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.

Sasha wrote: "I've been meaning to read The Shape of Water. While the central relationship doesn't qualify, the one between the female protagonist and her older gay friend does, and is important ..."
One of my favorite books and you're so right about that relationship being very important!

Lilith wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: "I found a few that I've read and liked:

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
The Housekeeper and the Professor

The Housekeeper and the Professor is one of my favorite books. I just love this author"
Same, Lilith!!

Any book from Susan Wittig Albert's Darling Dahlias series would work. "The Darling Dahlias" is a gardening club/group!

Another mystery series from which any one book would fulfill this prompt is Anthony Elgin's English Garden mysteries

Julie wrote: "Would Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah fit this prompt?"
Definitely!

Lilith wrote: "Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen works perfectly for this prompt.
I kinda want to do a reread now."
Loved that one! But I have adored every single Sarah Addison Allen book I've read!

Jennifer W wrote: "I recently read The Winter Garden. It was good enough, I wouldn't necessarily strongly recommend it. It definitely fits the gardening requirement, though!"
My book club loved that book!

Diana wrote: "I haven't read it yet, but I believe The Last Garden in England would work for this."
Thank you! I was trying to remember that title!

Life has been extremely hectic and chaotic and I’m exhausted! Didn’t get to posting last week, but included my answer to that Question of the Week below! So excited by this new list! I am trying to finish the listing of 2026 Popsugar Monthly Group Read topics tonight. If not, it will be tomorrow at the latest! Then we can start polls to select the January Group Read!

Also very excited to meet Sigrid Nunez this coming Monday! It is the very first time that I have taken off from teaching at the gym to do something else! The only times I have missed was when I was sick or my car quit on me! LOL I guess that’s not too bad in six years!

I just inadvertently discovered this posting about Ali Velshi’s Banned Book Club! (https://www.ms.now/ali-velshi/read-ev...) I particularly appreciated his comments regarding democracy and limiting what can be read. These two concepts are diametrically opposed! He is a commentator on MSNBC and is the one who read all of Project 2025 and summarized it in multiple broadcasts during the 2024 Presidential election campaign.

A list!
https://link.harpercollins.com/view/5...
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ADMIN STUFF:
THE DECEMBER MONTHLY GROUP READ FINAL SELECTION POLL IS Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng!
This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #25 A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee
International Migrants Day is December 18, 2025
We are searching for a "year-end yeoman" to lead this discussion! Message either Nadine or me to volunteer!

THE NOVEMBER MONTHLY GROUP READ IS A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1) by Becky Chambers!
This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #29 A book about a food truck
National Fast Food Day is November 16, 2025
https://www.calendarr.com/united-stat...
Who among you is the “fearless foodie” willing to lead this discussion? Message either Nadine or me to volunteer!
*sigh* No one has volunteered and I adore this book, so am more than willing to reread it and post some questions. However, I am reading books in preparation for an author event as well as two IRL book clubs through November 18, so I most likely won’t get to this until after the 18th. In the meantime, I have posted some introductory questions HERE

THE LISTING OF 2025 MONTHLY GROUP READ TOPICS IS HERE!
***

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Do you complete reading challenges other than the Popsugar annual challenge? If so, what are some of those other challenges?
Just Popsugar and the 52 Book Club Challenge for 2026! Though I am seriously considering at least one (maybe two!) ‘personal’ challenges I create for myself... Maybe 10 books in each?

From Week #45: What category jumped out at you as The Most? (Interpret how you will: most surprising or most exciting or most fun or just your favorite?)
The prompt I dislike the most! 48. A book with a “shadow daddy” Ugh.
The most creative and intriguing! 43. Two books written by real-life partners or spouses
The most creative wording! 35. A book that makes you want to travel to Italy
The most humorous prompt! 31. A book that makes you feel FOMO
The prompt that may be the most challenging to fulfill! 25. A book that explores influencer culture
The prompt that strikes me as the most obscure and perhaps most difficult to fulfill! 21. A book about a bachelorette trip
My most favorite: 1. A book where gardening or a garden is central to the plot


2025 READING CHALLENGES:
Popsugar: 42/50
52 Book Club: 47/52

2024 Popsugar: 47/50

FINISHED:
*Naked Sleeper: A Novel by Sigrid Nunez ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was, IMO, and excellent example of “literary fiction”! Those last 11 pages certainly set a different tone, and what was, again, IMO, a happy ending. At least for the present!
POPSUGAR: #2, #6, #8, #20, #31, #35, #43, #48
52 Book Club: #4, #33, #36, #46

*A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was such a dense read for me, as well as for the other book club members. Belcourt’s writing definitely crosses genre boundaries. It is very poetic and symbolic, requiring me to take my time and read 2-3 pages at a time in many spots, then take a break, come back and reread those pages to try to determine the author’s meaning and intention. In the end, we all felt he was adept at depicting the trauma visited upon indigenous peoples by colonizers. Not only in the present-day, but the historical murders and oppression that continue to haunt modern-day indigenous folks. Add to that the fact that Belcourt is a gay male indigenous person, and there is the cross-sectional prejudice and oppression he experiences. The loneliness and sense of abandonment must be fierce and all-consuming. This book certainly depicts those resulting emotions and the damage to a person’s psyche. Be warned: this is not a book to be read quickly! Each book club member stated it required concentration and attention…but it does, as we all agreed, provide excellent insights into this individual’s life and experiences… I will not easily forget just how this book made me feel in response to Belcourt’s lived experiences. Nor do I want to forget. We should all remember and strive to do better ourselves, as well as encourage others to do the same.
POPSUGAR: #6, #20, #35
52 Book Club: #37, #43, #46

CONTINUING:
*All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert for an IRL book club meeting Tuesday
*Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez is rather fascinating. I keep wondering exactly where/how this will end…
*Hope on the Inside by Marie Bostwick is not what I was expecting! Bostwick is so savvy at connecting titles…
*The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
*Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power by RebeccaSolnit
*East of Eden by John Steinbeck
*The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
*The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong for an IRL book club meeting
*The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

PLANNED:
*The Last of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez
*What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez
*For Rouenna by Sigrid Nunez
*Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict
*The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley
*The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
*The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict

Dubhease wrote: "Dark academia seems like a good fit here."

Although some of those books are not set in college-level institutions...

Laura Ruth wrote: "This is one where I feel like I'll probably stumble across one. Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town was depressing but very informative."
I assumed it would make me angry and sad...

Karen wrote: "It does not say "human" civilization - I have a copy of Pod by Laline Paull and I am trying to read what I have at home or can get from my local library - so there."
Excellent suggestion!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Why are so many "harvest" books Christian romances??? Why do those two themes go hand in hand?"
Interesting...

Joanna G wrote: "Thinking about The Berry Pickers - set in the summer, but around blueberry picking."

Oh, yeah! I have been wanting to read this, and it is so true that blueberry season (at least in the midwest/northern U.S.) is in June and maybe a bit into July!

Nadine in NY wrote: "I think Stephanie Plum in Janet Evanovich's books has curly hair? Can anyone confirm that?"

I'm uncertain about that. I think the way it is described, I viewed it as perhaps "wavy" but not curly? Though in the Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephan...) about Stephanie Plum it describes her as having curly hair!! So there ya go! I adored the most recent installment...Now or Never! Especially the very last paragraph!

Bea wrote: "This is another prompt that did not excite me and that I considered skipping; but, when I checked the list for this prompt, I found a cozy mystery! I can certainly deal with a topic I am not excite..."

Definitely checking that out!

Karen wrote: "Bending this one entirely to suit myself - When I was young in the sixties/seventies of the last century -- the influencers who reached me were singers/songwriters/pop stars, Some of these were wom..."
Such a great interpretation! I was only thinking of current ly active online influencers (podcasters, etc.)! Thanks for expanding the horizons for this one!

Laura Ruth wrote: "I am a total wimp with horror. Does anyone know of a comedy that would fit the category, something where the ghost is silly instead of scary?"

I despise horror and did not find The Ghost Bride to be scary or horrific...

But I like your question and am anxious to see what others might suggest!!

Dubhease wrote: "I also realized when searching for zodiac words that there are some hidden words Aries is hidden in diaries and Libra is hidden in library."

Yes! These signs can sometimes be discovered within other words!

Laura Ruth wrote: "These days, any book about US politics would qualify."
So very true!

1) Have you read any other books written by Becky Chambers? If so, what? And did you enjoy it/them?
Yes! Yes! Yes! I have read the whole Wayfarers series: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit, Record of a Spaceborn Few, and The Galaxy, and the Ground Within and absolutely adored each and every one of them. Also true for her stand-alone, To Be Taught, If Fortunate! Seriously, every book Chambers has published thus far is a 10-star read for me!

2) Was this specific book on your TBR or are you reading it to fulfill prompt #29 A book about a food truck?
I've already read it 3 years ago! And I already fulfilled prompt #29 with Death on Eat Street (Biscuit Bowl Food Truck #1) by J.J. Cook.

3) What are your expectations for this book, if any?
I had none before reading it, except that I fully expected to thoroughly enjoy it after reading the Wayfarer books!

4) Do you find the title, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, particularly interesting?
I find Chambers' titles to be intriguing and they definitely grab my attention. I guess my main expectation was to read something that I might find to be calming...?

5) What about the cover image? Does it motivate you to read this book? Or does it make you hesitate to read it?

I found the cover image to be fascinating and studied it before reading, then again after I finished the book!

6) Do you typically read books in this genre/subgenre-Science Fiction/Fantasy?
I guess I don't read a whole lot of SFF, but what I do choose to read I enjoy!