Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Hello!

This will be my second foray into ATY. I was able to do just over half of the prompts, with my work committees and family life, I was pretty pleased with this. I am hoping this time around I will be able to do all 52 weeks. I have not settled on everything yet, but I have started my spreadsheet with titles. :) I look forward to reading your plans and sharing ideas.

~Stephanie

Planning question:

If you are also looking to do other big reading challenges (i.e. Popsugar, Book Riot's Read Harder, and Mrs. Darcy to name a few) are you planning on keeping the books completely separate or will you allow overlaps?

Thanks!

Hi Stephanie--I am doing the PopSugar challenge as well, and I'm planning on counting as many books as possible toward both the ATY and PopSugar challenges. But, no overlaps within a challenge. I think a lot of people are using that strategy.

Thanks Kelly! I am sure there are some who are able to do multiple challenges and keep the books from overlapping, but alas that is not going to happen for me this year. With doing multiple ones, it is interesting to see what can crossover.

Completed 7/52

1. A book that was nominated for or won an award in a genre you enjoy
2. A book with one of the 5 W's in the title (Who, What, Where, When, Why)
3. A book where the author’s name contains A, T, and Y

4. A book with a criminal character (i.e. assassin, pirate, thief, robber, scoundrel etc)--finished 1/19/19


5. A book by Shakespeare or inspired by Shakespeare
6. A book with a dual timeline
7. 2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme: Book #1
8. 2 books related to the same topic, genre, or theme: Book #2

9. A book from one of the top 5 money making genres (romance/erotica, crime/mystery, religious/inspirational, science fiction/fantasy or horror)
10. A book featuring an historical figure
11. A book related to one of the 12 Zodiac Chinese Animals (title, cover, subject)
12. A book about reading, books or an author/writer

13. A book that is included on a New York Public Library Staff Picks list--finished 1/9/19


14. A book with a title, subtitle or cover relating to an astronomical term
15. A book by an author from a Mediterranean country or set in a Mediterranean country
16. A book told from multiple perspectives
17. A speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy, scifi, horror, dystopia)
18. A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elements
19. A book by an author who has more than one book on your TBR
20. A book featuring indigenous people of a country
21. A book from one of the polarizing or close call votes

22. A book with a number in the title or on the cover
23. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #1 Something Old
24. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #2 Something New
25. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #3 Something Borrowed

26. 4 books inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #4 Something Blue
27. A book off of the 1001 books to read before you die list
28. A book related to something cold (i.e. theme, title, author, cover, etc.)
29. A book published before 1950
30. A book featuring an elderly character

31. A children’s classic you’ve never read
32. A book with more than 500 pages
33. A book you have owned for at least a year, but have not read yet

34. A book with a person's name in the title--finished 1/30/19


35. A psychological thriller--finished 1/4/19


36. A book featured on an NPR Best Books of the Year list--finished 2/1/19


37. A book set in a school or university
38. A book not written in traditional novel format (poetry, essay, epistolary, graphic novel, etc)

39. A book with a strong sense of place or where the author brings the location/setting to life
40. A book you stumbled upon
41. A book from the 2018 GR Choice Awards
42. A book with a monster or "monstrous" character
43. A book related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) [fiction or nonfiction]

44. 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.)
45. A multi-generational saga
46. A book with a (mostly) black cover

47. A book related to food (i.e. title, cover, plot, etc.) --finished 1/14/19


48. A book that was a finalist or winner for the National Book Award for any year
49. A book written by a Far East Asian author or set in a Far East Asian country

50. A book that includes a journey (physical, health, or spiritual) --finished 1/21/19


51. A book published in 2019
52. A book with a weird or intriguing title

Books Read this Year:

January


February

Stephanie wrote: "Planning question:

If you are also looking to do other big reading challenges (i.e. Popsugar, Book Riot's Read Harder, and Mrs. Darcy to name a few) are you planning on keeping the books completel..."

I'm doing some others as well like PopSugar, Book Riot, Reading Women, Jane Austen/Classics/Retellings, and Read It Again, Sam. All mine allow for overlap between challenges, and certain ones I do allow for overlap within though I also try not to if I can avoid it. My PopSugar and Book Riot challenges from last year ended up have a lot of double/triple, etc. dipping so my goal is to not do that as much this year. Of course, for stuff like Reading Women and Read It Again, Sam I chose thise knowing I'd use entries from other challenges since certain things this year(like some PopSugar tasks) are ideal for rereading, and I wanted to see how many women I read this year.

Tabitha wrote: "Stephanie wrote: "Planning question:

If you are also looking to do other big reading challenges (i.e. Popsugar, Book Riot's Read Harder, and Mrs. Darcy to name a few) are you planning on keeping t..."

I keep reading Reading Women, I think I will look at that one too--though I certainly do not need another reading challenge to track. :) BUT, it is something I enjoy.

January's Reader's Thoughts

I had a pretty good opening month this year, finishing 15 books total. Breaking the 15 down, they feel into the following:

Format:
*4 Audiobooks
*4 eBooks (2 owned, 2 borrowed from Overdrive)
*7 Physical books (1 owned, 6 from the Library)

Age Groups:
*5 Adult
*9 Young Adult
*1 Middle Grade

My favorites of the month:


The one I enjoyed the least:


Looking at the Around the Year Challenge, I have completed 6 of the 52 categories, or 11.5%. The challenges I completed are:
*4 A book with a criminal character (i.e. assassin, pirate, thief, robber, scoundrel etc)
*13 A book that is included on a New York Public Library Staff Picks list
*14 A book with a title, subtitle or cover relating to an astronomical term
*34 A book with a person's name in the title
*35 A psychological thriller
*47 A book related to food (i.e. title, cover, plot, etc.)

I also have a couple more categories that books I have read already that fit into some of the ATY categories, but I have not fully committed to using those. They are on my tracking spreadsheet as possibilities, and depending on how the year goes, I may end up using them later in the year for those categories. For me, it gives me options to fall back on, if needed.

How did you first month go?