2019 Challenge - Thoughts and opinion

[Ellie]

Nadine wrote: "I have this on my TBR: Sweet Fruit, Sour Land - I can't personally recommend since I haven't read it yet, but it's literary dystopian, so it fits your genre request...."

That's the one I used. I liked it, but it's kind of realistic dystopia if that makes sense. Everyone's obsessed with being hungry (except for the elite) and it kinda felt like a future of Britain that could happen.

[Johanne]

I have flagged comment 52

[Nadine in NY]

I removed “him” from this group - hopefully that ends the spamming.

[Johanne]

Thanks

[Johanna]

I've done the Popsugar Challenge each year it has been out and each year get further through the challenge. What I especially love is this group here. I love reading through everyone else's suggestions because for some prompts, I have absolutely no idea what to read.

I hate the very genre-specific themes (this year's Lit RPG, last year's Cyberpunk). I get that the idea is to broaden your horizons through reading, but these are the reasons I never finish the challenges.

[K.L.]

This is my third time participating in the Popsugar Reading Challenge, and each time I've come away with mixed feelings about the prompts. While I enjoy the experience as a whole, I always encounter a few prompts that I find tedious. I generally don't plan my yearly reading in advance, and I take frequent breaks from the challenge to read according to my interests (rather than to fulfill a prompt).

My favorite prompts have been ones that have given me the opportunity to explore unfamiliar genres, or that have introduced me to new authors from other parts of the world. I also enjoy prompts that allow for a wide range of reading choices. I actually would enjoy having a few more nonfiction prompts included in next year's challenge, perhaps as part of the "Advanced" list.

This year I found myself disliking the specificity of some of the prompts. I prefer to choose my reading material based on the plot, so searching for books that contained specific words in their titles was not enjoyable. And, like so many other members have written, I am also tired of reading books that are going to be (or have been) turned into movies. If there has to be a movie related prompt, could it allow us to read a book about the making of a movie or television show instead?

I also think it would be beneficial to choose genre prompts that have a large range of library-available titles to choose from. While I found several LitRPG titles that looked promising on Amazon, I was unable to find any of them at my local library, which was disappointing.

[Conny]

I have joined, and completed, every PS Challenge since 2015 and have found myself to become less strict about category wording as I progressed. Like most others, it is the scavenger hunt aspect that I enjoy most, looking at books from different angles to see if they fit a certain prompt.
I try to stick to books from my huge TBR as much as I can, so while I enjoy occasional prompts that require me to go out of my comfort zone, I do prefer a healthy mix of broad and specific prompts. I do nit want to be required to get too many new books just to fill a prompt.
I find prompts problematic which require detailed knowledge of the plot and/or ending to be filled (like the unreliable narrator one from 2016, I believe). Not only does it make it harder to plan ahead (which I love to do), it also makes suggestions for that prompt somewhat spoiler-ish!
I have not particulary minded rhe repeated movie prompts, but I would definitely welcome some more variety (perhaps broaden it to adaotations in general, including film, TV, Netflix, and stage).
I am not a great reader of nonfiction, so more prompts in that regard would be problematic for me, but there are many prompts that fit both fiction and nonfiction (for starters, anything title/author/publication/cover-related), so I don't see why people who prefer nonfiction don't just use nonfiction for those :)

This year I particularly enjoyed the "Read a book during the season it is set in" prompt -- it maximizes immersion to read a book set during a blizzard while there is snow outside my own window, too^^

[Marianne]

I absolutely love the thrill of searching for books that fit categories. I have so many books on my To Read list and it's a nice way to force me to check some off. it's also a good way for me to expand my genres read. I have a friend as well as my mom who I always do the challenges with and it's fun to share ideas with them. The challenge opens our dialogue about books and also allows me to give and take suggestions for books that aren't in our normal reading.

[Amy J.]

I'm sure it's too late for input at this point, but I hate seeing the "posthumous" book prompts.

[Ellie]

Conny wrote: "there are many prompts that fit both fiction and nonfiction (for starters, anything title/author/publication/cover-related), so I don't see why people who prefer nonfiction don't just use nonfiction for those :)..."

The list is geared towards fiction readers, with many prompts nigh on impossible to fit a non-fiction book to (unless you'll read anything and still if it says novel or fiction, that's what you've got to read). I'm not suggesting they change things for non-fiction readers, but this challenge isn't a great one for increasing non-fiction consumption.

[Conny]

Ellie wrote: "The list is geared towards fiction readers, with many prompts nigh on impossible to fit a non-fiction book to (unless you'll read anything and still if it says novel or fiction, that's what you've got to read). I'm not suggesting they change things for non-fiction readers, but this challenge isn't a great one for increasing non-fiction consumption."

True enough, yes. But that's just the thing, the list is geared towards fiction readers, and I believe that is exactly what it is intended for. Perhaps there are other challenges that are more inclusive towards non-fiction? I personally do not usually read non-fiction for pleasure (which is my number one reason for reading), so if the PS Challenge swung more towards non-fiction I would probably abandon it. There is a fundamental difference, I believe, between trying out new genres (in fiction) and switching from reading fiction to nonfiction. It takes a different kind of reader.
I don't mean to be dismissive or anything, and I think it's good that a few prompts call for non-fiction, don't get me wrong! I just would not enjoy a challenge which becomes too heavy on non-fiction because it takes a different approach to reading.