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2019 Read-A-Thon #4: Day 9 - Year End Book Tag
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Since Emily borrowed this idea from my post in the Completed Challenges thread, it's just a simple copy/paste for me! :)5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
1. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
(A book from the 2018 GR Choice Awards)
2. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
(A book you have owned for 1+ year but haven't read yet)
3. Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
(A book published in 2019)
4. The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins
(A book with a name in the title)
5. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
(A speculative fiction)
6. Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
(A book related to an element on the periodic table)
7. Everything Under by Daisy Johnson
(A book that is included on a New York Public Library Staff Picks list)
My most creative twist on a prompt
For “A book inspired by Shakespeare� I used The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell. Lennox is a character in Macbeth but there is otherwise absolutely no Shakespearean connection.
The prompt I cheated on
For “A book with a dual timeline� I used My Real Children by Jo Walton, which is about a woman who remembers two different versions of her life and is not certain which one is real. It was definitely not a formulaic dual timeline book such as those by Kate Morton and Susanna Kearsley.
My favorite prompt
There were three prompts that led me on a fun scavenger hunt:
A book related in some way to a TV series you enjoyed
The Machine by James Smythe. "His novels are in literary form." . It definitely read like an episode from the show and I really liked it!
A book related to an element on the periodic table
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller (for chlorine). This was a 5 Star book for me; I’ve included the author’s other books in my 2020 Plan.
A book related to the Chinese zodiac
The Last Pearl Fisher of Scotland by Julia Stuart, which features a rabbit named Frank (in a very minor role). It was a bit too happily ever after for my tastes but I did enjoy it.
My least favorite prompt
A children’s classic. I don’t read children’s books and didn’t really enjoy the book I chose for this prompt - Five Children and It by E. Nesbit.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Euphoria by Lily King - A book featuring indigenous people of a country. This book had been on my TBR List for quite awhile and this prompt motivated me to finally read it. It was so good!
The Strays by Emily Bitto - A book featured on a NPR Best Books of the Year list. I discovered this book because of the NPR list and really enjoyed it. I wish the author had more books because I would like to read something else by her.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson - Wedding rhyme: something blue. I was so excited to find this book featuring a blue character, which was a super fun way to fulfill this prompt. I thought the book was pretty awful, though.
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi - A book set in a school or university. I had a chance to request this book as an ARC and only did so because it would fit this prompt. I didn’t like it at all, unfortunately.
Mod
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY ChallengeWhere the Crawdads Sing
The Little Paris Bookshop
The One-in-a-million Boy
A Town Like Alice
Once Upon a River
Becoming
What the Eyes Don't See
Stardust Gaiman
My Dear Hamilton
- My most creative twist on a prompt
Not particularly creative, but I picked an old book and a newly published book for the wedding themed prompts, something old and something new.
- The prompt I cheated on
No cheating. Really!
- My favorite prompt
There were a lot of prompts I liked, can't say I had a favorite
- My least favorite promptS
The prompts related to the wedding theme. They weren't all that hard to fill, but not very exciting prompts
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Little Paris Bookshop
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
River of Teeth
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- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge:The Secret Scripture
Othello
The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty
Wild Dogs
Twilight
Dirty Work
The Silver Dark Sea
To The Bright Edge of the World
Corrag
A Pair of Blue Eyes
The Ebbing Tide
The Memory of Old Jack
The Street Sweeper
Days Without End
Love and Ruin
Five Chimneys: A Woman Survivor's True Story of Auschwitz
The Women of the Copper Country
The Things They Carried
The Garden of Evening Mists
19 out of 52 - Not bad!
- My most creative twist on a prompt
Seems I'm pretty literal in my interpretations. Couldn't find a single "creative twist" in the batch. I guess The Things They Carried for a journey literal and emotional--Vietnam.
- The prompt I cheated on
Used my wildcard this year and didn't read a STEM book. Hated that, but I got behind and had no time to find something.
- My favorite prompt
18. A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elements
- My least favorite prompt
40. A book you stumbled upon
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty
One of my favorite reads this year.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
It's a tie!!!!
When Saigon Surrendered: A Kentucky Mystery and The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare
I would definitely have ditched both of these if I hadn't been reading for this challenge.
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY ChallengeThe Song of Achilles
Assassin's Apprentice
Royal Assassin
The Bad Beginning
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
- My most creative twist on a prompt
I don't think I had any creative twists. I like to follow the prompts pretty close to how they are written.
- The prompt I cheated on
It was not really cheating since it did win a National Book Award but it is also a picture book that I read several times this year, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble... and More Magical Tales. I also read a book later in that year that would have worked but I was too lazy to change the spreadsheet and my list.
- My favorite prompt
I thought this was a fun one, A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elements.
- My least favorite prompt
One of my least favorite genres, psychological thriller.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Homegoing
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
When the Lights Go Out
I think that was my last prompt, psychological thriller, which I don't care for to begin with but the book was also really awful.
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge (more than I expected)- Fruit Of Knowledge: The Vulva vs. The Patriarchy
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
- A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
- The Poet X
- Lilith's Brood: Contains the complete series Dawn, Adulthood Rites and Imago
- The Best We Could Do
- Six Degrees of Separation
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane
- Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
- The Golem and the Jinni
- My most creative twist on a prompt
I don't think any of my interpretations were creative - I tend to interpret and apply the challenge in a straightforward way.
- The prompt I cheated on
I didn't cheated on any of them, though I did change some of my planned books during the year to account for unexpected reads that fit a prompt.
- My favorite prompt
A couple of favorites:
- "2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme" - I like prompts that pair books
- "A book related to one of the elements on the period table of elements" - I thought it was a creative prompt
- "A book related to one of the 12 Zodiac Chinese animals" - also liked it for it's creativity
- My least favorite prompt
- "A children's classic you've never read" - I have no interest in reading children's books, though I did end up finding a book I'm excited about: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which won the Newberry Award. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to complete this prompt in the challenge, but I plan on reading this book at some point in the future.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
I probably wouldn't have prioritized Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI to read this year if not for the prompt about indigenous peoples, but I'm glad I did - 5 stars for me.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
I would have read The Nix eventually since I own it, but the challenge helped me prioritize it for this year. I was underwhelmed but ended up pushing through the 600 pages.
Kristina wrote: "- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge (more than I expected)- Fruit Of Knowledge: The Vulva vs. The Patriarchy
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
- [book:A..."
Based on this, I am going to delete The Nix from my overflowing TBR list.
5 Star books that I read for the ATY ChallengeSo many! Going down my list in order of prompts, for the most part:
- The Assassin's Blade
- Heir of Fire
- Queen of Shadows
- If We Were Villains
- City of Heavenly Fire
- Clockwork Angel
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Giant Days, Vol. 4, Giant Days, Vol. 5 and Giant Days, Vol. 6
- Nine Perfect Strangers
- Summer Bird Blue
- City of Lost Souls
- Verity
- Vengeful
- The Kiss Quotient
- Slayer
- The Nowhere Girls
- Pumpkinheads
- The Poet X
- Confessions
- The Rosie Result
- The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
My most creative twist on a prompt
I don't think it's creative, but I picked The Coldest Girl in Coldtown for the prompt of a book related to something cold, and I thought that was kind of funny because it was the coldest title I could have picked.
The prompt I cheated on
None really, but the one that I didn't really expect to read was Camp Midnight, Volume 2: Camp Midnight vs. Camp Daybright, but it worked out well since it was for the "stumbled upon" prompt.
My favorite prompt
I really like the astronomical term prompt, and really felt that I didn't do it enough justice with my book choice. I also really like the psychological thriller since that's a favourite genre.
My least favorite prompt
The children's classic you've never read. I still wish it had been the less restrictive "A children's classic" since there are few that I hadn't read that I still wanted to read. I also didn't really care for the "2 books connected by the same topic, genre, or theme" multi-week prompt since it was way too broad and allowed just about any vague connection between the two books.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Nowhere Girls. I probably would have read this eventually, but I wouldn't have read it right now.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Hidden Bodies. Does not live up to the first book at all.
5 Star books that I read for the ATY ChallengeMetro 2033 - doesn't deserve 5 stars in literary sense, but I had so much fun with it that I slapped it with 5 stars
Extensa
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter
Freshwater
ó
Inne Pieśni
Patolodzy. Panie doktorze, czy to rak?
My most creative twist on a prompt
I don't think I was particularly creative with my prompts.
The prompt I cheated on
I used wildcard on prompt with book featuring indigenous people, I didn't want to start my alternative book for that prompt (The Bone People), because I might need it in this year's prompts.
My favorite prompt
A book related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
My least favorite prompt
A multi-generational saga
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
It's hard pick one, so I will list 3:
The Twenty Days of Turin
Flights
Vita Nostra
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Here there are two strong contenders:
Life and Death are Wearing Me Out
The Manuscript Found in Saragossa
2019 AtY year end book tag5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
My most creative twist on a prompt
For 'A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elements' I chose
because one character was named after Marie Curie, a chemist who discovered two elements, Polonium and Radium.The prompt I cheated on
I don't know that it was cheating per say but for the 2 week prompt '2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme:' I chose two books from the same series.
and
My favorite prompt
Maybe 'A book not written in traditional novel format' because I enjoy discovering out of the norm style books
My least favorite prompt
Maybe 'A book related in some way to a tv show/series or movie you enjoyed' because I don't watch much TV or movies and when I do they are probably sci-fi which is what I already read mostly so it wasn't a challenge to fill really. I dtill didn't dislike the prompt though, it just didn't inspire me.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
I can't think of any that I chose only because of this challenge that I enjoyed. And really, there was only one I chose specifically for AtY that I didn't enjoy and that was ....
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
...I don't read a lot of multi-generational sagas to begin with and this one in particular was not a good read for me. 3 stars if I am feeling generous.
5 Star books that I read for the ATY ChallengeThe Goldfinch - Donna Tartt
The Round House - Louise Erdrich
Independent People - Halldor Laxness
Stoner - John Williams
The Overstory - Richard Powers
The Keepers of the House - Shirley Ann Grau
All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doer
Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell
My most creative twist on a prompt
I used 4 books for the wedding prompts that were from the oldest books on my TBR (first 20 added):
Something old - Miss Mole (oldest book on TBR)
Something new - The Story of a New Name
Something borrowed - Hunting and Gathering
Something blue - The Silent Sister
The prompt I cheated on
Not really a cheat but a stretch. I used First Frost, which is a sweet book with magical realism, for Speculative Fiction
My favorite prompt
periodic table
astronomical term
Zodiac
My least favorite prompt
A book that includes a journey. I thought it was hard to figure out before hand if there was a journey in the books I wanted to read.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
I read A Man Called Ove for a book related in some way to a tv show/series or movie you enjoyed (same topic, same era, book appeared in the show/movie, etc.). I usually don't like this type of prompt.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I read this for a book with a number in the title. I did not like this book.
Edie and Kristina.... I didn’t want The Nix to be left with no supporters. I really enjoyed it and gave it four stars. A lot of the plot relates to the 60’s including the �68 Democratic convention in Chicago. I was pretty politically active in those days, so it resonated with me.
5 Star books that I read for the ATY ChallengeThe Orchardist's Daughter by Karen Viggers
Kimberley Sun by Di Morrissey
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
My most creative twist on a prompt
I don't think any of mine were creative!
The prompt I cheated on
I'm not sure that I exactly cheated on any, however for my "book written by a Far East Asian author or set in a Far East Asian country", I chose a non-fiction book written by an author who lives in New York, however she was born in South Korea, and it was about the time she spent teaching in North Korea, so I think it still fits - one way or another!
My favorite prompt
I liked a lot, but I especially liked the psychological thriller, and a book by an author with more than one book on your TBR, and I always like books about books (or reading or an author/writer) - although I didn't actually like the book I chose for that one...
My least favorite prompt
A book that was a finalist or winner for the National Book Award for any year - none of them were books I was intending to read or hadn't already read (even from previous years), so I decided on Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI and it was the last category I had to read!!
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
I'm not sure that there were any books I wouldn't have read anyway and that I'm really glad I did, however the ATY challenge helps me to make choices of which books on my TBR list to tackle this year, so in that sense, I may not have chosen to read some of the books I did this year without the ATY challenge to nudge me to read particular books.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane - not my cup of tea, but I was looking for a book with an animal from the Chinese zodiac - and none of the books on my TBR had any in them, as far as I could tell!
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Night Guest (other topics)Kimberley Sun (other topics)
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (other topics)
The Great Alone (other topics)
The Orchardist's Daughter (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kristin Hannah (other topics)Fiona McFarlane (other topics)
Di Morrissey (other topics)
Karen Viggers (other topics)
Donna Tartt (other topics)
More...
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
- My most creative twist on a prompt
- The prompt I cheated on
- My favorite prompt
- My least favorite prompt
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)