Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Time for planning 2024 reading

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.


I suppose I will be participating in




The 52 Book Club

1. Locked-Room Mystery
The Maid by Nita Prose

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


Of course, there are tons of other challenges I want to participate in :-D
I can't resist a challenge.

I'm participating in Decolonize Your Bookshelf.

1. Story About a Disabled Author

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

2. Book Over 400 Pages

Akata Woman by Nnedi Okorafor

3. Fiction by West Asian Author

The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak

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

6. An Immigrant Memoir

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

22. A Refugee Memoir

From Here by Luma Mufleh

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

26. Book by Sami Author

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



THE 52 TOPICS OF THE 2024 ATY READING CHALLENGE

my list

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



POPSugar 2024 reading challenge

A book with the word "leap" in the title

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time by Yasutaka Tsutsui
The Leap by Jonathan Stroud

A bildungsroman book

The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

A book about a 24-year-old

Dark Water Sister

A book about a writer

Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

A book about K-pop

no

A book about pirates

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
A book set in space
A book set in the future

A book set in the snow
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 cosy fantasy book
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
A second-chance romance
An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll
An LGBTQ+ romance novel

Advanced

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

1) Read a cozy fantasy book

2) Read a YA book by a trans author.

3) Read a middle grade horror novel.

4) Read a history book by a BIPOC author.

5) Read a sci-fi novella.

6) Read a middle grade book with an LGBTQIA main character.

7) Read an indie published collection of poetry by a BIPOC or queer author.

8) Read a book in translation from a country you’ve never visited.

9) Read a book recommended by a librarian.

10) Read a historical fiction book by an Indigenous author.

11)Read a picture book published in the last five years.

12) Read a genre book (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) by a disabled author.

13) Read a comic that has been banned.

14) Read a book by an author with an upcoming event (virtual or in person) and then attend the event.

15) Read a YA nonfiction book.

16) Read a book based solely on the title.

17) Read a book about media literacy.

18) Read a book about drag or queer artistry.

19) Read a romance with neurodivergent characters.

20) Read a book about books (fiction or nonfiction).

21) Read a book that went under the radar in 2023.

22) Read a manga or manhwa.

23) Read a “howdunit” or “whydunit” mystery.

24) Pick a challenge from any of the previous years’ challenges to repeat!

Oh... I don't like this. My first reaction was "too much diversity. The only challenge about that is to find these authors I haven't already read." And I am deliberately going to read "decolonize your bookshelf" which is all about diversity! Why is it that finding books to read for that was challenging and fun, but for this just "nah, not going to do this this year"?

So, I'll replace this with Read Your Bookshelves.
The thing is that no-one stops you from reading children's books or books written by whomever.

Montgomery

January

Jane of Lantern Hill
read a book with a cat on the cover

February

Puffed Sleeves
read a book with 400+ pages

March

Kindred Spirits
read a book with 2 POVs

April

Carrots
read a book where the main character has red hair

May

The Road to Yesterday
read a book by a favorite author

June

The Watchman
read a book of poetry

July

Chronicles of Avonlea
read a short story collection

August

Along the Shore
read a book with water on the cover

September

Kilmeny of the Orchard
read a book where music is a major part of the story 
or a historical fiction

October

The Journals of L.M. Montgomery
read a non-fiction book

November

Jane of Lantern Hill
read a second chance book

December

Anne
read a book that has 5-10 books in the series

or

Emily
read a book that is part of a trilogy

Doyle

January

Hounds of Baskerville
read a book with a dog on the cover

February

Elementary, my dear Watson
read a book with 250- pages

March

Bakers Street Irregulars
read a book with more than 2 POVs

April

Red-Headed League
read a book where the main character has red hair

May

A Study in Scarlet
read a book by a new-to-you author

June

The Lost World
read a science fiction or fantasy book

July

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
read a short story collection

August

The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge
read a book with a house on the cover

September

The Adventure of the Dancing Men
read a book that invlves puzzles, codes or ciphers 
or a mystery

October

Memories and Adventures
read a non-fiction book

November

Moriarty
read a book that intimidates you

December

Sherlock
read a book that has more than 10 books in the series

or

Watson
read a standalone book


Then I found this... 1000 books, Are You Well-read in World Literature

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.

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

1. You Meant to Read Last Year

2. Goodreads Winner in 2023

3. About Mental Health

4. Five-Star Read

5. An Audiobook

6. Set in the 1950s

7. Unreliable Narrator

8. Book Becoming Movie in 2024

9. With an Epilogue

10. About Starting Over

11. Author You Love

12. Flowers on the Cover

13. Title Starts with “B”

14. Published in 2014

15. Purple Cover

16. Historical Mystery

17. With Multiple Points of View

18. A Book You Couldn’t Put Down

19. One Word Title

20. Debut Author

21. 2023 Bestseller

22. Intriguing Premise

23. A Friend’s Favorite Book

24. Author from the Southern Hemisphere

25. About Secrets

26. Bottom of Your To-Read List

27. Your Favorite Genre

28. Character Who is an Actor

29. Recommended on a Podcast

30. Set in Paris

31. Ugly Cover

32. Set in a Small Town

33. Three Books by the Same Author (1)

34. Three Books by the Same Author (2)

35. Three Books by the Same Author (3)

36. A Quick Read

37. Set During Autumn

38. Classic by a Female Author

39. Memoir by a Person You Admire

40. About a Historical Event

41. Written Under a Pseudonym

42. Legal Thriller

43. Fantasy Book

44. Popular Book You’ve Never Read

45. Inspiring Nonfiction

46. 2024 New Release

47. Genre You Don’t Usually Read

48. You Own But Haven’t Read

49. Book About Books

50. Book Everyone Is Talking About

51. With a Place in the Title

52. Reread a Favorite

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