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 26. I may read more that fit the categories, but at 26 I can claim my challenge goal fulfilled. In 2021 and 2022 I managed to pull off all 52--so who knows, maybe I'll get there again. I'll list some tentative selections below and update as needed. And I've also made a padlet showing all the selections: HERE.

1. Book with a Subtitle: I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay by Harlan Ellison & Isaac Asimov (7/5/23)

2. Featuring an Inheritance: Towards Zero by Agatha Christie (3/5/23)

3. Title Starts with "G": Garden of Deadly Delights by Cynthia Manson [ed] (2/7/23)

4. Title Starts with "H": Hemlock Hollow by Culley Holderfield (8/19/23)

5. Title Starts with "I": Inquest by Percival Wilde (4/15/23)

6. Under 200 Pages: Beauty Marks the Spot by Kelley Roos (1/7/23)

7. City/Country Name in Title: Murder, London-New York by John Creasey (6/22/23)

8. Dystopian Fiction: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (4/20/23)

9. Book with a Dedication: Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (4/14/23)

10. Takes Place During the Roaring Twenties: The Mammoth Book of Roaring Twenties Whodunnits by Mike Ashley, ed (4/30/23)

11. Book about Secrets: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (3/30/23)

12. High Fantasy: Sabriel by Garth Nix (3/21/23)

13. Published Posthumously: Slay Bells by Eunice Mays Boyd (7/7/23)

14. A Survival Story: Tom O'Bedlam by Robert Silverberg (5/16/23)

15. Set in Australia: Wings Above the Diamantina by Arthur W. Upfield (2/3/23)

16. Features One of the "Seven Deadly Sins": The Pride of the Peacock by Victoria Holt (4/23/23)

17. By a Caribbean Author: Looking for a Jumbie by Tracey Baptiste [lived in Trinidad until 15] (2/22/23)

18. Set During War Other Than WWI or WWII: Silent Witness by Margaret Yorke [the Cold War] (4/22/23)

19. Typographic Cover: Phi Beta Murder by C. S. Challinor (2/20/23)

20. Book About Siblings: Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (1/23/22)

21. Second-Hand Book: Beyond by Theodore Sturgeon (3/26/23)

22. Body-Positive Message: My Pocket Meditations for Self Compassion by Courtney Ackerman (2/22/23)

23. An Alliterative Title: Bats in the Belfry by E.C.R. Lorac (2/18/23)

24. Nordic Noir: Borkmann's Point by Hakan Nesser (9/10/23)

25. A Fashionable Character: The Beauty Queen Killer by John Creasey (5/14/23)

26. Has an Epilogue: Mysterious Invitation by Bernice Bloom (1/27/23)

27. Newbery Medal Winner: Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (1/1/23)

28. Includes a Funeral: The Becket Factor by Michael David Anthony (1/9/23)

29. Sends You Down a Rabbit Hole: It Walks by Night by John Dickson Carr [sent me searching for who Barbey D'Aurevilly was] (2/24/23)

30. Author with Same Name as You: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie [my middle name] (4/27/23)

31. Set in a Workplace: Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield (4/7/23)

32. Published by MacMillan: Bony & the Kelly Gang by Arthur W. Upfield (3/23/23)

33. Banned Book: Madeline & the Gypsies by Ludwig Bemelmans (1/30/23)

34. Featuring Mythology: The Genesis Secret by Tom Knox (3/29/23)

35. Book You Meant to Read Last Year: Sydney Chambers & the Perils of the Night by James Runcie (3/11/23)

36. Chapters Have Cliffhangers: The Dante Game by Jane Langton (1/13/23)

37. Written in the Present Tense: The Cave of Time by Edward Packard (4/26/23)

38. An Enemies to Lovers Plot: Where Serpents Sleep by C. S. Harris (4/3/23)

39. Final Book in a Series: The Four False Weapons by John Dickson Carr (5/12/23) [last book of the Henri Bencolin mystery series]

40. Written by a Comedian: Number One Is Walking by Steve Martin (3/9/23)

41. A Character Who Is a Refugee: A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie (3/17/23)

42. Time in Title: The Distant Hours by Kate Morton (6/29/30)

43. Book "Everyone" Has Read: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (did a poll amongst my fellow vintage mystery fans--this one came out on top) [9/9/23]

44. A Contemporary Setting: The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley (5/11/23)

45. First Word in Book is "The": A Gentleman's Murder by Christopher Huang (1/22/23)

46. Script Font on Spine: Dead, Mr. Mozart by Bernard Bastable (3/15/23)

47. Set in Dublin: Hopeland (aka Skippy Dies part one) by Paul Murray (1/19/23)

48. Book by Octavia Butler: Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler (3/4/23)

49. Books on the Cover: See Also Murder by Larry D. Sweazy (7/7/23)

50. Book Related to the Word "Murder": The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson (1/7/23)

51. Doesn't Fit Any of Other Prompts: Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (5/26/23)

52. Published in 2023: Who Cries for the Lost by C. S. Harris (7/4/23)

February Mini-Challenge

1. Set in Winter or Spring: The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

2. Shadow on the Cover: The Beauty Queen Killer by John Creasey

3: Time Loop: The Cave of Time by Edward Packard

 

March Mini-Challenge

1. From Animal's Point of View: Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

2. Feather on Cover: Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie

3. Character Who Works with Animals

 

April Mini-Challenge

1. Egg on Cover:

2. Title Includes the Letter "E," "G," and "G": Danger at the Drawbridge by Mildred A. Wirt

3. Featuring Chocolate: Slay Bells by Eunice Mays Boyd (method of poisoning)