Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

The start of a new school year can feel like a time of renewal, even if you are all done with formal education and have no one to drag out of bed. This week's prompt is a fun scavenger hunt for titles with school subjects. From the sciences to the humanities and from the fine arts to technical classes, there are so many options!

Some words to get you started:
biology, physics, chemistry, math, dance, band, choir, drama, theater, literature, english, french, spanish, latin, history, geography, woodwork, art, reading, writing, spelling, fitness, design, programming...

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

What are you reading for this prompt? What recommendations do you have?

I am buying myself A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories for Christmas.

Ballet can be a school subject at an arts school.

Dubhease wrote: "I am buying myself A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories for Christmas.

Ballet can be a school subject at an arts school."

My daughter has a ballet class right now in college!

This one is fun to plan. I have a few recommendations:
Milk, Money, and Madness: The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding by Naomi Baumslag - This book is a little older, but it is absolutely fascinating, eye-opening, and infuriating.
Singing in the Comeback Choir by Bebe Moore Campbell - this book was so sweet. I really loved it.
Loves Music, Loves to Dance by Mary Higgins Clark - a mystery

I have several on my list of possibilities:
The Ethics of Star Trek by Judith A. Barad
Snow White and Russian Red by Dorota Maslowska
Cecilia Reclaimed: Feminist Perspectives on Gender and Music by Susan C. Cook
The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future by Riane Eisler
African American Music: An Introduction by Mellonee Burnim
Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level by Sally E. Shaywitz
The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris

I have approximately 237 books on my TBR List with the word "history" in the title, so that is definitely an option.

And I have several books that I found for the "Language or Nationality in Title" 2022 prompt that would work for this prompt - Italian Shoes, The German House (both of which also work for the "A book by an author from continental Europe" prompt), and The French Gift.

My top choices right now, though, are The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan and Life Drawing by Robin Black.

Misty wrote: "Dubhease wrote: "I am buying myself A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories for Christmas.

Ballet can be a school subject at an arts school."

My daughter has a ballet class right ..."

I hadn't even thought of performance courses at a university level. What is she studying?

This is the perfect opportunity to finally read A Short History of Nearly Everything.

I wanted to have fun with this prompt and find an obscure or arcane subject (and I did look for alchemy and the like originally), but I'm going with the obvious: The Secret History. I feel like everyone has read this book but me.

I read it a long time ago, but of course I've forgotten i, and I'm probably not alone.

I'm going with the fairly obvious . I liked the fact that the title referenced the lesson as well as the subject.

That's the UK edition, which would also work for faceless person on the cover.

Dubhease wrote: "I hadn't even thought of performance courses at a university level. What is she studying?"

She is a theatre major/film studies minor at the University of New Mexico.

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "I wanted to have fun with this prompt and find an obscure or arcane subject (and I did look for alchemy and the like originally), but I'm going with the obvious: The Secret History. I ..."

You're not the only one. If we read it together, it fits "read a book a goodreads friend is reading."

If I haven’t already read Lessons in Chemistry by then, that will probably be my pick - I’m a chem teacher IRL! Otherwise, I was looking at The English Understand Wool (which also may get slotted in for repeated object on the cover) or The Dance Tree.

Pearl wrote: "Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "I wanted to have fun with this prompt and find an obscure or arcane subject (and I did look for alchemy and the like originally), but I'm going with the obvious: [book:The S..."

I'd love to do a buddy read for it, absolutely.

I've been looking for a reason to read Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz.

A few more subjects - music, science, more languages like Russian, Chinese, etc. What used to be Home Ec for girls only is now often taught as units call Foods and Clothing. Not sure what the equivalent of the former boy's shop class is - maybe Metalworking, Drafting and Woodworking.

College classes include geology, astronomy, psychology, philosophy, drawing, sculpture.

I struggled a bit with this one, in the end I've chosen The Fine Art of Invisible Detection by Robert Goddard.

I'd definitely recommend The Sacred Art of Stealing, it's clever and fun, I always love some Discworld so Soul Music, and if you want something a bit different The Art of Disruption: A Manifesto For Real Change is part politics, part memoir of someone who fled his war-torn home country as a child and became mayor of his adopted city when he was still in his 20s.

Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
Anatomy of a Scandal
Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
The Reading List
The Spanish Love Deception

Edit: I'm listening to Lessons in Chemistry- Bonnie Garmus

Other books on my TBR:
The English Wife - Lauren Willig
The Girl in the Painting - Tea Cooper
Artists in Crime - Ngaio Marsh
Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
Special Topics in Calamity Physics - Marisha Pessl
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka
The Geometry of Holding Hands - Alexander McCall Smith
Theatre - W. Somerset Maugham

I recommend:
The Music Shop - Rachel Joyce Audible
The Chilbury Ladies' Choir - Jennifer Ryan
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
The Reading List - Sarah NIsha Adams
Drama - Raina Telgemeier
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life - Anne Lamott

Kathy, Lessons in Chemistry and Special Topics in Calamity Physics are the top two I'm deciding between, too! What a coincidence. Calamity Physics has been on my TBR for years, and Lessons in Chemistry was recommended to me by the StoryGraph, which is always a good sign for me.

I'd recommend some "history" books:
The History of Bees by Maja Lunde is a beautiful climate fiction book. It's part historical fiction, part contemporary fiction, and part speculative fiction, but all three of the timelines focus on a key parent-child relationship and, of course, on bees and beekeepers.

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert is one of my favorite nonfiction books of all time. It's about the climate crisis and specifically about the concept of the "anthropocene" and the effect that humans have had on the other species on earth. But it has "history" in the title for good reason: Kolbert really brings a lot of fascinating information about the study of the history of extinction and evolution into the book.

That is a coincidence, Hannah! I have an audio of Lessons in Chemistry, so this book is easier to do. I've had Special Topics in Calamity Physics from the library already this year, but couldn't get to it.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang

Lots of options for this one! A few from my TBR:

History:
A History of Kitchen Gardening ~ home library/paperback
The English Garden: A Social History
The Landscaping Ideas of Jays: A Natural History of the Backyard Restoration Garden
At the Bottom of the Garden: A Dark History of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Nymphs, and Other Troublesome Things
Hidden History of New Hampshire
A Natural History of North American Trees
Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England
The Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings
Mary Magdalene: Her History and Myths Revealed
Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife
The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden
Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses

English:
The Living Garden: The 400-Year History of an English Garden
The Book Of English Magic
English Cottage Gardening: For American Gardeners
Rosemary Verey's English Country Gardens
Roses for English Gardens
Old Roses and English Roses
Roses: Climbing, English, Shrub, Hybrid Teas and Old Roses
Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field
Anglo-Scandinavian England: Norse-English Relations in the Period Before Conquest Old English Colloquium Series, No. 4

Art
Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch: Mastering the Five Arts of Old World Witchery
The Civil War in Art
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution

Dance
Dance with the Devil
Time to Dance, a Time to Die: The Extraordinary Story of the Dancing Plague of 1518

French
Bon Courage! A French Renovation in Rural Limousin
Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution
French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France
The French Gardener
The Cook and the Gardener: A Year of Recipes and Notes from the French Countryside
[book]:On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town|196153]

Pharma-
Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft

Organic (like, Organic Chemistry)
Conscious Gardening: Practical and Metaphysical Expert Advice to Grow Your Garden Organically
The Winter Harvest Handbook: Four Season Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses
Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long

Science
Following the Wild Bees: The Craft and Science of Bee Hunting

Essay
Singing in the Morning: and other essays about Martha's Vineyard

What are you reading for this prompt? What recommendations do you have?

I read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
I must admit I feel a little silly because I was thinking this might be a difficult prompt, only to not only use it for my first book of the year but also to see a TON of great suggestions here in this thread.

I read The History of Science Fiction: A Graphic Novel Adventure by Xavier Dollo. I learned quite a bit, enjoyed the graphic novel presentation, and added numerous books to my sci-fi shelf!

I just finished Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe for this one! It was such a great and interesting read, I couldn’t put it down. If anyone is looking for a deep dive into the family that largely caused the opioid epidemic, this is one for you!

For this prompt, I read:
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss - 4* - My Review

I read Anatomy: A Love Story for this one - it was about as much as I expected.

I read Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz for this prompt. I'd seen this book mentioned so many times on bookstagram last year, so I was pretty excited to pick it up! It was a great read, I rated it 5 stars. I know there's a second book coming out in February (I think), but I'm quite happy with the way this book ended, and don't particularly feel the need to continue on with the series

I read Lessons in Chemistry

I read Beard Science

I read Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang.

I read pH Neutral History, poetry by Lidija Dimkovska.

I like reading poetry and I read this short book slowly- mostly a poem a day - but I found it difficult. There are some wonderful images but overall it was too surreal for me.

I listened to Lab Girl for this one. I was not a fan. I rated it one star.

School subjects can be very stuffy and dry. I wanted to approach this prompt with some humour.

I was first introduced to the author through her Twitter name Whores of Yore. She posted tidbits about female sexuality through history. Then the USA started to enact laws concerning abortion and I immediately thought this book would be perfect to read for this prompt.


A Curious History of Sex
It explores the history of sex from a female view point. One that is lacking in most of our history books.

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism will be my choice for this book considering there's a bunch of different Language related type classes in existence for different schooling

Just happened to read Special Topics in Calamity Physics in January before I joined this group..so that's mine for this category

I read Symphony of Secrets. I might be stretching to make this work but Symphony Orchestra is part of music studies.

I will probably choose something with Science in the title. I love science non-fiction and I have a bunch on my GR and literal bookshelves that would probably fit.
Maybe this one: Chaos: Making a New Science

I was originally going to read the non-fiction The Immortality Key: Uncovering the Secret History of the Religion with No Name by Brian C. Muraresku, until . . .

Someone in my IRL book club chose Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I have to say, at first I was not thrilled. I know it has been very popular — I avoided it though because the cover really turned me off. It looks like a real fluff piece, BUT, I actually loved it! It had going for it: important topics in an easy to read style, quirky characters, and the ability to make me both laugh and cry.

As a graphic designer, after having read it, I'm not sure what I would recommend for a better cover yet, but I'll keep thinking about it. I went through the alternate covers from different countries, and I at least prefer the versions found in
China  and Serbia

Natural History by Andrea Barrett is a wonderful collection of interlinked stories (a style I'm usually not a fan of) that celebrates women in science who support other women in science. Loved it! First book I've read of hers but it won't be the last.

What are you reading for this prompt?
I read Spies in Tudor England: The History and Legacy of English Spy Networks during the Tudor Period by Charles River Editors

This fits by having History and English in the title.

Rearranging some things so I can use The Secret History for Spice Girls personality (posh) and slotting in The Irish Game: A True Story of Crime and Art here.

Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson, set in the 1980s and telling the story of Marina, a teenage girl living with her rather flaky English mother and the elderly Hungarian relatives of her missing father. Her attempt to fit into modern society and her experiences at a dreadful public school are interwoven with her mother's experiences.

A good picture of teenage (and middle-aged) angst, and quite funny.

Just finished The Mathematician's Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer, a novel that is similar in plot and style to The Yiddish Policemen's Union, which could also fit this prompt. The references to the Navier-Stokes math problem, which the novel delves into, were at turns interesting and boring, but I liked the characters, especially Rachela and Sasha, a lot.