Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

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2020 Challenge - Regular > 14 - A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name

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message 51: by KF-in-Georgia (new)

KF-in-Georgia | 117 comments For sci-fi readers: C.J. Cherryh


message 52: by Nadine in NY (new)

Nadine in NY Jones | 9719 comments Mod
KF-in-Georgia wrote: "For sci-fi readers: C.J. Cherryh"


Clever! I had not thought of her!

(How is her name pronounced, I've always wondered?! is it "shur-RAH"? that's how I say it in my head)


message 53: by KF-in-Georgia (new)

KF-in-Georgia | 117 comments Wikipedia says: "Cherryh (pronounced "Cherry") appended a silent "h" to her real name because her first editor, Donald A. Wollheim, felt that "Cherry" sounded too much like a romance writer.[3] She used only her initials, C.J., to disguise that she was female at a time when the majority of science fiction authors were male.[4]"

I'm on a Cherryh-binge right now, rereading everything of hers that I have. I'm on #8 of the Foreigner series; only 11 more to go to get ready for #20, coming in January.


message 54: by Amy (new)

Amy  | 44 comments I’m sorry if I missed this in the posts anywhere, but there is a type of plant called Atwood’s phalecia, so guess which author I’m using for this prompt?


message 55: by Lin (last edited Nov 17, 2019 08:30AM) (new)

Lin (linnola) | 47 comments I plan to read Quicksand by Iris Johansen. Or any one of her books that I’ve missed. I’m sure there is one in the Eve Duncan series that I haven’t read.


message 56: by Monica (new)

Monica (booksarelove) | 121 comments Tom Wolfe
Fern Michaels
Anne Spollen (if you consider pollen to be flora)


message 57: by Sarah (new)

Sarah (sarahbastien1) | 113 comments I restricted myself a bit with this one, so I didn't include authors whose names are only partially a flora/fauna name (like Naomi ALDERman) or were a flora/fauna but not spelled the same way (like Virginia WOOLF)- although I'm certainly not judging if you decide to go that route! Here are a few interesting titles I found or had on my TBR:

Cilka's Journey by HEATHER Morris
The Collector of Dying Breaths by M.J. ROSE
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by ROBIN Wall Kimmerer
Gives Light by ROSE Christo
The Gustav Sonata by ROSE Tremain
D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II by Sarah ROSE


message 58: by Sara (new)

Sara Chrissi wrote: "I may pick up Heather Morris's new book Cilka's Journey, something by Daisy Goodwin (Victoria), or The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker."

Yes, I was coming here to recommend Daisy Goodwin! I have read and enjoyed Victoria and I plan to read The American Heiress which is sitting on my shelf.


message 59: by Amanda (new)

Amanda Kendall (_pochemuchka_) | 13 comments I’m doing Recipe for Life by Mary Berry


message 60: by Sara (new)

Sara Amanda wrote: "I’m doing Recipe for Life by Mary Berry"

I heart Mary Berry :)


message 61: by Alex (new)

Alex of Yoe (alexandraofyoe) | 257 comments Ellie wrote: "SarahKat wrote: "I have questions:
would you count things like Fields and Woods?
Would you count things like Tom? I assume yes since Hart is counted.
Would you count Chuck or Jay? (woodchuck/blue j..."


I came here to ask specifically about Jay. Thanks!!


message 62: by Suzanne (new)

Suzanne | 24 comments I am going to use We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo.


message 63: by Sarah (new)

Sarah | 263 comments I'm going to plug in a favorite here and go with Bernard CORNwell.

Corn counts right?


message 64: by Lisa (new)

Lisa | 1 comments https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.... Looking forward to reading this.


message 65: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (mrshurd) | 33 comments This one is a good one! I bet I have more on my TBR I will have to look.
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
The Cruel Prince
The Princess Diarist
The Darkest Part of the Forest
The Royal We


message 66: by Kelly (new)

Kelly Raquet (rackett534) | 67 comments David wrote: "Can't believe I missed StepHEN King. That's me sorted!"

OMG I missed that too and I have at least 3 of his books on my TBR that I'm trying to fit into the challenge!! I was so proud of the ones i picked up on too, and this seems so obvious now haha


message 67: by Kelly (last edited Nov 21, 2019 05:26AM) (new)

Kelly Raquet (rackett534) | 67 comments Books on my TBR that fit:

The 5 Love Languages - GARy Chapman
Dune - Frank HERBert
We Were The Mulvaneys - Joyce Carol OATes
Alias Grace - Margaret AtWOOD
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane SETTERfield
Kitchen Confidential - ANThony Bourdain
Baby Teeth - Zoje STAGe

and as someone pointed out above that I completely missed, anything by StepHEN King

I like how strictly or loosely this prompt can be followed and the different interpretations everyone is coming up with!


message 68: by Luisa (new)

Luisa (deborahluisa) | 9 comments I only have one in my TBR
The Lost Girls by Heather Young


message 69: by Thomas (new)

Thomas I found this book written by a nine year old but it got published Daisy Ashwood is the writer (so Daisy) The Young Visiters


message 71: by Rebecca (new)

Rebecca Hancorne (angel6500) | 15 comments The Dragon Keeper
I LOVE these books.


message 73: by Carly (new)

Carly Friedman (carlykayreads) | 61 comments Would Barbara Kingsolver work? I’ve had The Poisonwood Bible on my TBR for so long!


message 74: by Nadine in NY (new)

Nadine in NY Jones | 9719 comments Mod
Carly wrote: "Would Barbara Kingsolver work? I’ve had The Poisonwood Bible on my TBR for so long!"

I can't think of an animal or plant that is in her name. Are you thinking of the "kingfisher" bird? or is there something I'm not seeing (entirely possible!!! I never saw the "hen" in Stephen!)?


message 75: by Kelsey (new)

Kelsey (kelseyannek) After having a copy sitting in my bedroom for months I will have an excuse to push Daisy Johnson's Everything Under to the front of my TBR.


message 76: by Rachael (new)

Rachael | 136 comments Gone through my previous challenge lists to provide suggestions

Mary Roach
John Carlin - Carlin is another name for pug, so a stretch, but I thought a carlin was a bird!
Karen Joy Fowler - Fowl
Norman Stone - Don't think this really counts
Fox Benwell
Sarah Waters - Again, wouldn't personally count it
Heather Rounds
Bob Woodward - Wood
Rivers Solomon - You know what, I'll leave whether the out there ones count to you guys
Margaret Atwood - Wood
Dave Gibbons
Ann Brashares - Hare
John Fowles - Fowl
Elizabeth Bear

Wow I did not have as many as I thought!


message 77: by Nadine in NY (new)

Nadine in NY Jones | 9719 comments Mod
I wouldn't count words for water, stone, or other minerals - they are neither fauna (animal) nor flora (plant). Maybe it helps to think of the old "animal, vegetable, mineral" version of Twenty Questions: "mineral" is its own category.


message 78: by Karin (last edited Nov 24, 2019 11:08AM) (new)

Karin Wow, love the creativity in the interpretations of flora and fauna in names! I am going to try to stick with the whole word BUT I don't care if it's a homonym and if the name has a different meaning altogether. That said, if push comes to shove or I get into a reading slump I'm going to borrow some of these ideas.

fluke--there are many meanings to this, but two of them are fauna--a kind of fish (all fluke is flounder but not all flounder is fluke) and then there are parasitic liver flukes, so Joanna Fluke counts.

BASSET is a surname, and there are basset hound


message 79: by Sarah (new)

Sarah (shadow2451) | 23 comments I'm using All the Tea in China by Sarah Rose.


message 81: by Pam (new)

Pam (bluegrasspam) I’m sticking with the name being the full word or part of a compound word but not an imbedded word. The authors I’m considering are Rose Tremain, Iris Murdoch (The Sea, The Sea) and Daisy Goodwin (The Fortune Hunter).


message 82: by Megan (new)

Megan Marvin (megslouise17) | 17 comments How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox
Sourdough by Robin Sloan
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Noggin by John Corey Whaley
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver


message 83: by Kristin (new)

Kristin (ladykristianna) | 11 comments Mine is The Warehouse by Rob Hart. 'Hart' being an adult male deer.


message 84: by Tanu (last edited Nov 28, 2019 02:32PM) (new)

Tanu (tanu_reads) | 115 comments Tracey wrote: "If you can get a hold of a copy, A Lifetime Of Impossible Days by Tabitha Bird is a wonderful debut novel. It's by an Australian so may be hard to come by for international readers but it's worth s..."

Thanks Tracey! I’m from Australia and have added it to my TBR!

For this one I might read The Rape of Nanking, if it’s not too confronting.


message 85: by Karin (new)

Karin Sarah wrote: "I'm using All the Tea in China by Sarah Rose."

You just reminded me of the following Roses:

Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose (play that the movie was based on)
Music & Silence by Rose Tremain (historical fiction)
The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood if you take wood with the meaning of " a dense growth of trees usually greater in extent than a grove and smaller than a forest —often used in plural but singular or plural in construction
b : woodland"


message 86: by Drakeryn (new)

Drakeryn | 708 comments Karin wrote: "Wow, love the creativity in the interpretations of flora and fauna in names! I am going to try to stick with the whole word BUT I don't care if it's a homonym and if the name has a different meanin..."

For myself, I'm not going to be this strict, but I want it to be something obvious. I'd be fine with something like Hawkins or Whaley. But I wouldn't pick StepHEN King (though I appreciate the cleverness of everyone who pointed it out!)


message 87: by Debra Diggs (last edited Nov 28, 2019 06:22PM) (new)

Debra Diggs I interpreted this prompt differently. Picked the book Sybil: The Classic True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities by Flora Rheta Schreiber. Then I saw everyone else's choices and went, "oh". So now I see many choices and may or may not use this book. Just wanted to show a different perspective.

Author's first name is Flora.


message 88: by L Y N N (new)

L Y N N (book_music_lvr) | 4909 comments Mod
Debra wrote: "I interpreted this prompt differently. Picked the book Sybil: The Classic True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities by Flora Rheta Schreiber. Then I saw e..."

I thought the same thing when I first read this prompt! :)


message 89: by Debra Diggs (new)

Debra Diggs Glad I am not the only one : )

When I read over the prompt, I still see it that way. lol.


message 90: by Line (last edited Nov 30, 2019 12:58AM) (new)

Line  | 14 comments Carly wrote: "Would Barbara Kingsolver work? I’ve had The Poisonwood Bible on my TBR for so long!"

BARB is both a breed of fish and several other things in the fauna category https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barb

BARBARA is a species of moth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara...

ARA is a parrot/Macaw https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ara_(ge...

so I say she fits perfectly


message 91: by Nadine in NY (new)

Nadine in NY Jones | 9719 comments Mod
See I knew there was something I was missing!!! I know what a barb is and I didn’t even see that in Barbara.


message 92: by Karin (last edited Nov 30, 2019 01:52PM) (new)

Karin Drakeryn wrote: "Karin wrote: "Wow, love the creativity in the interpretations of flora and fauna in names! I am going to try to stick with the whole word BUT I don't care if it's a homonym and if the name has a di..."

Ah, now I see how Stephens got in there--yes, that's more than I would go as well, but it is fairly observant--perhaps this his how Tracy Chevalier got in there, but since the word Chevalier means cavalier in English I am guessing that they are using the French word for horse which is fair game since I may use Bjorn which means bear in at least 2 languages). Since I find this a fairly easy one, I am going to be fairly strict--I will be more flexible in ones I find more challengin:) I don't mind homonyms since they are spelled the same, but am not likely to do homophones unless it's an obvious variation in spelling. (for those who, like me, were taught is a way where homophones were called homonyms for some unknown, not-etymologically correct reason, by homophones I mean things like to, too and two) BUT the only reason I'm being strict is because this is going to be an easy one for me.

Also, now I see why Strout is in there--that was another one that was perplexing me.


message 93: by SadieReadsAgain (last edited Dec 04, 2019 07:19AM) (new)

SadieReadsAgain (sadiestartsagain) | 767 comments I really wanted to be on the nose with this one (ie the whole word, and something flora/fauna that I actually knew of without having to Google it). But I'm also trying to restrict to my owned TBR as much as possible. So, the only option I have is Binge by Tyler Oakley...which is doubly frustrating as this is probably the only one I own that will comfortably fit prompt #15 too, and I don't double dip!


message 94: by Drakeryn (new)

Drakeryn | 708 comments Tracey wrote: "I personally think the flora or fauna should be the whole of the first or last name, not part of it or different spelling."

Here's how I see it: If the prompt said they needed flora/fauna AS their name, it should be the whole of the name. But since the prompt says IN their name, it's just got to be in there somewhere. I don't see it as playing fast and loose with the prompt, as long as it's literally in there (no different spellings).


Sarah wrote: "I really wanted to be on the nose with this one (ie the whole word, and something f/f that I actually knew of without having to Google it)."

If you're taking recs, The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher is f/f.


message 95: by Nadine in NY (new)

Nadine in NY Jones | 9719 comments Mod
Drakeryn wrote: "Here's how I see it: If the prompt said they needed flora/fauna AS their name, it should be the whole of the name. But since the prompt says IN their name, it's just got to be in there somewhere. I don't see it as playing fast and loose with the prompt, as long as it's literally in there (no different spellings).
..."



That's exactly how I see it, too!!

But since I have soooooo many options, I've restricted myself to only authors whose first or last name are a plant or animal. (Even with this restriction, I have too many choices.) But that's just my restriction, and I think reading an author named Stephen or Strout or Turose, etc, is equally valid.


message 96: by Zoe (new)

Zoe (zoemmaude) | 31 comments I've had this on my shelf for ages - do you have any books by a Rosa?

Comrade Corbyn: A Very Unlikely Coup: How Jeremy Corbyn Stormed to the Labour Leadership


message 97: by SadieReadsAgain (new)

SadieReadsAgain (sadiestartsagain) | 767 comments Drakeryn wrote: Sarah wrote: "I really wanted to be on the nose with this one (ie the whole word, and something f/f that I actually knew of without having to Google it)."

If you're taking recs, The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher is f/f."



Oops, I didn't mean to steal terminology - I meant flora/fauna, I was just being lazy! But the more recs the merrier :)


message 98: by Stacey (new)

Stacey Menzel | 6 comments I have been wanting to read The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny for ages! I'm going to read it for this prompt :)


message 99: by Ellyn (new)

Ellyn (311yn) | 10 comments Margaret Atwood, good for this or not so much? I'm trying to double dip as much as possible and I've got The Testaments in like three other categories, I think.


message 100: by Drakeryn (new)

Drakeryn | 708 comments Sarah wrote: "Oops, I didn't mean to steal terminology - I meant flora/fauna, I was just being lazy! But the more recs the merrier :)"

Oh whoops, haha. Last year there was someone who wanted to read LGBT books for all the prompts so I thought you might be doing a similar extra challenge.


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