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. Each of the last three years I've 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.

 

1. Locked Room: Miraculous Mysteries by Martin Edwards, ed.

2. Bibliosmia (a smelly book): Death, My Darling Daughters by Jonathan Stagge [has that old, used bookstore smell] (1/1/24)

3. More Than 40 Chapters: When Blood Lies by C. S. Harris (2/18/24)

4. Lowercase Letters on the Spine: The Passenger from Scotland Yard by H. F. Wood (1/11/24)

5. Magical Realism: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (4/24/24)

6. Women in STEM: The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton (8/28/24)

7. At Least 4 Different POV: Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb (3/27/24)

8. Features the Ocean: Murder on Deck! by Rosemary Herbert, ed. (7/17/24)

9. Character-Driven Novel: The Emperor's Snuff Box by John Dickson Carr [Eve Neill's character is vital to the plot] (1/3/24)

10. Told in Non-Chronological Order: Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney (3/26/24)

11. Title Starts with "K": Kill the Boss Good-by by Peter Rabe (9/11/24)

12. Title Starts with "L": The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin (9/15/24)

13. Academic Thriller: The Cambridge Murders by Glyn Daniel (1/24/24)

14. A Grieving Character: Winter in June by Kathryn Miller Haines (2/12/24)

15. Part of a Duology: Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb (1/21/24)

16. Omniscient Narrator: There Is a Tide (aka Taken at the Flood) by Agatha Christie (1/14/24)

17. Nominated for the Booker Prize: A Guilty Thing Surprised by Ruth Rendell [1970 long list] (1/28/24)

18. Apostrophe in the Title: The Queen's Awards by Ellery Queen, ed. (10/7/24)

19. Buddy Read: A Body at a Boarding School by Benedict Brown (7/23/24)

20. Revenge Story: Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers (3/21/24)

21. Written by a Ghostwriter: Nice Fillies Finish Last by Brett Halliday OR a Nancy Drew

22. Plot Similar to Another Book: Murder in C Major by Sara Hoskinson Frommer (1/15/24)

23. The Other Book with the Similar Plot: Murder & Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood (1/27/24)

24. Cover Without People on It: The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa (2/14/24)

25. Author "Everyone" Has Read Except You: Think Twice by Harlan Coben [given how many books he's sold & his bestselling status] (9/22/24)

26. Hybrid Genre: A Fete Worse Than Death by Dolores Gordon-Smith [Historical Fiction/Mystery] (2/20/24)

27. Neurodivergent Author: Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

28. Yellow Spine: The Phantom of Pine Hill by Carolyn Keene (6/13/24)

29. Published in a Year of the Dragon: One by One They Disappeared by Moray Dalton (3/2/24)

30. Picked Without Reading the Blurb: The Blue Geranium by Dolan Birkley (3/3/24)

31. Includes a Personal Phobia: The Blood-Dimmed Tide by Rennie Airth [losing a child to violence] (2/16/24)

32. Time Frame Spans Week or Less: Death Takes a Bow by Frances & RIchard Lockridge (2/24/24)

33. Abrupt Ending: The Hollow (Murder After Hours) by Agatha Christie (2/26/24)

34. Set in Landlocked Country: Crossed Skis by Carol Carnac [Austria] (7/31/24)

35. Title Matches Lyrics from a Song: Gently Down the Stream by Alan Hunter (2/13/24)

Out of the Ruins by Sally Wright [title/lyrics by Pat Benatar]

36. Futurist Technology: Q-Squared by Peter David (3/17/24)

37. Palindrome on the Cover: Nightmare at Noon by Stewart Sterling OR The Golden Deed by Andrew Garve

38. Published by Hatchette: Inspector of the Dead by David Morrell (2/7/24)

39. Non-Fiction Rec by a Friend: Dorothy & Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers & C. S. Lewis by Gina Dalfonzo (3/11/24)

40. Set During Holiday You Don't Celebrate: Death of a Fool by Ngaio Marsh [Winter Solstice] (3/4/24)

41. Sticker on the Cover: Puzzle of the Blue Banderilla by Stuart Palmer [library sticker] (4/18/24)

42. Author Debut in Second Half of 2024: Dance of Death by Helen McCloy [my challenge, my rules: this is McCloy's debut & I read it in the 2nd half of 2024] (8/21/24)

43. About Finding Identity: Playing with Myself by Randy Rainbow (1/31/24)

44. Includes a Wedding: The Mystery at Orchard House by Joan Coggin (1/13/24)

45. Chapter Headings Have Dates: Death Has a Small Voice by Frances & Richard Lockridge (1/31/24)

46. Features Indigenous Culture: Man of Two Tribes by Arthur W. Upfield (2/22/24)

47. Self-Insert by Author: Making It So by Patrick Stewart (4/10/24)

48. Word "Secret" in Title: The Secret of High Eldersham by Miles Burton (7/4/24)

49. Set in City Starting with the Letter "M": Still Life by Louise Penny (6/28/24)

50. Musical Instrument on Cover: The Murder Sonata by Frances Fletcher

51. Related to Word "Wild": The Wild Palms by William Faulkner

52. Published in 2024: What Cannot Be Said by C. S. Harris (5/22/24)

 

May Mini-Challenge:
M: Author Last Name Starts with "M": Dance of Death by Helen McCloy (8/21/24)
A: A is for Alpha: Amphigorey by Edward Gorey [contains two alphabet books] (5/24/24)
Y: Interrogative Word in Title: Who Cries for the Lost by C. S. Harris (5/21/24)