Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2021 Challenge - Regular
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35 - A book in a different format than what you normally read
Well as luck would ahve it One of my co-workers lent me her copy of Der Schwarm in audiobook formatReading German for me (3rd language) is really slow but listening is good. So that one I will be using
Gilraens wrote: "Well as luck would ahve it One of my co-workers lent me her copy of Der Schwarm in audiobook formatReading German for me (3rd language) is really slow but listening is good. So that one I will be ..."
That's great! Do you use it for this prompt because you usually don't listen to audiobooks or read in this language? Because I'm wondering if only the language would count. I'm also planning to read some books in Italian which I started to learn a few months ago (German is my native language). :)
Audiobooks are not my usual format and that is why I use it. I have my own mini challenge annually
Read one Dutch writer (in Dutch)
Read one NZ writer, preferably Maori (in English, My Maori is wayyyyy below parr)
And now do something with German (this year the Audiobook)
For English and Dutch I will always read native language and German when I can
Just to make it a bit more challenging I am learning Chinese but not up reading it yet (far form it) But hope to get to a level of a children's book there this year
@Gilraens: Wow, that's amazing!
May I read the collction of haikus here?
I’ve ever ‘read’ an audiobook so downloaded ‘Thursday murder club’ on audible and am giving it a go
I don’t usually do audiobooks, but started listening to a short one by Alexander Pushkin today, The Captain's Daughter, for a classics group read.
This is one of those topics I think can be taken many different ways. I think it can literally mean the physical (or non-physical) aspect, like hardcover or paperback, folio style, oversized, ebook, audiobook, etc. I think it can also be stretched to mean the formatting of the pages and text in the book, like is the text presented in an unusual way or do you have to read it in a non-linear way?Off the top of my head I think of a 'choose your own adventure' type of book where you're constantly bouncing around the book depending on what choice you make.
There is S. by JJ Abrams. It's a weird one where there's a novel but there's also scribbled notes in the margins, postcards, drawings and even notes and letters that are stuck in between the pages of the book. It's like reading 3 or 4 parallel stories at one time.
The Illumnae series is another odd one where you read emails, transcripts, maps, medical documents, etc. instead of a straightforward story.
There's also Replica by Lauren Oliver where the story is told in two viewpoints and you have to flip the book to switch from one viewpoint to the other.
I think even a kid's pop-up book could work as a unusual format that you don't normally read.
I'm sure there's more to add, but "formatting" could be something to think about for those struggling to find a book.
I am listening to The Year of Magical Thinking, an Audible Original. It is a book turned into a play by the author, Joan Didion, and the play performed as an audiobook by Vanessa Redgrave, who performed the play. I figure there are enough formatting differences to count! So far, it has been terrific.
Meredith wrote: "I am listening to The Year of Magical Thinking, an Audible Original. It is a book turned into a play by the author, Joan Didion, and the play performed as an audiobook by Vanessa Redgrave, who perf..."I read that in 2020 for a book with no images/graphics on the cover. It was good, but emotionally difficult at times.
I've started reading my copy of Fleabag: The Scriptures. I don't usually read screenplays. It's all of both seasons, but I predict I'll fly through it because, hello, it's Fleabag. I'm pretty sure I've watched the entire thing at least three times.
Not gonna lie, this one sucks for me. The only format I avoid is audiobooks and it’s because I have ADHD and can’t focus or retain anything if I only hear it.
Ooh, maybe since I usually read on Kindle I can borrow my mother’s Nook — that’s technically a different format (Kindle uses .mobi and Nook uses .epub)
Hi, I love the LeVar Burton Reads podcast! He reads short stories with background music
Liza wrote: "Not gonna lie, this one sucks for me. The only format I avoid is audiobooks and it’s because I have ADHD and can’t focus or retain anything if I only hear it."You could read along while you listen. I like to play a game without words while I listen, like a candy crush type thing or something. You could also pick a very short audiobook. They make them of picture books if that helps.
People could consider stuff like House of Leaves or Ship of Thesus. House of Leaves has typography that goes pretty bonkers and half the story is in the footnotes. Ship of Thesus is a novel, but a lot of the actual story is taking place in notes written in the margins, newspaper clippings and photos stuck in the pages. The notes are color coded based on chronology of when they were added to the text so you can kind of decide if you’re going to read all of them at once or go back and read in order.
Sheri wrote: "People could consider stuff like House of Leaves or Ship of Thesus. House of Leaves has typography that goes pretty bonkers and half the story is in the footnotes. Ship of Thesus is a novel, but a ..."I love ergodic literature!
is one of my favorite books. There is always a lot of juice in footnotes, and lots of symbolism if you enjoy looking for it. :)
Would a book written in a script format (think Shakespeare or Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) or a book written in verse count for this prompt?
Liza wrote: "Not gonna lie, this one sucks for me. The only format I avoid is audiobooks and it’s because I have ADHD and can’t focus or retain anything if I only hear it."I agree that following along with the text (while reading the audio) might be a good idea for you to try. Maybe find a shorter book, or something that you've read and really enjoyed. Audiobooks aren't for everyone, but I think they can be really enjoyable.
If audio books aren't your thing, you could also use something like an epistolary novel. I would think of this as a different "format" of book than a traditional narrative novel.
My friend recommended Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the Brontës by Isabel Greenberg and although I have read a couple of graphic novels, I almost exclusively read 'traditional' novels, so this slots in quite nicely here
Lilia wrote: "Would a book written in a script format (think Shakespeare or Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) or a book written in verse count for this prompt?"Sure. I used Fleabag: The Scriptures as I don't normally reads scripts.
Would plays work as a different format? I took the "(audiobook, ebook, graphic novel)" as suggestions, and thought I would read the play "Black Diggers" which my daughter has to read for English.If plays don't count, I may read one of her Raina Telgameir graphic novels.
Or one of my "Schoolgirls Picture Library" books that I collect but haven't read much of since I got mum's copies as a girl. They are quick reads - I can read one in 15 mins, feels like a cheat to include them. https://www.comics.org/series/68803/
Sandra wrote: "Would plays work as a different format? I took the "(audiobook, ebook, graphic novel)" as suggestions, and thought I would read the play "Black Diggers" which my daughter has to read for English...."
Several people here have mentioned they want to read plays for this prompt, I would also say it counts!
A very quick option for this prompt:When you search on YouTube for "read aloud", there are many videos were people read picture books aloud!
My favorite read-aloud sources are CBeeBies Bedtime Stories and Storytime from Space https://storytimefromspace.com/library/
poshpenny wrote: "My favorite read-aloud sources are CBeeBies Bedtime Stories and Storytime from Space https://storytimefromspace.com/library/"
Oh, that's so cool!!! Thank you for sharing it!
For this prompt I'm going to try Doki Doki Literature Club which is a free visual novel on Steam. You're supposed to not read reviews or anything beforehand, so I'm going into it pretty much blind but it's been in my Steam library for awhile and I've really been meaning to get around to it, so two birds...
I went with poetry for my book in a different format... just finishedDevotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver. Most of the poetry is about nature. 4 stars.
Being an omnivorous reader I was struggling with this do thanks to the folk who mentioned Coffee Talk, Poetry and Webcomics all of which I don’t normally read but I have just started reading heartstopper using the Tapas app so I think I’ll tick that box this way.
I read the audiobook of By Fairy Means or Foul. It's not like I have never listened to audiobook s before. I have and I quite like them but I am fairly new to them. I can count the number of audiobook I have taken up. So this is the closest to a kind of format that I don't usually read.
I just finished the audiobook for We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. I found this book from someone last year, I can't really remember who, and thought that it sounded interesting. It wasn't what I was expecting, but that's ok because I still liked it! I loved the perspective we were forced to see through and thought that Jackson did a wonderful job at playing up the magic that comes with the imagination of kids.I don't usually listen to audiobooks--reading a physical copy will always be better to me!--but this was the perfect time to do so since I had to travel a lot for work this past week!
I've just listened to Phoebe Judge, podcast host, read the entirety of The Hound of the Baskervilles on her new-in-2020 podcast, Phoebe Reads a Mystery. She's reading classic mystery novels, one chapter a day. I'd never listened to a book via podcast before!
I read the graphic novel
for this prompt. My only complaint is the story did not end. I guess I need the next book to finish the story.
Jennifer, Fables is a very long comic! Looks like you read vol 14, so right smack in the middle of the overall comic. Nothing wrong with that if you liked it, but that's why it didn't end. It looks like there's at least 6 volumes after it, not counting the various spin offs.
I read Kindred by Kirli Saunders for this prompt. It's a book of poetry, and I think the first time I've ever read an entire book of poetry. It was beautiful. I'm very glad I picked it up.
Tabitha wrote: "I'm going to try reading a classic with the Serial Reader app! They send you a 10-15 minute bite sized portion to read every day. Seems interesting and definitely different from how I typically ing..."Thanks Tabitha, this is great! I'm doing this too :)
Liza wrote: "Not gonna lie, this one sucks for me. The only format I avoid is audiobooks and it’s because I have ADHD and can’t focus or retain anything if I only hear it."My step-brother has ADHD also and he loves audiobooks. It's the only way he reads actually. He drives a lot so that's when he listens the most but, he might also use it on his boat (he's a fisherman).
I know I avoided audiobooks as well until late last year, now I actually prefer them for the speed at which I can get thru a book. At first it was weird cause I was like I feel stupid sitting here staring at the wall listening to a book. But, I found that if I play a game on my phone, browse Goodreads or even check my email it's much better and I can actually focus cause I'm not searching for something else to do.
Hope you find a way to satisfy this prompt.
I don't read graphic novels at all but someone whose tastes I trust with all my bookish heart has been enjoying the snotgirl series and its on my TBR list now Snotgirl, Vol. 1: Green Hair Don't Care
I read a graphic novel for this prompt and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was Lucy Knisley’s Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride. Besides telling her true story from dating to wedding day in comic book style, she also tossed some real photos throughout the book. Now, I want to read more of her graphic novels. I never would have read this if it hadn’t been for the prompt and for that, I say “thanks” to the reading challenge.
The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger The Sleep Tight Motel. Short story and only available on Kindle or Audiobook
Tabitha wrote: "I'm going to try reading a classic with the Serial Reader app! They send you a 10-15 minute bite sized portion to read every day. Seems interesting and definitely different from how I typically ing..."I love this! I'm going to use Serial Reader for this prompt and I read my first issue yesterday. I chose a book that I can use for another reading challenge, so it's a win-win! Thank you for bringing this app to my attention. :)
I’ve seen a few people mention plays, Daisy Jones and the Six is in interview format. Is this too much of a stretch?
I listened to the audiobook of The Half-Stitched stories of the Amish Quilting Club
Anyone have any recommendations for collections of short stories or essays? I don't think I've ever read a book of essays, and it's been years since my last book of short stories. I don't usually like them because I don't think they go deep enough into characters and/or plot. My next choice would be manga, but since I can't go to the library and browse, that might be harder for me to pick.I listen to audiobooks pretty regularly. I would recommend
The Heretic's Daughter
Song Yet Sung
any of the Percy Jackson books
Beloved
The Painted Veil
Thirteen Reasons Why
The Water Dancer (though to be fair, I'm not even through the first disc of this, but I was enjoying what I heard so far)
Jennifer W wrote: "Anyone have any recommendations for collections of short stories or essays?"I can make recommendations for both.
Essays:
* Lisa Scottoline is best known for her legal thrillers, but has also published several collections of essays with her daughter Francesca Serritella, such as Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat?: True Stories and Confessions and I've Got Sand In All the Wrong Places.
* Books by Robert Fulghum, such as All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten or Uh-oh: Some Observations from Both Sides of the Refrigerator Door.
* Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book
* The Oxford Book of Essays by John Gross
Short Story Collections:
* 75+ Classic Mystery Stories
* 100 Classic Short Stories
* Jane Austen Made Me Do It: Original Stories Inspired by Literature's Most Astute Observer of the Human Heart
* The First Forty-Nine Stories by Ernest Hemingway
* A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor
* Collected Stories of Carson McCullers
* The Dubliners by James Joyce
* The Collected Stories by Eudora Welty
* F. Scott Fitzgerald: Classic Works : Two Novels and Nineteen Short Stories
* The Complete Fairy Tales of The Brothers Grimm
* Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki
* The Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault
* First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers by Kathy Kiernan
* Stories To Remember by Thomas B. Costain (Contains 3 novels and about 3 dozen short stories)
* Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson
* Skin by Roald Dahl
* Ethan Frome and Selected Stories by Edith Wharton (For some reason, this isn’t coming up by title or ISBN)
Wow, awesome options, thanks Heather!
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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It's a closed circle mystery about a series of murders in an isolated Japanese town. Apparently the main character is stuck in a time loop and has to use the knowledge he gains from each loop to track down and expose the killer.
It sounds neat and I plan to start it soon! (after I finish the 2020 challenge hopefully on time lol)