Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

THE 52 TOPICS OF THE 2025 ATY READING CHALLENGE

1. A book with a cover that has an image of something that starts with A, T, or Y Devil at My Heels: A Heroic Olympian's Astonishing Story of Survival as a Japanese POW in World War II (airplane) The Seafront Tearoom (teacups)
2. A prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list Be Ready When the Luck Happens
3. A book connected to something mentioned in the Do Re Mi song A Bright Ray of Darkness
4. A book set underground, under sea or in an underworld The Naked Don't Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees
5. A book with a weird or intriguing title When Women Were Dragons

6. A book with a serpentine element on the cover Written in Black
7. A book by an author that uses 3 names The Peach Keeper
8. A collection of short stories or novellas, essays, poetry, or a mix of various brief writings This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage
9. A book that has been long-listed for the Tournament of Books in any year Mercury Pictures Presents

10. A book about witches, goddesses or nuns If Nuns Ruled the World: Ten Sisters on a Mission 1603: The Death of Queen Elizabeth I, the Return of the Black Plague, the Rise of Shakespeare, Piracy, Witchcraft, and the Birth of the Stuart Era The Tricking of Freya
11. A book set in a fictional location Elatsoe
12. A book by an Irish author The Heart's Invisible Furies
13. A book involving a "group" with at least 4 members that's not a family The Bullet That Missed
14. A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman The Husbands

15. A book of secrets, lies, or deception Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks
16. A book that fits a prompt from the 2016 ATY list The Lion Women of Tehran
17. A history or historical fiction book set prior to 1925 The Alienist
18. A book set primarily in nature A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon

19. A book with a cover that has a building or cityscape The Queen of Thieves
20. A book with an animal, vegetable (plant), or mineral in the title The Seed Keeper
21. A book connected in some way to any collective noun for animals They Called Me Number One
22. A translated novel from Asia The Housekeeper and the Professor

23. A book that involves art, music, dancing or acting How Banksy Saved Art History
24. A book with a main character who is a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, or a criminal A Beautiful Mind We Ride Upon Sticks Lit An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew
25. A book with waves on the cover The Big Wave
26. A book by an author with a common noun in their name What We Talk about When We Talk about God
27. A book set in the winter South Pole Station

28. Two books with a pair of opposites in their titles: Book 1 Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances
29. Two books with a pair of opposites in their titles: Book 2: That Kind of Mother
30. A monster book Moby-Dick or, The Whale
31. A book with a coastal setting No One Goes Alone

32. A mystery or true crime book
33. A book by an author you enjoyed but haven't gotten around to reading again for some time Transcription
34. A book title that could be a country song Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club
35. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists

36. A book with a common household object on the cover
37. A book featuring adult friendships
38. Two books with a connection from different genres: Book 1
39. Two books with a connection from different genres: Book 2
40. A book you'd consider a comfort read

41. A book that involves digging up the past
42. A book set in a manor, mansion, or estate
43. A book whose title has ten or fewer letters
44. A haunting book

45. A book by an author whose publishing career spans at least ten years
46. A book related to one of the traditional full moon names
47. A book relating to fire
48. A book with a character dealing with death

49. A book that deals with time travel, alternate universes, or alternate timelines
50. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2024 or 2025
51. A book published in 2025 Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand
52. A book with a sunset vibes on the cover

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THE ANNIVERSARY LIST


2016: A book originally written in a language other than English Barbara Isn't Dying Yet
2017: A book whose title doesn't contain the letter "E" Goodnight Tokyo
2018: An author's debut book The Night Circus
2019: A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elementsDemon Copperhead
2020: A book with an emotion in the title The Keeper of Happy Endings
2021: A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
2022: A book that uses all five vowels in the title and/or author's name The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
2023: A book whose author has published more than 7 books: The Women
2024: A book that has been on your TBR for over a year
2025: A book involving a "group" with at least 4 members that's not a family

**reserve for challenge summary**

**reserve for reject challenge summary**

Goal: 30 books

ATY cover collage:

Reject Cover Collage:

Around the World Challenge Cover Collage (goal 40 countries/60 books)

Read with the Book Girls Challenges
ICYMI:
States:
Decades:
Lifetime:
Book Lovers Club:
Book Voyage

Non-challenge books

*****5 star books*****
a 5* book for me is exquisite writing or written in such a way that it stays with me

Full Moon Mini Challenge (continued from 2024)

Flower Moon: A Fall of Marigolds

25 Beautiful Cities Mini Challenge (continued from 2024)

Kyoto: White Mulberry
Rio de Jainero: Dom Casmurro

The Breakfast Club Challenge:

John Bender (aka the rebel):
Claire Standish (aka the princess): An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew
Allison Reynolds (aka the outcast/misfit): Lit (a self-described "mess" as she dealt with becoming sober)
Brian Johnson (aka the brain): A Beautiful Mind
Andrew Clark (aka the jock): We Ride Upon Sticks--bonus the athletes credit Emilio Estevez with their success

**reserve for seasonal challenges**

Winter Challenge:

Spring:

Summer:

**reserved**

#1 Image beginning with ATY on cover: Devil at My Heels: A Heroic Olympian's Astonishing Story of Survival as a Japanese POW in World War II (airplane) Louis Zamperini was a Olympic runner who joined the service in WWII and after a plane crash in the Pacific was taken as a Japanese POW. This is his memoir. It is quick paced and enjoyable to read. He does not dwell on the atrocities he faced (see Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption for that part of his story), telling just enough to keep it real without the book becoming overwhelming. He tells more of his post-POW life as well. His story is amazing and well told.

#1 (cont) Image beginning with ATY on cover: The Seafront Tearoom Sweet story of how to brew a friendship...with a touch of romance as well.

#4 Book set underground...: The Naked Don't Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees Undercover travel with a friend using smuggler's route out of Afghanistan to Europe. Often hard to read the realities, but ultimately an eye-opening account.

#2 Did not make list: Be Ready When the Luck Happens (food related theme) Ina Garten memoir. I had a difficult time relating to her life of privilege. Interesting to see how she started her shop and food show.

#5 Weird or Intriguing Title: When Women Were Dragons Fun, satirical, over-the-top and perfect choice for inauguration week.

#24 Breakfast Club: We Ride Upon Sticks Danvers High School Field Hockey team band together and pledge to follow Emilio Estevez lead through 'witchcraft' in order to win state championship. Plays heavily on 80s popculture and location of Danvers being site of witch trials and proximity to Salem. Was fun. The exploration of the individual characters kept the book moving. The incorporation of history was good. A little too neat at the end to cover all big topics in race and gender.

#3DoReMi Song: A Bright Ray of Darkness Actor has thoroughly ruined his marriage and is coming to terms with life and family in the aftermath whilst also acting in his first Shakespeare play. Incredibly well written. Did not create empathy for any of the characters, yet was incredibly readable.

#6 Serpentine Element on Cover: Written in Black Coming of age story told over the days of the funeral of grandfather to MC. Sweet, yet dark. Funny, yet sad. Thoroughly enjoyed.

#7 Author uses three names: The Peach Keeper Love story and mystery with bit of magical realism whimsy stirred in. But more a story of who we become and how that is different from who we portrayed ourselves as in high school. I love this author and found myself cheering for all the characters (well except for the Mom). The magic realism felt a little more forced than in her other novels and did not really help to propel the story.

Anniversary 2016: Translated from another language: Barbara Isn't Dying Yet Curmudgeonly man learns how to show love and care for himself in light of his wife's illness and inability to care for herself. It was sweet.

#9 Tournament of Books: Mercury Pictures Presents Immigrant story, with look at fascist Italy in 30s and 40s and the US motion picture industry during the 40s. Well written, slow at times, funny at times.

#10 Witches, nuns or goddesses: If Nuns Ruled the World: Ten Sisters on a Mission Such an inspiring book of 10 nuns who have challenged really difficult societal issues such as nuclear weapons, poverty, human trafficking. The stories were sympathetic and humble but also challenging. I loved learning about these women.

#11 Fictional location: Elatsoe Set in a fictional town in an alternative Texas where ghosts, vampires and spririts are just part of the world. Intermingles Lipan Apache stories into the storyline. The characters were interesting, but sometimes felt flat. I loved Darcie Little Badger's second book. This debut was not as developed, but I will definitely be looking for her future stories.

#12 Irish Author: The Heart's Invisible Furies Epic story of one illegitimate gay man's life in Ireland from 1940s through his long life. Well written. Good sense of place and time. Midway I would have rated 3stars due to what felt forced story and tone. But the final two sections were 5 star story and writing. Ended up rating 4.5 and loving the story.

#13 Four People not Family: The Bullet That MissedThe third installment of the Thursday Morning Murder Club. I love these characters and these mysteries. Found family at its best.

#10 Witches, Nuns or Goddesses: 1603: The Death of Queen Elizabeth I, the Return of the Black Plague, the Rise of Shakespeare, Piracy, Witchcraft, and the Birth of the Stuart Era The tumultuous year after Queen Elizabeth died including the superstition and treatment of Witches at the time. Interesting history

#16 A Book that fits the 2016 list: The Lion Women of Tehran for set on another continent. Historical fiction of two unlikely friends growing up in Iran during the time of the Shah and the following revolution. I loved the characters and the imagery of this book.

#10 Witches, Nuns or Goddesses: The Tricking of Freya Coming to terms with past, learning family secrets, exploring Iceland-the family homeland and the home of the gods/goddesses that shaped a people and whom main character was named after

#14 Science fiction or fantasy by a woman: The HusbandsFantasy-ish or magical realism. Great concept, poorly executed

#15 Secrets, lies or deception: Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks Intriguing stories of lives of some of the great deceivers of our time. Keefe is an amazing writer.

Anniversary 2017: Title does not contain "e": Goodnight Tokyo Interconnected short stories centering around a late night taxi driver, a diner open only during the night and people who work overnight. I enjoyed the connections.

Anniversary 2019: Periodic Table: Demon Copperhead Modern retelling of David Copperfield set in Appalachia. Loved it!

#8 Short Stories, Essays or Poetry: This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage Ann Patchett is one of my always-read authors. Bought for the essay "Getaway Car" for writing, but loved so many more of these essays.

#20 Animal/Mineral/Vegetable in Title: The Seed Keeper Beautiful book set in indigeneous community and the history and importance of continuation of the seeds for life. Takes on the idea of big corporations changing the seeds. I loved this book.

#23 Art/Music/Theater: How Banksy Saved Art History Fun look at the history of the original paintings that Banksy has used as template for his satirical graffiti. As a lover of both the masters and Banksy's graffiti, I loved this book.

#17: Historical Fiction before 1925: The Alienist Teddy Roosevelt was Police Commissioner, serial killer on the loose in NYC, and the beginning of profiling and fingerprinting in crime solving. More graphic than I usually will read, but well done and I'm glad I stayed with it.

#18 Set primarily in nature: A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon Details the author's walk the length of the Grand Canyon both without and with planning and all the ways nature and his ineptness attempted to kill him. Great sense of place. Entertaining tone balanced with serious looks at what tourism can do to change an area. Read it in a day.

#22 Translated novel from Asia: The Housekeeper and the Professor Poignant look at the friendship between a Housekeeper and her son with her employer, a brilliant math professor who only had 90 minutes of short term memory. Loved it.

#24 Breakfast Club: A brain: A Beautiful Mind A brilliant math professor and his descent into schizophrenia. I've never seen the movie, so the book was new knowledge and I really enjoyed it.

#24 Breakfast Club: A Princess: An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew The memoir of Allene Tew life during the Gilded Age and following and her 5 marriages including to an actual prince.

#19 Cover has a cityscape on it: The Queen of Thieves Second in series, YA series about a girl in a orphanage in Stockholm who works alongside a policeman to solve street crimes. Not as good as the first in series.

#21 Related to word for a collective of animals: (school) They Called Me Number One Memoir of author's growing up in one of Canada's residential "schools" for the Indigenous. Hard to read. She is clear enough to see the abuses but vague enough to allow the reader to consider that life. Highly recommend.

#30 Monster book: Moby-Dick or, The Whale A monster of a book about the search for a monster of a whale. So much funnier than I expected (interspersed with more whale anatomy than I will ever need to know).

Anniversary List: 2018: Debut: The Night Circus Fantasy contest, magical in writing and storytelling. Loved it!

#24 Breakfast Club: A Misfit/Outcast/Basket Case: Lit Memoir of her getting sober and the path to that. She described her "mess" and "not fitting in" well. Slow at times, but her poetic voice come through. Listened to her read it on audio which added to the experience.

#51 Published in 2025: Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand Beautiful memoir of Jeff Chu's time at Princeton Seminary and his work on the Farminary. Loved every word of the is book. Can't wait to reread.

Anniversary List: 2020: Emotion in Title: The Keeper of Happy Endings Predictable in how they were going to get to a happy ending, but enjoyable reading with well-developed characters.

#27 Winter: South Pole Station Novel set at South Pole with artist coming to term with brother's death, science battles, relationships and "wintering over". Lots of potential, but fell flat for me.

#28 Opposites: Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances Poetry, recipes, sentimentality around his parents' marriage, his marriages, his kids. I love Alexander's writing style so it worked for me but I could see it not working for a lot of people.

#25: Waves on Cover: The Big Wave Sweet YA book about community recovery and moving past tsunami

#39: Opposites: That Kind of Mother Inter racial adoption story that seemed to focus more on the entitlement and naiveté of the main character. Writing is beautiful, but did not work for me.

Anniversary 2023: Author has 7 or more publications: The Women Focused on the women who served in Vietnam, I found this book a total page-turner and really loved the overarching story. Too many soap-opera coincidences dropped it from a five star story.

#31 Coastal Setting: No One Goes Alone First fiction by Erik Larson and only available in audio. Ghost story set on a fictional island, where the cove is a major player in the story. I think this would have worked better for me on paper not audio.

#34 Country Song: Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club I'm a J Ryan Stradal fan, but this did not hold my attention like The Lager Queen of Minnesota or Kitchens of the Great Midwest. Well told story, more sorrow than I expected. Will keep reading his books.

Anniversary 2022: Title contains all 5 vowels: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Really loved this book! 60 year old man takes off on a whim to walk from Devon to Berwick, almost the length of Great Britain. Took a little too long to get to the reason why it was important and a couple chapters of distractions with others joining the walk. But his introspection and acceptance of past alongside his wife's reflections while left at home made for a sweet "coming of age" at age 60 novel.

#26 Author has a common noun in name: Rob Bell is one of my favorite authors for how differently he is able to view his relationship with God. This was not my favorite of his books, but it was enjoyable.