Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Looking for a spot to share ideas or recommendations? Here you go!

Thanks Jackie!

Does anyone have any ideas or lists to share, or prompts that you need help with? These are the ones that seem harder to me:

3e. Set in more than one country

4a. By an author over the age of 50. The author had to be over 50 when the book was written

Also
5b. A book set primarily in Japan
5c. A collection of essays, poems, or short stories
5d. A weapon is on the cover

NancyJ wrote: "Thanks Jackie!

Does anyone have any ideas or lists for:

3e. Set in more than one country

4a. By an author over the age of 50. The author had to be over 50 when the book was written

5b. A book..."

For over the age of 50, anything written by Nora Roberts after 2000. For set in Japan, Keigo Higashino writes some great mysteries.

For 4a,
Watership Down by Richard Adams - his first book was written at the age of 51.

Elizabeth Strout - after Jan 2006 - Olive Kitteridge, Olive, Again, Oh William!, Lucy Barton books

Margaret Atwood -after 1989 (NOT Handmaid's Tale or Cat's Eye): I recommend Oryx and Crake; the Maddaddam trilogy (upcoming TV show). I might read Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, or Burning Questions: Essays and Occasional Pieces, 2004 to 2021 (also fits 5c)

Alice Hoffman - after March 1992 - I recommend Magic Lessons, Marriage of Opposites. I might read Dovekeepers, the world we knew

Stephen King (born 1947) - anything after 1997: includes 11/22/63

Barbara Kingsolver - anything after 2005, includes Flight Behavior (fits EarthDay prompt), and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (fits food/drink prompt)



5b. Japan: Kitchen, The Travelling Cat Chronicles, The Housekeeper and the Professor

4a - I'm reading The Glass-Blowers by Daphne du Maurier - she was 56 when this book was published

Annie Proulx published her first fiction when she was 54 but I might read The Price of Water in Finistère published when Bodil Malmsten was 60 or more Diana Athill who carried on writing published works until she was 99.

I read How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates for Author over 50. Published last year. It was really interesting.

3e. Set in more than one country
A lot of thrillers in the style of The DaVinci Code work for this one. The protagonists all seem to be globe hoppers. Much of Clive Cussler's work, Dreaming Spies in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series is UK/Japan. Just One Day fits if you are into chick lit. The Twenty-One Balloons is an old Newbery winner if you still enjoy childrens. Around the World in Eighty Days.

5c. A collection of essays, poems, or short stories
Archangel (sciencey, not paranormal)
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank
The Red Garden
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
The Things They Carried
The Thirteen Problems
This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen

I recommend Migrations for set in more than one country. If you like nonfiction, Paul Theroux has lots of good travel memoirs that work… The Pillars of Hercules is my favorite so far.

NancyJ wrote: "Thanks Jackie!

Does anyone have any ideas or lists to share, or prompts that you need help with? These are the ones that seem harder to me:

3e. Set in more than one country

4a. By an author ove..."

Adriana Trigliani is 52 and I just started her 2022 published book The Good Left Undone.

The Thirty Names of Night is set in two different countries, and two different time periods. It has an interesting transgender character.

Edit - I didn't love it. Some of the writing is beautiful, but it was sometimes hard to make sense of the story.

For an author over 50 I’m reading a Stephen King book.

For Japan, I’m on the library wait list for Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Jillian wrote: "For an author over 50 I’m reading a Stephen King book.

For Japan, I’m on the library wait list for Before the Coffee Gets Cold"

I heard that as an audiobook last year - it's an interesting premise :-)

There's also a sequel Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café.

For an author over 50 years old I read a chalet school book, the later ones were written when Elinor M Brent-Dyer was over 50.

Also the Agatha Raisin/Hamish MacBeth series by M C Beaton would fit, she was born in 1936 so any of those books written after 1986.

Since I'm reading Magic Lessons and The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman for ATY prompts 26/27 (title sharing a word), one of those works perfectly for author over 50. Anyone know if The Rules of Magic takes place in two eras?

For set in Japan, I highly recommend The Easy Life in Kamusari, it was a freebie for Amazon's world reading thing and I loved it. I am going to read the sequel for the prompt. I also really liked Before the Coffee Gets Cold, so if you liked that, check out Kamusari. Similarly quirky. There's also always Convenience Store Woman.

I'm having a harder time than expected finding a book with a weapon on the cover so would love some recs for that. I have the other 500 point prompts covered.

Nancy, I recall many flashbacks in Rules of Magic to earlier eras, but I'm not sure if that would constitute a setting. Sorry I can't remember more.

For Japan, I second your recommendation for Convenience Store Woman. It fits the Psychology prompt too, especially for someone who doesn't want to read about mental illness. I was planning to read Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. I might check out your first recommendation too. I missed World day this year, but the book is also on Kindle unlimited.

For the weapon, I'm planning to read The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz.

I had hopes for this cover working for a weapon on the cover, but when I looked closer, I can't see any gun, only the holster.

As we work our way through the summer challenge, the mods ask that you post your completion thread as soon as you complete the point challenge so that we can verify it. Please post links to the editions you read, and post your entire completed challenge in one box. Thanks for your help in making this a smooth process!

NancyJ that looks fascinating! Please report back with your opinion. I'm intrigued by the author being part of the story.

I plan to read Human Acts by Han Kang for weapons. There are bullets on the cover.

Like every year, I slow down in the summer with my reading! I’m trying to get back on track and finish Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers. I recently saw the Van Gogh Immersion Experience which triggered my interest in the book. I’m using it for the prompt character name starting with A, T, or Y. I’ve also started about 5 other books and have 1 in-transit from a library hold, a Japanese mystery
that my dad requested. I’ll let him read it first to find out if it’s any good!

For 3d Title includes the name of a place (real or fictional) - I was wondering if a generic name of a place counts. For instance:

The Institute
The Sanatorium
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Would those count?

I am wondering how creative I can get on prompts -- I'm reading The Book of X which is literally about a character who's stomach is in a knot (magical realism). Can I count that as a twist?

(I'm asking a little tongue in cheek; it also hits a few of the other prompts more literally!)

Pam wrote: "Like every year, I slow down in the summer with my reading! I’m trying to get back on track and finish Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers. I recently saw the Van Gogh Immersion Experience whic..."

I'm envious, I really wanted to see that show. Apparently it was in our area last year but I didn't know it at the time. Was there a movie based on that book?

Nancy - The Van Gogh Experience isn’t a movie but rather an experience! There’s an informational museum section when you enter but the experience part is a big room where you stand or sit and his paintings appear (like a movie) on all sides of the room and the floor. Sometimes it looks like the picture is being created as you are watching it. And then, it fades away as another picture is created. There are a few pictures of him where it changes colors and the eyes blink at the end. I thought it was amazing but a bit pricey. I’m glad I saw it before reading the book because I was already familiar with his work!

Pam wrote: "Nancy - The Van Gogh Experience isn’t a movie but rather an experience! There’s an informational museum section when you enter but the experience part is a big room where you stand or sit and his p..."

Pam, we just did the Monet & Friends Experience at the Biltmore in North Carolina and it brought me to tears. Such an incredible experience! We had the Van Gogh one here in New Orleans but we couldn't make it down there, so I'm glad I got to see Monet & Friends on vacation.

Caitlin wrote: "I am wondering how creative I can get on prompts -- I'm reading The Book of X which is literally about a character who's stomach is in a knot (magical realism). Can I count that as ..."

lol for the twist prompt, we are kind of taking your word for it, since we clearly haven't read every book AND that's something that's not likely to be found in the description.

Joan wrote: "For 3d Title includes the name of a place (real or fictional) - I was wondering if a generic name of a place counts. For instance:

The Institute
The Sanatorium
[boo..."

Yes Joan, I'd say that counts.

Emily wrote: "Caitlin wrote: "I am wondering how creative I can get on prompts -- I'm reading The Book of X which is literally about a character who's stomach is in a knot (magical realism). Can ..."

Thank you!!!

Emily,
The cover of this book shows kids skating on a frozen pond. I would count that as water. Do you?

I'll take a frozen pond as water on the cover.

For 5c, I highly recommend Ann Patchett's These Precious Days: Essays. If you already have 5c covered, this will also work for an author over 4a, author over 50.

Edie wrote: "For 5c, I highly recommend Ann Patchett's These Precious Days: Essays. If you already have 5c covered, this will also work for an author over 4a, author over 50."

It's also a memoir so it fits 4e. I'm reading it now. Last week I read This is the Story of a Happy Marriage her memoir/essays from 2013, and I really liked it. (Marriage was one of many topics.) I actually liked it more than a few of her novels.

Jackie wrote: "I'll take a frozen pond as water on the cover."

Thanks Jackie!

So, this is my first "extra" challenge. I would like to read The Guncle for the author over 50. It was published when he was fifty, but that means he probably wrote it when he was 49. Yay or nay? TIA!

Misty wrote: "So, this is my first "extra" challenge. I would like to read The Guncle for the author over 50. It was published when he was fifty, but that means he probably wrote it when he was 49. Yay or nay? TIA!"

Holy cow, Misty. This is my first "extra" challenge also and I had NO IDEA Rowley was anywhere near 50. It looks like the book was published after his 50th birthday (by, like, less than three weeks) so now I am VERY curious about this as well.

I would typically vote publication date as the marker (since it's a clear date when the book was released into the world and an author could spend ten years writing a book..) but I would love an official response to this.

Thanks for (accidentally) bringing it to my attention too! :)

Sorry for the second post in a row, but for clarity's sake, does this count as "a weapon on the cover"? I realize not all needles are weapons, but in this case it seems pretty clear it's being used nefariously..


For a regular challenge I would 100% count this without a second thought, but a saw that a bottle of poison was ruled against, so I just wanted to make sure I'm on the right side of the law here.

Thank you in advance!

Katie wrote: "Holy cow, Misty. This is my first "extra" challenge also and I had NO IDEA Rowley was anywhere near 50.."

Me either! I was just looking through my books to see if anything would fit that I already have lined up, and I saw that this book was published just after his 50th. I've heard lots of good things about this book, and I am looking forward to reading it.

We will go by publication date, since we don't know when he actually wrote the novel. So Guncle will count!

And yes, I'll allow the needle as well!

Thank you for the confirmation(s), Emily!! ☺️

Emily wrote: "We will go by publication date, since we don't know when he actually wrote the novel. So Guncle will count!"

Awesome. Thanks.

So would two novellas collected together count as "A collection of essays, poems, or short stories", or does it need to be more than that? I was thinking of Nerilka's Story & The Coelura

That said, if it doesn't work for 5c, I can always use it for 2a

I don't think I'd count a bind up of 2 novellas as a collection of short stories unless there was other stuff in there with them.

Fair enough. I had a feeling, but I thought I'd ask.

Jaime wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Thanks Jackie!

Does anyone have any ideas or lists for:

3e. Set in more than one country

4a. By an author over the age of 50. The author had to be over 50 when the book was writ..."


For Book Set in More Then One Country: Historical Fiction is often a great choice. The Paris Library by Janet Skelsion Charles is a great choice (U.S. and France) Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is also a great choice (Ghana and the U.S.) are just two really great reads.

For Author Over The Age of 50: I have just chosen a current author...I usually check their age in Wikipedia or something like that, that gives birthdate just to make sure but many current writers are over 50. Stephen King, John Grisham, Nora Roberts. I used Brian Freeman one of my favorite Minnesota Writers. Just pick a favorite book best seller and chances are the writer is over 50.