L Y N N’s Comments (group member since Nov 10, 2018)

L Y N N’s comments from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.

A Book of Interconnected Short Stories

I adore Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, translated by Geoffrey Trousselot
Any of the books in this series would work, though I highly recommend reading them in order.

What else?

Listopia is HERE

A Book Where Nature Is the Antagonist

One of my favorite nonfiction reads immediately came to mind!
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey
This was absolutely fascinating, IMHO!
There is also A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
I love Lord's nonfiction. Very relatable. Very easy to read. This is about the Titanic.

Goodreads Listopia to help:
Man Vs. Nature Books

Listopia is HERE

A Book with a Left-Handed Character

Oh, my! I just happened upon this one...
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (Left-Handed Booksellers of London #1) by Garth Nix

Listopia is HERE

A Book You Have Always Avoided Reading

This is a personal/individual decision, so no Listopia for it!

I am already trying to read a true "horror" book for the 2024 Challenge, so not sure what I'll select for this prompt in 2025.

A Book That Includes a Nonverbal Character

Any book written by or about Helen Keller would work!
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
Helen Keller by Margaret Davidson
Helen Keller's Teacher by Margaret Davidson

Goodreads Listopia to help:
Non Speaking Main Characters Books

Listopia is HERE

A Book with a Title That Starts with the Letter Y

I really wanted to get to Yellowface by R.F. Kuang this year, but didn't make it, so this will be my selection for this 2025 prompt! Perfect!

Goodreads Listopia for help:
Best Books Beginning with the Letter Y

A Wikipedia listing to help:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

Listopia is HERE

A Book Written By the Oldest Author in Your TBR Pile

My initial question is whether the author must still be among the living...or not? I'm going to opt for a book published prior to the 20th Century. Some possiblities are books written by:
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë
Wilkie Collins
Charles Dickens
There are so many of these I have not read but that I really want to read!

How will you choose to interpret this prompt and which books will you select?

This is a personal/individual selection, so no Listopia!

A Book About Chosen Family

The first one that comes to mind is The House in the Cerulean Sea (Cerulean Chronicles #1) by T.J. Klune and although I own it, I have yet to read the second installment, Somewhere Beyond the Sea. I'm not going to get to that this year, so I'll earmark it for this prompt in 2025!

I know there are a ton of books that would qualify,,,

Goodreads Listopias to help:
found family but make it gay
Sci-fi Found Family
Found Family Stories
Found Family
Found Family is the Best Trope
Found Family in Fantasy
52 Book Club 2025: #22 - Found Family Trope

Listopia is HERE

A Classic You've Never Read

So many!
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Villette by Charlotte Brontë
The list seems endless for me!

How about for you?

This is a personal/individual selection, so no Listopia!

Two Books with the Same Title

This is a combined posting for prompts #37 and #38!

There was a similar prompt for a different challenge in the past-three books with the same title and I used Beach House:
The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe
Loved this and now own all the other installments in this series to read!
The Beach House by Jane Green
A beautifully poignant book!
The Beach House by James Patterson and Peter de Jonge
Definitely my least favorite of the three!

Goodreads Listopia to help:
Seeing Double: Same Title, Different Books by Different Authors
(Thank you, Mitchell!)

Listopia is HERE

A Book with Silver on the Cover or in the Title

This one is easy-peasy for me. There are several I've been wanting to read:
The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

I'm sure there are many more!

Some Goodreads Listopias to help:
(Not all books on these lists will include silver on the cover or in the title, so you'll need to peruse them thoroughly to determined those that do!)
Metallic Titles
silver buckles on my shoe
Romance Novels with Silver in the Title

Listopia is HERE

A Book Centering LGBTQ+ Characters That Isn't About Coming Out

Wow. This is challenge to my memory... So many of the LGBTQ+ books I've read include the "coming out" theme.
I "think" any of Ashley Herring Blake's Bright Falls series books should work:
Delilah Green Doesn't Care
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail
Iris Kelly Doesn't Date
I won't add any of these to the Listopia until someone else verifies that I am correct.
As I recall, Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop would quality. But again, I won't add it to the Listopia until someone else confirms my sometimes erroneous memory!

Listopia is HERE

A Book Written By an Author Who Is Neurodivergent

Any book authored by Temple Grandin qualifies. I've read Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism and Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals and really enjoyed both! I believe Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism should be required reading for any teacher and/or parent! We just typically are unaware of the many different ways people can and do interpret the world and learn!

Seanan McGuire (pronounced Shawn-in) lists an OCD diagnosis at age 9 on Wikipedia, and I didn't realize that qualifies as a neurodivergent diagnosis! Neurodivergent is an umbrella term including many other diagnoses. https://startmywellness.com/2024/01/i....
I have owned a copy of Rosemary and Rue for years and have yet to read it...perhaps 2025 is THE year! 😉

Listopias to help:
Neurodivergent Authors Books

Other listings:
A listing of Books By Neurodivergent Authors from Celadon Books: https://celadonbooks.com/books-neurod...

Listopia is HERE

A Book Featuring an Activity on Your Bucket List

Wow. There are several different things I had hoped to do 'later in life. The two main things on my bucket list were:
1) Travel to Africa and spend longer than just a few days. No safari! Just getting to know the people in their everyday 'normal' life! I do not foresee being able to do this due to the arthritis in my body overall and titanium knee joints! Plus, unless I receive a tremendous infusion of money, I could never afford it!
2) Quilting. I have crated projects by sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, cross-stitching, macrame, and basket weaving at different times in my life but never attempted quilting. I had always imagined doing it the "old-fashioned way," stitching by hand. No sewing machine. But the arthritis in my hands will definitely not allow that!

So, with all that said, I think I will purposefully target books about Africa, but especially Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass by Isak Dinesen

And although I have never read any of Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts books, perhaps it is time to read the first in that series, The Quilter's Apprentice.

Tell us about your book plans in relation to an activity on your bucket list!

This represents a personal/individual choice, so there is no Listopia!

A Book About an Overlooked Woman in History

Oooohhh, yes! I have a personally inscribed copy of Tracey Enerson Wood's The President’s Wife that I've been wanting to read! This is about the way in which President Woodrow Wilson's wife in many ways actually ran the U.S.

Goodreads Listopia to help:
The Overlooked Women of History

Listopia is HERE

A Book Where Music Plays an Integral Part of the Storyline

I would count The Conjure-Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher to fulfill this prompt. Song lyrics are repeated throughout the book. They provide opportunities for irony, sarcasm, and some humor.

I have intended to read Brendan Slocumb's The Violin Conspiracy for what seems like forever! This is perfect motivation!

I can recommend:
La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Listopia is HERE

Doni wrote: "The Full Moon Coffee Shop Heavy into astrology which I'm not familiar with at all. Light read."
Huh. Looks like one I would enjoy...

"QotW: Horror. I'm already paranoid enough without needing additional plotlines to freak me out!"
A reasonable logic! 😃

Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday! I'm staying focused on how excited I am for the new list in a few weeks! I can't hardly wait! That first reveal day is like Christmas morning for me."
I love that it is that exciting for you!!

"Our weather has turned fall-like, we have had one or two nights below freezing. Luckily my old furnace is still working. I'm still wearing my flip-flops because i hate shoes and I wait until the bitter end to put shoes on."
Same type of weather here. Glad your furnace is working! Oh, my! Flip-flops! I haven't worn anything like that since I was a kid. And, now with titanium knee joints, I wouldn't dare try to wear such 'shoes'! My overwhelming goal is to NOT trip and especially NOT to fall! LOL

"So I'm a Spider, So What? Manga, Vol. 1 written by Okina Baba & adapted by Asahiro Kakashi - very meh."
Oh, wow! I forgot that I NEVER read Manga. After reading a couple of those books I decided I really did not enjoy it at all.

"The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft - beyond meh to full on hate read. This book was the epitome of dullness. I am mystified by its many five star reviews."
But that is the beauty of each book, there are virtually ALWAYS readers at each of the spectrum for every single one...

"The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman - just as entertaining as you EXPECT it to be! It's the one book I enjoyed in this week's finishes!"
Oh, my! I am so glad you enjoyed this one! I adore that whole series!

"QotW
I usually avoid Christian fiction because it's too twee and sappy, magical realism because it's also too twee and sappy, up-lit because it's too twee and sappy, self-help because it's usually useless and heavily padded, and chick lit because it's often poorly written and focused on things I don't care about, like fashion. And the emerging popular sub-genres of romantasy and cozy fantasy are both usually disappointing for me - Romantasy"
Ugh. And I neglected Christian Fiction. I want nothing to do with any organized religion, so of course, I never plan to purposefully read it! But I have loved the few cozy fantasy books I've read. I don't know that I've read any romantasy books...

Nadine in NY wrote: "L Y N N wrote: "I learned a new word yesterday: kakistocracy...."

Of course that raises the question: who WAS the worst vampire? Kakistos? or the Master?"
No idea. I despise vampires overall... :)

But I certainly recognize the ineptitude and incompetency of many recently proposed political appointees... :(

A Book That Reminds You of Your Childhood

I can't think of a book in a family and setting resembling that of my own childhood, so perhaps just simply selecting a book I did read and enjoy as a child, or one that had been published prior to my birth that I believe I would have enjoyed reading...
Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
The Rescuers by Margery Sharp
I would have loved reading all the books in these series!!
I did adore anything Dr. Seuss wrote! Those had been published rather recently during my childhood!

How about you? What book(s) remind you of your childhood?

This is obviously a personal/individual selection, so there is no Listopia!