Week 2: 1/4 - 1/11

[Chrissy]

Happy Thursday!

This is my first week back to work for the new year, so I am tired... and my reading slowed down a little bit.

I did finish one book - Alias Grace - which I did a combo audiobook/paperback. I did NOT like the narrator much, and found the book well written but kind of boring. I did like the ambiguity of the unfolding story, though.

QOTW: I have a bunch of other goals/challenges - my overall GR challenge number is 130, and I hope to complete the Around the Year challenge in order, Read Harder, and a Classics bingo. I also plan to read at least 12 non-fiction books. There are a few long ones on my list: Moby-Dick or, The Whale and War and Peace.

[Jennifer]

Hello-

I missed the last checkin but I have completed two great reads and . Both were enjoyable! Currently reading which is amazing. This is one of those books you never want to end.

[Susan]

Sara wrote: "Hello and welcome to another edition of the Thursday check-in! This 2018 challenge is off to a great start! We are finally getting back into a normal routine in my house after holidays and school c..."
It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree looks interesting. I am taking a similar approach and reading Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters as my family shares a genetic predisposition for breast cancer That has effected at least four generations.

[Susan]

I only finished 1 book this week but have several started and hope to have 5-6 done by the end of the month.
QOTW
My Goodreads magic number is 24 but I hope to do more. I intend to finish the reading challenge for my local library and try to pick books that fulfill Popsugar prompts too. There are only 12 on that list so once I finish that I will try to finish the Popsugar. I love these challenges that push me outside my usual genre though I think I am an eclectic reader.
I love to see what everyone else is reading and posting. Read on folks and have a sparkling week.

[Susan]

Jayne wrote: "Hello! I've just joined the group today but managed to start and finish 3 books this week. The Facebook Killer Parts 1, 2 and 3. I could put any of these books into the Death and Grief category.

..."

Interesting thing happen when I was looking back on my reading the past few years. I saw that had read 0 books in 2016 and very few in 2017. I have always been an avid reader and while I may be lazy about logging my reading on Goodreads it wasn't like me not read anything or log anything. I knew I had been feeling lethargic and unfocused for quite sometime but this really brought it home. After bringing this to my doctors attention we changed my diabetes medication and things are going so much better.

[Susan]

Emmanuel wrote: "Hi everyone!

How was your week? How was your reading? Hope that both ok. I think this was a good week for me

Books finished:

I managed to finished 2 books:

[book:Death with Interruptions|301853..."

I read in Cold Blood many years ago and it freaked me out. I am always shocked by the evilness that can lurk inside some people. It's is scarier than the stuff of horror movies because you know it is true and it really happens.

[Danielle Spain]

Went back to work this week so I’ve definitely slowed down my reading pace from the 3 books I read last week. The only book I finished this week was The Handmaid’s Tale, and I have to say I was super disappointed by it. I had such high hopes when I chose it, but I struggled to get through this one. I’m hoping the show is better. I mean the concept was cool, but the author didn’t give me enough action. This was my pick to fulfill the prompt of ‘a book about Feminism,’ which also confused me. Maybe I’m ignorant on the topic, but I don’t think this book really promotes feminism.

I’m half way through The Green Mile, which fits the prompt of ‘a book with your favorite color in the title.’ Thoroughly enjoying it!

QOTW: This is my first year ever doing a reading challenge so I’m really just hoping to complete the challenge, and read 52 books. I would love to eventually track my reading for gaps in diversity, but I don’t think I’m there yet. I am, however, hoping to start a quote journal with at least one favorite quote from each book I read this year. I think it would be neat to look back at them all at the end of the year.

[Mirel]

Hi all!

Finished The Angry Tide as my next in a series prompt (#3). I also wondered if it would work for #25, since although it doesn't take place at sea, the sea is definitely a "character" in the book, and mentioned frequently. Thinking about it, especially since I'll be reading plenty more that fit prompt #3.

Also read three more quicker reads. My mother gave me a book to read that she'd picked up in the library at her senior residence. It's been lying around for a while, but then I saw that the author lived in Jerusalem, like me, so I read Esther: A Jerusalem Love Story which was ok, but... The book also fits in with prompt #4 from the advanced list.

Then I found another local author recommended by Kindle, so read An Unexpected Afterlife. The book gave such a vivid picture of many places that I'm very familiar with and was such a fun read, that I immediately purchased the next in the series: An Accidental Messiah: A Novel Again, both books would fit prompt 25 and advanced prompt 4 (and the second one, of course, fits next in a series). Since both books deal with resurrection and the griefs involved, one might say that they deal with death and grief(prompt 10) and book 2 also deals with suicide bombers and other social issues (advanced prompt 9), but whether or not it fits prompts, I enjoyed the read.

Today a cousin pushed a book on me that he said I "have to read." So I started The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and The Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life, a borrowed book written by two authors, which also addresses social problems (bigotry, gender gap, etc.)

I enjoy reading books that can fit more than one prompt, and then as the year progresses, I decide where to place them.

As for reading goals, to finish a series that I started last year read between 60-100 books, and enjoy the books I read.

[Jill]

This week I finished two books for the ATY challenge, Shelter Me and My Absolute Darling.

This year I am doing a bunch of challenges besides Popsugar.
Around the Year
Modern Mrs, Darcy
Book Riot
Working on the Around the World challenge a series well though it will be a multi year challenge for me.
Set my GR reading goal at 125 books.

[Jenn]

Finished my first book last night! I read A Quiet Kind of Thunder to fill the weather element prompt.

Currently reading Under Rose-Tainted Skies to fill the mental health prompt and Rabbit-Proof Fence to fill either movie you've seen or animal in the title.

Also been listening to the audiobook for Stone of Tears. Not sure I can fit this anywhere, but I'm still enjoying it.

Off to a pretty good start, I think.

QOTW: This is my first year doing any kind of reading challenge like this, so my only goal is to get as close as I can to filling all the prompts. I set my goodreads goal to 40 this year. A bit of a jump from the average of 30 I've managed in previous years.

[Lynette]

This week I finished two books towards the challenge.

For the regular challenge, I finished So You've Been Publicly Shamed. This was my "book with an ugly cover."

For the advanced challenge, I finished German Marietta and Washington County. I was originally going to use this as "a book by a local author." But, I realized that this better fit the prompt of "a book tied to your ancestry." My ancestors came from Germany and settled in this area. This book was full of old photographs from the area, so it was perfect.

QOTW:

I have the goal of reading 50 books this year. I have been rereading the Harry Potter books. I finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban this week, and I began Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I don't count rereads for the PopSugar Challenge, unless the challenge mentions it.

[Thegirlintheafternoon]

Hello, everyone, and welcome to 2018! Nearly 2 weeks late!

COMPLETED

I've finished 4 books for the 2018 challenge so far:

- The Friend for the prompt of "a book about death or grief" - First book I read this year, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being my best book of the year. A masterpiece.
- Goodbye, Vitamin for the prompt of "a book by an author of a different ethnicity than you" - It took me a while to get into this one, but I ended up finding it really moving. Very worth a read.
- More Happy Than Not for the prompt of "a book with an ugly cover" - Really well done, with fantastic teenage voices.
- Miles Morales for the prompt of "a book with alliteration in the title" - Wonderful! Again, fantastic teenage voices. Loved it.

Also, because I am a weak person who cannot help myself, I signed up for the Read Harder Challenge, too. I'm at 2/24 for that challenge:

- Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions for the prompt of "a one-sitting book" - Well-written, which wasn't a surprise, but very, very basic. It was only an hour long and I still almost turned it off.
- Ms. Hempel Chronicles for the prompt of "a book with a cover you hate" - This had been on my TBR for literal years, so it was nice to cross it off the list! Beautiful writing and characterization with almost no plot.

Not for any challenge, I also finished the audiobook of Unequal Affections: A Pride and Prejudice Retelling (wonderful! definitely do the audio version!) and finished leafing through a gorgeous decorating book, Flea Market Style.

IN-PROGRESS

I'm currently reading We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy and slowly making my way through volume 2 of the current run of Miles Morales, Spider-Man.

DNF

I read about half of The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, which would be great for anyone who likes mysteries but which wasn't a good match for me. I'm a little worried about the mystery-specific prompts! I'll really have to grind those out.

QOTW

I want to read less this year! I've been very numbers-focused the last couple of years, and this year I want to focus on finding more books I can love.

[Sarah]

Hello everyone! I have finished 4 books so far some for the challenge and some not. They were all "sort of" started last year and forgotten about. So I have already read more the entirety of last year and I am proud of that.

Currently reading: I know why the caged bird sings, Maya Angelou for the prompt of an author of a different race

Have a great week!

[Hayjay315]

I'm quite pleased that I have so far been able to stick with my goal of reading for at least a half hour every day and over the past week have finished two books.

Books Completed:

For the book with an ugly cover prompt I read Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel which chronicles the story of a girl named Kate trying to get her life back together by working in the admissions office of a prep school after it takes a turn she didn't anticipate. Not only does it offer an often hilarious look at the life of prep school kids and their parents but also shows that some of the most wonderful aspects of life come from unexpected places.

I also completed Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg for the problem facing society prompt. This has been on my TBR for a few years and now that I have read it I cannot stop talking about it. Sheryl's insights challenge women to take control of their careers and offers practical advice on how to combat the forces that can cause ambitious women to stagnate. This is one I will recommend to many of my career minded friends!

Currently reading:
The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish for book you meant to read in 2017 prompt. So far the characters and story have pulled me in and I'm excited to see where it heads.
I'm looking forward to a long weekend with more time for reading this one.

QOTW:
I noticed that beyond the book for the children's classic prompt I am not reading many classics this year so when I complete this challenge I believe I will attempt to complete the Books and Chocolate blog's Back to the Classics challenge.

[Caitlin]

I.....failed this week. Read nothing for the challenge. I did read 3 graphic novels that had nothing to do with any of my challenges though! That’s reading! Total counts, right? Haha

QotW: My main reading goal for the year is to get back into reading. I used to read a lot but the last few years I’ve hardly read anything. This past year I think I only read 2 books, no joke. I set a goal for 86 books this year, the total number of books from all my challenges. It’s a massive increase but I’m determined!

[Julie]

Hi everyone!

I have one finish this week: Labyrinth Lost for the alliteration prompt. It's a Hispanic YA story (a bit of magical realism - it's about brujas) with a bisexual protagonist. I really enjoyed it. This was one of the books that wound up on a list I created for a culturally diverse YA LGBT book-finding project I did a few months ago, so I was happy to finally get to it.

In progress: I'm currently working on We Have Always Lived in the Castle for my antihero book, but it's not holding my attention as much as I'd like. I'm also starting Goldenrod as either my book I didn't get to in 2017, or next in a series. Not sure which yet. And I'm working on the audio of Snow Crash as my cyberpunk prompt, a book I DNF'd during last year's challenge. I think that's one of my personal challenges this year - to finish Snow Crash, haha.

QOTW: I have my general Goodreads challenge goal set at 60 books for this year (last year I read 62, so I feel that should be fairly attainable). I also had a goal of actually working on my TBR this year (last year I added a lot to my TBR, but didn't actually read much from it). I always try to throw in some backlist books or classics that I never read, and try to make sure there's plenty of culturally diverse reads in there as well. One other thing I've challenged myself to do is "read" more audiobooks. I used to really dislike them because my mind wanders, but sometimes frequent migraines and back/neck issues cause me to be unable to read for long periods. So, audiobooks are great for when that happens. And I find the more audiobooks I listen to, the more I like them.

[Jacque T]

Happy Thursday Everyone,

It has been a good reading week here in Texas.

Finished:
City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp for a book I intended to read in 2017. Even checked it out of the library, but did not read it until last week. Well written, informative and disheartening.
Mary Poppins for book that I've already seen the movie. Different from the movie. Mary is not as endearing or sweet, but I found I liked this version.
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare for an allegory. I enjoyed the book, but I haven't decided if I would recommend it or not.

Currently reading:
The Little Paris Bookshop for book in bookshop or library
White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, not sure of category yet.

QOTW: besides popsugar my goal is to read 100 books this year that are set in at least 40 different countries (as part of Around the World in 80 Books)

[Ruby]

This week I finished A Swiftly Tilting Planet and I've made some progress on The Complete Sherlock Holmes. I also plan on starting Letters from Paris for a book set in a country that fascinates you

QOTW:
Last year I made the goal to read 10 books so this year I've bumped it to 40 it's a big increase but I believe I'll be able to meet that goal since I'll be graduating this spring. I'll have more time to read for pleasure than for studying.

[Danielle]

Hi all! Wow I can’t believe how many books some of you can read in a week!

I’ve been reading Angela’s Ashes this week and finished it today. I enjoyed it, but I don’t know if it quite lived up to the hype, which caused me to set very high expectations. I’m going to use this for the celebrity book club prompt, as it is on the Rory Gilmore reading list.

Next week I’m going to try to tackle The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo for the Nordic Noir category.

As a very slow reader, who is working full time, my reading goal is not as high as many people on here. I’ve set my goal this year for 30 books. At minimum I’d like to read all of the books that I own that I haven’t read yet, which is about 17 books. I would be thrilled to finish the Popsugar challenge, but I know it’s not likely due to my reading speed!

[Johanne]

@Caitlin. There is no such thing as failure. You should read for your pleasure! Especially if you're out of the habit of reading, this should be your sole focus - to enjoy the reading, the stories, the characters. I am using a mixed range of books for this challenge, also children's books and graphic novels. I recommend anyone trying to get into the habit of reading to start off with something you really enjoy (maybe a graphic novel), a children's book or short stories so the length is achievable and won't choke you in the process. You can always start reading the longer, more difiicult, heavy classics that you wanted to read for ages, when you are back in the reading flow. Also - the tropes, characters, themes and genres that you find in literature in general, apply to children's books and graphic novels as well.

[T.]

I finished two books for the Challenge this week. Sun Storm for the Nordic noir prompt and How to Train Your Dragon for the book made into a movie I've already seen.

Currently reading Havemercy for the book by two authors. Making progress on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings on audio.

QotW:
The Popsugar challenge is pretty much the only reading goal I have for this year. 50 books is about all I can commit to with any hope of success.

[Isabell]

Hi from Germany,

I'm at 4/40 and 0/10 and the next book is already sitting beside my bed .

I started with Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space and was planning to use it maybe for feminism or the ethnicity prompt... I liked the trailer for the movie - same book cover, what could go wrong? After about 100 pages I gave up. The topic is fascinating, there is so much dedication and work in it but the writing is just not for me. It feels like work, it feels like writing up my thesis, it's facts without a lovely wrapup. So sorry, I wanted to like it.

I needed to cheer up. I filled the childhood classic with Otfried Preußler's 'Die kleine Hexe' - The little witch. It was 127 pages of joy.

Back on track I picked up Stieg Larssons Millenium #2 The Girl Who Played With Fire. The German title is 'Verdammnis' - damnation. I use it for the mental health prompt. I don't know what I was expecting when I picked it as a next in the row after the nordic noir monthly group read. It was very detailed and depictive (is this an actual english word???), I liked it, it gave me a lot of answers and I enjoyed the fast pace in this book. It's clearly not for everbody though.

QOTW
It is my first reading challenge here, so that is enough for me.
I hope to make it when times are getting busier...

Happy reading to all of you.

[Sonali]

I am still reading my 2nd and 3rd books for the challenge:

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer under the prompt "A book about death or grief", and

A Suitable Boy under " Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges"

[Kira]

Hi there!
I managed to finish the first two volumes of Paper Girls: Paper Girls, Vol. 1 and Paper Girls, Vol. 2 this week. They're both quick reads but I can't really be bothered otherwise during my exams.

However, I'm still reading
Prelude to Foundation. I started last week and it's a bit of a tough read. Really interesting and I've been wanting to read it for quite some time.
And I'm listening to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone while writing and working on my exam project!

Question of the week; Aside from the Popsugar challenge do you have any reading goals for 2018?
I didn't really do a great job at reading the past year so this Popsugar challenge intrigued me to read more in the new year. I see the prompts more as inspiration and not a guideline. This challenge has definitely pushed me to read more already so I hope it lasts the year!

Also, good luck to anyone sitting with their exams!

[Chrissie]

So, I've read a couple of books for this particular week that come under the Popsugar Prompts.

1). Red Queen (for the prompt involving a previous GoodReads winner)
2). The Good People (for the prompt involving a book tied to my ancestry - I've Irish ancestry).

Currently reading Midwives, which covers the prompt around my name. (Both start with "Chris")

As for reading challenges - I'm doing this one, the Read Harder challenge, and the Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge (I plan on reading 80 books this year). Quite a few prompts from the two reading challenges cover some of my TBR pile, so I'm going to be able to reduce it down a little. I'm a bit of a hoarder...

I'm also paying attention to how many pages I read this year - I'm kind of hoping to read 25,000 (which is more than I've read last year or the year before). But we'll see.

[Danielle]

My week has been really busy with a project for work but I got some reading time in

I finished Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index - I was going to read this for the borrow category but then I remember With a fruit or vegetable in the title.

I read Beautiful Broken Things - Alliteration in the title

Currently reading:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo— Nordic Noir

Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two - microhistory

A Quiet Kind of Thunder - meant to read in 2017 but didn’t

QOTW:

I am only doing this Challenge and the general reading amount challenge. I thought it would be enough to challenge and motivate me but not stress me out.

[Nadine in NY]

Danielle Spain wrote: "Went back to work this week so I’ve definitely slowed down my reading pace from the 3 books I read last week. The only book I finished this week was The Handmaid’s Tale, and I have to say I was sup..."

I agree on both counts! I was really disappointed in Handmaid, I didn't like the way it was written and I had a lot of issues with the "world-building" and I've never read another book by Atwood as a result (easy enough, when there are SO MANY other books I want to read! maybe I'll get back to her. Someday.)

And I agree, it's not a book "about feminism." But I think a lot of people have interpreted that prompt to be "a feminist book" - which really is a different thing. The Handmaid's Tale is "a feminist book" since it shows an extreme society in which women are not valued, in order to show what NOT to do and get the reader thinking about how our current society does actually have a few things in common with her fictional extreme society. But it's not "about feminism."

[Laura]

Books finished:

It by Stephen King.

Started pretty lukewarm but about 30% of the way in I couldn’t put it down. I am using it for a movie you have already seen prompt. Pretty different from the movie but I understand why they tried to make it one. After reading the book though I really don’t know if any filmmaker could really capture this book successfully.


Currently Reading:

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi.

I’m iffy on true crime, but I’ve been interested in the Manson family. I basically just like get hung up on the fact that seemingly well-adjusted people can fall into cults. So I mean it’s written about a subject I find interesting but not in a style/genre that I particularly love.

QOTW:

I’m just trying to get back into reading for pleasure after a long hiatus. So besides pop sugar I want to ALWAYS be reading something. Always be in the middle of a book this year. That way I can hold myself accountable. This challenge will just be the way to complete this goal.

[Sara]

Nadine wrote: "And I agree, it's not a book "about feminism." But I think a lot of people have interpreted that prompt to be "a feminist book" - which really is a different thing. The Handmaid's Tale is "a feminist book" since it shows an extreme society in which women are not valued, in order to show what NOT to do and get the reader thinking about how our current society does actually have a few things in common with her fictional extreme society. But it's not "about feminism." ..."


And it's the chosen monthly read for "a book about feminism" :/ Ah well, it will still be good for discussion as it brings about many strong opinions!

[Nadine in NY]

Caitlin wrote: "I.....failed this week. Read nothing for the challenge. I did read 3 graphic novels that had nothing to do with any of my challenges though! That’s reading! Total counts, right? Haha

QotW: My main..."

LOL! Yay for graphic novels!?

Sometimes when I'm stalled, I just need to read something short so I can check off a category and FEEL like I've made progress. For example, I'm planning to read a short story by James Tiptree Jr. for the "male pseudonym" category. She's known for her short stories, so it's a lot easier to find a short story by her than a full novel. Bonus, I found it free on-line!

[Conny]

I finished Die Entscheidung ("The Choice") by German author Charlotte Link, a thriller with a stronger "fugitive" element than her usual psychological suspense. I enjoyed it, but not as much as her other books.

Since Monday I've been reading Sleeping Beauties. I am using it for the feminism prompt, knowing full well that I am bending the category a bit, as it is not a book ABOUT feminism but rather a novel with a feminist theme (the same way "The Handmaid's Tale" isn't), but, honestly, I am not a non-fiction reader and I have a TBR pile that goes on for miles. This year I have been bending a number of categories to my will because I simply don't want to be required to get more new books than I'd already planned. In my first year (2015) I was super strict about the categories and even swapped one for the "A book with magic prompt" for another because my first choice was about ghosts and not "proper" magic with witches and wizards and such. I have proven to myself I can do it^^

QOTW: Aside from the Popsugar challenge do you have any reading goals for 2018?
Yes^^ I am also doing the Mount TBR challenge, which is all about decimating the pile of unread books. I have tried to fill as many prompts as possible for this one from my existing TBR pile. I have also pledged my usual 100 books a year on Goodreads, and I am determined to allow some re-reads, too, this year. I have not used re-reads for any challenges before, but I've been dying to re-read Harry Potter for a long time now, and I also really want to tackle the Great Chronological Stephen King Re-Read Project that some folks over at the Constant Reader group on Facebook are doing. But that might be something for next year. Maybe I should try to fill next year's prompts with Stephen King books ... :)

[Nadine in NY]

Sara wrote: "And it's the chosen monthly read for "a book about feminism" :/ Ah well, it will still be good for discussion as it brings about many strong opinions! ..."

LOL I had completely forgotten that! Well, a lot of people clearly are interpreting this prompt to be "a feminist book" :-)

[Ellie]

I've not finished any challenge books this week. it's one of those weeks where I'm reading both a paper book at home and an ebook out and about (because the paper book is too big for carrying around!).

For The next book in a series you started I'm currently reading A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab and my other book is Still Me by Jojo Moyes which fits A book that's published in 2018.

QOTW
I'm hosting my own science fiction versus fantasy bingo challenge so I'm doing that as well as Beat the Backlist (trying to pick as many challenge books off my TBR to help with this). I'm kinda doing Book Riot's Read Harder challenge but not really going out my way for it (like I did last year and I managed about two thirds). My Goodreads goal is set at 100 which is lower than normal because I don't like being told I'm behind for half the year!

[Crumb]

I finished the conclusion of Firefly Lane yesterday.. that book is called Fly Away.

Fly Away will fulfill reading a book about death or grief.

Today I am going to start The Chalk Man as a buddy read.

The only other goal I have for 2018 is to read 75 books, which is my Goodreads goal.

[Sheri]

A far as Handmaiden Tale goes, I'd say it's less a book ABOUT feminism, and more a book showing why feminism is necessary. I read it a while ago, so I'm not using it for the prompt. But I think it's an ok fit.

[Cendaquenta]

Conny wrote: "I am also doing the Mount TBR challenge, which is all about decimating the pile of unread books."

Oh, that sounds like a great challenge! I might join...

[Carmen]

Cendaquenta wrote: "Conny wrote: "I am also doing the Mount TBR challenge, which is all about decimating the pile of unread books."

Oh, that sounds like a great challenge! I might join..."

I use the Beat the Backlist Challenge to do just that! It divides you into teams so it has a nice competing element as well, without any pressure of course ;)

[SadieReadsAgain]

I'm still on book 1/50 ("set at sea"), 75% of the way through Moby-Dick or, The Whale. I struggled with it at first, and actually Googled whether you could skip the more technical whaling chapters and still understand the story! But I instead decided to read a study aid alongside it and have stuck with it and...it's growing on me...kinda.


Aside from the Popsugar challenge do you have any reading goals for 2018?

No! I am notorious for biting off more than I can chew, so even this challenge is probably going to be too much. I love to read, and I'm not slow at it. But with three kids (including a baby), a Masters, full time work from April onward, and fitness goals, my reading time is limited. I think even when I did have that magical thing called free time, 50 was the most I ever read in a year!

Though having said that, my ongoing aim is to read all the books I own. That's a reading challenge, I suppose. I try to choose from them for prompts before going elsewhere.

[Chloe]

I finished The Hate U Give for prompt 14 (by an author of a different ethnicity) at the beginning of this week, and today I read Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 for prompt 50 (recommended by someone else taking the PS challenge). I rated these books 5 stars and 1 star respectively, so that's a good start lol

This weekend I'm planning to read There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé for prompt 17 (given to you as a gift) and make a start on The Nowhere Girls for prompt 37 (meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to).

Aside from the Popsugar challenge do you have any reading goals for 2018?

I'm trying to read 50 books. I tried this last year and only got to 31, which is why I'm doing the PS challenge: I think I need some structure!

[Kaitlyn]

This week has been so busy doing the monotonous little things that tend to pop up in life. I started Eat, Pray, Love for my book whose movie I've already seen and am loving it so far. I am hoping that I will have some down time today to actually sit and read!

QOTW: I have dreams of being able to read for multiple challenges but at this point in my life it's not possible for me. I have an 18-month-old, 7-month-old, and one due in August so committing to one challenge seems ambitious enough for me!

[Lauren]

I just finished Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right and Sing, Unburied, Sing. I highly recommend both!

This year I'm actually aiming to read fewer books than last year (144). While I absolutely love books I feel like I'm missing out on other sources of information, so I'm trying to work in at least one podcast a week, which will replace some audiobook time.

I also signed up for this program, which will give me more print versions of books, when I do most of them on my kindle and overdrive audio now. Hopefully I can keep up with it!
https://www.nextbigideaclub.com/home

[John]

Hello all hope everybody's year is going well so far. This past week unfortunately everybody on my house caught the stomach bug going around so I didn't even feel like reading. I'm about halfway through "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and hopefully I'm going to finish it today.

Question of the day: I'm sticking to just the Popsugar reading challenge right now as I'm still trying to get into a decent reading regimen. I still have a mini self given challenge of trying to read the entire Millennium Trilogy by the end of the month but it's not looking good right now that I'll make that challenge. I am doing however the "Monthly reads" within the Popsugar challenge if that counts lol so I'm super excited to see the results of the next quarters poll.

[Jessica]

This has been a tough week; some personal stuff came up that slowed down my reading. But early this week, I did finish The Virgin Suicides for book made into a movie, and I am currently reading The Boy in the Suitcase for Nordic Noir. I am enjoying this, it has taken some interesting turns.

QOTW
Nope! This is my only challenge. Last year I read just above 30 books so completing the PopSugar challenge with all 50 books is my goal this year.

[Leona]

Question of the week:

Aside from the Popsugar challenge do you have any reading goals for 2018?

I want to read 50 books in 2018.
Also joined other challenges such as Clear the Shelves, Non-fiction, Turn the Pages, An Author's Work and more.
Reading Jean Auel's books for An Author's Work now.

[Melanie]

I have finished 3 books so far - Rules (given as a gift), Afternoon of the Elves (time of day in title), and now The Red Pony (favorite color). Rules was great! I teach special education so I enjoyed reading about life as the sister of a boy with autism. Afternoon of the Elves was terrible. It had no real ending and I couldn't tell you what the point of it was. The Red Pony was great for a while, but I felt it got very fragmented after the first chapter, and it also didn't have a real clear ending. I loved Of Mice and Men when I taught it, so had high hopes that this short Steinbeck book would also be good. It wasn't. :(

Up next for me: Trying to convince myself to read 1984 (ugly cover.....the Signet Classic edition in my classroom is super ugly) and or American Sniper (movie I've already seen) if my mom can find it and get it to me this weekend. Otherwise I'll check the school library for In Cold Blood for the true crime prompt.

Aside from the Popsugar challenge do you have any reading goals for 2018?
My main goal is to read all the books on my classroom library shelf. I feel like I should have read them so I can recommend good ones to students if they are looking for a book. So far this school year, I'm about halfway through the shelf but I keep adding books.

[Alisha Marie]

I've finished The Hazel Wood for a book published in 2018 and I thought it was just okay. I've also finished Bad Feminist for a book by an author with a different ethnicity than you as well as In Praise of Difficult Women: Life Lessons from 29 Heroines Who Dared to Break the Rules for a book about feminism. Liked Bad Feminist for the most part, really disliked In Praise of Difficult Women. I just started reading Meddling Kids and if I keep with it (the writing is a little weird), I'll use it for a book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist.

QOTW - Besides the Popsugar challenge, I'm hoping to read at least 40 books. I usually read more than that (last year my goal was 50 and I read 61), but I figured if I lowball it, it would give me a chance to read more non-fiction, more classics, and more long books...all of which have been lingering on my shelves for years.

[Kristel]

Hello everyone! I know I’m terribly late for this week’s check-in, but here I go.
This has been a slow week, since I managed to finish just this one book, although I have to say it was a gem. The hate u give. All the buzz people’s been saying about it is absolutely true. Read it! You’ll thank me.
Otherwise I’m working on a thousand-pages-long historical novel, which was a gift from a friend called Dime quién soy by Julia Navarro. It is really good but slow paced.
QOTW: I think I may have gotten a little carried away by getting myself in too many challenges but I have always liked to push myself. So besides this challenge, I’m also participating in the 2018 New Releases challenge, where I intend to read 2 new releases a month, the Cleaning up your TBR challenge (30 books), Serial Reader Challenge (love me some series, 50 books) and the Modern Mrs Darcy challenge. I will of course try to fit the books I read for more than 1 challenge.
Happy reading people!!!

[Amanda]

This week I finished The Tenant of Wildfell Hall for "female author who uses a male pseudonym". At one point or another, each Bronte sister published under a man's name so a friend doing this challenge with me decided we would both read a book from one of the sisters! I really enjoyed it as it was more of a page turner than expected in this genre and a bit scandalous as well.

I'm now picking back up The Blind Assassin which I started around Christmas but have not yet finished. I intended to read this for "a story within a story" 2017 prompt but now I'm twisting it to fit "your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, 2017 challenge prompts" ;)

QOTW: My personal goal outside of the PopSugar challenge is to read as much as possible from my unread shelf! I've been living overseas for the past 4 years so I haven't had the opportunity to read from my personal collection until now. I've always enjoyed going to used book stores and searching for treasures and I've been outbuying my reading speed. I'm following @theunreadshelf on Instagram and it's inspiring to see others with the same goal. When the PopSugar 2018 challenge was released, I immediately went through my personal library to find books to fit the prompts. I'm excited to see how strict I can stick to this plan!

[Christina]

This is my first check in for the year and my first reading challenge. I am having a lot of fun picking out books and seeing what everyone else is reading.

So far I finished After You. I had mixed feelings about Me Before You but I really liked some of the characters so I wanted to see what happened to them next. The book was sad (especially the first 1/3rd) but I found it to be a fast read and enjoyable in the end. I'm counting this for the "Next book in a series" prompt.

I am currently readingMidnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War for the "time of day in the title" prompt.

Also Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House for "favorite prompt from 2016-- political memoir".

And finally I'm listening to Claire Danes narrate The Handmaid's Tale-- she does a great job. I will probably count this for "a book about feminism".

QOTW-- I just want to read more and not get stuck if I'm not enjoying a book. My kids are 1 and 4 and I feel like I have a little more time to read now. Also I teach history and I would like to read more nonfiction this year.

[Brandon]

Books completed for week 2 (01/04 - 01/11)

A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym:


True crime: