Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

As a throwback to 2021, here is one of our most engaging prompts that we've seen to date - Related to a Codeword in the NATO alphabet!

A - Alpha
B - Bravo
C - Charlie
D - Delta
E - Echo
F - Foxtrot
G - Golf
H - Hotel
I - India
J - Juliet
K - Kilo
L - Lima
M - Mike
N - November
O - Oscar
P - Papa
Q - Quebec
R - Romeo
S - Sierra
T - Tango
U - Uniform
V - Victor
W - Whisky
X - X-ray
Y - Yankee
Z - Zulu

Many members attempted this as a side challenge that year. If you're interested, you can check out what they read here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

What are you reading for this prompt, and how does it fit?

Lima is the Roman goddess of doorways so I am reading a book with "doorways" in the title (and a door on the cover) - Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby.

This is such a fun prompt!

I'm thinking of The Lonely Hearts Hotel. It has hotel in the title and it's set in Montreal, thereby fulfilling two code words

Lots of options but my first choice is November Road by Lou Berney. If I’m super ambitious, I will read Les Misérablesby Victor Hugo.

This is another book I put on a prompt every year then change it. We'll see if it sticks this year. It uses a form of hotel.

Ritz and Escoffier: The Hotelier, The Chef, and the Rise of the Leisure Class by Luke Barr.

I am reading The Echo Chamber and Zero K for Kilo.

I went with an obvious choice - Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland, Hotel in the title and content.

I've gone with 3 men's names, lol!

Keeper of Enchanted Rooms - Charlie N. Holmberg
Mike and Psmith - P.G. Wodehouse
De Profundis - Oscar Wilde

First one I thought of ... I've already read ...

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

One that would work with this prompt:

-Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by by Charlie N. Holmberg

The Hotel Nantucket

I’ve just started City of Destruction which is set in India so ties in very nicely with I = India

I read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain for this prompt.

It jumped out at me when I was reading over the list of words in the NATO alphabet as a book I'd always meant to have read.

It was a very big influence on modern media, and I was surprised at how old the term 'hang out' was.

I am A Match Made for Thanksgiving. It takes place in November

Dubhease wrote: "I'm thinking of The Lonely Hearts Hotel. It has hotel in the title and it's set in Montreal, thereby fulfilling two code words"

Oh, it took me a minute to figure out the second code word. I forgot that Montreal is in Quebec. I have Last Night in Montreal by Emily St John Mandel, and The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny.

I am filling this one with a book I own: Up in the Old Hotel. However, it is a very BIG book...over 700 pages...and so might be one I substitute a shorter book for before the end of the year.

I read Echo Lake by Joan Sauers for this topic (Read Feb 11th; 4*)

I think I'm going to tackle The Echo of Old Books when I finally get to this prompt. It'll still be a while.

For this prompt, I read:
Delta-v by Daniel Suarez - 4.5* - My Review

Charlie is one of the main characters in Slow Burn Summer

I Read:
The Wettest County in the World: A Novel Based on a True Story by Matt Bondurant

Code Word: Whiskey

REJECT: A book involving mountains

Finished: 04/08/2025
Rating: 4 stars

From Goodreads:
*The inspiration for the major motion picture Lawless* Based on the true story of Matt Bondurant’s grandfather and two granduncles, The Wettest County in the World is a gripping and gritty tale of bootlegging, brotherhood, and murder.

I read Floating Hotel

Even though it’s spelled differently, I’m going to read Moominpappa’s Memoirs by Tove Jansson.

Sherri wrote: "I read Floating Hotel"

That's one of my picks, too, along with A Symphony of Echoes.

I read Leader of the Pack by David Rosenfelt for Lima (a climactic event takes place in Peru.)

I read A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. He was known by the nickname “Papa”

I read The Echo of Old Books

I read The Illuminated by Anindita Ghose for India (set in India, first published there, and by an Indian author, bonus I in title), and No Echo.

Both were books that had a lot of good points, but didn't quite work for me. In the first, the story of a mother and daughter dealing with the loss of a husband and father was very well done. However, there was also a second story of them being threatened by an organisation with a fundamentalist attitude to women which promised well, but didn't deliver for me (view spoiler)[ I thought they were given a 'get out of jail free card' in the end (hide spoiler)]

There was a good murder mystery in the second book, but the police force investigating it seemed so odd, and there was a jerkiness about the whole book - not sure if it was the translation or the original. I came in mid-series, so I might try the first to see if that makes it easier.

In 2021, I used 'Papa' from Fruit of the Drunken Tree

I read The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton. I was looking for more fantasy and this was heavy on the romance and pretty writing and light on the fantasy. That said I can see why people like it, it was easy to read and the romance was very sweet.

In 2021 I read The Sun Down Motel motel relating to hotel. I thought it was interesting and I really enjoyed Simone St. James's writing style.

I will be reading Echoes and Shadows by Judy Gardiner. It relates to the letter E Echo.