Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

NPR's Book Concierge has made its way onto our ATY list a couple times now, and for good reason. This website is easy to navigate and allows you to sort books into categories that are guaranteed to help you check some boxes. Spend some time clicking around the various years and tags, and you'll definitely find a book you'll love.

NPR Book Concierge: https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view...
ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

What are you reading for this prompt, and do you have any recommendations?

Just went through NPR's website and compared with what I own:

2013
The House Girl by Tara Conklin
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (audiobook)

2014
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
An Untamed State by Roxane Gay

2015
M Train by Patti Smith

2016
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Fellside by M.R. Carey
The Girls by Emma Cline
Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

2017
All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg
The Changeling by Victor LaValle
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (audiobook)
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
The Leavers by Lisa Ko
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The Power by Naomi Alderman (audiobook)
The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy
South and West: From a Notebook by Joan Didion
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002 by David Sedaris
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti

2018
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (audiobook)
Becoming by Michelle Obama (audiobook)

2019
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James (audiobook)
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (audiobook)
The Need by Helen Phillips
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (audiobook)

2020
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (audiobook)
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
A Promised Land by Barack Obama (audiobook)
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda

Any good ones I should pick?

Irene wrote: "Just went through NPR's website and compared with what I own:
."

I haven't read most of those but Becoming was excellent, especially on audio.

I have oodles of options (and my TBR list is crying for mercy because I keep wanting to add add add). A few that stand out to me.

Year of the Monkey (2019)
Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the Brontës (2020)
Jade City (2017)

Jackie wrote: "I haven't read most of those but Becoming was excellent, especially on audio."

I actually have that on audiobook as well! I definitely prefer memoirs in audiobook format, especially when the author is the narrator.

Jackie wrote: "Irene wrote: "Just went through NPR's website and compared with what I own:
."

I haven't read most of those but Becoming was excellent, especially on audio."

I second the recommendation for this on audio.

I would also recommend Mexican Gothic

I'm going to go with one of the books I had planned as possibilities for the Goodreads Choice last year and ended up not reading. So my options right now are either A Burning or Such a Fun Age.

However, I may also wait for this year's GR Choice Awards, and use one of those books that also is on the NPR Concierge.

Irene, I read and enjoyed The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Everything I Never Told You. I liked them for different reasons, as they really are night and day. But both are well worth the time.

Also, I was surprised at how much I liked On the Come Up. It's not my usual fair, but it was a good read.

Angie wrote: "Irene, I read and enjoyed The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Everything I Never Told You. I liked them for different reasons, as they really are night and day. But..."

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is great on audio.

Irene wrote: "Just went through NPR's website and compared with what I own: ..."

My absolute favorite on your list was Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It's sad, sometimes funny, it made me cry, but it's also very uplifting. I love her friendship with Raymond. Some readers try to judge (or diagnose) Eleanor right away, but her story is more complex than it seems. It generates great discussions.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is another one that is great to discuss with others, because reactions are so different.

I also liked An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, and Becoming by Michelle Obama. I agree that Becoming is great on audio, as long as you can speed up the narration (I had a CD and it was way too slow).

Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002 by David Sedaris - I love him on audio. His delivery makes a big difference.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow - I just read it. Some of the writing is lyrical and clever, but the story dragged me down a bit. I preferred Alice Hoffman's new book, The Book of Magic. (I read them back to back.)

Thanks for all the feedback! It's great to get some direction after I realized I really have a lot of choices for this prompt. I will have to work more of these titles into the other prompts cause I want to read quite a few off this list.

I do have Eleanor Oliphant, An American Marriage, The Ocean at the End of the Lane (I love Neil Gaiman's voice, so I automatically buy all his books even if I have the physical copy) all on audiobook. I think I have something crazy like 10 credits left, so I might pick up David Sedaris, too. Listen while I read along.

I am now debating which Celeste Ng novel to work in first. I have heard great things about both.

Edit: Just noticed Black Leopard, Red Wolf, The Power, A Promised Land, On the Come Up, The Essex Serpent & Mexican Gothic are also in my audiobook library. I need to work them in, I've been reading more lately than listening. I used to listen at work, but since I've been out of my office I can crank up music and sing along while I work. My family has been thrilled. lol.

There are too many for me to decide right now. Every time I look at the list I spot something else I want to read. I love the way they set up the NPR pages, with tags such as "eye-opening," "seriously great writing," "identity and culture."

The majority of the books I voted for are books that I already read and recommend. I think these deserve more attention:
The Lager Queen of Minnesota
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz,
The Nickel Boys,
American Dirt,
Interior Chinatown

I'm like you, NancyJ. I love this list so much and I also get so overwhelmed playing on the website because I have so many books on my TBR from this list. I probably won't decide (or even narrow it down) until I get to this week in my year.

Emily wrote: "I'm like you, NancyJ. I love this list so much and I also get so overwhelmed playing on the website because I have so many books on my TBR from this list. I probably won't decide (or even narrow it..."

I'm also planning to wait until I get to this prompt and use the Concierge to select something based on my mood at the time. My library is great and has a lot of these available, so it shouldn't be a problem not to choose one in advance!

When do they usually update it with the current year's books? I might use it for something I was intending to read this year but didn't get round to, because there are always a ton of those!

I absolutely love the NPR List! I have so many options to fill this prompt; I currently have 20 qualifying titles in my rough draft plan for next year.

Here are a few recommendations from the list. These were all 5 Stars reads for me.

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
The Archive of Alternate Endings by Lindsey Drager
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Irene wrote: "Any good ones I should pick?"

These were 4 or 5 Star reads for me:
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Ellie wrote: "When do they usually update it with the current year's books?"

Mid-to-late December

I’m curious about what will be on the 2021 list, before I make any selection! There are several 2020 books that I’m interested in and I have several 2013 books still sitting on my bookshelf.

I am embarrassed to say that I have 78 books on my shelves (either paper, nook, or audio) that I have not yet read from the lists between 2014 and 2020. My biggest problem will be which ONE do I pick?

And of the 99 I read from the lists I can unequivocally recommend the following from 2017 thru 2020:
Americanah
The Pull of the Stars
Stamped
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
The Other Americans
Other Words for Home
The Stationery Shop
The Water Dancer
The Dutch House
Sea Prayer
There There
Exit West
The Hate U Give (especially in audio)
Little Fires Everywhere

I found a handful of books that I own. I'd like to say I'll read one of them but it's doubtful with so many others that look more interesting! This year, I've been reading Russian authors, including the Strugatsky brothers, so I am gong to try to find Definitely Maybe by Arkady Strugatsky (2014).

It sounds like many of us feel the same way about this list. I think the solution is to look at the NPR List(s) when picking books for the OTHER prompts! Many fit title, letters, cover prompts (especially handwriting on the cover), Latin Asian and Jewish authors, Continents, Psychology, Earth day, Flora/fauna, Women in STEM, etc.

At first I thought we were limited to the most recent 1-2 years, so I still need to look at past years to compare the lists to the books I own, including my audible and kindle libraries.

The Powells Awards site is another one that has a ton of good books when you look at past years and nominees. I'm going to use many of those for the easier prompts to make sure I get a good variety of genres.

NancyJ wrote: "It sounds like many of us feel the same way about this list. I think the solution is to look at the NPR List(s) when picking books for the OTHER prompts!"

I am definitely doing this! Powell also seems to select novels I have thoroughly enjoyed. Might incorporate their winners as well.

There are so many I want to read on this list. Here are three I'm interested in:

The House Girl - Tara Conklin
The Lying Life of Adults - Elena Ferrante
Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio - Derf Backderf

I recommend Station Eleven, Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood, Lost Children Archive, Miss Iceland and Long Bright River.

The 2021 list has been posted!

Oooh! Thanks, dalex.

From the 2021 list I have these on my TBR:
My Heart Is a Chainsaw
Lore Olympus: Volume One
Summerwater
A Marvellous Light
Victories Greater Than Death

There are plenty of others I'd happily read if I can get my hands on them.

Ones I would recommend:
Firekeeper's Daughter
A Psalm for the Wild-Built
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
The Other Black Girl
Sorrowland
Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold
Dial A for Aunties
A Thousand Ships
The Wolf and the Woodsman

Ahh now I don't know whether to go for a new book from this year or one one of the previously years as I had planned. I love how they lay out the book covers on their site, it looks so pretty and tempting to add them all to my TBR!

I'm going to finally read my copy of Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era. it seems especially appropriate given all the trials that have been in the news lately, for some historical context. And for anyone else who cares about this, the author reads his own work in the audio book, and sounds good in the sample I listened to.

The 2021 list was just posted!

https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view...

Oh, the new list looks awesome. They call it "Books we Love" now,
but it's the same link.

I recommend these from the 2021 list (the first two are likely to be on my top 10 list this year):
Bewilderment by Richard Powers]*****
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley*****
Klara and the Sun (probably in my top 20)
Who is Maud Dixon - fun mystery/thriller
China Room -coming of age (sort of)

I am considering these from the 2021 list:
The Sentence - (Dec 2021 books-about-books tag) *****
Cloud Cuckoo Land - several prompts
The Magician - Toibin - (tarot, hist fic, other)
Under a White Sky - (earth day)
The Secret of Life - (Women in STEM)
Remember - Lisa Genova - (Neuro/Psy/Mind, Women in STEM)
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett - (double letters)
Summerwater - several
The Life of the Mind - (Academic setting, mind)
The Copenhagen Trilogy (Under 5000 votes)
Sorrowland
A Psalm for the wild built

I don't normally like "pick a book off of this list" type of prompts, but this actually had quite a few interesting looking books. Plus there's a nice variety. Books on the list that are on my TBR:

The Tropic of Serpents
The Martian
The Just City
Half-Witch
Bloody Rose
Piranesi
Black Sun
Tokyo Ueno Station
The Space Between Worlds
Fuzz

I might go with Bloody Rose cause I've been meaning to read it and get caught up already, but I might also just pick something else off the list that isn't on my TBR. Either way I think I'm going to have to do a more thorough look through the list. I bet there's quite a few in there that I'll want to give a go later!

I've been slowly combing through the 2021 books are there are so many books that are already on my TBR. I'm spoiled for choice!

I ended up reading A Slow Fire Burning. Annoyingly, I had read 1/2 of the book last year when it had to be returning. I was wondering what prompt to use for it, when NPR added it to the 2021 list. I really liked it.

I read Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen. A nice read about a group of people coming together at the lake for the summer. A couple of quirky characters, and a little family dram to help make a good story.

I have a whole running list of NPR rec's in my infinity list but I saw A Children's Bible on my last trip to the library, so I grabbed it. Loved it!

I read Beach Read by Emily Henry.

I just finished Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi and I thought it was really beautifully written. Highly recommend it! It would also work for a woman in STEM and also a book related to neuroscience.

A book I can absolutely recommend:
Nona Fernández The Twilight Zone
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Razorblade Tears and would definably recommend it.

Finished Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby and totally enjoyed it!

I read Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen. I needed an uplifting book during these times.

I recommended Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal.

I went with Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. It was on the Best Books 2020 list and was my book club's option for this month.

It would also work for #1 (Main character is named Agnes), #5 (double G, double R and double L in author's name), #11 (historical fiction), #28 (won the Women's Prize in Fiction), #22 (death is a major theme), #43 (small town), and #23 (ATY Best Book of the Month 2021).

Other Book Concierge books I liked include the romances Act Your Age, Eve Brown, First Comes Like, Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, All the Feels. Also Velvet Was the Night (noir), Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex (nonfiction), The Book of Atlantis Black: The Search for a Sister Gone Missing (memoir), Hench (SF), Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know (historical fiction), Mexican Gothic (gothic), When No One is Watching (thriller), A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II (biography), All Systems Red (SF), and The Water Dancer (historical fiction)

I read A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders. I'm doing a creative writing class and thought it might help!! I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it just for the discussion of the short stories.

I read Bewilderment.

some of the choices for me in my TBR
Dark Matter
The Starless Sea
The Space Between Worlds
The City We Became
Cemetery Boys
Certain Dark Things
Middlegame
A Spindle Splintered
Hummingbird Salamander

I am going to read

I read Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe and highly recommend it. I found it very Obsessing and I was hooked from the first page and the artwork was amazing.

This one is a tough prompt for me only because there are SO MANY books on the NPR Book Concierge I want to read. I will probably choose one of these:

Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejide
Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian
A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
Gordo by Jaime Cortez
The Morning Star by Karl Ove Knausgård
Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline

There are lots of others I will probably read, but will try to fit them under other prompts.

I went with one a little off the beaten path:
The Cactus League by Emily Nemens - 3* - My Review