Goodreads 2020 52 Books Around-the-Year Challenge

1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y - Invisible Girl, Lisa Jewe1.

2. A book by an author whose last name is one syllable - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid

3. A book that you are prompted to read because of something you read in 2019 - The Butterfly Girl, Rene Denfeld (Sequel to The Child Finder, read in Feb., 2019)

4. A book set in a place or time that you wouldn't want to live - The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah (Set in a very isolated and primitive area in Alaska in the 1970s. The setting was AWESOME, but I would never want to live there.))

5. The first book in a series that you have not started - Two Girls Down, Louisa Luna

6. A book with a mode of transportation on the cover - Conviction, Denise Mina (ship's anchor) 

7. A book set in the southern hemisphere - Trust No One, Paul Cleave (Set in New Zealand)

8. A book with a two-word title where the first word is "The" - The Cactus, Sarah Haywood  (Reese Witherspoon has optioned it and will star!)

9. A book that can be read in a day - So You Think You're a Bookworm, Jo Hoare 

10. A book that is between 400-600 pages - A Minute to Midnight, David Baldacci (430 pages)

11. A book originally published in a year that is a prime number- I Found You, Lisa Jewell (Published in 2017, a prime number)

12. A book that is a collaboration between 2 or more people - Made to Stick, Chip Heath and Dan Heath

13. A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 Books challenge: A book that was translated into English - The Snowman, Jo Nesbo (Translated from Norwegian)

14. A book by an author on the Abe List of 100 Essential Female Writers -Troubled Blood, J.K. Rowling  

15. A book set in a global city - All the Devils Are Here, Louise Penny  (Set in Paris)

16. A book set in a rural or sparsely populated area - Those Who Wish Me Dead, Michael Koryta (Set in wilderness of the Beartooth Mountain range by Yellowstone National Park)

17. A book with a neurodiverse character - The Rosie Result, Graem Simsion (3rd book in The Rosie Project series, where Don Tillman is on the autism or Asperger's scale, and, in this book, wonders if his 11-year-old son is, too.)

18. A book by an author you've only read once before - The Perfect Wife, J.P. Delaney  (Previously read his book, The Girl Before.)

19. A fantasy book - Sweet Virginia, Caroline Kepnes (Novella where a woman fantasizes about living in a Lifetime Christmas movie, is kidnapped, and wakes up there.)

20. The 20th book [From your choice of lists: e.g., on your To Be Read List, in a series, by an author, on a list, etc.] - The 20th Victim, James Patterson

21. A book related to Maximilian Hell, the noted astronomer and Jesuit Priest who was born in 1720 - If She Wakes, Michael Koryta (Maximillian Hell was also interested in magnets. The murdered scientist in this book was killed because of his work with magnets in climate change.)

22. A book with the major theme of survival - Freefall, Jessica Barry (Surviving a plane crash in Colorado after the pilot and other passenger were killed.)

23. A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author - Good Girls Lie, J. T. Ellison (The two main girls were lesbians and/or bi.)

24. A book with an emotion in the title - Terrified, Kevin O'Brien

25. A book related to the arts - The Last Time I Lied, Riley Sager (Protaganist is an artist who paints only pictures of the three missing girls she once knew.)

26. A book from the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards - The Chain, Adrian McKinty (Nominated for Best Mystery/Thriller)

27. A history or historical fiction - City of Girls, Elizabeth Gilbert

28. A book by an Australian, Canadian or New Zealand author - The Girl in the Mirror, Rose Carlyle (from New Zealand)

29. An underrated book, a hidden gem or a lesser known book - Before She Was Helen, Caroline B. Cooney (An adult mystery published by Cooney in 2020. Who knew? Plus, it was SO good.)

30. A book from the New York Times '100 Notable Books' list for any year - Becoming, Michelle Obama

31. A book inspired by a leading news story - The War That Saved my Life, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (News story: WWII, Battle of Dunkirk, transferring London children to the countryside during the Blitz)

32. A book related to the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan - Winning Balance by Olympic gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson

33. A book about a non-traditional family: The Wives, Taryn Fisher (Seth has three wives who know nothing about each other or about his other children.)

34. A book from a genre or sub genre that starts with a letter in your name: Action/Adventure (for April Acton) -- Don't Turn Around, Jessica Barry (Heart-pounding thriller where two women drive from Texas to Alburquerque, being pursued by three different men for three different reasons)

35. A book with a geometric pattern or element on the cover - Have You Seen Me? Kate White (a circle)

36. A book from your To Be Read list/wishlist/etc. that you don't recognize, recall putting there, or put there on a whim: The French Girl, Lexie Elliott (I forgot I had received it for Christmas in 2019 from my Amazon Wish List. I ran across it six months later in my basket in the living room and read it immediately with pleasure.)

37. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #1 - Based on opposite themes of beginning and ending in the titles: He Started It, Samantha Downing

38. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #2 (Based on opposite themes of beginning and ending in the titles: Until It's Over, Nicci French)

39. A book by an author whose real name(s) you're not quite sure how to pronounce In the Hall With the Knife, Diana Peterfreund

40. A book with a place name in the title - Crimson Lake, Candace Fox

41. A mystery - Eight Perfect Murders, Peter Swanson

42. A book that was nominated for one of the ‘10 Most Coveted Literary Prizes in the World’ - Bluebird, Bluebird, Attica Locke (2018 winner of Edgar Award Best Mystery Novel and 2018 Anthony Award Best Novel)

43. A book related to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse (Death, Famine, War, Conquest) - The War I Finally Won, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 

44. A book related to witches - The TIme Witch, Mary Downing Hahn

45. A book by the same author who wrote one of your best reads in 2019 or 2018 - The 19th Christmas, James Patterson (author of one of my chosen best books from 2018: Now You See Her)

46. A book about an event or era in history taken from the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire:"  Saint X, Alexis Schaitkin [From the line "hypodermics on the shore"]

47. A classic book you've always meant to read - The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith

48. A book published in 2020 - The Other Mrs., Mary Kubica 
 
49. A book that fits a prompt from the list of suggestions for the 2020 challenge that didn't win (link): Suggested prompt: A book with a main character's name in the title: Fleishman Is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner

50. A book with a silhouette on the cover - Outsider, Linda Castillo 

51. A book with an "-ing" word in the title - Searching for Sylvie Lee, Jean Kwok

52. A book related to time - Confessions on the 7:45, Lisa Unger (Note specific time in the title.)