EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club discussion

Congrats Armin, that's a real year of a challenge! What category was the most rewarding?

1. Set in a neighboring country
2. Re-read a favorite
3. Set in space
4. A book that your favorite fictional character would read
5. Title starts with J, K, Q, X or Z
6. Contains varying timelines
7. Published the decade you were born
8. Originally published in another language
9. Set in a city you’ve always wanted to visit
10. One-worded title
11. Poetry
12. Based on a true story
13. Listen to an audio book
14. Has been on a banned book list
15. A debut
16. Non-fiction
17. Made into a movie
18. Has a food item in title
19. Has a rural setting
20. Short story
21. Recommended by a friend
22. A non-human narrator
23. A genre you rarely read
24. A cover you like
25. An Award winner

UPDATE! Nearly done :D

Progress: 21/25
✅ 1. Non-Fiction: Cosmos
☐ 2. Set in a city you've always wanted to visit
✅ 3. Based on a true story: Once Upon A Time In Carrotland: My YouTube Autobiography Which I Definitely Wrote All Of
✅ 4. One-worded title: Neverwhere
☐ 5. A book that your favorite fictional character would read
☐ 6. Poetry
✅ 7. Originally published in another language: The Stranger
✅ 8. Contains varying timelines: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
✅ 9. Made into a movie: Casino Royale
✅ 10. A debut: Once Upon A Time In Carrotland: My YouTube Autobiography Which I Definitely Wrote All Of
✅ 11. Title starts with J, K, Q, X or Z: Klara and the Sun
☐ 12. Set in a neighboring country
✅ 13. Has been on a banned book list: The Call of the Wild
✅ 14. Listen to an audiobook: Belinda
✅ 15. Has a food item in title: Black Coffee
✅ 16. Recommended by a friend: A Thousand Splendid Suns
✅ 17. A genre you rarely read: At the Mountains of Madness
✅ 18. Set in space: Project Hail Mary
✅ 19. Short story: The Screaming Skull
✅ 20. Published the decade you were born: The Wide Window
✅ 21. A cover you like: Re-Coil
✅ 22. An award winner: The Old Man and the Sea
✅ 23. A non-human narrator: The Art of Racing in the Rain
✅ 24. Has a rural setting: Murder at the Vicarage
✅ 25. Re-read a favorite: A Study in Scarlet

Betsy wrote: "Congrats Armin, that's a real year of a challenge! What category was the most rewarding?"

Thanks. To be honest, it's hard to say which was the most rewarding, I read some great books. But, maybe I could single out Frankenstein: The 1818 Text, which has been on a has been banned in the past for its macabre subject matter. But also, a debut Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood and a genre (horror, fantasy) I rarely read - The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Armin, that's great. I'm glad you got more out of the Frankenstein novel than I did. I was disappointed that I couldn't get into the writing.

"4. A book that your favorite fictional character would read " apparently stumped lots of ppl. A few of you named the character, and one of you referenced Rory Gilmore's list of books she read on the show... but I'd love to know how the rest of you, who did list a book there, chose which one.

Since I missed this somehow, I'm going to try to go back and fill it in retroactively. Could be fun as I revisit the past year of reading!

Ok. I looked over my shelves for the past year and got Blackout.
I tried to choose books for adults, or at least 'substantial' books, and ones that I gave at least three stars to.

1. Set in a neighboring country - Canada, That Scatterbrain Booky

2. Re-read a favorite - 101 Elephant Jokes, I must've read this a dozen times as a kid, and when I found it on openlibrary.org I enjoyed it all over again.

3. Set in space - Outpost of Jupiter, classic SF by a master.

4. A book that your favorite fictional character would read - Festina Ramos, of the wonderful series that begins with Expendable, would appreciate the timeless SF of Way Station by Clifford D. Simak.

5. Title starts with J, K, Q, X or Z - Josephine is part of a trilogy for all ages that I rediscovered this year. I'm using all three for this challenge. :)

6. Contains varying timelines - This Is How You Lose the Time War. By definition; I can't imagine anything a better match.

7. Published the decade you were born. - I was born in 1962 so here's a good place to tout Hugo and Josephine.

8. Originally published in another language - The Black Obelisk byt the German Erich Maria Remarque.

9. Set in a city you’ve always wanted to visit - Provincetown, Massachusetts, for Paintbox Summer.

10. One-worded title - Hominids, by Robert J. Sawyer, one of my favorite 'modern' SF writers. Also Canadian. Also I'd love to visit Toronto. But hey, one box per book!

11. Poetry - Song of Myself, which will need a reread of course.

12. Based on a true story - The Best of Simple; Langston Hughes' prose ode to Harlem and the people who lived there.

13. Listen to an audio book - The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise.

14. Has been on a banned book list - The Witches of Worm, also a Newbery honored book. hmpf

15. A debut - The Salt Path, an incredible memoir.

16. Non-fiction - Are Dolphins Really Smart?: The Mammal Behind the Myth (spoiler: not quite as smart as many of us wish they were).

17. Made into a movie - Tuck Everlasting. I'll never see the movie, as I've loved the book several times & don't want it spoiled.

18. Has a food item in title - Revenge of the Green Banana, because sometimes I like something silly.

19. Has a rural setting - Hugo, part of that trilogy for all ages.

20. Short story - Metal Like Blood in the Dark, by T. Kingfisher who has written some amazing short novels.

21. Recommended by a friend - My GR friend Ryan is a source of great recommendations, especially SF, and his current evangelistic efforts are focused on The Steerswoman's Road and sequels.

22. A non-human narrator - Network Effect and the previous novellas about Murderbot, who seems to resemble humans in some ways but is not....

23. A genre you rarely read - I avoid historical fiction for children when the choice is mine, because I have to read so much of it for the Newbery Club in the Children's Books group. But I did enjoy The Upstairs Room.

24. A cover you like - The Outspoken Princess and The Gentle Knight: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales is a hoot. I've read a lot of books w/ beautiful covers, too, including The Practical Princess, and Other Liberating Fairy Tales by Jay Williams.

25. An Award winner - So, of course I've read lots of Newbery books, and some other award winners, but here's a shout out to Amanda Gorman and The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country. (Also a poem.)

1. Set in a neighboring country - Захар Беркут, Ukraine

2. Re-read a favorite -

3. Set in space -

4. A book that your favorite fictional character would read -

5. Title starts with J, K, Q, X or Z - Jane Eyre

6. Contains varying timelines - If We Were Villains

7. Published the decade you were born. - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1997)

8. Originally published in another language - most of my book, I'll pick La rivière à l'envers

9. Set in a city you’ve always wanted to visit - Geneve in Frankenstein: The 1818 Text

10. One-worded title - Dune

11. Poetry - "Крила" by Lina Kostenko

12. Based on a true story - What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding

13. Listen to an audio book - many, but the first one was Martha Quest

14. Has been on a banned book list - Lolita

15. A debut - Marta Oulie

16. Non-fiction - The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

17. Made into a movie - at least half of them, but let's pick Interview with the Vampire

18. Has a food item in title - In Watermelon Sugar

19. Has a rural setting - Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки

20. Short story - collections M Is for Magic and Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances

21. Recommended by a friend - Absent in the Spring

22. A non-human narrator - Letters from Father Christmas were partly written by a bear and an elf.. does it count? :)

23. A genre you rarely read - Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

24. A cover you like - Mexican Gothic

25. An Award winner - East of Eden

That's quite a list, Marta, congratulations and thanks for posting!
And I say, yes, Letters from Father Christmas should count. :)