Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Last year was my third year doing AtY and my first year reading in order. I found it was a fun additional challenge and made me plan ahead more, because I couldn't just pick a book at random at see where it happened to fit. I was very strict with myself and wouldn't allow myself to even start the next prompt before finishing the one before.

This year, I'm reading in order again but being a bit less strict about it - for instance, I usually have an audiobook and a physical book on the go at the same time, and this year I've decided to allow myself two AtY books at once and not be too worried about which one I finish first. Today I started Silver Sparrow for prompt #1 on Kindle, and The Tropic of Serpents on audio for prompt #2.

Prompt 1 ~

I've lined up my first three books for this week. I'm reading a continent, a region, a state, and if I get to a forth book, I'll select a book for a "city." I did a self-challenge to make all the selections fit the same letter.

ASIA ~ Pavilion of Women: A Novel of Life in the Women's Quarters

APPALACHIA ~ Demon Copperhead

ALABAMA ~ Midnight at the Blackbird Café
Completed ~ 1.2.22
4★

CITY ~ if I get this far, I have a plethera of choices
* Austin, Atlanta, Albuquerque, there's a BIG long list ...
https://www.goodreads.com/places/

I'm happy to see there are others who are taking a more flexible approach to the read-in-order, while still keeping it as the general guideline ❤️

Updated Jan 2nd:
Today I started:

Prompt 1: A//AUSTRALIA
☑️ The Station - completed

and

Prompt 14: Meghan and Harry: The Real Story ~ on Audible ( A book with a con, deception, or fake) I'm pretty sure that if I don't listen to this one right away, I'm going to be so full up on these two and their... nonsense (I'll be nice...) that I won't be able to stand listening to it later in the year, so I'll get it done now!! - underway

Prompt 2: ☑️ Dibs
I also have Ash and Quill on hand and ready to go (A book by an author you read in 2022) relocated to prompt 12

Off to a good start!

♞ Pat wrote: "Prompt 1 ~

I've lined up my first three books for this week. I'm reading a continent, a region, a state, and if I get to a forth book, I'll select a book for a "city." I did a self-challenge to m..."

Wow Pat, your book total by the end of the year is going to be eye-popping!!

I have Fault Lines, set in Tokyo, all queued up on audio. It's a short one.

I also have Well Traveled on my Kindle (author read in 2022), but I need to finish Fairy Tale first, which I'm reading for the Pop Sugar challenge. I had started in mid-December but put it aside to read some Christmas books, plus my last ATY 2022 book, which was This Time Next Year, which is set on New Year's Eve/Day so I put it off until the end of the year. I finished it in the wee hours of Dec. 31! (insomnia does have its advantages I guess).

However, my book club is meeting on Jan. 10 to discuss Genuine Fraud. I was hoping to read that on audio after Fault Lines but there's a 2 week wait, gah. Guess I'll do that one on Kindle after Fairy Tale, and then go back to Well Traveled.

Which means my first few books will be out of order. But I'm okay with that even though I plan to stay as close to the order as I can.

I was undecided whether I would read in order this year or not, but I picked up the top book from the stack I got from the library this week, and it is set in Amherst, Massachusetts (Because I Could Not Stop for Death). I'm taking it as sign to at least start reading in order this year.

I'll be attempting to read the prompts in order with a target of one per week! Here are my January reads:

Week 1: Gold Diggers
Week 2: Future Home of the Living God
Week 3: Writers & Lovers
Week 4: The Sweetness of Water
Week 5: Broken

I started a book that I've had on my shelf for awhile.
The Snow Child

It's set in Alaska in the 1920s. Different from what I usually read. Kind of a slow start but I'm interested to see what happens at the end.

Kelly wrote: "I started a book that I've had on my shelf for awhile.
The Snow Child

It's set in Alaska in the 1920s. Different from what I usually read. Kind of a slow start but I'm interested to see what happ..."

That's on my TBR... it sounds fascinating, interested to see what you think of it!

Jan 2nd Check-in:

Prompt 1 (A//AUSTRALIA) complete:
☑️ The Station

Prompt 2 complete:
☑️ Dibs

Prompt 14 underway:
⚪️ Meghan and Harry: The Real Story on Audible, Currently Listening
( A book with a con, deception, or fake) I'm pretty sure that if I don't listen to this one right away, I'm going to be so full up on these two and their... nonsense (I'll be nice...) that I won't be able to stand listening to it later in the year, so I'll get it done now!!

💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

I finished my first book. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry for prompt 1; set on Alice Island. So great to get the first one checked off :D

Now I'm reading a couple books for side challenges and hope to flip back to Prompt #2 early next week.

I'll be reading Two Man Station which takes place in Australia for the week one prompt. I've had this book on my TBR for almost five years so it will be nice to finally get it finished!

Nancy wrote: "Planned my first 4 books of the year:

01. A book set in a location that begins with A, T, or Y - Fault Lines (Tokyo)
02. A book by an author you read in 2022 [book:Well Traveled|49..."

By "reading in order" I mean "read roughly in a 4 book range that corresponds with the month" so I would definitely read #3 first and still consider it close enough to in order.

Jenna wrote: "Wow Pat, your book total by the end of the year is going to be eye-popping!!..."

It's usually in the 160-175 range. I work at a library, and I take my reader's advisory role pretty seriously. Mostly because everyone who checks out a book asks me, "have you read this?" I like to be able to not only say, "yes," but also be able to tell them if I liked it or not.

I stressed myself out too much last year reading in strict order. This year I've decided to read them a month's worth at a time. I've got all my first reads on hold at the library.

Almost halfway through my first book: Killer Crusts, which takes place in Timber Ridge, NC. I've got up to prompt 5 figured out though so going well so far!

Kelly wrote: "I started a book that I've had on my shelf for awhile.
The Snow Child

It's set in Alaska in the 1920s. Different from what I usually read. Kind of a slow start but I'm interested to see what happ..."

I read it a few years ago and loved it! Very moving and poetic. Hope you enjoy it too.

Already I am quitting the read in order plan of monthly. I rely too much on libraries...and I am in too many challenges to keep it going.

I’m going to read in order again this year although I plan to be more loose about it. For example, my husband and I listened to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on our long car ride but since it doesn’t fit in any of my early prompts, I’m just going to slot it into a later prompt (yet to be determined). For January, I am reading the following:
1. A book set in a location that begins with A, T, or Y: Gods in Alabama
2. A book by an author you read in 2022: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the 2023 list (I’m going to use my own suggestion, western astrological sign and go with Gemini—twins): The God of Small Things
4. A book with an interracial relationship: The Wedding Date
5. A book with 4 or more colors on the cover: The Island of Dr. Moreau

I’m also reading A Bad Day for Sunshine, which I started in 2022 and thought I would finish before the end of the year and I don’t have a place to put it.

Kathryn wrote: "I’m going to read in order again this year although I plan to be more loose about it. For example, my husband and I listened to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on our long car ride but since i..."

I just finished God's in Alabama. It was pretty good!

I'm reading in order again too. I found it very fun last year!

My January reads:
1. A book set in a location that begins with A, T, or Y
Runt (set Australia)
2. A book by an author you read in 2022
The Book of Two Ways
3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the 2023 list
Resurrection Bay (won an Australian book award)
4. A book with an interracial relationship
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

Finally finished Fairy Tale! What a slog. I love Stephen King but this was not his finest work.

I am going to start Well Traveled next. My son is with his father this weekend so I'll have lots of time to read. If I get to a point where I'm not close to finishing I'll just switch to Genuine Fraud so I get it done in time for book club on Tuesday. I'm still mad I didn't request the audio while it was available!

Nancy wrote: "Finally finished Fairy Tale! What a slog. I love Stephen King but this was not his finest work.

I am going to start Well Traveled next. My son is with his father this weekend so I'll have lots of ..."

YES! I felt the same about Fairy Tale. Slog is the perfect description.

Welp... *squints uncomfortably*
I'm not doing great with this reading in order thing y'all, but I AM actually getting a lot read... so... ??

Update as of 1/4 @ noon-ish:
☑️ The Station ~ prompt 1 ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ Dibs ~ prompt 2 ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ My Darling Duke ~ prompt 11 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ Meghan and Harry: The Real Story ~ prompt 14 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Currently reading:
8. An author's debut book
Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting
~ home library/audible

5. A book with 4 or more colors on the cover
American Colonial: Puritan Simplicity to Georgian Grace ~ home library/paperback

I have been reading in order, week by week, for several years now and find it works really well for me. I average 2-3 books per week so can fit in other challenges (I do monthly Australian and seasonal challenges) around the AtY one, and I am getting through my very large physical TBR, and also managing many of the classics that I am always keen to read but previously tended to put off in favour of "easier" reads.
I usually plan the whole AtY year in advance but haven't done the whole list this year as so many of the prompts are so wide open - I have only planned the more difficult ones. My January plan is:
1. Just Kids by Patti Smith (America - very broad I know, but I am not American...)
2. The Night Gate by Peter May
3. Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages by Gaston Dorren (A book involving aspects of language, linguistics, or the spoken word)
4. House of Music: Raising the Kanneh-Masons by Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason

Good luck to everyone and happy reading!

Sue wrote: "I have been reading in order, week by week, for several years now and find it works really well for me. I average 2-3 books per week so can fit in other challenges (I do monthly Australian and seas..."

I've done similar planning by checking the list for anything I think will be tougher, but mostly left mine unplanned as well. So far I'm liking this strategy

Half way through week one! How is everyone progressing with your first book?

I've got my first main challenge checked off and working on the first Jan prompt for Winter Reading Challenge now because I like this 'in order' bit so much, I'm doing that in order too!!

Read a book by an author who is new to you - The Atlas Six is a bit slow going for me so far, but I hope to finish today. Then ?? something not on a list or get started on week #2 a smidge early?

I read 2 books for week 1's prompt: Death of an Eye set in Alexandria and Fatal Flowers: A Flower House Mystery set in Aerieville, Tennessee. So far I have read 1 book for week 2's prompt: Brute of All Evil.

The trouble I am starting to have is noticing that other people are waiting for books I have checked out and lined up for week 4 and 5 of the month. On one hand I don't want to rush through the month and the other I know how it feels to be waiting for a book.

Sheena wrote: "Half way through week one! How is everyone progressing with your first book?

I've got my first main challenge checked off and working on the first Jan prompt for Winter Reading Challenge now beca..."

I finished
Book #1 ~ Midnight at the Blackbird Café (Alabama)
Book #2 ~ Pavilion of Women (Asia)

In the middle of #3 ~ Where'd You Go, Bernadette (not totally sure it fits though ... i'm halfway through and not an Alaska or Antarctica in sight)

My hold on #4 arrived at the library today ~ Demon Copperhead (Appalachia)

Assuming I can finish #3 today, that leaves me the rest of the weekend to get the #4 BIG book read. That's the one that I most want to read for this prompt. The rest were just killing time. LOL

♞ Pat wrote: "Sheena wrote: "Half way through week one! How is everyone progressing with your first book?

I've got my first main challenge checked off and working on the first Jan prompt for Winter Reading Cha..."

Oh no! I had Bernadette short listed for that prompt too at one point, but moved it the "W" prompt. So frustrating when you pick a book for a prompt and it doesn't actually meet it. I had a similar worry with Pachinko for the game prompt, but eventually it got there. Hope yours does too!!

So awesome that you've managed 4 books for this one.

Bernadette does go to Antarctica eventually, not sure about Alaska.

Nancy wrote: "Bernadette does go to Antarctica eventually, not sure about Alaska."

Yes, but it happens so late in the book, that I'm not sure that I'd call the book set there. On the other hand, the overriding theme of the book is the trip to Antarctica, so it could technically work if you wanted it to. I'm personally much more comfortable calling the setting Seattle.

Demon Copperhead. Gosh - I started it last night about an hour before bedtime, and 10 chapters later ....

I'm really REALLY tired today! LOL

♞ Pat wrote: "Demon Copperhead. Gosh - I started it last night about an hour before bedtime, and 10 chapters later ....

I'm really REALLY tired today! LOL"

LOL we've all had those nights//days 😂 More than once my husband has sat up at 2AM and been like... "WHAT are you doing still reading?!" lmao

✅ Week 1. A book set in a location that begins with A, T, or Y: A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute 1/1/23
✅ Week 2. A book by an author you read in 2022: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn 1/5/23
✅ Week 3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the list this year: Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy 1/8/23
✅ Week 4. A book with an interracial relationship: The Songbook of Benny Lament by Amy Harmon 1/10/23
✅ Week 5. A book with 4 or more colors on the cover: The Candy House by Jennifer Egan 1/14/23
✅ Week 6. A book where books are important: The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles 1/21/21
✅ Week 7. A book with one of the five "W" question words in the title : What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harris 2/7/23
✅ Week 8. An author's debut book: Cover Her Face by P.D. James 2/13/23
✅ Week 9. A book nominated for an award beginning with W: Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith 3/14/23
✅ Week 10. A book related to one of the Spice Girls' "personalities": Bases to Bleachers: A Collection of Personal Baseball Stories from the Stands and Beyond by Eric C. Gray 3/19/23
✅ Week 11. A book about a person/character with a disability: The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni 3/25/23
✅ Week 12. A book connected to birds, bees, or bunnies: The Murmur of Bees by Sofía Segovia 4/8/23
✅ Week 13. A book that has an object that is repeated on the cover: Apeirogon by Colum McCann 4/12/23
✅ Week 14. A book with a con, deception, or fake: Homecoming by Kate Morton 4/27/23
✅ Week 15. Three books, each of which is set in a different century #1 (19th century): The Gilded Age by Mark Twain 4/28/23
✅ Week 16. Three books, each of which is set in a different century #2 (18th century): A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon 4/29/23
✅ Week 17. Three books, each of which is set in a different century #3 (15th Century]: Joan by Katherine J. Chen 5/15/23
✅ Week 18. A book related to science: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 5/29/23
✅ Week 19. A book related to the arts: Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska by Warren Zanes 6/3/23
✅ Week 20. A book with a cover or title that includes a route of travel: Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy by Nathaniel Philbrick 6/28/23
✅ Week 21. A book by an Asian diaspora author: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 7/8/23
✅ Week 22. A book with a faceless person on the cover: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo 7/15/23
✅ Week 23. A book with a body of water in the title: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys 7/24/23
✅ Week 24. A character that might be called a Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, or Spy: The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford 7/26/23
✅ Week 25. A book with a tropical setting: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys 7/31/23
✅ Week 26. A book related to pride: The Guncle by Steven Rowley 8/3/23
✅ Week 27. A book by an author from continental Europe: The Son and Heir: A Memoir by Alexander Münninghoff 8/5/23
✅ Week 28. A book that is dark: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 8/16/23
✅ Week 29. A book that is light: Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan 8/19/23
✅ Week 30. A book related to a chess piece: Rook by T.K. Eldridge 8/25/23
✅ Week 31. A book found by inputting a favorite author on https://www.literature-map.com: A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende 8/27/23
✅ Week 32. A book set in a UNESCO City of Literature: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney 8/29/23
✅ Week 33. A book by an author with a first name popular in 1923: The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict 8/31/23
✅ Week 34. A novella: Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid 9/2/23
✅ Week 35. A book with a school subject in the title: A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw 9/8/23
✅ Week 36. A book that has been translated from another language: The Bat by Jo Nesbø 9/10/23
✅ Week 37. A book with the theme of returning home: The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng 9/16/23
✅ Week 38. A book with the sun, moon, or stars on the cover: Atalanta by Jennifer Saint 9/20/23
✅ Week 39. A western: Heresy by Melissa Lenhardt 9/24/23
✅ Week 40. A book with a full name in the title: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 10/2/23
✅ Week 41. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus 10/4/23
✅ Week 42. A book related to a ghost, spirit, phantom, or specter: The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton 10/9/23
✅ Week 43. A book that involves a murder: Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie 10/14/23
✅ Week 44. A book where the cover design includes text that is not completely horizontal: The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange 10/22/23
✅ Week 45. A book whose author has published more than 7 books: The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones 10/22/23
✅ Week 46. A title that contains a word often found in a recipe: Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile 10/26/23
✅ Week 47. A book related to a geometric shape: Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead 10/31/23
✅ Week 48. A book with an unusually large version of an animal in the story: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 11/5/23
✅ Week 49. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2022 or 2023: Taste: My Life through Food by Stanley Tucci 11/6/23
✅ Week 50. A second book that fits your favorite prompt: Watership Down by Richard Adams 11/16/23
✅ Week 51. A book published in 2023: Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See 11/18/23
✅ Week 52. A book with an unusual or surprising title: Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko 11/20/23

I started my week #2 book yesterday.

One of my favourite books last year was Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney so I went with Daisy Darker

I'm about half way through and loving it so far.

Well, Two Man Station ended up being a DNF (but it is still off the TBR pile so not a total loss). Luckily a book I read for pleasure fit the bill by taking place in the (presumably fictional) town of Takoda. Wanted: Tender Daddy to the rescue! It was a sweet story backed up by a lot of substance. On to week 2!

Finished my book #1 for prompt #2.

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

I read her book Perestroika in Paris last year and A Thousand Acres back in 2015 and loved both of them. Compared to those two, this one was disappointing.

It wasn't BAD, I was just expecting it to be more.

Moving on to book #2 ~ The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

Elaine wrote: "Well, Two Man Station ended up being a DNF (but it is still off the TBR pile so not a total loss). Luckily a book I read for pleasure fit the bill by taking place in the (presumably..."

"DNF More Books" is one of my reading resolutions this year haha - life is too short to waste time on books that just aren't for you!

Jenna wrote: "Elaine wrote: "Well, Two Man Station ended up being a DNF (but it is still off the TBR pile so not a total loss). Luckily a book I read for pleasure fit the bill by taking place in ..."

Yes! Absolutely agree!!

Cripes, I'm out of order again... but still trying to stick to it I promise!! It's hard to be anything but pleased with how well these books have been performing though!

Update as of 1/10:
☑️ The Station ~ prompt 1 ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ Dibs ~ prompt 2 ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ My Darling Duke ~ prompt 11 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ Meghan and Harry: The Real Story ~ prompt 14 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ The Rest of the Story ~ prompt 51 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Currently reading:
5. A book with 4 or more colors on the cover
American Colonial: Puritan Simplicity to Georgian Grace ~ home library/paperback



8. An author's debut book
Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting
~ home library/audible

Well, I just assessed the prompts and my books. I have finished Prompts #1 and #3 (changed books to reflect my current reading), working on Prompt #2, and have Prompt #5 book waiting on my desk. I have a hold on a book for Prompt #4 but am #4 in that hold line, so I might need to find a substitute.

Yay, I am back on the READING in Order plan.

Prompt #1 = Appalachia Art's Blood
Prompt #2 = Ray Bradbury Zen in the Art of Writing
Prompt #3 = In honor of Queen Elizabeth II, a book set in Kenya, South Africa, or Scotland Scotland with a Stranger
Prompt #4 =
Prompt #5 =

The library gods came through for me and I was able to read Genuine Fraud both on audio and Kindle in time for book club last night. I'm now on prompt 4, When No One Is Watching. After that I'll be done with January so may take a break from ATY and focus on Pop Sugar, before picking up prompt 5 at the end of the month.

I finished To Hive and To Hold for my selection for prompt 2 (An author you read in 2022)...so far I'm right on track.

@Nancy - I love it when a hold shows up just at the right time! I'm waiting on one for my intended next book and hoping it comes when expected.

@Elaine - YAY!! Me too. I'm sure it won't last LOL but I've finished week two (Daisy Darker) and have week 3 picked and ready to go.

I typically read 2-3 books per week and so far, my plan of reading ATY main challenge at the top of the week, and then slotting in outside/side challenges is going well. [knock wood]

Whatever's on Audible seems to be what's getting "read" at the moment as I've been doing a fair bit of driving. Still making great progress so I'm not mad about it!

Update as of 1/13:
☑️ The Station ~ prompt 1 ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ Dibs ~ prompt 2 ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting ~ prompt 8 ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ My Darling Duke ~ prompt 11 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ Meghan and Harry: The Real Story ~ prompt 14 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
☑️ The Rest of the Story ~ prompt 51 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Currently reading:
5. A book with 4 or more colors on the cover
American Colonial: Puritan Simplicity to Georgian Grace ~ home library/paperback

26. A book related to pride
The Real Diana ~ Audible

Hope everyone's making great progress and enjoying their reads, even if not exactly in order ❤️

Week #3!! A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the list this year.

This was a hard prompt for me to pick - just too many good options!!

I was finally derailed by holds! I messed up a couple books that I was planning to read for side challenges last week, so jumped into my Week #3 book a couple days early and finished it over the weekend.

My daughter has been bugging me to read If We Were Villains for a while now and I loved it. A few nitpicky issues and I wish I remembered some of the Shakespeare plays better but I really enjoyed it.

I'm spending some time today double checking my plans for the rest of January and Feb and making sure I've got all the books I need. Currently reading The Night Shift for winter challenge and liking it so far too.

January Plans
✓ #1 - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
✓ #2 - Daisy Darker
✓ #3 - If We Were Villains
[] #4 - The Sentence
[] #5 - Remarkably Bright Creatures

I tried to listen to The God of Small Things and abandoned it after about 2 hours (I really had no idea what was going on)! I might retry it again as an ebook later in the year.

I recently finished:

3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the 2023 list: Shards of Honor (female sci fi author)
4. A book with an interracial relationship The Wedding Date

Now I’m reading
5. A book with 4 or more colors on the cover: Moneyball
6. A book where books are important Book Lovers
7. A book with ONE of the five "W" question words in the title Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

I haven’t quite decided on the debut book but for the award beginning with W I might try The Sentence since I’ve heard so many good things about it.

Sheena wrote: "Week #3!! A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the list this year.

This was a hard prompt for me to pick - just too many good options..."

I had a plan for this week all laid out, and then my net galley book popped up and another challenge debut book that I want to read, and I didn't get my book #4 read for last week, and I had to haul a horse from OKC to Hot Springs over the weekend, and now it's TUESDAY NIGHT and I'm just now trying to figure out what I want to read and how the books I've picked out for this week might fit into this prompt. So I've sort of had to twist myself around the axle and make a couple of adjustments ...

My four-book list for this week. I best start hustling or I'm going to be further behind than I am already!


POLL 2 ~ A book with a two or three word title
Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

POLL 2 ~ A book with a color in the title or author’s name
The Strawberry Hearts Diner by Carolyn Brown

POLL 3 ~ A book to which you didn't have instant access
The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

POLL 10 ~ A book from the NPR "Books We Love" lists
We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

My plan for January is complete after fitting books that I have read into a re-working of the plan of books chosen due to a disaster of a start.

So...taking a break from ATY for the moment.

Kathryn wrote: "I tried to listen to The God of Small Things and abandoned it after about 2 hours (I really had no idea what was going on)! I might retry it again as an ebook later in the year.

I rec..."
I'm happy to hear you mention abandoning audio and retrying reading. I have done this several times and so glad to hear it's not just me that occasionally struggles with parsing audio. Sometimes it's book or more often the narrator, but I know sometimes it's just me ;)