Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

2025 Summer Reading Challenge Prompts - completed 25/25
7500 points

Chips and Dip - 100 points *5 = 500 points
✅1a. A book in a series A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
✅1b. A book with water on the cover- My Friends by Fredrik Backman

✅1c. A book released in 2024 or 2025 -
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
✅1d. A book by a new to you author- Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
✅1e. A humorous book - Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Drinks Station - 200 points * 5 = 1000 points
Author's initials are in:
✅2a. FRESH-SQUEEZED LEMONADE =A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
✅2b. UNSWEETENED ICED TEA. = The River Has Roots by Amal El- Mohtar
✅2c. ROOT BEER SODA - Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
✅2d. FRUIT PUNCH - The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood
✅2e. SPARKLING WATER. - Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn

Burger and Hotdog Toppings - 300 points *5 = 1500 points
✅3a. Ketchup: A book with red on the cover - Long Island by Colm Tóibín

✅3b. Relish: A book by a favorite author - Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
✅3c. Mustard: A book with a military character (serving, retired, or adjacent) - Summer of '69
✅3d. Pickles: A book title that includes a word starting with the letter P - A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival
✅3e. Cheese: A sentimental book - The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Desserts - 400 points * 5 = 2000 points
✅4a. A book with a child main character - Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
✅4b. A book with a wedding - The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha
✅4c. A book that has been nominated for an award - The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder - Pulitzer Prize
✅4d. A book with a cafe, bakery, or restaurant as an important setting - Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour
✅4e. A book originally written in a language other than English -
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

The Sides - 500 points * 5 = 2500 points
✅5a. Potato salad - A book with more than one point of view -
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton
✅5b. Mac n' cheese - A book by an author with 10 or more books - The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
✅5c. Corn bread - A book originally published before 1900 -
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
✅5d. Deviled eggs - A book with challenging subject matter
The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew Leland
✅5e. Watermelon - A book over 500 pages - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides


500+1000+1500+2000+2500=7,500

2025 Summer Reading Challenge Prompts - possible matches

Chips and Dip - 100 points. [500]
✅1a. A book in a series - A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
✅1b. A book with water on the cover- A Drop in the Ocean by Jenny Ogden

✅1c. A book released in 2024 or 2025 -
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
✅1d. A book by a new to you author- Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
✅1e. A humorous book - Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Drinks Station - 200 points. [800]
Author's initials are in:
✅2a. FRESH-SQUEEZED LEMONADE =A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
✅2b. UNSWEETENED ICED TEA. = The River Has Roots by Amal El- Mohtar
✅2c. ROOT BEER SODA - Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
✅2d. FRUIT PUNCH - The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood
✅2e. SPARKLING WATER. - Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht

Burger and Hotdog Toppings - 300 points. [1200]
3a. Ketchup: A book with red on the cover

Long Island by Colm Tóibín
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
Real Americans
✅3b. Relish: A book by a favorite author - Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson
✅3c. Mustard: A book with a military character (serving, retired, or adjacent) - Summer of '69
✅3d. Pickles: A book title that includes a word starting with the letter P === A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival
✅3e. Cheese: A sentimental book - Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Desserts - 400 points. (5/5 2000/2000)
✅4a. A book with a child main character -Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett, age 11
✅4b. A book with a wedding - Long Island
by Colm Toibin
The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha
✅4c. A book that has been nominated for an award - The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder, Pulitzer
✅4d. A book with a cafe, bakery, or restaurant as an important setting - Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour
✅4e. A book originally written in a language other than English - The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

The Sides - 500 points * 4 = 2000 points
✅5a. Potato salad - A book with more than one point of view = My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton
✅5b. Mac n' cheese - A book by an author with 10 or more books - The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
✅5c. Corn bread - A book originally published before 1900 -
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
✅5d. Deviled eggs - A book with challenging subject matter
The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew Leland
✅5e. Watermelon - A book over 500 pages - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

June completed:

✅✅The Bridge of San Luis Rey - 4c Pulitzer, 2b
✅Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson - 1c, 2e
✅✅ Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour - 4c restaurant
✅✅Long Island by Colm Toibin - 4b wedding
✅Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand. 3c, 1b, 1d, 5b 10 books
✅My Favorite Half-Night Stand 5a pov, 5b 10 books
✅A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway - 2a, 5b
✅✅A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival - 2a, 3d, 5d
✅The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight - 5d
✅✅My Friends by Fredrick Backman. 1b, 1c, 4e, 5a
✅A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear 1a, 3b
✅The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera- 4e
✅Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs byJennifer Finney Boylan
✅A Drop in the Ocean by Jenni Ogden

July completed
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton
The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood
Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn 2e
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht. 2e
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout mult. pov 5a, 5b, 2c , 2b
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi 5a, ..
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
On the Beach by Nevil Shute

August completed
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar, 2025
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

🌱The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience Hillary Rodham Clinton
🌱Miss Benson's Beetle by :Rachel Joyce
🌱The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
🌱Real Americans by Rachel Khong

Completed August 24, 2025
25/25 books
7500 points