Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

X is the 24th letter in the alphabet, and it inspired a myriad of prompts in our voting process. This prompt allows you to take a creative spin on the letter X. Here's some ideas:

A book that has an X in the title
A book by an author born between 1965-1980 (Generation X)
A book with an ex (romantic, friendship, family, etc)
A book with a character who could appear on the X-Files
A book related to X marks the Spot
A book with a cross or X on the cover
A book that's X-rated

ATY Listopia: /list/show/1...

What are you reading for this prompt, and how does it fit the prompt?

IDEAS

Title containing X
Author with X in their name
A book published during the GenX years
A book set during the GenX years
A book by a Latinx author
A book connected to the roman numeral X (10) - ten in title, tenth book published by the author, tenth book in a series, title starts with J the tenth letter of alphabet, etc.
A book set in Greece (X is the typographical approximation of the Greek letter chi)
A book about civil rights, in honor of Malcolm X
A book with a nonbinary character (gender identity - X is used on passports and identification documents to denote intersex or indeterminate gender)
A book with a strong female character; a book about feminism (chromosome XX)
A romance novel; a book with a love story (X is a symbol used to indicate a kiss)
A book with a character in a medical profession (X is indicated by Xray in the NATO alphabet)




Plus there are all the previously suggested X related prompts:
A book related to X marks the spot
A book with a character who could appear on the X-Files
A book that has an X in the title
A book by an author born between 1965-1980 (Generation X)
A book with an ex
A book involving pirates, maps, or treasure

This is the hardest prompt for me. For some reason it just doesn't inspire me. Looking around my physical shelves I spotted The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain, which I will use for this prompt unless something I prefer occurs to me during the year.

I am reading Mordew by Alex Pheby. Pheby is an X generation author (born in 1970) and obviously has an X in his name. This is one of the books from my TBR that I keep putting off reading, so I hope I will get it done this year.

I am also reading Nina X by Ewan Morrison. Apart from the X in the title, Morrison is also a generation X author (born in 1968).

1. X is the typographical approximation of the Greek letter chi

2. Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor has a "first-person Greek chorus, speaking in the voices of children and offering an omniscient view of the goings on."

Greek = Greek. Works for me!

Thank you for putting all those ideas, dalex! I just grabbed the prompts that didn't make the final list.

I just found the perfect book for this prompt (and its available on Libby)! It was on the 5 Books FB post for Best Humorous Fantasy Novels this morning. Big Red X on the cover!
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard

Emily wrote: "Thank you for putting all those ideas, dalex! I just grabbed the prompts that didn't make the final list."

I shared that list somewhere else after brainstorming this prompt and decided it would be good to repost it here. Maybe it'll help someone looking for an interesting way to interpret the prompt.

I have a ton of options for this one, but I think EXTINCTION coukd be an interesting topic. I was reminded of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History today. I loved it and I would like more books on the topic.

Other possibilities
The Nix - thanks to Joy’s review
Middlesex
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Max Tegmark
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
Three Parts Dead Max Gladstone
The Devotion of Suspect X

Gen X
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
This Time Tomorrow
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Harlem Shuffle
The Chaperone

Ever since we started talking about "Generation X" authors, I've realized that there are SO MANY Gen X authors that I absolutely LOVE. So I'll be reading one of them. I have no idea which one, I can't choose just one so I'll just let it happen as it happens.

I also have a really long list of "second chance romances with an ex" that all look fun.

I have WAY TOO MANY choices for this one!!

I'm Team Gen X Authors for this one, being Gen X myself it was the option that interested me the most. I had quite a few possibilities, but I'm going to go with Starter Villain by John Scalzi, which has possibly my favourite cover of all time :)

I'd recommend
Pax
Fox & I

Ha, I saw this prompt and thought, a book related to X, formerly known as Twitter? I suppose that's another angle for exploration.

I'm intrigued by the Gen X theme -- maybe The Nineties (or something else) by Chuck Klosterman?

ETA: I just figured out what I'm reading for this one: Don Quixote!

Pam wrote: "I just found the perfect book for this prompt (and its available on Libby)! It was on the 5 Books FB post for Best Humorous Fantasy Novels this morning. Big Red X on the cover!
[book:Johannes Cabal..."

This is on my TBR list but I hadn't noticed the X. Thanks!

This cover shows a knee with two band-aids in an "x" ... right side of page
(It's the first in a series, so no spoilers for earlier books if you read this one.)

I'm going to read Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future by Pete Buttigieg. I'm connecting to X by way of "Mayor Pete" being the eX-Mayor of South Bend, IN (where my sister-in-law lived for at least 35 years).

Ironically I found this book while we were considering a book involving politics, which I was not excited about. This is the only book that I thought that I could stomach, and was actually excited about. So ended up being disappointed that Politics didn't make it as a prompt!

The other two books that I have on my list to consider are:
Eating to Extinction: The World's Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them by Dan Saladino (ex-available foods), and
Pageboy by Elliot Page (when your combo of X and Y chromosomes doesn't match how you feel inside)
I ended up finding another prompt to read this for - A book with a one word title.

No Xs on any covers, but my possibles are:

- Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton (ex's, maybe?)
- Life After God by Douglas Coupland (wrote Generation X which would of course be perfect, but I've already read that)
- The Memory Box by Margaret Forster (x in title)
- Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story by Isabel Gillies (ex's)
- The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (x in title)
- Sex Power Money by Sara Pascoe (x in title)
- Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter (x in name)
- The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex (x in name)

Book Concierge wrote: "This cover shows a knee with two band-aids in an "x" ... right side of page
(It's the first in a series, so no spoilers for earlier books if you read this one.)"

No spoilers as I haven't read that series, but I loved the Elizabeth Berg I have read so think you're in for a treat!


Tracy wrote: "I'm going to read Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future by Pete Buttigieg. I'm connecting to X by way of "Mayor Pete" being the..."

Love your interpretations of the prompt!

Tracy wrote: "I'm going to read Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future by Pete Buttigieg. I'm connecting to X by way of "Mayor Pete" being the..."

I love how you’re interpreting this one. I have the Extinction book and Pageboy on my must-read-in-2024 list. I’m proposing both for my local bookclub.

Eating to Extinction: The World's Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them fits the endangered species prompt too, because “species” isn’t limited to animals. A friend of mine liked it.

Pageboy - I first saw it on the five books site, but I like your prompt options for it too.
Added: The reviews for the book are a little disappointing so I might wait to suggest it to my book club.

Your mayor book could also work for the rejected politics prompt.

I had a lot to pick from, and these are my current choices:

Title: The Dangerous Days of Daniel X
Character (Charles Maddox): The Solitary House
Author (Norma Fox Mazer): When She Was Good

I'd love to know why Happiness Falls is on the Listopia for this prompt.

Celia wrote: "I'd love to know why Happiness Falls is on the Listopia for this prompt."

Hi Celia! One of the interpretations of this prompt is a Generation X author. Angie Kim was born in 1969 so she’s gen x. There were many competing X prompt ideas in the voting, and this prompt allows for several creative interpretations. (X is the 24th letter in the alphabet, for 2024. It’s a tradition in this challenge to honor the year in some way.)

Btw, if you click on the “3 people voted” under the book title on the listopia, you can see notes that were added by voters to explain why they selected the book.

Learned so much NancyJ. Thank you for answering the question I did not even ask: why a person voted for the book. xxoo

Celia wrote: "Learned so much NancyJ. Thank you for answering the question I did not even ask: why a person voted for the book. xxoo"

Any time! I’ve been peeking at your reviews for years. I owe you.

Ive got a few on my radar:


And these I've read previously and enjoyed:

This prompt was really hard to find a book for. I decided to check if any of my books on my TBR were listed by Generation X authors. I'm planning to read The Golem and the Jinni for this prompt. I chose this book because it combines Jewish and Islamic mythologies and I think that is both interesting and apt for the current times.

Any book by Jodi Picoult, who was born in 1966.

I have a book called Generation X by Douglas Coupland. Perfect!

I hadn't thought of an XX connection. Since it is relevant for me at this time I am going to read It's The Menopause

Pam wrote: "I just found the perfect book for this prompt (and its available on Libby)! It was on the 5 Books FB post for Best Humorous Fantasy Novels this morning. Big Red X on the cover!
[book:Johannes Cabal..."

Chiming in to second Johannes Cabal, I LOVE this series!! Nicholas Guy Smith performs the audio beautifully if you go that route!

Wendy wrote: "Ha, I saw this prompt and thought, a book related to X, formerly known as Twitter? I suppose that's another angle for exploration..."

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang would work for this since Twitter is involved.

I plan to read Wizard's First Rule for this prompt.

That series was a favorite of a certain ex-girlfriend of mine, and due to that connection, I have avoided reading it.

Still, I think enough time has passed that perhaps I can put the past behind me and give it a try.

I love how creative you all are with this prompt! I was not very creative, but I did read a very good book: How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi.

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan
X in title and an "ex" in the story! Pretty realistic, IMO, especially for a romance book!

I just finished The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon and gave it four stars. It's a fun and silly rom-com about coworkers at a radio station that pretended to be exes for a new radio show.

The book I read for this prompt was

short and sweet review: 4.0
At first, I liked the plot but as the story went on I felt that Brooke was just being naive. She sees things going on but still chooses to neglect them. The ending of the story was a real shocker. The whole story they made sure to say that Josh was nothing like Shane but ended up being like his dad.

I read In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware. She was born in 1977 so she is a Gen X author.

I read My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson. This was a debut for the Gen X author.

I read All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby. He was born in 1973 so part of Generation X.

There is a ‘patient X’ who is a big part of the story in the new release Anna O. by Matthew Blake.

I read:
X Y Z by Anna Katharine Green

BIO: A book whose title contains an "X"
REJECT: A book related to masks or a masquerade

Finished: 02/16/2024
Rating: 4 stars

Chose this for the read-a-thon because it's short.

I read The Sportswriter by Richard Ford for this prompt. The main character is Richard Bascombe and his ex wife is not named in the book but plays a prominent part. She is always mentioned as "X" in the book. Read 21st Feb; 4*

I read X Saves the Day: How Generation X Got the Shaft But Can Still Keep Everything From Sucking by Jeff Gordinier,


Based on this book, I am firmly Generation X (which I am by birth year but this confirmed that my cynical, sarcastic view of the world is also GenX worthy)

It was quite humorous, I enjoyed it

For this prompt, I read:
The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor - 4* - My Review (also fits "wings on the cover")

I’m currently reading for this prompt. I’m reading River East, River West by Aube Rey Lesure. The X connection is on Expat Chinese in China from multiple perspectives. Alva goes to The Americas School in Shanghai. Her mother is an American and her father is unknown to her Chinese. It’s a coming of age, family drama. Alma is just trying desperately to find out where she belongs. I’m all in for family drama books! So far, I’m loving it. It’s a reversal of the east-to-west immigration story. .

I read Role Playing by Cathy Yardley. It's a romance with two Gen X protagonists. I don't really read romance but adored this one- no artificial drama, just a couple of people finding each other! And they were nerds, as am I!

I read Southern Cross by Patricia Cornwell (the flag is the X connection). Also read Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix and aiming to read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to get a trio of cover art, author and book title.

Of course, I didn't stick with my original idea! Instead, I read The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis. I am going with an X-File connection since it is a story of an alien abduction.

Pam wrote: "Of course, I didn't stick with my original idea! Instead, I read The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis. I am going with an X-File connection since it is a story of an ..."

Love that idea. Hope you don't mind if I steal.

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax

MC's name contains an X