Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Discovering new books is the one of the best things about this group and Goodreads in general. But sometimes you have to dust off that TBR and take a look at what's really on there. Your feedback after the last read-t-hon was that you loved seeing what others have their TBR. We heard you and nows your chance to catch a small glimpse again.

Instructions: First, you'll need to see your complete bookshelf. Click 'My Books' at the top of the page and then be sure that 'all' is clicked on the left side. The next step is totally up to you. If you want to sort them alphabetically then click 'Title' at the top. If you want to sort by 'Rating' then click 'avg rating'. Date added? Click 'date added'. You get the idea.

Now, the concept is simple. I'll start things off my providing two random numbers. Find the books that correspond to those numbers on your bookshelf. If you've read it, give a quick review or what you thought of the book. If you haven't read it then maybe just talk about why it was added. If you don't want to read it anymore then, well, delete it!

After you list your two books then give two more numbers for the person below you.

Note: If your bookshelf isn't big enough to accommodate a provided number then just pick a random number yourself or give the last book on the list. No big deal :)

First two numbers:
17
58

17 - 50 Classic Books: Volume 2 - I grab this one quite often for challenges that require reading a Classic. It's very well formatted as an ebook.

58 - Ancillary Justice - I just added this sci-fi book back in June. I am hoping to get to it sometime this winter.

Next numbers:

2
22

#2 - The School Bag by Seamus Heaney
Added because I read Heaney's translation of Beowulf earlier this year and it made me want to read more of his original work.

#22 - Running Wild by J.G. Ballard. Added because he's an author I've always meant to read and this short book seemed like it might be a nice introduction to his books.

Next person: 41 and 19

#41 - Salt to the Sea: a really interesting historical fiction about an event I hadn't heard of before.

#19 - It Ends with Us: I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked parts of it and I liked the overall message, but the writing annoyed me a little.

Next: 105 and 78

I have just 72 books in my TBR, so I will just answer with two random as recommended:

#1 - Beautiful Redemption. The last volume of Beautiful Creatures series which have been on my bookshelf too long already... I should finish the series.

# 72 - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. No idea what is about, but who recommeded said it was like the TV show Firefly and I love that one. I just added today.

Next: 1 and 100

#1 - Becoming Red: This was the first book I added back in 2013 and I still haven't read it yet! I was reading a lot of Paranormal Romance at that time so that would be how it ended up on my TBR list.

#100 - Kaleb: I read this one back in 2014 and even after looking at the blurb on here I don't actually remember much about it. I must have liked it since I rated it 4 stars.

Next: 48 and 199

#48 - Sleutels van chaos, the first book I won with a GR giveaway. A dutch fantasy book, unfortunately this was supposed to be the first in a series but no sequels have been published up to now. And it didn't feel completely finished.

#199 - Fighting Fit, a fun childrens book (#6 in a series). I don't remember why I picked it up but I read the series while traveling through Australia in 2005.

Next: 19 and 304

#48 - All Shook Up by Shelley Pearsall: This is a young adult novel about a boy who is staying with his father, who is an Elvis-impersonator. I remember it as very funny.

#199 - Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer: Another YA novel that I read because my library coworker said the series was so good. I liked it but I didn't go on with the series. If you like pirates and girl power, you will like this!

Next: 25 and 115

#25 The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress byAriel Lawhon I just finished reading Flight of Dreams for my book club and really enjoyed it. It was so good that I added the rest of her books to my TBR.

#115 Just Off The Path- Another AtYB'er read this for a prompt this year. It looked very interesting so on to the ever growing TBR it goes.

Next: 67 and 209

#67 - The BFG by Roald Dahl - I think I read this when I was younger, but don't really remember it. After I read Matilda for a challenge, I decided to pick up a couple other books of his. I just haven't read it yet.

#209 - Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry - This was a book I first read a few years ago and really loved it. I picked up the next in the series and never read it. I finally picked up this first installment again this year and still loved it. I plan on reading the sequel this year, but we'll see if it actually happens! lol

next - #46 & #110

#46 - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman - the first book of a series I absolutely loved when I was a teenager. I re-read it a few years ago and still loved it!

#110 - The Empire of the Wolves by Jean-Christophe Grangé - This French thriller author is one of my all time favourites, thriller fans, you should definitely check him out! This book is one of the first I read from him years and years ago, but I keep a vivid image of it.

next - #88 & #42

#19 - Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of America's Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed
I read this book because I was researching serial killers for a study I was conducting and this is one of the very few that the cops have not caught.

#304 - The Wolf Within
I have not read this book yet but picked it because of cover and has paranormal wrote all over it.

Next 21 & 69

21 - Lichgates
I read this as a read for review. It is a YA fantasy and I really enjoyed the world. there are 4 books in the series and of course I intend to get to the rest, but need to fit them around my challenge.

69 - Silent Ending
I added this to my TBR as I received the second book free from the author due to me liking in on kindle scout. The author suggested to read the first book first. I haven't got to it yet (as I don't own it and you know, too many books, not enough time), which also means I haven't got to the second one yet.

Next 25 and 77

I could have sworn there was a cover scavenger hunt game posted while I was at work that I couldn't getting running on my phone...now I can't seem to find it.

#21 - Eleanor & Park. I read this a couple of years ago as part of my first reading challenge, and I really enjoyed it. It was such a cute story.

#69 - Don Quixote. I have not read this yet, and it's more of a long-term goal because it is such a long book! I first became interested in it through the Wishbone TV series, but haven't been brave enough to read it.

Next: 200 and 2

Edit: Mine was in response to Debra. Bec's post didn't show up for me until after I'd refreshed. Should I change mine?

#200: All the Birds in the Sky. Have not read it, but it's on my immediate TBR and I'm really excited to get to it. I've heard a lot of good things about it.

#2: To Kill a Mockingbird . Love this book, but it's high time I re-read it (and then Go Set a Watchman).

Next: 167 and 76

#67 - Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler. She is one of my favorite authors, and this is my favorite of her books. I love the way she writes her women characters in particular.

#167 - Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet Ahlberg. This is a beautiful children's book, even the end pages are beautiful.

Note...I'm fairly new to GR. Can someone please let me know how to do links to books in the GR app, on an iPad? Thanks.

#69

#111

#69 The Husband's Secret I added this book after reading Big Little Lies by the same author which I immensely enjoyed. Still haven't gotten around to reading this one yet.

#111 East of Eden One of the Classics I want to tackle one of these days.

#26
#107

Lizzy, unfortunately you can't link book from the app, which is very bad and lack a lot of the website's functionalities. You can however access goodreads via your phone or iPad browser, it displays quite well. Then you'll have a link called "add book/author" on the top right of the comment box.

I hope this helps!

#26 The Diary of Anne Frank: And Related Readings I read this a long time ago but realized I never marked it as read on Goodreads so I had just marked it as read a couple of months ago. I read in school years ago.

#107 The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable I added this at the beginning of the year when my boss said he wanted me to read it. It's coming up soon on my list!

#55
#75

#55 Kill the Boy Band I added this after seeing it at work. I thought it was a funny title and looked like a fun read.

#75 Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race This movie looked really good and I am interested to read the book.

Next person: #11 and #34

#11: The Complete Shorter Fiction of Virginia Woolf. I spotted this at a used bookstore a while back and picked it up on a lark because I enjoyed reading Mrs. Dalloway in college, as well as A Room of One's Own, and wanted to see more of her writing. I'm excited to get to this one, especially since I read To the Lighthouse earlier this month and loved it.

#34: The Girl from Venice. I honestly can't remember why I added this one. I think the synopsis might've intrigued me? I'll have to reconsider whether I'm keeping this one on my TBR list or not I suppose.

Next person: #20, #72

#20: Land ingen har sett by Edvard Hoem. Hoem is one of my (current living) favourite Norwegians authors, and this series are historical fiction from the late 1800's. It tells the story of the hard way of living in Norway back then, and the ones that tried to find fortune by emmigrating to the US. This is #3 in a trilogy, and I have so far only read the first one. Not translated to english though.

#72: Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun. Love this book, it is very beautifully written. Highly recommended.

Next person: #1 and #10

#1: Zeroes. Not sure why I added this one, I believe it was because the description sounded interesting and I downloaded the book for free.

#10: Your Best Life Now for Moms. I added this one because I read another book by this author that was interesting and wanted to read some of hids other books.

Next person: #2 and #37

#2 The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston. I added this at a friend's recommendation and I'm so glad I did! It's a memoir that skirts the border between reality and fantasy. I loved it.

#37 In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson. My book club read this when it first came out. Through the true story of a diplomat's family, it provided a vivid view of Germany leading up to the second world war, but it also showed a side of the US at that time that was eye opening. Highly recommend.

Next person: #8 and #21

#8 The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton I added this one because I read The Lake House by the same author and thought it was really good!

#21 Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom I read this one just a few months ago and thought it was really good. It has a very simplistic message that seems obvious if you think about it, but it's a good reminder of prioritizing the important things in life. I think this one of the few books I read this year that made me cry.

Next person: # 18 and #99

#18 The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer I have a fascination with serial killers so I have read quite a few books about them. This information was educational.

#99 -The Wolf in Winter have not read this one and not sure why I placed it on my reading list guess I just liked the cover or the content of the book.

Next #125 & 252

#125 Definitely Dead I loved the first 10 or so Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) books all a bit of fun and kind of unique genre to me. These books are vampire/paranormal being books, there is a regular cast of characters with Sookie being the leading lady getting in and out of difficult situations and mixed up with hunky out of this world men. I liked that this book took Sookie to New Orleans changed things up a bit although her new suitor was a bit annoying.

#252 A Hundred Thousand Worlds
I have not read this but I like the premise - I women who acted on a cult sci-fi TV show travels accross the country to reunite her son with his father (her co-star in the show) along the way they attend comic book conventions meeting up with convention regulars.

Next #33 and #133

#125 Orange Mint and Honey I haven't read this yet. I'm sure I got the title from Book Bub's book deals. African-American chick lit. I typically read heavy topics, so I try to keep books like this for those in-between moments when I need a quick, fun read.

#252 Cane River I read this over the summer. This is an example of one of those heavier weighted topics I read. Such a different story of slavery and emancipation! The setting is Cane River, Louisiana where everyone, including the slaves, speak Creole French and bi-racial relationships are not frowned up as typically as they were in the rest of the south. Also, the multi-generational story is based upon the author's family history. Not my favorite novel from this era, but definitely a worthwhile read.

#23 and #140