important parts in the story as well. They are both treated with respect by the author. No stereotypes here.

It made me happy to read a book with real everyday characters fleshed out without prejudices attached.

I want to read more of her books.

My IRL book club is reading this book for next month. It is going to be a fun discussion.

Discard Challenge

One of the three B's (Beauty, Brains, Brawn) - Brawn


Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente
⭐⭐⭐

Snow White is a 'half-breed' (not pc) who uses her strength to get away from the evil step-mother.

I do suggest reading the story. It is hard to tell you why to read it though with out giving away why it is good. If you enjoy a retelling that stays true to the story but presents a strong female character and not the Disney version definitely read it.

Discard Challenge

Featuring a ghost, lost soul or vengeful spirit


The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James
⭐⭐⭐

This is not the typical ghost story. It is not meant to scary your pants off. It is a drama. One that explorers the trauma of a country after a war. The character sketches are good. The descriptions of the country side, the towns people, and the characters are all good.

The typical romance that is a side plot is predictable. It would have been more stars without this part.

NATO alphabet challenge

Echo - Retelling


Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas
⭐⭐⭐⭐

It is always fun to read about Charlotte Holmes. A female Sherlock Holmes in Victorian England living her life as she wants with in the confines of the times.

The stories have a focus on the women of the time and the men are there as window dressing, not the other way around.

3. related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music"


The Canterbury Trail by Angie Abdou
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Snow is beautiful. It reflects the sunlight making grey days lighter. It insulates making things warmer. It makes so many different noises when stepped on. It can be fluffy, sticky or hard and fast.

Because I love snow so much I decided to find a book that had snow play a major part in the story. This one not only has snow, it takes place in a small tourist town in the mountains. The mountains linking it to "Sound of Music" and the town linking it to my past.

I am glad that I stumbled on this novel. It described those things I was looking for perfectly. The character development using inner monologues for each one, as well as external observations worked well at evoking empathy for all of the characters.

I highly recommend the story.

18. 3 Books related "Past, Present, Future"


John Carter in A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
⭐⭐

A classic in Sci-Fi fiction and written by one of my childhood favourite authors I was really expecting more. It was a disappointment. The main character was overpowered. Nothing could go wrong for him. He even falls in love instantly and gets the girl just as fast.

Tarzan is just so much better.

6. A love story


The Choices We Make by Karma Brown
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Karma Brown writes very complex characters for her very complex situations. I had a love hate relationship with the main character in this book. Her best friend carries her baby because she herself can not become pregnant.

Karma Brown uses the first half of the book to detail the ways the MC tries to become pregnant. The options that the couple go through. The rest of the book is about the pregnancy, the relationship and the consequences of the pregnancy. It is a heart wrenching story. One that needs many tissues.

8. Set in a state, province or country you have not visited

Yukon Territory, Canada


A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong
⭐⭐

This takes place in a town hidden in the Yukon. It is filled with people trying to hide. Many of them are hiding from a criminal past. There are rules about living in the town. You have to apply to get in, you have to pay to be there, you can only stay 5 years, and never talk about the town.

This is the second book in the series. I do like the premise of the books. I was just disappointed in this one. The writing was a little repetitive. The main character was getting annoying.

I may still read the next book to see what happens.

11. In celebration of the Grand Egyptian Museum opening


The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind by Justin Pollard
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Just the chronological order of figures and historical events made this book worth the read. That modern society has so many links to Alexandria is fascinating as well.

A very enjoyable read.

12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation


Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
⭐

There was some interesting imagery. I did not like the long-winded soliloquies. The vegan agenda was too much for me too. I do not care what people eat. I just do not like being preached at. Dnf'd but still counting for this challenge.

15. Features siblings as the main characters


The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
⭐⭐⭐⭐

There is quite a lot to think about in this book. I was impatient to find out the other sisters story and docked a star because it took so long.

I would highly recommend.

27. A character that can be found in a deck of cards - Magician, Tarot deck


The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
⭐⭐

This was read by my family as our family book club book.

The descriptions were beautiful. I loved the circus. It sounded wonderful. The love story, the competition, the plot was not good at all. I was really disappointed after all of the hype.

43. with elements of magic


The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think that the interview with the author explains why I really liked this book. https://www.cbc.ca/books/c-l-polk-s-f...
I liked the authors other books and when it became a Canada Reads contender I had to read it now. :)

46. Goodreads 2020 nominee or winner


Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
⭐⭐⭐⭐

A dark political thriller with magic. I loved it.

I really have not been updating lately. My reading has not slowed down, it has had a different purpose.

13. Written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020


The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Magic, mayhem, good vs evil

16. A Building in the title


The Glass Hotel
🎧🍁⭐⭐

I really wanted to like this book. It was just not to be. There were too many characters introduced at weird intervals that just not match up until the end.

19. Present


Decision at Doona by Anne McCaffrey
⭐

I can try making excuses for one of my favourite authors it would be just be excuses though. It is not a book that I would recommend to others in this age. We have moved beyond treating women in this way. It was forward thinking in how the encounter between two races was handled. It also made references to the horrors of previous colonization on Earth.

21. A title and author that both contain the letter U


The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse: An Extraordinary Edwardian Case of Deception and Intrigue by Piu Marie Eatwell
⭐⭐

This was on my TBR for a while and I was happy to find a spot for it to fit. It was a disappointing read. With that title I was expecting more.

22. A book for the ATYB best book threads 2020-21


Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
⭐⭐🎧

My IRL book club choose this for a monthly read. It was a good discussion. I did not end up liking the book as much as others though.

24. About race or race relations


The Illegal by Lawrence Hill
🍁🎧⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lawrence Hill's book The Book of Negroes was amazing. After reading the synopsis for this one it was a must read. It could have fit in a few different prompts. The main character is a marathon runner and I liked the play on words with the prompt.

25. A book set on an island


The Company by K.J. Parker
⭐⭐⭐

While scrolling through the library website this popped up. It looked interesting with enough distraction potential during the worst part of the pandemic. It was a distraction. The dynamics between the characters was fun. It highlighted the question" what happens to special force soldiers after the war"? The ending was too far fetched though.

4. A monochromatic colour


Drowned Country by Emily Tesh
⭐⭐

I must not be drawn to covers with just one colour, so this one was difficult for me to find.

It is the second novella in the series. The first one was really good. My expectations must have been too high because this one was not as good.

5. An author on USA today's list of 100 black novelists you should read


Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I had read two of her other books and loved them. She does not disappoint with her deep insight into our societies.

17. A muslim character or author


The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah
⭐⭐⭐

Changing the narrative of school shootings was good idea. Making it about the people who were traumatized, their stories, not the perpetrator stops the glorifying of these tragedies. More books need to be written this way.