Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

THE 2022 LIST
1. A book with a main character whose name starts with A, T, or Y The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
2. A book connected to a book you read in 2021 Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
3. A book with 22 or more letters in the title Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan
4. A book that fits your favorite prompt that did not make the list 2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman
5. A book by an author with two sets of double letters in their name The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

6. A book with an image of a source of light on the cover Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn
7. A book related to psychology, neuroscience or the mind The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
8. 3 books set on three different continents - Book 1 - Asia Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead: Typhoon by Wesley Chu
9. 3 books set on three different continents - Book 2 - Africa Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

10. 3 books set on three different continents - Book 3 - Australia Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
11. A book from historical fiction genre The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
12. A book related to glass A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage
13. A book about a woman in STEM Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

14. A book with fewer than 5000 ratings on Goodreads The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx by Nikki Sixx
15. A book without a person on the cover 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster
16. A book related to Earth Day The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
17. A book from NPR's Book Concierge Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee Newitz

18. A book by an Asian or Pacific Islander author Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
19. A book that involves alternate reality, alternate worlds, or alternate history The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
20. A fiction or nonfiction book that is set during 1900 -1951 The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
21. A book with one of the Monopoly tokens on the cover I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling With Villains by Chuck Klosterman
22. A book with a Jewish character or author Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben

23. A book that features loving LGBTQIA+ relationship They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
24. A book related to inclement weather A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
25. A book less than 220 pages OR more than 440 pages How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff
26. 2 books with the same word in the title - Book 1 Die Trying by Lee Child

27. 2 books with the same word in the title - Book 2 How We Die: Reflections of Life's Final Chapter by Sherwin B. Nuland
28. A book that won an award from Powell's list of book awards The Road by Cormac McCarthy
29. A book set on or near a body of water Torpedo Juice by Tim Dorsey
30. A book related to mythology Mythos: The Greek Myths Reimagined by Stephen Fry

31. A book published at least 10 years ago Running Blind by Lee Child
32. A book where the main character is a female detective/private eye/police officer The Athena Project by Brad Thor
33. The next book in a series Tripwire by Lee Child
34. A book with an academic setting or with a teacher that plays an important role One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus
35. 2 books related to flora and fauna - Book 1 Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid by Wendy Williams

36. 2 books related to flora and fauna - Book 2 In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
37. A book that uses all five vowels in the title and/or author's name Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon by Rahul Jandial
38. A book by a Latin American author The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernández
39. A book from the TIME list of 100 Best YA Books of All Time Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

40. A book related to one of the 22 Tarot Major Arcana cards The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson
41. A book with a theme of food or drink Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat
42. A book with a language or nationality in the title American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
43. A book set in a small town or rural area The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
44. A book with gothic elements Gothic Short Stories edited by David Blair

45. A book related to a game Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
46. A book with a non-human as one of the main characters Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
47. A book with handwriting on the cover The Day I Died by Lori Rader-Day
48. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2021 or 2022 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

49. A book connected to the phrase "Here (There) Be Dragons" A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
50. A book that involves aging, or a character in their golden years How Men Age: What Evolution Reveals about Male Health and Mortality by Richard Bribiescas
51. A book published in 2022 The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
52. A book with a time-related word in the title Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

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I originally selected for the 22 or more letter title. But after looking ahead I think it will better serve me here as I have many more books with 22+ letter in the title on my TBR list.

I enjoyed this book. It told a story through the eyes of someone who is autistic, despite it never coming right out and saying it. The book was incredibly well written to put you in the main character's shoes and describe what he is feeling and more importantly thinking. If you have ever been around an autisitc person and wonder about their nuances this puts some understanding and reasoning behind those actions. Since I don't have the same neurodiverse mind, I don't have the same thoughts but with this description it helps feel like I could connect better with an autistic person in the future.

I selected to continue the story of The Hate U Give. Again Angie Thomas nailed it. Brought the reader in to this world that I am not familiar with. Everyone is so well written that it feels like you really know them as friends. Not many books make you connect with the characters in that manner. This book fills in the back story of Maverick (Starr's father from The Hate U Give) and the relationship between him and the various other people from THUG but most predominantly King and Lisa.

I tried reading this back in high school but didn't appreciate the humor at the time so I DNF. I found it so much better this time around. Well written dry humor and a main character by the name of Arthur Dent which fits the first prompt.

Looking at my TBR list I found I have quite a few that fit the 22 letters or more in the title prompt. This was the first one that fit with no wait at the library. Good book but a few too many coincidences to make it entirely believeable. It was a fun light book nonetheless.

It's nice when the next book in a series falls into one of the categories so it's not too hard to decide on what to read next. The next Mitch Rapp book, so nicely, had a rising sun to fit the source of light prompt. Another enjoyable outing from this author although I was not thrilled by the ending. Yes, it was a long book but the ending felt rushed like he had to be done in a certain number of pages or he changed his mind and wrapped up the story with the epilogue instead of using a character in the next book. Still an enjoyable read.

For the prompt of a suggestion that didn't make it I went with . It could fall under either the prompt of a book with an orange cover or the prompt of a book I meant to read in 2021 neither of which made the 2022 list. Decent book not as easy or keep your interest as other military thrillers but this had a realism that made the book scary. It was very easy to see how the miscalculations could have been made which led to the "war."

I let myself go a bit more out of order this year to see if I can't actually accomplish this entire challenge. I jumped ahead to the less than 5000 ratings and found this one . It was ok. I have probably read more musician biographies than any other bios (probably some deep-seated desire to be in their place). This one was so-so. It told the story of a troubled youth who ends up in a rock band. This one focuses on his life prior to actually forming Motley Crue and was really uninteresting. He had problems with his family, he fought authority, he struggled blah blah blah. Maybe Heroin Diaries is better since that focuses on the part of his life I am familiar with.

For the school setting prompt I went with a YA story since so many of them are set in high school. I read her first book last year and really enjoyed it. So this prompt was perfect chance to read the sequel. I like her style of bouncing between the different characters and their POV. Continuing to move the story but from a constantly changing perspective. This one had multiple reveals and I had the major one figured out about halfway through. The thing with her is she still managed to surprise me. I found this to be a well-written and thought-out book. Looking forward to more of hers in the future.

I saw this in the NPR list and it was already on my TBR so it was an easy choice. An interesting book describing four cities that were once well established but for various reasons we abandoned. The book went into detail about why each was abandoned but how each was left empty for different reasons. interesting archeological book.

I picked out this book for the small town prompt since it was based in the Keys. But as I read it, it didn't feel small town so I figured I would find another for that prompt. I then thought I could use it for the next in the series prompt as this is book 7 in the Serge A. Storms series. but that is a pretty easy prompt to fill and I kind of wanted to save that for if I get stuck. So I decided to go with the prompt set on or near a body of water. The Keys are all surrounded by water and many boating references and excursions occur throughout the book. So we'll go with that for now.

Once again a prompt fell in nicely to continue a series. I read for my double letter in name prompt. I really enjoyed the first one last year so I was lokign to read this anyway. I hope to read the third for the 2022 prompt later this year when it comes out.

I came across this book and intrigued me. I enjoy TWD but with it being in a new setting created a new twist. Since I was looking for the 3 continent prompts and wanted a theme for that group of prompts. This gave me the idea for a futuristic future or dystopian series and see how it can be different in different places.

With the recent movie, it was easy to pick a woman in STEM book for me. I haven't seen the movie yet and typically like to read the book first. Now I still want to but for somewhat additional reasons. Growing up with a father big in aviation history, I was dragged to museums and made to watch movies about all parts of aviation and space flight. So I have seen many parts of this story but had not heard about these particular women. That was an interesting and well-deserved part of the story that needed to be included. The part of this book I didn't enjoy as much, was the style of how this was written. The author seemed to emphasize much of the work that seems to me to just be common knowledge. It felt like Can you believe this black woman could do high-level math and was hired in a field that was dominated by white men. I'm not taking away or downplaying anything they did, as it was hard and groundbreaking. But for me growing up in a more accepting culture of women in STEM as well as a more accepting of diverse background, this came across as a "Hey look at me" story when the premise is already accepted knowledge (at least in my mind). It's like the story was written trying to convince the white men back in the civil rights era that women and blacks were capable humans able to do the same tasks as white men. It reminds me of my child looking for praise on something he learned to do a long time ago that adults do commonly. Good story not enamored with the storytelling style. That's the additional part I'm curious about in the movie now, to see the woke Hollywood spin and if it differs from the book.

For the glass prompt I went with one that's been on my TBR list for a while, . This is a short interesting history of the world as told from the perspective of 6 different beverages and what was happening in the world that drove their popularity. Some interesting tidbits of information throughout the history of the world from ancient times to modern-day.

I was wandering the library just looking for any books that would fit a prompt and saw this one quickly realizing the title of brain surgeon has all five vowels in it. Easy enough. After reading it I think this will be one of the books I end up recommending all year. It's easy enough for everyone to read, explains some totally cool medical procedures those of us in the medical field don't always get to hear about, and has some good advice for ways to keep your brain healthy. This is a well-researched book and has notes so you can read the actual studies the author is referencing, giving more credence to the credibility of the advice. This is not some quack medicine trying to make money writing a book, the author admits to limitations of current studies in places and states his option is based on current knowledge. He admits that may change as more information and studies are performed which is the proper method of scientific study.

I had a couple of different books picked out for the Jewish author or character prompt. This one came in from the library first. I'm not a huge fan of these prompts I have to basically rely on the listopia or research the religious background of various authors (finding the religious background of characters is even harder if you don't have the book in hand). Or stick with something obvious (Holocaust memoir for Jewish prompt) Nothing wrong with those books, I have just read a few lately and wanted something different. I hadn't picked up any of Harlan's books before despite the fact my mother reads him frequently. This was a decent book. I liked the characters and plot. But this book has not aged well. I probably could have used this one in the historical fiction prompt as all the latest tech gadgets he described in the story are way outdated (*69, caller ID, pagers, etc) I'm glad to see the character has newer books so I'd be willing to try this character series again.

I was hoping to use the next Sookie Stackhouse story for the small town prompt but with most of the book taking place in Dallas, it didn't work. But it does fit for the nonhuman prompt. As for book reviews, if this is the direction they are taking I doubt I'll be reading too many more of them. I was hoping for more mystery and less sex. Not having seen the show I didn't know the depth of sex descriptions and acts. It's fine for what it is but just not my interest.

I was debating on this for the three continent series of prompts but then decided I wanted to theme that grouping so I moving this to the Latin American author prompt. I thought this was ok. I don't know if it was just the style I didn't get into (lots of repeating passages, a fictional account of a real occurrence or bouncing between different persons but writing them all in first person making it hard to keep track of who was speaking, or even the bias I have about "Communist are bad, democracy is good" where this seemed to have the Communists are the victims of the torture and kidnappings described in the book. ) I am interested in the topic and learning more about it, as it is something I know very little about, plus the fact it was occurring in a different part of the world during my lifetime kind of blows me away. This has me interested in learning more just don't know if it will be by this author.

For my food or drink prompt I went with one from my TBR list, . Many reviews gave it bad ratings because they said it's a bad cookbook. But it's not a cookbook, more of a cooking class and the basics behind cooking. Now I will say the author moved extremely fast and without going back through things multiple times I wouldn't have caught many of her points. Even so, I plan to read it multiple times after trying some of her tips just so I can get as much from the book as possible.

I added to my TBR last year for a prompt and never ended up reading it. It just so happened to be on Time's list so it seemed appropriate. Reading the description it sounded like a mental health book and it was, but there was more that I wasn't thrilled with. There was this undertone of the main character also developing feelings for another boy. After completing the book, I would not have called it a homosexual relationship (others have listed it that way). It felt like a shy/ awkward boy growing up and finding a new friend which whom he connected on a deeper level but nothing romantic came out of it. I see in the sequel that the character does get into a homosexual relationship but I would not classify the first book as such. I liked the book and its take on a teen boy's relationship with his father and their shared mental illness and how they dealt with the traditional extended family's reaction to the illness.

Another long-time TBR book finally found a prompt, . I thought this was well written and was a surprising story for a YA book. After listening to an interview with the author I would agree it is a great starting point for conversations about the holocaust with kids. It's a unique perspective that most books do not use to tell WWII stories.

I chose for the first of my two books with the same word in the title. And I chose it more for the other book I want to read but there are a number of books on my TBR list with "die" in the title. This happened to be the next one on my list for the Jack Reacher series. After the success of the Reacher tv-series and they announced this was going to be the next one made the line waiting for it at the library went through the roof. This was one of the first books I reserved this year and just now got it. It's a standard Jack Reacher novel which is all I need, guns, guts, and his quick wit makes for a fun quick read. Nothing life-changing just fun reading.

I read for the second of my 3 continent book prompts. Like I mentioned above I went with a theme of post-apocalyptic. This one was more fantasy although set in a dystopian future. Unfortunately just not my cup of tea. I didn't really enjoy it and struggled to get through it. It was OK but not something that made me care or want to know what was going to happen to the characters.

When looking for a book on mythology what better than a retelling of all the Greek myths. This was a solid book of just that a retelling of all the myths. Modern language and some occasional sidebars from the author helped keep it lighter. There are a ton of stories, some of which I didn't realize were myths (King Midas) I just thought they were old stories. I did find it interesting the myths that went with many names used regularly today and the background/history that goes with them.

Powell's awards list was probably my favorite prompt from the standpoint that many of my TBR books were on it. It made picking one somewhat difficult but ultimately I have been wanting to read for probably the longest. Since I'm on a post-apocalyptic/dystopian them currently it went well with current other selections. I did enjoy it and found it to be a moving story for the genre.

I finished up the 3 continent series with . My third southern hemisphere continent and third dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel. It was a decent book but I wasn't overly impressed. It is a YA book but this felt like it was written for the very young end of the YA category. Some YA fiction seems to be really mature and intellectual. This felt like a high school love story with a backdrop of war written by a teenager. Unfortunately, this is part of a series and the book stops after a major event but without any sort of resolution of any of the overarching storylines, leading you to read the remaining books. I'm just not that enthralled with the story or writing style to care about continuing so I won't find out what happens to Ellie and her friends.

I chose for my alternate history prompt but decided during reading to use it for the 1900-1950 as I have many more alternate history books on my TBR list. It was an interesting twist where Charles Lindbergh became president of the US beating out FDR for his third term. Lindbergh keeps America out of WWII and the American Jews begin to feel similar pressure that the European Jews did. Decent book but I wasn't thrilled with the style the author kept jumping ahead giving a reveal then going back and walking you through what happened up to that point. It kind of ruined the surprises of the book. Or at least once they were revealed I didn't want to spend time rehashing it out.

The Tarot arcane prompt almost was too wide open for me. I kept looking and looking and I finally just said I needed to pick something and ended up here . It was a quick short book with some good information. It seemed very similar to Marie Kondo's books and other decluttering books. This one kind of puts the spin on guilting you into not leaving your mess for your heirs to deal with. It didn't have any new eye-opening things to do differently than all the other decluttering books. Look at your crap and deal with it. You have too much and can live with much less. is the one line summary.

On a whim, I grabbed this for my alternate lives/reality prompt. I'm really glad I did. This was a well-written and very engaging story. It was a new concept I had not considered when thinking of time travel/multiverse ideas. I spent lots of time thinking about my life and if I was a Kalachakra what I might try in my future lives.

What better book for the game prompt than where almost the entirety of the book is played out inside a game. I have wanted to read this since it came out after enjoying the first one so much. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to the anticipation. Much of the enjoyment of the first one was the sheer amount of nostalgia from various genres, books, movies, video games, tv shows etc. This time though while it had plenty of nostalgia it wasn't the surprise that it was in the first book. So while it was interesting and cool to read it wasn't as eye-popping wow as the first one. Still just as well written as the first but just didn't have that super cool factor the first one did.

I grabbed this book when I saw it on the monopoly prompt listopia. But as I looked into Monopoly, the token was actually a battleship, not a cruise liner. So I didn't think it fit as well. I changed and decide to use it for the inclement weather since it is a nonfiction account of the sinking of the Titanic and the reason a good number of people died was the freezing temperatures in the water as well as causing the icebergs to be as far south as they were.

I was going to use The Midnight Library for the time-related prompt but after seeing this title I just had to read this instead. (The Midnight Library fits into a few others so I may still get to read it.) This one started a little slower than I liked but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. It was different than I thought it would be. It is described as a post-apocalyptic novel yet there is very little discussion of the actual event just the few characters and their dealing with the potential changing life. The character's life reflections throughout the story was powerful and enjoyable.

I went ahead with one graphic novel in my list . Not only was this rated well, it doubly fit the nationality prompt. Not exactly what I was expecting after reading the description but I still enjoyed it.

My dad had given me this book before he died and suggested I read it. Since it fit the aging prompt, no better time than the present. I had not read a book from an anthropologic perspective before. It took a little getting used to some of the terms the author was using, as they were not used in the fashion I was used to hearing them. Success and failure in terms of evolution are different than what we think of as success in a single lifetime.

This seems to be a popular book along my lines of interest. Bonus that it fits in the category of Asian author. I enjoyed it but I don't know if I enjoyed it enough to read the sequel.

I saw this on the listopia for the fauna prompt and instantly knew this was the book. I found it fascinating both describing cephalopods' biology, as well as some of the evolution. Plus it was only about 200 pages so it was a quick read too.

I couldn't decide where to list either as the Earth day prompt or one of the flora and fauna ones. Originally, thinking the flora but after reading it, it seemed better fitted for the whole Earth day theme. I was hoping for a book similar to the show Life Without Us on one of the nature channels a few years back, and how after humans are gone nature would take back over the world. There was some of that but mostly it was describing the various ways humans are destroying the earth. This book was rather depressing. The author didn't seem to offer any hope. Even commenting on his belief, if we change our behaviors now we've still screwed up the earth for millions of years and can't do anything about it. This could have been a motivating book to make people change their ways but ultimately it just depressed me and gave me no desire to change anything since we're already too far gone.

I went back and forth where I was going to place this book because it fit in a few open prompts that I have been struggling to select books for. Ultimately I decided on the flora prompt because there I didn't have many other options that were really jumping out at me that I wanted to read. another good thriller by the author. Fun read. Nothing life-changing but Makes for a great vacation read.

I wanted to read a long book for the 220 or 440 book but I felt like I'm starting to run out of time to get through all 52 prompts so I picked which I was supposed to read in my college stats class. Despite it being written in the 50s it is totally relevant today. Especially watching all the "fake" news and how much real news is poor statistical reporting. It is a dry topic but being a short book (144 pages) it is still manageable to get through.

I have been looking at this book for a few years for various prompts. I finally jumped on the small town one for this. I really enjoyed this one. The change of perspective and empathy built for each person really made it difficult to predict how this would work out in the end. I found myself cheering and wanting a certain ending changing with each new insight from each character. Plus it took a long hard look at marriage and parenthood and what matters to each.

I liked this one for the Monopoly token as the black hat/tophat has been one of the iconic pieces I think of when I think about Monopoly. It is similar to his previous books in that he writes multiple essays each about a different subject. This book's chapters were not quite as distinct, in that there was much overlap from the different people discussed. I was expecting more of an examination of different characteristics of villainy and how a character or historical figure exemplified that trait.

For Here There be Dragons prompt I went with . I have not read anything by her and hearing she is a standard of classic Sci-Fi author I wanted to try one. I thought the book was good more fantasy than sci-fi but worth the read. I know there are more in the series but nothing drew me in so much that I want to continue the series. I wouldn't automatically cross it off but I'm not going to go looking for the next book. This book too was a bit of a stretch for the prompt as there is one confrontation with a dragon but it works so I'll count it.

I was thrilled to have come out this year so I could complete the trilogy and read my 2022 book. I really enjoyed this series the thought of all the old man's games made me want to grow up a Hawthorne. This series reminded me of The Westing Game, the book that first got me into mysteries when I was little. My only complaint was the sheer number of characters in the book were hard to keep track of at times. If I had read the series back to back to back, I think it would have been fine but spread out over a year I had to stop at times and figure out who certain people were when they re-entered the story. But overall a well written and fun series.

I went with for my female crime fighter prompt. This is a group of women that are basically delta force and take out bad guys. It is an easy quick read. But it is obvious this is written by a man as the women use their sexuality (all of them are Olympic-level athletes and gorgeous) to get what they want from the men they are after. it almost became tiresome. They need to take someone down, they dress to the nines like they are heading out or they dress skimpily and flirt with said guy and the guy falls for it. Not that I don't think it's believable, as most guys would fall for the women the author describes, but it feels like he relies on their looks too much rather than their intelligence or other skills. If you're not looking for a highly intellectual good guy vs bad guy book this would work.

I used for the handwriting on the cover prompt. It has been on my TBR for a few years having found it for some previous prompt. It was alright, I liked the idea of the handwriting analyst connection for the prompt as well. Unfortunately, I just really didn't like the main character. She was so timid, with low self-esteem, I just kept thinking she needs to step up and do XYZ in whatever scene was being described. She was walked on by everyone and the entire story seemed to happen to her instead of her leading as a main character should.

seemed to be a pretty popular one in general lists as well as one on the Hispanic American heritage month list. So during the month, I grabbed it for the LGBTQIA prompt. It was a very enjoyable book. The what-if aspect of Death Cast made you think about what you would change if you knew you weren't going to make it out of the day. No one makes it out alive yet we all think we have time and don't really live. As the reader imagines living in this world it's impossible to not think about what you would do. Then later think why am I not doing that now? The relationship was a pretty minor aspect of the story although there were aspects that a heterosexual couple would not have had to deal with, thus adding to the regret of the past for the characters. I see there is a prequel I might have to check out next year.

I knew I wanted to read this year. I just wasn't sure which prompt I wanted it under. It fit many so I waited and there was only one left for me now. One of the best books of the month 21-22. I thought it was a good book but not life-changing. Once again I unintentionally pick two books that I'm reading simultaneously that have similar themes. Life regrets and what would I have don't different if I had more time. The book kept reminding me of the movie The Butterfly Effect with Ashton Kutcher. Him popping back into various periods of his life and by changing one decision his entire life changes (not necessarily for the better). The book tries to build an "enjoy your current life without regrets as they are just holding you down" theme. But it just didn't pull off the total wow factor that I was expecting. Good and enjoyable book but just not as good as the hype lead me to believe.

I read with the intention of using it as the next in a series but when I went back and looked at the bookseriesinorder.com site I found out I skipped one so I moved this to 10 years or older and will read the actual next book in the series once I get it. This is pretty standard Jack Reacher. Easy and fun read. Nothing too hard to think about but an enjoyable story to entertain me. I feel like I could read these all in short order but I feel like I want to dispense them slowly so I can enjoy them longer.