MY READER'S BLOCK: The 52 Book Club Reading Challenge

Saturday, November 13, 2021

The 52 Book Club Reading Challenge

I'm back for another round of Liz's reading challenge at The 52 Book Club. Hers is a low-key challenge, so there is no pressure to fulfill all 52 categories I'm setting a personal goal of 20. I may read more that fit the categories, but at 20 I can claim my challenge goal fulfilled. In 2021 I managed to pull off all 52--so who know, maybe I'll get there again. I'll list some tentative selections below and update as needed.

1. A 2nd-person narrative: Star Trek: Voyage to Adventure by Michael Dodge [choose your own adventure-style book] (1/22/22)

2. Featuring a library/bookstore: The Vanishing Thief by Kate Parker (5/5/22)

3. Title Starts with an "E": Easy to Kill (Murder Is Easy) by Agatha Christie

4. Title starts with an "F": Fadeaway Girl by Martha Grimes (1/2/22)

5. Chapters have titles: The Case of the Famished Parson by George Bellairs (1/2/22)

6. Household object on cover: An Old Betrayal by Charles Finch (1/29/22)

7. Non-fiction bestseller: An Hour Before Daylight by Jimmy Carter {library; NY Times 2001 list} (4/2/22)

8. Involving the art world: Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh (2/20/22)

9. A book that sparks joy: Paperbacks, USA by Piet Schreuders (all of my books spark joy--but a book about books? That's a bonus) [7/3/22]

10. Based on a real person: The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes [Jack the Ripper] (4/6/22)

11. Book with less than 2022 Goodread ratings: Deathblow Hill by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (1/21/22)

12: Set on at least two continents: The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips (2/6/22)

13: Includes a club: This Club Frowns on Murder by Albert Borowitz (2/10/22)

14: Character with superhuman ability: The Price of the Phoenix by Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath (1/4/22)

15: A five-syllable title: Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson (1/23/22)

16: Book you've seen someone reading in a public place: Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William Shatner (picture of Frieda Tweehuysen [from FB group]) [2/4/22]

17. Book picked based on its spine: Bullets for Macbeth by Marvin Kaye (6/5/22)

18. Jane Austen-inspired: Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James (1/15/22)

19. Book with alternate title: Take Two at Bedtime (aka Deadly Duo) by Margery Allingham (4/17/22)

20: Related to the word "gold": The Golden Box by Frances Crane (2/14/22)

21: Published by Simon & Schuster: The Ruby Raven by Michael Dahl [imprint] (1/19/22)

22: Unlikely detective: The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett (8/7/22)

23: Author with an X, Y, or Z in their name: Experiment with Death by E. X. Ferrars (7/29/22)

24. Addresses a specific topic: Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s by Frederick Lewis Allen (4/21/22)

25. Wealthy character: Midnight Sailing by Lawrence G. Blochman (2/8/22)

26. Has an "Author's Note": Thrones, Dominations by Dorothy L. Sayers/Jill Paton Walsh (7/25/22)

27. Includes a map: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (1/8/22)

28. Award-winning book from your country: Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross [Gargoyle Award for Best Historical Mystery 1994] (1/31/22)

29. Over 500 pages long: The Devil in Music by Kate Ross (Library's Felony & Mayhem edition = 536 pages)

30. Audio book narrated by author: What Just Happened Audible version read by author Charles Finch (6/12/22)

31. Technology-themed: The Nine Billion Names of God ~Arthur C. Clarke (7/2/22)

32. Book that intimidates you: Reliquary by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (5/19/22)

33. Bilingual character: Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers [Lord Peter can speak French & German as well as sprinkle his speech with Latin phrases] (2/1/22)

34. Author's photo on back cover: The Black Hand ~Will Thomas (4/27/22)

35. From the villain's perspective: The Curse of Maleficent adapted by Elizabeth Rudnick (4/13/22)

36. Recommended by a favorite author: Death Among the Sunbathers by E. R. Punshon (rec by Dorothy L. Sayers in her crime reviews) [6/3/22)

37. Set in a rural area: Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge (6/29/22)

38. Don't judge a book by its cover!: What Me, Mr. Mosley? by John Greenwood [weirdest cover I own] (1/17/22)

39. Middle-grade novel: The Body in the Fog by Cora Harrison (4/10/22)

40. Book with photographs inside: The Castle Island Case by F. Van Wyck Mason (3/20/22)

41. Involves a second chance: Trixie Belden & the Black Jacket Mystery by Kathryn Kenny (6/8/22)

42. An indie read: He'd Rather by Dead by George Bellairs (Agora Books) [2/15/22)

43. Author who's published in more than one genre: Four Days' Wonder by A. A. Milne (8/20/22)

44. An anthology: Bodies from the Library 2 by Tony Medawar [ed] (1/13/22)

45. Book with illustrated people on cover: Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die by Robert J. Randisi (4/16/22)

46. Job title in the title: Death & the Professor by E. & M. A. Radford (4/12/22)

47. Read during month of November: The Old Dark House by J. B. Priestley (11/1/22)

48. Redo a prompt with a different genre: #14 Character w/superhuman ability: The Ghost Finders by Adam McOmber (3/2/22) [1st time SF; 2nd time gothic historical mystery]

49. Book title starts with same letter as first your name: Badenheim 1939 by Aharon Appelfeld (7/27/22)

50. Person of color as main character: Tears of the Singers by Melinda Snodgrass (features Uhura) [5/30/22]

51. Word "game" in title: The Murder Game by Steve Allen (2/12/22)

52. Published in 2022: When Blood Lies by C. S. Harris (5/29/22)

February Mini-Challenge

Title with same word used twice: THE Corpse with THE Grimy Glove by R. A. J. Walling

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Ghost Finders by Adam McOmber [mirror on cover]

Second in a Series: A Broken Vessel by Kate Ross

March Mini-Challenge

Character who works in Maths or Sciences: The Inheritance by Charles Finch

A Circle on Cover: The Man in the Moonlight by Helen McCloy

Pi or Pie: Death of an Angel by Frances & Richard Lockridge [read on Pi Day]