Tricia’s
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(group member since Nov 21, 2016)
Tricia’s
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from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.
Showing 1-20 of 127
Regular1 A book where gardening or a garden is central to the plot
2 A book that features a platonic friendship between a man and woman
3 A book you meant to read in 2025
4 A book that starts with the letter "Z"
5 A book about women astronauts
6 A book with an overweight main character whose story isn't about losing weight
7 A book about a granny hobby
8 A book about a sexless marriage
9 A book with a "type C" character
10 A book about a horse or with a horse on the cover
11 A book with a dad as the primary caregiver
12 A book with "pop" or "sugar" in the title
13 A book featuring a character with a hidden past
14 A book set in Michigan or written by an author from Michigan
15 A book about new beginnings
16 A book less than 260 pages
17 A book about your favorite event in the Winter Olympics
18 A love story that defies social boundaries
19 A book about teen angst
20 A book with a character who does Pilates or Lagree
21 A book about a bachelorette trip
22 A book about a book club
23 A book you were hoping would fit into a prompt but doesn't
24 A book about postpartum
25 A book that explores influencer culture
26 A book with a character who navigates infertility
27 A book with a character who has curly hair
28 A book about debt
29 A book that takes place during harvesting season
30 A travel ghost story
31 A book that makes you feel FOMO
32 A book with an underwater civilization
33 A book about college
34 A book with a trans or nonbinary protagonist
35 A book that makes you want to travel to Italy
36 A book about a mob (fiction or nonfiction)
37 A book about a pop star
38 A book with any type of fruit on the cover or in the title
39 A book with a character who runs a marathon
40 A book outside your comfort zone
Advanced
41 A book in a different format than your usual: physical, audio, eBook
42 A book inspired by a real song, album, band, or artist
43 Two books written by real-life partners or spouses (1)
44 Two books written by real-life partners or spouses (2)
45 A book that features birding
46 A sapphic comic
47 A book told entirely through letters
48 A book with a shadow daddy
49 A book with a mention of your zodiac sign
50 A book about Afrofuturism
Date you finished: 18 July 2025. It took me a lot longer this year than in previous yearsMessage number of your list post (if you've got one): 35
Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?): "A book that is considered healing fiction". I feel that with everything going on in the world we need some healing fiction. I read Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi which was beautiful but also sad.
Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?): American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins I read this for the "A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee" prompt. It was a tough read.
Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge? (and what prompt was it for?) : Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I read this for the prompt "A book that features a character with chronic pain". I had never heard of the book before and it was recommended in the Listopia. It was excellent and I immediately went and read the next in the series.
Least favorite prompt: "A book you have always avoided reading". I read Fifty Shades of Grey. There is a reason I have avoided reading it.
Last prompt you finished: "A book you have always avoided reading". I had to wait for it to come off hold at the library because there was no way I was buying that book.
Prompt you hope to see next year: "A classic you've never read". I think that is a broad enough category that people could pick a book easily. I read Pinocchio which is definitely different to the Disney version.
Did you like the three different sections of "Advanced" categories this year? I always do the Advanced section so splitting them up didn't matter to me.
Did you think this year's list was more difficult than usual? No. I thought it was a better list than last years and was easier to find books on my shelf to fit the prompts. I found last year's list a lot harder.
Finally, are you in for 2026? Definitely
✔️ means readRegular
✔️1 A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma- Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
✔️2 A book you want to read based on the last sentence- Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris
✔️3 A book about space tourism- Artemis by Andy Weir
✔️4 A book with two or more books on the cover or "book" in the title- The Lost Book of Salem by Katherine Howe
✔️5 A book with a snake on the cover or in the title- Lucky's Harvest by Ian Watson
✔️6 A book that fills your favorite prompt from the 2015 PS Reading Challenge- The Dumb Money: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees by Ben Mezrich (non-fiction)
✔️7 A book about a cult- Cult X by Fuminori Nakamura
✔️8 A book under 250 pages- Walking Bones by Charlotte Carter
✔️9 A book that features a character going through menopause- The Hot Flash Club by Nancy Thayer
✔️10 A book you got for free- The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
✔️11 A book mentioned in another book- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
✔️12 A book about a road trip- Red River Road by Anna Downes
✔️13 A book rated less than three stars on Goodreads- Wild Yams: A Story of Culture, Mythology and Vulnerable People by Jindie Jackson (was 2 stars when I read the book)
✔️14 A book about a nontraditional education- Educated by Tara Westover
✔️15 A book that an AI chatbot recommends based on your favorite book- The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
✔️16 A book set in or around a body of water- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
✔️17 A book about a run club- Girl on the Run by Jane Costello
✔️18 A book containing magical creatures that aren't dragons- The Unicorn Quest by John Lee
✔️19 A highly anticipated read of 2025- Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
✔️20 A book that fills a 2024 prompt you'd like to do over (or try out)- The Will of the Many by James Islington (a book that has a title that is a complete sentence).
✔️21 A book where the main character is a politician- Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
✔️22 A book about soccer- Sidelines by Karen Viggers
✔️23 A book that is considered healing fiction- Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
✔️24 A book with a happily single woman protagonist- The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie
✔️25 A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee- American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
✔️26 A book where an adult character changes careers- Elmer McCurdy: The Misadventures in Life and Afterlife of an American Outlaw by Mark Svenvold
✔️27 A book set at a luxury resort- The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
✔️28 A book that features an unlikely friendship- Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
✔️29 A book about a food truck- A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
✔️30 A book that reminds you of your childhood- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
✔️31 A book where music plays an integral part of the storyline- The Angry Women's Choir by Meg Bignell
✔️32 A book about an overlooked woman in history- Codename Suzette: An extraordinary story of resistance and rescue in Nazi Paris by Anne Nelson
✔️33 A book featuring an activity on your bucket list- Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (to go on a quest)
✔️34 A book written by an author who is neurodivergent- The Humans by Matt Haig
✔️35 A book centering LGBTQ+ characters that isn't about coming out- Red Dirt Road by S.R. White
✔️36 A book with silver on the cover or in the title- A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
✔️37 Two books with the same title (1)- Act of Faith by Kelly Gardiner
✔️38 Two books with the same title (2)- Act of Faith by Erica James
✔️39 A classic you've never read- Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
✔️40 A book about chosen family- Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour
Advanced Prompts
Easy
✔️41 A book by the oldest author in your TBR pile- SS-GB by Len Deighton (96 years old at the time of reading).
✔️42 A book with a title that starts with the letter Y- Year Zero by Rob Reid
✔️43 A book that includes a nonverbal character- The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro
✔️44 A book you have always avoided reading- Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
Medium
✔️45 A book with a left-handed character- Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
✔️46 A book where nature is the antagonist- The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger
✔️47 A book of interconnected short stories- Willy and Alvirah: Collection of #1 Bestselling Short Stories by Mary Higgins Clark
Hard
✔️48 A book that features a married couple who don't live together- The Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise by Pierre Abélard
✔️49 A dystopian book with a happy ending- Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
✔️50 A book that features a character with chronic pain- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Date you finished: 4 July 2024Message number of your list post (if you've got one): 59
Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?):A book set in the future- A book set in the future- Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahChain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. That was a thought provoking read.
Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?): A book that features dragons- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. That book was awesome and is a contender for my top read of this year.
Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge? (and what prompt was it for?) : A book that was turned into a musical- Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. I had not read this book and I really enjoyed it. Not like the movie!
Least favorite prompt: The poetry one - it is definitely not my thing.
Prompt you hope to see again: A book recommended by a bookseller or A book recommended by a librarian. Those books are pretty broad and can serve as a wild card.
Last prompt you finished: The 24th book of an author. I read The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett. It was last only because that was when the library got it in. I finished the rest of the prompts ages ago.
Did you like all the extra-challenging and specific categories this year? I found them harder to research and needed to rely on listopia lists a lot more than I normally would.
Did you like the "24" theme scattered throughout? I thought it was ok except for the "A book that was published 24 years ago (2000). I thought that was probably too narrow.
Finally, are you in for 2025? Yes. I have been doing the challenge for many years now so want to keep going.
[✔️]1 A book with the word "leap" in the title- The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks[✔️]2 A bildungsroman book- 48 Shades of Brown by Nick Earls
[✔️]3 A book about a 24-year-old- Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris
[✔️]4 A book about a writer- Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
[✔️]5 A book about K-pop- The Comeback by Lily Chu
[✔️]6 A book about pirates- Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
[✔️]7 A book about women's sports and/or by a woman athlete- Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
[✔️]8 A book by a blind or visually impaired author- Queen Camilla by Sue Townsend
[✔️]9 A book by a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing author- Hearing Maud: A Journey for a Voice by Jessica White
[✔️]10 A book by a self-published author- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
[✔️]11 A book from a genre you typically avoid- The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forester (Military fiction)
[✔️]12 A book from an animal's POV- Mammoth by Chris Flynn
[✔️]13 A book originally published under a pen name- Feed by Mira Grant
[✔️]14 A book recommended by a bookseller- The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
[✔️]15 A book recommended by a librarian- Beloved by Toni Morrison
[✔️]16 A book set 24 years before you were born- The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore
[✔️]17 A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list- Aztec by Gary Jennings
[✔️]18 A book set in space- Dark Age by Pierce Brown
[✔️]19 A book set in the future- Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
[✔️]20 A book set in the snow- Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
[✔️]21 A book that came out in a year that ends with "24"- The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller
[✔️]22 A book that centers on video games- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
[✔️]23 A book that features dragons- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
[✔️]24 A book that takes place over the course of 24 hours- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
[✔️]25 A book that was published 24 years ago (2000)- First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
[✔️]26 A book that was turned into a musical- Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
[✔️]27 A book where someone dies in the first chapter- Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
[✔️]28 A book with a main character who's 42 years old- Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
[✔️]29 A book with a neurodivergent main character- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
[✔️]30 A book with a one-word title you had to look up in a dictionary- Jingo by Terry Pratchett
[✔️]31 A book with a title that is a complete sentence- The Nazis Knew My Name by Magda Hellinger
[✔️]32 A book with an enemies to lovers plot- Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
[✔️]33 A book with an unreliable narrator- Call Me Evie by J.P. Pomare
[✔️]34 A book with at least 3 POVs- A Long Way from Silver creek by Margaret Gee
[✔️]35 A book with magical realism- Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
[✔️]36 A book written by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person- Escape: The True Story of the Only Westerner Ever to Escape from Thailand's Bangkok Hilton by David McMillan
[✔️]37 A book written during NaNoWriMo- Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
[✔️]38 A cozy fantasy book- The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes
[✔️]39 A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author- One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
[✔️]40 A horror book by a BIPOC author- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
[✔️]41 A memoir that explores queerness- Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness
[✔️]42 A nonfiction book about Indigenous people- The Long Exile: A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic by Melanie McGrath
[✔️]43 A second-chance romance- Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
[✔️]44 An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll- Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton
[✔️]45 An LGBTQ+ romance novel- I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
[✔️]46 A book in which a character sleeps for more than 24 hours- My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
[✔️]47 A book with 24 letters in the title- The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
[✔️]48 A collection of at least 24 poems- Les Murray: Selected Poems by Les Murray
[✔️]49 The 24th book of an author- The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett
[✔️]50 A book that starts with the letter "X"- X. Y. Z. by Anna Katharine Green
Date you finished: 1 October 2023Message number of your list post (if you've got one): 4
Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?): A book with mythical creatures - I read The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill. That book was incredibly enjoyable and was not what I was expecting at all. Being an immortal sounds really tedious and boring after a while.
Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?): The prompt "A book that was self-published". I read The Martian which was really great.
Honourable mention also goes to "A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2023" I read Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. That was a really interesting story.
Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge? (and what prompt was it for?) : I read The Omen by David Seltzer for a book published the year I was born. I was surprised by how much I liked it. Also for the book about Divorce I read Kramer vs. Kramer which was also an excellent read.
Least favorite prompt: A book that takes place entirely in one day. I have read almost all the books in that category so I had to read Mrs. Dalloway which I didn't enjoy at all.
Prompt you hope to see again:A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past challenge. It is a nice wildcard prompt.
Last prompt you finished: The book published in Spring. I live in the Southern Hemisphere and our spring starts in September. I had to wait until September to start my final book. That was Ripper by Shelley Burr published on 1 September.
Did you like the "nostalgia" theme for this year?: It was ok to see some of the old ones again but I hope they don't do it again next year.
Finally, are you in for 2024? yes
✔️ means read2023 regular
[✔️] 1. A book you meant to read in 2022 - Do As I Say: How Cults Control, Why We Join Them, and What They Teach Us About Bullying, Abuse and Coercion by Sarah Steel
[✔️] 2. A book you bought from an independent bookstore - Mrs. M by Luke Slattery
[✔️] 3. A book about a vacation - The Vacation by John Marrs
[✔️] 4. A book by a first-time author - The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
[✔️] 5. A book with mythical creatures - The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill
[✔️] 6. A book about a forbidden romance - The Sisters by Claire Douglas
[✔️] 7. A book with "Girl" in the title - The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea
[✔️] 8. A celebrity memoir - Caught in the Act by Shane Jenek
[✔️] 9. A book with a color in the title - The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
[✔️] 10. A romance with a fat lead - Losing It by Lindsay Faith Rech
[✔️] 11. A book about or set in Hollywood - Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello
[✔️] 12. A book published in spring 2023 - Ripper by Shelley Burr
[✔️] 13. A book published the year you were born - The Omen by David Seltzer
[✔️] 14. A modern retelling of a classic - Cassandra by Kerry Greenwood
[✔️] 15. A book with a song lyric as its title - Cradle and All by James Patterson
[✔️] 16. A book where the main character's name is in the title - Tathea by Anne Perry
[✔️] 17. A book with a love triangle - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
[✔️] 18. A book that's been banned or challenged in any state in 2022 - Normal People by Sally Rooney
[✔️] 19. A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past challenge -
- [✔️] - 2015 - Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss (Nonfiction)
- [✔️] - 2016 - The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (a book published in 2016)
- [✔️] - 2017 - Since We Last Met by Bronwyn Sell (An audiobook)
- [✔️] - 2018 - NOS4A2 by Joe Hill (A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift)
- [✔️] - 2019 - Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer (A book by two female authors)
- [✔️] - 2020 - Reel of Fortune by Jana Deleon (a book with a pun in the title)
- [✔️] - 2021 - QI: The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd ( A book starting with Q)
- [✔️] - 2022 - Tamara Walks on Water by Shifra Horn (A book with a recipe)
[✔️] 20. A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2023 - Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
[✔️] 21. A book set in the decade you were born - Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon
[✔️] 22. A book with a queer lead - Wolfsong by T.J. Klune
[✔️] 23. A book with a map - The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
[✔️] 24. A book with a rabbit on the cover - Hare House by Sally Hinchcliffe
[✔️] 25. A book with just text on the cover - The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Transform Your Life by David Robson
[✔️] 26. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list - The Man on the Train by L.M. Montgomery
[✔️] 27. A #BookTok recommendation - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
[✔️] 28. A book you bought secondhand - Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
[✔️] 29. A book your friend recommended - The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland
[✔️] 30. A book that's on a celebrity book-club list - The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (Oprah's Book club)
[✔️] 31. A book about a family - Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir by Edwin John Wintle
[✔️] 32. A book that comes out in the second half of 2023 - Lighthouse Burning by Jordan Farmer
[✔️] 33. A book about an athlete/sport - Cheat: The Not-So Subtle Art of Conning Your Way to Sporting Glory by Titus O'Reily
[✔️] 34. A historical-fiction book - The War Widow by Tara Moss
[✔️] 35. A book about divorce - Kramer Versus Kramer by Avery Corman
[✔️] 36. A book you think your best friend would like - I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
[✔️] 37. A book you should have read in high school - Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
[✔️] 38. A book you read more than 10 years ago - A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
[✔️] 39. A book you wish you could read for the first time again - Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
[✔️] 40. A book by an author with the same initials as you - Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth
2023 advanced
[✔️] 41. A book written during NaNoWriMo - The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
[✔️] 42. A book based on a popular movie - Twilight Zone THE MOVIE by Robert Bloch
[✔️] 43. A book that takes place entirely in one day - Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
[✔️] 44. A book that was self-published - The Martian by Andy Weir
[✔️] 45. A book that started out as fan fiction - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
[✔️] 46. A book with a pet character - The Art of Purring by David Michie
[✔️] 47. A book about a holiday that's not Christmas - Swamp Spook by Jana Deleon
[✔️] 48. A book that features two languages - The Hindi-Bindi Club by Monica Pradhan
[✔️] 49. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list - Wicked! by Jilly Cooper
[✔️] 50. A book with alliteration in the title - Disco Daddy by Morag Prunty
Date you finished: 21 May 2022Message number of your list post (if you've got one): 86
Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?): A book about or set in a nonpatriarchal society. I really had to think outside the square for this as there were not a lot of books that fit this category. I read Shalador's Lady.
Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?): The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo for A #BookTok recommendation. Possibly the best book I have read this year. A close second was Cemetery Boys which I read for the gender identity prompt.
Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge? (and what prompt was it for?) : A book you know nothing about. I chose The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect. I found out there were vampiric butterflies. Who knew!
Least favorite prompt:A romance novel by a BIPOC author. I am not into romances generally and I read Truly Everlasting for it. I didn't think it was very good.
Prompt you hope to see again: A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - I like that it allows me some flexibility.
Last prompt you finished: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo for A #BookTok recommendation. I finished the rest of the challenge and waited for months for this book to come through from the library. It was definitely worth it!
Were you overall satisfied with your Challenge reading?: Yes Although it did take me longer to finish this year because I was waiting for my last book to come through from the library.
Did you like the "double" theme for the "advanced" prompts?: Yes although the A book with a palindromic title prompt was challenging. I liked all the others.
Finally, are you in for 2023? Definitely.
✔️ means readREGULAR
[✔️]1. A book published in 2022- The Maid by Nita Prose
[✔️]2. A book set on a plane, train, or cruise ship - The Christmas Train by David Baldacci
[✔️]3. A book about or set in a nonpatriarchal society - Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop
[✔️]4. A book with a tiger on the cover or "tiger" in the title - The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
[✔️]5. A sapphic book - The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
[✔️]6. A book by a Latinx author- Afterlife by Julia Alvarez
[✔️]7. A book with an onomatopoeia in its title- The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe
[✔️]8. A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid - The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
[✔️]9. A book about a "found family" - The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
[✔️]10. An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner - There There by Tommy Orange
[✔️]11. A #BookTok recommendation - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
[✔️]12. A book about the afterlife - What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson
[✔️]13. A book set in the 1980s - Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
[✔️]14. A book with cutlery on the cover or in the title - A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
[✔️]15. A book by a Pacific Islander author - The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
[✔️]16. A book about witches - Sorceress by Celia Rees
[✔️]17. A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2022 - The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
[✔️]18. A romance novel by a BIPOC author- Truly Everlasting by Brenda Jackson
[✔️]19. A book that takes place during your favorite season - What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
[]20. A book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read- Sidney Sheldon’s Reckless by Sidney Sheldon
[✔️]21. A book about a band or musical group - Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
[✔️]22. A book with a character on the ace spectrum- The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks by Mackenzi Lee
[✔️]23. A book with a recipe in it- Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran
[✔️]24. A book you can read in one sitting- An Affair to Remember: The Greatest Love Stories of All Time by Megan Gressor
[✔️]25. A book about a secret- Secrets by Lesley Pearse
[✔️]26. A book with a misleading title - A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
[✔️]27. A Hugo Award winner - A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
[✔️]28. A book set during a holiday - The Ghost of Christmas Paws by Mandy Morton
[✔️]29. A different book by an author you read in 2021- Desperation by Stephen King
[✔️]30. A book with the name of a board game in the title - Flight Risk by Michael McGuire
[✔️]31. A book featuring a man-made disaster - In Deep Water: The Anatomy of a Disaster, the Fate of the Gulf, and How to End Our Oil Addiction by Peter Lehner
[✔️]32. A book with a quote from your favorite author on the cover or Amazon page- The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany by Gwen Strauss (Quote on the cover is from Heather Morris)
[✔️]33. A social-horror book- The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
[✔️]34. A book set in Victorian times - The Black Opal by Victoria Holt
[✔️]35. A book with a constellation on the cover or in the title - Beneath the Southern Cross by Judy Nunn
[✔️]36. A book you know nothing about- The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect by Wendy Williams
[✔️]37. A book about gender identity - Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
[✔️]38. A book featuring a party- The Party by Robyn Harding
[✔️]39. An #OwnVoices SFF (science fiction and fantasy) book - Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman
[✔️]40. A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge-
[✔️]2015- Love Stories by Trent Dalton ( A book recommended by a friend)
[✔️]2016- Sort Your Money Out: And Get Invested by Glen James (a self improvement book)
[✔️]2017- The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier (A book set in two different time periods)
[✔️]2018- What Really Happened in Wuhan: The Cover-Ups, the Conspiracies and the Classified Research by Sharri Markson (An audiobook)
[✔️]2019- The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes (A retelling of a classic)
[✔️]2020- Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood (A book set in the 1920s)
[✔️]2021- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (A winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction)
Advanced
[✔️]41. A book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title- The Forbidden City by Geremie R. Barmé
[✔️]42. A book that features two languages- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
[✔️ ]43. A book with a palindromic title- Eve by Anna Carey
[✔️]44. A duology (1) - P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
[✔️]45. A duology (2) - Postscript by Cecelia Ahern
[✔️]46. A book about someone leading a double life - The Imitator by Rebecca Starford
[✔️]47. A book featuring a parallel reality- Game Changer by Neal Shusterman
[✔️]48. A book with two POVs - The Wife and the Widow by Christian White
[✔️]49. Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (1)- Fame by Leonore Fleischer (New York)
[✔️]50. Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (2) - Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection by Ben Aaronovitch (London)
Date you finished: 29 August 2021Message number of your list post (if you've got one): 90
Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?):A dark academia book. I have never heard of this genre before. I read If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?):Wolfblade by Jennifer Fallon. I read it for the longest book on my TBR pile and I loved it. It had been sitting there for 15 years and I wondered why I waited so long!
Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge? (and what prompt was it for?) : If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio which I read for the Dark Academia prompt. I had never heard of that genre and while the book had a slow start, I ended up loving it.
Least favorite prompt: The DNF prompt as I never DNF a book. I had to cheat on this one and chose a book from a series I did not finish.
Prompt you hope to see again: The book that’s been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time - I think that prompt gives a lot of flexibility.
Last prompt you finished: The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover
Were you overall satisfied with your Challenge reading?: It took longer than I normally would have taken to finish because life got in the way but overall I am pretty happy
Did you like the TBR theme for the "advanced" prompts?: I did except for the DNF prompt (for reasons stated above.
Finally, are you in for 2022? yes I have been doing these every year so I would like to keep going.
I recommend the following for something completely different:Horrorstör - this book is a story set around a furniture store catalogue
Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry - this book is incredibly clever and tells a story in the format of an auction catalogue.
Both are short
✔️= FinishedREGULAR
[✔️]1. A book that published in 2021-Way of the Argosi by Sebastien de Castell
[✔️]2. An Afrofuturist book - Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
[✔️]3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover -
Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie[✔️]4. A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
[✔️]5. A dark academia book - If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
[✔️]6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title The Stone and the Flute by Hans Bemmann
[✔️]7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job - This Could Hurt by Jillian Medoff (I work in HR)
[✔️] 8. A book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction - The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
[✔️]9. A book with a family tree - The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran
[✔️]10. A bestseller from the 1990s - September by Rosamunde Pilcher
[✔️]11. A book about forgetting - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
[✔️]12. A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.) - Honeybee by Craig Silvey
[✔️] 13. A locked-room mystery - The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
[✔️]14. A book set in a restaurant - Quentins by Maeve Binchy
[✔️]15. A book with a black-and-white cover - Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger
[✔️]16. A book by an indigenous author - Women of the Sun by Hyllus Maris
[✔️]17. A book that has the same title as a song - Cruel to Be Kind by Cathy Glass
[✔️]18. A book about a subject you are passionate about Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace by Jessica Bennett
[✔️]19. A book that discusses body positivity - What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon
[✔️]20. A book on a Black Lives Matter reading list - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
[✔️]21. A genre hybrid - Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch (urban fantasy/mystery)
[✔️]22. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors - The Long Walk by Richard Bachman
[✔️]23. A book with something broken on the cover The China Garden by Kristina Olsson
[✔️]24. A book by a Muslim American author - And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
[✔️]25. A book that was published anonymously - Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous
[✔️]26. A book with an oxymoron in the title - Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough
[✔️]27. A book about do-overs or fresh starts - Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha
[✔️]28. A magical realism book - One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
[✔️]29. A book set in multiple countries - European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman - by Theodora Goss
[✔️]30. A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021 - The Catalpa Rescue: The gripping story of the most dramatic and successful prison break in Australian history by Peter FitzSimons (Set in Western Australia where my sister lives and I am hoping to visit in 2021)
[✔️]31. A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality - The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
[✔️]32. A book whose title starts with “Q,” “X,” or “Z” - Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen by India Edghill
[✔️]33. A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child) - Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley
[✔️]34. A book about a social justice issue - Smokey Joe's Cafe by Bryce Courtenay (Treatment of veterans)
[✔️]35. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels) - Amphytrion by Molière - (format - play)
[✔️]36. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads - Bill the Bastard: The Story Of Australia's Greatest War Horse by Roland Perry
[✔️]37. A book you think your best friend would like - Good Friday by Lynda La Plante
[✔️]38. A book about art or an artist - Watercolours by Adrienne Ferreira
[✔️]39. A book everyone seems to have read but you - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
[✔️]40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
[✔️]2020- A book by or about a journalist - I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
[✔️]2019- A book inspired by mythology, legend or folklore - Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes
[✔️]2018- A book with an animal in the title - Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World by Joseph Menn
[✔️]2017- A book of letters - Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor
[✔️]2016- a book you can finish in a day - Love, Abbey: A Memoir of an Undying Spirit by Abbey Almelien Banh
[✔️]2015- a Mystery or thriller -Widows' Revenge by Lynda La Plante
ADVANCED
[✔️]41. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
[✔️]42. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list - Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
[✔️]43. The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover From These Ashes: The Complete Short SF of Fredric Brown by Fredric Brown
[✔️]44. The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover - Deathsport by William Hughes
[✔️]45. The book that’s been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time Wolfblade by Jennifer Fallon
[✔️]46. A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn’t - The Survivors by Jane Harper
[✔️]47. A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing - Seveneves by Neal Stephenson (Did as a companion read with some of my favourite people)
[✔️]48. A book from your TBR list chosen at random - Meeting Point: A Novel by Roisin McAuley
[✔️]49. A DNF book from your TBR list Bridge of Dreams by Anne Bishop
[✔️]50. A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library) - The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss
Date you finished: 28 September 2020Message number of your list post (if you've got one): 24
Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?): A book on a subject you know nothing about. I read The Killing of Louisa for it and although I didn't enjoy the book that much, I did enjoy learning about something I didn't know anything about.
Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?): Daisy Jones & The Six and I read it for "A book that won and award in 2019"
Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge?:Appaloosa which I read for the Western prompt. I was really dreading that prompt and I found I enjoyed the book a lot more than I thought I would.
Least favorite prompt:Read a banned book during banned books week. I didn't have an issue with reading a banned book, it was the fact that I had to read it during that week that was the problem. I finished the rest of the challenge in April/May and I had that one book hanging over my head since then. It really bugged me!
Prompt you hope to see again: The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed. It would be good to get that TBR shelf down :-)
Last prompt you finished:Read a banned book during banned books week (see above comments)
Were you overall satisfied with your Challenge reading?: Yes. I always enjoy these challenges
Finally, are you in for 2021? This was my 5th year in doing it so I will definitely be in again for next year
Sheri wrote: "I’m fully planning on reading a banned book In whatever week I feel like it. I’m usually done by June, I don’t want one prompt dangling over my head until September."I am with you. I am normally finished by June/July. The idea of one book hanging around until then doesn't thrill me.
This is my 5th year doing this so let's see how I go. [✔] means done.
2020 Challenge - Regular prompts
[✔]1. A book that's published in 2020 - Rising by Tamar Sloan
[✔]2. A book by a trans or nonbinary author - The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein
[✔]3. A book with a great first line - Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
[✔]4. A book about a book club - The Dirty Book Club by Lisi Harrison
[✔]5. A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
[✔]6. A bildungsroman - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
[✔]7. The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed - Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
[✔]8. A book with an upside-down image on the cover - A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
[✔]9. A book with a map - Haunted Savannah: America's Most Spectral City by James Caskey (Map of Savannah with the haunted houses in the front)
[✔]10. A book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club - Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (5 star review at http://www.curiositykilledthebookworm...)
[✔]11. An anthology Irish Girls about Town (a book of short stories by a variety of Irish female writers)
[✔]12. A book that passes the Bechdel test - The Girl in Red by Christina Henry
[✔]13. A book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it - Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett
[✔]14. A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name - The Best Kind of Beautiful by Frances Whiting (whiting being a type of fish in Australia)
[✔]15. A book about or involving social media - Lola Offline by Nicola Doherty
[✔]16. A book that has a book on the cover - The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
[✔]17. A medical thriller I'll Find You by Liz Lawler
[✔]18. A book with a made-up language - Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
[✔]19. A book set in a country beginning with "C" - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (Set in China)
[✔]20. A book you picked because the title caught your attention - Any Ordinary Day: Blindsides, Resilience and What Happens After the Worst Day of Your Life by Leigh Sales
[✔]21. A book published the month of your birthday - The Carer by Deborah Moggach (Published in July)
[✔]22. A book about or by a woman in STEM - The Hospital by the River by Catherine Hamlin
[✔]23. A book that won an award in 2019 - Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (won the 2019 Goodreads choice for Historical fiction)
[✔]24. A book on a subject you know nothing about - The Killing of Louisa by Janet Lee
[✔]25. A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics - Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia by Anita Heiss
[✔]26. A book with a pun in the title - Cents And Sensibility by Maggie Alderson
[✔]27. A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins Lust by Roald Dahl
[✔]28. A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character - Frost by M.P. Kozlowsky
[✔]29. A book with a bird on the cover The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
[✔]30. A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader - Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang
[✔]31. A book with "gold," "silver," or "bronze" in the title - Silver in the Sun by Tony Parsons
[✔]32. A book by a WOC -My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
[✔]33. A book with at least a four-star rating on Goodreads - The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (currently 4.03 rating)
[✔]34. A book you meant to read in 2019 - The Toll by Neal Shusterman
[✔]35. A book with a three-word title - The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
[✔]36. A book with a pink cover - Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
[✔]37. A Western - Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker
[✔]38. A book by or about a journalist - The Night Dragon by Matthew Condon
[✔]39. Read a banned book during Banned Books Week Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
[✔]40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
(a) [✔]2019 - Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts (a book featuring an imaginary creature)
(b) [✔]2018 - Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Pérez (A book about feminism)
(c) [✔]2017 - No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani (book about an immigrant or refugee)
(d) [✔]2016 - Small Gods by Terry Pratchett (A Satirical book)
(e) [✔]2015 - The Rise of Magicks by Nora Roberts (A book with magic)
2020 Challenge - Advanced prompts
[✔]1. A book written by an author in their 20s - Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
[✔]2. A book with "20" or "twenty" in the title - Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
[✔]3. A book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement (a nod to 20/20 vision) - Eden Close by Anita Shreve
[✔]4. A book set in the 1920s - Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
[✔]5. A book set in Japan, host of the 2020 Olympics - Fukushima by Mark Willacy
[ ✔]6. A book by an author who has written more than 20 books - Soul Music by Terry Pratchett
[✔]7. A book with more than 20 letters in its title -The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
[✔]8. A book published in the 20th century - Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett (published in 1993)
[✔]9. A book from a series with more than 20 books - Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett
[✔]10. A book with a main character in their 20s Candy by Luke Davies
Nov 13, 2019 01:39AM
Ellie wrote: "I'm not keen on "favourite" prompts but at least this will be somewhere I can slot in a review book, as I know plenty of bloggers who get the same books as me.I do have a (slightly neglected righ..."
This is now my favourite blog too! I have a few of the books on here on my TBR pile. That works for me :-)
I would like to suggest "A book that is not the genre the author is best known for".I have read a few recently like The Great Train Robbery and The Red House Mystery and was pleasantly surprised. I currently have a copy of Lust by Roald Dahl that would also suit this category.
Lists with similar books is below:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Date finished: 12 May 2019Message number of your list post (if you've got one): 164
Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?): A book author from Asia, Africa, or South America - Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The purpose of the challenge is to get us to read more widely and I think this prompt goes to the heart of the challenge.
Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?): The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle which I read for the book about a puzzle or game. This book was really great.
Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge?: Are You Dave Gorman? Which I read for the book with a question in the title. I thought it was really funny and was unexpectedly good.
Least favorite prompt: Lit RPG. I read You're in Game!. This was a collection of short stories for the genre hoping there would be one or two gems in there. I have discovered Lit RPG really isn’t for me.
The worst book though was The Pisces which I read for the astrology prompt. It was awful! Not a reflection on the prompt though.
Prompt you hope to see again: Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge. I think this gives us a bit more flexibility around books you want to read.
Last prompt you finished: A book set in space which I read 2001: A Space Odyssey. No reason why it was the last one, that was just how it worked out.
Are you pleased with the way you chose to tackle the Challenge, or do you wish you had changed a few things? (planned more or less, read more freely or more purposefully, faster or slower, etc): Yes. I plan at the start but move books around as required.
Finally, are you in for 2020? Absolutely. This is my third year I have done this challenge and I really enjoyed it.
2015 is the only year I didn't participate. I have thought about going back and doing it. Haven't gotten that far yet.
Raquel wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I agree, cli-fi is ANY fiction that involves climate change. I do not know if droughts are part of climate change in Australia or if they are common, but in the book it was describ..."
It is more complicated than that. Different parts of Australia have dry and wet seasons in different parts of the year. For example in Brisbane (where I am) and Darwin we have dry winters and wet summers. Melbourne and Perth have dry summers and wet winters. It would depend where the book is set.
Droughts are very common here but they are getting worse and climate change is of the reasons put forward for that.
