Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2017 Challenge - General
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Why are you participating in this challenge (2017)?
I want to whittle down my tbr list, and to read out of my comfort zone
To get me to increase my reading volume as well as expand my horizons. A list to go against will give me incentive to keep reading (gotta fill all the prompts!) and give me ideas as to what to read next.
Been reading for 65 years!!!:-):-)-and still surprised at the relative narrowness of my tastes.The challenges have expanded my options,placed a TINY bit of discipline on my acquisitiveness but done nothing to limit the growth of my TBR lists....:-)
Like Mike said, having a plan helps keep me motivated to read more. It also helps to broaden my choices, prevent me from getting stuck in one genre, gives me the joy of hunting for new books, reminds me to read those books I've always meant to...so many reasons!I don't worry to much about whether a book "counts". It is a completely personal decision, and if I want to use a book that someone else thinks wouldn't count that's ok with me.
In order to have a wide open reading experience. I want to explore through my reading more. Sure I read a lot of books, but how much exploring am I really doing otherwise? The goal here is to go outside my comfort zone while also being true to the type of reader I am. Finding things I love to read outside my normal scope has been interesting. I'm doing it for the experience as well as the end accomplishment. It's actually been a really cool journey and I've been loving it.
I like the "scavenger hunt" aspect of some of the categories. It adds a fun layer to my reading habits. I also wanted to expand out of my young-adult novel comfort zone.
olá, I'm doing the challenge because I want to, try to make a discovery work to find or buy the book to fill a particular prompt.
I love challenges, and like Megan, I'm enjoying the "scavenger hunt" aspect as well, which I find is a way of exercising some creativity. I like the way it opens me to new readers and new reading options.
While I still vastly prefer reading a book to listening to one, through the challenges I've learned how to utilize audiobooks, discovered new authors, watched my TBR list grow, and have read about twice as many books as usual.
So, what's not to love about it?
I also enjoy the scavenger hunt type challenge of some of the prompts. But the main thing for me, I started in 2015 after having my first baby in August 2014. I was very sick while pregnant and couldn't concentrate to read much, then having a newborn didn't help. I found myself struggling with depression and not recognizing the person I was being. Reading has always been my passion and I suddenly had about 9 straight months where I would have struggled to make a reading recommendation or answer the question "what have you been reading lately?" I needed to push myself and give myself incentive and a goal to force myself back into reading. Then I was hooked. I did a smaller challenge last year since I was again pregnant and sick, and now baby is 6 months and I'm back into the full challenge. I try not to interpret things too loosely but I'm also in it to enjoy picking up books so this year I'm not forcing myself to slog through books just because they're categories.
I'm working as a Library PSA for a small library system. I'm trying to become more knowledgeable about the books in our system and I want to familiarize myself with different genres, at least the ones that my patrons are interested in. That's really why I'm here.
I joined the challenge because I love to read and realized that over the last two or three years, I have barely made time to read at all. I thought it I had a challenge to read a certain number of books, I might not make it (although at this point, I should finish well before the year is over), but at least I would be making an effort and would still be reading more books that I have recently. I honestly think I read more books in January than I read in all of 2016!In the process of participating in the challenge, I have found that I am expanding my horizons by reading books that I would not normally pick up, and am mostly enjoying them. There have been a couple I didn't care for, but overall, I have been pleasantly surprised. I also like the scavenger hunt aspect of looking for books that fit some of the more unique categories. Of course, this has led to an ever-growing TBR list, but I'm okay with that. Maybe some of my TBR books will fit a lot of the categories for next year's challenge.
I originally joined because I like doing things on a whim. Then I realized it would be a great way to knock out some of the books on my shelves that I need to read. Then Christmas hit and I magically had A LOT of money to spend on new books, so a lot of what I've read so far this year is stuff I bought recently rather than books I've owned for ages and need to read. Oi.Now I'm doing it because I, like several others, enjoy the scavenger hunt aspect and because I still need to actually read the books I own, regardless of the fact that I've acquired roughly 100 more, between ebooks and paper books, since Christmas.
I hadn't thought about it, but love the scavenger hunt aspect also. I also do other challenges and while I won't let myself double dip within a challenge, I will use the same book across multiple challenges so I enjoy the puzzle of finding books that will count in 2-3 different categories.
I like the scavenger hunt aspect, but I think essentially what draws me in is the sense of goal completion. Checking off the boxes satisfies the Achievement Hunter in me. It's also really great at giving me the activation energy I need to actually start reading a book. Honestly, the longer a book sits on my TBR, the more likely I am to talk myself out of wanting to read it, and then I miss out on good books.
It's a great to clean up my backlist AND it keeps my reading diverse.
I think it's the checklist/completion thrill for me. It does inspire me to read more - on Wednesday with a check in coming up, I'm now more likely to finish off a book than fart around on FB. And some of it is a bit about diversifying my reading, though in general I tend to fairly decently diverse reading in general, both in terms of authors and genres. But it's a little extra kick in the ass to remember to do that.
When I saw the 2015 challenge being batted around the Internet, it immediately sparked my interest. I had never seen a challenge like that (normally it was read from every year or every letter of the alphabet etc.). Like most people have said, the scavenger hunt was really enjoyable and I very rarely had to think about what to read next.Then the 2016 challenge came along and I really did not like the look of it so I skipped last year. I just read whatever I wanted and whilst my love of reading is as high as ever, I did miss the scavenger hunt a little bit so I decided to give the challenge another go this year.
Luckily I stumbled upon this group which is adding an extra layer of fun to it as well. I enjoy seeing how other people are interpreting the prompts and seeing which books other people have chosen (which is making my TBR pile grow at an alarming rate!).
Whether I have another year off next year will depend on the list and were I am in the world but it was nice to have a little breather last year.
Sarah wrote: "When I saw the 2015 challenge being batted around the Internet, it immediately sparked my interest. I had never seen a challenge like that (normally it was read from every year or every letter of t..."I wasn't fond of a lot f the prompts in the 2016 one either. I also like the lense it gives you on reading. You can use that as a focal point for whatever you're reading, such as focusing on the wartime aspect or the food aspect.
I promised myself to try and read more often this year. Having to read nothing but textbooks for years left a sour taste in my mouth and I wanted to get back into the habit of reading for fun.The challenges have also been great for me to finally get through a lot of books I put off for too long.
I've always been a big reader, so that wasn't my motivation. But I liked the idea of this challenge possibly branching out my reading choices and/or helping me to pick up books that I've put off. And it's actually worked! Thanks to this challenge, I discovered how much I adore Terry Pratchett... it's fueled a whole new obsession. lol
I'm another who likes the scavenger hunt aspect of this challenge. And it ties in nicely with my general Goodreads challenge. I've got quite a few prompt books on my Kindle and expect to finish a couple when I'm sitting out at the track all day for the KY Derby next week!
Although I have known about his challenge for about a year I have decided to give it a go now that the school year is coming to an end. I find myself reading less often than I want due to my busy schedule and classes. There are several things that I love about this challenge. 1. First (as I see several others have mentioned) is the scavenger aspect.
2. I also love how this challenge is making me be more opened minded to different types of books as well as introducing me to certain books that I would not have found without this challenge.
3. As I mentioned above I also love the fact that this challenge is getting me back to reading as much as I used to
I found the 2016 challenge last year and although I didn't finish it, I did read more new books last year than in the years before so I decided to give the 2017 a go too.I am job-hunting and very low on funds, so I am mainly reading books I already owned or that I could lend from someone, which limits my possibilities, but I am still enjoying the challenge of finding books I have access to to fill in the prompts.
I'm definitely interested in challenging myself to read outside my comfort zone and that's what 2016 did for me. The scavenger hunt part is also fun and allows me to survey friends, coworkers, etc to see who has ideas when I'm stumped. I've gotten a lot of suggestions that way and ended up discovering new favorites.I very much agree with the "spirit of the challenge" approach. My friend and I are doing it together and we're also looking at the Bustle diversity reading challenge from 2015 (?). If a book checks a box across both challenges I count it for both but not if it's the same concept (i.e. there's a "women in war" on the Bustle challenge and a "novel set during wartime" on Popsugar -- I don't use the same book for those, but if the same book is about women in war and an espionage thriller I tick two boxes).
I own hundreds of books I've not yet read. The challenge helps me decide which to read next. The 52 challenge books are about half my annual read volume, so that leaves room for book club selections that don't fit a category and library holds that come up as well as others I just want to read. Otherwise I become overwhelmed trying to decide. A side benefit is the guaranteed variety.
I also have hundreds of books I haven't read, and can't seem to stop myself from buying more. I like reading challenges like these because I feel like a detective, hunting around on my shelves for books that fit each category. I try to read about 100 books a year, and also sometimes get overwhelmed by all the choices I have (especially when I go down the book rabbit hole at the library). I'm going to start a book jar so I can just choose a book from my shelves to read and get through all the TBRs on my shelf!
Meghan wrote: "I also have hundreds of books I haven't read, and can't seem to stop myself from buying more. I like reading challenges like these because I feel like a detective, hunting around on my shelves for ..."LOL, "the book rabbit hole". Thats perfect.
Also I love the idea of a book jar. I definitely need to make one of those. It's going to have to be a REALLY BIG jar though :-/
I think the reason I joined these challenges is because of my list obsession. I first saw them on pinterest, and looked up the groups here on GR. This is my first year doing these challenges, and I have a whole bunch of them planned out. The planning phase was so much fun.
It's helping me decide what to read, I have an extensive collection, and also I haven't been reading my physical books, and with this challenge I've discovered how much I miss having a real book in my hand. Keeps me away from my kindle, except for bedtime, although I did go out and buy a book light just in case.
Added bonus is that I'm picking up a lot of books that I wouldn't normally read. So the variety/diversity is appealing. Its fun to see how all the participants in the groups are getting into reading diversely, which is huge, and I love the trend. The camaraderie within the groups is a lot of fun also.
First and foremost, I LOVE challenges. Currently, I am in three. And this is a challenge within a challenge. I always participate in the Regular GoodReads challenge but doing the Popsugar Challenge gets me to expand my horizons. Branch out a little bit from my normal genre. So working in a library, it helps to read other types of books so you can help or suggest books to customers because you have ACTUALLY read the book. My TBR list is always growing.
Meghan wrote: "I also have hundreds of books I haven't read, and can't seem to stop myself from buying more. I like reading challenges like these because I feel like a detective, hunting around on my shelves for ..."I also love the diversity of finding books I normally wouldn't read, especially with categories that tell you to do just that. I often end up finding a new favorite author.
And yes, I too had to get a GIANT jar to hold all of the books I still need to read! LOL
Tracy wrote: "Meghan wrote: "I also have hundreds of books I haven't read, and can't seem to stop myself from buying more. I like reading challenges like these because I feel like a detective, hunting around on ..."I also love challenges. I've already finished both of the Modern Mrs. Darcy reading challenges before starting this one, and I also do the Goodreads challenge. I love uppping my number each year, like I'm in a competition with myself.
On a side note, I would love, LOVE to work in a library! It's one of my life goals.
I have a few reasons to participate in this challenge (and a good many more) The first and maybe most important to me is, that I want to diversify my reading. I use Goodreads for about two years now and when I reviewed the books I read in those to years, I realized they where mostly form a very small selection of genres, mostly urban fantasy and steampunk with a bit of science fiction thrown in for variety. And while I love those genres, there is so much mor out there to read and so much I never knew I might like. So I decided to use this challenge (and most of the others) to broaden my horizon.
When I ask, if a specific book might fit a prompt it's mostly because I come across the description and liked it, but since descriptions can be really misleading at times I'm hoping for fellow members who have read the book and could tell me if the books holds up to the description or not.
I have no qualms to interpret a prompt creatively, since it's my challenge and I'm doing this for me and me alone.
The other important reason, why I'm doing this is: I love challenges! I just love it be challenged to try something I might otherwise have not. And yeah, I love it to check a prompt fullfilled and love the feeling when I see my challenge chart slowly filling.
Also, last year, I had some difficulties with my personal challenge. There was a time, when I felt really bad and had difficulties with touching any book at all, although I love reading and imersing myself in narratives has always been my way of relaxing and taking my mind aways from the dark things hapening around. So with this challange a also hope to help myself over a spot like that should it come again. Th idea is to go to my challenge list, look it over and just find something that has nothing to do with the stuff I usually read and well just try it. (Maybe that's why I decided to leave the "a book you loved a a child" prompt for the very last. There a to candidates for that prompt and they are both my literary equivalent of soulfood)
So, I guess, it mostly comes down to: Because I wanted it.
I like the scavenger hunt aspect, but I think what I liked at first was the goal of completing this challenge. Checking off the boxes satisfies something in me. I love making lists and seeing my accomplishments. I don't even remember how I first found this group. Maybe a friend was doing it?? I don't remember.Unfortunately, one of the books I picked up so far this year, just to fill in a challenge prompt, was very disappointing. Actually, I hated it. One other was OK, but not great. Reaching outside my normal reading habits does not seem to be helping me so far, but I have more than 1/2 if the challenge still to go. I have hope that books that I am picking for the future will turn out better than the recommended ones that I have chose so far.
Also I have allowed myself to count each book more than once, at least for now, and will see how things go. If I have time, I can replace those books with others I read later. If I find that the books I want to read, many of which have been on my 'to be read' list for way too long, are not fitting any category and therefore I need to count some books in more than one prompt I am ok with that. I hope to read a total of 52 books this year, or more, but may not be able to fit one book in one prompt.
I have not found new favorite authors or new genre's that I will enjoy in the future, but we are not done yet. Until then I am enjoying the search for books to fulfill the prompts and the checking off of one more prompt completed.
I am honoring my mother who passed in December by reading more and figured a reading challenge would help me in that aspect
At the end of 2016, I decided my goal for 2017 would be to attempt to read 100 books and as part of that goal I wanted to expand my horizons, read authors/genres I hadn't tried before. When I found the Popsugar challenge I was excited to find books that fit the prompts. I have thoroughly enjoyed using the list, both the regular and the advanced. I just finished the advanced list and just have a few left on the regular list. I believe I'm about 7 books ahead of my 100 books in 2017 schedule. These lists have really made this a lot more fun than if I'd just read my usual go to books. In addition to using the prompts, I've also gotten to some of my TBR books (some of which did fit the prompts). I don't think I'll do 100 books in a year again--at least not on purpose, but I'll definitely look forward to checking out next year's challenge!
Mod
1. It's incredibly satisfying to make lists of books and check off categories as I read.
2. It's fun to hunt for books that will fulfill categories.
3. This Challenge sometimes gives me a gentle nudge to read what I wouldn't normally read, half the time I hate it but the other half is a pleasant surprise. This "pleasant surprise" was my primary motivator a few years back when I was in a reading rut. Now I just keep coming back because it's fun and satisfying.
I want to whittle down my TBR list also, but the prompts help me expand my reading. To fill prompts I've read some great books and authors that I would not have if I wasn't actively looking for them using others suggestions. Some books I've found just by accident reading a description and realizing that I have just found a book that will fill a spot. I hate to admit but I'm a list checker lol. I love to check things off a list, it gives me a sense of accomplishment whether its a book read or a list of things needing cleaned. Also, I have almost 2,000 books on my Kindle from downloading free books from digital books today and another one. (I have been actively attempting to not download anymore unless they are books that I will read within the next six months). There are so many that I can't remember many of them and am pleasantly surprised when looking for a book that I already have it. I probably have more books than I could feasibility read in my lifetime, I'm 58 now.
I got into the challenge because I love researching books and finding different books that would fit each category. I don't usually end up sticking to the lists that I make but I love researching different books and usually end up adding more to my TBR list than I end up actually reading! I do try to use the challenge to empty my TBR list but I don't usually end up being all that efficient!
I stumbled across this challenge quite by chance and was then keen to find out more. This is my first reading challenge ever. I'm enjoying looking through the books I already own, library books and many other books I've since bought, that fit the prompts. I am enjoying reading books I wouldn't usually pick. I do seem to have even more books on my TBR list now. So it looks like I'll definitely be doing next year's challenge too. Yippee!
This is my second year doing the Pop Sugar challenge, first year participating with a GR group on it. I have long been a serious and eclectic reader, as are many of my friends, and we are always discussing books. One of my friends who reads a lot reached out at the beginning of 2016 asking if I was interested in joining her in the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge for 2016 which she had just discovered. I've never been much of a joiner of book clubs or read-alongs because both reading on command, or reading a specific book chosen by others by a specific date just doesn't work for me for a variety of reasons. However, this appealed to me because it allowed me to set my own reading pace and choose the specific books based on general prompts.
So I committed, we pulled in 2 more friends, and we set up quarterly brunches and occasional emails to keep everyone on track and help brainstorm when someone was stuck. We all loved it and here we are doing it again in 2017.
I really like that I can pick the books I read in whatever order I want, and with a year long 'deadline', I can read my choices as fast or as slowly as fits my life.
I also set myself an additional 'rule' or goal each year: I must choose and read as many books as possible for the challenge from my existing (extensive) library of print or ebooks. I have been buying books to read for decades and of course, buy far more than I can actually manage to read in this lifetime. I'm constantly lured into buying books, all kinds of books. I also have lists of books suggested by friends or whose reviews caught my eye...I need about 20 lifetimes to read them all!
This self-imposed 'rule' has been the best part of the entire experience, IMO. For 2016 challenge, I read 33 books that I already owned. In 2017, 40 were ones I owned, 7 were library borrowings as I tested out NYPL ebook loans. I am very pleased to say the least.
Another reason I did the challenges and will do it again next year is that it diversifies my reading on a day to day basis. I am actually a very diverse reader, with very eclectic tastes, but I have a stressful career and busy life, so it is all too easy to slip into a rut of reading cozy mystery, light fiction by favorite authors, regency romance, with maybe one or two classics every few months. Pop Sugar Reading Challenge has truly broadened my reading.
I'm only one book away from finishing 2017...already eager to see 2018's list. In the meantime, I'll plug away at the 2015 list - why not?
I like doing challenges because they remind me to prioritize and make more time for reading, while discovering new books. I currently have over 1600 on my TBR so most of what I'm choosing at this point is from that ever-expanding list, so it also helps me to prioritize which books I want to read next. Personally, I don't like challenges that are just "read x number of books" because I don't think I'd be very motivated. If I saw that I was nowhere near the number needed, I would probably be more inclined to just lower the number. With a checklist style challenge, it is very satisfying to cross things off the list and much more likely to keep me motivated to read for each category.
I participated in this challenge in 2015, and I was amazed at the books I encountered that I normally wouldn't have even looked at. I had to ask friends for help (e.g. I need a love triangle that won't make me puke), I had to ask my mother for a recommendation, and I had to use Google a lot. It was a fantastic experience, and though I was little frazzled by the end -- I was reading at least six hours a day between Christmas and New Year's Eve -- I finished. At the end of the year, I knew which friends I could go to to talk about books, I had several new favorite books, and I felt a real sense of accomplishment because for once, I had actually finished a goal that I had set more than an hour before. TL;DR: I'm doing the challenge this year because I had such a great time doing it in 2015.
I have read so many different books this year. Thanks to this challange. Not all the types of books I read I was really interested in the first place. There are books I never read but I gave it a chance and that is satisfactory. And finally I read some owned books I thought I would never pick up...haha. So for me this is a fine way to get motivated and break my reading routine.
My friend Susie posted about it, and I thought it sounded like a fun way to expand what I read. (I usually stick to urban fantasy and scifi with a smattering of history in there.) I have both read books that I wouldn't have otherwise picked up, and was able to taylor a lot of the prompts on the list to my interests.
Mod
Yeah that's what I was thinking Nadine lol any suggestions?!
Tara wrote: "Yeah that's what I was thinking Nadine lol any suggestions?!"My favorite is the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, which starts with Storm Front. It's like an adult Harry Potter set in Chicago.
If you find you like urban fantasy, I recommend Seanan McGuire. She has a protagonist named October Daye who is half fae and half human. Start with Rosemary and Rue.
Mod
LOL I love the idea of urban fantasy, but I'm often disappointed with the execution. I've found a few books I really like though:
Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge
Grave Sight series by Charlaine Harris (and her Sookie series was a lot of fun, too)
straight-up romance:
Darkfever series by Karen Marie Moning
YA:
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
and I don't really think of these two as "urban fantasy" but I think they count:
Kraken by China Miéville
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
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I have two goals for completing this challenge.
1) Expand from what is "typical" for me to read. Read books by POC, genres I typically don't, etc.
2) Incentive to read books I've had on my TBR for quite a while, but just need a little push to finally sit down and read.
If I'm trying to stretch a reading prompt and by doing so I'll hit one of the these two goals I'll do it. IE - Ready Player One has been on my TBR for at least 5 years, but it's not in my typical wheel house so I haven't gotten to it yet. I'm probably still going to count it in the movie prompt even though it looks like the movie isn't going to come out until 2018 now.
If I'm stretching a prompt to fit a book that I would normally read anyway I won't count it. In the non-human perspective prompt the easy way to fill the prompt would be a main character that looks human, but is actually fae, or a vampire, or a zombie. I could read any of Sarah J Maas's books and technically they work, but that's not a stretch for me as a reader so I wouldn't stretch the category to count them.