Giving this challenge a try for the new year. I joined GoodReads a few months ago and have read 28 books in since signing up, so I don’t think this will be difficult. Reading has been a lot easier since I changed to a dyslexic friendly font on my Kindle Fire (and I just figured out how to enable it on my Paperwhite, so I’ll be able to read faster more often since I always have that with me). This will give me an excuse to finish books that I’ve put off reading, or have always meant to read but never found the motivation to do so.
There are different GoodReads lists available on the 52 Book Club website to choose content from, and I’ve started my own reading list to keep track of what I want to read for each weekly theme.
And because I work better from plans (haha, plotter), I’ve picked all of the books ahead of time…
January
- 1 – Book with a subtitle – Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
- 2 – Featuring an inheritance – We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (changed from
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo) - 3 – Title starting with the letter “G” – Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
- 4 – Title starting with the letter “H” – The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
Babel, Six of Crows, and Gideon the Ninth were all pretty popular on BookTube and BookTok, but I wasn’t interested in being a book reviewer last year when I began focusing more on writing and by proxy reading, so they’ve been on my TBR waiting for me to have time between work and workshops. Hellbound Heart has been on my TBR list for years. I’ve always wanted to read it, but have been reluctant to do so because there’s a lot of hype around it, and I’ve seen all of the Hellraiser movies (good and bad) born from the book series. I didn’t think I was missing out on much by not reading them. The Hellbound is a manga that’s been waiting for me to take a break from reading boys love, yaoi, and danmei, and I’d like to read it before I watch series. I’ll probably need a break from reading books after one or two of these titles, so a manga (possibly several mangas) will be a nice change up.
February
- 5 – Title starting with the letter “I” – Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
- 6 – Under 200 pages – A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
- 7 – A city or country name in the title – American Gods by Neil Gaiman
- 8 – Dystopian Fiction – IQ84 by Haruki Murakami or The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
I started the audiobook of Iron Widow a few months ago, but never circled back to finish it. I started reading the ebook for A Wizard of Earthsea and completely forgot about it. I’ve been interested in reading American Gods since the television series started. IQ84 was recommended on BookTok and I haven’t found the time to read it yet, but it is a very long book (over 900 pages) so if I’m not feeling up to that at the end of the month, I’ll be starting The Fifth Season instead. Most of what I read is horror, thriller, or dystopian fantasy (or gay romance…) so if the last couple books don’t hold my interest, I’ll find some more mangas or graphic novels to replace them.
March
- 9 – A book with a dedication – A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness or The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
- 10 – Takes place during the roaring twenties – Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
- 11 – A book about secrets – If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
- 12 – High Fantasy – The Guilded Ones – Namina Forna
- 13 – Published posthumously – The Lighthouse by Edgar Allan Poe
I’m on the fence about reading A Discovery of Witches. I’ve heard good and bad things about both the show and the book. I did watch Z: The Beginning of Everything with Christina Ricci and have wanted to know more about Zelda Fitzgerald, and I hope Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald will compliment that. I’m most looking forward to If We Were Villains this month, though.
April
- 14 – A survival story – The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
- 15 – Set in Australia – Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
- 16 – Featuring one of the “seven deadly sins” – The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
- 17 – By a Caribbean author – Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender
I’ve watched review videos for The Poppy War and Queen of the Conquered, but I hadn’t heard of the other two books I chose for this month until I picked them. Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone had me from the title, and the premise hooked me even more. If I wasn’t doing this on a schedule, I’d read it now.
May
- 18 – Set during a war other that WWI or WWII – I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
- 19 – Typographic cover – Hench by Natalie Zina Walchots
- 20 – A book about siblings – To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
- 21 – A second hand book – Pulse by B.A. Bellec
- 22 – A body-positive book – Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe and Phoebe Kobabe
May might be a difficult month. None of these really fit in with what I usually read. I’m mostly looking forward to Hench from this list, and the others have been sitting on my want to read list. Pulse is by a local author, and I want to show support by reading it. Science fiction and teen romance are hard for me to wrap my head around. Science fiction because the concepts are often rejected by my rational mind. Teen romance is always full of characters I cannot relate to doing things I would never do. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before isn’t a long book, but I imagine it’ll take me the longest.
June
- 23 – An alliterative title – The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- 24 – Nordic noir – The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup, Caroline Waight (Translator)
- 25 – A fashionable character – Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
- 26 – Has an epilogue – Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
It’s gonna suck to have all these awesome books to read when the weather is nice… Just kidding, I don’t go outside! And if I do, it’s to read in direct sunlight.
July
- 27 – Newberry Medal winner – The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- 28 – Includes a funeral – The Cemetery Ghost by Amy Cross
- 29 – Sends you down a rabbit hole – Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
- 30 – Author with the same name as you – The Wild Dark by Katherine Silva
I ended up picking a lot of Neil Gaiman books for this… I’ve started The Graveyard Book graphic novel before, and I think I go about halfway through it. I bought a physical copy of Neverwhere after watching The Sandman.
August
- 31 – Set in a workplace – The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter by Kazuki Irodori (Artist), Yatsuki Wakatsu (Original Story)
- 32 – Published by MacMillan – A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland
- 33 – A banned book – Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
- 34 – Featuring mythology – The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
- 35 – A book you meant to read last year – Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
Kicking off my birth month with a manga! Everything I picked for this month is something I’m looking forward to. It’s going to be a good summer!
September
- 36 – Chapters have cliffhangers – Verity by Colleen Hoover
- 37 – Written in present tense – Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
- 38 – An enemies-to-lovers plot – Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat
- 39 – The final book in a series – Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu Vol. 8 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù
I could have picked any book by Mo Xiang Tong Xui for week 36, because all of her chapters (and books!) have cliffhangers. I’m still going to be reading manga and danmei as my pre-orders are delivered so I didn’t want to add too many of them in here. I’ve read the Captive Prince trilogy by C.S. Pacat and, while I liked the writing and the characters, the overall story was disappointing. I’d like to share more of my thoughts on that series after I read The Summer Palace, but I’m still too annoyed to read it. Nonetheless, I do enjoy her writing style, so I’m giving her another chance by reading Dark Rise.
October
- 40 – Written by a comedian – I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
- 41 – A character who is a refugee – Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- 42 – Time in the title – The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
- 43 – A book “everyone” has read – The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- 44 – A contemporary setting – We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
A couple of these keep being mentioned by the BookTubers I follow, and this is the only circumstance wherein I would read them. I’m mostly looking forward to We Need to Talk About Kevin. That movie gave me chills, and I didn’t know it was based on a book until later, so I’m very excited about that! Pachinko is historical fiction, which I don’t normally read, but the summary grasped me and I do want to read more literary fiction.
November
- 45 – First word in the book is “the” – The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- 46 – Script font on spine – Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
- 47 – Set in the city of Dublin – Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
- 48 – A book by Octavia E. Butler – Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
I need to finish The Night Circus. I don’t remember why I took a break from audiobooks, but there are a few I need to finish up! Rebecca has been recommended by almost every BookTuber I follow. I like gothic fiction, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy it. I don’t read enough urban fantasy, so Darkfever will be a nice change. Fledgling isn’t one of Octavia E. Butler’s highest rated books, but it’s got vampires in it, and I’m always down for spooky creatures.
December
- 49 – Books on the cover – The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
- 50 – Related to the word “murder” – A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
- 51 – Doesn’t fit any of the other prompts – Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang, Vol. 1 by Priest
- 52 – Published in 2023 – Remnants of Filth by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou
Closing the year out with more danmei! Seven Seas has a lot of books coming out that really appeal to me, and I cannot read them fast enough. I’ve pre-ordered Stars of Chaos and Remnants of Filth.
2021 was my return to fanfiction. I had a very self-indulgent year tracking down old stories and seeing if they’d been finished, as well as discovering new ones for my favourite fandom.
2022 was the year I found manga I enjoyed and dove headfirst into that media. Halfway through the year I found danmei, and I’ve loved it. Every book I’ve read has been better than the last, and I hope that trend continues!
2023 is kind of a clean up year, finishing books that have been sitting around, as well as trying some new things. I’d like to read more books that are translated from other languages.
There’s additional books that I couldn’t fit into these categories that I’ve purchased or pre-ordered and will be trying to squeeze in as well. Our Share of Night comes out of February 7, 2023, and every review about it makes me want it more. There’s a bunch of mangas that’ll be updated next year that I’m looking forward to checking out (Sasaki to Miyano, Cherry Magic, Given, and Candy Color Paradox). The danmei series I’m reading should be fully released by the end of the year so I can finish them. I also have wuxia I want to read (sitting on my bookshelf waiting for my attention!). There are pre-orders that were released to my Kindle that I forgot about (If This Book Exists then You’re in the Wrong Universe).
I haven’t read this much since I was a teenager, but I’ve finally gotten back to my previous reading speed (100 pages in two hours) so I am looking forward to reading as much as I can, and curious to see what that total will be in my Good Reads wrap up at the end of 2023!
