Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

The results for our multiweek poll are in!

Top
3 Weeks: A book related to yesterday, a book related to today, and a book related to tomorrow
- Yesterday Listopia
- Today Listopia
- Tomorrow Listopia

2 Weeks: The most recently published book by an author and a book from that same author's backlist
- Most Recently Published Listopia
- Backlist Listopia

Bottom
There are no bottom prompts in the multi-week poll

Close Call
2 Weeks: Two books where the first word of the second title is the same as the last word of the first title

The next round of suggestions will open around 9 am CST on Friday, July 25.

These seem easy enough. I didn’t vote this week because I wasn’t really feeling any of the prompts. Multi week is usually my favorite too!!!

I'm happy with the two-week prompt since it fits my goal to read new-to-me authors whose backlist books have been piling up on my list.

I'm a little disappointed with yesterday/today/tomorrow. It's a good prompt but I feel like I've seen it or something very, very similar to it often (ie. past, present, future). It's doable for sure, but I was hoping for something more unique.

I especially liked both the close call prompt, and the one we’ve nicknamed Call and Response, so I’m disappointed neither made it in. These two prompts are still good for a reading stretch though. Disappointed, but not unhappy.

Great, this is earlier than expected!

I voted for all three, but the yesterday/today/tomorrow was a last minute decision. I’m not usually so literal-minded, but the words felt too close together. It makes it awkward to define what time periods could fit each book. (E.g. Could I use an ancient time period for yesterday, or should all my books be more or less contemporary?) In the end I decided to just ignore those words and substitute past, present and future on my own planning sheet, and think about historical fiction, contemporary and sci fi. My guess is that’s what was intended but they didn’t want to copy an old prompt.

I’m wondering how others feel about using time travel books or dual time period books for these prompts.

I will have to pay attention if I read new releases before January. If the author becomes my new favorite, I won’t be able to use their backlist for this prompt.

I’m going on my annual book club vacation tomorrow morning early and haven’t packed yet, so I figured I’d knock this out before I leave lol

I can live with these. None of my downvotes made it in, so that's a relief.

Rachel wrote: "I'm happy with the two-week prompt since it fits my goal to read new-to-me authors whose backlist books have been piling up on my list.

I'm a little disappointed with yesterday/today/tomorrow. It'..."

I feel that way too-- but I'll make it hard like I did when we did a similar prompt in recent years which is making the three books have a link-- same city, same theme, something. (oh, I'm thinking the multiple century prompt of 2023 maybe?)

Emily - a book club vacation sounds like fun! I My book club talks about a trip now and then but it never happens.

I hope you thoroughly enjoy yourself. 😎📚

I suggested the front list/backlist author prompt, so naturally I'm thrilled it made it. I think we've had the yesterday, today,tomorrow prompt before, or at least something quite similar. Maybe it was past, present, future. I downvoted it for the reason, but I'll have no problems finding books that fit.

I really love the last word/first word, the call and response, and the music prompts, so I'm bummed they didn't make it.

I think the prompts were especially creative this year, so maybe we can try again next year. On to the next round!

I like both of these a lot. My favorite was call-and-response, though, I'm really sorry that didn't make it. I'm going to find some way to work it in.

Have fun, Emily!

Charlsa wrote: "I suggested the front list/backlist author prompt, so naturally I'm thrilled it made it. I think we've had the yesterday, today,tomorrow prompt before, or at least something quite similar. Maybe it..."

Good job!

Dixie wrote: "I like both of these a lot. My favorite was call-and-response, though, I'm really sorry that didn't make it. I'm going to find some way to work it in.

Have fun, Emily!"

I think we could do a side challenge for the call and response and last/first using any books we read during the year (duplicates allowed). We could also jump off one another’s books to make more sentences. They might get really funny.

Music - I’d love a music related prompt, themes, song lyrics, whatever.

Emily wrote: "I’m going on my annual book club vacation tomorrow morning early and haven’t packed yet, so I figured I’d knock this out before I leave lol"

Is this a vacation with your irl book club? What a great idea. Have fun!

NancyJ wrote: "I think we could do a side challenge for the call and response and last/first using any books we read during the year (duplicates allowed). We could also jump off one another’s books to make more sentences. They might get really funny..."

Oh I LOVE this idea! Maybe in the Fun & Games section...

Yes! We actually have a thread with mashups of book titles, same idea. I’m away from my computer this week but maybe one of you can find the thread and link it.

NancyJ wrote: "Charlsa wrote: "I suggested the front list/backlist author prompt, so naturally I'm thrilled it made it. I think we've had the yesterday, today,tomorrow prompt before, or at least something quite s..."

I love that idea! Let's track all these terrific ideas and play with them in the wild discussion.

Emily wrote: "I’m going on my annual book club vacation tomorrow morning early and haven’t packed yet, so I figured I’d knock this out before I leave lol"

Hi Emily:

I seem to recall you live somewhere in Louisiana. If that is the case and you live in or near Baton Rouge, please go check out TBR Books & Tea. It is a new indie that opened in mid-april. My friend owns it. I flew in for the opening day, and I can honestly say that she has done a fabulous job. It has a great vibe.

Location: 7276 Highland Rd, Ste B, Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Hours: Monday - Saturday, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Contact: info@tbrbookshop.com | 225-475-5808

Have a great trip!

Charlsa wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Charlsa wrote: "I suggested the front list/backlist author prompt, so naturally I'm thrilled it made it. I think we've had the yesterday, today,tomorrow prompt before, or at least so..."

Dixie: On the music prompt, maybe something related to Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, or one of their albums or songs???

He wrote a ton of books over the years.

Enjoy your book club vacation, Emily!

Happy with the results but disappointed Call and Response didn't make it. I think I'll also look at doing a side challenge for this one, just for the fun of it.

I'm OK with the two top choices, although I did not particularly want the author one. It seemed too much like current authors, of whom I seldom read the most recent book due to library issues with getting new books without a long wait list and short time frame. Still this is for next year. I will find something.

Bea wrote: "I'm OK with the two top choices, although I did not particularly want the author one. It seemed too much like current authors, of whom I seldom read the most recent book due to library issues with ..."

It occurred to me that the "most recently published book" could still have been a long time ago, if the author stopped writing or died. With those authors, one could interpret this prompt as "read the last book they wrote and a previous book of theirs."

Charlsa wrote:Dixie: On the music prompt, maybe something related to Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, or one of their albums or songs???..."

You could try it, but I'm sure we have lots of voters who know nothing about him or his band, so the prompt would have to be worded in a way that would appeal to those people too.

I'm happy with both of these since I voted for these two. One of the difficulties with three week prompts is that I will have books for two of the three weeks, but the 3rd week requires me to choose a book I'm not crazy to read just to complete the multiweek prompt. I can easily read a historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and a science fiction book with no trouble with this prompt. Easy peasy!

The only problem I foresee with 2 week prompt is the choice of an author that I have not read before or very few of their earlier books. For example, if I were to choose Silvia Moreno-Garcia, I might have difficult because I have read many of her earlier books.

For the author one, I'll be doing T Kingfisher. I'm a big fan of lot of what I've read from her and she's super prolific. She has 5 books coming out between this year and next.

Also, when I've done the past, present, and future type prompts, I've done murder mysteries. It amuses me.

Wow! I voted for 2 prompts and they both won! I don't think that's ever happened to me before. I usually upvote more than 2, to start with. I have plans to reread Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow so I can discuss it with my neighbor (who loved it so much that he wrote a 31 page letter to the author!) and I recently bought The World of Yesterday and am anxious to read it! I don't own a book with the word "today" in the title but I will likely pick something that is set in the 2020s or a book on a 2025 bestseller list.

I did vote for yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The other one, while not overly creative is super easy to fulfill.

Charlsa wrote: "I suggested the front list/backlist author prompt, so naturally I'm thrilled it made it. I think we've had the yesterday, today,tomorrow prompt before, or at least something quite similar. Maybe it..."

I guess we’re even, as we down voted each other’s prompt and both made it. I don’t read a lot of current books (mostly because I buy used), and I have a lot of series that I’m in the middle of, or have barely started, so to do a backlist and the current will be difficult.

There were a lot in this round I was neutral on, as I knew I would find books for them easily enough.

Sadly, I’ll miss the suggestion round tomorrow as I have to go into work early.

Personally, I'd play the Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow prompt a little tighter.

Yesterday (for me) - something that takes place in my early life (1980s, 1990s, or aughts).

Today (for me) - something that takes place relatively contemporary (in the last 15 years).

Tomorrow (for me) - something that takes place in the near future, but within my lifetime.

A BIO option would be to read books that take place literally yesterday or literally tomorrow. E.g. a book written in the first person with the protagonist recalling what happened to them yesterday. No idea what books would actually qualify here.

J wrote: "Personally, I'd play the Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow prompt a little tighter.

Yesterday (for me) - something that takes place in my early life (1980s, 1990s, or aughts).

Today (for me) - somet..."

I'm intrigued by the idea of personalizing the yesterday, today, and tomorrow prompt. I'm thinking of it slightly differently; can I find books that remind me of my past, express my present, and predict my future, or maybe a future I expected or wanted at an earlier point in my life... I suspect the fact that I'm going to a memorial for an old friend today is turning my thoughts in this direction.

I might try to do all mystery novels for yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I found a mystery that takes place during The Blitz, so I'm interested in that. Narrowing it a bit might make it more challenging.

For the author prompt, I might try to knock out the Ruth Ware books The Woman in Cabin 10 and its sequel. Or maybe a couple of John Scalzi books.

I too like the idea of personalizing the Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow prompt. I’m considering using songs with those words in the title as inspiration (since we don’t have a song inspiration prompt yet and I enjoy those). Right now these are the songs I’m considering:

Yesterday: “Yesterday” by the Beatles (a book about a shift in someone’s life when something bad happened - like Chanel Miller’s “Know My Name”)

Today: “Love’s in Need of Love Today” by Stevie Wonder (a book about someone doing good things in the world)

Tomorrow: “Tomorrow” from the play ‘Annie’ (probably a Hopepunk book)

I was also thinking Beatles and Annie but couldn't think of a today song

I'm so glad the Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow prompt won but I'm disappointed that the Call and Response prompt didn't get voted in. That's one if the best ideas ever. I'm totally for a side challenge on this one.

Song called Today starts
Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine

Was sung by Peter, Paul & Mary - about appreciating current happiness.
I’m away from my computer but you can look it up.

Dixie wrote: "Bea wrote: "I'm OK with the two top choices, although I did not particularly want the author one. It seemed too much like current authors, of whom I seldom read the most recent book due to library ..."

That is correct. So, Cormac McCarthy's last book published was Stella Maris. That is still his front list, or most recently published book. All his other books are backlist.

Same for James Joyce. I think his last book published was Finnegan's Wake, so that is his most recently published book.

The Smashing Pumpkins had a hit with a song just called "Today".

Even though I didn't vote either way for these I am pretty darn tooting happy with them.

J I like your idea for Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

I feel like the author prompt will be a fun one to look into.

Heather L wrote: "Charlsa wrote: "I suggested the front list/backlist author prompt, so naturally I'm thrilled it made it. I think we've had the yesterday, today,tomorrow prompt before, or at least something quite s..."

Ahhh...so goes life. I read some series as well. I may use Anthony Horowitz as the author. I read a couple of his series. As an example, I could read his latest release for the Susan Reyland series, Marble Hall Murders. There are only 3 books in that series, and I've read the first two, so this would work as the most recently published. I also read his Hawthorne & Horowitz series, and I've only read the first two. I can any of the next books in this series as backlist because they were published prior to Marble Hall Murders.

Good luck!

Tracy wrote: "I too like the idea of personalizing the Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow prompt. I’m considering using songs with those words in the title as inspiration (since we don’t have a song inspiration prompt yet..."


If you search for songs with today in the title, there are a bunch of lists.

Also, some songs that have Day in the title would work. For instance, U2 sang a song titled Beautiful Day.

I've had a *very* busy week of work so for once I haven't been watching the results as the votes come in. I'm a fan of the prompts because I like finding connections to tie them together. The yesterday, today, and tomorrow will likely be a historical, contemporary, and futuristic murder mystery group, but I might go in a different direction. The recent and backlist pairing might be harder because for many authors their most recently published book will be further along in a series than I currently am. Maybe an opportunity to catch up? We'll see!

J wrote: "Personally, I'd play the Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow prompt a little tighter.

Yesterday (for me) - something that takes place in my early life (1980s, 1990s, or aughts).

Today (for me) - somet..."

I love this idea!! Thanks for sharing, I think I'll definitely do some variation of this - it allows for using a contemporary (or even historical) book for "tomorrow" as long as it's consistent with what I picture to be my tomorrow (if the main character is older than me or in a life phase that I think/hope I'll be in).

Angie wrote: "I might try to do all mystery novels for yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I found a mystery that takes place during The Blitz, so I'm interested in that. Narrowing it a bit might make it more challe..."

Using all mysteries crossed my mind. I may try it. Meanwhile I slotted in the following just to have something selected.

Death of Yesterday (Hamish Macbeth, #28)
Today We Go Home Kelli Estes
Tonight is Already Tomorrow Lia Levi

Charlsa wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I too like the idea of personalizing the Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow prompt. I’m considering using songs with those words in the title as inspiration (since we don’t have a song inspirat..."

It could also be a good way to slot in a short story from the series that you haven't gotten around to yet. I save Discworld short stories for when I'm in a slump. Unfortunately I've been doing it for so long that I'm running out of them.

Richard Osman has book #5 in the Thursday Murder Club series coming out this September. That could be a good choice for those of us not caught up with that series.

Shelley wrote: "Charlsa wrote: "Tracy wrote: "I too like the idea of personalizing the Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow prompt. I’m considering using songs with those words in the title as inspiration (since we don’t have..."

That is a great idea.

Pam wrote: "Richard Osman has book #5 in the Thursday Murder Club series coming out this September. That could be a good choice for those of us not caught up with that series."

That is great news. Have you read his newest book, We Solve Murders? It has a unique combo of a father-in-law and daughter-in-law MCs. I think I'm going to like it better than The Thursday Murder Club.

Charles - Yes, I did read it. It’s pretty good! I don’t read many mysteries but I like Osman’s writing style.

Darn, I didn't vote for either of those, and down voted one of them, but it sounds like voting was all over the place! How exciting for you when tallying them up!