Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

IS anyone else "stuck" with the current ATY challenge? I'm usually done the ATY challenge by July 31st. Not so much this year. I'm not too far off, only missing two books but man, it is a struggle filling those two. I've already used my wildcard on NPR. The two I have left are:

A book with a full name in the title
A book with a body of water in the title

Title prompts are usually the easiest for me to fill. What's up with these two? To be fair I am about 2 hours into an 8 hour audio book (The Lost Book of Adana Moreau) but it isn't really keeping my interest. At least once every 20 minutes or so I 'm asking "what exactly is the point here?" Anyone have any suggestions for sci-fi books that fit this prompt? I'm a mood reader and my mood is currently entrenched DEEPLY in my sci fi comfort zone.

Body of water, well that is difficult when you read primarily sci-fi! Am I in the mood for some nonfiction Upstream: Searching for Wild Salmon, from River to Table? Nope. The Ocean at the End of the Lane has been on my tbr for a million years, perhaps it's time to read that? It's short and sci-fi, or is it fantasy? I need to take a look at that I guess.

For the record, I'm not stressed about not being done "on time", I just found it interesting that I have been basically in this same position with the challenge for weeks now. How are you doing?

If I am a bit annoyed, it's only because I have read more than 52 books this year (57) so I *should* be done, but I'm not, obviously. I'm also 18 books behind in general but I thank unexpectedly having an infant in the house full time for that. I'm quite impressed that I have managed to read ANYTHING in the past 5 months. If it weren't for Audible, Libro FM and my library audio program, I'd be sunk!

I've only read 16 books total, for the year, so I don't have any advice on that front! And yes, I applaud you for getting that much reading done with a small human in your house, they are so darn *needy*! ;)

I would say The Ocean at the End of the Lane was a fantasy and an allegory. I loved it, but it might not be what you're in the mood for.

I don't read a ton of sci fi, but one I read years ago that I liked was a YA novel called The Diary of Pelly D. People don't have last names in that world, so Pelly D is her full name. It's a strange little book, and probably isn't for everyone, but at least it's also short.

Jennifer W wrote: "I've only read 16 books total, for the year, so I don't have any advice on that front! And yes, I applaud you for getting that much reading done with a small human in your house, they are so darn *..."

Thanks for the recommendation. I will look it up!

°~Amy~° wrote: "IS anyone else "stuck" with the current ATY challenge? I'm usually done the ATY challenge by July 31st. Not so much this year. I'm not too far off, only missing two books but man, it is a struggle ..."

@ °~Amy~°: I looked through my TBR to see if I could find you a water or full name title that was sci-fi. I don't read a TON of sci-fi, but I do not shy away from it either. All I found was this (for full name):

Vermilion: The Adventures of Lou Merriwether, Psychopomp

It is not the most sciency sounding of sci-fi books, as it also has the genre tags for Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Steampunk, and Western (in case another sci-fi lover hasn't finished that prompt either). I haven't read it yet, so I can't vouch for how good it might be.

Hope this helps!

Thanks to my many groups and challenges, I am kind of embarrassed to admit I have read 162 books this year but I'm not done with ATY either. I am stuck on

A book with a school subject in the title (I used Lessons in Chemistry for another prompt. Maybe something with English or French in the title but nothing has come to mind.)

A book that has an object repeated on the cover - I probably just need to look more closely at some of the covers. I have one book in mind but haven't gotten to it yet.

A book set in a UNESCO city of literature. I think I have one for Quebec but it's in French which I can read but more slowly.

A book related to a geometric shape - again, I need to get more creative with books I've already read outside this challenge and see if something fits.

And #3 - a book that fits a suggestion that didn't make the list - obviously I have many for this, I just need to look at the list, there are too many choices!

When I get stuck, I try to find something very short and easy and just get it done. I think part of me always wants to find the "best" book for a prompt and that's not always a path to happy reading.

°~Amy~° wrote: "IS anyone else "stuck" with the current ATY challenge? I'm usually done the ATY challenge by July 31st. Not so much this year. I'm not too far off, only missing two books but man, it is a struggle ..."

Amy, have you read anything by Tamsyn Muir? Gideon and the Ninth and the newest book are both on the NPR list.

Sea of Rust
Our wives under the sea

I am stuck as well. I have read 114 books so far and have 9 prompts left to fill. I have tried several books for a few of them but end up DNFing, so I don't count those.
> Didn't make the list ( I do reject challenge, so it should be easy)
> Where books are important
>A title or cover that includes a route of travel (I have this one in the horizontal title spot right now)
> Related to Pride ( I have used the books that could go here elsewhere)
>Translated
>Full name in the title
>Text that is not horizontal (This is the most difficult one)
> A body of water (DNF'D a couple for this one already)
>2nd book that fills a prompt

I do have some books orrowed to fill these prompts, so I have my fingers crossed that they will all fit.

°~Amy~° wrote: "If I am a bit annoyed, it's only because I have read more than 52 books this year (57) so I *should* be done, but I'm not, obviously. I'm also 18 books behind in general but I thank unexpectedly ha..."

Amy, years ago when I was a YA librarian I really liked the book The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.

Anastasia wrote: "I am stuck as well. I have read 114 books so far and have 9 prompts left to fill. I have tried several books for a few of them but end up DNFing, so I don't count those.
> Didn't make the list ( I..."

As far as text that's not horizontal, I counted anything where the letters formed a curve or slant. For instance, in my last 10 books or so I have , ,

I have 4 books left. One I'm reading at the moment, the other three I'm a little worried about because my mental health isn't great at the moment and they're all books that require a tiny bit more concentration from me. Hopefully my mental health will perk up a bit in the remaining 4 (or so) months of the year, and I'll be able to get to them.

Hope you feel better soon, Siobhan.

I hope you feel better soon as well, Siobhan.

Amy, can you get the audio for The Ocean at the End of the Lane? I read the book years ago, but listened to the audio recently (before seeing the play!), and thought it was excellent in that format, and it's quite short.

I planned my ATY reading list ahead of time, but I'm struggling with the few that are remaining. I feel like I read all the books I was *really* excited about already and now I'm looking at my ATY shelf at home and find myself reaching for other things.

I have 17 left. I can definitely do it. Stay strong!!!

Anastasia wrote: "I hope you feel better soon as well, Siobhan."

LeahS wrote: "Hope you feel better soon, Siobhan."

Thank you both <3

Tracy wrote: "°~Amy~° wrote: "IS anyone else "stuck" with the current ATY challenge? I'm usually done the ATY challenge by July 31st. Not so much this year. I'm not too far off, only missing two books but man, i..."

Thanks for the recommendation Tracy. I will take a look at it!

Robin P wrote: "Thanks to my many groups and challenges, I am kind of embarrassed to admit I have read 162 books this year but I'm not done with ATY either. I am stuck on

A book with a school subject in the titl..."

I imagine it would be difficult to have that many challenges going to cover everything in ATY without overlapping. When I do multiple challenges, I do ATY and Popsugar with no overlap between them and then I do several other small ones that do allow overlaps. I still end up with quite a bit of free reading at the end of the year that I don't use for any challenge. My brain needs a break by November!

Jackie wrote: "When I get stuck, I try to find something very short and easy and just get it done. I think part of me always wants to find the "best" book for a prompt and that's not always a path to happy reading."

I have been known to grab a middle grade (or a short story) in a pinch. They are fun to read so it's not like I am "forcing" myself to read something I don't like, but some prompts I just need to get through quickly for whatever reason. I'm seriously considering that with these last two prompts!

Siobhan wrote: "I have 4 books left. One I'm reading at the moment, the other three I'm a little worried about because my mental health isn't great at the moment and they're all books that require a tiny bit more ..."

I have been there Siobhan! For me, putting aside the books my brain couldn't handle and picking up shorter more fluffier reads really helped. Trying to slog through something I'm not in the mood for feels like punishment and that is the last thing I need when my mental health takes a tumble. I hope you feel better very soon!

Marie wrote: "Amy, can you get the audio for The Ocean at the End of the Lane? I read the book years ago, but listened to the audio recently (before seeing the play!), and thought it was excellen..."

I just checked my library and yes, I can! It was available so I grabbed it. I will give it a shot!

Amanda wrote: "I planned my ATY reading list ahead of time, but I'm struggling with the few that are remaining. I feel like I read all the books I was *really* excited about already and now I'm looking at my ATY ..."

That is why I don't do preplanning anymore. Once I get through the first few on the list, I'm not in the mood for the rest and I end up going completely off script. I just can not stick to a plan!

°~Amy~° wrote: "Jackie wrote: "When I get stuck, I try to find something very short and easy and just get it done. I think part of me always wants to find the "best" book for a prompt and that's not always a path ..."

Ooh good idea, I picked up Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy as a free book outside my local used book store. Maybe I can use that somewhere. I only started reading graphic novels recently because of a few challenges. I loved Heartstopper: Volume One and read the whole series, and I found American Born Chinese interesting. But this one is too short to qualify for any of my challenges. I do feel like most graphic novels are a kind of cheating, as I can often read them in 30-40 minutes. But they are a throwback to comic books, which I loved as a kid.

Robin P wrote: "°~Amy~° wrote: "Jackie wrote: "When I get stuck, I try to find something very short and easy and just get it done. I think part of me always wants to find the "best" book for a prompt and that's no..."

Oh, I absolutely have used graphic novels on challenges before! I am pretty sure it was an ATY challenge many MANY years ago that first turned me on the Graphic Novels so it's only fair that I squeeze one in to challenges now. The last one I read was the Heartstopper series. I know I have a whole GN tbr shelf that I haven't looked at in ages, perhaps I should now!

I am in a lot of groups and, thus, challenges. So, my expectations for finishing ATY in less than a year were not a part of my equation. I joined the Read in Order group and thought one book per week would be do-able with all my other challenges.

Due to traveling, short illnesses (allergy and Covid), I lost some reading time and was behind for a month or so. I am currently working to catch up by reading #31 and #32 this week.

I rely heavily on local libraries, so availability of books is an issue. I also read several books a week, but I am not always reading for ATY in a given week.

My plan through the first of the year was for a selection of 3 books each prompt. A couple of times I read a book before the week it was planned for and, in that case, chose a new book or one of the others to read rather than counting it already read.

This part of the year is not yet pre-planned or the prompt has a long list of possibles, so I am down to planning each month as it comes along. That has worked to help me catch up since I can find shorter, quicker books without feeling like I am cheating.

Since I am in so many challenges, I do a lot of cross-planning where it fits.

°~Amy~° wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Thanks to my many groups and challenges, I am kind of embarrassed to admit I have read 162 books this year but I'm not done with ATY either. I am stuck on

A book with a school sub..."

I'm totally the opposite. I purposefully overlap as much between challenges as I can.

Two of my challenges are month-to-month so I could be reading them all ahead of time, but I like to save them. Luckily, all of the ones I have left for my month-to-month challenges are also on my ATY list.

I'm also doing a year-long challenge that runs April-April so I'm already trying to get some of those into ATY prompts for 2024!

Robin P wrote: "°~Amy~° wrote: "Jackie wrote: "When I get stuck, I try to find something very short and easy and just get it done. I think part of me always wants to find the "best" book for a prompt and that's no..."

Oh I love the Lumberjanes series! I hope you enjoy it!

°~Amy~° wrote: "Siobhan wrote: "I have 4 books left. One I'm reading at the moment, the other three I'm a little worried about because my mental health isn't great at the moment and they're all books that require ..."

Thank you! I'm trying to take it a tiny bit easier at the moment and just reading the lighter stuff on my tbr. I've also managed to swap a few books around so far! So hopefully I can continue to do that, and slowly build up to slightly more complexity.

Ok, I have gained nothing in the last two weeks. I'm very glad we have 4 more months, I might need all of that for two prompts. ugh.

How are you doing Siobhan? Feeling any better yet? I'm on an emotional rollercoaster lately. Hopefully that will calm down soon so I can focus on reading.

I’m struggling this year. I generally finish sometime between April-June. I think, I have around 10 prompts left with 4 books in progress. I waited until May to see where any of my books fit. I was getting really burnt out on challenging just reading books because they fit a prompt rather than reading books I really wanted to read. I was reading some awful books unfortunately some of the books I have wanted to read have been disappointing. Hopefully, I will finish by November.

°~Amy~° wrote: "Ok, I have gained nothing in the last two weeks. I'm very glad we have 4 more months, I might need all of that for two prompts. ugh.

How are you doing Siobhan? Feeling any better yet? I'm on an e..."

Aw, thank you for checking! I'm also on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, unfortunately, as a LOT has been happening (a lot of family illness, unfortunately). As of now I'm maybe feeling a tiny bit better in myself, but I guess we'll see how it goes.

I have managed to move a few prompts around and be a bit creative with some of them, so now I only have one book left. Hopefully 4 months should be enough to finish that one book, hopefully!

@ Ron

Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring

Bunnies!

It’s the pagan history of Easter.

It explains why we have an Easter bunny and dyed eggs.

I am stuck at 16 complete reads for ATY so far and I've read 144 books overall this year. Make it make sense! I feel uninspired for this challenge and yet it's super awesome. I think the problem is I pre-planned all my reads and now I feel oddly married to/forced to stick with my choices. I know it makes no sense lol It's like some weird guilt or obsessive thing. HELP lol

D.L. wrote: "I am stuck at 16 complete reads for ATY so far and I've read 144 books overall this year. Make it make sense! I feel uninspired for this challenge and yet it's super awesome. I think the problem is..."

I felt exactly how you did when I started back in 2015/16 and for a couple years after. I finally realized that I was causing myself so much stress when this is meant to be a relaxing and fun hobby. From that point on, I would pre-plan (because, fun!) and then go through and plop books in as I read them. By the time I am done, I have few if any of the originally planned books left on the list but the challenge is done and I am happy!

Maybe it would help to take a blank list of prompts and your list of read books and match them up. Just out of curiosity, how many prompts would be filled if you HADN'T preplanned? Just for fun, give it a try. 😊

I don’t feel stuck but, by this time of the year, I have to be more strategic with book choices or do some rearranging, which I try to avoid, and listen to a few audiobooks. I’ve read 39 books total and have 14 prompts left, which is fine with 17 weeks left. I have options for each of them but don’t necessarily want to read them plus I’m trying to finish a 25 book challenge in another group. I always create a new list mid-year to work off, with just the remaining prompts. It helps me focus on what’s left and adjust my original plan. I don’t sweat it, though. I always finish in December. My first year I finished on New Years Eve!

I do something similar to Amy. I put together a plan. As I read books I'll look at challenge prompts and if a book does fit a prompt when I didn't realize it would then I put it into the challenge anyway. I bet you have read books that, when you look back at them, will fill some challenge prompts that you hadn't considered! Example: I didn't know that Year of the Reaper had ghosts in it before I started it but it did and I used it for that prompt.