Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

The Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge is a user-generated list that is created through a series of suggestions and polls. These polls narrow down the vast list of prompts suggested to just 52 for the year. Of course, throughout the process, members find prompts they absolutely love and wish had made the final list. This week, take a stroll through the backlogs and pick a prompt that stands out to you -- maybe it's a prompt you voted for, or one that you think shouldn't have ended up in the bottom, or maybe it's a prompt that you think fills a hole in your reading. Then, choose a book to use for that prompt, and let us know how it fit!

The full list of suggested prompts that didn't make the list:
/topic/show/...

A guide to the different categories we put prompt suggestions into:
Bottom: prompts that got a lot of downvotes and very few upvotes; these get eliminated from being suggested again
Close Call: near the top, but either too few upvotes or too many downvotes to make it onto the list
Polarizing: prompts that got both a high number of upvotes and a high number of downvotes
No Designation: prompts that don't fit into the other categories

Listopia link: /list/show/1...

Optional Questions
1. What prompt did you choose and why?
2. What book did you read for it?
3. What other prompts did you consider?

I am torn. My favourite not in prompts were
Two decades
Alliteration
But I may well end up picking a book I want to read and finding one that fits

As of now, I picked the trapped together prompt, as that's one of my favorite tropes of late. And the book I slated is The Hunting Party. My other option is a book about books.

But I may also just pick a book I want to read and finding one that fits. Or using a book club book that doesn't fit a regular prompt but fits one that didn't end up on the final list.

Looking through the list there are so many suggestions that I really liked and didn't make it so it would be difficult to choose one.

In all honesty I will probably use this prompt as a freebie for a book that I want to read that doesn't fit any of the other categories and find a suggestion that would work for it (preferably one I voted for at the time).

I'm doing a Rejects Challenge so I'm using several prompts that didn't make the final list. For this ATY prompt I plan to use The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac for "a work of fiction with a reference book in the title." Of all the prompts on my Rejects Challenge I think it's the one I'm most disappointed didn't make the final list.

I'm using "A book related to Shakespeare" and reading Hamnet, I've been wanting to read this for sometime.

But there are so many great unused prompts and I'm hopeful to do at least a mini rejects challenge and get to more of these! I think I'll prioritize the close calls that never made it into the challenge - two decades, non-binary/trans character/author, book related to 21st_, character/author with physical disability.

"a book from the first 20 books on your tbr shelf". I have books on there from 2011 so I was really wanting to do that one. lol I'm going to read Interview with the Vampire.

For this prompt, I will use "A book related to the 21st chemical element Scandium" (polarizing) because I like it's connection to 2021. I will read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - written by a Swedish author.

The other prompts I considered are:
- A book with an introverted protagonist (bottom)
- A book with a fat-positive perspective (bottom)
- A book written by or about a person with a physical disability (close call)
- A book with a non-binary/trans/+ author or character (close call)
- A book with a focus on the natural world (close call)
- A book related to a number in the Fibonacci Sequence (no designation)

For most of these prompts, I was able to slot the books I had in mind into other categories.

I decided I'm going to read a book for a character or author with an under-represented queer identity (TQIA+, not LGB). It was a close call so many times and I'm really bummed that we don't have any diversity with gender identity and/or sexuality, so I'm going for this one.

On my plan I have:

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz

I'm going to write this here now as motivation to stick to this choice:

Field Notes on 카지노싸이트 & Nature is both one of the books that's been on my TBR the longest (one of the first 20) AND is written as a series of documents (two prompts I voted for). And I really do want to read it, I don't know why it's been sitting on my shelf for so long!

I really wanted fat-positive to win, so I'm using that one.

You Have the Right to Remain Fat
and
Landwhale: On Turning Insults Into Nicknames, Why Body Image Is Hard, and How Diets Can Kiss My Ass

are both on my TBR, both have an approximately equal number of reviews and rating. They even have similar covers. And both titles make me laugh. So I don't know how to choose.

I can’t decide between fat-positive and TQIA+. Maybe I’ll find a book that fits both.

The prompt I have penciled in right now is a book related to the Fibonacci Series. My BS was in math so I'm looking for something to interesting to read to feed my inner math geek. I'm using The Housekeeper and the Professor for my Warwick Prize selection. I may change my mind on this prompt if I can't find something sufficiently Fibonacci related. I don't want to just go for a number in the title type prompt.

@Emily, I loved Felix Ever After! I highly recommend it.

Ah good to know, Alicia!

I just came across These Violent Delights, which would work if you're choosing a retelling by a BIPOC author for this prompt. It's a retelling of Romeo and Juliet but set in Shanghai.

That is definitely on my TBR!

I'm actually combining two prompts together for this category: (1) the multi-week 4 card suits and (2) BIPOC retelling.

~ book related to card suit diamonds (jewelry, money, greed): Scavenge the Stars or Of Curses and Kisses

~ book related to card suit hearts (romance): Pride, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, These Violent Delights

~ book related to card suit clubs (team, organization): Blanca & Roja, Where Dreams Descend, Cinderella Is Dead

~ book related to card suit spades (death, funeral, murder): A Blade So Black, Dorothy Must Die, The Girl in Red, Pride and Premeditation, The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan

I have tons of options for hearts and spades (romance and death area always popular book themes). But if anyone has any good diamond or clubs recommendations (or really just any BIPOC retellings that are must read), I'd love to hear!

Jette wrote: "The prompt I have penciled in right now is a book related to the Fibonacci Series. My BS was in math so I'm looking for something to interesting to read to feed my inner math geek. I'm using The Ho..."

Jette - Have you read the novella Mandelbrot the Magnificent ? I loved it! It's perfect for a math prompt with the main character being the mathematician Benoit Mandlebrot, as a child. Plus it has a magical element, math equations, and a plot involving escaping from Nazis.

I went with A book related to something positive that happened in 2020 because the last year has sucked so much, I needed to try and find something positive.

I'm going to read Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews - This book wouldn't exist if it wasn't for covid. The authors were supposed to be working on a different book, but covid hit and they tried to destress by writing a little scene featuring characters from the Kate Daniels series 10 years later. And then they kept writing more scenes, and next thing they announced it was going to be a whole book.

Alicia, you could probably put Violent Delights towards diamonds since the two families are mob bosses who run crime syndicates... pretty greedy!

Emily wrote: "Alicia, you could probably put Violent Delights towards diamonds since the two families are mob bosses who run crime syndicates... pretty greedy!"

ooh, I'll add that! One of my big goals next year is to read more Asian authors/main characters. So I like that I have options for asian voices in each category.

I just really love creative retellings: fairytales, Jane Austen (reading the The Other Bennet Sister right now), classics, myths & legends.

Alicia wrote: "Emily wrote: "Alicia, you could probably put Violent Delights towards diamonds since the two families are mob bosses who run crime syndicates... pretty greedy!"

ooh, I'll add that! One of my big g..."

Alicia, have you read A Thousand Beginnings and Endings? It’s an anthology, so some stories are better than others, but tons of retelling of myths from a range of Asian cultures.

There are so many that I'll just wait till I have a book that doesn't seem to match any of the approved prompts. For any book in the world, I feel confident I could find one of the prompts that didn't make the list.

The prompt I've chosen is "A book where the protagonist adheres to a religion that is not your own."

I have some books with Wiccan characters on my TBR list, so I planning to read one of them.

My current options:

Midsummer Night's Mischief (or another from the series)
Dies the Fire
Bell, Book, and Murder: The Bast Mysteries

Another retelling for those who are doing the BIPOC retelling prompt here: The Chosen and the Beautiful - retelling of Great Gatsby from Jordan Baker's perspective, written by an Asian (Vietnamese?) author.

I am doing something related to shakespeare for this one I can recommend the Hogarth Shakepeare series

Thomas wrote: "I am torn. My favourite not in prompts were
Two decades
Alliteration
But I may well end up picking a book I want to read and finding one that fits"

if you do alliteration i enjoyed Terribly Twisted Tales

1. What prompt did you choose and why?
A book with a major life altering event in the plot...partly because it's a great prompt as that's exactly the sort of thing I like to read about, and partly I chose the prompt to fit the book!

2. What book did you read for it?
I'll be reading Little Fires Everywhere

3. What other prompts did you consider?
Ooops...I can't remember!

I'll probably read

A book from the first 20 books on your GR to-read shelf when sorted by “date added” in ascending order

Shirley - Charlotte Bronte
The Professor - Charlotte Bronte
Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Shadow Land - Elizabeth Kostova

OR

A book where characters are trapped together

Anxious People - Frederik Backman
The Hunting Party - Lucy Foley
Seven Days of Us - Francesca Hornak

OR

A book related to a book

I eventually picked Missing Molly alliteration

1. What prompt did you choose and why?
I chose "a book with a house on the cover". In all honestly, I had this book of anthology horror stories and I just chose a prompt that fit it, rather than the other way around.

2. What book did you read for it?
I read It Calls From the Sky: Terrifying Tales from Above edited by A. Robertson-Webb and M. River

3. What other prompts did you consider?
I definitely considered "non-human character" because I read a LOT of books like that. Many of the stories in It Calls From The Sky fit that prompt as well, but I went with something that fit the entire anthology instead.

I chose the prompt "Fat Positive" book. I am reading Little Big Love Thought about reading The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency

I chose: A book from the first 20 books on your GR to-read shelf when sorted by “date added” in ascending order
Eugénie Grandet - Honoré de Balzac

1. What prompt did you choose and why?
Poll 5 - A book with a major life altering event in the plot. I actually chose the book and worked backwards as I didn't have another prompt that it would fit into. This prompt works perfectly.

2. What book did you read for it?
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

3. What other prompts did you consider?
There are lots of prompts I like that didn't make it but list prompts tend to be my favourites so I'd probably have chosen one of those as there were a few really good ones suggested.

I'm going for POLL 3: A book that includes a recipe.

2. I'm planning on either Affairs of Steak or The Big Chili

3. So many "culinary cozy" books have recipes in them, that I have plenty of choices, after which I didn't really look any further.

I went with Poll 6 Close Call "A book written by or about a person with a physical disability"- The main character is paraplegic.

Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson 1/16/2021

I went with "A book written from the point of view of a child" and am reading The Other Mother by Matthew Dicks



I would also recommend a similar book, Room for this prompt.

An Alternate History Book: 11/22/63, or The Midnight Library

A book about involving a team or organization: Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

A book with an animal on the cover: Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

A book that is disturbing: American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century

In honour of Wikipedia's 20th birthday, read a book related to a featured article on Wikipedia, or one selected by clicking "random article" - this one seems fun, but I wanted to read The Other Mother badly haha

I went with the close call prompt for a book written by or about a person with a physical disability because I was very disappointed it didn't win

I read Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig. She is physically disabled and this is a fascinating memoir that explores many aspects of ableism.

I've just finished Tracy Chevalier's novel A Single Thread in audio book form beautifully narrated by Fenella Woolgar. I chose this as "a book you meant to read in 2020" - I'd been waiting for it for several months and was delighted when my library hold finally came up. It didn't disappoint.

I'm doing the four card suits for my rejects challenge, and I'm struggling so badly with all the suits except for hearts! Nothing really seems like a close enough fit to me unless it directly shows a clover or spade on the cover, and the only books I have in mind are things I don't want to read too badly.

1. What prompt did you choose and why? A book written by someone no more than two degrees of separation away from you (poll 2). It was the first prompt that I came across that I remember voting for and being disappointed it didn't make it. I was able to find the original secondary post where people mentioned the people they had met which made it easy to choose a book.
2. What book did you read for it? The Glass Hotel
3. What other prompts did you consider? None, this one just worked out so well.

1. What prompt did you choose and why? A book related to mental health. I had a few books I wanted to read for this prompt.
2. What book did you read for it? Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
3. What other prompts did you consider? An alternate history book, a book with a focus on the natural world.

I used the prompt - related to Shakespeare

I read The Tragedy of Macbeth Part II: The Seed of Banquo 07/02/2021

I did not really consider other prompts I had something to fit this

Good afternoon!

This morning I finished The Call of the Wild by Jack London, which I believe fits this prompt; namely, in Poll 18, a book that is disturbing. There's lots of dog abuse (by humans) as well as death and destruction.

1. What prompt did you choose and why?
A biography or biographical fiction
2. What book did you read for it?
Idiot by Laura Clery
3. What other prompts did you consider?
A book with a non-binary/trans/+ character or author -- in June (Pride Month) I try to read mostly LGBTQ+ books and I know I would have read something that would have hit this prompt on the head.

1. What prompt did you choose and why? A young adult book. I was looking for a spot for Vanishing Girls to fit.
2. What book did you read for it? Vanishing Girls
3. What other prompts did you consider? I didn't really. I'm just trying to fit in the books that I want to read this year. I meant to read this book last year. I don't want to carry into another year with it not being read.

What prompt did you choose and why?
A book with Who, What, Where, How or Why in the title or subtitle. I really wanted to find a prompt for a particular book and this was it.

What book did you read for it?
Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens


What other prompts did you consider?
None, really

I ended up choosing the prompt "A book that isn't a graphic novel but contains illustrations" as I am currently reading A Pictorial History Of The World's Great Trials: From Socrates to Jean Harris and was seeing where I could fit it. It's about famous trials throughout history. I'm partially through it and man, did some innocent people really get screwed! It has many illustrations in it.
I'm not sure what other prompts I considered.

I decided to go with the prompt: A book with a trope or story element you know you love

The trope I chose is "forced proximity". These are my favourite types of romances.

I read A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare. The hero and heroine go on a road trip to a scientific convention.

I chose 'book related to something positive in 2020'; I thought it was a good prompt and I had found a book I wanted to read that I thought fitted it.

I read The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris.

I had thought of chosing 'Protaganist with a different religion to you', and reading The Wayward Daughter, but I then used that book for another prompt.

I chose "A book that concerns something or someone mentioned on the wikipedia page of your birthday".

I read Cinder by Marissa Meyer. The AbioCor self-contained artificial heart was first implanted on my birthday, and Cinder has an artificial heart.

I loved how perfectly this book and prompt fitted together that I didn't consider anything else for this one.