Jess’s Comments (group member since Oct 04, 2017)

Jess’s comments from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.

Hello everyone!!

Hope that everyone is having a great week. Can't believe this year is already over! It went by so fast. So this year I set myself an overall reading goal of 52 books. That is more than double last years and as of today I am at 51!!!! I definitely feel like I can finish this in the next week. I also took on the popsugar and around the year and tried to combine them without a solid plan. It didn't work out that well but I have learned.

45/52

Finished

26. Animal in title
I read this because I saw the preview for the movie and I needed to knock some things off my list. This fit a category in both challenges and got me one step closer to my overall goal!

Currently Reading

I read Wolf by Wolf for my bookclub in September and loved it. Found this on audio through overdrive and had to go for it. It's super long and I don't drive that much so I may not be able to finish but I can find somewhere to put it in 19 if I don't.





QotW:

What is your favorite book (or books) that you read this year?
I read a lot of great books this year and a few real stinkers.

My favorites in 2018 are
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance
Salt to the Sea
Between Shades of Gray
The Book of Essie
The Music Shop
Wolf by Wolf
Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine

I think I am going to read My Name Is Memory I think. It's by the same author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants which I loved in adolescence.

I can't believe this year is almost done. It has gone by so fast!

I have upped my game a bit to complete my reading goal of 52. I am 2 books away and I'm not concerned at this point.

44/52

Finished:

50. Microhistory
I listened to this as an audio book and I loved it. I feel like I learned so much about food in America. It was fascinating. I will be working on my own curry powder in the new year because of this.

3. Next in Series
I don't generally love poetry but I enjoyed this as much as The Princess Saves Herself in This One

Currently Reading:

Just saw the preview for the Netflix movie and I ran out to get it. Have it on audio book. The narrator oddly sounds similar to Sandra Bullock.



QotW:
Which 2019 challenge category do you think you'll read first?

Well I intend to join in on the discussion about The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle in January which I believe fits in revolving around a game or takes place in one day. Then my January book club book is My Name Is Memory which fits nostalgia bc the author wrote the sisterhood of the traveling pants which I loved as a tween. I'm excited for the new year and the new challenge, as well as not biting off more than I can chew by stacking challenges. Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates.

2019 Popsugar Reading Challenge

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1. A book becoming a movie in 2019
✔2. A book that makes you nostalgic

3. A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction)
4. A book you think should be turned into a movie
✔5. A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads

✔📚6. A book with a plant in the title or on cover

📚♻️7. A reread of a favorite book

✔8. A book about a hobby

📚9. A book you meant to read in 2018

10. A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title
✔📚🎧🍹11. A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover

✔12. A book inspired by myth/legend/folklore

13. A book published posthumously
✔📚14. A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie

✔15. A retelling of a classic
]
✔📚🍹16. A book with a question in the title

✔🎧 17. A book set on college or university campus

18. A book about someone with a superpower

✔🍹📚🎧19. A book told from multiple POVs

20. A book set in space
✔21. A book by two female authors

22. A book with SALTY, SWEET, BITTER, or SPICY in the title
📚23. A book set in Scandinavia

✔📚24. A book that takes place in a single day

✔📚🍹25. A debut novel

✔26. A book that's published in 2019

✔📚27. A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature

✔📚🍹28. A book recommended by a celebrity you admire

✔📚29. A book with LOVE in the title

✔🎧30. A book featuring an amateur detective

✔🍹📚🎧31. A book about a family

✔32. A book author from Asia, Africa, or South America

📚33. A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in title

✔🎧34. A book that includes a wedding

✔🍹📚35. A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter

36. A ghost story
37. A book with a two-word title

✔38.A novel based on a true story

✔39. A book revolving around a puzzle or game

✔📚40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge

2018: Next book in a series you've started.

Advanced

4/10

If I'm feeling saucy

41. A "cli-fi" (climate fiction) book
✔ 42. A "choose-your-own-adventure" book
My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel
✔43. An "own voices" book

🍹44. Read a book during the season it is set in

45. A LitRPG book
✔46. A book with no chapters / unusual chapter headings / unconventionally numbered chapters

47. Two books that share the same title

48. Two books that share the same title

49. A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom
✔🎧50. A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent


✔ Completed
📖 Reading
🍹 Bookclub Pick
📚 Owned Book
♻️ ReRead
📱 E-Book
🎧 Audio Book

Hello! I just returned from what should have been a relaxing vacation but turned into me being seasick and cranky for a week. Great fun...

I am excited for the first 2 group reads next year and will try to participate. I plan on reading the 3rd for my personal book club in May, so I will have to skip out on that book read. Any suggestions as to where the books will fit in next years challenge?

I have made some progress thankfully!!

42/52

Finished:

33. Childhood Classic I'd never read. Can't believe it took me this long to read this.

46. Tied to Ancestry. I am GRASPING here! They mentioned Ireland in the last few chapters and I am Irish. I am going with it!

Currently Reading




Going to grab The Power this weekend from the library and try to hit a few more marks. Also, half way througj a few acting books that will get my number for my own goal up a bit. Let's do this!

QotW:
Do you have any reading goals left to achieve in 2018? Reading challenges? Goodreads goals? Personal goals? Or even just to relax and read seasonal books?
I do!!! Oh man. I am trying so hard to get through. I gave myself a goal of 52 books this year. More than double any previous year. I am currently at 48. I don't think I am going to have trouble finishing this one. Small favors. I am participating in this challenge as well as around the year in 52 books. I don't think I am going to complete either but I have definitely learned some key things this year. Namely combining challenges is not wise. haha. Good luck to everyone finishing!!!

Hello everybody!!!

I have determined that although I will reach my yearly book goal of 52 (which is more than double my highest goal in years prior so yay there) I probably will not complete this challenge or ATY. Trying to combine the challenges was much harder than I had anticipated and although I intend to burn through a few more I don't foresee me making it.

40/52

Finished Reading:

23. Time Travel
Love me some Doctor Who. This book didn't fit any marks for ATY though. I have another book called the 12 Doctors of Christmas that I want to read but fits neither challenge so I may put it on my list for next year. I have not decided if I will be doing PopSugar or ATY for my challenge (the one I don't pick I will be reading picture books for)

Currently Reading

Doesn't fit this challenge but fills in one for ATY

Listening to this for 50. Microhistory. I love it so far.

33.Childhood Classic I've never read and also for my book club

Question of the Week:

What is something you look forward to during your holiday season?
I am whole different person between October and January. I adore Halloween and Christmas. Thanksgiving is rough since my husband and I always work opposite shifts on the day of.

I live in Vegas so no snow really but it does get chilly which is lovely encouragement for hot ciders and soups which make me so happy.

I love gift giving! I love buying things for the people I love and I love presents as well if I'm honest!

I love Christmas movies!!! Every Christmas eve after my daughter goes to bed I have a cocktail or glass of wine, wrap presents and watch Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

I never had a big family growing up or much along the lines of traditions so into adulthood I have come up with some of my own (and tested some that have failed). The Christmas pickle tradition stemming from Germany didn't work in my household bc we only have one child and no cousins or anything here. We always each pick out a new ornament for our tree every year (we are going tonight to get them, yay!).

Skyping family! Daughter waking up early all excited because it's finally Christmas. People being kinder to one another. Cranberry bliss bars. I want a hippopotamus for Christmas on the radio, Sparkling lights. Blow up Santa sleighs. Decorating! Basically all the things!!!

Hello and happy belated Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate!!!

39/52

Finished Reading:

Read for #1. A movie I've already seen. I liked the movie better. 8/

Currently Reading:





QotW:
When you have a holiday dinner with your extended family and friends, do you talk books?
Not really. My husband and I both work weird hours so Holiday dinners are often limited and short lived. My family is not much for reading. I will talk to my daughter about what she is reading when she is in the mood to share (tween!!!). I have a bookclub so I have people to discuss books with monthly and some of my coworkers are book worms so we will discuss what we are reading whenever we cross paths. I enjoy this site so much for an extra place to share the love of the written word!

Good evening fellow bookworms!

It's super cold (well for us) in Vegas right now. (I apologize to those of you who live places that are ACTUALLY cold for my insensitivity, lol) Adding hot tea to my home repertoire and not just for work. Unloaded all my daughter and I's winter clothes and ordered some flannel sheets.

I have not made any reading progress this week. My husband I are escaping the cold for a lovely vacation first week of December so we have been so busy Christmas shopping for his family on the East Coast so we can have everything out of the house before we leave so that's been keeping me busy.

38/52

Currently Reading

Reading this for book club which will motivate me to get my butt in gear. Anyone who has read it, did you find it deceptively long? Based on the size of it I was SHOCKED that it is 525 pages.

I'm on night shifts right now so this probably will not be getting finished anytime soon as it is my bedtime book. (When I get home at 2am I have zero will to read. It's a struggle to take off my makeup)

QotW:

Which 2019 prompt are you most excited about? Which one are you least excited about?
I am torn here. This year I bit off more than I could chew trying to combine this challenge and with the Around the year challenge and finding books to fit both was a lot harder than I expected. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to take on ATY or PopSugar next year. Whichever one I do not pick I will maybe try picture books in an attempt to do something a little bit different.

I haven't looked over the list in great detail but at a quick glance I am excited for Cli-fi. I love climate change fiction and I am planning (started some) to make some serious changes to lower my carbon footprint a bit next year. Also, choose your own adventure. I have always wanted to read one, now I have a good excuse!

Not excited for a book I think they should turn into a movie. I learned this year preplanning is very important for me and that prompt isn't something I can judge until I've read it. I also don't like the reread prompt as I am not a fan of reading books more than once.

Hello everyone.

Looks like next years list is out. Have to take a look and decide if I want to take on the challenge again. I have determined combining popsugar and around the year was a bad idea so I have to pick one.

38/52

Currently Reading




QotW:
What books have you abandoned this year, and why? Do you plan to finish them in 2019?
I am very much of the belief that there is not enough time in the world to read a book I don't like. My to read list is WAY too long. That being said I used to throw something out if I didn't like the first chapter. I will generally give a book 50 pages now before throwing it out.
This year I have DNF'd quite a few
The Chalk Man, Hollow City, Railsea, A Simple Favor, Grave PerilThe Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. I plan to finish A simple Favor or at least try. I was listening to it as audio and had an hour left but I couldn't deal with listening to Stephanie's idiocy any further. I fell like reading it may be easier. Other than that I don't think I will revisit the other 3 this year at least. I tried Grave Peril a few years ago and tried twice this year to get into it. So that book series is over for me I think.

Hello friends!!! I cannot deal with the fact that it is November. Hope everyone(that celebrates it) had an excellent Halloween. My neighborhood is still pretty new so we had a good deal of kids trick or treating and my daughter and her friends had fun trick or treating.

Making some progress on reading although I may be stretching some things to fit at this point.



38/52

Finished Reading

#4. Heist. This is slightly a stretch but there are similar elements

Currently Reading


DNF(just learned this one, lol)

I was listening to the Audio Book. The book is 8 hours and 56 minutes in it's entirety. I have 1 hour and 10 minutes left and I just CAN'T. Stephanie may be the most annoying and idiotic character in history. Ugh. I am waiting for an electronic or paper version from the library and I will see if I can finish it that way. Listening to her(the character, the narrators are quite good) is painful.


QotW:

Have you ever attended a book signing or author event for a favorite author? Do you have specific authors that you will absolutely go to see if they come anywhere near where you live?
I once attended a cookbook signing of Giada De Laurentiis. I'm don't care for her personally but my (now ex) mother-in-law loved her, so I went to Williams Sonoma and got a cookbook signed for her. I am not a fan of lines or crowds so events of this type are not really my bag. However, I would probably go if Neal Shusterman came to my area.

Hello!!! No reading progress really. Spent my weekend celebrating my birthday a week early in Disneyland. Super fun. Trying to get back to real life. So excited for Halloween next week. I cannot believe it's almost November. So crazy.

37/52

Finished Reading


Currently Reading





QotW:
If you were ever stranded on a desert island, which three books would you want with you (and why)?

If I were stranded on a desert island I would want the following so I could survive long enough to get off the Island and go to the library.
How to build a rudimentary radio
Island Survival Guide
Something about building a boat

Since that is no fun I will lead with I don't like rereading books
1Q84 because it's huge and intimidating and I want to read it. Can probably also be used for defense against bugs and offense against coconuts.
A large collection of fairy tales or short stories. Different flavors almost like having more than 3 books.
And a book identifying edible vs poisonous plants and such because I wanna live

Hello! I've made some progress this week. I am ahead on my yearly goal but slightly behind with my challenges. I honestly don't know if I will make it and I'm done beating myself up about it. Reading should be fun and I want it to be so. Therefore I am gonna read what I want and if it fits somewhere great. If it doesn't oh well.

37/52

Finished

29. Set on Halloween

44. Cyberpunk (one chapter had cyberpunk elements, this book as a whole was not)

Currently Reading


QotW:
What is one book you want to press into people's hands for them to read?
Salt to the Sea! I read this is one sitting. It's amazingly written and powerful. I didn't know I liked historical fiction until Ruta Sepetys and now I think (particularly WWII) may be my favorite. A Man Called Ove was what I was pushing in 2017 and still a favorite!

Jen wrote: "Not a good week (or year for that matter.....cyclone, earthquake, moving house, dodgy builder issues etc). The light of my life (Zeli who was in a picture I posted in the week with the pets QOTW) w..."

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Kenya wrote: "Stupid question -- is anyone who's leaving reviews on Goodreads having issues leaving links to other books in said reviews? I try to use the "insert book/author" function, but I type in the title a..."

I think it may have something to do with adobe. On some computers I have that problem. Check to make sure you have the most up to date adobe.

Hello from Las Vegas where we are finally cooling off. I hope everyone in the Southeast is safe and keeping out of Michael's way.

I am still struggling to catch up on my book count but I think I have figured it out. I'm am trying to make myself read books I don't like and I can't push myself through. So I am going to drop the ones I've been working on but don't want to finish. Ther are too many books in the world to read things I hate.

35/52

Finished

47. Fruit or Veg in title

Currently Reading


I'm using this as a bedtime story of sorts so it's taking a while to read

Reading for bookclub, not a fan so far

QotW
Do you subscribe to a Book of the Month club? Do you read that book every month?

I am a member of BOTM!! I love it. I joined December 2017. I have skipped one month. I have a tendency to buy books and not read them straight away. I joined with some ladies from my bookclub. I have not read all of the books I have purchased. Some months I get extras. You can get 3 a month. The club is $14.99 a month. Credits roll over for future months if you don't use them. The 14.99 gets your first book that month and for 9.99 each you can add up to two more. That is good pricing for a hardcover book. I have read a fourth of the books I have purchased. . I have a problem. I will say I have read 5 books I heard about from botm but did not buy. If nothing else I like to look at the selection and add to my list for the library. Also, since my girlfriends are members too we collaborate about which we are gonna buy and we share!! I love it. I can't wait for the new choices every month. I also love amazon kindle firsts, So fun.

SOOOOOOO BEHIND...... I am distracted. By basically everything. Plus, my currently reading list keeps growing while finished stays the same.

34/52

Currently Reading









QotW

Do you like to browse at libraries and bookstores, or do you arrive with a specific list?

I tend to hold my books at the library but I will browse around for ideas for future reads. Barnes and noble sometimes I will have one thing I want but generally I just wing it.

Well I'm continuing to make ZERO progress. At this point I'm not sure I'm gonna make it.

34/52

FINISHED

Didn't count for the challenge but so funny! Can't wait to get cooking.

CURRENTLY READING





QotW
I use goodreads a lot. I like to compile a list with multiple options. I also use book riot, brightly, Modern Mrs. Darcy and whatever else google brings me to.

Hello all. After numerous dry weeks I have finally finished a book.Hopefully I can use that as momentum and burn through one or two more.

34/52

FINISHED

I used this for # 11 female author using a male pseudonym. This is a cheat. The author's name really is (as far as I can find) Ryan Graudin. I figured since she has a generally considered male name I was gonna run with it as this is a harder target for me

CURRENTLY READING





QotW:

For those of you still working on your challenge, are there particular prompts you are stuck on?

For those who have finished, did you knock out all the hard prompts early or were you stuck at the end of your challenge with something you really didn’t want to read?

I'm a disaster all around. I had a list with multiple options for all the prompts. HOWEVER, I thought it would be a good idea to do the around the year challenge as well and find one book that met a category on each challenge. That was my fatal flaw. It has been rough. I did some of the hard ones early on. I tried to read a book that was cyberpunk but I didn't like it. If I'm not into it within 50 pages I don't bother finishing it. Too many books and too little time. So this has been my crisis. Only time will tell if I will make it. I have used my wildcard very early on. I also have regretted where I have placed certain books after the fact.

Hey everyone! Hope everyone in Florence's path stays safe!!!

I have gotten nowhere on reading. Stagnation!

33/52

Finished
NADA

Currently Reading






QotW:

Do you carefully plan your reading, or do you prefer to make spontaneous choices?
As a whole I'm an insane planner so it's funny that I do not enjoy planning out my reading at all. I have options for all the categories as well as back ups. That being said I maybe have read 5 of my preselections. The issue with preplanning is I don't know how I will be feeling and what kind of book mood I will be in at any particular time making it difficult for planning.

Hello reading friends! Today is National Read a Book day in the US. So whether you are in the US or elsewhere take this as an excuse to try to read a whole book today. 😃📖

So, full disclosure- I am struggling hard-core to keep up with this book challenge. I have been burning the candle at both ends for a while. We are understaffed at work so I'm doing 50 to 60 hour weeks. I'm in a local theatre production that premieres Sunday. Chasing my life long dream of acting is great, amazing and super exciting but it also takes a lot of time and energy. My daughter is about a month into her first year of middle school. Extra homework, extracurriculars aplenty and way earlier hours is taking its toll. We also have a 4 month old puppy who likes to bute the butt of our 2 year old puppy; keeping them from killing each other is an achievement in itself. Beyond that there is the other stuff; cooking, cleaning, budgeting, working out, reading... I'm tired and struggling to keep up.

Sorry for the venting. I have not finished any books in a while.

Currently Reading

Trying to use for read a book day

For my bookclub so I HAVE to finish it by the 18th

Book on tape in my car but I've been enjoying my trial subscription to XM radio instead

An attempt to read at bed time which is so far failing

QotW

FALL FAVORITES
ALL THE THINGS!!!!
(Vegas doesn't have much of a fall)
Halloween!!!
Haunted Houses
Slightly cooler weather
Oranges, red and browns
Cinnamon smells
Baking
Tea time (although I pretty much drink tea year round)
Being able to sit or run outside
Soups and Stews
My birthday


Love fall!!!!