Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2018 Challenge Prompts - Regular
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39. A book that involves a bookstore or library
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the WorldSeveral cozy mystery series
Lorna Barrett - Booktown
Ali Brandon - Black Cat Bookshop
Amanda Flower - Magical Bookshop
Eva Gates - Lighthouse Library
James Miranda - Cat in the Stacks
Marianne wrote: "The storied life of A.J. Fikry"I love this book!
The Diary of a BooksellerDear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian's Love Letters and Break-Up Notes to the Books in Her Life
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David LevithanWords in Deep Blue by by Cath Crowley
Ink and Bone by by Rachel Caine
Sara wrote: "Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore seems like a good fit too! Or The Library at Mount Char"Hi Sara, Have you read the midnight at the bright ideas bookstore? I was wondering if it could be used in the prompt "A book about mental health" after reading about it. Cheers,
Mod
A Discovery of Witches (main character spends a lot of time in the library researching)
Beautiful Creatures (the town library is a key source of info for the main characters)
Swimming Lessons (dad is an author and book collector, although now that I think about it he doesn't actually own the used book store, so perhaps this one doesn't really work)
The Thirteenth Tale (main character runs a bookstore)
and
The Fever series, starting with Darkfever (one of the main characters owns a bookstore, he eventually hires the protagonist to work there, and the "bad guy" ... is a book.)
In The Rabbit Back Literature Society there is a book plague going around at the city library. (It also mentions at least Crime and Punishment, as it one of the books infected by it.)
I recommend The Shadow of the Wind While most of the book takes place outside of the library, it has a library that is central to the story. Plus it's an historical fiction that takes place in Barcelona.
I have a thing for books about books. Here are some that are on my TBR list right now that fit!- Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures from a Year in a Book store
- Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library
- My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read, and Shop
- The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book
The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good BookThe Diary of a Bookseller
I highly recommend Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and Words in Deep Blue. Both feature book stores.
I'm with those who highly recommend Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.
Mod
Oh good one!! I loved that book and completely forgot that he managed a bookstore! So many books are referenced in "You," I can't believe I didn't think of it.
I'll probably go with either Bookstore: The Life and Times of Jeannette Watson and Books & Co. or Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World.I would recommend either The Invisible Library or The Little Paris Bookshop asI read both of them for prompts this year. Both were great.
I also recommend The Invisible Library and the others in the series. There is also a handful of cozy mysteries that deal with a library or bookstore. Two off the top of my head: The Cracked Spine where the protagonist works in a rare books bookshop (which takes place in Scotland so if Scot/British life fascinates you, there you go) and Curiosity Thrilled the Cat which takes place in a Library.
One of my favourite books - 84, Charing Cross Road. I'm very jealous of anyone who hasn't read it yet and gets to discover it for the first time!
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, Dash & Lily's Book of DaresIf you like kid's books, Library Lion was always a favorite.
I read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry this year for the prompt of a book title that is a character's name, and I really enjoyed the book. It's also a pretty quick read with all the feels. I think I'm going to read Swimming Lessons for this prompt. It's been on my TBR list for a while and I've been waiting to order it from Book of the Month, so I think I will finally do so!
Will wrote: "Would Matilda work for this? I know she likes to read a lot, but I don't remember how big of a role the library plays in the story."It has been a while since I have read it, but I am pretty sure that at least in the beginning, the library plays a big part in Matilda because she gets all her books from there...I think there is a scene where she goes to the library all by herself at the age of like 3 because of her family...but then again, Matilda could also be used for the prompt "a childhood classic that you have yet to read"
I think I’m going to read In the Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco for this one.
Aurora Teagarden series. She's a librarian.
A few on my already-read list that I would recommend:Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. - lyrical and sweet, about a real bookstore I never knew exists
Possession - a "story within a story," I remember being enchanted by all three levels of story when I read it; the movie does not do it justice, imho
Tam Lin - a novel retelling of the classic fairytale, this is either loved by book snobs or hated by people who don't know a lot of classic literature
The Time Traveler's Wife - the main character is a librarian, and I think he vanishes sometimes at work? A wonderful book all around, though. The movie is also disappointing.
Okay for Now - beautiful book, set in the late 1960's as a boy struggles with the Vietnam war, among other things. The boy finds solace (and a mentor) at the library.
The Book Thief - this features a large personal library, so I'm going to say that counts. Beautiful, poetic, heart-breaking.
The Golden Compass - with the new La Belle Sauvage coming out, you might want to revisit where the world started; Lyra is swept into the action of this book when she eavesdrops in a large personal library
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - the conflict in this book is over a specialized collection of books about magic, among other things - again, a personal collection
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - a book I read for the 2015 Popsugar challenge, the little girl visits a library weekly to immerse herself in reading
The Name of the Wind - once the main character is at university, The Archives (the university's research library) become a frequent setting of the tale
Loving the sound of all these suggestions! I think I'm going to go with Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley.
Lynette wrote: "By Your Side by Kasie West"I'll probably go with By Your Side
I need to read some romance every now and then.
Claire wrote: "One of my favourite books - 84, Charing Cross Road. I'm very jealous of anyone who hasn't read it yet and gets to discover it for the first time!"That would be me! I didn't get to read it for the 2017 challenge, so I'm going to read it for 2018.
So I was going to read The Book Thief for this prompt but I've just come across a book that sound right up my street and would be perfect for this prompt. So I'm switching to The Shadow of the Wind
I second the nom for The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai!
I didn't ever find 84, Charing Cross Road this year so moved it this prompt for 2018. I am also using The Little Paris Bookshop for the favorite prompt from past years. A book I read (and loved) in 2017 but have never seen anyone else ever mention is Goodnight June which is in a bookstore.
Hi I am new to the "challenge". I have never even heard of these! I want to attempt to do this- at least a good effort. My question is do you all just go down the prompt list & fill in with books you have/know of that fit the description or are you reading throughout the year and fill in the list? Sorry if that's a dumb question?! ;-)
Colette wrote: "Hi I am new to the "challenge". I have never even heard of these! I want to attempt to do this- at least a good effort. My question is do you all just go down the prompt list & fill in with books y..."I have some books already on my to-read list, that I've started adding in to the challenge where they fit the prompts. Later, I'll look for books specifically to fit some of the prompts, because I'd like to make more effort to diversity my reading list.
Colette wrote: "Hi I am new to the "challenge". I have never even heard of these! I want to attempt to do this- at least a good effort. My question is do you all just go down the prompt list & fill in with books y..."Hi Colette, When I make my list, I use my TBR books first. If I can't find one to fit, I start looking elsewhere---usually my friends' challenge lists.
Colette wrote: "Hi I am new to the "challenge". I have never even heard of these! I want to attempt to do this- at least a good effort. My question is do you all just go down the prompt list & fill in with books y..."I think there are a variety of ways that people complete the challenge. This year I learned about the challenge in March, so I first slotted in books I had read that filled a prompt. Then I went exploring. I love the detective work of finding a book that matches a prompt. Plus, it's something I can do at work on my computer, even if I can't get away with reading during work hours. These threads are a great resource.
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
I tend not to pencil specific books into the challenge - partially because I mostly read library ebooks. That means I’m limited to what I can find on Overdrive for my libraries, plus there are all those hold lists. This year I was pretty laid back - I read books and slotted then into the prompts after, wherever they fit. Then once I started having a few books that didn’t fit, I got a bit more serious about actively choosing books for prompts. This year I’m attempting three challenges instead of two, so I want to try and be a bit more proactive from the start.
I’m doing the Around the Year Challenge in order, so my plan is to look at the January tasks in about 1-2 weeks and start putting books on hold and taking them out to fill that challenge. Then I will probably look at 4 prompts from Pop Sugar and try and get something for those. Since I’m not looking to read any particular order for PS, I can let those books have longer hold lists etc. They’d I will read as the holds come in.
I wish the Book Riot challenge would be released already!
Any of the Fever books by Karen Marie Moning. They have Baron's books and baubles which is a bookstore and plays a large role in the series.Darkfever
84, Charing Cross Road for sure, and I recently finished La femme au carnet rouge/The red notebook by antoine laurain I truly recommend it
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Tethered Mage (other topics)Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (other topics)
The Time Traveler's Wife (other topics)
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu and Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts (other topics)
The Name of the Wind (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Melissa Caruso (other topics)Robin Sloan (other topics)
Robin Sloan (other topics)
Umberto Eco (other topics)
Nova Jacobs (other topics)
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The Bookshop on the Corner
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
The Little Paris Bookshop
The Invisible Library