Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

This is my first reading challenge after a decade-long hiatus...but I fully believe it's best to jump in feet first rather than ease in slowly. If I get half the list accomplished, I'll be pleased. Most selections are solidified, though I am may make adjustments as time progresses. Thanks to my wife/"valet" Christina for her contributions to my 2016 literary voyage.

1. A book you meant to read in 2015, but didn't
-Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

2. A book set in a different continent
-Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

3. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2015 (winner or nominated)
-You're Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day

4. A book by an author you discovered in 2015
-Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

5. A book with a title beginning with the 1st letter of your name
-Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish by John Hargrove, Howard Chua-Eoan

6. The highest rated on your TBR
-Lines in the Sand: An American Soldier's Personal Journey in Iraq by Scott Service

7. A book about books
-The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

8. A classic book with less than 200 pages
-Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

9. A book that was mentioned in another book
-Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

10. A book by an author you feel you should have read by now
-The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig by Stefan Zweig

11. A book from the Rory Gilmore challenge
-Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol 1, 1884-1933 by Blanche Wiesen Cook

12. A childhood classic
-The Railway Children by E. Nesbit

13. Reader’s Choice
-TBD (my wife will pick one out as a surprise on one of our used bookstore trips!)

14. A book with one of the five W’s -or H in the title (Who/What/Where/When/Why/How)
-What's the Buzz?: Keeping Bees in Flight by Merrie-Ellen Wilcox

15. A book set in the past (more than 100 years ago)
-The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

16. A book from the top 100 mystery novels
-Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe, Gary Kelley

17. A book with a beautiful cover
-Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

18. A book on a summer/beach reading list
-The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui's Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory by Julie Checkoway

19. A non-fiction book
-My Mountain, My People Volume I - Arrowhead!: The Story of Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Green Valley and Neighboring Communities by Stan Bellamy

20. A book with a first name in the title
-Walt Whitman's Civil War by Walter Lowenfels

21. A book from the Goodreads Recommendations page
-Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

22. The first book in a new to you series
-The Maze Runner by James Dashner

23. The next book in a series you are reading
-Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

24. A "between the numbers" book of a series (0.5, 1,5, 2.5, etc.)
-The Andalite Chronicles by Katherine Applegate

25. A book whose main character is in a profession that interests you
-Another Side of Bob Dylan: A Personal History on the Road and off the Tracks by Victor Maymudes, Jacob Maymudes

26. A book everyone is talking about
-Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

27. A book with a beautiful title (in your own opinion)
-Rescue Road: One Man, Thirty Thousand Dogs, and a Million Miles on the Last Hope Highway by Peter Zheutlin

28. A biography, autobiography, or memoir
-The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy by Rainn Wilson

29. A book by an author who writes under more than one name
-A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

30. A fairytale from a culture other than your own
-American Indian Myths and Legends by Richard Erdoes

31. A work of young adult fiction
-The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

32. A historical fiction book
-The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

33. The 16th book on your TBR
-World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

34. A book about mental illness
-Mindful Parenting for ADHD: A Guide to Cultivating Calm, Reducing Stress, and Helping Children Thrive by Mark Bertin

35. An award winning book
-One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

36. An identity book - a book about a different culture, religion or sexual orientation
-One Child: The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment by Mei Fong

37. A book that you've seen the movie of but haven't read
-Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

38. A book about an anti hero
-Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

39. A previous suggestion that did not make it into the list: A book that was released exactly 100 years before the year you were born
-Tough Trip Through Paradise: Montana 1878 by Andrew Garcia

40. A novella from your favorite genre
-The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy

41. A book about a major world event (fiction or non-fiction)
-We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam by Harold G. Moore, Joseph L. Galloway

42. A top 100 fantasy novel
-A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

43. A book about a thing that goes bump in the night
-Hell House by Richard Matheson

44. A book you're embarrassed to read in public
-The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

45. A book related to a hobby or passion you have
-Backyard Ice Rink: A Step-by-Step Guide for Building Your Own Hockey Rink at Home by Joe Proulx

46. A crime story
-In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

47. A book with a type of food/drink in the title
-Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

48. A dystopia
-The Road by Cormac McCarthy

49. A book with a great opening line
-Post Office by Charles Bukowski

50. A book originally written in a language other than English
-Sun Tzu's Art of War by Thomas Cleary

51. A short story from a well-known author
-Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger

52. A book published in 2016
-Two If by Sea by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Welcome :)

Plenty of well known books in your list, I'll read Green Tomatoes too!
I really enjoyed the Hunger Games series (2nd is my favorite) and The Road (great atmosphere). I wasn't compelled by The Neverending Story but it was a very interesting read in how it's built. Dorian and Maze Runner were disappointing but hopefully you'll enjoy them.
I didn't know The Last of the Mohicans was a book (I think I haven't seen the movie).

There were a lot of bucket list books that I shoehorned in, as well as lots that were recommended or just wanted to read to "be in the know". Some were selected to compare the cinematic take (i.e. Dexter, GOT) as I know Michael Ende was very unhappy with the movie interpretation (which is actually one of my favorite movies). My wife has a completed reading list three or four times my own, so I am working on catching up on some of her recommended titles as well, i.e. Tomatoes, Mohicans, Hunger Games, Frankenstein. I enjoyed finding the little obscure books I selected as well, especially as some were giveaways needing to be reviewed...two birds with one stone.

Great choices! Many of these are on my 2016 plan also, and many that aren't are on my TBR. I hope we enjoy them as much as we think we will! :)