Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

It's easy to get caught up in new and shiny books. Maybe you are someone who eagerly anticipates new releases, or maybe you just stick to the classics. Either way, this week, you are looking back at your reading from 2022 and finding an author that you wish you could read more of. Use this week to expand your reading to a new favorite's backlist, or slot in a favorite author's newest release.

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

What are you reading? How did you choose the author you chose?

I will be readign another Enid Blyton specifically The Book Of Naughty Children

I've got a long list of new releases and backlist. I'll probably read everything on this list so will start by seeing which books fit else where in the prompts.
My short list,

Angeline Boulley - Warrior Girl Unearthed - Expected May 2023 - YA Fiction/Heist
From the New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter comes a thrilling YA mystery about a Native teen who must find a way to bring an ancestor home to her tribe.

Elly Griffiths - still have several books to read in the Ruth Galloway series as well as the third Harbinder (Mystery/Thriller)

Jennifer Lynn Barnes - The Brothers Hawthorne expected 2023 (YA)

Darynda Jones - A Hard Day for a Hangover expected Dec 2022 (Fiction/Romance/Humour)

Alice Feeney - I loved Rock Paper Scissors and would love to read more. (Mystery / Thriller)

Blake Crouch - still haven't gotten to Upgrade or Wayward Pines Series? (SciFi)

T.J. Klune - The Extraordinaries #1 (Fantasy)

Sarah J. Maas - maybe? CC3 rumored to be release 2023 *(Fantasy)

Steven Rowley - The Celebrants - expected May 2023 (Fiction)

Sara Nisha Adams - The Shared Garden - Expected Apr 2023 (Fiction)

Sheena wrote: "Angeline Boulley - Warrior Girl Unearthed - Expected May 2023 - YA Fiction/Heist
From the New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter comes a thrilling YA mystery about a Native teen who must find a way to bring an ancestor home to her tribe...."

Oh yay, I hadn't heard about this one. I can't use it for this prompt but it's going on my wishlist immediately.

Ellie wrote: "Sheena wrote: "Angeline Boulley - Warrior Girl Unearthed - Expected May 2023 - YA Fiction/Heist
From the New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter comes a thrilling YA mystery abou..."

I was so excited to discover it, too! Sounds like another great story and I'm curious to find out what Daunis is doing now. If her nieces are driving it must be set a ways in the future. I noted it would also fit 4+ cover and published but 2023, but I'll read it even it doesn't end up filling a slot.

I will be using this prompt for a series. I'm not sure which one yet. Basically, which ever one I can't slot under other prompts. (I'm reading too many and one of my 2023 reading goals is to reduce the number of series I'm in the middle of.)

Probably going to read a backlist Taylor Jenkins Reid, I have One True Loves as a possibility. Or an older Elin Hilderbrand. Or read the next in a series. Lots of possibilities for this one!

Ohhh Sheena, I lovedddd The Extraordinaries! That series is pretty different from his adult fiction, but it was so good.

I recently read the first book, My Brilliant Friend, in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan series so I plan to read the 2nd book, probably in January before I forget what happened!

I love prompts like this that help us connect our reading from year to year! One of my goals for this year was to read more from authors I've already tried and enjoyed and I've been doing a pretty good job.

I have a couple different thoughts for this prompt. I could use it to continue a series (I'm halfway through the Neapolitan Novels too, Pam!), like the Wayward Children series or the Discworld books or some more Becky Chambers or Ursula K. Le Guin. But I think I might prefer to use it to try a second book by an author that I read for the first time this year. Top contenders for that would be:

China Miéville (I was blown away by Embassytown)

Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time is basically my favorite kind of book)

Olga Tokarczuk (I was not expecting to enjoy Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead as much as I did!)

Yaa Gyasi (Homegoing was the first book I read this year, maybe Transcendent Kingdom should be my first book of next year?)

Kazuo Ishiguro (I loved Klara and the Sun and I've heard a ton of people say that his other books are better).

Every year in late December/early January, when I compile the rest of my stats, I choose a few "authors I'm most excited about." Maybe what I choose will influence this prompt!

Emily wrote: "Ohhh Sheena, I lovedddd The Extraordinaries! That series is pretty different from his adult fiction, but it was so good."
I have no shame in reading YA/Middle Grade. lol. Your rec makes me want to read it even more, so I've just put a hold on it the library. Thank you!!

Hannah wrote: "I love prompts like this that help us connect our reading from year to year! One of my goals for this year was to read more from authors I've already tried and enjoyed and I've been doing a pretty ..."

This is a great list! A couple books caught my eye from already being on my to-read list, and I just added several more. Thanks for sharing!

Emily wrote: "Ohhh Sheena, I lovedddd The Extraordinaries! That series is pretty different from his adult fiction, but it was so good."

What did Klune write that is considered adult fiction? I thought all of his books were middle grade or ya.

Hannah - I’m also thinking about reading another book by Ishiguro. We read Klara and the Sun for a book club read and the group leader (librarian) highly recommended Remains of the Day, despite the boring sounding description! I saw the movie adaptation of Never Let Me Go and will probably read the book. I really like this prompt because there are several authors I read this year that I want to read more of their works. One of them is the non-fiction writer Timothy Egan. Maybe this will be my repeat prompt!

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is currently my favorite book of the year and my first book by Gabrielle Zevin so I might try something else she has written.

I also thought it might be fun to read another book by the author I read for prompt 2 this year but while I enjoyed The Dating Plan I haven't really thought about reading the final book in this series.

Oooooh The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Zevin was so good!

dalex wrote: "Emily wrote: "Ohhh Sheena, I lovedddd The Extraordinaries! That series is pretty different from his adult fiction, but it was so good."

What did Klune write that is considered adult fiction? I tho..."

The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door both have adult protagonists and feature adult themes. Cerulean Sea has some kid sidekicks, but the main character is a grumpy old dude, whereas The Extraordinaries has a protagonist that is in high school.

Pam wrote: "Hannah - I’m also thinking about reading another book by Ishiguro. We read Klara and the Sun for a book club read and the group leader (librarian) highly recommended Remains of the Day, despite the..."

I 100% recommend Never Let Me Go over Remains of the Day. Both were well-written, but Never Let Me Go felt way more intriguing in plot to me (unless you're real interested in butlers and their duties... then you can go with Remains lol)

I adore series. I have over 20 authors with new releases coming in 2023 so I have a ton to choose from. Some of their books have already been announced and I'm using those for other prompts. Right now, I have the new Mitch Rapp book by Kyle Mills marked for this one. No word on the book title or storyline yet since it won't be released until around September.

What can I say? I'm a planner.

I read a great book this year by Olivia Hawker ~ One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow ~ so I'm going to read another one by her, I think ... The Ragged Edge of Night or The Fire and the Ore

That or another book by Geraldine Brooks. I've loved everything of hers that I've ever read.

Emily wrote: "dalex wrote: "The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door both have adult protagonists and feature adult themes."

Thanks! I was sure those were YA.

Emily wrote: "I 100% recommend Never Let Me Go over Remains of the Day. Both were well-written, but Never Let Me Go felt way more intriguing in plot to me (unless you're real interested in butlers and their duties... then you can go with Remains lol)"

Seconding Never Let Me Go over The Remains of the Day!
I know some people loved the butler character study, but Stevens frustrated the hell out of me. Never Let Me Go was much more intriguing plot-wise (especially going in blind) and character-wise (from what I remember).

Emily wrote: "Pam wrote: "Hannah - I’m also thinking about reading another book by Ishiguro. We read Klara and the Sun for a book club read and the group leader (librarian) highly recommended Remains of the Day,..."

But Remains is so brilliantly subtle, in comparison Never Let Me Go seemed over the top to me. I'm sure it's a matter of taste. Remains of the Day is more historical, Never Let Me Go more contemporary/futuristic.

I read multiple mystery series so I have several choices for those authors.

I discovered a romance author named Lee Tobin McClain this year who I ended up really liking. I will read another one of her books, I think.

I might go with Ship of Magic which I'm planning on reading this year at some point. Or with Shrines of Gaiety

I read Hobb and Atkinson for the first time this year and enjoyed both authors very much. Or I might get lazy and go with something shorter than these =) I have so many mystery series I'm reading.

dalex wrote: "What did Klune write that is considered adult fiction? I thought all of his books were middle grade or ya..."

Wolfsong is gay paranormal romance - definitely NOT middle grade or YA (due to explicit sex). It is not something I usually read but got it confused with another book. I ended up liking it more than expected.

I loved The Remains of the Day. It is more character driven than Never Let Me Go which I also appreciated (it is hard to say "enjoyed" since it is dark).

Not sure what I will read for this one, but glad it's on the list. I like to read my favorite authors' back catalogues.

Nancy wrote: "Oooooh The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Zevin was so good!"

I agree! When I saw that the movie came out this week, I just had to reread it! Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow will have to wait a little while longer.

I had no discipline this week. I just read The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, which I originally intended to read for this prompt. No worries, she wrote a lot more.

Possibilities for this prompt:
The Winners by Fredrick Backman
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Three Daughters of Eve, The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
The Round House, Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout

Robin P wrote: "Emily wrote: "Pam wrote: "Hannah - I’m also thinking about reading another book by Ishiguro. We read Klara and the Sun for a book club read and the group leader (librarian) highly recommended Remai..."

I agree. I loved the creeping reveal of the Germany angle, and the relationship plot in Remains of the Day. I can understand why someone might be bored by it though. I didn't enjoy reading Artist of the Floating World very much, despite the fact that the setting was much more interesting. I'm done with Ishiguro until he comes out with a new book.

♞ Pat wrote: "I read a great book this year by Olivia Hawker ~ One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow ~ so I'm going to read another one by her, I think ... The Ragged Edge of Night or The Fire and the Ore..."

I LOVED One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow by Olivia Hawker! Unfortunately I picked it for one of my book groups to read in early 2020, so we never got to discuss it. When we finally got together again people remembered liking it, but didn't remember enough to talk about it... I picked up her new one, The Fire and the Ore in Kindle First Reads and am hoping I like it as much.

I've also read a lot of Geraldine Brooks, but I'm not really into horses, so I'm uncertain about picking up her new one, Horse. I'm sure it will be great, I just have so many other books I want to read.

Tracy wrote: "♞ Pat wrote: "I read a great book this year by Olivia Hawker ~ One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow ~ so I'm going to read another one by her, I think ... The Ragged Edge of Night or The Fire an..."


Although the title is "Horse" you don't have to know anything about horses to enjoy it. It's a story is built around a "found" painting with no provenance - and develops as a merging timelines book, only one of which is directly tied to the horse itself. It was very well done. Classic Geraldine Brooks.

I’ll be reading Sugar Street. It’s the third part of Naguib Mahfouz’s Cairo Trilogy which I started for the Grand Egyptian Museum prompt in 2021 and continued for the written at least ten years ago prompt this year. I’d better read it early before I forget who everyone is (again).

I've gone for Here's to Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. I loved the first in the series, and was looking for a prompt that this would fit. I've read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Upside of Unrequited and Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli so far this year, and Infinity Son by Adam Silvera is next up in my 2022 plan, so I've read these authors quite a bit this year.

I narrowed it down to "not a book coming out in 2023," and I still have eleven possibilities left! LOL. This one is going to be hard to pick. :) At least some of them work for other prompts as well.

Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko
The Door by Magda Szabo
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
The End of Days by Jenny Erpenbeck
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Big Girls Don't Cry by Connie Briscoe
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Stowall and Per Wahloo
Your Blues Ain't Like Mine by Bebe Moore Campbell
Conversion by Katherine Howe
The Perishing by Natashia Deon
Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

Sheena wrote: "Sarah J. Maas - maybe? CC3 rumored to be release 2023 *(Fantasy)"

It better not just be rumored! LOL. I need this book to be released!

I have a few for this.

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J Maas (if I can ever get through Earth and Blood)
I have several of Colleen Hoover’s books on my phone and I don’t think I’ll get through them all by the end of the year.
I need to finish the Harry Potter series.

I've been making my way through the novels of Agatha Christie. My choices are: Hickory Dickory Dock, or Destination Unknown.

Edit:
I read Sad Cypress.

Let's see, I have so many authors I read from this year and they have some other books I want to get to.


Mark Lawrence - I would like continuing with the Impossible Times series, book 2: Limited Wish.

John August - to finish the Arlo Finch trilogy by reading the last book: Arlo Finch in the Kingdom of Shadows.

Agatha Christie - so many I'd like to read! Some of the ones I really want to get to are: The Thirteen Problems, 4:50 from Paddington, The Mysterious Affair at Styles and others I own.

Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen duo - An Anonymous Girl is waiting for me on my shelves.

Stephen Graham Jones - I hated/disliked 2 of his books, but I still can't give up, haha :D. I would like reading The Only Good Indians or Mapping the Interior.

Alexandra Bracken - I either continue The Darkest Minds series with book 2 Never Fade or read Passenger.

Amy Tintera - I need to continue the Ruined trilogy by reading book 2: Avenged.

Matt Haig - I read both The Comfort Book and Reasons to Stay Alive this year by him. Loved the first, was okay-ish with the second.
I would like reading the following from him: The Midnight Library, How to Stop Time, The Humans, A Boy Called Christmas.

Danielle Paige - Not among my favourites, but I still want to continue with the Dorothy Must Die novellas, by reading The Witch Must Burn.

Sarah Andersen - I love her drawings and I wish to finish Sarah's Scribbles by reading Oddball.

Lucy Foley - I will either read The Hunting Party or The Guest List.
Really liked The Paris Apartment this year. :)

L.M. Montgomery - Anne of Avonlea, of course. I want to know what happens next!

Alice Oseman - Nick and Charlie, as soon as I finish with book 4. Really looking forward to book 5. Too bad it will be the last one in the Heartstopper series.

Franz Kafka - I have The Metamorphosis on my shelves and I'm curious. I liked Letter to his Father.

Rachel Hollis - Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals

Kiersten White - Maybe after so many years, I will finish the Paranormalcy trilogy, by reading Endlessly. Or start And I Darken.

J.K. Rowling - Maybe I will re-read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Or maybe Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and/or Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore: The Original Screenplay.
Remains to be seen.

Patrick Ness - The Knife of Never Letting Go is waiting for me for some years, but I can't simply start it. Is it worth it?

C.S. Lewis - continue and finish the Narnia series with Prince Caspian.

B.B. Alston - Really looking forward to Amari and the Great Game!
Totally recommending you this trilogy! The first book was chef's kiss.

Katherine Applegate - Would like reading The One and Only Ivan.

Katherine Arden - I will either continue with the Small Spaces series and read Dead Voices or start The Bear and the Nightingale.

Krystal Sutherland - I really liked House of Hollow, so I definitely want to get to A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares.

Max Brallier - By mistake I read book 5 in the Last kids on Earth series, so I want to get to the first one The Last Kids on Earth.

Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt - One of my auto-buy authors. Anything by him would work. :)

Authors I can consider & books I haven't read by them (* indicates I own/KU):

Naomi Alderman - Disobedience

Agustina Bazterrica - none

H.D. Carlton - Haunting Adeline*, Hunting Adeline*, Does It Hurt?* & Shallow River*

Julie Clarke - The Last Flight & The Ones We Choose

Imogen Crimp - none

Blake Crouch - Wayward*, The Last Town*, Dark Matter & Upgrade*

Penelope Douglas - Punk 57*, Birthday Girl*, Credence*, Bully, Hideaway*, Tryst Six Venom*

Jonathan Edward Durham - none

Mariana Enríquez - The Dangers of Smoking in Bed

Katherine Faulkner - The Other Mothers (expected publication June 8, 2023)

Amanda Foody - All of Our Demise*, Ace of Shades, King of Fools, Queen of Volts, Daughter of the Burning City, The Accidental Apprentice, The Weeping Tide & The Ever Storms

S.T. Gibson - An Encore of Roses, Robbergirl, Odd Spirits & An Education in Malice

Charlaine Harris - Grave Surprise*, An Ice Cold Grave*, Grave Secret* & Dead Until Dark

Christina Henry - Alice*, Near the Bone & The Ghost Tree

Christine Lynn Herman - All of Our Demise*, The Drowning Summer*, The Devouring Gray, The Deck of Omens

Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Price of Salt, Strangers on a Train, The Cry of the Owl & The Blunderer

Jenny Hval - Paradise Rot

Dana Isaly - Games We Play* , As Above, So Below*, Scars* & Dipped In Holly*

Lisa Jewell - The Family Upstairs*, The Family Remains, The Night She Disappeared, Watching You, Invisible Girl, I Found You, The House We Grew Up In, The Girls in the Garden & The Third Wife

Meng Jin - Little Gods

Stephen Graham Jones - My Heart Is a Chainsaw*, Don't Fear the Reaper*, Mongrels*, The Only Good Indians, The Last Final Girl, Mapping the Interior, The Backbone of the World & The Night Cyclist

Miranda July - No One Belongs Here More Than You*, It Chooses You, The Metal Bowl, The Boy from Lam Kien

Cassandra Khaw - none

T. Kingfisher - The Twisted Ones*, Nettle & Bone & The Hollow Places

Erika Krouse - none

Katrina Leno - Horrid*, Summer of Salt, The Half Life of Molly Pierce, Everything All at Once, The Lost & Found & Sometime in Summer

Penelope Lively - How It All Began, The Photograph, Family Album, Consequences, The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, Heat Wave, Life in the Garden, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories & Passing On

Ellery Lloyd - The Club

E. Lockhart - Family of Liars*, Genuine Fraud*, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks & Again Again

LaTanya McQueen - And It Begins Like This, Brevity and Echo: An Anthology of Short Short StoriesLeopardia & Believers

Dervla McTiernan - The Sisters, The Roommate The Ruin, The Scholar, The Good Turn & The Wrong One

Tig Notaro - Boyish Girl Interrupted

Kelly Oxford - Everything is Perfect When You're a Liar

Helen Phillips - Some Possible Solutions, The Beautiful Bureaucrat, Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green, And Yet They Were Happy, The Knowers, Upside Down in the Jungle

Rory Power - In a Garden Burning Gold*

Jason Rekulak - none

Diana Rodriguez Wallach - Proof of Lies, Lies That Bind, End of the Lie, Amor and Summer Secrets, Amigas and School Scandals & Adios To All The Drama

Marie Rutkoski - The Midnight Lie*, The Hollow Heart*, Bridge of Snow, The Winner's Curse, The Winner's Crime, The Winner's Kiss

Tess Sharpe - Far From You, Barbed Wire Heart, 6 Times We Almost Kissed

Simone St. James - The Sun Down Motel*, The Broken Girls, The Haunting of Maddy Clare, Silence for the Dead, Lost Among the Living, An Inquiry Into Love and Death, The Other Side of Midnight & Ghost 19

Lara Stapleton - none

Paul Tremblay - The Pallbearers Club*, A Head Full of Ghosts, The Last Conversation, Survivor Song, Disappearance at Devil's Rock, The Little Sleep, No Sleep Till Wonderland & In the Mean Time

Catherynne M. Valente - Deathless Space Opera

Danielle Vega - The Unleashed, The Merciless & Survive the Night

Catriona Ward - Little Eve, Rawblood & Looking Glass Sound

Ruth Ware - The Lying Game*, In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Turn of the Key, The Death of Mrs. Westaway, One by One, The It Girl & Snowflakes

Nathanael West - none

Stacy Willingham - All the Dangerous Things

Kevin Wilson - Nothing to See Here*, The Family Fang & Now Is Not the Time to Panic

Gina Wohlsdorf - Blood Highway

Jacqueline Woodson - Brown Girl Dreaming, Red at the Bone, Before the Ever After, Harbor Me, If You Come Softly, The Other Side, Each Kindness & Locomotion

Michelle Zauner - none

I am thinking:
Stalking Jack the Ripper because I LOVED Kingdom of the Wicked. Also maybe something by Christina Lauren, like My Favorite Half-Night Stand, Twice in a Blue Moon, or Something Wilder. All Your Perfects was recommended to me, and I'd give it a shot as I've liked the other two CoHo books I've read. Bring Me Back is also on my mind, but B.A. Paris hasn't thrilled me like when I read Behind Closed Doors so I hope this one would be as thrilling.

Week 2
4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie
Read "And then there were none" last Sep

For this prompt, I read:
Dr. No by Percival Everett - 3* - My Review

I read The Trees last year.

My plan is to read these four books this week. Providing my life doesn't blow up around my ears, I should be able to get it done. Three of them for sure, and the fourth if I'm lucky!


The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker
Read ~ 1.14.23
Pages ~ 352
Relevance ~ I read One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow in 2022


A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley
Read ~ 1.9.23
Pages ~ 224
Relevance ~ I read Perestroika in Paris in 2022

The Shaman Sings by James D. Doss
GONNA HAVE TO ROLL THIS ONE OVER TO ANOTHER PROMPT!

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Read ~ 1.11.23
Pages ~ 304
Relevance ~ I read The Humans in 2022

Current plan is to read The Devil and the Dark Water. I'm using it for another challenge, so the timing worked out, and I enjoyed The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle very much last year. However, I'm also going to sprint through Hell Bent as fast as possible once I get my hands on it tonight, so that might end up being my choice for this one.

I read The Tropic of Serpents for this prompt, because I read A Natural History of Dragons for the "here be dragons" prompt towards the end of last year and it left me immediately longing for the next book in the series.

Written in memoir style, they tell the story of a female natural historian in a secondary world fantasy setting loosely based on the 19th century. Isabella is from an aristocratic family and is expected to marry well and raise children, but instead she goes off in search of dragons - despite the scandal this creates. The worldbuilding is realistic, particularly in the second novel as it introduces new locations and people groups with their own languages and customs. The author is an anthropologist and it shows!

I am reading Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris. I chose this author as I have the book and also like the author.

I've read Fevered Star, I've reread previous book in the series in 2022 planning to read it right after, but didn't get to. I have very mixed feelings about Fevered Star as a whole, but I had a lot of fun reading it.

I read Aunt Dimity Goes West. I started rereading Nancy Atherton’s series after Christmas, and this one fell into this week’s reading. This is an Uber-cozy mystery series. No murders (the one book in the series that has the main character investigating a murder turns out to be an accidental death)

I read The 5th Horseman as I wanted to continue reading the series that I started last year.

I read The Rise of Magicks by Nora Roberts, book 3 in the Chronicles of the One series. I read book 2 in this series last year.

I revisited an author I can always count on to elicit emotions from me, Wendell Berry. His latest book How It Went: Thirteen More Stories of the Port William Membership is a sad one, because you can feel Berry closing doors on this world he has created. He is eighty-eight years himself, and probably fully aware that his writing days are dwindling. This book was a wonderful addition to his canon.