I want to read 124 books.
I want to read at least 10 books in Finnish, Swedish, German, and French.
I want to read fewer English books - let's say every other book needs to be not English. (at least 62 non-English books)
I want to read more European books. (Let's say, at least 40 European books.)
At the same time, I need to read more non-European books :-D (At least 40 non-European - and non-English - books)
I also need to read more non-white books. (at least 40)
I want to read more books published before the 21st century. Let's say... 1/3 20th century. 10% pre-20th.
- At least 40 books from 20th century and at least 12 books written before 20th century. Hmm... that means I'd read 72 books written in 21st century, and that's too big a portion... No, 20 books before 1900, 50 books 1900-2000, and 54 books after 2000.
The 52 Book Club
1. Locked-Room Mystery
2. Bibliosmia: A "Smelly" Book
Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim
3. More Than 40 Chapters
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
4. Lowercase Letters On The Spine
The Penguin Clothbound Classics designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith all have lowercase letters on the spine. There are some 100+ books in the series, so plenty to choose from.
5. Magical Realism
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
6. Women In STEM
Born to be Badger by Shelly Laurenston
7. At Least Four Different POV
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
8. Features The Ocean
Seas by Colleen Oakes (and, of course, Stars, the first book in the series)
Sea Witch by Sarah Henning
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
9. A Character-Driven Novel
* Most books on my TBR list are character-driven, because I prefer character-driven novels. So I'm going to choose when I have read it.
10. Told In Non-Chronological Order
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski;
Weyward by Emilia Hart
11. Starting With The Letter "K"
The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
Kraken by China Miéville
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
12. Starting With The Letter "L"
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
The Leopard Mask by Kaoru Kurimoto
13. An Academic Thriller
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
They Never Learn by Layne Fargo
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
14. A Grieving Character
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
15. Part Of A Duology
Bambi's Children by Felix Salten
Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Belles on Their Toes by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.
Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre
Silver Mirrors by A.A. Aguirre
The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop
City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
16. An Omniscient Narrator
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
17. Nominated For The Booker Prize
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Milkman by Anna Burns
18. An Apostrophe In The Title
Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund
Attila's Treasure by Stephan Grundy
Balanced on the Blade's Edge by Lindsay Buroker
Bailey's Café by Gloria Naylor
The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan
The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks
Da Vinci's Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Darconville's Cat by Alexander Theroux
Darcy's Utopia by Fay Weldon
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
The Foundry's Edge by Cam Baity and Benny Zelkowicz
19. A Buddy Read
I'm not too good about buddy reads :-(
20. A Revenge Story
They Never Learn by Layne Fargo
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
21. Written By A Ghostwriter
The Bridge Over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle could do
or The Curse of Yig by H.P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop
Or maybe I'll just read my favorite Dumas' novels again :-D
22. A Plot Similar To Another Book
23. The Other Book With The Similar Plot
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
24. A Cover Without People On It
The List of Seven by Mark Frost
25. An Author "Everyone" Has Read Except You
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
26. Hybrid Genre
Soulless by Gail Carriger
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Weyward by Emilia Hart
27. By A Neurodivergent Author
Something by T.J.Klune
Matt Haig
Octavia E. Butler
or
Seanan McGuire
28. A Yellow Spine
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore
Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
All Quiet on the Orient Express by Magnus Mills
Terry Pratchett Nation
29. Published In A Year Of The Dragon
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain
One by One They Disappeared by Moray Dalton
30. Picked Without Reading The Blurb
31. Includes A Personal Phobia
I think I might read Kafka for this.
32. Time Frame Spans A Week Or Less
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
33. An Abrupt Ending
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
The Young Elites by Marie Lu
The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani
34. Set In A Landlocked Country
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan
35. Title Matches Lyrics From A Song
Uh. Again. *sigh* I'm pretty sure I can find lyrics to match almost any book title.
OK, Katherine Neville's The Fire.
36. Has Futuristic Technology
Any sci-fi will do
37. Palindrome On The Cover
Ada, or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov
I could read Susanna Clarke or Anna-Marie McLemore
or Johanna Sinisalo
or Ada Lai's La straordinaria storia di Francesca Sanna Sulis, Donna di Sardegna
38. Published By Hachette
Jade City by Fonda Lee
39. Non-Fiction Recommended By A Friend
What You Say Is What You Get by Don Gossett
The Light Between Us: Stories From Heaven, Lessons for the Living by Laura Lynne Jackson
WTF recommended these to me and why?
40. Set During A Holiday You Don't Celebrate
I suppose The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare will do, there's at least a mention of Thanksgiving.
41. A Sticker On The Cover
This is practically a freebie, as I just need to put a sticker on any book I read, and it counts :-D
I suppose I'll read a library book, as there's already stickers there.
42. Author Debut In Second Half Of 2024
Now would be a good time to choose a Finnish or Swedish book for this.
43. About Finding Identity
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
44. Includes A Wedding
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
45. Chapter Headings Have Dates
The Witches of New York by Ami McKay
Witch King by Martha Wells
46. Featuring Indigenous Culture
I have quite a few Rebecca Roanhorse's books on my TBR list, but I think I want to read some
Australian indigenous people's books. Also, there are the indigenous people of my own home country.
47. Self-Insert By An Author
Any Ariadne Oliver book by Agatha Christie
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
48. The Word "Secret" In The Title
The Serpent's Secret by Sayantani DasGupta
The Book of Secrets by M.G. Vassanji
The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor
A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan
The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell
The Secret Chapter by Genevieve Cogman
The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman
The Garden of Lost Secrets by A.M. Howell
Archie Greene and the Magician’s Secret by D.D. Everest
Secrets of a Sun King by Emma Carroll
49. Set In A City Starting With The Letter "M"
I think I'll reread The Master and Margarita. The Satan Arrives in Moscow in Finnish.
50. A Musical Instrument On The Cover
51. Related To The Word "Wild"
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
Wildwood by Colin Meloy
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
WildSpark by Vashti Hardy
Walk the Wild With Me by Rachel Atwood
52. Published In 2024
I can't resist a challenge.
4. Book Translated into English
Naondel: The Red Abbey Chronicles Book 2 by Maria Turtschaninoff
5. Sci-Fi Novel by Queer Author
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
Lola by Baba Lybeck, Lola Lorenzo
7. Book Written About or By a Drag Queen
Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig
8. Book Written by a Black Woman
Femme nue, femme noire by Calixthe Beyala
9. Poetry by a South Asian Author
Radha Says: Last Poems by Reetika Vazirani
10. Book Centering Queer Mental Health
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
11. Fantasy by a Middle Eastern Author
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
12. War Story by an Asian Author
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
13. Poetry by an Indigenous Author
Vidderna inom mig by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää
14. Non-Fiction by a Latine/LatinX Author
Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses by Isabel Allende
15. Fiction Featuring Plus-Sized MC
Soulless by Gail Carriger
16. Book Written by an Indigenous Woman
Straff by Ann-Helén Laestadius
17. Marginalized Story From the 1980's
Katitzi by Katarina Taikon
18. An Indigenous Children's Book
Lei and the Fire Goddess by Malia Maunakea
19. Middle Grade Novel Featuring Queer MC
When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
20. Non-Fiction From an African American Author
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
21. Historical Fiction from South American Author
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
23. Short Story/Anthropology by BIPOC Author
New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color by Nisi Shawl
24. Book by a First Nations Australian Author
Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta
25. Non-Fiction Book From a Hawaiian Author
Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Lili'uokalani
Valkoinen kivi by Kirste Paltto
27. Book About Religious or Spiritual Tradition Not Your Own
The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
28. Mystery Novel from BIPOC Author
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
29. Fiction Featuring a Trans MC
Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore
30. Book About Food from a BIPOC Author
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat
31. Non-Fiction from an Indie Author
Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan
32. A Banned Book by a Marginalized Author
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
1. A book with a title that ends in A, T or Y
2. A book connected to something you read in 2023
3. A book that fits a suggestion that didn’t make the final list
4. A book related to something mentioned in the lyrics of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
5. A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world
6. A book with wings on the cover
7. A book with a pronoun in the title
8. A book by an author from Canada, Australia or New Zealand
9. A book with fewer than 2024 ratings on Goodreads
10. A history or historical fiction book
11. A book with an X connection
12. A book that has been on your TBR for over a year
13. A book that is on a Five Books List; reader’s choice of which list
14. A book with a main character who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color
15. A book whose author’s name includes one of the 4 least used letters in the alphabet (JQZX)
16. A book related to the phrase "It's Raining Cats and Dogs"
17. A book involving intelligence
18. A book with a botanical cover
19. A book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
20. A book with a single word title
21. A book with a title containing 6+ words
22. A book by an author from an African country
23. A book related to Boats, Beaches, Bars, Ballads, or Jimmy Buffett
24. A book with a secondary color on the cover (orange, green or purple)
25. A book involving a crime other than a murder
26. A book by an author known by their initials
27. A book related to land
28. A book related to sea
29. A book related to air
30. A book set in a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak
31. A book related to “Going for the Gold”
32. A book with a number in the title
33. A book involving travel
34. A book related to the name of one of Snow White's seven dwarfs
35. A science or science fiction book
36. A book featuring a character in education
37. A book that is part of a series
38. Two books with similar covers: Book 1
39. Two books with similar covers: Book 2
40. A book involving a wild animal or endangered species, in the content, title, or on the cover
41. A book with a chilling atmosphere
42. A book with a sound-related word in the title
43. A book by an Edgar Award-winning Author
44. A book with a touch of magic
45. A book that is not a novel
46. A book related to night
47. A book with a two-word title beginning with THE
48. A second book that fits your favorite prompt
49. A book with a senior citizen character
50. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads in 2023 or 2024
51. A book published in 2024
52. A cozy mystery
A book with the word "leap" in the title
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time by Yasutaka Tsutsui
The Leap by Jonathan Stroud
The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
A book about a 24-year-old
Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
A book about women's sports and/or by a woman athlete
A book by a blind or visually impaired author
A book by a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing author
A book by a self-published author
A book from a genre you typically avoid
A book from an animal's POV
A book originally published under a pen name
A book recommended by a bookseller
A book recommended by a librarian
A book set 24 years before you were born
Mistress Masham's Repose by T.H.White
A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
A book that came out in a year that ends with "24"
A book that centers on video games
A book that features dragons
A book that takes place over the course of 24 hours
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak
A book that was published 24 years ago (2000)
A book that was turned into a musical
A book where someone dies in the first chapter
A book with a main character who's 42 years old
A book with a neurodivergent main character
A book with a one-word title you had to look up in a dictionary
A book with a title that is a complete sentence
A book with an enemies to lovers plot
A book with an unreliable narrator
A book with at least 3 POVs
A book with magical realism
A book written by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person
A book written during NaNoWriMo
A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author
A horror book by a BIPOC author
A memoir that explores queerness
A nonfiction book about Indigenous people
An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll
A book in which a character sleeps for more than 24 hours
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
A book with 24 letters in the title
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
A collection of at least 24 poems
The 24th book of an author
A book that starts with the letter "X"
X Marks The Spot by Theo Hendrie
I thought I was... I haven't read 900+ of those books. It was like "no, no, nope, not that either, no, no, er... nah, I thought it was something else" :-D
Surprisingly many books from Sweden and Finland though.
