Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2021 Challenge - General
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The list is out!!!
Jenny Dahl Bakken wrote: "It annoys me every time that they don't have a simpler list - I have my own system, I use another book tracking page (a Norwegian one) for all my challenges. I need to copy/paste the challenge into..."Here's the list with the numbers stripped out. Does this help?
A book that's published in 2021
An Afrofuturist book
A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover
A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign
A dark academia book
A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title
A book where the main character works at your current or dream job
A book that has won the Women's Prize For Fiction
A book with a family tree
A bestseller from the s
A book about forgetting
A book you have seen on someone's bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.)
A locked-room mystery
A book set in a restaurant
A book with a black-and-white cover
A book by an Indigenous author
A book that has the same title as a song
A book about a subject you are passionate about
A book that discusses body positivity
A book found on a Black Lives Matter reading list
A genre hybrid
A book set mostly or entirely outdoors
A book with something broken on the cover
A book by a Muslim American author
A book that was published anonymously
A book with an oxymoron in the title
A book about do-overs or fresh starts
A magical realism book
A book set in multiple countries
A book set somewhere you'd like to visit in
A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality
A book whose title starts with "Q," "X," or "Z"
A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child)
A book about a social justice issue
A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels)
A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads
A book you think your best friend would like
A book about art or an artist
A book everyone seems to have read but you
Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list
The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list
The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover
The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover
The book that's been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time
A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn't
A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing
A book from your TBR list chosen at random
A DNF book from your TBR list
A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library)
Laura wrote: "Is it just me or did the thread to post our 2021 lists disappear?"Carol wrote: "It is not just you. It is gone."
nooo I had such a good slot in that topic too
Mod
time to make an army of alts just for posting the yearly Popsugar topics"
LOL!
Mod
Many many many expetives are being screamed by me...all in my mind, of course, since I am at work, but nonetheless...many many many expletives!!!! Nadine and I will try to post as we can throughout the day I guess. We both contacted Goodreads... Damn you, Jeff Bezos! :) How would he like to be limited to 3 comments per hour! LOL
Lynn wrote: "SarahKat wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I'm getting a Goodreads error when I try to create new discussion posts for each category - if everyone can contain their excitement to the few posts I was able to c..."Yep! The buddy reads mods have had a lot of fun with it the last 2 months in the Reading Challenge group ;) . We all contacted Goodreads too.
Drakeryn wrote: "Laura wrote: "Is it just me or did the thread to post our 2021 lists disappear?"Carol wrote: "It is not just you. It is gone."
nooo I had such a good slot in that topic too"
I know! I was super proud of myself for lurking all morning and getting the first slot after Carol posted it!
EDIT: IT'S BACK!
I'm really excited about this year's list. I have no idea what I will read for at least half the prompts and that is exactly what I love about this challenge!! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else is reading and what books we discover this year!
Are authors allowed to suggest books that fit a particular challenge?
To be honest, I’m not loving this year’s list, and can tell I won’t do as well as I have this year (currently 48/50, best I’ve ever done). Too many “restrictive” criteria, which is ironic since so many people this year have said it’s one thing they truly dislike. With the exception of three books, all my 2020 books came from Mount TBR, so that isn’t an issue. The question is whether I can actually find books in Mount TBR for some of this year’s. 😕
The one challenge I really don't like is the zodiac one. I really struggled to figure out when authors were born for the Author in their 20's prompt from this year.
I think the list is great. Excited about using my TBR list so much. And love the categories that are challenging. That's one of the most wonderful parts of this challenge for me. "book by a blogger/ vlogger/booktuber/online personality does seem daunting. I refuse to waste my time reading something poorly written...but, people who do pop sugar challenge help each other out. And I plan to explore some blogs, vlogs, booktubes....my son is very involved in new technology. He teaches this at San Fran State. I bet he has some great suggestions.
Douglas wrote: "Are authors allowed to suggest books that fit a particular challenge?"I don't see why not! I'm happy for all suggestions.
I am so excited, I know what I’m doing the next few days...
“book by a blogger/ vlogger/booktuber/online personality does seem daunting.”Jane — I’ll post this in the appropriate thread if/when it’s up, but try I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel. She has a couple other books as well, but I read this one last year and loved it.
I wasn’t planning to take part this year until I saw the advanced list. Since I was planning to read my TBR owned shelf this year instead I figured I might as well do the Advanced list and then see how many of the others I can work what I’m reading into.
Eeeeeeeee, I'm so happy that one of my suggested prompts made the list! (A book written by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube content creator, or other online personality)
Kenya wrote: "Eeeeeeeee, I'm so happy that one of my suggested prompts made the list! (A book written by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube content creator, or other online personality)"Oh, maybe you can help me with finding a book by a BIPOC author that fits this one then? :) I don't know about many online personalities...
As a disorganized, ADD, never-had-a-TBR-in-my-life person, the advanced prompts feel like a slap in the face. I started doing this challenge two years ago and it's made reading more accessible to me, particularly reading more new books, but this is completely inaccessible to me. And since most people seem to love it, I feel shitty about hating it. So, in summary, this stinks.
I love that some of the suggested books are older and classics.
Kelly wrote: "As a disorganized, ADD, never-had-a-TBR-in-my-life person, the advanced prompts feel like a slap in the face. I started doing this challenge two years ago and it's made reading more accessible to m..."Would it help if we had a thread where a bunch of us posted our favorite books, and folks without TBRs could use that as a stand-in for a TBR to pull from?
@Kelly, you can absolutely hate it. People are different, that's the beauty of it.Maybe you can skip the TBR part and remake them into 'a short book', 'a long book', 'a pretty cover' etc?
So exciting! Just going to start making my new list now. Will do the regular challenge, not sure if I'll do the advanced prompts yet or not. My initial reactions are that I love quite a few of the prompts - A book about forgetting, a locked room mystery, book with something broken on the cover, a book set mostly or entirely outdoors, a book about do-overs or fresh starts etc!
"...or listening to a book that has an ensemble cast if most books you listen to typically have just one narrator."I love this idea! One year, I listened to The BBC Recording of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith, and even though I had read all the books before, I really enjoyed this Dramatization of the books! (There are 4 of them in this series).
Really dislike the DNF prompt; presumably I DNF'd it because I wasn't enjoying it, so why would I want to go back to it when I could move on to something I would enjoy instead?
Thinking a bit on it, I think I'll start off the advanced prompts with picking from my physical TBR (double stacked shelf with 'soon' TBR books).
Oh yeah, and for the DNF I think it's legit to count the book I've been 'currently reading' since 2015 ... and actually finish it :D
Nothing I really hate, and plenty to be curious about. I'm definitely going to stick a score through "American" on the Muslim American prompt, though, as I think it's more valuable for me to read one by someone from my own country.I don't understand why the prompt needed to be explicitly "American" rather than something more internationally inclusive.
(I get that there's no Reading Challenge Police, but the US-centrism on many of the lists gets wearing at times...)
Kristy wrote: "I see "another format" made the list despite many, MANY people here and on the FB group asking them to not do it because it's ableism."To be fair, even if you're just restricted to audio you could try out a graphic audio or even just a full cast audio instead! :)
If you're in a situation where you just can't with audio or ebooks you could always go for a different format of physically printed book too (lots of people don't typically read mass market pb or only like paperbacks and don't do tall hardcovers.)
If you typically only read ebooks because that's what accessible to you then you could try a new platform for that - like try an ebook through scribd or kobo app, ibooks app, google play books instead of the typical kindle etc.
Another thought is to have someone read with you and have them read it to you a little bit! I might count something that my niece or nephew reads to me!
You could also interpret the prompt to be try a different way of accessing books - if you typically used audible try your library or scribd, if you typically use kindle then try one of the other ebook services etc. Ebooks and audiobooks are saved in different file formats on different apps/sites so it can definitely be interpreted as a different format. ;)
As someone with a disability who is sometimes challenged with reading and what formats i'm able to read depending on how i'm feeling, I think that there is still plenty of flexibility here for those willing to get creative! :) I could understand why this prompt comes across as dismissive of disability at first glance especially because the examples they listed would seem to be for people who are able to read in many formats but I think by now most of us are masters at figuring out creative solutions/how to make it work! With a little thought, I don't think it's going to truly alienate anyone.
I really only DNF a book if I truly don't want to read it and I take it off my TBR when I DNF. I may just go with a 'did not finish' in the sense of a book I just didn't finish by the time December is over. Since I'm in a buddy read that is splitting a longer read over December and January, I definitely will have at least one book not getting finished this year.
Chelsea wrote: "Really dislike the DNF prompt; presumably I DNF'd it because I wasn't enjoying it, so why would I want to go back to it when I could move on to something I would enjoy instead?"Chelsea - I don't like this one either. I actually have a shelf for DNF so I don't ever go back to them! I'm going to think about it this way, all books on my TBR list are currently DNF because they haven't been started yet😂
poshpenny wrote: ":::muppet flail:::"OMG, I've never heard that phrase used, but I know exactly what you mean and now I'm going to use it all over the place!!!
I also want to take a minute to mention by a booktuber/vlogger etc. prompt since I think a few people here seem daunted by that.Off hand I already know about a few authors turned booktubers just within the adult SFF community alone:
-Merphy Napier Perfection
-Elliot Brooks Peace and Turmoil
-Jessie Mae The Paladin
-Andrew from "Get Write On In" Immortality Awaits
-Brain Lee Durfee The Forgetting Moon
If you want to argue that authors who have done interviews on booktube channels (so they have been on booktube channels even though they don't neccesarily have their own channel but they have some booktube/vlog experience and have certainly been "online personality" and had a hand in "youtube video creator" (since their content/input is necessary to create that video) within that community) that opens up a whole new giant massive list! (Some I know of within the SFF community who have done interviews with booktubers through their channels just within the last year):
Evan Winter
R.F. Kuang
Christopher Paolini
Brandon Sanderson
Joe Abercrombie
Steven Erikson
Fonda Lee
Brent Weeks
K.S. Villoso
Jim Butcher
Booktubers who have narrated audiobooks for other authors could still arguably count because the prompt doesn't specifically say "written by" it just says "by" so I would argue "performed by" should count if you go with that format! One I know of in that category would be:
Elf Mastery (the audio was narrated by Merphy Napier)
There's also a whole can of worms if you extend the booktube community to include what's known as authortube (authors who make channels based on bookish content and writing that isn't necessarily about reading/reviewing books) or if you just open it to anyone with a "Youtube Video Creator" as in the prompt! I would consider them partly booktuber and partly vlogger and certainly online personality + youtube video creator! In that case there are some mainstream people and less mainstream people (mostly I haven't delved into this community) but I happen to know that Brandon Sanderson for example has his own channel where he goes into worldbuilding and writing workshops and things! :) I feel like a ton of these would come up if you search up authortube tag type videos or even just authortube in general!
There are tons out there and this prompt won't be anywhere near as scary as it seems right now with a little research! This is just what I know of offhand within adult SFF online youtube community and there are still people I missed + loads of other genres out there! :)
Deborah wrote: "I really only DNF a book if I truly don't want to read it and I take it off my TBR when I DNF. I may just go with a 'did not finish' in the sense of a book I just didn't finish by the time December..."Ooh, I like that way of thinking about that one, too.
I'm generally pretty excited about the list!! There's a few that will be hard for me to fulfill, but since I never finish anyway.... no worries!And I love that the advanced prompts are from Mt. TBR!!
And they used one of my suggestions!! A gem, rock or mineral in the title. Methinks I should have had some plans before spouting off topics....
By the way, I freely offer myself to anyone who needs someone else for a prompt. Browse my TBR, let me pinch hit as your best friend, I'll take a picture of my book case and send it to you.... :D
Yay for new list! Looks fun.My post list for 2019 was #179 and for 2020 was #180. Thought it would be fun to see if I could get this year's list at #181. But got tired of waiting, so am #95 for this year. :D
Mod
Maybe you can skip the TBR part and remake them into 'a short book', 'a long book', 'a pretty cover' etc?"
That is what I would do. Adjust to suit my circumstances. It is YOUR challenge after all!
Mod
Oh, my! I am definitely laughing out loud! Sounds like me! :)
Mod
Off hand I already know about a few authors turned booktubers just ..."
Hank Green and John Green sprang to my mind!
Mod
OMG, I've never heard that phrase used, but I know exactly what you mean and now I'm going to use it all over the place!!!"
I agree. Love it, poshpenny! :)
Kendra wrote: "The one challenge I really don't like is the zodiac one. I really struggled to figure out when authors were born for the Author in their 20's prompt from this year."If I don't stumble across someone born in late April to May, I'm thinking I'm going to bend that one to a more general astrological theme. I'm a Taurus, so either a book with or about bulls, Venus, green, etc.
Kelly wrote: "As a disorganized, ADD, never-had-a-TBR-in-my-life person, the advanced prompts feel like a slap in the face. I started doing this challenge two years ago and it's made reading more accessible to m..."My best recommendation, if you don't want to start a TBR list (because I understand the problems that can create with ADD and perfectionism!), is to find someone that seems to have similar tastes in books, and use their GR TBR list to fulfill those prompts.
And cheating is completely acceptable!
Erica wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I love the advanced list too. I have to say- the prompt for book by a blogger/vlogger/booktuber/online personality I am not just unexcited about but flat out noped it. I'm thinking ..."
John Green has a YouTube show called "Crash Course History" - he might be a good YA author to check out.
try an ebook through scribd or kobo app, ibooks app, google play books instead of the typical kindle etc.Yeah, the problem with kobo app, google play, and ibooks is they are not readable (as far as I can tell) on my kindle.
I had an issue ordering e-books from Avon's imprint earlier this year. I didn't realize when I bought them they only work on their proprietary app, Glose, which doesn't work on my Kindle, so I basically tossed $15 in the trash.
I pre-ordered another e-book direct from a small publisher, and I was able to convert it to work on my Kindle, but it was a huge PITA, so I won't be doing that ever again.
Wow! This is an awesome list! I think these are some of my fave prompts since I started doing challenges a few years ago. I love love love that the advanced portion is all TBR challenges. I can't wait to get started. Just one more reason to look forward to the New Year.Thanks and have a lovely Holiday!
Have I mentioned how much I love this day? Setting up new lists is my idea of heaven. Good thing I'm not very busy at work today.
Emma wrote: "Nothing I really hate, and plenty to be curious about. I'm definitely going to stick a score through "American" on the Muslim American prompt, though, as I think it's more valuable for me to read one by someone from my own country.I don't understand why the prompt needed to be explicitly "American" rather than something more internationally inclusive.."
I thought the same thing, and I'm American. No reason why it couldn't have just said Muslim. Of course everyone can take it however they want anyway. I may just block out "American" on my list.
Overall, I am more happy than not with this list of prompts. It will stretch me in some ways, and the ones that seem impossible can be adjusted to make them doable or fun.
Kristy wrote: "try an ebook through scribd or kobo app, ibooks app, google play books instead of the typical kindle etc.Yeah, the problem with kobo app, google play, and ibooks is they are not readable (as far ..."
They should work on a phone or any apple/android tablet though if that's how someone is accessing their kindle ebooks! :) I think there's only 1 version of an actual kindle that allows external apps sadly?
Other options for anyone that is solely limited to kindle ebooks could be:
a) have Alexa read them one of their kindle ebooks (or a portion of it)
b) get a bind up edition or an omnibus edition of something
c) a novel in verse or poetry even
d) a graphic novel or manga
e) read with someone else and read aloud with them or have them read to you
f) an illustrated edition or an ebook that includes many illustrations
g) read a play or manuscript
optional/sometimes works: h) a self published book - many of them have different formatting and are considered to be formatted like manuscripts instead of books
beyond all of that there are still books like Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters that take out letters on purpose as the story goes on - no idea what to call that formatting but it could certainly work too or Horrorstör which is formatted like an Ikea magazine
Also, a lot of LitRPG books (although not Ready Player One/Two) include special formatting for character stat charts throughout the story! :)
There's also the option of using a PC for audiobook or ebook too. You can use the PC version of audible or scribd and there are also sites like project free gutenburg etc. where you can get the ebook or audiobook for things that are too old to be copyrighted or sites/apps like webtoon where you can read segments of graphic novels.
I really still feel like this prompt is accessible to everyone in some way and that people will figure out a workable solution no matter what their restrictions are! :)
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Axiom's End (other topics)Horrorstör (other topics)
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters (other topics)
Elf Mastery (other topics)
Immortality Awaits (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Hank Green (other topics)John Green (other topics)
Jim Butcher (other topics)
K.S. Villoso (other topics)
Evan Winter (other topics)
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Looks like some overlap with the ATY2021, which is cool.
It also looks like nearly all of them are adaptable for my daughter, who does the challenge with me. I read to her and help her track her checklist as a sticker chart, and it's a good way to make sure we aren't just reading her the same 3 picture books again and again for bedtime. Dark Academia might be tricky for an autistic 7 year old though. :D