Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

2020 has the same rules as 2019: use books I already have where possible, stick to the order if I can, and every book fits both a winning prompt and a loser (I've included one prompt that didn't get seconded as well as regular rejects). To keep my page count up, for #13 I've chosen a prompt from each AtY year. There was one prompt that I couldn’t do, so I've wildcarded it and used a prompt from the same voting round that didn't make it.

Weird coincidence, I had 33 paperbacks in my plan for 2019, and I've got 33 again. I managed to avoid hardbacks this time around (yay!), but unfortunately that extra has been made up with ebooks, so I'll not be clearing as much shelf space in 2020 (boo!).

1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Read a book by a relative of a famous author or other public figure

2. A book by an author whose last name is one syllable
The Armored Saint - Myke Cole
Two books from different genres that are connected in some way: #1

3. A book that you are prompted to read because of something you read in 2019
Vicious - V.E. Schwab
A book that asks a question in the synopsis

4. A book set in a place or time that you wouldn't want to live
The Furthest Station - Ben Aaronovitch
Three books published in or set in three different centuries: #1

5. The first book in a series that you have not started
Streets of Darkness - A.A. Dhand
A mystery novel by a person of colour

6. A book with a mode of transportation on the cover
Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie
A book involving a betrayal

7. A book set in the southern hemisphere
Zoo City - Lauren Beukes
A book with a rabbit

8. A book with a two-word title where the first word is "The"
The Likeness - Tana French
Three books in the same genre from different countries: #1

9. A book that can be read in a day
Force of Nature - Jane Harper
Three books in the same genre from different countries: #2

10. A book that is between 400-600 pages
Without Fail - Lee Child
A book featuring a character who is job-searching, unemployed, and/or loses or quits their job in the course of the story

11. A book originally published in a year that is a prime number
Basilisk - Rob Thurman
A book in which one of the main characters is involved in an experiment

12. A book that is a collaboration between 2 or more people
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green & David Levithan
A book by an author with a colour in their name, where that colour also appears on the cover

13. A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 Books challenge
2016: A book with a great opening line
All Systems Red - Martha Wells
A book with a non-human main character
2017: A book with an animal in the title or on the cover
Started Early, Took My Dog - Kate Atkinson
A book featuring a child being raised by someone other than their biological parents
2018: A book about or inspired by real events
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania - Erik Larson
A nonfiction book about something you see on a regular basis
2019: A book with one of the 5 W's in the title
Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
A story you are already familiar with, but in a different format

14. A book by an author on the Abe List of 100 Essential Female Writers
When Will There Be Good News? - Kate Atkinson
A book set in a place or time that you would want to live

15. A book set in a global city
A Loyal Character Dancer - Qiu Xiaolong
A book published before 2019 with less than 2000 reviews on 카지노싸이트 (192 reviews, 1,798 ratings as of 14.11.2019)

16. A book set in a rural or sparsely populated area
The Roanoke Girls - Amy Engel
A book with water on the cover

17. A book with a neurodiverse character
The Mirror World of Melody Black - Gavin Extence
A book with a cover where the title is on an angle

18. A book by an author you've only read once before
Golden Son - Pierce Brown
Three books published in or set in three different centuries: #2

19. A fantasy book
Half a King - Joe Abercrombie
A book about revenge

20. The 20th book
The Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood
A book with flowers or greenery on the cover

21. A book related to Maximilian Hell, the noted astronomer and Jesuit Priest who was born in 1720
Judgement Day - Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen
A book with the word in the title that was the twentieth word on the twentieth page of one of the other books you read for the challenge (카지노싸이트 – from The Man in the High Castle)

22. A book with the major theme of survival
The End of the World Running Club - Adrian J. Walker
A book by an Australian author

23. A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author
A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab
Three books published in or set in three different centuries: #3

24. A book with an emotion in the title
The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
A book with at least a 4.4 average rating on 카지노싸이트 (4.57 as of 14.11.2019)

25. A book related to the arts
The Sacred Art of Stealing - Christopher Brookmyre
A book with more than 20 letters in the title

26. A book from the 2019 카지노싸이트 Choice Awards
The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon
Within one of your favourite genres, read a book that is somehow different from what you usually read

27. A history or historical fiction
The Swans of Fifth Avenue - Melanie Benjamin
Two books: A memoir, biography, or novelization of the life of an author and a book by that author: #1

28. A book by an Australian, Canadian or New Zealand author
City of the Lost - Kelley Armstrong
A book about friendship

29. An underrated book, a hidden gem or a lesser known book
Little Black Lies - Sharon J. Bolton
A book set in a location with less than 2 readers on the 2019 Group Reading Map (none as of 14.11.2019)

30. A book from the New York Times 100 Notable Books list for any year
The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead
A book based on a true story

31. A book inspired by a leading news story
Y is for Yesterday - Sue Grafton
A book with sad, depressing or dark elements

32. A book related to the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan
The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino
Three books in the same genre from different countries: #3

33. A book about a non-traditional family
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Dave Eggers
A book with a title of 5 or more words

34. A book from a genre or sub genre that starts with a letter in your name
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
A book with a weather element in the title

35. A book with a geometric pattern or element on the cover
Turbo Twenty-Three - Janet Evanovich
A book about food or with food on the cover or in the title

36. WILDCARD: A book on a topic we've been told to avoid: sex, politics or religion
A Very British Coup - Chris Mullin
A dark humoured novel or satire

37. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: #1
The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
A book with a theme of discrimination, persecution or prejudice

38. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: #2
A Woman of No Importance - Sonia Purnell
Two books from different genres that are connected in some way: #2

39. A book by an author whose real name(s) you're not quite sure how to pronounce
Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow - Peter Høeg
A book originally written in a language that is NOT one of the 15 most spoken worldwide

40. A book with a place name in the title
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend - Katarina Bivald
A book about books

41. A mystery
Truly Devious - Maureen Johnson
A book from a child's perspective

42. A book that was nominated for one of the 10 Most Coveted Literary Prizes in the World
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
A book with or about twins

43. A book related to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse
Hounded - Kevin Hearne
A book where the main character is in another age category than you

44. A book related to witches
A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
A book with a historical landmark on its cover or as a setting

45. A book by the same author who wrote one of your best reads in 2019 or 2018
Morning Star - Pierce Brown
A book related to a tarot card

46. A book about an event or era in history taken from the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire"
The Calculating Stars - Mary Robinette Kowal
A book with a mathematical term in the title

47. A classic book you've always meant to read
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote
Two books: A memoir, biography, or novelization of the life of an author and a book by that author: #2

48. A book published in 2020
Upright Women Wanted - Sarah Gailey
A book with a cover that is less than 5 colours

49. A book that fits a prompt from the list of suggestions that didn't win
A book about a natural disaster or where a natural disaster is central to the plot
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead - Sara Gran
A book with a main character's name in the title

50. A book with a silhouette on the cover
Little Bee - Chris Cleave
A book with the word 'novel' on the cover

51. A book with an "-ing" word in the title
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente
A book title using one of the words attributed to Shakespeare for their first use

52. A book related to time
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
A book with a cover that is mainly one colour, excluding black & white

AtY #1, WC #5
1/1/20 to 3/1/20


My New Year's Day tradition is to do pretty much nothing but read and eat leftovers, so I always get through book 1 in that day, but not this year. I kept getting distracted, I'm not sure why. I remember loving this book the first time I read it, but I wasn't such a big fan this time around. On the plus side I've reached the age where I can re-read favourites from my teens and remember so little about them it's like a new book, but the down side is that I don't always love them like I used to (I had the same issue with Tad Williams' Memory Sorrow and Thorn books). Still, I'm looking forward to the sequel, due out this year so I might be able to read it for my 2020 book. For the reject, Neil Gaiman's wife is Amanda Palmer.

AtY #2, WC #6
4/1/20 to 5/1/20


I love AuthorTwitter and Myke Cole is one of my favourites on there - great straight man to Sam Sykes, grumpy cat dad and really smart and interesting, so I thought it was about time I read one of his books. I was kind of disappointed. It's not that it's bad, but I found the heroine really annoying, she just kept making obviously bad choices, bad things happened as a result, but that didn't stop her from doing more stupid things.

For my reject prompt this is linked with A Woman of No Importance, because they're both about strong women in war, but Heloise was a major let down on that front, for 90% of the story she was a total wimp. Just as it seemed like she'd got her act together and might become interesting, it ended. So I guess I'll have to try and stick the next in the series into next year's plan - it seems a bit early to be planning my reading for 2021!

AtY #3, WC #7
6/1/20 to very early on 12/1/20


I really enjoyed this, which is a relief because I've got a lot of V.E. Schwab's books, but this is the first that I've read. Weirdly likeable characters, despite there technically being no good guys. It's an interesting idea and I'm excited to read the next in the series. Which will be in 2021. I'm going to have to set up a separate TBR shelf for 2021 at this rate, to keep track of what I want to read next year! I'd also love for this to be a film or a TV series.

This was one of my favourite reject prompts, a question in the synopsis. The question was "Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?"

AtY #4, WC #8
12/1/20 to 13/1/20


This felt like a bit of a cheat - it's one of my favourite series, so it was always going to be an easy read, but it's also a novella, not much more than 100 pages long, so it flew by. I kind of miss it :( I wish it had been longer, this is why I don't like short stories, it just gets going and then it's over. I wanted more. Once again, I'll be making sure to get to the next in the series next year (well, next but one, I've somehow gotten out of order and read the next one already). For the reject this was the easy one - 21st century.

Next up is a totally new to me author, and the first this year that I don't follow on twitter, so I have no idea how he writes or what it might be like. Hopefully it keeps up the high standard and doesn't slow me down.

AtY #5, WC #9
14/1/20 to 25/1/20


This one really slowed me up. It was ok, and there's promise in there for future books in the series (which is good, because I already bought them all!), but it didn't quite click for me. It was just a bit over the top and unrealistic, so much happening to one person in 24 hours. I did like that it used different cultures and religions as part of the plot, but it was oddly slow for large parts, and I'm not a fan of police officers who think the rules shouldn't apply to them, which meant I struggled to like the lead character.

AtY #6, WC #10
25/1/20 to 4/2/20


Another one that was slow going. I found this really confusing to start with, the middle section got better once I'd got a bit of a grip on the workings of the universe, and the last third was great - by the end I could have gone straight into the next in the series. So that's another one to stick on the shelf for next year, and hopefully it won't take so long to get into the sequel. At last I've finished a month for the Winter Challenge - December is done. This was a perfect fit for the betrayal reject.

AtY #7, WC #11
5/2/20 to 11/2/20


And the slow trudge continues - it sped up as it went along, but I just didn't really care about the main character. I did love Sloth and he came into it more later in the story, so maybe that's why I liked the second half better than the first. I think I liked the idea of this more than the execution. I loved the randomness of the reject prompt a book with a rabbit, so was really happy to find a book that fit it. Hoping the next book is a little bit more engaging, it's number 2 in a series I started and enjoyed last year, so I'm fairly optimistic.

AtY #8, WC #12
11/2/20 to 17/2/20


And I've picked up some speed again :) I have a love/hate relationship with the Dublin Murder Squad books - I love the writing, and I love the characters, but this was similar to the first one in that it's a detective who has, up to this point in their career, been really good at their job, who then goes off the rails because of a personal element in the case. Also, I don't like the endings - I don't mind an unpredictable non-happy ending, but I don't want a totally depressing one.

As usual, finishing a book means adding something to the TBR-2021 shelf, so I can read the next in the series. My favourite character so far has been Sam, so I checked, hoping he'd be the main focus of the next one, but he doesn't make an appearance in the synopsis of any of the others :( Winter challenge is finished early, hopefully we get a spring one, I'd love to do a bit of planning.

AtY #9
18/2/20 to 1/3/20


So my "book you can read in a day" took me almost two weeks! I could have finished it in a day, but was deliberately slow-timing for quite a while, in the hope the Spring Challenge tasks would come out and I would have read less than half so could use this for one of them, but they didn't get released until I'd given up and made it to 75%. Not a big fan of this one - I loved The Dry last year, so it was a big disappointment. But on the bright side I don't feel any need to add Jane Harper's third book to my 2021 shelf.

Now onto the Spring Challenge, which my next 12 AtY books fit perfectly, and my slow-timing meant the gap was filled for me to start the first of those on 1 March.

AtY #10, SC#1
1/3/20 to 8/3/20


The Reacher books are always downhill reading, so I'm surprised this one took me a full week. It didn't really flow as well as the others I've read, I'm a little bit disappointed with it. Also, he's so wasteful, it really bothers me that he's throwing expensive suits in the bin instead of donating them!

AtY #11, SC#2
8/3/20 to 15/3/20


This is another one that was a bit disappointing - Rob Thurman used to be one of my favourites, but this took ages to get going - it was written as though she expected people wouldn't have read the first in the series, so there was a lot of "previously with the Korsack Brothers". I do like the characters, and I'm sad there won't be anymore in the series, as when it got going I enjoyed it, and it sets up a sequel at the end.

AtY #12, SC#3
16/3/20 to 21/3/20


I love John Green ♡ I think I need to try more David Levithan too. What If It's Us was one of my favourites last year, and this is one of my favourites so far this year.

Outside of reading, most of the world seems to have gone on lockdown since I did my last update. It's very bizarre, movie-like, and strange that life here in Bermuda is mostly normal. It's similar to when there's a hurricane on the way - we know it's likely to hit us, everyone's being sensible and preparing, but while we wait I've still got work and I'm trying not to eat my supplies in case it hits overnight and I don't have chance to re-stock. On the bright side, I've got enough books to last about five years, so I won't be bored.

AtY #13.1, SC#4
21/3/20 to 22/3/20



Nice quick read at the weekend, and one of my favourites so far this year. Definitely be sticking the next in the series on the TBR 2021. This is my book with a great opening line, I didn't post it in the prompt update thread because it's a bit spoilery for enjoyment if not for plot, but this is my own space so I'm doing it:

"I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites."

It made me smile and eager to carry on reading, perfect opening.

AtY #14, SC#5
22/3/20 to 27/3/20



So I skipped the next three books I have for #13, because this is the third Jackson Brodie book and 13.2 is the fourth. In the last JB book I ended up liking a couple of the side characters more than the main characters, this time around JB is almost a side character himself, and I love Reggie, I'm hoping she gets her own book(s). I enjoyed this, but I have a few issues with the end, they're really spoilery and I wouldn't want anyone to accidentally find out, so - (view spoiler)[another character getting a life-changing inheritance from a woman they didn't think very much of, killing Marcus - he wasn't in it enough for it to have a huge emotional impact, especially as it happened "off screen", but he was a good character I'd have liked to see more of in the future, JB getting scammed out of most of his money - it makes no sense that he'd have allowed this to happen, it might have if we'd experienced that relationship in real time rather than just a flashback, and his "easy come, easy go" attitude to it when it would have been so beneficial for his kid(s) doesn't sit right (hide spoiler)] - rant over! For my reject prompt, this takes place mostly in Edinburgh and the Yorkshire Dales - both in my top 10 places I'd love to live.

So I've been working at home, and haven't been further than my own back yard, since Monday afternoon, thanks to COVID-19, and I expected to get way more reading done now I'm home alone all the time, but I've been really busy. Hopefully I can get the silver lining from this cloud and get ahead with my reading, since I've got three extra books to read for #13, and the library has also added a lot of new (actually new, not just new to them!) books to the online collection so I'm dying to do some side reads. But first I've got the fourth Jackson Brodie book, I don't really like to read two books from the same series back to back, but I'm sticking to my plan order as much as possible, so here goes...

AtY 13.2, SC#6
28/3/20 to 4/4/20



I enjoyed that more than the last JB, it still took a while to get going, but there was more JB in it this time, and I didn't prefer the other main characters. Well, not the human ones anyway - I'm a big fan of The Ambassador. Any story is made better by including a dog.

Week two of working from home is done, but I still don't feel like I'm getting any extra reading time. We're in full lockdown for the next two weeks, so I definitely have the opportunity.

AtY 13.3, SC#7
5/4/20 to 13/4/20



This book was interesting, but it was very America-centric, which is odd considering it was about a British ship and a war that the US wasn't involved in at the time. So much about the American president's love life, which was totally unnecessary and didn't show him in a good light.

My reject was a nonfiction book about something you see on a regular basis, normally I'd see big ships several times a week, and lots of smaller boats every day, but I read this in my third week at home, so I've not even glimpsed one in that time. The closest I got was a navy helicopter flying around yesterday.

AtY 13.4, SC#8
13/4/20 to 16/4/20



That was a surprisingly quick and easy read. I've watched the first season of the TV show, so I was expecting this to be quite emotional and hard going, but it wasn't. I didn't feel that attached to the characters, and the reasons felt more like excuses. I actually prefer the TV version, which is rare.

According to the GR counter I'm two books ahead on my 52, having read three extras, so I'm actually five ahead, putting me on course to finish very early. It's tempting to stick in some side reads, the library keep adding more good stuff, and I got Wanderers for cheap on Kindle this week. But I know I've got some big, slow, reads later, so I'm going to (try to) be good.

AtY 15, SC#9
17/4/20 to 25/4/20



This was ok, but I didn't like it as much as the first in the series, it was doing fine but then the main character goes off somewhere we don't follow and then comes back with the big reveal - just telling the other characters, and the reader, how everything works out. I'm not sure I'll carry on with the series, I don't own any of the others and I'm not motivated by this one to add them to my shopping list.

Weird little throwaway mention for Wuhan early on, somewhere I wouldn't have heard of a few months ago. Still not been past my front gate. I've lost track of how many weeks now - five or six on Monday I think. The bright side of this is we're almost at May and I've not bought one paper book yet this year. I'll be able to have a bit of a spree by the time I'm allowed to go to The Barn again.

AtY 16, SC#10
25/4/20 to 28/4/20



I loved this book. It wasn't what I expected, I don't know why but I thought it was going to be supernatural or spooky, but it wasn't. I also loved how perfectly it fit this prompt - it being set in a rural, sparsely populated location was so integral to the plot. I liked the characters too, even though they were all flawed. This is one of those books where I flew through it, but I'm kind of sad it's over.

I worked out it's only been five weeks I've been at home. It seems like longer. The library is still going nuts, adding so many good new books it seems like every day. I'll finish my Spring challenge pretty soon and it's so tempting to do some side reads to fill the time, but I've got a couple of slower books looming on my plan, so I really should keep going.

AtY 17, SC#11
29/4/20 to 3/5/20



I loved this, the writing is so good. Totally not what I expected though, for the second book in a row. I thought it was going to be about entering an alternative world, either literally or just by the main character becoming a different person or moving into someone else's life.

I also enjoyed the little parallel with my own life - the main character living in isolation on a small island, whilst I'm living in lockdown on a small island. Six weeks today since I passed through the front gate. Lockdown was officially over on Saturday, but we're having a phased return to normal so I'm still home for a bit longer. I'd love it if some eccentric writer offered me the chance to house and cat sit for four months in an isolated little cottage - quarantine obviously agrees with me!

AtY 18, SC#12
3/5/20 to 17/5/20



This was a massive disappointment. I loved the first one, that was partly because I liked a lot of the characters. There's nothing wrong with the writing on this one, I just hate the storyline. It reminds me of the way The Walking Dead used to make me feel - anxious the whole time because virtually anyone could die or have something bad happen to them. After a while I just stopped caring. I'm numb to death, betrayal and dismemberment at this point! Speaking of dismemberment, removing body parts from your enemies seems a bit pointless when they can just have new ones to replace the missing bits. Really not looking forward to Morning Star.

Summer Challenge list came out just as I was wrapping this one up, but there's two weeks to wait so I'm on side reads for a while. I wouldn't mind a rest, I suspect there's going to be more death and betrayal in my next AtY book. The downside of reading in order, I can't balance out the stress with the happy.

In other news, in an hour and a half I'll be going out into the big wide world for the first time in eight weeks. Well, a ten minute walk down the road to collect groceries that I've pre-ordered, but it's a big step. We should be in Phase 2 of getting back to normal(ish) by the weekend, so I need to start easing out of my hermit life.

AtY 19, Summer Challenge #1
31/5/20 to 3/6/20



I waited until it was late enough in the day on 31 May so that it was 1 June somewhere in the world, then read just under 100 pages of this to get started. With taking a two week break mid-challenge, so that I could start the Summer Challenge with this book, I'm risking putting myself behind on the main challenge, so I needed the head start. Luckily this book was downhill reading. I appreciated that it got going right from the start - no long, drawn out build up, just boom, dead people, betrayal, adventure. The next in the series is now on the TBR for 2021.

I've got a couple of non-AtY books to fit in for the Summer Challenge, and an AtY book that doesn't work for the Summer Challenge to fit in too if I want to stick to my order, so that's 15 books by the end of August. It's going to be hard work, especially as lockdown is easing and I'm likely to be back in the office part time in a week or too (boo!). On the plus side the break from AtY books meant I managed to slog through to the end of The Shining, which I'd started almost a year ago. I think I might be done with Stephen King!

AtY 20, Summer Challenge #2
3/6/20 to 9/6/20



This was a bit of a drag - I liked the characters and the story, but it took so long to not get very far at all. I could have happily ditched the sermons, and I stopped reading the songs after the first one. I'll be finishing the series, but I'm a bit disappointed and not likely to read anything else by Margaret Atwood. I really wish I enjoyed her writing more, but it just feels like work. Also, she killed off a character I liked and I think I was more upset than anyone in the book. It's also really weird to read about a global pandemic whilst living in a global pandemic.

AtY 21, Summer Challenge #3
10/6/20 to 21/6/20



This was a massive disappointment. The science chapters were generally quite technical and hard to read, and the Discworld story wasn't even good to balance it out. It didn't feel like it was written by Terry Pratchett. I don't think it really counts for my summer challenge of a happy book, I might have to re-do that. Assuming I have enough time, considering how long this one took to read. Just to make me extra grumpy, I'm back in the office.

AtY 22, Summer Challenge #4
21/6/20 to 29/6/20



I loved the basic idea of this story - internationally devastating event means man has to travel across country on foot to find his family. I didn't like the execution. I think that's mainly because I didn't care about any of the characters, no one was that interesting or likable, and I really didn't care if the guy got to his family because he was a poor husband and father, and his plan for when he found them was rubbish and totally based on what he wanted and not what they might want or need. It also really bugged me that they were given some helpful information and they ignored it and made their situation worse. I know they needed to be in that place for a chunk of the plot to happen, but it was so frustrating that it was avoidable, I'd have preferred it if they'd taken the advice and things had gone wrong anyway. (view spoiler)[It's also not believable that an unfit person can run 20-30 miles a day, over tough terrain, every day for three weeks with barely any food. (hide spoiler)]

Also, one of my pet hates - I got the US version of a book set in the UK, the language has been Americanised. It's so frustrating and jarring. Why can't publishers trust their American readers to understand what a pavement is? And a motorway? Trousers? Rubbish? Crisps? So many other things. I mean, they do know dictionaries and Google exist? It's easy enough to find out the meaning of a word you don't know, and if someone's a reader they probably know how to do that.

AtY 23, Summer Challenge #5
29/6/20 to 2/7/20



I loved this book! Loved the characters, the world, the story, everything. I gave it four stars, but I might revise that up to a rare five. Desperate to read the rest of the series, but because of my need to plan that'll be next year. Such a relief to get a good one after a bit of a slump. Also, such fast, easy reading. I was sad to finish it, but I'm under some time pressure for the Summer Challenge, so it's good that it was a quick read.

Now onto a problem - The Wise Man's Fear is next up. It's on Overdrive, and every time I've checked it over the last year it's been available. I go to check it out a bit early last weekend, and it's checked out - with three other people on the wait list! This happens every time I try to get a physical book out of the library - available right up until I need it, then suddenly half the Island want to read it. Also, it's a really big book, so I can't really get sidetracked. I've got a couple of side reads for my Summer Challenge, so I might have to read them next, or even go out of order. I'm going to end up way behind :(

AtY 24, Summer Challenge #6
3/7/20 to 22/7/20



Summer Challenge #7
6/7/20 to 13/7/20



So thanks to the sudden interest in The Wise Man's fear at my library, I had to juggle it with the side read for the summer challenge and find sneaky ways to read a bit so I didn't get too far behind. Thanks to a decent chunk of sample on Kindle and the slightly dodgy Open Library, I was halfway through by the time I got to the front of the library queue, and managed to only need the library copy for less than a week. Slightly irritating that there are now no people waiting for that book!

I really enjoyed it, it might be huge but it's all downhill reading. I'm eager for the next one, which I don't think has a publishing date yet, so it's book 2.5, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, that will have to be on the list for 2021.

Another weird pandemic coincidence - how useful would the Ademic hand language be now that we're all masked up and can't communicate emotions using our faces.

The side read was also good, although I would have rather it was told in a more straightforward way with the timeline, either tell the story of the girls as if it's happening, or do a dual timeline, but all that backwards and forwards through different parts of the timeline was confusing and irritating. Also, although I'm not a tea drinker, I understand enough to know that not only is there a massive tea crime in this book, but the author seems to believe that the criminality is actually the correct way to do it. This will not go down well if it's read by British tea drinkers!

AtY 25, Summer Challenge #8
22/7/20 to 26/7/20



That was fun. I love a good well thought out plan, so Zal is my kind of character. There were a couple of interludes away from the main characters that I didn't enjoy at the time, but it was satisfying to see how they fitted in when the story was complete. It was nice to have a paperback again as well, I've had too many electronic books recently.

AtY 26, Summer Challenge #9
26/7/20 to 3/8/20



This cover is beautiful, I wish I could've read the book on paper instead of the kindle, but the library is still closed. Maybe when it re-opens I'll check out the book and just hold it and admire it! Pretty pleased with myself getting through 835 pages in just over a week. I really enjoyed this book, but it wasn't quick or easy reading. The reject prompt for this one was within one of your favourite genres, read a book that is somehow different from what you usually read, and there were definite differences from the other fantasy I've read - women were leaders without it being a big deal (there was a Queendom!) and people had same sex relationships without it being a big deal. A couple of negatives - one of the male POV characters was a bit dull, and there was an interesting character killed off way too early. On the ongoing accidental pandemic theme in my reading this year - there's a plague, and an island nation that cuts itself off from the world to avoid infection. If only Bermuda had friendly dragons, I think I could be happy with this enforced isolation!

AtY 27
4/8/20 to 12/8/20



Summer Challenge #10
4/8/20 to 8/8/20



I was worried about not getting the Summer Challenge done in time, though it's really the AtY that I'm behind on, so I switched my SC book to Anne Frank, as the library had it on audio book.

I was really surprised by the content of Anne Frank's diary. I had the special 70th anniversary edition that included more than the original book - apparently Anne's father edited the diary to make it shorter for publication and also to take out stuff that was "inappropriate". Anne slates her mother constantly! She's negative about pretty much everyone, talks about sex a lot, and has a really high opinion of herself. But she's a teenager, so that's to be expected. I think that's the most surprising thing, how much she seems like a normal teenager, despite living in these really unusual and scary circumstances. It's not really that interesting a book, because of that. Also, to add to the weirdness, the audio book was read by Helena Bonham Carter, who was very good but it made Anne seem extra snooty.

The Swans was disappointing. None of the characters were particularly likable, and despite their wealth and privilege their lives seemed pretty dull and repetitive. It seemed like such a waste. I would be a much better rich person than they were! Also I kept getting distracted by googling the people and events, so it took a lot longer to read.

AtY 28, Summer Challenge #11
12/8/20 to 15/8/20



That was really good, and really easy, though I wasn't a fan of the romance element - it's a series, what's the rush, leave that for a later book! I'm fascinated by the idea of building a secret town though, I'd love to read a prequel all about how that happened. No deaths or scandals, just the first settlers moving out there and building it, who got to go and why, the choices they made and how they ran the place.

AtY 29, Summer Challenge #11
15/8/20 to 22/8/20



This was also really good, although quite stressful. Definitely didn't go where I expected it to go. Summer Challenge finished over a week early, but no slow timing until the Autumn Challenge, I need to catch up with the main challenge, I don't like being behind.

AtY 30
22/8/20 to 26/8/20



Well that was both good and horrific. The fact that it fitted my reject prompt of based on a true story is sad and depressing, and that a lot of it is still true today is even worse. I expected more railroad, I liked the idea of it being an actual railroad, and would've been interested (like Cora) in finding out who built it and how, and hearing more tales from the people involved in running it. I wish I had something a bit more uplifting next, I've not read anything light and fluffy for a while. I definitely need to add some more Colson Whitehead to my TBR in the future though, just maybe alternate it with Stephanie Plum.

AtY 31
27/8/20 to 30/8/20



I remember when Sue Grafton died, her family said that for them the alphabet would end at Y. It's really sad, but also I like how this book ends Kinsey's story. If the series had gone to Z, it would most likely have finished with everything neatly wrapped up. I prefer that we just leave her with her life ongoing, no big finale. It's long enough ago since I started this series that I could start again at the beginning and not really remember the stories. Maybe when I've cleared the shelves! Next up - more crime! I've read the first 25 pages, but Autumn Challenge starts tomorrow and I want this one to count, so I've given myself the night off.

AtY 32, Autumn Challenge #1
30/8/20 to 5/9/20



Not a fan of the style of this one, also pretty worried about the state of Japanese policing if the way this case was approached was anything like realistic. They basically chose a (very unlikely) suspect and investigated them, without looking into the victim's life at all for any other potential suspects, despite him being a dodgy bloke who would've likely had a lot of enemies. I also hated the ending. Definitely not a series I'll be continuing with. So, swiftly onto the next one because I'm way behind. Luckily I can do the Autumn Challenge with no side reads.

AtY 33, Autumn Challenge #2
6/9/20 to 12/9/20



Urgh! That was uphill reading, I had to force myself through it. I love the idea of this book, and there are parts where it lives up to that. It can be interesting and funny and sad. The rest is utter drivel. I don't know how it actually got published in this state. Maybe it's like modern art, I'm just not smart enough to get it. I was going to put another of his books in my plan for next year, but now I'm not sure I can face it. In other news, it looks like we're going to get hit by Hurricane Paulette tomorrow night/Monday morning, so plenty of reading time when the power goes out!

AtY 34, Autumn Challenge #3
12/9/20 to 18/9/20



Finished this just past midnight this morning. It was ok. It could've been good, if they'd focused more on Hiro and Y.T. and less on the religious history lessons. No loss of power for Paulette, but did lose my internet for a whole day. Still didn't motivate me to read as much as I would've expected. Moving swiftly on, I've got a lovely Stephanie Plum and friends accompanying me today for a day at the beach. This should be a fast, happy read.

AtY 35, Autumn Challenge #4
18/9/20 to 20/9/20



I know they're formulaic, unrealistic, lightweight and repetitive, but I love these books. It was so easy and fun to read, I really needed it at this point to keep me motivated and help me catch up. I'd get bored reading this type of thing constantly, but it's nice to have a change of pace. I'm only a couple of books behind now, we've got another big storm coming, though luckily Hurricane Teddy is just going to catch us, rather than hit us, but we still might lose power, so tomorrow still might be a day off work. The next book is on kindle, good to read in the dark but I'm having to get the powerpacks charged to guarantee the phone can be charged up if the electricity's out.

AtY 36, Autumn Challenge #5
20/9/20 to 23/9/20



This was depressingly believable! Not what I needed right now. The only bright spot was this is the first book I've ever read that mentions both Sheffield and Bermuda. Managed to get through it quickly by reading on the kindle app on the laptop whilst knitting - very motivating to see a cushion cover appear as the page numbers went down. Now to find out what would've happened if the Nazis had won WWII. Again, not what I need right now! The downside of being a planner.

AtY 37, Autumn Challenge #6
24/9/20 to 30/9/20



What the chuff have I just read?!! That was the most dull, pointless and confusing book. Or maybe it's a masterpiece that can only be understood by smart people and went totally over my head. It seemed to be mostly about shopping - either going shopping, running a shop or creating things for shops to sell. It feels like I've accidentally gotten a copy of the cover with something else pasted in for a joke. I don't know how they managed to turn it into a TV show, but I'm definitely watching it to find out.

AtY 38, Autumn Challenge #7
1/10/20 to 10/10/20



Well that was a lot better. Non-fiction always takes me longer to read, but it was a fascinating story, and Virginia Hall was an amazing person. Apparently there's going to be a movie made, I'll definitely make sure to see it. I also never realised that America was neutral for a large part of WWII, I knew that they didn't join the fighting until late but had assumed they'd still taken sides away from the battlefields. I probably need to read more WWII, or just history in general.

Went to The Barn today for the first time all year, and got a good haul of eight books.

AtY 39, Autumn Challenge #8
11/10/20 to 20/10/20



I'm conflicted about this one. Some of the writing is fantastic, I really liked the main character, the story was interesting, but the ending was just weird, almost like it was written by someone else, or done in a hurry to meet a deadline and not finished off properly, and it spoils all that came before.

AtY 40, Autumn Challenge #9
20/10/20 to 25/10/20



I enjoyed this one. It strayed into pastel book romance territory a bit more than I would've liked, but there were some interesting quirky characters and I was invested in the story, despite it being really unrealistic. There were a lot of books mentioned, it could be used to create a reading challenge, so it definitely fits the reject.

AtY 41, Autumn Challenge #10
25/10/20 to 1/11/20



I was a little bit disappointed in this, it seemed to get side-tracked by the romance and the new mystery and did very little in the present day with the old mystery. I wanted Stevie to at least make a bit of progress with that, instead it was just a lot of set up. I've got the next one in my plan for 2021, about a year from now, hopefully that'll actually deal with solving the mystery.

AtY 42, Autumn Challenge #11
1/11/20 to 8/11/20



This was a bit disappointing. The daughter felt very side-lined, I would have liked her to be a point of view character, or at least to have followed her branch of the story as much as the other one. I didn't feel any emotional connection to it at all. Meh.

AtY 43, Autumn Challenge #12
8/11/20 to 10/11/20



I used to read a lot of urban fantasy, but it's gotten a bit sidelined since I've been doing this challenge. I really enjoy it, I should probably try and fit more in. This was really fun, easy, reading. Any book with an animal as a significant character is always a win for me, when it's a talking dog it's bonus points. Now I just have to get a copy of number 2 in the series, and wait until 2022 to read it!

Using up a week's leave has given me a chance to try and catch up, so hopefully I can get through over 500 pages of the next one on the list fairly quickly.

AtY 44
10/11/20 to 18/11/20



I was expecting a book about witches and mysterious old books. Instead I got a romance with instalove between adults and overlong descriptions of exercise and wine drinking. The witchy and history parts were good, which made this a huge frustrating wasted opportunity. However, the setup for the next one is quite exciting, so I'll definitely be continuing with the series. I still really love how perfectly this fits my reject prompt: a book with a historical landmark on its cover or as a setting. Though there wasn't as much library as I was hoping for.

We've now got exactly six weeks left of the challenge and I've got eight books left to go. I hate being this far behind! And next up is a book I was so looking forward to this time last year, after reading #1 in the series, and am now dreading after reading #2 a few months ago. Urgh!

AtY 45
19/11/20 to 24/11/20



This was just way too stressful. I didn't hate it like I did #2, I alternated between "this is amazing" and "this is horrible". The writing is so good, but I think I'm out on this series. The ending wraps everything up nicely, so I don't need to go on for the story's sake, and I don't own any of the others. So that's it, I'm done. It makes me sad, because I do love the writing, and there's so much that's good about it, but I had to force myself to get through parts of it, it wasn't enjoyable.

I'm still behind, I can't seem to catch up. I worked out I have to read 84 pages a day to finish on time. That's quite a lot, hopefully everything else is downhill reading or I'm not going to make it.

AtY 46
25/11/20 to 28/11/20



I kind of liked this, it was definitely nice easy reading despite being quite sciencey, but I didn't really like the characters. The only one whose name I can remember is Stetson Parker, and that's because it's such a ridiculous name. I'm guessing it's a lot of set up in this book for the rest of the series, so it might improve. It also bugs me that when faced with climate change on Earth, their immediate answer is to go to planets that aren't actually habitable, instead of fixing this one. How much does the space programme contribute to the greenhouse effect? If they can make the Moon or Mars habitable, why can't they make adjustments here. That is never explained.

AtY 47
28/11/20 to 1/12/20



This included three short stories as well. I think I preferred them to the main story - I'm amazed that it was thought worthy of a movie, and from what I remember the film version is much extended and improved. I need to re-watch to make sure. Nice and quick though, which is good. I'm pretty much on target to finish on time now - five weeks and five books left to go.

Decided not to do the winter challenge - too few of my next 12 reads would've counted, and I don't want to be behind from the start in 2021 ☹

AtY 48
28/11/20 to 6/12/20



This was a big disappointment, it was more like something I'd expect someone to produce in a creative writing class than that a professional author would publish. The plot was really lightweight, the characters were thin and made no sense, it was a good idea poorly executed (In my opinion! I'm probably in the minority). I started it early because I needed an electronic book that day, but didn't get further than the first chapter until I'd finished Breakfast at Tiffany's, but it still took too long for such a short book. I'm pretty much on track now to finish on time, and am off work every afternoon this week so might be able to get ahead a little.

AtY 49
6/12/20 to 10/12/20



I really enjoyed this one, the main character's very quirky, which meant she handled what could've been a fairly straightforward mystery in an unusual and interesting way. It had the added bonus of being set in one of my favourite places, and despite having a female lead character there was no romance stuffed in for the sake of it - joy! I'll definitely be continuing with the series. It was a relief after the trudge of the last one. More good news - I'm now 100% on track to finish on time - three weeks left, three books to go.

AtY 50
10/12/20 to 13/12/20



This came very close to being a 5 star read, but I didn't like where it went towards the end, it felt a bit unrealistic and also quite sad, but not in a way that connected with me emotionally. Which is weird, because earlier on it made me laugh out loud and cry, and in places I was stressed enough that i had to put it down for a while. So the way it fizzled out was disappointing. Maybe that is real life.

The very good news is that I've only got two books left to go. The Potter is an ebook from the library, so I checked it out already to make sure no one else steals it from me. I'm back working from home full time, on the verge of Lockdown 2, so I shouldn't have any trouble getting finished on time.

AtY 51
14/12/20 to 18/12/20



There was an Island-wide power cut on Friday, which meant most of my working day sat around waiting for it to get fixed, with no internet and no TV. So I spent the day with this book and I'm officially two weeks ahead. It would've taken longer without the power cut - this was ok, but not something I got really into until close to the end. Note on the reject, I think it's fairyland that Shakespeare invented, but it's been so long since I make the plan I can't really remember!

AtY 51
18/12/20 to 27/12/20



Finished with a few days to spare! That's a big relief. This was actually an ok book, better than the first two. I didn't put number 4 in my plan for next year though, because I've not been that bothered by the series. The down side of planning so early. It'd be nice if my library got these in audio, as I think they'd be more interesting in that format. They have Stephen Fry and Jim Dale as the narrators, who are both apparently very good.

So now it's a few days of watching TV and maybe finishing that Kelley Armstrong story that she was publishing a chapter a week of way back in spring lockdown.

I'm doing the AtY Movies Challenge again, prompts are my own interpretation, based on my AtY Reading Challenge, and I've done two for some because I couldn't decide and I like the excuse to see more films.

1. A film with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y
Been So Long
2. A film by a writer or director whose last name is one syllable
6 Underground - directed by Michael Bay
3. A film that you are prompted to watch because of something you read in 2019
The Peanut Butter Falcon - I read an interview in The Guardian with Shia LaBeouf about a few things, including this movie, and that's what made me want to see it
4. A film set in a place or time that you wouldn't want to live
Extraction
5. The first film in a series that you have not already started
The Lego Movie
6. A film with a mode of transportation on the poster
Onward
7. A film set in the southern hemisphere
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
8. A film with a two-word title where the first word is "The"
The King
9. A short film (40 minutes or less, including credits)
A Matter of Loaf and Death
10. A film that is between two and a half and three and a half hours long
The Irishman
11. A film originally released in a year that is a prime number
Justice League - 2017
12. A film that is directed by two or more people
Despicable Me 3 - directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda
13.1 A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 books challenge - A film with a great opening line
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - appears on several "Movies with Best Opening Lines" lists
13.2 A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 books challenge - A film with an animal in the title or on the poster
Funny Cow
13.3 A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 books challenge - A film about or inspired by real events
The Red Sea Diving Resort
13.4 A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 books challenge - A film with one of the 5 W's in the title
This Is Where I Leave You
14.1 A film by a female writer or director
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) - directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson
14.2 A film based on a book by an author on the Abe List (list of 100 women authors)
Little Women -based on the book by Louisa May Alcott
15. A film set in a global city
Shaun of the Dead - set in London
16. A film set in a rural or sparsely populated area
Marrowbone
17. A film with a neurodiverse character
The Accountant
18. A film by an writer or director you've only watched once before
Blade Runner 2049 - Denis Villeneuve
19. A fantasy
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
20. The 20th film (eg. on your watch list, in a series, by an writer or director, on a list)
Ant-Man and The Wasp - is the 20th MCU film
21. A film related to Maximilian Hell
The Devil All The Time - he was a priest and there's a whole lot of religion going on in this film
22. A film with the major theme of survival
Gravity
23. A film featuring a LGBTQIA+ character or by a LGBTQIA+ writer or director
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
24. A film with an emotion in the title
The Lovebirds
25. A film related to the arts (eg. literature, performing arts, visual arts)
Marriage Story
26. A film based on a book from the 카지노싸이트 Choice Awards
Scott Pilgrim vs The World - Scott Pilgrim, Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour was nominated, and is the finale of the film
27. A history or historical fiction
Defiance
28. A film by an Australian, Canadian or New Zealand writer or director
Ophelia - Director Claire McCarthy is Australian
29. An underrated film, a hidden gem or a lesser known film
How I Live Now
30. A film based on a book from the New York Times '100 Notable Books' list for any year
11.22.63 (I know it's a mini-series, not a movie, but it's not that much longer than The Irishman!)
31. A film inspired by a leading news story
The Laundromat - about the Panama Papers scandal
32. A film related to the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan
The Best of Men - it's about the birth of the paralympics
33. A film about a non-traditional family
Captain Fantastic
34. A film from a genre or sub genre that starts with a letter in your name
Passengers (science fiction)
35. A film with a geometric pattern or element on the poster
The Great Gatsby
36. WILDCARD: A book on a topic we've been told to avoid: sex, politics or religion
Selma
37. Two films that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites (1)
Adult Life Skills
38. Two films that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites (2)
Baby Driver
39. A film by an writer or director whose real name(s) you're not quite sure how to pronounce
The Old Guard - directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood - is it By-The-Wood, or Bythe-Wood, or Byth-E-Wood, or something else?
40. A film with a place name in the title
Vampires vs. the Bronx
41. A mystery
Knives Out
42.1 A film that was nominated for one of the 10 Most Coveted Movie Prizes in the World
Sing Street - nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy in 2017
42.2 A film based on a book that was nominated for one of the 10 Most Coveted Literary Prizes in the World
We Need To Talk About Kevin (Women's Prize for Fiction 2005)
43. A film related to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse
1917
44. A film related to witches
Avengers: Age of Ultron - Scarlet Witch
45. A film by the same writer or director responsible for one of your best films in 2019 or 2018
Parasite - Bong Joon-ho directed Okja, which I loved last year
46. A film about an event or era in history taken from the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire"
Dallas Buyers Club
47. A classic film you've always meant to watch
It's A Wonderful Life
48. A film released in 2020
Project Power
49 A film that fits a prompt from the rejected list - A film about a natural disaster, or where a natural disaster is central to the plot
Only The Brave
50. A film with a silhouette on the poster
V for Vendetta
51. A film with an "-ing" word in the title
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
52. A film related to time
Looper