Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

A big set of results this go round!

Top
A book connected in some way to the "Queen of Crime", Agatha Christie
A book featuring a character with a similar occupation to one of the Clue/Cluedo characters
A nonfiction book
A book that fits a prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list

Bottom
A book inspired by or related to the Charlie’s Angels franchise

Close Call
A book that includes a science related topic

The next round of suggestions will open around 7 am CST on Sunday, August 24.

We got FOUR *and* the science prompt was a close call??? What magic is this?

I liked all of the prompts this round and was hoping for three. What a nice surprise.

Good results for me.

Four! That's more like it! I'm delighted with Clue and fine with all the others.

I hope we either get a close call round or the science prompt is suggested again.

Those who add to the Listopia for Clue, *please* include a note about which character the book refers to! Thanks.

Yay! Great results!

I'm so glad we have four that made it this time.

I was neutral on A book that fits a prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list and a nonfiction book, but I can easily fill it. I upvoted the other two prompts.

Well, since I liked all the suggestions except Charlie's angels I'm content. However only one of the eight I finally voted for made it - my homage to Dame Agatha (I've been a fan since I read my first Christie when I was twelve - A pocket full of rye I believe is the English title.)

I'd love the science prompt to make it.

I upvoted 3 of the 4 winners. I was neutral on non-fiction, but I feel like it includes autobiography so I'm thrilled.

I bet the mods are happy, because if we'd kept only voting in 1-2 prompts a week, the voting would go on forever.

We got a couple of "creative" prompts and a couple of very basic ones, good mix.

Reminder that nobody has to read a book by Christie, many options were discussed, like reading any mystery, reading something set during her lifetime, etc.

For what it's worth, the press (who love comparing writers to each other) sometimes call Ruth Ware "the new Agatha Christie". Sometimes, they also call Lucy Foley this.

Riley Sager said that his 2025 release With a Vengeance was inspired in part by Murder on the Orient Express and Then There Were None.

I’m glad for the nonfiction prompt. None of my other upvotes got in.

I’m disappointed by the two dated mystery related prompts. The clue occupations from 1943 are dull, and the women are a maid, a femme fatale, and widow. I thought there were more women in this group. For Christie, the Agatha winner is decent option. For clue I’ll look for a book about an accomplished woman who happens to be sexy or a widow.

Dubhease wrote: "For what it's worth, the press (who love comparing writers to each other) sometimes call Ruth Ware "the new Agatha Christie". Sometimes, they also call Lucy Foley this.
Riley Sager said that his 2..."
FWIW - Lucy Foley is supposed to be writing a new Marple late next year. New release Five Found Dead is set on the Orient Express but it's a contemporary mystery

I’m happy w the results and glad that 4 got in!

KP wrote: "I’m disappointed by the two dated mystery related prompts. The clue occupations from 1943 are dull, and the women are a maid, a femme fatale, and widow. I thought there were more women in this group. For Christie, the Agatha winner is decent option. For clue I’ll look for a book about an accomplished woman who happens to be sexy or a widow, ..."

We can read about female main characters who are military officers, clergy, run their own businesses or are academics/professors.

And there are a number of interesting maids/housekeepers/cooks in fiction - or female celebrity chefs. The same goes for widows.

Marie wrote: "KP wrote: "I’m disappointed by the two dated mystery related prompts. The clue occupations from 1943 are dull, and the women are a maid, a femme fatale, and widow. I thought there were more women i..."

I like the idea for a female college professor.
The Wedding People
Possession
Books about novelists who are also college teachers
Stem romance books

KP wrote: "I’m glad for the nonfiction prompt. None of my other upvotes got in.

I’m disappointed by the two dated mystery related prompts. The clue occupations from 1943 are dull, and the women are a maid, ..."

A book that might fit the bill here is The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict. It's about "golden age" Hollywood actress, Hedy Lamarr, who was also a co-inventor of a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes to defeat the threat of radio jamming by Axis powers in WWII.

Marie wrote: "KP wrote: "I’m disappointed by the two dated mystery related prompts. The clue occupations from 1943 are dull, and the women are a maid, a femme fatale, and widow. I thought there were more women i..."

Very good point! It says nothing about having to be the same gender as the Clue/Cluedo characters!

Tracy wrote: "KP wrote: "I’m glad for the nonfiction prompt. None of my other upvotes got in.

I’m disappointed by the two dated mystery related prompts. The clue occupations from 1943 are dull, and the women a..."

Oh, I've watched a documentary about her. Such an extraordinary person!

I'm pleasantly surprised that Nonfiction got it :)

As for Agatha Christie, I was one of the people who downvoted this. BUT after some discussion shortly after I voted, I regretted it — so I'm VERY please now that it got in. When I finally made myself look at the titles, I found that there are MANY possibilities, even without reading a mystery or anything about Agatha's life.

These all work for me. I think I upvoted two or three of them. I didn't bother to waste a vote on the "prompt that didn't get in" because I knew it would be upvoted without my help.

I have a Patti Smith memoir that'll work for nonfiction. Or maybe the new nonfiction book about the Scream franchise.

Oy, I was really dreading the Agatha Christie prompt though I can't say I'm surprised it got chosen. This is a mystery-loving group, that's for sure! Somebody in the comments mentioned her association with Baghdad, so maybe I'll use Escape from Baghdad! (which I was thinking about using for the punctuation prompt), and this book also apparently has a mystery sub-plot. Another option I have is Agaat, a book set in South Africa, where Agaat is the Afrikaans language version of Agatha.

I’m happy about nonfiction, and the prompt that didn’t get in. I’ll have 20 books for that one.

The first thing I thought of for both Christie and Clue is a Mrs Pollifax book. She reminds me a little of Marple, and she’s a widow for clue. There are a lot of other good widow books too.
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

For the “queen of crime,” I want to read Queens of London about a crime queen in 1925 London.

Angie wrote: "These all work for me. I think I upvoted two or three of them. I didn't bother to waste a vote on the "prompt that didn't get in" because I knew it would be upvoted without my help.

I have a Patti..."

I didn’t vote for it either, because I also figured it would get in without my vote! I’m not excited about it, but it’s a nice freebie.

Wow keep adding nonfiction books everyone! You guys are finding great new titles that sound fascinating. I keep clicking on more.

Does anyone else feel like a kid in a candy store when you look at the nonfiction listopia? 🍭🍬🍫🍭

{{cough}}nerds{{cough}}

MJ wrote: "We got FOUR *and* the science prompt was a close call??? What magic is this?

I liked all of the prompts this round and was hoping for three. What a nice surprise."

fr!!!!! i'm very surprised (and also really excited for the Christie prompt, probably one of my favs so far).

Can I assume that it's okay to use Clue(do) characters from later editions of the game? Dr. Orchid (2016), Mrs Peacock as a politician (2013) or Solicitor Peacock (2023) for example.

Clare wrote: "Can I assume that it's okay to use Clue(do) characters from later editions of the game? Dr. Orchid (2016), Mrs Peacock as a politician (2013) or Solicitor Peacock (2023) for example."

I don't see why not. When we had Monopoly token on the cover, people were also allowed to use tokens from any version.

Dubhease wrote: "Clare wrote: "Can I assume that it's okay to use Clue(do) characters from later editions of the game? Dr. Orchid (2016), Mrs Peacock as a politician (2013) or Solicitor Peacock (2023) for example."..."

@dubhease @clare
Oh yes, please! Can you add that to the comments section at the bottom of the listopia? Doctor, lawyer, and politician give me SO many more choices!!!

NancyJ wrote: "Does anyone else feel like a kid in a candy store when you look at the nonfiction listopia?"

Oh yes absolutely!

I didn't vote for the prompt that did not make the list this week or for the prompt to read for a favorite prompt again last week. However, I can find a way to fill both.

Overall, I am pleased with this mix...especially for the non-fiction one that I did not expect to make it (although I voted for it).

Angie wrote: "These all work for me. I think I upvoted two or three of them. I didn't bother to waste a vote on the "prompt that didn't get in" because I knew it would be upvoted without my help.

I have a Patti..."

Interestingly enough, the prompt that didn't get in was the lowest on the list of winners, and was actually just going to be a close call until the last 10 or so votes came in. It does feel a bit early in the season for it to make it in - it's usually in the later polls.

I was neutral on 3 of the winners and upvoted the "Prompt that Didn't Get In".

Like NancyJ, I too thought of Mrs. Pollifax for the Agatha Christie prompt. She has that old lady, busybody vibe that I adore in Ms. Marple.

I'm going to use a Thursday Murder Club book for the Clue prompt. One of the ladies is a widow.

I'm really disappointed that a book connected to the racist/xenophobic Agatha Christie got in. I am going to read an anti-racist book for that prompt.

I am always up for reading non-fiction. I would have liked for the prompt to be a bit more narrow, but I never have had an issue finding a non-fiction book to read!

A prompt that did not make the list is always an easy one. I think I might use the Charlie's Angels one for this one because that was creative and original.

Bummed that the science related topic did not get in.

Emily wrote: "Angie wrote: "These all work for me. I think I upvoted two or three of them. I didn't bother to waste a vote on the "prompt that didn't get in" because I knew it would be upvoted without my help.

..."

Interesting. I don’t think it usually gets in on the first vote, so I had the same thought about not wasting my vote on it. I knew there’d be another chance. But of course thst could have backfired. I’m really glad I voted for it. I might have been one of last voters. (I was a day off so I might have missed the vote completely. )

Misty wrote: "I'm really disappointed that a book connected to the racist/xenophobic Agatha Christie got in. I am going to read an anti-racist book for that prompt.

I am always up for reading non-fiction. I wou..."

That’s a great way to approach that prompt then. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir was really good. It has an interesting balance of topics so it’s not all one-note.

I hope we will still get science and medical prompts, but I’d want them to be open to fiction too.

I don't close the poll until the I'm ready to tally the final results, so if you were able to submit a vote, your vote counted! I close the poll to submissions before I do the final tally. Your vote may have been the swing on, NancyJ!

NancyJ wrote: "That’s a great way to approach that prompt then. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir was really good. It has an interesting balance of topics so it’s not all one-note."

Great suggestion. That one has been on my TBR for a little while.

Dubhease wrote: "For what it's worth, the press (who love comparing writers to each other) sometimes call Ruth Ware "the new Agatha Christie". Sometimes, they also call Lucy Foley this.

Riley Sager said that his 2..."

On a similar note, Mary Roberts Rinehart was known as the American Agatha Christie.