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.

Anna wrote: "I am going to read White Horse. Also, I already used The Violin Conspiracy for another prompt, but it would work here as well. The Hacienda is anothe..."

That's it! The Violin Conspiracy for me! Thank you!!

POPSUGAR 2024 READING CHALLENGE

42/50 as of November 23!

1 A book with the word "leap" in the title
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon (Meg Langslow #4) by Donna Andrews
June 23 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

2 A bildungsroman book
Educated by Tara Westover
May 28 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

3 A book about a 24-year-old
Emily's Quest (Emily #2) L.M. Montgomery
February 11 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

4 A book about a writer
Erasure by Percival Everett
August 17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

5 A book about K-pop
XOXO by Axie Oh

6 A book about pirates
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
September 24 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

7 A book about women's sports and/or by a woman athlete
Brace for Impact by Gabe Montesanti
November 20 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

8 A book by a blind or visually impaired author
The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club #1) by Richard Osman
November 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

9 A book by a deaf or hard-of-hearing author
Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf
November 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

10 A book by a self-published author
*Wool (Silo #1) by Hugh Howey
July 30 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

11 A book from a genre you typically avoid
The Tea Dragon Society (The Tea Dragon Society #1) by Kay O'Neill
GRAPHIC NOVEL
August 8 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

12 A book from an animal's POV
Bernard the Brave (The Rescuers #8) by Margery Sharp, illustrated by Leslie Morrill
April 14 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

13 A book originally published under a pen name
1984 by George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair
May 16 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

14 A book recommended by a bookseller
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
June 15 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

15 A book recommended by a librarian
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It (Finlay Donovan #1) by Elle Cosimano
January 21 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

16 A book set 24 years before you were born
The Conjure-Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher

17 A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Harlem, NY
February 16 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

18 A book set in space
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers
July 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

19 A book set in the future
The Annual Migration of Clouds (Annual Migration of Clouds #1) by Premee Mohamed
November 12 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

20 A book set in the snow
*Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone (Ernest Cunningham #1) by Benjamin Stevenson
November 28 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

21 A book that came out in a year that ends with "24"
Liars by Sarah Manguso
2024
September 24 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

22 A book that centers on video games
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
January 27 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

23 A book that features dragons
How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon #1) by How To Train Your Dragon
May 25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

24 A book that takes place over the course of 24 hours
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
July 15 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

25 A book that was published 24 years ago (2000)
Murder in Volume (Megan Clark #1) by D.R. Meredith
June 11 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

26 A book that was turned into a musical
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
According to Wikipedia…
March 21 ⭐⭐

27 A book where someone dies in the first chapter
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
September 3 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

28 A book with a main character who's 42 years old
*Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone (Ernest Cunningham #1) by Benjamin Stevenson
November 28 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

29 A book with a neurodivergent main character
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
July 7 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

30 A book with a one-word title you had to look up in a dictionary
Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

31 A book with a title that is a complete sentence
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind (Miss Julia #1) by Ann B. Ross
April 14 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

32 A book with an enemies to lovers plot
Murder on Black Swan Lane (Wrexford & Sloane #1) by Andrea Penrose
Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

33 A book with an unreliable narrator
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
January 30 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

34 A book with at least 3 POVs
The Memory Shop by Ella Griffin
January 18 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

35 A book with magical realism
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
July 19 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

36 A book written by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

37 A book written during NaNoWriMo
Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree
February 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

38 A cozy fantasy book
Bookshops & Bonedust3] (Legends & Lattes #0) Travis Baldree
March 23 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

39 A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
October 2 ⭐⭐⭐

40 A horror book by a BIPOC author
The Trees by Percival Everett

41 A memoir that explores queerness
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
May 14 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

42 A nonfiction book about Indigenous people
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

43 A second-chance romance
Persuasion by Jane Austen

44 An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
July 8 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

45 An LGBTQ+ romance novel
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
November 23 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

46 A book in which a character sleeps for more than 24 hours
Shift (Silo #2) by Hugh Howey

47 A book with 24 letters in the title
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
May 9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

48 A collection of at least 24 poems
Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
March 24 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

49 The 24th book of an author
The Case of the Crooked Candle (Perry Mason #24) by Erle Stanley Gardner
May 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

50 A book that starts with the letter "X"
XOXO by Axie Oh

This is the August Monthly Group Read discussion of The Tea Dragon Society (Tea Dragon #1) by Kay O'Neill. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #23 A book that features dragons
National Lizard Day is August 14!

And who might be the "official organizer" willing to lead this discussion? Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!
It looks as if no one is volunteering to lead this discussion. Since I do own the book and it is a rather short graphic novel, I'll post some questions on August 1!

HERE is a listing of potential discussion questions. These are meant to not only help those who volunteer to facilitate these monthly discussions but also to provide ideas for members participating in discussions!

Every person reads at a different pace, so please use spoiler tags if you are sharing any plot-related surprises. This allows others to decide whether this information might reveal surprising information they have not yet read. It can also be helpful to other readers if you post the location within the book noting your progress (chapter and/or page number). That way, if someone else has read that far they can go ahead and open the spoiler, but if not, they'll know to skip it for now and return later...

TO ADD SPOILER TAGS:
Use this for spoilers, just remove the spaces:
< spoiler > write your spoiler here and close with < / spoiler >

Posts here should only be contributions to discussion about this book.

This is the July Monthly Group Read discussion of Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #44 An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll.
National Day of Rock ‘N’ Roll is July 7!

Thank you to Erin, the "savvy superstar" who has graciously volunteered to lead this discussion! Thank you, Erin!! 👏👏👏👏👏🎊🎉🎇🎆👏👏👏👍

HERE is a listing of potential discussion questions. These are meant to not only help those who volunteer to facilitate these monthly discussions but also to provide ideas for members participating in discussions!

Every person reads at a different pace, so please use spoiler tags if you are sharing any plot-related surprises. This allows others to decide whether this information might reveal surprising information they have not yet read. It can also be helpful to other readers if you post the location within the book noting your progress (chapter and/or page number). That way, if someone else has read that far they can go ahead and open the spoiler, but if not, they'll know to skip it for now and return later...

TO ADD SPOILER TAGS:
Use this for spoilers, just remove the spaces:
< spoiler > write your spoiler here and close with < / spoiler >

Posts here should only be contributions to discussion about this book.

This is the June Monthly Group Read discussion of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #18 A book set in space
National Meteor Watch Day is June 30!
And who is the "cool Captain" who will volunteer to lead this discussion? Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer! We are on our own for this month! I will post some questions to help get us started. (Thank you to Nadine for moving the June discussion posts to this folder for everyone! I cannot believe I completely overlooked the beginning of the new month! Needless to say, I now have a reminder on my calendar for each month. I really am getting old...)

HERE is a listing of potential discussion questions. These are meant to not only help those who volunteer to facilitate these monthly discussions but also to provide ideas for members participating in discussions!

Every person reads at a different pace, so please use spoiler tags if you are sharing any plot-related surprises. This allows others to decide whether this information might reveal surprising information they have not yet read. It can also be helpful to other readers if you post the location within the book noting your progress (chapter and/or page number). That way, if someone else has read that far they can go ahead and open the spoiler, but if not, they'll know to skip it for now and return later...

TO ADD SPOILER TAGS:
Use this for spoilers, just remove the spaces:
< spoiler > write your spoiler here and close with < / spoiler >

Posts here should only be contributions to discussion about this book.

This is the May Monthly Group Read discussion of All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #41 A memoir that explores queerness
International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia is May 17
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interna...
Jai is the "guru guide" who volunteered to lead this discussion! Thank you so very much, Jai! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

HERE is a listing of potential discussion questions. These are meant to not only help those who volunteer to facilitate these monthly discussions but also to provide ideas for members participating in discussions!

Every person reads at a different pace, so please use spoiler tags if you are sharing any plot-related surprises. This allows others to decide whether this information might reveal surprising information they have not yet read. It can also be helpful to other readers if you post the location within the book noting your progress (chapter and/or page number). That way, if someone else has read that far they can go ahead and open the spoiler, but if not, they'll know to skip it for now and return later...

TO ADD SPOILER TAGS:
Use this for spoilers, just remove the spaces:
< spoiler > write your spoiler here and close with < / spoiler >

Posts here should only be contributions to discussion about this book.

This is the April Monthly Group Read discussion of The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid #2) by Nita Prose. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #29 A book with a neurodivergent main character
April is Autism Awareness Month! I'm certain there is at least one member out there fitting the description of "knowledgeable navigator" to lead this discussion! Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer!
No one has volunteered and my copy will arrive tomorrow, Tuesday, April 2, so I will pose some questions, etc., for discussion! I am so anxious to read this one!

HERE is a listing of potential discussion questions. These are meant to not only help those who volunteer to facilitate these monthly discussions but also to provide ideas for members participating in discussions!

Every person reads at a different pace, so please use spoiler tags if you are sharing any plot-related surprises. This allows others to decide whether this information might reveal surprising information they have not yet read. It can also be helpful to other readers if you post the location within the book noting your progress (chapter and/or page number). That way, if someone else has read that far they can go ahead and open the spoiler, but if not, they'll know to skip it for now and return later...

TO ADD SPOILER TAGS:
Use this for spoilers, just remove the spaces:
< spoiler > write your spoiler here and close with < / spoiler >

Posts here should only be contributions to discussion about this book.

This is the March Monthly Group Read discussion of Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #48 A collection of at least 24 poems
World Poetry Day is on March 21!
Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman

Joanna is the "marvelous manager" who has stepped forward to lead the discussion! Standing ovation for Joanna!!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

HERE is a listing of potential discussion questions. These are meant to not only help those who volunteer to facilitate these monthly discussions but also to provide ideas for members participating in discussions!

Every person reads at a different pace, so please use spoiler tags if you are sharing any plot-related surprises. This allows others to decide whether this information might reveal surprising information they have not yet read. It can also be helpful to other readers if you post the location within the book noting your progress (chapter and/or page number). That way, if someone else has read that far they can go ahead and open the spoiler, but if not, they'll know to skip it for now and return later...

TO ADD SPOILER TAGS:
Use this for spoilers, just remove the spaces:
< spoiler > write your spoiler here and close with < / spoiler >

Posts here should only be contributions to discussion about this book.

Doni wrote: "Read: The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet This book was just all right. ALL the characters turned out to be LGBTQIA which just seemed a little bit too convenient...

The Jules Verne Prophecy This book was not believable at all, but it was fun to make fun of!"
These two look like great fun!

"Qotw: Honestly, I was surprised by how uninspiring the whole challenge was. I extracted a few prompts for my whole challenge and didn't do the PopSugar challenge. But I'm just as excited as everyone else for the new one! I'm hoping that because she got so much community input, 2024 will be better."
Our fingers are crossed!

K.L. wrote: "Happy Thursday, everyone!

I am currently on week two of being sick, and while I am starting to feel better, I’m really getting tired of blowing my nose. I’ve lost track of the number of tissue boxes I’ve gone through, but I’m definitely in the double digits at this point. I’m really looking forward to getting over this!

I do have to admit though that this was a fantastic week for reading!"
I am so very sorry that you continue to be sick, but I'm thrilled that you have had a "fantastic week for reading"!

"I did not get any new books this week!"
Perhaps one small 'benefit' of being sick? 🙂

"~Love in the Time of Serial Killers — This book was actually an impulse purchase, so I really didn’t know what to expect when I started it. I ended up really liking the story and characters, and read most of the book in a single sitting. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"
That is one quirky title!

"QOTW:
I didn’t participate in this year’s challenge, so I can’t really say that I found any of the prompts surprising."
Fair enough! 😊

Dubhease wrote: "Happy Thursday!

I am down to reading one book and I'm only reading one in December, so I made good progress on Dr. Zhivago.

And I finally finished reading 15 books in a series. I cut the number of series I'm reading down to 6 from 12. That's huge for me. Next year I'm reading 2 books in each series."
Sounds like a plan. I am trying to decide which series to concentrate on in 2024.

"Alvin Journeyman
ATY prompt: A book nominated for an award beginning with W (Whitney Award)
Popsugar prompt: can't find one"
Oh, I'll accept that challenge! LOL Did you mean to read it in 2022? Did you purchase from an independent bookstore? Are there mythical creatures in it? Is there a forbidden romance? Aha! #16 A book where the main character's name is in the title!

"QOTW: I didn't do a lot of planning and just slotted books in. The book that surprised me the most was Daisy Darker. I read a lot of mysteries/thrillers and I was expecting it to be good, but not that good. I absolutely loved this book."
Sounds as if I should move this one up on my TBR listing. 🙂

Ellie wrote: "It snowed this morning, it didn't settle (except on my dog's head) but it's enough of a novelty round here that everyone was super cheery. We're off to see Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes tonight, so that will distract me from The List."
Enjoy!

"The Planet Zoo community has been eagerly awaiting a hint of the next DLC this week too and that didn't happen either, so my patience has been thoroughly tested. I hope they don't announce the list too late tomorrow as I'm 8 hours ahead of them."
Fingers crossed for that as well as the 2024 Popsugar list!

"One book read this week, The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab which I enjoyed but it's not really a new trilogy it's just book 4 of DSoM series and it could have done with a bit of trimming. Like I don't really care about what Lila and Kell got up to in the 7 years since the last book, I wanted to focus more on the present."
Huh. At least I know a bit more about what to expect from this book now!

"QOTW:
Not really, I didn't exactly give the challenge a lot of effort this year."
Fair enough!

Ashley Marie wrote: "Happy Thursday! It’s tech week for Shakespeare in Hollywood so my reading has taken its usual dip this week. I have some time during the show to read but since I’m still not totally familiar with the script I find myself listening for my next cue rather than focusing on the book I brought with me.!"
I think spending time doing what you love to do is very worthwhile. Sometimes other activities must be put aside for a bit. Totally understandable!

"Shakespeare in Hollywood - 4 stars. Messy but fun! Book about or set in Hollywood"
This sounds very humorous!

"I tried 2-3 audiobooks this morning and couldn't settle on anything, so I found a lo-fi LOTR playlist on YouTube instead and that's getting me through the day."
Whatever it takes!! 😊

"QOTW: Which prompt from the 2023 reading challenge surprised you the most? Why? Or How?
I agree with Nadine's answer about the Romance with a fat lead category. Before I ditched Twitter (after the M*sk takeover but prior to X), my corner of the social media sphere was very skewed toward body positivity and reclaiming the word "fat" from people who thought it offensive, so to see so many people reverting to that attitude when the list was initially released and they saw that prompt really threw me."
Well, please read my reply to Nadine. I certainly did not mean to make others uncomfortable by criticizing the use of that term. My intention was the opposite. 😒

Ron wrote: "Happy Thursday and happy end of November! What a crazy year it's been. Hard to believe we're already at the end of it.

Hope you all are doing well.

I'm bummed that Nonfiction November is over with, but despite always reading NF anyways, I'm excited to look on to other books. I may not hit the 80% NF like I'd planned because some of the books I have set up for December are fiction which is fine."
I love the fact that you can adapt from your original goal and be satisfied. That is a skill! I have learned to be better about, but I still have to "talk myself down" sometimes when I don't reach a goal!

"Onto my book news:
For the month of November I read 8 books so I'm proud of that. 2 of them were poetry and 6 were general.
You Are What You Watch
Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels
Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults): 17 First-Person Stories for Today
UFO: The Inside Story of the U.S. Government's Search for Alien Life Here―and Out There
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma
STOP trying to SAVE me by Bekka Jean: Poetry & Prose for the Broken, Angry, Irrational, Confused, Searching, & Awakening Souls
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
Requiem of Youth"
Congrats!! 👏👏👏😁👍

"Like many of you, I am super excited for the PS Challenge 2024. I keep refreshing just to see if there will be a sneak peek. Talk about anxious. Of course there's always the full list tomorrow so I'm anticipating that and will most likely refresh my browsers like every 10 minutes even from 2 A.M. LOL!"
I will certainly not be as diligent as that! If you see something, please report it here!! LOL

"QOTW:
Which prompt from the 2023 reading challenge surprised you the most? Why? Or How?

I had a hard time with this years PS Challenge. So many prompts geared towards fiction so I struggled a lot. In the end I could not get to 15 of the prompts.

I have told myself though that I'm going to try to read more fiction for 2024 even though it's not really my genre."
Likewise, but in reverse, I am determined to read more nonfiction in 2024! I love nonfiction but fiction just seems to overtake me unless I really push myself to include nonfiction! And, I do believe that is one huge benefit of partaking in challenges as well as communicating with other readers, *cough* especially through the Goodreads Popsugar group! (You may consider that to be a commercial announcement! LOL) At least for me, this truly forces me to track and evaluate my reading in many ways I'm sure I would not do otherwise...

"To answer the question though, the one that surprised me the most was the prompt 'a queer lead'. I hardly read books with LGBTQ+ authors or representation so I decided to try my hand at this.

The book I read was Lesbians on Television: New Queer Visibility & the Lesbian Normal . I gave this a 3-star rating. While it was good, it was not the best. Maybe it's because it was my first time experience an LGBTQ+ read so I didn't know how to go about it.

The topic was a good one though. My favorite chapter was about Lena and Stef from the show 'The Fosters'. That was the first show I ever watched with LGBTQ+ rep. so it was nice reading about what the book had to say in regards to the show and to those characters in particular.

Like I said, I'm really going to try hard for more fiction reads next year. Maybe that will make the PS Challenge a bit easier."
Again, I think it's wonderful that you were open to a new reading experience!! YAY YOU!! Perhaps for fiction reads in 2024 you can target LGBTQ characters!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Well it's almost 2pm EST and NO SNEAK PEEK so I guess THAT is not happening since we are well past the proverbial eleventh hour now. Big sigh. Calm. Stay calm."
Yeah. I just keep trying to remember my immense disappointment upon first reading through the 2023 prompts a year ago and then as I began planning, I was thrilled with the books I could fit into most of the prompts... So no matter my initial reaction, I am holding out hope to once again be happy in the end... 😊

Laura wrote: "L Y N N wrote: "I can’t resist mentioning that Ariel Lawhon has a new book scheduled to release December 5: The Frozen River. She is one of my absolute favorite authors. I have read and loved 3 of ...

I just ordered The Frozen River from BOTM. Now I'm really excited to read it! One of my 2024 challenges requires me to read THREE books by the same author. Maybe Ariel Lawhon is a good choice?!"
I can heartily recommend her. I have read and loved The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress (that was the first one I ever read)
Flight of Dreams
I Was Anastasia
And I own Code Name Hélène which I am excited to read but just haven't gotten to it yet!

Whomever you select, I hope you enjoy all three books!

Nadine in NY wrote: "Happy Thursday! Goodbye to November, Hello to December. And happy List Release Eve! I am so excited to see the new list!!! It's ALL I can think about, which makes it hard for me to have any sort of conversation with anyone, because no one else in my "real" life cares about the list."
I LOVE this: And happy List Release Eve! 😁

"Antelope Woman by Louise Erdrich - I generally love Erdrich, she always tells an engaging story, but this one was not great, it's my least favorite of all her books because I found it confusing and I never cared about any of the characters. I used this for my "23rd book" - when I was looking up books I might read for Native American Heritage month, I looked at the list of all of Erdrich's books on GR, and lo and behold, this book was the 23rd on the list! And I had not yet read it! Voila!"
I own this one but have yet to try reading it... Sorry it wasn't more enjoyable for you!

"I did DNF one book, out of boredom:
I'm Only Wicked with You by Julie Anne Long - I love this author but I admit to being biased against this book because the cover is so weird, her eyes are a bizarre color and her facial expression is just wrong, like she's some kind of alien creature. I gave the book a shot, but I kept falling asleep, and never wanting to pick it up again. I've had it borrowed for six weeks and made little progress. There's no point in forcing my way through a romance novel, it's not like I don't know how it's going to end. The entire value of a romance is the joy of the journey, and this journey is boring AF."
I hope the next book you read is a WINNER!!! You deserve it after these two! 🤣

"FINALLY!! I'm 100% across the board, just in time to focus on the new list!!!
Popsugar 100% 50 /50
Must Reads 100% 12 /12
Nay's Winter 100% 10 /10
AtY 100% 52 /52"
Kudos to you!! Congrats! 👏👏👏😁👍

"QotW
I think the biggest surprise for me was how upset so many people were about the term "fat" in "romance with a fat lead."

I'm fat, and I know all about fat-shaming, but I didn't realize that so many people thought that "fat" itself was a bad word. To be honest, the backlash made me feel bad, like is being fat SO shameful that I can't even say it?"
Now I feel a bit badly since I was one of those most vocal about my displeasure with this wording. However, I view "fat" as a negative/derogatory term for others to use! I am technically "obese" myself...or "fat"...but I definitely consider "fat" to be rude when used by other people and I decline to use it myself. So perhaps this is simply a personal preference? Anyway, my intention was certainly not to make anyone else feel badly about their size/weight etc., just simply to be respectful and select wording that was (IMO!) more respectful. So I apologize for my protest making you (or anyone else) uncomfortable. Just please know my intention was the opposite! Communication does depend upon the interpretation of the receiver/listener. This is a good example of how that can go absolutely wrong!! 😒

This is the February Monthly Group Read discussion of Lucky Leap Day by Ann Marie Walker. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #1 A book with the word "leap" in the title. Since this “extra day” occurs in February in this “leap” year, it is just too obvious to resist! 😁

Kimberly Barker is the “leaping literary luminar” who has volunteered to lead this discussion! Thank you, Kimberly!👏👏👏👏👏👏

HERE is a listing of potential discussion questions. These are meant to not only help those who volunteer to facilitate these monthly discussions but also to provide ideas for members participating in discussions!

Every person reads at a different pace, so please use spoiler tags if you are sharing any plot-related surprises. This allows others to decide whether this information might reveal surprising information they have not yet read. It can also be helpful to other readers if you post the location within the book noting your progress (chapter and/or page number). That way, if someone else has read that far they can go ahead and open the spoiler, but if not, they'll know to skip it for now and return later...

TO ADD SPOILER TAGS:
Use this for spoilers, just remove the spaces:
< spoiler > write your spoiler here and close with < / spoiler >

Posts here should only be contributions to discussion about this book.

This is the January Monthly Group Read discussion of Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. This book can be used to fulfill prompt #19 A book set in the future.
Ellis Island opened on New Year’s Day 1892, which was also a leap year! Most all who made it to Ellis Island were simply hoping for a better future. The NEW YEAR is usually focused on the future with setting resolutions, etc. January 1 is also WORLD DAY OF PEACE! More of which this world needs in the future, IMO!!
Surely there is a “rambunctious wrangler” just waiting to volunteer to facilitate this discussion! Please message either Nadine or myself to volunteer! No one has volunteered to lead the discussion, so chaos reigns! 😁

While I am curious about this book, I have yet to locate a used copy and am unwilling to pay full price. If I happen to locate a copy in January, I'll get it and read it, but if not...
Upon further investigation, due to the mention of gratuitous violence by several reviewers, I am not going to read this one. Violence is sooooo not my thing!

HERE is a listing of potential discussion questions. These are meant to not only help those who volunteer to facilitate these monthly discussions but also to provide ideas for members participating in discussions!

Every person reads at a different pace, so please use spoiler tags if you are sharing any plot-related surprises. This allows others to decide whether this information might reveal surprising information they have not yet read. It can also be helpful to other readers if you post the location within the book noting your progress (chapter and/or page number). That way, if someone else has read that far they can go ahead and open the spoiler, but if not, they'll know to skip it for now and return later...

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Posts here should only be contributions to discussion about this book.

EDITED TO ADD (12-2):
Okay, all! The 2024 Monthly Group Read listing is up for your perusal and consideration HERE.

I will create a January nomination poll later today ( POLL IS LIVE ) and it will be available through Tuesday, December 12. Then the January final selection poll will be posted Wednesday, December 13, and available through Tuesday, December 20. We will know the January Monthly Group Read title as of December 21! I realize that doesn't allow much time, but it is what it is. 😊

I am personally extremely excited about this year's challenge! Kudos to those who worked on it! I tried to do it justice by researching to discover some more obscure connections between a month and a prompt! It was difficult to narrow it down since I ended up with at least 2-3 ideas for every month. I tried to avoid some of the more general/obvious connections since we have a much more unique listing of prompts to consider this year!

So YAY!! I trying not to do much planning until January, but I'm sure I'll 'cheat' and keep peeking every now and then at the listopias and comments for each prompt! I don't often *squee*, but I am now!!
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We are done! We are ready and waiting with bated breath for tomorrow’s big announcement of the 2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge prompts!! We have placeholders posted for each prompt and the 2024 Monthly Group Reads!! We are ON IT!! I just checked the Facebook group and don’t see any mention of a sneak peek or anything else yet…

EDITED TO ADD: One of my favorite gym buddies and fellow instructors is a published poet! I had no idea until she told me last week. But she is not particularly computer savvy (e.g. no website for her sculptures or poetry) but she is interested in establishing an author page on Goodreads. Anyone here able to provide some basic information or tips about doing that? I promised her I would ask and then neglected to add it to my posting! Any and all help greatly appreciated. She is a real sweetheart and I would like to help her get her poetry a bit better-known, if possible! THANK YOU!

I can’t resist mentioning that Ariel Lawhon has a new book scheduled to release December 5: The Frozen River. She is one of my absolute favorite authors. I have read and loved 3 of her books!

For help with your planning for 2024 challenges I have included links for some book/award listings below!

Powell’s Best Fiction Books of 2023: https://www.powells.com/post/best-boo...

NPR’s Books We Love for 2023:
https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view...

Nero Book Awards—a brand new award!
https://nerobookawards.com/2023shortl...

You are welcome!! (Try not to spend as much time perusing these lists as I did! LOL) 😊

And…just in case you are looking for some additional motivation/impetus to read more, AtY is sponsoring a Winter Team Readathon December 2-10 and you can sign up HERE!

ADMIN STUFF:
The November Monthly Group Read is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern!. The discussion is posted in the Current Monthly Group Read folder HERE. We are wrapping this one up and preparing for…

The December Monthly Group Read of Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree. This book could be used to fulfill prompt #32 A book published in the last half of 2023. Surely there is a “cool captain” out there amongst you-all who is just dying to facilitate this discussion! Please message either myself or Nadine to volunteer! I’m so excited for this one!

Just a reminder that the comprehensive listing of 2023 Monthly Group Reads can be found HERE

Question of the Week:
Which prompt from the 2023 reading challenge surprised you the most? Why? Or How?
I was initially put off by prompt #13 A book published in the year you were born. (It was soooooo long ago!!) However, I ended up truly loving Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk! I would like to read more of his writing! This was just one of those “slice of life” novels about a Jewish girl trying to make it as an actress in New York City in the 1930s-1940s. Not Pollyannaish and not gruesome. Quite realistic, IMO.

Popsugar: 45/50
Nadine’s Q1 Mini-Challenge: 7/10
AtY: 52/52 DONE!
RHC: 14/24

FINISHED:
*Last of the Breed by Louis L'Amour ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐for an IRL book club was not at all what I expected! I expected a western and got a suspenseful hunt for one man who was living off the land much as his Indian ancestors had done! And in Siberia! Excellent descriptions of the terrain, etc., and good characterization. And, fortunately (also very unexpectedly) this book finished my AtY Fall Challenge with a book about an athlete. Makatozi was an athlete who just missed qualifying for the Olympics! He also was a genuinely compassionate opponent when he could allow for that. He allowed quite a few of those hunting him to live, choosing not to just kill them outright. I like that!
POPSUGAR: #19-2015: prompt #13 Set in a different country (Russia/Siberia), #23, #28, #29, #33, #34, #36
ATY: #3- A book about the environment or nature, #5, #6, $10-Scary, #14, #22, #24, #26, #37, #43, #45
RHC: #15, #24-2015: A book written by or about someone from an indigenous culture

CONTINUING:
*...And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hooven Santmyer to fulfill my longest book prompt (Glad to know I am not quite alone in leaving this one to the last month of the year!)
*10th Anniversary (Women’s Murder Club #9) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
*The Call of the Wild by Jack London was a difficult read due to the abusive treatment of animals, but thought-provoking. I was fascinated to learn this was fan fiction and after learning a bit more about London himself wasn’t at all surprised to learn he was a white male alcoholic. (I wonder if all white male authors published within the first half of the 20th Century were alcoholics! Sheesh!)
*The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
This one will definitely need to wait until December or later...

PLANNED:
*Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey for an IRL book club
*Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum #30) by Janet Evanovich
*Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree for our December Monthly Group Read
*System Collapse (Murderbot Diaries #7) by Martha Wells