Erica’s Comments (group member since Apr 05, 2019)

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

Happy check-in! Well this past week has been a deep freeze it was down to -50 due to windchill so lots of indoor furnace time. On the bright side when it's very cold it doesn't snow. I have 3 books that I want to finish before the end of the year and I finished the first yesterday.

Finished Reading:

The Reckoning ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really like the magic system and the humour in this series. It's entertaining so I ignore the problematic things.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal Edition vol. 9 & 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (The links won't work)
I'm happy I've finished this series but sad it's over. I loved this cartoon as a kid and the gorgeous special editions have been fun to read.

The Night Eaters, Vol. 1: She Eats the Night ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This surpassed my expectations. The same author and artist pairing from the amazing Monstress series. Apparently they worked on some Marvel comics first so next I have to track those down.

The House in the Cerulean Sea ⭐⭐⭐
I wanted to like this more but too much philosophy and not enough plot until the very end.

PS 2015 50/50 ✅
PS 2022 49/50
Goodreads 263/250 ✅

Currently Reading:

The Summer Deal
Daisy Jones & The Six
The World Record Book of Racist Stories

QOTW:
So I'm in for PS 2023 with some minor wording adjustments. I have been doing previous PS challenges to catch up on the years I've missed but now I am all caught up so I will be joining in in ATY this year. I won't let myself use books for more than one prompt on those two challenges but I will use some of them, if I can, for Nadine's mini challenge which looks like fun. I also like to try and participate in the BOTMs so please vote for good books I want to read that I haven't read yet. 😉

So I'm changing this prompt's wording to A Book That Makes You Nostalgic because that's the theme. I enjoy rereading favourite books but I started doing these challenges to stop rereading so much. I'm planning to go with a Buffy book I bought at a garage sale and haven't read yet.

There were some good characters and the book was sweet but it was a bit boring plotwise. I liked Zoe and Talia but the end of the book really stopped having any page time for the other children besides Talia and Lucy. I wanted to like it more too, it's my sister's favourite and she lent me her copy. It's three stars and I doubt I'll reread this one.

There I’ve just finished. 🥳 Now all I have left is one prompt and I have started the book.

Stay away from Saga graphic novels if you can’t handle pet death.

So first comes to mind
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks non-fiction

The Echo Wife fiction about cloning

Burn for Me book one of six book series all are applicable, fiction with a serum that changes people genetically to have magical abilities

Title: Ruby Fever
Author: Ilona Andrews

Fave author book 6 of a series and it was awesome. It's sci-fi set in futuristic Austin Texas. I would recommend this for sure but just start at the beginning of the series Burn for Me. :)

This one is going to need effort.

I’m stuck on chapter 12 but if you’re about to finish it I’m going to have to stop procrastinating.

The 23rd book on my want to read is Voyage of the Dawn Treader. So that’s something short to knock off.

Thanks for this Nadine it looks fun, although 3 months probably won't work for me. :)

1. A book involving genetics and/or genealogy (because we have 23 pairs of chromosomes). Sweep of the Heart
2. The 23rd book on a list (your TBR list, for example). The Backup Plan 23rd book I've read this year
3. A book with five words in the title (because 2+3=5). Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer
4. A book based on Norse mythology (connection: Vanadium is the 23rd element and was named for Vanadis aka Freya). Trick of the Light
5. A book about sheep or shepherds (because Psalm 23 starts "The Lord is my shepherd"). Hell Bent
6. A book with flames on the cover or in the title (because a movie "23" was made about hacker Karl Koch who burned to death - possibly suicide - at the age of 23) - LOL this is such a reach, but it would still make a good category!! And When She Opened the Closet, All The Clothes Were Polyester: A FoxTrot Collection
7. A title that starts with W (23rd letter in the English alphabet). Wash Day Diaries
8. A book set on an island (because 23 is one of the recurring numbers in LOST 4 8 15 16 23 42). Chobits, Vol. 3
9. A book about or set in an ancient civilization. (Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times). Magic Triumphs
10. A book less than 230 pages long. Cryptid Club

10/10 on March 12/23

I realized one of the things this years list is missing is a couple of genre or award list prompts I’ve never heard of. This challenge won’t push me like the challenge has in the past. Oh well, hopefully I can tackle mount tbr although I’ve added so much since this list was posted... 🤣

I read Eleanor & Park for 2022 set in the eighties and it would fit the fat lead prompt. That being said I hated this book and wouldn’t recommend it.

@Lynn and @ Nadine maybe this prompt should be a BOTM because of the “fat lead”.

Well technically it would mean reading a picture. Ok for me and I do t count those for challenges.

For those wanting to avoid 3 romance books you can use the Legendborn series for forbidden romance in these ya fantasy books.

Happy check-in and new list day! At first I was grumpy about the repeats but I'm coming round and all will be okay come 2023. It didn't help that I watched my team get eliminated from the World Cup this morning before the list dropped.
I spent the weekend helping my grandmother get ready for Christmas. Helping someone go out and shop with an organized list of every gift they intend on was weird. I now feel completely unprepared for Christmas because I have no idea what to get people let alone what food needs to be planned and made.
I had one prompt left and the BOTM to finish before today... so naturally I read everything else. :)

Finished Reading:

Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book ⭐⭐⭐
You can't not read a kids Christmas gift when you pick it out. This was first published in the 80s if anyone wants a quick option for the new list.

Monstress, Vol. 7: Devourer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
More gorgeous artwork!

Everything Is OK ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A graphic memoir about anxiety and depression.

Slightly Tempted ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This first half of this was great and set in Belgium as Napoleon invaded and it was really good. The second half in London was stretched out. Overall not my favourite of the series but not the my least.

Firefly: Return to Earth That Was Vol 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PS 2022 49/50
PS 2015 50/50 ✅
Goodreads 258/250 ✅

Currently Reading:

The House in the Cerulean Sea
The Reckoning

QOTW:
I started doing this challenge in 2019 and I did the 2018 list simultaneously. Every year since I have done the current list and a previous list I missed out on so all of the 2023 prompts feel very recent to me. I have caught up on all the PS challenges so I will be doing 2023 and ATYs challenge next year.
I'm unhappiest with the reread prompts because I started doing this challenge to increase my reading instead of rereading favourite books. I may switch those out.
The book with a rabbit on the cover is most appealing because it's new, also the divorce one although I don't know if I'll find an enjoyable book.

Ron wrote: "Yikes, what a list! I'm going to have to go through the books I either did not finish or the ones I bought and planned to read but didn't have the time for."

Ooh finishing a dnf is a good idea.

Nadine in NY wrote: "YOU GUYS how could I forget??!! STEVE MARTIN HAS A GRAPHIC NOVEL MEMOIR!!! Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions. I had been debating between Dave Grohl ..."

Added to my tbr. Thanks

Making a Scene by Constance Wu

Melanie C from the spice girls has one just out.

Playing the Long Game: A Memoir by Christine Sinclair for all those watching the World Cup how about reading about women's soccer's Ronaldo/Messi.

We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu