Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Last week, we read a book with only one word in the title. But sometimes, you just have more to say! This week, we are finding books with extra long titles - 6 words or more.

You can count subtitles if you'd like, or you can go for the extra challenge of only using the primary title!

The Long List of Books with Long Titles: https://www.booklistqueen.com/books-w...
Listopia - Books with Really Long Titles: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
10 Acclaimed Books that Feature Long Titles: https://www.buzzfeed.com/theocbookgir...
Top Ten Long Book Titles: https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/2...

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

What are you reading for this prompt?

I will use I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer others
I’m reading that would fit
Things We Do in the Dark

I think my most likely are All the Names They Used for God or The City in the Middle of the Night.

If you havent read them yet, I strongly recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet!

I have so many options for this!

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
How to Sell a Haunted House
A Heart So Fierce and Broken
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone was so so good. Hilarious but also a murder mystery. I enjoyed it so much. (It would also, in my opinion, count as a cozy mystery)

I'm planning Love and Murder in the Time of Covid which should be interesting and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead.

I'm not sure about the latter, as I found Olga Tokarczuk's book Primeval and Other Times, which I read this year, to be quite difficult, but as Drive Your Plow... has been hanging around my TBR for a while, I'll give it a go.

Possible picks
Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
The Darling Dahlias And The Voodoo Lily by Susan Wittig Albert

A couple recommendations I haven't seen yet:

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About - this book is one of the few I've read that genuinely made me burst out laughing.

How Long 'til Black Future Month? N.K. Jemisin gets a lot of love, but I don't see this book of her short stories discussed much.

For non-fiction people, if you don't mind using subtitles:
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible and The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America are both great.

I plan to read What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky, which I bought a few years ago on the strength of the title story, but haven't read yet.

I am either going to use: The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece or Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style. I may actually use the pick another book that fits your favorite prompt so I can use both books.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

I'm clearly drawn to books with long titles over short ones, I have loads of options for this compared to hardly any for the single word title! I might use Stuart Turton's new book, The Last Murder at the End of the World.

This year I think I will need to really stick to a plan to accomplish some of my personal goals. To continue my World Lit challenge, I plan to read Waiting for the Dark, Waiting for the Light. Like Dixie, I also have How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe as a possibility. I don't have a lot of options on my shelves.

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez is what I have planned at the moment but I have oodles of options so that could very well change.

One of my favorite reads: The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts

I didn't have a lot of options for this, but I managed to get a copy of Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North by Blair Braverman, which I've been desperate to read since I started following the author on Twitter, so that's what I've gone for.

I had a surprising number of options for this but I've chosen (at least for now) I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez. It's been on my shelf for too long.

I have a long list for this one:

Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live by Martha N. Beck
Emotional Phases of a Woman's Life by Jean Lush
I Feel Bad About My Neck, And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou
Star Trek 101: A Practical Guide to Who, What, Where, and Why by Terry J. Erdmann
Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher
The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Preschool to HighSchool--How Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle by Barbara Coloroso
The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine by Sue Monk Kidd
Don't Leave Your Friends Behind: Concrete Ways to Support Families in Social Justice Movements and Communities by Victoria Law

I have over 20 (probably many more) options for this prompt. Several of them I'm using for other prompts.

For right now I'm planning on reading a title that has 6+ words counting the subtitle: Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild. I partially chose this one to also increase the number of non-fiction books I read.

My top contender if I choose not the read the above (and which doesn't need to use subtitles to reach 6 words) is 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak, which could also be a backup for 25 Most Beautiful Cities.

I have chosen to not use subtitles for this prompt, although I was tempted as many of my titles are under 6 words long. But, I managed for find 3 possibles to consider:

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
The Tale of the Body Thief
The Secret, Book & Scone Society

Avoiding subtitles, my possibles from my physical books are;

- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Good Morning, Destroyer of Men's Souls by Nina Renata Aron
- I Am Not Your Baby Mother by Candice Brathwaite
- The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
- The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
- The Wonders of the Invisible World by David Gates
- No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
- The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell
- The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did by Philippa Perry
- 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

I am planning to read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet for this prompt. My library's page recommended Jamie Ford as a similar author to Lisa See, so I had this book saved to my TBR. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane was my favourite book that I read this year, so I'm hoping that I also enjoy this recommendation.

I am reading a book of baseball essays (a companion to my "fewer than 2024 reviews" book) called The Only Way Is The Steady Way

Denise wrote: "I am reading a book of baseball essays (a companion to my "fewer than 2024 reviews" book) called The Only Way Is The Steady Way"

If you like baseball books, I recommend the Mickey Rawlings series by Troy Soos. Murder at Fenway Park

Robin wrote: "Denise wrote: "I am reading a book of baseball essays (a companion to my "fewer than 2024 reviews" book) called The Only Way Is The Steady Way"

If you like baseball books, I recommend the Mickey R..."

Thank you

I read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson for my library’s Sci-Fi group and this is where it best fits. Pretty good classic and one I’ve never read or seen a movie adaptation.

I read Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry, 7 words in the title
my review is here

For this prompt, I read:
In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje - 3* - My Review

I read A Case of Perplexity in Piccadilly by Clara Benson
Detective story set in a theatre

I read the new Murakami .

I read What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama. It's a sweet book that is a quick read that will probably make you feel warm and fuzzy after you finish it.

Aaaannnd..... I didn't use a single one on my list. LOL. I read Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez, and it was absolutely fantastic, and I highly recommend it.

Misty wrote: "Aaaannnd..... I didn't use a single one on my list. LOL. I read Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez, and it was absolutely fantastic, and..."

I've been meaning to read this for a couple of year. So glad you really enjoyed it! I'll have to move it up my list :)

Tracy wrote: "I've been meaning to read this for a couple of year. So glad you really enjoyed it! I'll have to move it up my list :)"

It really is good - although it is frustrating as hell to read because there are about a thousand+ politicans, etc. that I want to strangle.

I read All You Have to Do Is Call by Kerri Maher, a historical fiction based on the Jane Collective in early 1970's Chicago.

I read Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake. It was fascinating!

When I was looking for what to read I was surprised at how many books where 5 but not 6 words. I ended up reading Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. It was enjoyable while I was reading but I kept forgetting about it. While it didn't excite me, I can see why people would enjoy this and agree with Emily that it would be a fit for a cozy mystery.

I would recommend:
The Last House on Needless Street
The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

Samantha wrote: "When I was looking for what to read I was surprised at how many books where 5 but not 6 words. I ended up reading Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. It was enjoyable while I ..."

Second the recommendation of Eudora Honeysett. One of my faves this year

I read:
Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life by Tyler Perry

BIO: Written by an author who has written in more than one form of literature (Tyler Perry is an American playwright, actor and film director)
REJECT: A book with girl, boy, man or woman in the title

Finished: 03/17/2024
Rating: 4 stars

"This book is to help you understand that life is sometimes hard, and you have to laugh your way through it."

I read How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, which started out great but degenerated to average.

6 words in title


✔ - 25Feb24
Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder – Valerie Burns – 3***
Book one in a new cozy mystery series. Maddy Montgomery’s great aunt Octavia has left her a lakefront house, a bakery, and an English mastiff named Baby. Maddy’s barely in town for a day when there’s a murder IN the bakery. Who would want to frame her? The residents rally round, especially Sheriff April Johnson and veterinarian Michael Portman. Fast, entertaining read.
LINK to my full review

The book I chose for this prompt


short and sweet review: 5.0
I just love the dramatized addition to the books. This one is not as graphic as some of the 1st ones I have listen too. But the book is GOODT!!. Feyre is a brave girl and seem like she would do anything to keep her promise to he mom. Oh but Tamlin. Feyre Kills Tamlin friend. He comes to seek revenge but not in the revenge Feyre thought. He really need her to fall in love with him to break a spell that has been placed on him for 50 years.

I read I Have Some Questions for You. 4 stars. It was alright. I thought it got a little long.

I read Love and Murder in the Time of Covid and The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne.

The first book is ostensibly a police procedural but is actually a look at life in modern China - the all pervading surveillance and, particularly, the tragic effects of the government's policies regarding the pandemic. It was a powerful book. The MC is a poet as well as a policeman and the book style had something of the sparseness of Chinese poetry. I liked the way poems were used as chapter introductions and quoted throughout. The book is part of a series that I'd like to read .

I came across the second book in the library. A sweet coming of age story about friendship and our relationship with our past. I also learned a bit about garden cities.

TASK #21. A book with a title containing 6+ words


~ ♞ ~

BOOK 1
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin
Read ~ 5.4.24
Pages ~
Rationale ~

Review ~ ★★★
This book was one long (ok short) 240 pages of existential crisis. The writing was tight, and somewhere along the way, I just started laughing at how bizarre the MC's thinking processes went. Not really my cup of tea, but I can't say that I didn't enjoy it. I just didn't GET it. But then, I tend to be a "glass is so full it's running over" kind of person. Eleanor talked about the circular connection between thoughts, behaviors, and feelings, which is something I learned from my dad (who taught sociology for years). It's a feedback loop - what we think affects how we feel. The loop doesn't start with how you feel; it starts with what you do. Do it enough and it starts to feel normal which changes how you think, which changes how you feel. If you want to change a feeling, change a behavior first; in other words, fake it 'til you make it. I'm glad that Gilda got it figured out in the end, even if it took her until page 242 to do it.


~ ♞ ~

BOOK 2
In the Shadow of the Valley: A Memoir by Bobi Conn
Read ~
Pages ~
Rationale ~

Review ~ ★★★★★
Often times when I stack my challenges, I find a book that I never would have discovered on my own. And sometimes, those books are a nice surprise. I've found new authors this way, and I've also found good books that are out of my comfort zone. This was one of those kinds of books. I don't read a lot of non-fiction (figure I have enough of that in my real life), so if I read a biography or a memoir or a historical nonfiction book, I want it to be good. This one was. Conn brought me right into and sat me down in the middle of Appalachia poverty and made me feel it. She is brutally honest about her life in the Hollow, about the impact it had on her and the way she turned out. I only ever give five stars to books that either 1) change the way I think about something or 2) stay with me for more than the 15 minutes it takes me to get into my next book. This is one of those "stay with me books." It's one of those books that I'll be able to recommend when a library guest asks, "What have you read lately that was good." I'm glad that I found this book, but I'm really more glad that Bobi Conn wrote it.

I read The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder

OK is the best i can say for it

I read The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie for this one - which barely makes the cut.

I am reading The baby laundry for Unmarried mothers by Angela Patrick

Unfortunately, the stark reality of this book is shattering. I read People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn.

I read How the García Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez which has been on my TBR for about a decade at this point. Interestingly, it's told in separate chapter/stories arranged in reverse chronological order, starting with one of the middle aged sisters returning from the US to the Dominican Republic to visit family, and slowly works backwards through the sisters growing up in the US, then to their flight to the US, and eventually the reason for their departure is revealed as well. It's different, more experimental than The House on Mango Street which it loosely reminds me of, and I enjoyed it.

I listened to the audiobook of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins.