Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2019 Challenge - General
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Jamie
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Dec 25, 2018 10:04AM
Has any one got any recommendations for the 2019 challenge? I have no idea where to start this time around and could do with a slight nudge in the right direction. Thank you
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I put all the prompts on slips and put them in a jar, which I will pull from at random, because I wanted to let fate decide. if you want to start simple, I'd start with the category for the January group read!
I went through the categories and books from my TBR list and picked ones that fit. After that I started going through the suggestions in the category posts. I think that was helpful in finding books that I might not normally pick up. I’m not picking out mine all ahead of time, but I selected about a dozen to start with.
I spent hours looking at Listopia lists, and looking through the prompts on this group’s pages. Got lots of great ideas.
Just curious about everyone’s thoughts on double (triple? quadruple?) dipping?
Jamie wrote: "Has any one got any recommendations for the 2019 challenge? I have no idea where to start this time around and could do with a slight nudge in the right direction. Thank you"Where do you get most of your books from, Jamie? Are you going with ones you already own? If so I'd look at which ones you want to read some time in the next year and figure out if there are any obvious categories they fill for a start.
If you're a big library user (like me!), you can do the same with books you want to try to borrow next year. I also try to figure out which books the library has to fill the difficult prompts. Mine is just a small city library so it probably doesn't have as big of a catalogue as others but it can be a blessing when I'm trying to decide what to try for a prompt I'm unsure of.
Ann wrote: "Just curious about everyone’s thoughts on double (triple? quadruple?) dipping?"I allow myself to double dip a few books but if I’m making good progress I try to fill in as many as I can.
Rose wrote: "I'm super excited for this years Challenge. My question is can I start the Challenge Now if I finish in 2019?"
I've started already! Mainly because I read a book for a book club I'm in that includes imaginary creatures. That is not one of my favorite prompts so I want to count it!
Also, I've started because I finished the 2018 challenge in May (started in January) and I'm getting restless! I do plan to go a bit slower this year..
Ann wrote: "Just curious about everyone’s thoughts on double (triple? quadruple?) dipping?"I don't double dip within the challenge but I do double (triple, etc.) dip across other challenges since I am also doing ATY, Reading Women and trying to read the short list for the Tournament of Books.
However, if you don't generally read 50+ books, I see no reason why you shouldn't double dip here if that will help you complete the challenge.
Mod
Starting this year, my reading year is Christmas Eve to Christmas Eve. My family is American but we chose to participate in the Jólabókaflóð. So we all gave each other books for Christmas. And off I go!I feel like the challenge is individual and the main idea is to stretch and read new things, and hopefully get a little bit of community along the way.
Also, OP - Jamie, I think you were looking for general guidance? Specific books might be better found on the topics page. But just in case, I will recommend “The Graveyard Book”. Everyone I know that read it has really liked it. It’s a ghost story and has imaginary creatures.
Hello. I’m new to the group. I am wondering were everyone gets the books from. The suggested book for January 7 1/2 Deaths of Evenlyn Hardcastle; is checked out of my library. I really afford to purchase new books. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Ann wrote: "Just curious about everyone’s thoughts on double (triple? quadruple?) dipping?"The first year I tried to do the challenge I allowed for a book to fill multiple prompts, as I figured the point was just for my reading to include all of the things listed in the challenge, and it didn't really matter how. Plus, I thought I would barely read that many books, and wanted room for non-challenge reads as well.
I ended up reading a LOT more books than I had in recent years though, so rearranged things to fill each prompt with a separate book, just for the fun of it. Now that I now I can read that many books, I prefer to use a separate book for each prompt, because otherwise it's actually not much of a challenge.
So, it really depends on what your reading life looks like right now, and what you're trying to accomplish with the challenge. If you want to read more, it might make sense to hold yourself to one book per prompt. If you're just looking to explore different kinds of books, or think you'll have trouble reading enough books in the year, double dipping might work better.
Kimberly wrote: "Hello. I’m new to the group. I am wondering were everyone gets the books from. The suggested book for January 7 1/2 Deaths of Evenlyn Hardcastle; is checked out of my library. I really afford to pu..."I get most of my books from the library, and try to put holds on popular books as soon as I can, so I get them in a reasonable amount of time. (Or just wait several years instead. :-D) You could also see if your library has a kindle or audio version, and if you might be able to get that sooner. Or see how your interlibrary loan system works, as maybe another library in the area would have a copy that could be available sooner.
Or, if you're okay with reading on a screen, check the price in the kindle book. Sometimes they're just as much as the print book, but they're more likely to go on sale for $1-2 than the print book is.
Edited to add: Also, used book stores will often be flooded with copies of recently popular books, so checking there locally, or some of the used book websites like Abe's Books could work.
@ Jamie - I like to start the challenge on a positive note, so I begin with a prompt I'm excited about. I love science fiction, so I'll start with "a book set in space" this year. @ Ann - I have a rule for myself that books over 500 pages can be counted in two categories, and books over 800 pages can be counted in three. In the past, I've chosen shorter books to finish the challenge, but I haven't always enjoyed them. I would have rather read a longer book. It's my way of trying to balance number of books with time spent reading.
Help!!! - I flagged someones post without meaning to. How do I unflag?
Mod
hahaha I've done that!! I'm pretty sure you can just hit "cancel" while you're in the middle of it, or go back and click the flag again to undo.
The beginning of the year is great for me because I pick up ANY book I've had my eye on and usually it fits a prompt. By October-the end of the year I have to start being more strategic with my picks.
Kimberly wrote: "Hello. I’m new to the group. I am wondering were everyone gets the books from. The suggested book for January 7 1/2 Deaths of Evenlyn Hardcastle; is checked out of my library. I really afford to pu..."The monthly reads are chosen quarterly 3 months ahead of time to account for this (with the exception of January because the new list doesn’t come out until November). I would put the book on hold now, all versions: hardcopy, ebook, audio, etc. And see what comes first. You still might be able to get it by the end of January. The hold queues can move faster than you’d expect especially if there are multiple copies. For popular new books, libraries will often buy more copies.
I have the monthly reads on suspended holds until the month each is set for. I still move up the hold queue but once I get to the top I am skipped over until the date I set for the hold to become active. That way when the first of the month comes I’m first in line and ready to go.
Rachelnyc wrote: "I don't double dip within the challenge but I do double (triple, etc.) dip across other challenges since..."
I am so glad that you say you double dip across challenges. I am working on filling in the book ideas I have for all the prompts and many titles overlap across the various challenges I want to do next year. My goal is to have as many not overlap, but it will be difficult as the year progresses for some not to end up overlapping. :)
I love choosing the books each year - that may be my favorite part of the challenge. It is like a scavenger hunt. I've got a blog post each year with the covers of every book I've chosen. I consider that post a "living document" as I may change books and will write down when I'm currently reading something or have finished a book. Such fun!This year I've also got a monthly scheduled list of books I want to read for that month. I'm going for variety so each month I'll read recent fiction, classic fiction, nonfiction, YA ... etc...
I'm wondering how many prompts I can possibly cover with a single book. I'm in two challenges for a total of 62 prompts. I've read 64 books in 2018, but some books I've found for the 2019 challenges are huge and won't get read in a single week. I also don't want a bunch of single-prompt books because I want to leave room to read new books that don't fit any prompts other than "published in 2019" or "reread of a favorite book."I certainly won't quit reading if I finish all the prompts, but I want to finish all the prompts in the fewest number of books possible.
Hi, I'm new to the group as well. Where do I get a complete list of Challenge prompts?
Kathleen wrote: "Hi, I'm new to the group as well. Where do I get a complete list of Challenge prompts?"Try here for printable lists and spreadsheets: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
One thing that I have learned from doing reading challenges over the past couple of years--When in doubt, there is most likely an Agatha Christie book that will fit the prompt. It seriously is true at least 75% of the time.
Personally I don’t count books for the challenge unless I read the entire book, but I think others sometimes count DNFs depending on how much of the book they read (and how hard that prompt is for them to fill). It really depends on your own goals for the challenge and what rules best help you meet those goals.
Charlotte wrote: "I've DNF'd a book. Do I include that, or should I read something in it's place?"Your challenge, your choice! Do what feels best for you in your reading.
Mod
I have been tracking all the prompts for all the challenges I am participating in this year for each book as I finish reading them. Therefore, I have as many as 25 books listed to satisfy any one prompt. At year's end I will narrow these down to only one book per prompt and try to include as many books as I can, but it is amazing just how many prompts many of these books fulfill, at least in my world! :)
