Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Poll #2 - No Distinction

A few people were talking about this prompt so I thought I'd start a thread for it! (Especially because the listopia lists are.... not encouraging.)

Quite a few psychological thrillers would fall into this category, so (without spoilers), I would recommend Then She Was Gone, Final Girls, and The Good Daughter.

Outside of thrillers, you could also read The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock, Room, The Orphan Master's Son, or The Broken Girls.

How about The Light Between Oceans?

Milena wrote: "How about The Light Between Oceans?"

Ohhh that's a good one that I hadn't even thought of!

Outlander would work too!

There are lots of books about Patty Hearst, if you want to read non-fiction.

Another non-fiction: News of a Kidnapping by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I found this on NPR's best books of 2017: it's a graphic novel non-fiction account of a doctors without border administrator who was kidnapped and left chained to a radiator for 3 months.

Sabrina wrote: "I found this on NPR's best books of 2017: it's a graphic novel non-fiction account of a doctors without border administrator who was kidnapped and left chained to a rad..."

I have a copy of this and was considering it for the NPR prompt. I've read and liked some of Guy Delisle's other non-fiction graphic novels.

Crooked Kingdom would work if you liked Six of Crows.

Both The Princess Bride and The Child Finder have kidnappings central to their plot. I think the movie version of The Princess Bride was better than the book (one of the VERY rare times this happens), but The Child Finder was one of the best books I've read this year. There's a sequel coming out next year I believe.

For more serious, non fiction events, these are all also very good books, but not always the easiest or most comfortable. They all tackle some pretty heavy material, but are excellent books and I highly recommend any of these:

Through the Glass
A House in the Sky
Twelve Years a Slave

Pam wrote: "There are lots of books about Patty Hearst, if you want to read non-fiction."

I recommend American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst

Also, for the two people out there that haven't already read it, The Lovely Bones fits this category.

Thanks Rachel! That’s the book I was thinking of. And, I’m one of the 2 people who hasn’t read the Lovely Bones, despite having it in my house. I think it’s my daughters book. It sounds like something she likes to read!

Pam wrote: "Thanks Rachel! That’s the book I was thinking of. And, I’m one of the 2 people who hasn’t read the Lovely Bones, despite having it in my house. I think it’s my daughters book. It sounds like someth..."

I read The Lovely Bones for a book club I was in around the time it was published and loved it but I feel like it was so overhyped that it could be a disappointment if expectations are too high. I don't recall the writing being that great but the story was compelling and definitely a tear jerker.

When this prompt came up, I found a few titles that I think would work:


Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood
Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement
In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward
Pretty Is by Maggie Mitchell
Eden by Andrea Kleine
The Edge of Normal by Carla Norton
An Untamed State by Roxane Gay
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne
Mother Of Pearl by Mary Morrissy

All that comes to mind here are non fiction books I have, Elizabeth Smart and the Cleveland Kidnappings.
Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland
Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed - A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnappings
My Story

Oh wait, what about Sadie, crap now this is going on my rejects challenge.