Montarville's dogs, wolves and coyotes (2020)

This year, I will be playing with animals of the dog family (no offense to cats, they are still my favourite).

Dogs: This is for BingoDog. Obviously.

Wolves: Who is the big bad wolf of the book world? The giant tech company named after a river in South America named after mythological women warriors. I am not a member of Goodreads (which is just a tool for the big bad wolf to get information on consumers), but I do visit the wolf's lair once in a while. It has nice groups, such as Around the year in 52 books. Members of the group chose 52 prompts to guide their reading for the year. I will play along here. Since I don't read 52 books a year, I will tweek the rules: I will simply use the books I read for multiple prompts.

For example, with the book The Conductor by Sarah Quigley, about the premiere of Shostakovich's seventh symphony in Leningrad during WW2, that I read a few years ago, I would tick the prompts two-word title starting with "the", author from New Zealand, Canada or Australia, historical fiction, set in a time or place where you wouldn't want to live, related to the four horsemen of the apocalypse, related to the arts, published in a year that is a prime number, inspired by a leading news story, etc. In theory, I could complete the challenge with half a dozen well chosen books. Somehow I have a feeling it will be more complicated than that. The rules of ATY Challenge allow for one wildcard, that is one prompt can be omitted or replaced with anything and the challenge can still be considered completed. I will likely use it (I am looking at you, 2019 Goodreads Choice award).

Coyotes: If it's not dog and it's not a wolf, then it must be a coyote. This is for the books that don't fit the previous two categories.

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5- Not set on Earth: The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
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18- Mystery: Un long retour, Louise Penny
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20- By a journalist: The Indispensable Composers, Anthony Tommasini
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25- Involves real historical event: Life Sentence, Christie Blatchford

Books for the Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge

Book A: The Indispensable Composers, by Anthony Tommasini
10- Book between 400 and 600 pages: 482 pages
13- Prompt from a previous ATY challenge (book by an author you haven't read, prompt 22 from 2017)
23- LTBTQIA+ character or author: the author explicitely mentions that he is gay on page 179.
25- Related to the arts: classical music
27- History or historical fiction: it is about the history of classical music
34- Genre that starts with a letter in your name: Non fiction or Essay

Book B: Un long retour (The Long Way Home), by Louise Penny
3- Because of something you read in 2019: I read the 8th and 9th installment of the Armad Gamache series in 2019. This is the 10th
10- Book between 400 and 600 pages: 446 pages in its French, pocket-size version
12- Collaboration between 2 or more people: translated by Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagné
16- Set in a rural area: Set mainly in the fictional village of Three Pines, and later in the book in a region accessible only by plane or boat
25- Related to the arts: about paintings, painters, art schools, galleries...
28- Author from Canada, Australia or New-Zealand: Canadian author
34- Genre that starts with a letter in your name: mystery
41- A mystery: self-explanatory
45- By an author that was one of your favourite reads in 2019:
50- Silhouette on the cover: silhouette of 3 birds (geese?)

Book C: The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett
1- Title doesn't contain letters A,T or Y: "the" at the beginning doesn't count
5- First book in a series you have not started: the first of Discworld series
13- Prompt from a previous ATY challenge (by an author new to me): it's my first Terry Pratchett
19- A fantasy book: with wizards, dragons, trolls, and a stupid tourist
22- With a major theme of survival: the heroes have to survive fire, barbarians, dragons, trolls, pirates, etc.
44- Related to witches: the main character is a wizard, and a wizard is a male witch

Book D: Life Sentence, by Christie Blatchford
13- Prompt from privious ATY challenge (new to me author)
28- Author from Canada
31- Inspired by a leading news story: about the Canadian justice system through some famous cases, including the Homolka and Bernardo cases, Jian Gomeshi, Mike Duffy, and other well known cases in Canada
34- Genre that starts with a letter in your name: Non fiction
36- Book put on your TBR on a whim: found in a sales bin outside the book shop while I was walking home from work

Same information as in the previous post, but presented by prompt.

1. A book with a title that doesn't contain the letters A, T or Y: Book C
2. A book by an author whose last name is one syllable
3. A book that you are prompted to read because of something you read in 2019: B
4. A book set in a place or time that you wouldn't want to live

5. The first book in a series that you have not started: C
6. A book with a mode of transportation on the cover
7. A book set in the southern hemisphere
8. A book with a two-word title where the first word is "The"

9. A book that can be read in a day
10. A book that is between 400-600 pages: Book A, B
11. A book originally published in a year that is a prime number
12. A book that is a collaboration between 2 or more people: Book B

13. A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 Books challenge (I chose no 22 from 2017, Book by an author you haven't read before): Book A, C, D
14. A book by an author on the Abe List of 100 Essential Female Writers
15. A book set in a global city
16. A book set in a rural or sparsely populated areaa: Book B

17. A book with a neurodiverse character
18. A book by an author you've only read once before
19. A fantasy book: C
20. The 20th book on your TBR, in a series, by an author, on a list, etc.

21. A book related to Maximilian Hell, the noted astronomer and Jesuit Priest who was born in 1720
22. A book with the major theme of survival: Book C
23. A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author: Book A
24. A book with an emotion in the title

25. A book related to the arts: Book A, B
26. A book from the 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards
27. A history or historical fiction: Book A
28. A book by an Australian, Canadian or New Zealand author: Book B, D

29. An underrated book, a hidden gem or a lesser known book
30. A book from the New York Times '100 Notable Books' list for any year
31. A book inspired by a leading news story: Book D
32. A book related to the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan

33. A book about a non-traditional family
34. A book from a genre or sub genre that starts with a letter in your name: Book A, B, D
35. A book with a geometric pattern or element on the cover
36. A book from your TBR/wishlist that you don't recognize, recall putting there, or put there on a whima: Book D

37. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #1
38. Two books that are related to each other as a pair of binary opposites: Book #2
39. A book by an author whose real name(s) you're not quite sure how to pronounce
40. A book with a place name in the title

41. A mystery: Book B
42. A book that was nominated for one of the ‘10 Most Coveted Literary Prizes in the World’
43. A book related to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse
44. A book related to witches: Book C

45. A book by the same author who wrote one of your best reads in 2019 or 2018: Book B
46. A book about an event or era in history taken from the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire"
47. A classic book you've always meant to read
48. A book published in 2020

49. A book that fits a prompt from the list of suggestions that didn't win (I chose Book by an author not from the anglosphere)
50. A book with a silhouette on the cover: Book B
51. A book with an "-ing" word in the title
52. A book related to time

If it's not a dog or a wolf, it's a coyote.

I also intend to play with Non Fiction Cat and Alpha Kit, and maybe GeoCat.

Non Fiction Cat
January: Journalism
The indispensable Composers, by Anthony Tommasini. The author is chief classical music critic for The New York Times.

Life Sentece, by Christie Blatchford. The author has covered court cases for 40 years.

February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Alpha Kit
January: A U
February: F B
March: G C
April: S T
May: L P
June: K Y
July: J R
August: O H
September: M E
October: D V
November: I Q
December: W N

Here is a ticker to encourage me to read from my TBR pile, with a modest objective of 12 (that I will likely fail to achieve, like every year).

Welcome to my thread!

Great theme! I like the Wile E. Coyote picture especially :) Have a great reading year!

Good luck with your 2020 reading!

Fun set up - enjoy your 2020 reading.

I love your theme! Wile E. Coyote is my favorite Looney Tunes character.

I will be watching your Wolf category closely! There are some very interesting prompts in this challenge.

Happy 2020 reading!

I've just finished my first book of 2020: The Indispensable Composers, by Anthony Tommasini. I really liked that book. It presents a mini biography of 16 composers that the author judges indispensable. I like that the author makes it clear that the exercise is subjective. Another person tasked with writing on the exact same subject might have come up with a different book. If it were me, I would have found a place for Tchaikovsky (though I completely agree with leaving out of Mahler). There is a nice balance between the biographical information and the explanations about the composers' music.

The author is the chief classical music critic for The New York Times, so the book fits the January Non Fiction Cat (journalism) and the "by a journalist" square of Bingo Dog.

>15 Montarville: Just put this one on my want to read list!

>15 Montarville: a BB for me. When I find books like this I always listen to composer's works as I read along.

>16 JayneCM: I hope you'll like it.

>17 Tess_W: I read with my tablet nearby, so I could listen on Youtube or Spotify any piece that was mentioned and that I didn't know. It makes the reading even more interesting.

Three more books in January:

Un long retour (The Long Way Home) by Louise Penny: The Armand Gamache series is one of my favourites. This was a great book, as usual.

The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett: I read this one only because of the "fantasy" prompt in the Goodread ATY challenge. I figured I would get it out the way early. Though I am not a fan of the fantasy genre, I was expecting to fall in love with this book, because of all the praises I had read about the author's wit and humour. I was a little disappointed. It's far from being bad, but it's not great either. Every chapter feels like a distinct story. Except for the two heroes and the Luggage (my favourite character), all the characters change from one chapter to the other, the setting changes, new dangers and news laws of Discworld are introduced... It's a bit too much, and it feels disconnected. I have read afterwards that The Colour of Magic might not be the best gateway into Discworld. I will probably give the series another chance at some point (likely with Guards! Guards!, but not for a little while.

Life Sentence: Stories from four decades of court reporting, or how I fell out of love with the Canadian Justice system (especially judges), by Christie Blatchford. I got this one from a sales bin last fall. It was a great read. I gobbled it in two days. The author is journalist who has covered court cases for 40 years for newspapers like the Sun, the Toronto Star and the National Post. She is good. She got my blood boiling a few times. She talks about some famous Canadian court cases, but not necessarily from the usual point of view. For example, she talks about the Bernardo and Homolka cases not because they are famous, but because of how they expose certain failings of the judicial system: plea bargainings, the absence of ethical guidelines for lawyers, extraordinary publication bans on evidence... Though I trust the Canadian judicial system, I came out of that read thinking it would be good if judges, attorney generals and courts in general were subjected to a lot more public scrutiny.

I forgot to say that the three books fit three of the Bingo Dog squares, respectively: mystery, not set on Earth, based on real historical events.

I didn't update my thread all year long. I read a lot, but was not in the mood for social networks or reading challenges. Hopefully, next year will be better (I am sure it will be). I will just list all the books that I read:

1- The Indispensable Composers, Anthony Tommasini
2- Un long retour, Louise Penny
3- The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
4- Life Sentence, Christie Blatchford
5- Journaux de voyage, Albert Camus
6- Tout ce qu'on ne te dira pas, Mongo, Dany Laferrière
7- The Nature of the Beast, Louise Penny
8- La Promesse de l'aube, Romain Gary
9- The Ghost Road, Pat Barker
10- Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit

Touchstones are not working, and edits don't seem to work either. I may need to modernize my hardware. Meanwhile, I will keep listing...

11- Something Fresh, P.G. Wodehouse
12- Reality is not what is seems, Carlo Rovelli
13- The Chinese Nail Murders, Robert Van Kulik
14- A great Reckoning, Louise Penny
15- Le Clan des Médicis, Jacques Heers
16- A Morbid Taste for Bones, Ellis Peters
17- Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
18- The Department of Sensitive Crimes, Alexander McCall Smith
19- La Liberté à tout prix, Georges Clémenceau
20- La Honte, Annie Ernaux

21- Sans capote ni Kalachnikov, Blaise Ndala
22- April Blood, Lauro Martines
23- Mort en terre étrangère, Donna Leon
24- La Loi du rêveur, Daniel Pennac
25- Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe
26- Son of a Trickster, Eden Robinson
27- From the Ashes, Jesse Thistle
28- Evangeline, H.W. Longfellow
29- The Diary of a Nobody, G.W. Grossmith
30- Sea People, Christina Thompson

31- La fille de la supérette, Sayaka Murata
32- Elias Portolu, Grazia Deledda
33- The Skin We're In, Desmond Cole
34- In the Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado
35- The Blue Castle, Lucy Maud Montgomery
36- Le Show de la vie, Chi Li
37- Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow
38- Le rouge vif de la rhubarbe, A.A. Olafsdottir
39- Cinq balles dans la tête, Roxanne Bouchard
40- Apollo's Angels, Jenifer Homans

41- Ciao Bella, Serena Giuliano
42- The Devil in Music, Kate Ross
43- No Visible Bruises, R. L. Snyder
44- Talking to a Portrait, Rosalind M. Pepall
45- The Ones Who Got Away, Roni Loren
46- Mad and Bad, Bea Koch
47- Solitary, Albert Woodfox
48- Trois gouttes de sang, Sadaq Hedayat
49- Grasp, S. Sarmai and L. Yoquinto
50- The mother, Grazia Deledda

51- Indians on Vacation, Thomas King
52- Silas Marner, George Eliot
53- Un homme et son péché, Claude-Henri Grignon
54- Eugénie Grandet, Honoré de Balzac
55- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë
56- Maria Chapdelaine, Louis Hémon
57- En pleine terre, Germaine Guèvremont
58- War: How Conflicts Shape Us, Margaret MacMillan
59- Salut Galarneau!, Jacques Godbout
60- An Echo of Murder, Anne Perry

61- Rasputin, Douglas Smith
62- Le Lambeau, Philippe Lançon
63- The Forger's Spell, Edward Dolnick
64- Letters from an Astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson
65- Le colonel Chabert, Honoré de Balzac
66- Sovietistan, Erika Fatland
67- Le grand voyage, Jorge Semprun
68- Before the Coffee Gets Cold, T. Kawaguchi
69- Caveat Emptor, Ken Perenyi
70- Christmas Letters, Debbie Macomber

And that's where I am. 77 is a personal record for me (by a dozen). And there is a good chance I will finish two or three more by the end of the year. On the whole, a good reading year for me.

Excellent reading! I read Indians on Vacation as well and really liked it.

It's not you - I think the problem with the touchstones is site-wide. They are very on-againm off-again these days. Congratulations on a good reading year.

>29 rabbitprincess: >30 DeltaQueen50: Thanks!

Congratulations on your personal reading record!

Congrats on breaking your reading record! I also read an unusually large (for me) number of books this year. Also, I was happy to see some of my favorites on your list -- The Blue Castle, Kate Ross, Wodehouse, and Ellis Peters. Hope you enjoyed them!

71- Midnight in Chernobyl, Adam Higginbotham
72- Le Banquet annuel de la confrérie des fossoyeurs, Mathias Enard
73- The Mistletoe Murder, P.D. James
74- Rebellion, Nora Roberts
75- In From the Cold, Nora Roberts
76- Murder in Matera, Helene Stapinski
77- L'Adversaire, Emmanuel Carrère
78- The Medici, Paul Strathearn
79- Le père Noël est une ordure, multiple authors
80- David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

I squeezed in a few more reads before the end of the year:

81- Il pleuvait des oiseaux, Jocelyne Saucier
82- Letter Perfect, David Sacks

>33 christina_reads: Thanks! I loved these. I found a couple of omnibus edition of Ellis Peters. I will spend some time with brother Cadfael next year.

I'll post a copy of this in the 2021 end of year meme thread:

Describe yourself: The Adversary

Describe how you feel: Solitary

Describe where you currently live: The Blue Castle

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Sovietistan

Your favorite form of transportation is: The Ghost Road

Your favorite food is: Something Fresh

Your favorite time of day is: Promise at Dawn

Your best friend is: Son of a Trickster

You and your friends are: Apollo's Angels

What’s the weather like: And the Birds Rained Down

You fear: The Nature of the Beast

What is the best advice you have to give: Say Nothing

Thought for the day: Reality is not what it Seems

What is life for you: A Great Reckoning

How you would like to die: Death in a Strange Country

Your soul’s present condition: No visible Bruises

What was 2020 like for you? Mad and Bad

What do you want from 2021? Good Omens