2018 Around the Year Planning Post

~ Emily Bourque

Last year in May, I discovered a group on Goodreads called Around the Year in 52 Books. This group’s goal is to read 52 books in a year, and each book meets a certain challenge. I wrote about my struggles meeting this goal in 2017, but 2018 is a new year!

One cool thing that the group does is create planning posts. These posts list all of the books the readers *hope* to read for each category. Since I have a nice and shiny blog to post on (rather than the small text block Goodreads allows), I figured I would post my planning post here for you all to peruse.

 

Most of these are pulled directly from my To Read list on Goodreads. The reason this list is so long (201 books and counting…) is because I never actually check my To Read list when I’m selecting new books… which sort of defeats the purpose about having this list in the first place? So to rectify that, I’m hoping that including books from that (ever-growing) list will remind me to actually read the damn books. I won’t hold myself to reading these books alone, but I will probably come to this list from time to time when trying to find new books to read. Of course, my book club picks and Book of the Month picks will definitely take the place of some of these books, but it’s nice to have a starting point.

Notes typed in italics are written by me for clarification. All books are listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name, unless the prompt states otherwise. You can view my other 2017 reading goals here.

  • Key:
    • 💛 – POC Author or Characters
    • 🌈 – LGBTQ+ Characters
    • 🐝 – Nonfiction
    • 💪🏼 – Personal Development
    • 🏅 – Classic
    • 🤓 – Reread
    • 📚 – On My Shelf

So, without further ado… The 2018 List

  1. A book with the letters A, T & Y in the title
  2. A book from the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list (Sorted by date added to TBR)
  3. A book from the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards (Results)
  4. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #1 Earth
  5. A book about or inspired by real events
  6. A book originally written in a language other than English
  7. A gothic novel
  8. An “own voices” book
  9. A book with a body part in the title
  10. An author’s debut book
  11. A literary fiction
  12. A book set in Africa or South America
  13. A book with a plot centered around a secret (forbidden love, spies, secret societies, etc)
  14. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #2 Fire
  15. A book with an unique format/writing structure
  16. A narrative nonfiction
  17. A book you expect to make you laugh
  18. A book with a location in the title
  19. A book nominated for the Edgar Award or by a Grand Master author 
  20. A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends
  21. A book written in first person perspective
  22. A book you have high expectations or hope for
  23. A medical or legal thriller
  24. A book with a map
  25. A book with an antagonist/villain point of view
  26. A book with a text only cover
  27. A book about surviving a hardship
  28. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #3 Water
  29. A book with a “Clue” weapon on the cover or title 
  30. A short book
  31. A book set in a country you’d like to visit but have never been to
  32. An alternate history book
  33. A book connected to a word “born” in the same year as you
  34. A suggestion from the AtY 2018 polls, that didn’t win but was polarizing or a close-call
  35. A book featuring a murder
  36. A book published in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018) by an author you haven’t read before
  37. A Women’s Prize for Fiction winner or nominee
  38. A science book or a science fiction book
  39. A book with a form of punctuation in the title
  40. A book from Amazon’s 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list
  41. A book by an author with the same first and last initials
  42. A book that takes place on, in, or underwater
  43. A book with a title that is a whole sentence
  44. A ghost story
  45. A book that intimidates/scares you (Long Books!)
  46. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #4 Air
  47. A book where the main character is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity than your own
  48. A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins
  49. A book from one of the Goodreads Best Books of the Month lists
  50. A book with a warm atmosphere (centered on family, friendship, love or summer)
  51. An award-winning short story or short story collection
  52. A book published in 2018

Do you see any on here that you would recommend? A book that I’ve missed in a category or two? Leave suggestions in the comments!

Published by Emily Bourque