Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

It's now time to get ready to vote for our next set of prompts! The thread will be open for at least 24 hours before the poll gets posted. This is a good opportunity to ask any question you may have regarding the prompts, do some research, or ask for recommendations.

Voting will open in the morning of Sunday, August 31 and results will be posted in the morning of Thursday, September 4 (CST time).

How it works:
- When the voting opens, follow the link to the mini-poll that will be added at the end of this post
- You have a total of 8 votes this poll to spread across your favorite and least favorite prompts (you can also use less than 8 votes)
- You can find examples of acceptable voting practices on the Introduction thread.
- The prompts with the more favorable votes (comparing top votes to bottom votes, and looking at the overall number of votes it received) will be added to the final list

We are asking people to include their Goodreads profile address when they vote. To find this, just go to your own profile and then copy the URL/web address. If for some reason you can't link to your Goodreads profile, please post your full Goodreads name with enough identifiable information that we'll be able to access your profile.

Poll Prompts:
1. A book title that contains the name of a professional sports team
2. A book with twins, doppelgängers, or mistaken identity
3. A book with a rebel
4. A book with a trial
5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book
6. A book with a character who is searching for knowledge, love, courage or a way home
7. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2025 or 2026
8. A book with the name of a planet or their moons in the title
9. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building
10. A book about wildlife or nature conservation
11. A book with a title that contains a pun, a dad joke, or other word play
12. A book exploring personal or cultural identity
13. A book related to medical science or health
14. A book with a window on the cover
15. A book related to baking

Feel free to discuss the prompts below, but please remember to be respectful to the other group members.

Vote here: https://forms.gle/zTSbd3VK5gu8jWGd9

THOUGHTS AND IDEAS FROM THE SUGGESTIONS THREAD

1. A book title that contains the name of a professional sports team
for example (and these are only examples):

NHL
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands (Anaheim Ducks)
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and the American Justice System (Carolina Hurricanes)
The Senator's Wife (Ottawa Senators)

PWHL
The Siren (Kiera Cass) (New York Sirens)
The Poetry of Robert Frost (Minnesota Frost
How to Lead When You're Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority (Ottawa Charge)

NFL
When we Were Vikings (Minnesota Vikings
The Raven (Poe) (Baltimore Ravens)
Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache) (Kansas City Chiefs)

CFL
A Lion Among Men (Wicked #3) (BC Lions)
The Red and the Black (Stendhal) (Ottawa Redblacks)
The Argonauts (Nelson) (Toronto Argonauts)
There is a lot of cowboy romance searching under "roughrider" (Saskatchewan roughriders)

NBA
Practical Magic (Orlando Magic)
Jazz (Toni Morrison) (Utah Jazz)
The Pelican Brief (New Orleans Pelicans)
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Charlotte Hornets)

WNBA
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Atlanta Dream)
Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty (Hillary Clinton) (New York Liberty)
Onyx Storm (Seattle Storm)
The Fever Code (Maze Runner) (Indiana Fever)
Honestly the WNBA has the best team names for books

MLB
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (NY Yankees)
Red, White and Royal Blue (Cincinnati Reds or Kansas City Royals)
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (Malcom Gladwell) (San Francisco Giants)
There are so many fiction and non-fiction books under "pirates" (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Soccer
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (L.A. Galaxy)
Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake (Real Madrid)
How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States (Manchester United)
The Villa (Aston Villa)
The Paper Palace (Heller) (Crystal Palace)

Rugby
Clan of the Cave Bear (Bristol Bears)
The Maltese Falcon (New Castle Falcons)
Rebel Angels (Melbourne Rebels)
Force of Nature (Aaron Falk, #2) (Western Force)

Cricket
The Lightning Thief (Leinster Lightning)
Diamonds are Forever (Northern Diamonds)
Heart Bones (Colleen Hoover) (Auckland Hearts)
The Fault in Our Stars (Melbourne Stars)

2. A book with twins, doppelgängers, or mistaken identity
Listopias:
Best Books about Twins - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5...
Twins and Dopplegangers - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
Mistaken Identities - https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

3. A book with a rebel
This is any level of rebellion-- against parents, school, religion, society, class, government, etc You want to read a book about teen-agers fighting- this is it. For those who want a US 250 prompt, this is it. Want to read about artists who rebelled against the traditional like Van Gogh, Basquit, Stravinsky or punk rockers- this is it. Maybe there's a book about the guy who created Rebel Yell bourbon. Or this is your push to read Les Miserables.

There's even a genre of called transgressive literature: (there's also transgressive manga): https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

4. A book with a trial
Lots of options in literary fiction, mystery/crime fiction, non-fiction, true crime, etc.

The Fraud
The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses
A Time to Kill
Snow Falling on Cedars
The Body in Question

7. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2025 or 2026
2025 Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

8. A book with the name of a planet or their moons in the title
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, obviously - but also the dwarf planets Pluto, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, Gonggong, Quaoar, Sedna, Ceres, and Orcus
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...

9. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building
Set in libraries: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/th...
Set in libraries or bookstores:https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Set in hospitals: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Set in schools/universities: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
Set in courtrooms: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Set in prisons: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Set in museums: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Examples of public buildings:
City Halls/Town Halls
Courthouses
Schools and universities
Libraries
Museums and Art Galleries
Theaters
Police or Fire Stations
Post Offices
Embassies/Consulates
Prisons/Correctional Facilities
Military Bases
Hospitals and other public healthcare facilities

10. A book about wildlife or nature conservation
This could be about conservation globally, by country or region, locally, or just around your own home.
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://mountainandprairie.com/10-con...
https://www.gviusa.com/blog/smb-15-of...
https://www.jamesborrell.com/another-...
https://www.google.com/search?q=a+boo...

11. A book with a title that contains a pun, a dad joke, or other word play
Some examples:
The Handshake: A Gripping History
Butts: A Backstory
Virgin: The Untouched History
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why Commas Really Do Make a Difference
Bored of the Rings
We’ll Always Have Parrots
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
These Boots are Made for Stalking
Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea


The Importance of Being Earnest

Some lists:
52 Book Club 2025: #1 - A Pun In The Title
Titlemania I: Puns in Titles
Titles that play on earlier titles and sayings
If Dad Jokes Were Titles
Punny Romance Titles

Some other lists:
https://naperlib.bibliocommons.com/v2...
https://tacoma.bibliocommons.com/v2/l...
https://bookshop.org/lists/my-list-of...
https://www.thereviewgeek.com/10books...

13. A book related to medical science or health
This could involve health practitioners, patients, research, biology, healthy habits, public health, etc. Nonfiction, fiction, memoirs, or even cookbooks.

Medical
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/medical
Health
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/health
Listopias
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

Health lists
https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag?id...

14. A book with a window on the cover
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
https://fictionophile.com/2016/05/05/...

15. A book related to baking
Could be setting, title, storyline or cover

For #3 Rebels, I think books about activists and protesters would fit.

https://www.goodreads.com/genres/acti...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/acti...
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/protest

I liked this book about 1969-1970: Witness to the Revolution: Radicals, Resisters, Vets, Hippies, and the Year America Lost Its Mind and Found Its Soul
1968 was another eventful year:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

For fiction, Bewilderment is very moving.
I want to read Endling

This prompt is very clever in its range, it could include a book celebrating the beginning of the US, or criticizing its current leadership. Or one that ignores the US completely.

Definite Upvote
- A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2025 or 2026
- A book with a rebel

Potential Upvote
- A book with a character who appears in more than one book
- A book with a character who is searching for knowledge, love, courage or a way home
- A book related to baking

Definite Downvote
- A book title that contains the name of a professional sports team
- A book with the name of a planet or their moons in the title
- A book with a title that contains a pun, a dad joke, or other word play

My initial thoughts:

Poll Prompts:
1. A book title that contains the name of a professional sports team Neutral.

2. A book with twins, doppelgängers, or mistaken identity This is a maybe. I'll have to do some research. I've certainly read enough books in the past that fit the bill.

3. A book with a rebel This is almost a gimme, but I'm not opposed to it.

4. A book with a trial Neutral

5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book I originally suggested this a few weeks ago and was planning to get back to it. I'm glad someone suggested it since I was distracted and missed suggestions. Definite upvote.

6. A book with a character who is searching for knowledge, love, courage or a way home Seems like a bit of a gimme, but it's a maybe.

7. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2025 or 2026 Neutral. I'm not mad at it.

8. A book with the name of a planet or their moons in the title Kinda burnt out on title prompts, and I've done this one before. I had trouble with it the last time I did it.

9. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building The books I read tend to lend themselves to this kind of prompt. So upvote.

10. A book about wildlife or nature conservation Not an area of interest for me. I care about nature and like to spend time in the woods--at least it was before I developed mobility issues; but I don't generally read about it. I reread The Lorax every time this prompt comes up.

11. A book with a title that contains a pun, a dad joke, or other word play Eh. Neutral.

12. A book exploring personal or cultural identity Maybe

13. A book related to medical science or health Not that interested. My whole life right now is battling the medical system and struggling with health problems. I don't want to read about it.

14. A book with a window on the cover I probably a bunch of stuff that fits this.

15. A book related to baking I read a lot of cozy mysteries. This would be a possibility.

Here's a list for #4 A book with a trial

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

Here are some more ideas for windows on the cover in case it's helpful to anyone!

The Martian and All Systems Red (if you consider the glass on helmets to be windows)
A Dance of Lies and A Study in Drowning (stained glass windows)
Ready Player One (trailor windows)
A Gentleman in Moscow (an open balcony window)
The Breakdown (broken glass from a window)
The Woman in Cabin 10 (a porthole)
The Alice Network, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (car windows)
Murder in Mesopotamia (plane windows)
Murder on the Orient Express (train windows)

I'm glad to see "name of a sports team" and "character that appears in more than one book" again! Those are two of my favorites and definite upvotes. Fingers crossed they make it this time. I brought "set in a public building" back one more time too, since some people requested that last time and we're still low on setting prompts.

The only suggestion I think I would struggle with is "exploring personal or cultural identity." Nothing comes to mind for that one. A good list or two might help.

4 up votes and 4 down :)

I have to admit I struggle with this one every year:

-A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads

I try to step outside my reading comfort zone with it, but there are
never a lot of books on the list that I already have on my TBR. And I really need to whittle that thing down!

Below is one list for cultural or personal identity. I feel like there are a lot of popular fiction and non-fiction books that fit this theme. A few that I've enjoyed: There There, Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood, Americanah, An African in Greenland, Indian Horse, Shōgun, Part 1, Crooked Plow, Three Brothers: Memories of My Family. These are all books set outside the US but there are plenty of US authors and settings. It can be a pretty broad topic.

Cultural Identity Listopia

First impressions:

1. A book title that contains the name of a professional sports team - Not particularly interested. I have no interest in sports so I'm not very familiar with team names;

2. A book with twins, doppelgängers, or mistaken identity - I like this, but it also seems like 3 separate ideas mixed together

3. A book with a rebel - Likely an upvote, but depends what options I can find. I seem to remember having a similar prompt for another challenge one year and really struggling to find something that was a clear fit somehow

4. A book with a trial - Definite upvote. I love books that involve court cases and trials

5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book - Indifferent to this one. It's a good excuse to fit in a series, but I don't love it strongly enough to vote for it.

6. A book with a character who is searching for knowledge, love, courage or a way home - Again, I like the tie-in to the Wizard of Oz, but not sure I like this version of the prompt. It feels like most books would easily fit.

7. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2025 or 2026 - I've never been a huge fan of using these lists, partly because I'm really bad at keeping up with them myself. I'm sure I can find something if it gets in, and I feel like it will be a likely winner, but I just don't think I want to vote for it.

8. A book with the name of a planet or their moons in the title - Likely a downvote for me. I really liked the idea when it was first brought up, but I haven't been able to find many options that actually interest me that fit. I don't really see the dwarf planets as much help since their names are so unusual, and seem unlikely to be in titles.

9. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building - Not a big fan of the clunky wording (I feel like "a public building" would have encompassed it all), but I love the idea! Very likely an upvote

10. A book about wildlife or nature conservation - Wasn't a fan the first time it came up, and I'm still not that interested.

11. A book with a title that contains a pun, a dad joke, or other word play - For some reason, I always tend to struggle with prompts requiring puns, even though I feel like I see them quite often.

12. A book exploring personal or cultural identity - A strong maybe. I've enjoyed books with this kind of theme in the past

13. A book related to medical science or health - Another strong maybe, if I have enough options that might fit.

14. A book with a window on the cover - Weirdly really loving this one for some reason! For some reason I'm always drawn to books that have houses/doors on the cover, and it seems windows too

15. A book related to baking - Indifferent. I've had similar prompts fairly often in the past, but I know I have some books that would fit.

Question re: the name of a professional sports team. Since it doesn't say mascot, does it include the name of the city/state? I would say yes since the city or state is part of the name. I haven't seen any examples like this which is why I'm asking.

Pam wrote: "Question re: the name of a professional sports team. Since it doesn't say mascot, does it include the name of the city/state? I would say yes since the city or state is part of the name. I haven't ..."

I'd say that the city/state is the equivalent to a last name. So Pittsburgh Penguins would be like 'John Doe', Penguins would be like 'John' and the Pens would be like 'Johnny'

First impressions!
I am mostly neutral or leaning towards downvotes this time around. These 5 are my likely downvotes for now:
- a book with twins. 3 of the last 6 books I read happened to have main characters with twins. So I'm very biased but I am burnt out on this and wouldn't seek it out. I'd also say it's not necessary easy to know this ahead of time - my most recent read was The Cruel Prince and the blurb only mentions that she has 2 sisters, not a twin and an older sister.
- name of a planet in title: as much as I love the idea of this prompt, this is the one time I'd prefer "related to" wording. It's too narrow on its own and a lot of the books on the Listopia don't actually qualify, like A Swiftly Tilting Planet or Black Sun. I don't know if I would consider words like "Martian" to contain the name of a planet either.
- a book with a character who is searching for knowledge, love, courage, or a way home - applies to every book I've read this year and would give me hundreds of options from my TBR alone so I'd prefer more narrow prompts
- a book with a rebel - since it's any level of rebellion, every fiction book I've read this year would count so the same issue of being too broad
- ATY best book of the month thread: This is one of the prompts I've struggled the most with in previous challenges. It's a limited list prompt with a lot of repeats and if I have no options, I have to check the threads every month until I finish the challenge. I love the ATY connection, but I'd prefer not to have it again next year.

Likely upvotes:
- sports teams in the title. I don't follow sports but this seems like a fun title prompt with a good number of options (I love prompts that give me roughly 10-20 solid options from my existing TBR)
- a book with a window on the cover. I suggested this because I love cover prompts and it hits the sweet spot of ~20 books from my TBR

1. A book title that contains the name of a professional sports team-
Neutral, seems to be too easy but it is kind of fun so I might appreciate that next year. I will leave to the fates.
2. A book with twins, doppelgängers, or mistaken identity-
Not sure, Twins are meh, doppelgängers and mistaken identity are a fun but it might be hard to find without knowing too much.
3. A book with a rebel -
Upvote, I think I can make hard or easy depending on what books are available.
4. A book with a trial -
Maybe, I love this when done well (Mad Honey) and I have yet to read The Appeal.
5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book
Maybe, I know it can be more than a series and love the creativity but it seems hard to find the ones not in a series. I do seem to start series that have other books in print so I could just start something new if need be.
6. A book with a character who is searching for knowledge, love, courage or a way home-
Leaning down, I appreciate the take on The Wizard of Oz but it also feels like the title of a self help book so getting the ick.
7. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2025 or 2026
Upvote, I enjoy this every year.
8. A book with the name of a planet or their moons in the title
Downvote- I spent a fair amount of time looking at planet related books for another suggestion and think this would be too hard.
9. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building
Leaning to an upvote, these are great settings.
10. A book about wildlife or nature conservation
Maybe, this might work to fill my desired national park prompt.
11. A book with a title that contains a pun, a dad joke, or other word play
Downvote, as much fun as the concept is, I don’t think I know enough puns/dad jokes. I feel like I would struggle to find something.
12. A book exploring personal or cultural identity -
Upvote, in some ways it seems to easy. Every one has an identity but think there are ways to narrow it.
13. A book related to medical science or health
Potential downvote. I could easily make it work but I spend too much time dealing with it in the real world. I think removing the word medical would make it appealing.
14. A book with a window on the cover -
Upvote - easy but fun.
15. A book related to baking -
Not sure, It depends on my other votes but has potential.

Oh I'm happy someone suggested planets!

Here's some background for it:

A book with the name of a planet or one of it's moons in the title

This includes:
Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptun

Dwarf planets like Pluto or Ceres

Moons: https://theplanets.org/moons/ - examples:
Europa, Leda, Atlas, Titan, Helene, Hyperion, Janus, Pan, Phoebe, Bianca, Cupid, Juliet, Francisco, Nix, Ariel (there's even a Margaret!).
And, of course, our Moon


You could also look out for a name contained in a title word, like MARShall or pERISh or sorCERESs.

Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...

Examples of books:

Freddie Mercury: His Life in His Own Words
Delta of Venus
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales
Sleeping on Jupiter
Under the Sign of Saturn: Essays
Sailor Moon, Band 09: Uranus und Neptun
The Son of Neptune
The Wonder Collection: Wonder, The Julian Chapter, Pluto, Shingaling

Rachel wrote: "First impressions:

8. A book with the name of a planet or their moons in the title - Likely a downvote for me. I really liked the idea when it was first brought up, but I haven't been able to find many options that actually interest me that fit. I don't really see the dwarf planets as much help since their names are so unusual, and seem unlikely to be in titles..."

Maybe the list of the moons helps... ? And there ist always The Moon.

1. A book title that contains the name of a professional sports team
While the subject matter doesn't interest me, this gives such a wide choice that I might upvote it nevertheless

2. A book with twins, doppelgängers, or mistaken identity
Not keen - might find something with twins.

3. A book with a rebel
Possible

4. A book with a trial
This came up in a seasonal challenge, and I found it quite hard, so tending to downvote, but I shall do a bit of research.

5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book
I know this does not necessarily mean in a series, but we have a series prompt already, and this seems a lot like a redo.

6. A book with a character who is searching for knowledge, love, courage or a way home
Like in every novel that there is! Seriously, this is a Wizard of Oz prompt really, and I have been upvoting those.

7. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2025 or 2026
Yes, I like this.

8. A book with the name of a planet or their moons in the title
Needs some research but could be an upvote

9. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building
Upvote

10. A book about wildlife or nature conservation
Possible

11. A book with a title that contains a pun, a dad joke, or other word play
Doesn't appeal.

12. A book exploring personal or cultural identity
Neutral

13. A book related to medical science or health
Upvote, I think

14. A book with a window on the cover
Fine

15. A book related to baking
No, unless I can find something that isn't the 'Little Bakery on the Corner' type book- though, thinking about it, I could move Black Cake which I was planning to use elsewhere.

Whereas last week's suggestions were ones that I generally liked, I am much less interested in any of these.

Emily wrote: "Voting will open in the morning of Monday, August 25 and results will be posted in the morning of Friday, August 29 (CST time). "

Emily, I think the dates need to be updated as today is August 30.

Updated lol

Copy and pasting with a toddler who is suddenly interested in a laptop made it a bit challenging yesterday.

Samantha wrote: "5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book
Maybe, I know it can be more than a series and love the creativity but it seems hard to find the ones not in a series. I do seem to start series that have other books in print so I could just start something new if need be.."

I love it for this reason! I would not use it for a series- that is so KIS! I would use it for books where either real people show up (like Abe Lincoln in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter or fictional characters that show up in other author's work like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (I picked those cause the similarity made me giggle). You could also KIS with retellings such as Odysseus in Circe.

Here's a list of fiction with real people in it:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

Ooo, Loving Frank. although I might use it to finally read The Invention of Wings

Pamela wrote: "Samantha wrote: "5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book
Maybe, I know it can be more than a series and love the creativity but it seems hard to find the ones not in a series. ..."

How are those books connected? Is FrankLloyd Wright also in the Invention of wings?

Kendra wrote: "Pam wrote: "Question re: the name of a professional sports team. Since it doesn't say mascot, does it include the name of the city/state? I would say yes since the city or state is part of the name..."

Kendra - I don't feel like that really answers my question but that's ok. I frequently refer to a sports team by the city or state like Dallas, Denver, or Arizona rather than the Cowboys, Broncos, or D-backs. So, I'm suggesting that you could read a book with Dallas, Denver, or Arizona in the title since it's part of their name. Regardless, I plan to vote for this prompt and likely would go with Penguins. There are a lot of collections that start with "The Penguin Book of". I also love penguins so non-fiction or a Andrey Kurkov book (his penguin series) are also options.

Pam wrote: "Kendra wrote: "Pam wrote: "Question re: the name of a professional sports team. Since it doesn't say mascot, does it include the name of the city/state? I would say yes since the city or state is p..."

Well, I'd say that's like just a last name in the title, so it would count. But we already have a location in title prompt.

Ok here are my thoughts and then I will vote. Did all 8 upvotes would have done more but 8 is the limit. Thank you for whoever changed it so it forces you to stop at 8...I almost submitted 9.
Still trying to use books first that help my overflowing bookshelf. Hoping by mid 2026 i'm back to mostly library books.
1. A book title that contains the name of a professional sports team-I love the quirky ones so sure let's go. I'm not a big sports fan.
2. A book with twins, doppelgängers, or mistaken identity-hmm maybe can't think of anything so a maybe
3. A book with a rebel - probably a maybe can't think of anything.
4. A book with a trial-still got a bunch of grisham books on my bookshelf. this is a probably upvote.
5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book-hmm maybe? I don't end up finding a lot of stuff relating to same universe
6. A book with a character who is searching for knowledge, love, courage or a way home-this feels "wizard of oz" to me-definitley upvote!
7. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2025 or 2026- i see this every year i feel like. neutral.
8. A book with the name of a planet or their moons in the title-another "more obscure" one-definitely up.
9. A book where all or part of the action takes place in a library, a museum, a school, or another public building probably upvote. I think it's the "one of us is lying" series that will fit this.
10. A book about wildlife or nature conservation-gonna try to fit it in-feels more obscure which i like
11. A book with a title that contains a pun, a dad joke, or other word play- i really like this-gonna up vote it.
12. A book exploring personal or cultural identity-another one i'm gonna try-don't love it don't hate it.
13. A book related to medical science or health-gotta upvote it. I 2nd it!
14. A book with a window on the cover-another obscure one-gonna try to upvote it.
15. A book related to baking-gonna try-maybe i can finally read a cozy mystery or another amish book lol?

Pamela wrote: "Samantha wrote: "5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book
Maybe, I know it can be more than a series and love the creativity but it seems hard to find the ones not in a series. ..."

In theory it does seem like it could be fun but knowing what I can be frustrated by in our prompts I question how to tell who might appear in what books. I think for me it could end up as series prompt.

That list of historical fiction does seem to have potential but it is also my least favorite genre. It did get me thinking that non fiction might be the way to go and I would like to read more of those.

I tend to try to know as little as possible prior to reading something so that is my hesitation. I will probably leave this one to the fates and not vote either way.

Is there a list of baking-connected books that does Not focus on recipe books, feelgood, romance or cozyness?

Nike wrote: "Is there a list of baking-connected books that does Not focus on recipe books, feelgood, romance or cozyness?"

Maybe some micro-history books with an important baking ingredient such as Salt: A World History or Butter: A Rich History.

Jillian wrote: "Nike wrote: "Is there a list of baking-connected books that does Not focus on recipe books, feelgood, romance or cozyness?"

Maybe some micro-history books with an important baking ingredient such ..."

Hm, well yes - that's s possibility of course. I've actually got a non fiction about salt (well no, it's about sugar but would fit!). I was more interested in literary fiction or thrillers or horror though. But microfiction is a good enough solution. Thank you!

A cozy fantasy series Baking Bad
Several cozy mystery series are set in bakeries, catering shops, cafes, etc.
For instance:
Catering to Nobody
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Hm, this round consists of no Wow, yeses! It's maybe, maybe, maybe, no and don't know.

One suggestion I'm struggling with is the Wildlife Conservation. I love nature, I love spending time with Mother Earth, I do believe we must take care of her gifts and be thankful and rescue wildlife immediately.

But do I want to read about it? No, I prefer watching documentaries about this subject. I'd love a list of fiction for this one. I can only think of Where the Crawdads sing now and I've read that one (beautiful, powerful book).

I will wait before I vote. Normally I vote the minute the poll's up. But this time I don't know yet.

There is one upvote (well, I think). That's ATY Best book of the month.

And there is one definite downvote. The Daddy joke. For me it's so strange that daddy's ought to joke in a certain way. That one differs between jokes made by fathers and mothers. Really weird in my opinion. I really don't like that and I really don't read humorous books anyway.

I'd love a list with books connected to baking which are either of literary fiction or dark literature. Like thrillers, horror, dark academia. The only baking books I can find are related to romance, feelgood, cozy mystery or recipe books. Not interested in any of it.

I really don't like trials whether on screen or in books so that will be a downvote as well.

I will probably upvote the public housing since I like books taking place in libraries for example.

I find nr 6 and 12 too vague. I don't know how to think about them.


Medical science - yes, a probable upvote.

What else - twins maybe.
Rebels maybe.
Window on cover, yes if I can found something I like to read.
Planets in title yes, if I can found something I like to read.

Difficult this time.

Here are a few literary books that feature baking:
Sweet Bean Paste - sweet bean paste is used in the dorayaki and confections sold in the shop that the main characters run
Sourdough - the story revolves around baking sourdough bread using a special recipe
The Book of Salt - this story involves more general "cooking" but one of the main characters is a cook
Kitchen - one of the characters takes on the cooking for the others and finds it soothing

ETA - I can't help with horror or thrillers since I try to avoid them.

I went 8 up this time - I just liked so many of them and there wasn't anything I really wouldn't want.

Jackie wrote: "I went 8 up this time - I just liked so many of them and there wasn't anything I really wouldn't want."

I voted 6 up and 2 down which is very positive for me. Usually I vote 4 up and 4 down.

I voted 3 up and 3 down. Generally, I don't use all my votes since most I can live with. I voted for the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2025 or 2026, a repeating character, and a title pun.

Nike wrote: "Hm, this round consists of no Wow, yeses! It's maybe, maybe, maybe, no and don't know.

One suggestion I'm struggling with is the Wildlife Conservation. I love nature, I love spending time with Mo..."

All the books by Charlotte McConaghy fit this - Migrations, Once There Were Wolves and Wild Dark Shore, and they are all wonderfully written fiction about people as well. On a lighter note, there is How the Penguins Saved Veronica or Miss Benson's Beetle.

I did 6 upvotes and I would love to have done 10. Everyone did such an amazing job of suggesting interesting prompts this round. (Even the only two I would struggle to find a book to read for, were creative.)

Joy D and Nike: I agree with Joy D about Sourdough by Robin Sloan. It was enjoyable and NOT a cozy mystery or romance book. It’s been a few years since ai read it, but I don’t generally like cozy mysteries or romance, so I know it didn’t lean that way.

I like this list a lot more than the last one. I had to limit my upvotes!

Nike wrote: "One suggestion I'm struggling with is the Wildlife Conservation. I love nature, I love spending time with Mother Earth, I do believe we must take care of her gifts and be thankful and rescue wildlife immediately.

But do I want to read about it? No, I prefer watching documentaries about this subject. I'd love a list of fiction for this one. I can only think of Where the Crawdads sing now and I've read that one (beautiful, powerful book)."

On fiction, have you tried Nevada Barr? The Anna Pigeon series are mysteries, but the MC is a park ranger and the books are set in different National Parks around the US.

C.J. Box's Joe Pickett is another park ranger, based in Wyoming. I wasn't as fond of the first one as some other series I've read, but I know other folks like them.

On the non-fiction side, I'd recommend anything written by John Lewis-Stempel if this prompt gets in. He writes beautifully about nature, but isn't sentimental about it.

Also, if the baking one gets in, I'd recommend A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking.

The Sin du Jour Series - Book 1: Envy of Angels
could work for the baking prompt. It's light horror.

Robin P wrote: "Nike wrote: "Hm, this round consists of no Wow, yeses! It's maybe, maybe, maybe, no and don't know.

One suggestion I'm struggling with is the Wildlife Conservation. I love nature, I love spending..."

For Wildlife conservation, I love Charlotte McConaghy’s novels! They are very easy to get into, and don’t focus solely on animals. The relationship plots are very compelling, and there is usually mystery, action, or adventure in the stories as well. I love when I can read a good novel and learn something new at the same time.

Migrations Migrations and Wild Dark Shore are two of my favorites.

Pamela wrote: "Samantha wrote: "5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book
Maybe, I know it can be more than a series and love the creativity but it seems hard to find the ones not in a series. ..."

Here's another list that doesn't just focus on historical fiction:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

For a short work of completely charming fiction, try The Uncommon Reader

Samantha wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Samantha wrote: "5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book
Maybe, I know it can be more than a series and love the creativity but it seems hard to find the ones no..."

Check out message 42, I added a different list with books that fit this prompt but from a wider variety of genres.

Nike wrote: "Is there a list of baking-connected books that does Not focus on recipe books, feelgood, romance or cozyness?"

Lots of lists related to baking: https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/ba...

NancyJ wrote: "Pamela wrote: "Samantha wrote: "5. A book with a character who appears in more than one book
Maybe, I know it can be more than a series and love the creativity but it seems hard to find the ones no..."

No, I meant for the person from another book who appears in a book- the Grimke family is in Invention of Wings

Joy D wrote: "Here are a few literary books that feature baking:
Sweet Bean Paste - sweet bean paste is used in the dorayaki and confections sold in the shop that the main characters run
[book:..."

Thank you! I loved the movie Sweet Bean Paste when I watched it a few years ago! And I do have Kitchen on my to-read-list, thought it was more about cooking than about baking though but maybe one doesn't need to interpret the prompt so literally.
Great suggestions Joy D 🙏

Robin P wrote: "Nike wrote: "Hm, this round consists of no Wow, yeses! It's maybe, maybe, maybe, no and don't know.

One suggestion I'm struggling with is the Wildlife Conservation. I love nature, I love spending..."

Thankyou! I discovered I'd got one of her books on my to-read-list and when I googled her I remember that I've read about her books. Great suggestion! 🙏

Tracy wrote: "Joy D and Nike: I agree with Joy D about Sourdough by Robin Sloan. It was enjoyable and NOT a cozy mystery or romance book. It’s been a few years since ai read it, but I don’t generally like cozy m..."

Thanks for the suggestion! I've looked it up but it's not translated to Swedish, that being said - I do read a few books in English every year to keep the language alive. So maybe.

Trish wrote: "I like this list a lot more than the last one. I had to limit my upvotes!

Nike wrote: "One suggestion I'm struggling with is the Wildlife Conservation. I love nature, I love spending time with Mot..."

I really like A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking too!

Trish wrote: "I like this list a lot more than the last one. I had to limit my upvotes!

Nike wrote: "One suggestion I'm struggling with is the Wildlife Conservation. I love nature, I love spending time with Mot..."

Hm, none of those are translated into Swedish but I could at least find out T. Kingfisher and C.J. Boxes books are available in English here. Thank you for the suggestions but I do prefer reading most of the books in my own language. I have shelved the Kingfisher book though.