Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

DECEMBER

1. Winter

Brrrr. Time to break out the hats, scarves and gloves as the coldest time of the year approaches (in the northern hemisphere at least). On the other hand, cold weather is the perfect excuse to curl up under a blanket with your latest book. And, however cold you are, at least you can be glad your home town is warmer then Antarctica, where the lowest temperature on Earth was recorded: an icy −89.2°C (−128.6 °F).

a. Read a book with a title beginning with a letter in WINTER (you can use or ignore a, an or the) Through a Darkening Glass by R.S. Maxwell
b. Read a book with snow, snowflakes or a snowman on the cover OR a book with a person wearing winter clothing (scarf, hat, warm coat etc) on the cover.
c. Read a book that is between 89 and 128 pages long (you can ignore the 100 page requirement for this task).

2. December birthdays: Jane Austen

Jane Austen was born on December 16th.

a. Read a book written by a female author.
b. Read a novel set in the 19th century.
c. Read a romance novel. A Very Austen Christmas

3. The Holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Whether you celebrate Christmas or would prefer to indulge in National Cookie Day, December is packed full of end-of-the-year holidays.

a. Read a book related to a holiday that happens in December. (Some examples: Rosa Parks Day, National Cookie Day, Dewey Decimal System Day, Nobel Prize Day, Kwanzaa, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, Hanukkah, etc.) Aunt Dimity's Christmas by Nancy Atherton
b. Read a book that has one of the gifts referred to in The Twelve Days of Christmas shown on its cover (ignore the numbers - eg a book with a gold ring works, you don’t need a book with five gold rings!)
c. Read a book that features a family gathering.

4. Winter sports: yukigassen

Imagine if someone turned snowball fighting into an official sport with rules, a referee, a court and a snowball making machine. That’s yukigassen! Created in Japan in 1988, there are now competitions all over the world. Teams of seven players battle to capture each other’s flag, while trying to avoid being hit by a snowball and eliminated from the game. Preparation for a match involves making 270 snowballs, no wonder they invented a snowball making machine!

a. Read a book by an author whose first and last initials appear in YUKIGASSEN.
b. Read a book in a series that is at least 7 books long Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin by Nancy Atherton
c. Read a book set in a country where yukigassen is played (Japan, Armenia, Canada, China, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, or Slovakia).

JANUARY

1. Happy New Year!

Happy 2020! Here’s to a great year of reading. Around the world people will be welcoming the new year while watching fireworks displays, drinking champagne and singing Auld Lang Syne.

a. Read a book by an author who is new to you.
b. Read a book from a genre that is new to you (you can use a sub-genre, eg urban fantasy, historical romance, etc if you already read books from most genres).
c. Read a book in which all the words in the title have the same number of letters (eg The Bat, Ninth House, The Old Man and the Sea).

2. January birthdays: Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami was born on January 12th.

a. Read a book set in Japan.
b. Read a book that features a cat in some way.
c. Read a magical realism novel.

3. New Year Resolutions

Millions of people see January 1st as an opportunity to set goals for the year ahead and the practice of making new year resolutions has a long history. In Babylonia new year was a time to promise the repayment of debts and return of borrowed items. And Romans are believed to have made sacrifices and promises to the god Janus, who is depicted as having two faces - one looking to the past and one to the future. Given that history, whether you keep or break your own resolutions this year, you’re probably in good company!

a. Read a book where the first letter of each word in the title can be found in NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS (the title must be at leat three words long for this option)
b. Read a book that looks into the past (historical fiction, history, etc) or a book that looks into the future (science fiction, fantasy, etc).
c. Read a book that will help you keep one of your New Year resolutions OR if you don’t make resolutions then read a book related to one of the top ten New Years resolutions. Tell us what your resolution is when recording this task as completed.

4. Winter sports: bobsleigh

Bobsleighing originated in the Swiss town of St Moritz in the 19th century. Holidaymakers looking for entertainment in the cold winters hit on a plan to adapt delivery sleds into racing sleds and compete in races down the steep roads of the town. While undoubtedly entertaining for holidaymakers, the high speed sled races became immensely unpopular with residents of the town who, not unreasonably, objected to being mown down on their own streets by out of control sleds. In order to restore calm, a local hotel owner constructed an ice half-pipe track outside the town where the sled races could continue, and the sport of bobsleighing was born.

a. Read a book set mostly in a location that begins with a letter in SWITZERLAND.
b. Read a book in which a conflict between characters is a major part of the plot. Tell us what the conflict was (using spoiler tags if necessary) when recording the task as completed.
c. Read a book that is fast-paced.

FEBRUARY

1. Valentine’s Day

February 14th is celebrated around the world as Valentine’s Day. It was originally a feast day honouring an early Christian saint and only became associated with love and romance in the 14th century. Fun fact: Cadbury first began producing heart-shaped boxes of chocolates for Valentine’s Day in 1868. Buying overpriced novelty chocolates as a token of love has a long history!

a. Read a book with Romance listed as one of the top five genres on its Goodreads page.
b. Read a book by an author whose first and last initials appear in VALENTINE’S DAY.
c. Read a book written in or set in the Medieval period (usually defined as the 5th to 15th centuries).

2. February birthdays: Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7th.

a. Read a book set in the American midwest.
b. Read a novel that features the wilderness.
c. Read a coming of age story.

3. Winter sports: Ski jumping

Ski jumping has featured in every Winter Olympics since 1924. Athletes ski down a specially designed ramp and compete against each other to see who can make the longest jump. The current world record is over 253 metres. It was set by Austrian ski jumper, Stefan Kraft, who perhaps predictably is known by the nickname Air Kraft.

a. Read a book that is at least 253 pages long.
b. Read a book published in a year in which the Winter Olympics took place (1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
c. Read a book where the plot “jumps” about (a non-linear narrative as it’s normally called).

4. The Shortest Month of the Year

Take some time to explore a variety of genres and topics during the shortest month of the year!

a. Read a literary fiction novel.
b. Read a book that features a ghost.
c. Read a book that starts with a letter in the word SHORT.

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Completed:
DECEMBER

1. Winter
a. Read a book with a title beginning with a letter in WINTER (you can use or ignore a, an or the) Through a Darkening Glass by R.S. Maxwell

2. December birthdays: Jane Austen
c. Read a romance novel. A Very Austen Christmas by Robin M. Helm

3. The Holidays
a. Read a book related to a holiday that happens in December. Aunt Dimity's Christmas by Nancy Atherton

4. Winter sports: yukigassen
b. Read a book in a series that is at least 7 books long. Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin by Nancy Atherton