Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
2021 Plans
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2021 ATY Completion Thread
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge: Cemetery Boys and Act Your Age, Eve Brown and Cinderella Is Dead- My most creative twist on a prompt; High As Hope for something related to the NATO Phonetic Alphabet because the love interest is a firefighter and they use NATO
- The prompt I cheated on: Cemetery Boys for a book with a building in the title
- My favorite prompt: A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name
- My least favorite prompt: A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!): Mexican Gothic
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!): The Nutcracker and the Mouse-King
Finished on 3/24/2021
Mod
Mod
I finished today- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson ( A book with six or more words in the title)
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (A book related to "the end")
- My most creative twist on a prompt � Not so much creative as obvious, for the prompt 'A love story' I chose This is a Love Story by Jessica Thompson
- The prompt I cheated on � I don’t think I did cheat
- My favorite prompt � A short book - Men to Avoid in Art and Life by Nicole Tersigni Mostly because it was short.
- My least favorite prompt - Warwick Prize for Women in Translation - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk. Finding a book I thought I would enjoy was hard.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) I don't have one for this. Most of the books I enjoyed I think I would have read anyway.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) - The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek. I read it for the “Are you Well read in World Literature list" prompt. It was weird.
All up I enjoyed the challenge and will be in again next year.
My 4th time! I love this challenge. It’s lead me to so many books I never would have read otherwise. Just the searching for the perfect match to a prompt is like browsing through a real life book store. I love the planning, the finding, the last minute changes, and the fantastic stories I encounter. This year I set myself the added challenge to have 80% of the books come from books I already own or borrowed from the library. I exceeded the goal and ended up buying only 2 books. My unread shelf is somewhat diminished.Now for the summary:
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
My average rating is ~3.8, but I had quite a few 5 star book this year (and some duds). My top six books overall are: Disoriental (women in translation)
The Overstory (prompt that didn’t make the list)
The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton (travel)
Mr. Loverman (new to me BIPOC author)
The Library Book (building in title)
The Inland Whale: Nine Stories Retold from California Indian Legends (short stories).
- My most creative twist on a prompt
For A love story I read Keeping Lucy about the love for a child. Also for books related to beginning and end I read books related to birth and death The Birth House and Once More We Saw Stars: A Memoir
- The prompt I cheated on
I didn’t cheat on any
- My favorite prompt
I love the Past-Present-Future prompts. I enjoy the multi-week prompts every year.
- My least favorite prompt.
You read what? At first I liked this quirky prompt, but when it came time to choose a book it seemed too vague.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Disoriental. The Women in Translation prompt was very hard. I hunted and hunted, changed my mind a lot, and finally chose this book - and I’m so glad I did. I never would have read it without the challenge.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) Justine. I read this for the Egyptian museum prompt as it is part of the Alexandria Quartet, I also read it because I was watching (and loving) The Durrells in Corfu. But what dated pomposity. It was horrid, IMO.
You can see all the books I read for this year’s challenge by following this link.
/review/list...
I would love readers enjoying this challenge to friend me - I enjoy seeing what others are reading. I can’t wait until we start picking prompts for 2022. Good luck my friends!
Mod
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge -
Driftless, Klara and the Sun, The Girl with the Louding Voice
- My most creative twist on a prompt - for beginning and end, I used The Ten Thousand Doors of January and All About Us, which takes place in December of multiple years
- The prompt I cheated on - none
- My favorite prompt - the NATO alphabet - I am doing the challenge separately of trying to read a book for every letter.
- My least favorite prompt - Grand Egyptian museum, since I didn't plan to read anything about Egypt or museums. I randomly read the literary fiction book Hieroglyphics, not realizing till afterwards that a main character was a professor of archeology, so it fit for this prompt.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - quirky but I liked it a lot
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) - none - the books I didn't like were read for other groups!
I already have a start on doing this a 2nd time through!
Mod
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge - The Midnight Library
Girl A
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Kindred
The Vanishing Half
Inside Out & Back Again
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Black Widows
- My most creative twist on a prompt - A book related to a word given by a random word generator - I kind of made up my own logic when the book I was reading didn't actually fit as I thought it did.
- The prompt I cheated on - Same as above but in the end I think I came up with a pretty funny story on why it should fit. And I think the word related to gives a lot of room for interpretation.
- My favorite prompt - Not sure I can pick a favorite, I though this years prompts were all pretty good!
- My least favorite prompt - I think there were a few that were harder to fill but some of that is reading in order and using a library for most books.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) The House in the Cerulean Sea had so much hype I was pretty hesitant to pick it up. I did put it on hold at the library and it became available in time for the elements of magic prompt so really was meant to be!
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) Living Dead Girl had been on my TBR for awhile and it seemed to be a good fit with the white dress for the A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music prompt but the abuse was just too much for me and if it had not been a short book I probably would have stopped reading it.
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge: You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about RacismThe Silver Pigs
Rain Falling on Tamarind Trees: A Travelogue of Vietnam
Married to a Bedouin
Adventures in Music and Culture: Travels of an Ethnomusicologist in West Africa
Winter Pasture: One Woman's Journey with China's Kazakh Herders
Murder at the Capitol
An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good
Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation Into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin
- My most creative twist on a prompt: For the past, present and future prompts I read a historical, a contemporary and a sci-fi mystery which involved a body connected to a library.
- The prompt I cheated on: A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. I read books published in the USA rather than the U.K
- My favorite prompt: A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum
- My least favorite prompt: A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!): You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism and Winter Pasture: One Woman's Journey with China's Kazakh Herders
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!): Devil in a Blue Dress. I am usually read cozy mysteries and this book was too gritty for me.
My AtY 2021 Challenge is complete!- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
- My most creative twist on a prompt
For the Prompt related to the song A Few Of My Favorite Things, I chose Light of Impossible Stars for the sentient warship named Trouble Dog ("when the dog bites")
For a character in a deck of cards I also chose another Expanse Series book because I found out that there is a board/card game that has been created to go along with the books and TV show :)
- The prompt I cheated on
Instead of a straight up mystery book, I choose a book that included a mystery that was solved, Babylon's Ashes
- My favorite prompt
I can't really think of a favorite, I enjoyed most of them.
- My least favorite prompt
Again, I can't really think of any that I disliked.....Nato was a little difficult to find a book for, as was the deck of cards initially but they were still fun to do
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Island on Fire: The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Changed the World. I read Independent People just before it which got me interested in Iceland, so I picked up another (non-fiction) book about Iceland to fit into the ISLAND prompt. I probably wouldn't have read it if I weren't already looking for a book to fit that prompt.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
My lowest rating for books this challenge was a 3 so I don't really regret reading any of them. I did have a bout of DNF's that changed my whole challenge around:
- my original choice for a character on a deck of cards. I will probably go back and finish this one someday, it just wasn't in the cards (forgive the pun) for me at the time. 
- my original choice for a book with more than 2 people on the cover. I just couldn't get into it. But I had owned it for 6 years, it was good to clear it off my shelf finally.
- my original choice for a title with 6 or more words in the title. This one I felt like the author made a list of every plot device they could think of and then they threw the whole list into the first three chapters of this book. And then the magic system started out with a rule that keeps the bad guy from killing his targets and he just throws his hands up and AGREES (literally), I can't stand it. Too convenient. DNF
Completed Challenge May 17, 2021, yay!!!-
5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge The Horse and His Boy (reread), The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, The Office of Historical Corrections, The Magician's Nephew (reread), Anne of Green Gables (reread), Raybearer, Legendborn, Caste
- My most creative twist on a prompt A love story: I hate romances, so I struggled with what I'd read for this one. In the end, I counted Bonnie & Clyde, which is a very twisted, doomed "love" story, I guess
- The prompt I cheated on #3, A book related to the lyrics for the song "My Favorite Things" -- re: lyric "whiskers on kittens," I counted The Horse and His Boy, because Aslan is a lion, which is a type of cat, and tickles Bree with his whiskers. Not a kitten, though. Kind of a stretch
- My favorite prompt A book set in a made-up place (I'm really enjoying fantasy, good escapism during the pandemic)
- My least favorite prompt: 3 books related to past, present and future -- really struggled with that one
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar (book w/ title and author with "u" in name)
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) The Murmur of Bees (A book eligible for Warwick Prize for Women in Translation) -- found book very problematic and way too long, but parts were very interesting and would love to discuss it with someone
Melissa wrote: "Completed Challenge May 17, 2021, yay!!!-
5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge The Horse and His Boy (reread), The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, T..."
Congrats on finishing from someone who also found the Murmur of Bees problematic!
Mod
I finished the ATY Challenge a few days ago. I'm halfway through a second round.5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham
Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner
The Salt Path - Raynor Winn
Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage - Anne Lamott
Hannah Coulter - Wendell Berry
My most creative twist on a prompt
Nothing real creative, but my "In the beginning" prompt and "Related to the end" prompt both had the word "garden" in the title
The prompt I cheated on
None
My favorite prompt
I liked the NATO codeword prompt and am doing the NATO Phonetic Alphabet Challenge. /topic/show/...
My least favorite prompt
They were all pretty good!
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman
I finally finished a challenge! I’m so proud of myself. After 3 years of trying to find a challenge I could work with and complete, I finally was able to complete this one. And I completed it early! I will probably continue to read books from several of the categories and add them to my spreadsheet because it’s a great way to clear my TBR list and to read books I would never imagine reading!
For the first time I finished the challenge before December! I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do now.Rereads 8
Non-fiction 13
Graphic or picture book 5
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
It's not been a great year for me in terms of 5 star reads but I think the problem was me and the World and not the books I read. My average was 3.5 stars.
Somebody Give This Heart a Pen
Butterfly: From Refugee to Olympian - My Story of Rescue, Hope, and Triumph
Boyfriend Material
- My most creative twist on a prompt
I've been quite uncreative in my interpretation this year. I normally only get creative if I'm running out of time.
- The prompt I cheated on
I was really struggling to find a book for the Grand Egyptian Museum prompt. I think it's a great idea I just haven't been in the mood for any of the books I had found. In the end I read Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World and a couple are set in or by reporters from Egypt so I decided that could count.
- My favorite prompt
It's so hard to choose there were so many great ones as always. My favourites were Warwick Prize, ATY best book of the month, NATO and You read what?!?
- My least favorite prompt
I'm never a fan of the GR awards or published this year prompts.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Somebody Give This Heart a Pen I don't read a lot of poetry because I don’t usually understand it and just feel frustrated. I was struggling to find a short book by a new author and stumbled across this. I figured it was short and I could power through it but ended up loving it.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Blonde Roots I had heard great things about Bernardine Evaristo so thought I would give this a go as everything else had a long waiting list. I really didn't enjoy it but hope to read something else by them later.
Mod
Congratulations! That's so exciting!
Mod
For those wondering what to do now - I ended up doing the whole challenge twice last year. There are also many other challenges out there which you could take on. Of course you could actually read whatever you want. But I find I read more and faster when I have a challenge.
Finished 16 June. The last book Cutting for Stone seemed to take forever. A classic example of ‘great book, wrong time� but I stuck with it as I’d saved it to complete both ATY and Popsugar together.- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge -
Birdy
If Beale Street Could Talk
The Book of Night Women
Our Souls at Night
Wolf Hall
Cutting for Stone
- My most creative twist on a prompt - I’m not generally very twisty. I read Love Story for the love story prompt....
- The prompt I cheated on - None
- My favourite prompt - As last year, it’s one of the rejected prompts because it gave me the perfect book. - “A book related to the 21st _____� For my 21st birthday my partner gave me a touring bike. Many years later I am still The White Woman on the Green Bicycle
- My least favorite prompt - “A book published in 2021.� As a library devotee I’m usually a few years behind on what’s new although this year has been different as the council gave them *no* money for new books in 2020/21 so I have bought a few specifically to read gently then donate.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) - Birdy The title character reminds me of a friend who I never expected to find in a book.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) - A Kind of Magic One of my late mum’s favourite books because it’s a memoir of the time and place where she grew up but I was distracted by the poor writing.
Robin P wrote: "Congrats to those who have finished halfway through the year or sooner - For those wondering what to do now - I ended up doing the whole challenge twice last year. There are also many other chall..."
Congrats on you new mod role, you are an amazing reader so I am sure you will be an awesome addition! And thank you in advance for your work on keeping this group functioning!
Mod
For those wondering what to do now - I ended up doing the whole challenge twice last year. There are also ..."
Thanks, I was very honored to be asked. The Mods who have been running this group are amazing!
5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
My most creative twist on a prompt
A book with a travel theme- I picked a book with time travel- The Little Shop of Found Things
The prompt I cheated on
I actually didn't cheat on any of them.
My favorite prompt
A book published in 2021. I love that you have so much freedom to choose whatever you want.
My least favorite prompt
A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir- I don't love non-fiction and when I do read it I want to read biographies, autobiographies or memoirs. I ended up reading relatable: How to Connect with Anyone, Anywhere which was interesting and I never would have read it without this challenge but overall I didn't love this prompt.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Convenience Store Woman-Book eligible for the Warwick Prize in Translation.- I never would have read this one. I didn't love it but I'm glad I read it. It was an interesting read.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
The Deadly Hours- A collection of short stories, poetry or essays. I do not like this type of prompt. I find it difficult to get into these short stories. Just as I get into the story it is over and then I have to adjust to a new story and characters.
Mod
When I run across a genre I don't care for, such as short stories or horror, I remind myself, "Thank goodness there are a few genres I don't have to add to my bulging TBR!"
I like thrillers and adventure novels. I recently read several books by James Swanson. I can recommend reading the review of the book Chasing Lincoln's Killer. This is an incredible book about murders and chases. I liked the dynamic tension of this book. We often love dramatic and climactic moments in a text.
Five star books that I read for this challenge: The Plague of Doves; Convenience Store Woman; Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China;The Girl with the Louding Voice; My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past; Blue Highways: A Journey into America; Honour.
Most creative twist on a prompt
Don't think that I had one.
Prompt I cheated on
I read a quintet (The Islam Quintet: Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree, The Book of Saladin, The Stone Woman, A Sultan in Palermo, and Night of the Golden Butterfly instead of one long book.
Favourite prompt
I liked the Sound of Music prompt.
Least favourite prompt
I didn't have one - all very good prompts this year.
Book I wouldn't have read otherwise and am glad I did
The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son
Book I wouldn't have read otherwise and wish I hadn't .
I wouldn't say I'm sorry I read it, but the one I liked least was Delta of Venus.
5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
My most creative twist on a prompt
A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards - Opposite of Always (main character's name is Jack King)
The prompt I cheated on
None
My favorite prompt
The NATO alphabet
My least favorite prompt
A long book - I generally don't like super-long books. I get bored to easily, and many feel like they are long just to be long, without decent substance.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Get a Life, Chloe Brown - I've now read the entire series.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
The Sanatorium
Mod
Jackie wrote: "Oh no! You didn't like Sanatorium? I've been looking forward to it! Was it that bad?"It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't as good as I was hoping. It could have been so much better with that setting. I honestly don't even remember it that well, which always tells me it wasn't a great book.
Mod
I'm done! *does the dance of joy*- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge:
I had 11 five star reads, which I think is pretty impressive.
* Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
* Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
* Soldier of Fortune by Kathleen McClure
* Archangel's War by Nalini Singh
* Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay
* The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
* Happily Ever Esther by Steve Jenkins, Derek Walter and Caprice Crane
* Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill
* The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
* Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
* Network Effect by Martha Wells
- My most creative twist on a prompt:
Maybe "In the Beginning". It's about people that take refuge in a bunker, so it's a new beginning for them as a disaster takes place outside.
- The prompt I cheated on:
Book Whose Cover Shows More than 2 People -- I chose Happily Ever Esther, whose cover shows more than two animals. :)
- My favorite prompt:
Hmm. I couldn't say. I really liked about 85% of them.
- My least favorite prompt:
Eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. I just found all the books so serious and 'important'. I struggled to find anything I had interest in reading.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez. I had never heard of it before I went searching for a book related to racism, and it turned out to be a five-star read.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Last Day by Bryan Smith - torture porn, depravity, rape, etc. The only book I have ever given zero stars.
Excited for next year!
Enjoyed the challenge again this year!5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Who’s That Girl?
When He Was Wicked
My most creative twist on a prompt
For #8, I am counting The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning as being set in Sweden, a place I have never visited.
The prompt I cheated on:
#17, I was not sure the author is really Muslim, but he is Turkish.
My favorite/least favorite prompt
None of the prompts stood out to me this year. I didn't have a problem with any of them.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
I read Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved for #26. I had this book on my list to read for a long time but the challenge brought it to the top.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
I read The Book of Two Ways for #11. I expected to like it but found it so confusing and unbelievable.
I read Celestial Bodies for #12. I had been looking forward to this book but could not keep the characters straight.
Challenge Completed!- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler- My most creative twist on a prompt-
I don't think I had any creative twists.
- The prompt I cheated on
I didn't cheat on any either.
- My favorite prompt
A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?�
- My least favorite prompt
The mulit-week prompts
3 books related to "Past, - Book 1
3 books related to "Present" - Book 2
3 books related to "Future" - Book 3
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
5. A book by an author on USA Today's list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read-
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler 6/17/2021Every year Octavia E. Butler is on WTR authors list but I never get to reading one of her books.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
44. A book whose title contains a negative-
The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren 1/13/2021
5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge- Deacon King Kong by James McBride- My most creative twist on a prompt. I didn't get creative this year. I should of gotten creative on the past,present,future prompt but I had the worst time even understanding the prompt. For some reason it didn't make sense to me. I kept wondering what the meaning & purpose of the prompt was. I gave up & read any book with any sort of timeline, which is any book.
- The prompt I cheated on- no cheats this year.
- My favorite prompt- I didn't have a favorite prompt. Nothing jumped out to me.
- My least favorite prompt- A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list. I had to read My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk for my face to face book club. I really lucked out there. I didn't like the book. I didn't like the prompt about the Warwick Prize. Again I had to read The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa for my real life book club. Again the book wasn't a favorite. The good news is I discovered I don't enjoy books in translation. I'm always missing out on something in the story.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) Black Top Wasteland by S.A.Cosby. A mystery.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) The Mummy Case (Amelia Peabody #3) Elizabeth Peters. Lyrics to "My Favorite Things". The book was originally published in 1985. It has not held up well. It is insulting, insensitive, and filled with racial slurs. It made me uncomfortable.
I'm done! - My most creative twist on a prompt
Using As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride, a book about making The Princess Bride movie for "a book set in a made-up place"
- The prompt I cheated on
I think they all fit
- My favorite prompt
A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?�
- My least favorite prompt
A book related to a word given by a random word generator
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Out Stealing Horses for the Are You Well-Read in World Literature
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
None, all the books were fine.
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
- My most creative twist on a prompt
Past Present and Future! I decided to pick three retellings of Beauty and the Beast for past, present and future
- The prompt I cheated on
Number 4. A book with a monochromatic cover.... I felt like I was cutting it a bit close, but I did Cut, which is black and white and red. I stand by my theory that the darkest shade of red is black, and the lightest is white so....it counts?
- My favorite prompt
29. A book that you consider comfort reading .... I needed some comfort this year, and it was amazing to have an excuse to relive an old favorite
- My least favorite prompt
24. A book about racism or race relations. It's an incredibly important topic to keep learning about, but it's a heavy one. Reading is my escape from a lot of overwhelming real-life stuff, and this was a tough topic. I started a few books and realized I wasn't in the head place to read them, so this took a few tries to complete.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Far from the Tree by Robin Benway this book has bounced on and off my to-read list for the last few years, and I was struggling to find something for the ensemble cast and it showed up a list and WOW I'm glad I finally read it, really great.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) On Dublin Street by Samantha Young
Finished on 9/6!- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Notes on a Silencing
Pachinko
Parable of the Sower
The Soul of a Woman
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Writers & Lovers
Infinite Jest
- My most creative twist on a prompt
Using Big Little Lies for "A book related to a word given by a random word generator"
- The prompt I cheated on
I'm not sure that a non-fiction book could be considered a cross-genre novel but I used The Soul of a Woman
- My favorite prompt
A winner or nominee from the 2020 ŷ Choice Awards - It had a lot of books on my TBR to chose from.
- My least favorite prompt
A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards - I struggled to find a book to fit this prompt. It just so happens that You Should See Me in a Crown features a girl running for prom queen.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt for A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
10 Blind Dates for 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 2 (Present) - I could have picked a number of contemporary books. This was probably my least favorite book that I read for the challenge.
Mod
5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My most creative twist on a prompt
Week 38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator
I was given "stage" and "freedom", and I used The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict, which is about an actress who escaped Nazi Germany and went on to create important technology for the US government.
The prompt I cheated on
Week 20. 3 books related to "Past, Present, Future" - Book 3
I used The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune for the "Future" part of this prompt, even though there's nothing really futuristic about the book besides superheroes. I don't feel too guilty, though, because I'm using the sequel for this prompt in my second round.
My favorite prompt
Week 29. A book that you consider comfort reading
I enjoyed looking for cozy books.
My least favorite prompt
Week 31. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years
I ended up using Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, but I struggled to find authors I wanted to read who also have this long of a career.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!
The The City of Brass trilogy!! They fit some of the hardest prompts for me (Muslim author, female villain, Egypt), so I knocked them out early, and I really, really enjoyed the whole series, start to finish!
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!
I don't think I read anything that I wouldn't have anyway, but there are quite a few books I would have DNF'd if not for the challenge, like All Boys Aren't Blue (negative in title) and The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women (past).
I finished yesterday!- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
Jane Eyre
War and Peace
Artificial Condition
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Seven Days in June
- My most creative twist on a prompt
I am not very creative, so I didn't have any.
- The prompt I cheated on
I don't think I cheated.
- My favorite prompt
My Favorite Things, NATO, the Grand Egyptian Museum
- My least favorite prompt
I didn't have one.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
White Ivy
Finished the AtY! We'll see if I do a second round. At the moment I just want to read whatever I want. Without trying to fill in the prompts which got harder to do at the end.5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge:
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Forgotten in Death by J.D. Robb
My least favorite prompt:
A long book. I read Conversation in the Cathedral by Mario Vargas Llosa and I didn't like it at all.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (Read for the prompt "A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation")
Finished during the read-a-thon!- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
- My most creative twist on a prompt
3 books related to "Past, Present, Future". Instead of using the time period that a book takes place, I made them all related to the Tournament of Books. A book from the backlist of past tournaments, a book from the present/current year tournament, and a book I think should be included in the future/next year's tournament.
- The prompt I cheated on
Probably 51. A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name. I used The Vanishing Half which kind of is referring to a person in the book, but also feels a bit like a stretch. Especially since when I just looked through the list now, I originally thought I had made a mistake lol.
- My favorite prompt
9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year. It wasn't a hard one too fill, but I love curating my monthly reads based on the season/holidays.
- My least favorite prompt
38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator. I picked 5 words from the generator that really weren't that bad (abomination, blister, lovesick, undersea, fort), but I was still constantly questioning whether a book really fit that word well enough to match.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Test. I read it for 17. A book with a Muslim character or author. It was so good, and had some great twists.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
I wouldn't say I wished I hadn't, but I probably would have DNF'ed The Souvenir Museum. It was the last book I needed to complete the challenge for 11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum. It took me almost two months to read and it was only 250 pages. It wasn't bad, I just felt meh about it.
Mod
Finished! I was going great guns there for the first half of the year, and thought I might do 2 rounds. But working in a hospital environment with the massive rise in Covid cases this summer threw me back in to the reading slump of 2020. A much needed vacation the past 2 weeks fixed that, though, and I ended the challenge with some fabulous reads that I will ruminate on for a while.5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
The Housekeeper and the Professor
The Eighth Life
Half of a Yellow Sun
Migrations
Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad
Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life
Me
My most creative twist on a prompt Maybe Week 9, A book you associate with a specific season or time of year. I read The Arrival, associated with transition of winter to spring, fresh starts, new growth
The prompt I cheated on I don't think I cheated this year
My favorite prompt I really liked Week 45, the NATO alphabet prompt. A fun and creative way to look at books.
My least favorite prompt Probably week 46, winner or nominee from ŷ Choice awards. They are so biased.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili read for Week 12, A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. I wouldn't have explored some of these titles, and this book would not have otherwise crossed my radar save for this prompt. And I loved it.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue read for Week 43, a book with elements of magic. I have liked other VE Schwab books, so I very well might have picked it up outside of this challenge. But I wouldn't have finished it. My only 1 star read for the challenge.
I've just read The Eighth Life for the Autumn challenge and also loved it. It would also work for the long book prompt!
Mod
Thank you for your important work in the hospital!
- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge Time for a Nap Time for a Bath Quidditch Through the Ages The Silent Patient Lucy and Tom at School- My most creative twist on a prompt Victoria station as NATO alphabet
- The prompt I cheated on none really
- My favorite prompt mystery or thriller
- My least favorite prompt eligible for Warwick prize for women in translation
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!) Time for a Bath Time for a Nap
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!) The Story of Tracey Beaker The Coast Road Hair Love
I FINISHED!!! The first year I managed to finish!!5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
I re read the whole Harry Potter series this year and used several for prompts, these always get a 5 star rating from me.
Clap When You Land
The Midnight Library
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Anxious People
The Chestnut Man
My most creative twist on a prompt
For In the beginning I used The Power for it's biblical Adam/Eve references, plus the beginning of a new society
The prompt I cheated on
Place you've never visited I used For the Wolf and it's fictional setting
My favorite prompt
A book set in a made-up place... Fantasy is my go-to genre so I had 1000 books I could have read for this one, plus I ended up reading The House in the Cerulean Sea which was a 5-star for me
My least favorite prompt
Are you Well-Read in Literature simply because it brought me to read Lullaby which was perfectly awful
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Memory Police was so interesting to me.
A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
Again, Lullaby
Mod
I love seeing all the new posts on this completion thread!
I feel like I limped to the finish line this year, even though I finished in September! Having a baby reallllllly cramped my reading style! I'll likely hit my goal of 65 for the year thanks to audiobooks, but will more than likely miss my 75 from last year and 78 from 2019.- 5 Star books that I read for the ATY Challenge
* When These Mountains Burn - still my favorite book of the year
* Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song
* Project Hail Mary - I read this book in its entirety during the hospital stay for the birth of my daughter; I owe Andy Weir a thank you email for distracting me through that stressful week!
- My most creative twist on a prompt.... or maybe the one I cheated on...
So the "author whose career has spanned 21 years" probably technically refers to their career as an author but.... I counted Matthew McConaughey's Greenlights because his career has spanned 21 years as an actor.
- My favorite prompt
I liked beginning and end as a dual prompt. I also liked a book you associate with a specific season or time of year.
- My least favorite prompt
Probably the past/present/future trio because it just seemed like three free choices to me. I also think the Warwick Prize one was extremely limiting since it included several parameters.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
* The House in the Cerulean Sea - for the elements of magic. Lots of people on here recommended it, and it was one of my favorites of the year.
- A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
* The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - it was on the "well read" list and I was initially going to read it for that prompt, but used it for dual genre (historical fiction & epistolary) instead; just not my vibe at all.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Mountolive (other topics)Girl in Dior (other topics)
Three Stars Over Luanda (other topics)
For Your Eyes Only (other topics)
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Annie Goetzinger (other topics)Rudolfo Anaya (other topics)
Ian Fleming (other topics)
Patrick Hughes (other topics)
Lawrence Durrell (other topics)
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If you're interested, feel free to answer these questions and let us know what you loved and didn't love about the challenge!
- 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!)