2019 Challenge list is posted!

[Sara]

Popsugar has released the 2019 reading challenge!

You can find the list here:

https://www.popsugar.com/entertainmen...

For now, please use only this thread for initial discussion. First thing tomorrow we will start opening individual threads.

Any unauthorized threads started will be shut down Please have patience. I assure you we will get things up and running just as soon as we can.

[Steph]

Yay!!! I'm so excited!!!!

[Cendaquenta]

(ohmygod i'm pretty sure i suggested a few of these omg omg)

[The Chapter Conundrum (Stacey)]

I just saw they were up too and was about to pm you & Nadine in case you hadn't seen! lol

Excited to go check out the new list!

[SarahKat]

I'm excited to plan this!

I'm wondering if it actually means "astrology" terms or if they mean "astronomy"? I feel like astrology terms would just be the zodiac signs...

Also annoyed that I read or am reading a ton of books that fit a bunch of these prompts and I'll have to find whole different ones for next year! But at least I'll have some good ideas for the rest of you when the threads come up ;)

[poshpenny]

I'm pretty sure they mean astrology. I nearly hurt myself rolling my eyes.

[Shannon]

Hurrah!!!! Like many of you, I have been checking multiple times everyday for the past week!

[Abbie]

Lots of exciting prompts, and some I already know will be challenging for me! Of course one of my unplaced books from this year, Sweetbitter, would have had a perfect spot in 2019. At least I didn't know when I read it. Last year one of the last books I finished would've fit the "author with the same first or last name as you" prompt and I just wasn't paying attention. Now that's one of my last two prompts to finish for this year, although I've chosen a new release and am hoping to get my hands on it this weekend.

[Cat]

Can’t wait

[Chrissy]

I think I may just do the advanced challenge, given how much repetition there is between the main 40 and other challenges from this year or next. This year I bit off more than I will be able to finish, but 52 books for AtY + 10 books for Popsugar + 24 for Read Harder would be doable.

However! The repetition means I do have books to recommend to others! Looking forward to the individual threads.

[Dani]

I haven’t even read this list and I’m already excited!

[Amanda]

This one looks difficult!!! It’s going to be so much fun researching these books!!!

[Theresa]

Fun! I know I suggested some of tnose prompts, and I really hope I donxt regret it!

I definitely see some serious reading diversity in my future, a very good thing. And I have NYPL holds comimg up early bext year that will fill several.

[Dani]

I’m so excited to see that they suggested Night Film again this year!

[Emma]

I'm excited for the choose your own adventure, I was obsessed with them as a kid. I agree though that there are a lot of prompts very similar to this year

[The Chapter Conundrum (Stacey)]

poshpenny wrote: "I'm pretty sure they mean astrology. I nearly hurt myself rolling my eyes."

I think it's just been edited on the PS photo list and slideshow because they both say astrology (not astronomy) now!

[Jackie]

'Your favorite prompt from a past popsugar challenge'...aka a free read.

[El]

Really excited for next year's challenge! I'm so glad they brought back 'favourite prompt from a previous year'. I already have an idea for that prompt.

[The Chapter Conundrum (Stacey)]

I'm probably going to make it a /53 book challenge and do one from each year again :)

[Cendaquenta]

I think I'll use either "a book about an interesting woman" or "a book you bought on a trip" (both from 2017) for the past-challenge prompt.

[Loren]

Stacey wrote: "I'm probably going to make it a /53 book challenge and do one from each year again :)"
Same Stacey - I also did that this year. Will do it again - this year it's three more books!

[Charlotte]

I am so excited! Some of these categories will be a real challenge but I can't wait!

[Rachel]

My first reaction is a mix of very excited and a little disappointed -- probably because the very first prompt on the list is one that I feel has been done to death. This list is also very strangely conducive to my plan to re-read Harry Potter next year, which is great!

The reason I say I'm a bit disappointed is because (again, based on first impressions...and at about 1 am) is that several of the prompts are repeats (at least for me). It definitely seems like this list would be a bit more challenging to research compared to my other challenges so far, and I'm excited that the list is finally out since I was waiting for this one before I really started to seriously plan.

Of course, it's published during the one evening where I didn't bother to check since I didn't think it would be out tonight, lol!

Edit: I didn't even see the advanced prompts when I first commented! Wow, those are tough. I'm definitely going to need help on those.

[Hayley]

I like the list overall, but there are too many "with ______ in the title" prompts. The zodiac one, sweet/salty/bitter/spicy one and the pop/sugar/challenge one are way too limiting. And as if a book by two authors wasn't hard enough, now it's one with two female authors??

[Hayjay315]

I'm already researching possibilities for cli-fi and LitRPG and am looking forward to discovering new books while also (hopefully) getting some of them off my TBR.

It's going to be hard to figure out where I draw the line in terms of challenges this year as ATY's list was being viewed favorably by so many on here that I took a look and already committed to that one but have now committed to PS after seeing the list. I neglected the classics this year and to dive back in to those had planned to do the Books and Chocolate blog Back to the Classics challenge. I did enjoy Read Harder this year and was going to attempt that one along with doing Modern Mrs. Darcy again but feel 5 may be too ambitious.

[Anabell]

Nice to wake up to the new Reading challenge :-) Can't wait to go through it and find books and see all of your recommendations and ideas. Yay!
(Was supposed to sleep 1-2 more hours but went in to popsugar to see if it was released. Like I can sleep now... let the fun begin with a big bowl of tea :-)

[Johanne]

Arrgghh already late on my way to football with my youngest so no time to look! Can I cancel due to extraordinary circumstances?

[Anabell]

Johanne wrote: "Arrgghh already late on my way to football with my youngest so no time to look! Can I cancel due to extraordinary circumstances?"

Yes!

[Floor]

I'm pretty excited about the list because I can already see a lot of books I own will fit the prompts. Also, I didn't finish this year's challenge so the repetition isn't really an issue for me - I can probably even copy some of the books I chose for this year and use them for next year!

[Piajensen13]

Finally! We are a super impatient lot aren't we? Cant't wait to dig in and start finding books that fit the prompts. The hunt is half the fun - at least in the first half year or so, then it becomes annoying because nothing fits. But still, I am super excited about the 2019 Challenge.

[The Chapter Conundrum (Stacey)]

Does anyone else already have their list mostly planned? xD

[El]

Stacey wrote: "Does anyone else already have their list mostly planned? xD"

I meant to finish Catwoman: Soulstealer today. Not going to happen. I'm been searching books that fit the prompts and already have a few decided. Looking forward to the threads being opened, especially for all the difficult ones.

[The Chapter Conundrum (Stacey)]

El wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Does anyone else already have their list mostly planned? xD"

I meant to finish Catwoman: Soulstealer today. Not going to happen. I'm been searching books that fit th..."

for sure, me too! I'm having a difficult time finding good options for a couple...

"a book that inspired a common phrase or idiom" in particular seems difficult since I hate reading things that aren't in modern english....really trying to avoid Shakespeare and Dickens here!! xD

The only thing I've really found so far is that "tween" was from The Hobbit originally but I literally just read that in 2018! *facepalm*

edit* I also found out "Nerd" was originally from Dr. Seuss' If I Ran the Zoo...worse comes to worse I could sit down with my niece and nephew and read that for this prompt if I can't find a better option! haha

2nd edit: so the prompt specifically says idiom or phrase which both mean multiple words *sigh*....I may just go with something that I know was made popular by a book even though it very likely existed before..."you shall not pass" & "one does not simply" both by Tolkien in The Fellowship of the Ring

"May the odds be ever in your favour" is a something the Hunger Games made popular if anyone else is looking for an idea!

[Anabell]

El wrote: "SNot going to happen. I'm been searching books that fit the prompts and already have a few decided. Looking forward to the threads being opened, especially for all the difficult ones."

Same here. I am planning but there are some tough ones that I can't wait to see what others come up with or how they interpret it to fit them :-)

[[deleted user]]

Oh my God, I am way too excited about this. I actually leapt in my seat and yelled, causing my partner to roll her eyes (she's used to me doing odd book-related things). Have no idea yet for any categories and am looking forward to spending the rest of the day planning my list.

[Chrissie]

Some of these look really quite interesting...I should be able to clear some of the books on my (huge) TBR pile - I've got five shelves of books (two rows deep) that need to be read. So, that'll keep me interested this evening. Any prompts I can't find suggestions for I can use the library next year.

The prompts involving a reread of a favourite, the zodiac, a hobby and favourite popsugar prompt look especially interesting.

[The Chapter Conundrum (Stacey)]

the prompt threads are starting to come up, Sara is awake yay! :D

[Kerry]

Thank you for posting. I will be busy filling in my prompts today. 😀

[Stacy]

I am new here and this will be my first popsugar challenge, I cant wait to plan out what books to read.

[Alicia]

Here is a spreadsheet if anyone wants to use it (sorry, I figured out how to share it after I started adding titles)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

[Denise]

Alicia wrote: "Here is a spreadsheet if anyone wants to use it (sorry, I figured out how to share it after I started adding titles)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/......"

Thank you, Alicia! I was just wondering if anyone had done one yet.

[Reenah]

Hmm, I think I'll do the ATY challenge, and maybe spice it up with a handful of PS prompts.

[Edie]

Reenah wrote: "Hmm, I think I'll do the ATY challenge, and maybe spice it up with a handful of PS prompts."

Hayley wrote: "I like the list overall, but there are too many "with ______ in the title" prompts. The zodiac one, sweet/salty/bitter/spicy one and the pop/sugar/challenge one are way too limiting. And as if a bo..."

I also was struck by how many prompts were related to the title of the book, not positively. I look to challenges to broaden my reading in terms of genres, styles. This focus on titles provides an interesting scavenger hunt but not something that pushes me to read outside my comfort zone. Frankly this list makes me question whether I will participate in Popsugar this year. VERY disappointing.

[Edie]

Reenah wrote: "Hmm, I think I'll do the ATY challenge, and maybe spice it up with a handful of PS prompts."

I am definitely in for ATY and since I usually do several challenge may look for something to replace Popsugar, since the focus on titles is very off-putting to me.

[Sara]

Stacey wrote: "the prompt threads are starting to come up, Sara is awake yay! :D"

Lol, I was literally falling asleep when the list went up last night. It was all I could do to post a link before I crashed 😂

[Heather]

There are a couple prompts right at the top of the list that made me groan, so that colored my perception of the rest of the list. But reading through it again, I see a lot prompts that are flexible and could be filled by books from a bunch of different genres, which are the kinds of prompts I like best. I'm going to spend the morning going through my TBR shelf to see which books I should wait to read until next year.

[Rachelnyc]

Sara wrote: "Stacey wrote: "the prompt threads are starting to come up, Sara is awake yay! :D"

Lol, I was literally falling asleep when the list went up last night. It was all I could do to post a link before ..."

I saw your post and did a quick scan of the list right before going to bed and am super impressed that by the time I had a chance to log in this morning that the individual threads are already up! I guess my errands will have to wait so I can start planning!

[Mike]

Super excited that there are no "Read a book that's over 10,000 pages long" prompts.

(Slow reader)

[Stina]

Mike wrote: "Super excited that there are no "Read a book that's over 10,000 pages long" prompts.

(Slow reader)"

:-) Same here! I was worried when the page-counts kept inching upward every year.

[Stina]

Stacey wrote: "Does anyone else already have their list mostly planned? xD"

Just in my head. Is there a thread yet for posting our plans for the year? I looked and didn't see one, but maybe I'm not looking in the right section.