52 Books Challenge-- How I Did and What I Read

 For the first time ever I completed a 52 Book Club Challenge before the end of the year! I read my last book in September and some of my all time favorite books this year were due to this challenge. I'm already all set to tackle 2024's challenge! 


1. Book with a subtitle-- Beyond the Wand; The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton 



2. Featuring an inheritance-- Over Her Dead Body by Susan Walter



3. Title starts with the letter "G"- Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau



4. Title starts with the letter "H"- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas



5. Title starts with the letter "I"-- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab


6. Under 200 pages-- You Will Not Have my Hate by Antoine Leiris



7. A city or Country name in the title- One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan



8. Dystopian fiction-- The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau



9. A book with a dedication-- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt 


10. Takes place during the roaring 20's-- The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont



11. A book about secrets-- The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev



12. High fantasy-- Dragon's Green (Worldquake book #1) by Scarlett Thomas


13. Published Posthumously-- I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara





14. A survival story-- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart



15. Set in Australia--The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth



16. Featuring one of the "seven deadly sins"-- The Guest List by Lucy Foley



17. By a Caribbean author-- Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud



18.  Set during a war other than WWI or WWII- A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon



19. A typographic cover-- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin



20. A book about siblings-- Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo


21. A second-hand book-- The Seaside Library by Brenda Novak



22. A body positive message-- Dear Body by Brittany Williams 


23. An Alliterative title-- Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries by Tonya Kappes



24. Nordic Noir-- Hidden in Snow by Viveca Sten



25. A Fashionable character-- Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes



26. Has an epilogue-- Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren


27. Newbury medal winner-- Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson



28. Includes a funeral-- Big Chicas Don't Cry by Annette Chavez Macias


29. Sends you down a rabbit hole-- The Bride Test by Helen Hoang



30. An author with the same name as you-- Heron's Landing by JoAnn Ross



31. Set in a workplace-- The Boy with the Bookstore by Sarah Echavarre Smith 


32. Published by Macmillan-- The Mother In Law by Sally Hepworth



33. A banished book-- Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher



34. Featuring Mythology-- The Sun and The Star; From the world of Percy Jackson, A Nico Di Angelo Adventure by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro 



35. A book you meant to read last year-- Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano 


36. Chapters have cliffhangers-- The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley



37. Written in the present tense-- The Nanny by Lana Ferguson



38. An enemies- to-lovers plot-- Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood


39. The final book in a series-- The Heart Principal by Helen Hoang


40. Written by a comedian-- If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) by Betty White 



41. A character who is a refugee-- American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins 



42. Time in the title-- This time Tomorrow by Emma Straub



43. A book "everyone" has read-- Beach Read by Emily Henry


44. A contemporary setting-- Dating You Hating You by Christina Lauren



45. First word in the book is "the"-- The Dutch House by Ann Patchett



46. Has a script font on the spine-- Before I Do by Sophie Cousens


47. Set in the city of Dublin--  Off the Map by Trish Doller--



48. A Book by Octavia E. Butler- Unexpected Stories by Octavia E Butler



49. Books on the Cover-- The Night of Many Endings by Melissa Payne 


50. Related to the word "murder"-- Pray For Silence by Linda Castillo


51. Doesn't fit any of the other 51 prompts-- Memories in the Drift by Melissa Payne


52. Published in 2023-- Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano


Linking up with: Thinking Out Loud, Spread the Kindness, 








Comments

  1. LyssyDecember 14, 2023 at 8:12 AM

    Great job!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dara @ Not In JerseyDecember 14, 2023 at 8:26 AM

    I like these prompts. I work on the Pop Sugar challenge each year but I'm not sure I like the prompts for next year! I will have to look at these!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kim CarberryDecember 14, 2023 at 9:12 AM

    What a great challenge and it looks like you have read some fantastic books!
    I have to Tom Felton book on my Spotify list to listen to.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HollyDecember 14, 2023 at 9:53 AM

    Incredible accomplishment Joanne!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Melynda@Scratch Made Food!December 14, 2023 at 10:15 AM

    Incredible! And such a variety of interesting subjects.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 14, 2023 at 5:22 PM

      That is one thing I really like about the reading challenges; they push me to read a much wider variety of books.

      Delete
  6. Kari December 14, 2023 at 10:56 AM

    What a fun challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jodie's Touch of StyleDecember 14, 2023 at 12:28 PM

    I'm reading #9 right now for our book club. What an impressive challenge
    Xoxo
    Jodie

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lisa notes...December 14, 2023 at 8:13 PM

    Wow, that is an incredible challenge to complete, Joanne! You should definitely be proud of this accomplishment!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. retirementreflectionsDecember 15, 2023 at 1:44 PM

    Congratulations, Joanne - This is quite the accomplishment. I have read 'Remarkably Bright Creatures' and 'This Time Tomorrow' and have greatly enjoyed both. I have also had several friends rhapsodize about 'The Christie Affair' so that's on my TBR list. Thank you for sharing this with us as #WOYBS.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lydia C. LeeDecember 15, 2023 at 3:34 PM

    I've only read three of these. You've really covered off so many!! Great work...The comic con people love Tom Felton because after his interview, he just wandered around the exhibition talking to people. So when someone was sick last minute they invited him to come again and he did. I always think of that when I see him now...#WOYBS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 15, 2023 at 3:50 PM

      He sounds like such a down to Earth and genuinely kind person.

      Delete
  11. MarshaDecember 15, 2023 at 7:21 PM

    Congrats on reaching your goal (early even)! I haven't read many of your books. I keep trying to decide if I want to do this challenge next year. I usually just read rather than having to read a specific type of book. I have surpassed my reading challenge on Goodreads so I'm counting this year as a win!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jennifer JonesDecember 15, 2023 at 8:39 PM

    Well done on completing the challenge. It's a great challenge and I'm looking forward to 2024 also. I have most of my prompts planned but they always change as the year goes on. I haven't read any of the books that you read, but have put a few of them on my TBR list. #weekendcoffeeshare
    https://bestbookishblog.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 16, 2023 at 11:02 AM

      Thank you! I never plan out what I'm going to read ahead of time.

      Delete
  13. Women Living Well After 50December 15, 2023 at 9:56 PM

    Well done, Joanne on completing the challenge and thanks for sharing which books you matched with the prompts. I will be doing the challenge next year but I'm not as advanced as some who have planned their books already. I think I prefer to discover them as I go along.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 16, 2023 at 11:03 AM

      Thank you! I much prefer discovering them as I go along too.

      Delete
  14. Deb's WorldDecember 16, 2023 at 4:25 AM

    You did well in your choices for the prompts Joanne. I'm starting the 2024 challenge but am not getting too organised just yet. What was your favourite out of all these you read? Thanks for joinjing us for #WOYBS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 16, 2023 at 11:04 AM

      Thank you! I had a post earlier in the week that summarized my favorite books (or series) that I read this year: https://www.myslicesoflife.com/2023/12/favorite-books-series-of-2023-with-not.html

      Delete
  15. Tamar SBDecember 16, 2023 at 8:33 AM

    Year read such an amazing variety!

    ReplyDelete
  16. DebbishDecember 16, 2023 at 7:42 PM

    How amazing that you've got a Suzanne Walter there. I read her latest book recently and loved it so have been meaning to go back and read her others....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 18, 2023 at 7:47 AM

      I definitely want to check out more books by her as well; I thought this one was a lot of fun.

      Delete
  17. Life Of 2 SnowbirdsDecember 16, 2023 at 8:35 PM

    Wow! I'm impressed! Great job. It must have felt great to accomplish this challenge. I'm heading to your blog post to find out which were your favorites. I'm always looking for book recommendations!

    ReplyDelete
  18. NatashaDecember 17, 2023 at 4:52 PM

    Now that I've done the Decades Reading Challenge, I need a new one. Maybe I should take this one on!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 18, 2023 at 7:48 AM

      I really enjoy them (and if there's a year where I'm less than trilled with the prompts there are always so many other years' worth of ideas to pick from!).

      Delete
  19. CatherineDecember 18, 2023 at 9:41 AM

    What a fun challenge! The only one of these I've read is 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow'. It' was a free ebook and although it's not a genre I would normally read I really enjoyed it!

    #MMBC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 18, 2023 at 1:04 PM

      It's definitely not a book I would have thought to pick up and read on my own but I really enjoyed it too.

      Delete
  20. Jo TraceyDecember 19, 2023 at 6:09 PM

    I'm definitely going to do this next year...

    ReplyDelete
  21. Kym December 19, 2023 at 8:02 PM

    Congratulations on finishing the challenge and then some!! I kind of knew I would not get 52 books read, never mind for each of the prompts, but I think I did pretty good, all things considered. Remarkably Bright Creatures and the Nordic Noir I chose (Reykjavik) were the pleasant surprises of the challenge for me, books I would probably not have considered otherwise. Happy Reading in 2024!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne December 21, 2023 at 4:56 AM

      Yes, I really enjoyed my Nordic Noir book too and have been wanting to read the next book in that seires.

      Delete
  22. Lindsay's Sweet WorldDecember 23, 2023 at 10:13 AM

    This is just so impressive, Joanne! And you even finished several months early!! Congratulations! I'm excited to follow along next year again!

    ReplyDelete

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