ŷ������

It's time for the Summer Olympics, and in honor of all of those noble athletes competing for their country, we are reading a book related to the phrase "Going for the Gold".

There's a wide variety of ways you could go with this prompt:
- Gold color on the cover
- Word in the title i.e. “The Golden Compass��, “The Goldfinch��, etc
- Author's name (William Golding, Arthur Golden, William Goldman, Lily Gold, etc.)
- Gold medal/award (a character striving to be the best, related to the Olympics, a character seeking the top prize in any competition or race, or an achievement such as a gold record or golden globe award)
- Money or jewelry (big business, a character with a gambling addiction, a bank robber or jewel heist, a ""gold digger"", treasure seekers/pirates, someone trying to steal a leprechaun's pot of gold or a dragon's treasure.)
- Metal seekers (an alchemist, a prospector/set during the gold rush)
- The search for anything “golden�� (golden ticket, Golden State killer, golden snitch, Golden Fleece, entrance into the Golden Dawn, etc)

ATY Listopia: /list/show/1...

What are you reading for this prompt, and how does it fit the prompt?

I chose Snowman: The True Story of a Champion for this prompt.

I highly recommend checking out the list of books nominated for the Golden Tentacle Award, a prize giving to a debut speculative fiction novel that is "progressive, intelligent and entertaining." I've really enjoyed every book I've read from the prize list. My two favorites are The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers and The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow.



The two options I'm considering for this prompt are The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (the family surname is Gold) and Red Rising by Pierce Brown (people are divided by a caste system - the Reds and the Golds).

I'm reading Gold Diggers and Gold, both about people going for gold in very different ways.

I’m planning to read either The Goldfinch, Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende, or Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin. Daughter of Fortune is set during the California gold rush and Laurus has a large gold dragon on the cover. I’d like to read all 3 books if I can fit them in somewhere else.

I originally planned to be more creative with this prompt, but since I'm hoping to read in order I've picked The Empire of GoldS.A. Chakraborty.

Probably over half of all the books I read are part of a series. This is one of the reasons I usually don't complete the challenge in order. This year many of the series books I either want to finish or start are lining up in order which is really nice. Emily, thank you for the order of the list!

I just realized that The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton is another good choice. It’s set during the 19th century New Zealand gold rush, which I didn’t even realize there was such a thing! I am going to make reading this book a priority in 2024. It’s been on my shelves for too long! It fits at least 4 prompts, maybe more.

I've selected a book by Mirandi Riwoe: "Stone Sky Gold Mountain" set in and around the goldfields of North Queensland in the late 19th century

I lobbied for this to read a book on the golden state killer Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases

Jillian, I'm glad it's lining up so nicely for you! Anything to get more people to read the Devabad series lol

Pam, I read that one a few years ago after it sat on my shelves for a while! The size is intimidating, but it was such an engaging read that took me in so many different directions I wasn't expecting. That book is a large reason why I have Birnam Wood on my TBR.

Thanks Emily for the encouragement to read The Luminaries! I’m attempting another long one now that’s been sitting on my shelves forever - The Poisonwood Bible.

I have 2 very different ideas for this prompt right off.
The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer Klimt is the favorite artist of a friend of mine; I don't know anything about him.

Darling Rose Gold I started it when it first came out and it was devilishly twisted, but I didn't get very far before I had to return it.

I also like a lot of sports and could easily read a book about athletes for this prompt, too.

I'm going for the treasure hunt angle and reading Tuesday Mooney Wore Black by Kate Racculia.

I'm reading Horse by Geraldine Brooks, the story of a winning racehorse, the enslaved groom who trained it, and the artist who painted it's portrait,

I'm drawing on the connection that the US has won 11 gold medals in Equestrian events.

I am planning to read A Fall of Marigolds. I chose it because I enjoy reading historical fiction and "marigold" contains the word "gold." I haven't heard anything about this book but it has a good rating.

Not many options to choose from for this, mainly cover picks.

- The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
-
-
-

I am going to use Yellowface for this prompt. Taking something that belongs to another in order to hit it big seems like Going for the Gold to me...even though it is dishonest.

Right now my plan is to read Unseen City by Amy Shearn because it is the *GOLD MEDAL winner in the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards in Literary Fiction*.

If for some reason this doesn't pan out, my alternate is The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra because of the gold on the cover.


Although I'm still tempted to read Gilded by Marissa Meyer because I love the cover, even if the story doesn't excite me.

For this prompt I chose to re-read .

I can highly recommend:
Gold by Chris Cleave It is about sports, but also so much more...
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid I love Reid's writing and this had me enthralled even though I'm not all that interested in sports, especially tennis!
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown This was one of the best books I've ever read! I had no idea of the excruciating physical exertion required to crew. I thought the movie was a pretty good adaptation, but there is nothing like reading this book, IMO!

I think I'll read a Steinbeck novel I've never heard of before:
Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History

Found the perfect book - Sacred Games takes place at the original Olympics in Olympia in ancient Greece. This is a charming historical mystery series starring a young man who wants to be an investigator instead of a sculptor like his father. He is aided by a clever and resourceful priestess and his pesky young brother, who is always asking questions (and who turns out to be named Socrates.) In this installment a murder at the games threatens to start a war between the city states.

I am going with non-fiction and am reading Bruce Springsteen's autobiography Born To Run. He has many GOLD records

For this prompt, I read about a sailing race that took place in 1968 with prizes for first finisher and fastest finisher:
A Voyage for Madmen by Peter Nichols - 4* - My Review

I'm currently reading The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly for that prompt, and it's such a perfect fit it's almost ridiculous!

It is about a children's picture book that features a real-life treasure hunt for (get this!) seven GOLDEN bones hidden throughout mystical sites in England, sparking a bonehunter frenzy.

I read The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History

And as a bonus, one of the final chapters was about the tech suits swimmers wore and how fabric is used at the Olympics!

I was excited by this prompt as I'm a runner, and was looking to read more books about running. In fact, I might do one as a second book for a favorite prompt because I had too many choices. Ultimately, I went with The Rise of the Ultra Runners: A Journey to the Edge of Human Endurance by Adharanand Finn, which chronicles the author's journey from decently fast marathoner to trying to qualify for the 171 km Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) race in the Alps. An ultra race, by the way, is any race longer than marathon distance. I love reading about people who push themselves to the ultimate limit, so I got a kick out of this.

My full review can be found here.

I read the classic King Solomon's Mines for this prompt. It's about a group of Englishmen searching for an ancient treasure (Gold and Diamonds).

I was interested in this as I heard that it was a big inspiration for Indiana Jones. But if that's right, they just took the best parts and expanded them out to be a full movie.

I'm looking at a book that has the word 'win' or 'wins' in the title ... I think that might be another way to do this prompt!

I have just finished Gilded by Marissa Meyer.
It should fit this prompt, as it is a retelling of the Rumplestiltskin fairy tale. In the book Serilda is tasked by the evil Erlking to spin straw into gold.
It also has a golden decorative reproduction of a castle on cover.

The book I chose for this prompt

short and sweet review: 4.0
This book has completely transformed my perspective. It was an incredibly touching and beautiful read, one of the most moving I've ever experienced. It has given me an entirely new outlook on people with special needs.

I read Carrie Soto Is Back for this one. It had a gold cover.

I am reading Innocent Traitor, a novel by Alison Weir. It has the author's name in gold letters. It is also about 'going for the gold' in the fact that the top 'prize' of Queen of England is being sought for Lady Jane Grey.

I read It's All in How You Fall, which is about an elite gymnast who can no longer compete - since gymnastics is one of the highlights of the summer Olympics!

I read:
Olympia: The Birth of the Games by John A Martino

BIO: A book featuring the Olympics
REJECT: A book set in BCE

Finished: 04/21/2024
Rating: 4 stars

An interesting account of the first Olympiad. Enjoyable reading. BTW, I was born and raised in Olympia (Washington).

PS: This books also fits prompt #30 - Set in a county on the Mediterranean Sea (Greece and Carthage (now Tunisia))

I read Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. There is a golden inked tattoo that is important to the story, so there's my angle.

I read Cadaver Dog by Doug Goodman. It's about a woman who trains dogs to be the best in their field (eg. bomb sniffing dogs, etc.) with a zombie twist

Gold Diggers has been on my TBR for a few years and this was one of those books that if I didn't read it for this prompt I probably never would get to it. Overall it was enjoyable but it would dip into being boring from time to time.

I would recomend:
Carrie Soto Is Back - tennis sports theme and gold cover
The Golden Couple - Title and a gold rose on cover
California Golden - Title and surfing sports theme. This is kind of predictable but it was mostly a easy enjoyable read

I read The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. 5 stars

I also read Gold Diggers and thought it was a good book, combining an almost magical realism plot about alchemy with immigrant experience in the Indian diaspora, where there was also pressure to go for the gold of academic and career success.

For my second round, I read Trojan Gold, part of the Vicky Bliss mystery series (the first one I'd read). There was a good plot idea concerning the gold discovered by Schliemann at the site of Troy, but about half way through, the book turned into a bedroom farce. A shame, because the actual mystery was well done.

I read Stone Sky Gold Mountain by Mirandi Riwoe for this topic. It is set during a gold rush era in 19th Century Australia (Read June 7th; 3*)

Thoughts as to whether or not The Half of It: A Memoir would work for this prompt?

I'm not too sure what Madison speaks to in her book but maybe the connection of wanting to/becoming a star can connect with Going for the Gold?

Definitely qualifies. She is likely going for a Gold Record, if not simply striving for success.

I read The Chase of the Golden Plate by Jacques Futrelle

I read Murder at the Olympics: a 1920s cozy historical mystery by Lee Strauss. The participants were "going for the gold."

I read Honey gold cover honey is a "golden" foodstuff and the MC is trying to achieve pop stardom

I read
Spinning Silver- she turned silver to gold
Saint in the Fable series - diving for treasure
The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession

Tracy wrote: "Right now my plan is to read Unseen City by Amy Shearn because it is the *GOLD MEDAL winner in the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards in Literary Fiction*.

If f..."
I ended up not reading any of these, although I plan to eventually.

What I DID read was Going Zero by Anthony McCarten. I bought this for my husband because the title phrase refers to going off the grid, not entirely, but in the sense of not being able to be found via social media, and other tech sources. This is something he was interested in as he spent weeks getting totally off of Facebook (deleting all his posts and anything anybody posted about him). He's not crazy, I think he just found he was using FB too much to no good end, and was looking for a project... He loved it and wanted me to read it so we could discuss it. I really enjoyed it.

Anyway, this fits the prompt because a) "Going" is in the title, and b) the contestant characters are trying to win a $3M prize.

I read Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby. This was a heck of a ride - the story of a former thief who attempts to get away from the world that saw him imprisoned. Except life gets in the way and he has no choice to go back... one last time.

5 stars

My review here:
/review/show...

For the Paris Olympics inspiration, there are many books set in Paris. I read
The Paris Library
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain. I highly recommend this charming story. ♥️

The Paris Novel - I want to read this soon.

Liz wrote: "I read Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby. This was a heck of a ride - the story of a former thief who attempts to get away from the world that saw him imprisoned. Except life gets i..."

I want to read it too. I read Razorblade Tears this year and it blew me a way. I didn’t think it would be my kind of book, but it was great.