Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Update: I finished the challenge! Woo hoo! In order to finish, I had to listed to a lot of audiobooks. I was pretty well on pace for the year until I hit A Brief History of Seven Killings, which was anything but brief. I can appreciate it, but did not enjoy it. And, it completely sidetracked me. I only read 23 (44%) of the challenge and listened to 29 (56%). On the downside, I wish I could have actually read more. On the upside, I've grown to really appreciate audiobooks and am able to do a lot more things around the house (i.e. cleaning, laundry) with enjoyment. I will do this challenge again and hopefully get through a lot more books in 2019.
Read: 23
Listened to: 29

This is my first AtY in 52 Challenge. I'm excited and a little nervous. Here's hoping I don't flake out. :) I'm going to try to read a lot of women and PoC authors in doing this challenge...so here goes.

1. A book with the letters A, T & Y in the title: All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

2. A book from the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list: A Handful of Stars

3. A book from the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards (link): Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

4. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #1 Earth (in title, cover, content, setting, author...): The Fifth Season

5. A book about or inspired by real events: Before We Were Yours

6. A book originally written in a language other than English: Blindness

7. A gothic novel: Fledgling

8. An "own voices" book*: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

9. A book with a body part in the title (heart, bones, teeth, skin, blood, etc): The Skin I'm In

10. An author's debut book (their first book to be published): Homegoing

11. A literary fiction: Persuasion

12. A book set in Africa or South America: Purple Hibiscus

13. A book with a plot centered around a secret (forbidden love, spies, secret societies, etc): The Secret History

14. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #2 Fire: Little Fires Everywhere

15. A book with an unique format/writing structure: Long Way Down

16. A narrative nonfiction: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers ~ Listened to the audiobook

17. A book you expect to make you laugh: Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

18. A book with a location in the title: Death in the Andes

19. A book nominated for the Edgar Award or by a Grand master author (books & authors): The Sympathizer ~ Listened to the audiobook

20. A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends: A Brief History of Seven Killings ~ Listened to the audiobook

21. A book written in first person perspective: The Handmaid's Tale~ Listened to the audiobook

22. A book you have high expectations or hope for: Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship ~ Listened to the audiobook

23. A medical or legal thriller: Anatomy of a Murder

24. A book with a map: Graceling ~ Listened to the audiobook

25. A book with an antagonist/villain point of view: Six of Crows~ Listened to the audiobook

26. A book with a text only cover: White Teeth~ Listened to the audiobook

27. A book about surviving a hardship (war, famine, major disasters, serious illness, etc): The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl ~ Listened to the audiobook

28. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #3 Water: The Golden Compass~ Listened to the audiobook

29. A book with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or title (lead pipe, revolver, rope, candlestick, dagger, wrench): And Then There Were None ~ Listened to the audiobook

30. A short book: Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun

31. A book set in a country you'd like to visit but have never been to: Burial Rites~ Listened to the audiobook

32. An alternate history book: The Man in the High Castle

33. A book connected (title, cover, content) to a word "born" in the same year as you (link): I'm going with "punk rock" and reading: Just Kids ~ Listened to the audiobook

34. A suggestion from the AtY 2018 polls, that didn't win but was polarizing or a close-call (link): This is from the polarizing list - Your book result from the Ultimate Flowchart For Finding Your Next Book: Big Little Lies~ Listened to the audiobook

35. A book featuring a murder: The Alienist ~ Listened to the audiobook

36. A book published in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018) by an author you haven't read before: The Girls ~ Listened to the audiobook

37. A Women's Prize for Fiction winner or nominee (link1, link2): The Power~ Listened to the audiobook

38. A science book or a science fiction book: Ender's Game ~ Listened to the audiobook

39. A book with a form of punctuation in the title: Let's Play White

40. A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list (link): Breath, Eyes, Memory

41. A book by an author with the same first and last initials: Out Stealing Horses

42. A book that takes place on, in, or underwater: The North Water ~ Listened to the audiobook

43. A book with a title that is a whole sentence: The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter~ Listened to the audiobook

44. A ghost story: White Tears ~ Listened to the audiobook

45. A book that intimidates/ scares you: Gone with the Wind ~ Listened to the audiobook

46. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #4 Air: The Burning Air~ Listened to the audiobook

47. A book where the main character (or author) is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity than your own: Queen Sugar ~ Listened to the audiobook

48. A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth): The Grapes of Wrath ~ Listened to the audiobook

49. A book from one of the Goodreads Best Books of the Month lists (link): The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds ~ Listened to the audiobook

50. A book with a warm atmosphere (centered on family, friendship, love or summer): The Turner House

51. An award-winning short story or short story collection: Interpreter of Maladies~ Listened to the audiobook

52. A book published in 2018: Lethal White~ Listened to the audiobook