Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Sometimes it's fun to read a book that's slid under everyone else's radar. Maybe you're going for an unknown author. Maybe you are reading an ARC before the book comes out. Maybe you're going deep into an author's backlist. Whatever the case, you're looking for a book with less than 2024 ratings on Goodreads!

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
The nature of this listopia means that the more of us who read a book, the more likely the book will be pushed over the 2024 ratings threshold. The listopia will not be monitored for ratings changes. Please check all books on this list before using them for your challenge!

What are you reading for this prompt, and how many ratings does it have?

I tend to read a lot of less popular books so this prompt will be easy for me. Right now the book I think I’ll count for this is The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itäranta. I read the author’s previous two books and really enjoyed them. This one was published in 2020 (English edition 2022) and has less than 1500 ratings. I wonder if she’s more well known in Finland?

Since it is a long way to February, my plan may change. Right now my options for this prompt are:

The Last Chance Olive Ranch - 1893 ratings
Exile - 1134 ratings
Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony - 224 ratings

Given that two are within easy range of being pushed over 2024 by then, I might have to find two more for choice.

I'm going to read a book about one of my favorite children's authors, Eleanor Cameron, who wrote the Mushroom Planet books, The Court of the Stone Children, and many more books I loved as a child and still love now. The book about her is Eleanor Cameron: Dimensions of Amazement. It has 10 ratings.

I'm going to read the book MA IN ALL CAPS by Jay Kuo

I read some books in French that aren't even translated so there are very few reviews (like 4!) Makes me sound intellectual but I also have some cheap Regency romances that have a few hundred reviews.

I don't pay much attention to number of ratings so I was quite surprised to see certain books on my TBR had such low numbers.

I'm going to exclude newer releases as there's a good chance the number of ratings will reach the threshold by the time I get to fulfilling this prompt.

Non-fiction seems to dominate my remaining options and it is quite a varied bunch! Some ideas:
Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung (1537)
The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain (670)
As If!: The Oral History of Clueless as told by Amy Heckerling and the Cast and Crew (1605)

This is an easy prompt for me because a lot of Indian books have ratings less than 2024. The problem will be narrowing down on one.

I have around 200 books on my TBR to choose from, a lot of non-fiction as well as British authors and small press books. So definitely not a prompt I feel I need to plan for.

I went through my kindle this weekend and removed all of the library holds that were lingering in my kindle library. What was left was mostly Amazon Prime First Reads, most of which (surprisingly) have very few ratings. So my goal is to read one of those books.

But also, inevitably, there will be one or two books on the Tournament of Books list that have a low number of ratings, so given the timing of this prompt, I may go that route instead.

Beth wrote: "I don't pay much attention to number of ratings so I was quite surprised to see certain books on my TBR had such low numbers.

I'm going to exclude newer releases as there's a good chance the numbe..."

I've loved "Clueless" since it came out in theaters. It's one of my top five go-to comfort watches. I really enjoyed reading "As If".

I'll be reading Nighthawking by Russ Thomas. It had 984 ratings when I finalised my plan and it's up to 987 now, so I'm pretty confident it's not going to make it over 2024 before I get to it.

My plans include:


The Shamshine Blind by Paz Pardo (524, comes out 2/14/2023)
Unseen City by Amy Shearn (296, originally published 9/29/2020)

Update: I ended up not liking the style of The Shamshine Blind. Before I got the chance to try Unseen City, someone in my IRL book group chose I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning by Kieran Goddard. This book had only 90 ratings, so I chose to put it here. I hope to have the chance to get back to Unseen City at some point.

i am known for reading less popular non fiction so this will probably be an easy one to meet.

I have soooooo many to choose from! It would have been a smaller pool to fish from if it were more than 2024. So, I've picked some from the fewest to the largest eligible ratings counts for my possibles

- Stirring the Dust by Mary McCabe (0 reviews ratings)
- Dream of Belonging: My Years in Postwar Poland by Janina Bauman (13 reviews ratings)
- The Gloaming by Kirsty Logan (1973 reviews ratings)
- You Will Be Safe Here by Damian Barr (1911 reviews ratings)
- So Many Ways to Begin by Jon McGregor (1863 reviews ratings)
- Wintering: A Novel of Sylvia Plath by Kate Moses (1401 reviews ratings)
- Signs for Lost Children by Sarah Moss (1186 reviews ratings)

This needs clarification with the words “reviews” and “ratings”. Both are used in the first comment description. Many books have thousands of ratings but may have less than 2024 reviews. They are different tallies that GR uses for each book. Is this for each person to determine or is the challenge for a specific one?

Lori wrote: "This needs clarification with the words “reviews” and “ratings”. Both are used in the first comment description. Many books have thousands of ratings but may have less than 2024 reviews. They are d..."

Good catch Lori. The prompt itself has always been about “ratings” not reviews. I’m sure the word “reviews” was a typo/mistake in the description. The prompt has gone through discussions and voting, and “ratings” was always the operative word. Sadie’s list refers to reviews, but all her examples match the # of ratings in the books.

NancyJ wrote: "Lori wrote: "This needs clarification with the words “reviews” and “ratings”. Both are used in the first comment description. Many books have thousands of ratings but may have less than 2024 review..."

Oops, so it does. My numbers refer to ratings, not reviews!

Fixed it!

SadieReadsAgain wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Lori wrote: "This needs clarification with the words “reviews” and “ratings”. Both are used in the first comment description. Many books have thousands of ratings but may have less t..."

Thanks for clarifying! Much appreciated!

Just FYI if you are looking at the Listopia, there are a number of books on there with far more than 2024 ratings, like The Shipping News and a Jaqueline Winspear book on the first page.

I'm probably not going to plan this one, and let the right book "find" me at the right time.

This prompt was difficult to find a book for. I usually gravitate towards books that I have heard referenced and books that have many good reviews. I am planning to read The Bone Roots for this prompt. At the time of writing this post, it has 53 ratings. I chose this book because the tagline is intriguing and the story is based on Slavic folklore. I am trying to read more cultural and mythological retellings in the new year.

I love this prompt. I love reading books about books/libraries/book clubs etc, anything associated with books. So when I saw this little gem, it went on my tbr list. It is a cozy mystery about a book club who helps solve crime in their community. Perfect for this prompt.

I am trying to read in order this year but A Fragile Enchantment just became available and I noticed it has 1375 ratings (as of 1/2/2024)! It sounds like the perfect book for me at this time so I am going to listen to it starting today on Audible (just joined Audible for the first time)! 😊

I'm going to need to choose another one for this prompt. I had chosen The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni. It has 4981 ratings and 1210 reviews. I guess I was looking at the reviews and not ratings when I selected this. Back to my TBR books.

I'm reading this one next week - but if anyone is into historical fiction ...

Sally Brady's Italian Adventure
293 ratings
133 reviews
3.76 average rating

Looks to be a decent storyline - WW2 American party girl, stuck in Italy when the war starts.

Swapping around, as my original choice has now exceeded the rating limit . I'm now using How Religion Evolved, currently with 403 ratings - I thought this was a fascinating and very level headed look at the subject.

I'm also using Barcelona Dreaming, which currently has 1,082 ratings. It's a novel of interlocking stories, with a focus on the immigrant experience in the city.

I'm going to read a book of baseball essays called The Utility of Boredom by Andrew Forbes, which has 173 ratings. I will also read the companion essay book The Only Way Is the Steady Way by the 6+ words prompt

I'm reading The World's Even Dumber Criminals: Unbelievable True Tales of Crime Gone Wrong. At this point in time, there are only 7 ratings here on Goodreads.

I read The Home-Maker- it's my book club book this month. It was published by Persephone Press, a publishing house that publishes "forgotten" female literature. I have a friend obsessed with them, but honestly, the books she's passed onto me are better left forgotten. This one was really interesting- written in the 1920s discusses male vs female roles vis a vis homelife and children- but the writing was quite twee and dulll

Title: Miss Mackenzie
Author: Anthony Trollope
How it fits the prompt: 1,337 ratings as of 1/12/23
Rating: 5*
Also fits: #5 set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities (London, England); #13 on a Five Books List; Best Anthony Trollope books recommended by Francesca Simon

The Jinn Daughter

For this prompt I read Ararat by Louise Glück, which is a poetry collection.

I remember being exposed to some of her work maybe a decade and a half ago and really enjoying it so I put a lot of her books on my ATY list.

This book currently has 1,829 ratings, including mine.

I enjoyed it much more than the next one I read of her which was The Wild Iris, but maybe I just wasn’t in a poetic mindset that day because usually I really enjoy her work.

Also I’m surprised Ararat had so few ratings because I think of her as a very talented and well known poet but maybe there just aren’t a lot of older poetry connoisseurs on GoodReads…

I read No Refuge by Nicola Clifford, a police procedural based in Wales written by a Welsh author.

I read . At the time I am writing this it has 1.488 ratings.

I love lists and compendiums so The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler was the perfect choice for me. Many books like this fly under the radar. The only problem: they lead to reading many more somewhat obscure books, the kind I find irresistible. 4 stars.

I have The Book of Forgotten Authors bookmarked for the 'book that's not a novel prompt'.

I enjoy all the obscure books that keep cropping up in the author's Bryant & May novels.

Whoops. I've adjusted the first post of this thread to say ratings instead of reviews! I've also gone through the listopia's first few pages and removed any books that had passed the threshold. I said I wouldn't be keeping up with it, and I definitely won't be, but I may go in every now and then to adjust.

I read Letters to a Young Gymnast by Nadia Comaneci which has 855 ratings at this time.

I read The Falling Star for this prompt. It has an impressive 145 ratings, at this time.

The book I picked for this prompt was

short and sweet review: 3.5
Felix just wanted to be loved, I didn't like the fact that he would accept less than to experience love when love was right in front of his face.

I read The War On Horror: Tales From A Post-Zombie Society by Nathan Allen, which only has 323 ratings right now.

I read Spider Orchid by Celia Fremlin. There were 46 ratings and I made it 47

I read Historical Heartthrobs: 50 Timeless Crushes—From Cleopatra to Camus by Kelly Murphy. It had 128 ratings.

I read The Golem of Brooklyn it currently has 1027 ratings. It was really odd, but I found it very entertaining.

I read The Cane by Maryrose Cuskelly for this prompt. Read 11th Feb & it had 974
ratings at time of posting this comment.

TASK #9 ~ A book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads

My 2024 plan is to "not plan."
BOOK 1 ~ I work at a big library and I'm just going to go with the first book that appeals to me that crosses my returns desk.
BOOK 2 ~ And I'm challenging myself to work on clearing out my old TBR shelf this year, so I'm going to read the dustiest "fits the prompt" book on my TBR shelf as well.

~ ♞ ~

BOOK 1
How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog): Visionary Scientists and a Siberian Tale of Jump-Started Evolution by Lee Alan Dugatkin
Read ~ 2.10.24
Pages ~ 240
Rationale ~ 1,545 ratings

Review ~ ★★★★★
I had heard about this study years ago, and at the time found it interesting, but never pursued really learning about it. I bred sporthorses for a long time - and at the time, I thought about how particular gene traits might piggyback on others, but still didn't really think about how the "fox study" applied. I wish I'd read more about it years ago, but I'm pretty sure a lot of it would have gone over my head. This book is easy reading, but I think you'd have to have a real interest in genetics and heritability to get into it as much as I did. I found it really fascinating. Bottom line - gene inheritance isn't a one and done. Select for one particular trait and you'll eventually get a host of others that you never expected. There are plenty of issues in purebred breeding programs that prove this now, but back in the mid-50's, when we didn't even know about DNA, this concept was revolutionary. And it generated more questions which led to more answers which generated more questions. That's science for you.


~ ♞ ~

BOOK 2
Dog Days Forever by Shannon Richard
Read ~ 2.12.24
Pages ~ 384
Rationale ~ 180 ratings

Review ~ ★★★
This book is a perfect description of why I don't read much romance. There's just no "there" there. Typically lighthearted, but the point of the story is boy meets girl meets boy - boy loses girl loses boy - boy gets girl gets boy - happily ever after. With a cute dog to add an "aw" factor. It was ok. Nothing earth shaking, but easy reading and a sweet little story. Not for me, but I can see the appeal of the genre.

I just finished reading FIGHTING TIME by AMY BANKS & ISAAC KNAPPER. The book has 49 ratings.

AMY BANKS is the daughter of a man who was murdered in New Orleans in 1979.
ISAAC KNAPPER is the 15 yr old boy who is wrongfully imprisoned for a murder he did not commit, and is eventually exonerated and released from prison. It’s a true story of how two families deal with this heartbreaking trauma.

( I’m new to the group, I joined today. I’m not sure if I’m posting this properly. )

I read The Fisher Maiden - It has less than 100 ratings.

I read The Cruise Ship Lost My Daughter by Morgan Mayer. My mother-in-law's book club read this book and she passed it along to me. The book only has 124 ratings and 54 reviews. I enjoyed this cozy mystery. It was a quick read.

This book would work well for the two of the December prompts: #49 a book with a senior citizen character and #52 a cozy mystery.

Well I listened to Kennedy's Last Days: The Assassination That Defined a Generation on audio and apparently that has less than 2024 reviews on Goodreads so I'm going to use it for this prompt.

It had 1,283 ratings as of the date of this post.