Saturday, November 13, 2021
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: Murder in the Stacks by Marion Havighurst
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} OR The Book of Virtues by William Bennett {NY Times 1994}
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)
10. Based on a real person: The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes [Jack the Ripper]
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
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
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 Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
23: Author with an X, Y, or Z in their name: Experiment with Death by E. X. Ferrars
24. Addresses a specific topic: Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s by Frederick Lewis Allen
25. Wealthy character: Midnight Sailing by Lawrence G. Blochman (2/8/22)
26. Has an "Author's Note": The Dancing Dodo by John Gardner
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: Dave Barry Turns 50 read by Dave Barry
31. Technology-themed: The Nine Billion Names of God ~Arthur C. Clarke
32. Book that intimidates you: The Forest by Edward Rutherford
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: Sidney Chambers & the Perils of the Night ~James Runcie
35. From the villain's perspective: Moriarty by John Gardner
36. Recommended by a favorite author: Death Among the Sunbathers by E. R. Punshon (rec by Dorothy L. Sayers in her crime reviews)
37. Set in a rural area: Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge
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
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
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
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
46. Job title in the title: Death & the Professor by E. & M. A. Radford
47. Read during month of November: Down Among the Dead Men by Stewart Sterling OR Streaked with Crimson by Charles J. Dutton OR Death Warmed Up by Marian Babson
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
50. Person of color as main character: Tears of the Singers by Melinda Snodgrass (features Uhura)
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
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:
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]