2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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Popsugar - 2021
#44/50 And Then There Were None for a locked room mystery. I didn't think this fit this prompt but it was first on the list for locked room mysteries. It was 10 people on an island but there were no deaths within a locked room.
Updated msg 15Just completed #49 (DNF series) - An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. I remember why I wasn’t eager to continue with this series - at the time it was starkly bleak. But a lot has happened since then. I can appreciate the nuances and choices made. Definitely worth reading! 4 stars
43/50
Update Message # 715. The book that’s been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time. Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
46/50
updated message #109.Books read: 42/50
Meredith wrote: "Update Message #52730/30
49. A DNF book from your TBR list
The Cruel Prince"
Congratulations Meredith! :D
#45/50 Icons for a book that I DNF. I listened to this on audio. I still don't understand what happened. Maybe it would have been better to actually read this one. If anybody has and liked it please let me know.
Update message 28, progress 30/50✓ 10. A bestseller from the 1990s: 1998, Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy (finished 10/8)
updating message 28, progress 31/50✓42. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list: my copy is 80 pages, Finding Your German Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide by Kevan M. Hansen (finished 10/9)
updating message 28, progress 32/50✓15. A book with a black-and-white cover: The Great Race by Dr. Leslie Cummings (finished 10/9)
Update Message #71:14. A book set in a restaurant. Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P Manansala (10/9/21)
47/50
Ranmali wrote: "I will sign up for 15 books1. A bestseller from the 1990s - As the Crow Flies
2. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover - All The Single Ladies
..."
Completed 11/15
1. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover - All The Single Ladies
2. A book whose title starts with “Q,” “X,” or “Z” - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
3. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels) - The Art of War
4. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads - Colpetty People
5. A book everyone seems to have read but you - American Gods
6. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - An anthology - Write to Reconcile: An Anthology
7. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list - Atlas Shrugged
8. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list - The Year of the Runaways
9. A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign - Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!
10. A book with a black-and-white cover - For Whom the Bell Tolls
11. A book about a subject you are passionate about - Photography Visionaries
Update Message #71: 1. A book about do-overs or fresh starts. In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
48/50
Updated msg 15Just completed #8 (won women’s prize) - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. This was an interesting retelling of the heroics of Achilles. I appreciate the author’s work of bringing the myths to life. The love story was told well. And I like that the author didn’t divorce the myth from the gods. But the writing felt a bit academic and removed. Worth reading! 4 stars
44/50
Update to message 19: progress 20/20!✅14. A book set in a restaurant ➡️ Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Challenge completed, thanks Winter!
Updating message #2333/50
9. A book with a family tree- The Red Tent DONE
19. A book that discusses body positivity- Wonder DONE
32. A book whose title starts with “Q,” “X,” or “Z”-Zeitoun DONE
Update to 78334/50
15. A book with a black-and-white cover:
One of the books that stuck with me from childhood that I got to re-read some years later (with a cool cover).
Update to 82736/50
8. A book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction: We Need to Talk About Kevin This book won the prize in 2005 and I can see why. It was a journey .
24. A book by a Muslim American author: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal G. Willow Wilson, the co-creator of Ms. Marvel along with Sana Amanat, is a Muslim American. This was a comic book that was /hard/ to read on my little phone screen, but I enjoyed the content.
Updated msg 15Just completed prompt for book on tbr longest - Impatient with Desire by Gabrielle Burton. With that title, one could easily assume this is a historical romance. Imagine my surprise when I started reading only to find myself in the middle of the Donner party😱. Quite a shock. I appreciate the author’s efforts at trying to bring some humanity back into this situation, but it’s just a bit too pat for me. Good effort and writing was fine. The journal style was interesting if a touch confusing with the dates. Read at your own risk. 3 stars
45/50
Update message 28, progress 33/50✓9. A book with a family tree: Contains a family tree, and the story follows it from great-grandparents through grandson, The Surgeon's Family by David Hernandez with Carole Gift Page (finished 10/19)
Updated msg 15Just completed prompt for oxymoron - The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa. Really entertaining with good comic scenes! And it addresses some serious topics, like how women and people of color are often held to different standards for expressing emotions. “There’s room for different kinds of greatness. Even if you cry doing it. Hell, especially if you cry doing it.” “Protecting yourself from hurt doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means you’re human.” Definitely worth reading! 4.5 stars
46/50
Update to Message #95Progress 42/50
Prompt 7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job (adventuress)
A Perilous Undertaking
Ranmali wrote: "I will sign up for 15 books1. A bestseller from the 1990s - As the Crow Flies
2. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover - All The Single Ladies
..."
Completed - 12/15
1. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover - All The Single Ladies
2. A book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction - Stay with Me
3. A book whose title starts with “Q,” “X,” or “Z” - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
4. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels) - The Art of War
5. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads - Colpetty People
6. A book everyone seems to have read but you - American Gods
7. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - An anthology - Write to Reconcile: An Anthology
8. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list - Atlas Shrugged
9. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list - The Year of the Runaways
10. A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign - Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!
11. A book with a black-and-white cover - For Whom the Bell Tolls
12. A book about a subject you are passionate about - Photography Visionaries
30/30!! Finally!!Here we go:
1. A book that published in 2021 - Competitive Grieving
2. An Afrofuturist book - Parable of the Sower
3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover - The Honey Don’t List
6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title - The Nickel Boys
7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job: Beach Read
12. A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.): A Gentleman in Moscow
13. A locked-room mystery - The Wife Upstairs
14. A book set in a restaurant: The Authenticity Project
15. A book with a black-and-white cover - Ace of Spades
16. A book by an indigenous author- Decolonizing Wealth
17. A book that has the same title as a song - Leave the World Behind
18. A book about a subject you are passionate about - The Memo
19. A book that discusses body positivity: I Am Enough
20. A book on a Black Lives Matter reading list - The Sum of Us
21. A genre hybrid - A Very Punchable Face
22. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors - People We Meet on Vacation
23. A book with something broken on the cover - The Wrong Family
24. A book by a Muslim American author - The Stationery Shop
27. A book about do-overs or fresh starts - In a Holidaze
28. A magical realism book - The Midnight Library
29. A book set in multiple countries - Not Dead Yet
30. A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021: The Unhoneymooners
33. A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child) - The Switch
34. A book about a social justice issue - One to Watch
35. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels): Twins
36. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads - Jada Jones: Class Act
37. A book you think your best friend would like - Daisy Jones and the Six
38. A book about art or an artist - The Happy Ever After Playlist
39. A book everyone seems to have read but you - You Are A Badass
40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - A book that passes the Bechdel test - The Nightingale
Marleen wrote: "Update to message 19: progress 20/20!✅14. A book set in a restaurant ➡️ Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Challenge completed, thanks Winter!"
Congratulations!! ^^
ReGina wrote: "30/30!! Finally!!Here we go:
1. A book that published in 2021 - Competitive Grieving
2. An Afrofuturist book - Parable of the Sower
3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cove..."
Congratulations!! ^^
Update message 28, 34/50✓13. A locked-room mystery: The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne (finished 10/22)
#46/50
for a subject you are passionate about. Very interesting read!
Update message 28, 35/50✓46. A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn’t: Ten Women by Marcela Serrano (finished 10/26)
Update to Message #71:32. A book whose title starts with a “Q”, “X”, or “Z”.: The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
#49/50 - one more!!!
Update to 82937/50
4. A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign: The Vanishing Half To keep it astrological, it makes a sense a Cancer's books are so grounded in home, family, and the nuances of intimacy.
update message # 41 - finished43/25
Thank you!
Update to 84638/50
43. The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover:
Hard to identify the prettiest , but this one was gorgeous and the Jordan Baker of it all was instantly recognizable.
#47/50
for a book associated with a favorite person, place, or thing. This book triggered a lot of memories for me.
Updated msg 15Just completed #32 (starts with Z) - Zero O'Clock by CJ Farley. This was a stressful, anxiety-inducing read for me. It was definitely too soon for me to read a first-hand teen’s account of the start of the pandemic. I underestimated my trauma responses to all of it. The book is an interesting concept, but it focuses a bit much on the start of the pandemic. There were some interesting issues touched on in the latter half but not fully delved into. I received this book as a free giveaway in exchange for my honest review. 3 stars
47/50
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Garden Spells (other topics)Potiki (other topics)
Once There Were Wolves (other topics)
Lord John and the Hand of Devils (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
LeAnne "LeLee" Lyons (other topics)Rochelle Alers (other topics)
Marie Benedict (other topics)
Jane Kristof (other topics)
Jane Kristof (other topics)
More...
Duration: January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
Back for another year, it’s the 7th annual PopSugar Reading Challenge!
Similar to previous years, this year’s challenge consists of a 40-prompt standard challenge plus a 10-prompte advanced challenge.
We invite you to choose as many as you would like to complete.
Standard Prompts:
1. A book that published in 2021
2. An Afrofuturist book
3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover
4. A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign
5. A dark academia book
6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title
7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job
8. A book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction
9. A book with a family tree
10. A bestseller from the 1990s
11. A book about forgetting
12. A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.)
13. A locked-room mystery
14. A book set in a restaurant
15. A book with a black-and-white cover
16. A book by an indigenous author
17. A book that has the same title as a song
18. A book about a subject you are passionate about
19. A book that discusses body positivity
20. A book on a Black Lives Matter reading list
21. A genre hybrid
22. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors
23. A book with something broken on the cover
24. A book by a Muslim American author
25. A book that was published anonymously
26. A book with an oxymoron in the title
27. A book about do-overs or fresh starts
28. A magical realism book
29. A book set in multiple countries
30. A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021
31. A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality
32. A book whose title starts with “Q,” “X,” or “Z”
33. A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child)
34. A book about a social justice issue
35. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels)
36. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads
37. A book you think your best friend would like
38. A book about art or an artist
39. A book everyone seems to have read but you
40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
Advanced Prompts
41. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list
42. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list
43. The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover
44. The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover
45. The book that’s been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time
46. A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn’t
47. A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing
48. A book from your TBR list chosen at random
49. A DNF book from your TBR list
50. A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library)