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]

April Mini-Challenge

A foolish character: The Corbin Necklace by Henry Kitchell Webster

A comical read: Brand Spanking New Day by Berkeley Breathed 

Rain on the cover: The Guest List by Lucy Foley

June Mini-Challenge

Suitcase on the Cover: Down Among the Dead Men by Stewart Sterling

Set in a place you wish you were vacationing: The Bluebeard Room by Carolyn Keene (set in England) 

"Planes, Trains, & Automobiles": The 10:30 from Marseille by Sebastien Japrisot

October Mini-Challenge

Local Legends: Haunted Indiana by Mark Marimen

Psychological Thriller: The Curse of the Fleers by Basil Copper

Related to the Word "Dark": The Old Dark House by J. B. Priestley

 

November Mini-Challenge

Dessert on the Cover: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie

Let's Party!: Murder in Black Tie by Sara Rosett

Related to the Word Gift: Wrapped up in Crosswords by Nero Blanc