Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2025 Challenge - Regular
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33 - A Book Featuring an Activity on Your Bucket List
My bucket list is primarily travel-related, so I'm going to choose a book set in a travel destination on my bucket list, which is pretty much everywhere. LOL. My most urgent one at the moment is to drink wine in Italy, so I'll look for a book set there.
Mod
I'm reading a series set in Dublin. Since traveling (especially to Ireland), I'm slotting a book here.
Same as Grace, my bucket list is primarily travel-related, so I'm going to pick something set in a dream destination.
Nadine in NY wrote: "Are there books about going on a pub crawl in Ireland with your adult children?"It would be the depressing side of this (I ugly cried listening to it on a road trip) but When All Is Said.
I'm actually going to Japan next year so I may read a Japanese book right before.
Oh! I also found Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail. If anyone wants to do the Appalachian Trail, this would work really well.
@Lynn, may I suggest "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer? It's a middle grade book, but pretty good. Afro-future, traveling around the area including a "traditional" village, little bit of mystery. I'd ask Amazon for a better synopsis
Travel makes up the bulk of my bucket list, some of my choices are:Austria (and specifically going to the Spanish Riding School): The Perfect Horse: the Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis
Brazil: The Seamstress
Ireland: Sing, Wild Bird, Sing
Greece: The House by the River
Japan: White Mulberry
Books I've read and recommend:
England: The Lady of Milkweed Manor
Sweden: Rider by Night
Japan: The Great Passage
Austria: Sisi: Empress on Her Own
Poland: Milkweed
Spain: Cathedral of the Sea
Canada: I'll Never Tell
Mongolia: Rough Magic: Riding the World's Loneliest Horse Race
Netherlands: Mother Dear
Shelley wrote: "Oh! I also found Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail. If anyone wants to do the Appalachian Trail, this would work really well."Loved this book. Highly recommend!
Bucket list is more reading from booklists, so my current favorite: 500 Great Books by Women by Erica Bauermeister
But a more active desire is a pilgrimage, and there are scads of books about that from many religious and secular streams. From my own TBR:
A Food Lover's Pilgrimage to Santiago De Compostela by Nolan, Dee (2010) Hardcover by Dee Nolan
The Santiago Pilgrimage: Walking the Immortal Way by Jean-Christophe Rufin
Japanese Pilgrimage by Oliver Statler
Deep River by Shūsaku Endō
A Pilgrimage to Eternity: From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith by Timothy Egan
On This Holy Island: A Modern Pilgrimage Across Britain by Oliver Smith
If anyone wants to go to Wales, the Poldark books are fun! I might read Demelza for this prompt. The first book is called Poldark.
Um, hate to say this, but Poldark is set in Cornwall - a good place to have on your bucket list, though.
Deb wrote: "If anyone wants to go to Wales, the Poldark books are fun! I might read Demelza for this prompt. The first book is called Poldark."Would Demelza fit the career change prompt?
Mod
Thanks for the rec. I don't do Amazon unless forced to...except for Goodreads, of course! :(
Mod
Austria (and specifically going to the Spanish Riding School): [book:The Perfect Horse: the Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Pr..."
That looks like an amazing list! Thank you!
My bucket list is fairly small and mostly travel related. However, I am going to Japan next year to visit a friend, so I will read The Great Passage, which has been on my Kindle since 2018.
Bea wrote: "My bucket list is fairly small and mostly travel related. However, I am going to Japan next year to visit a friend, so I will read The Great Passage, which has been on my Kindle sin..."This sounds great.
I want to foster kittens. Anyone know of a fiction book where a character happens to foster kittens? I know Hannah Shaw aka The Kitten Lady has a couple of non fiction books and children's fiction books, but I'd rather read a fiction book that isn't children's fiction.
I don't really have a bucket list. I had to think about this one. Then I started thinking my dad has seen the Northern Lights so I guess that would be cool. I wanted some nonfiction/science stuff for it though and not some person's memoir and spiritual journey of seeing them.I stumbled across this one:
The Northern Lights: The True Story of the Man Who Unlocked the Secrets of the Aurora Borealis
Denise wrote: "I want to foster kittens. Anyone know of a fiction book where a character happens to foster kittens? I know Hannah Shaw aka The Kitten Lady has a couple of non fiction books and children's fictio..."
SAME!!!
I’m going to read 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List because I want to read all those books
I'm not a bucket-list kinda gal, so this one's hard. Anyone know of a book that features a non-traditional family (aka one that is acquired by means other than marriage and blood), with at least one elderly woman? (Bonus points if it's a group of elderly women!)
That, and going to space, are kind of the only things I can think of as "bucket list"
Mod
The Marrow Thieves features a group of Native people (on the run from the government who is trying to steal their marrow for SFF reasons) lead by an elderly woman. She's not their leader in the sense of "let's walk this way! let's camp here!" but she is their respected elder that they all circle around.
I want to cuddle a koala. Not sure I'm going to find a fiction book that contains that haha, so may need to settle for non fiction
Miss wrote: "I want to cuddle a koala. Not sure I'm going to find a fiction book that contains that haha, so may need to settle for non fiction"There are a couple children's books like Cuddle Close, Little Koala that involve koalas cuddling other koalas.
On the more adult, nonfiction side, there is Koala: The Extraordinary Life of an Enigmatic Animal.
Mod
* write a novel
* clean up my yard so I have a garden again instead of a hot mess
* get rid of all the crap in my house so it no longer looks like a hoarder lives here
* lose weight
* go horseback riding in Hungary
* the aforementioned Irish pub crawl w/ my kids
* make a quilt
* see the Chincoteague horses
* visit Hawaii
* visit Seattle
* work in Antarctica
* walk in the desert in the southwest (I've been to Nevada and Arizona before and I loved it and I'd like to go back there, or maybe New Mexico etc)
* see the potcake puppies in the Bahamas and take some home
* own so many dogs that there is ALWAYS a dog who wants to lie on the couch with me
So that's a lot of stuff, and I'm sure I can find books for most of those things. The TRICK is finding a book I WANT to read. Maybe I should just read another gardening book.
That's a cool list, Nadine!If you haven't read it yet, you might consider Where'd You Go, Bernadette for the Seattle item.
Nadine in NY wrote: "I don't really have a bucket list and I am so stuck on this one. There are things I kind of want to do:* write a novel
* clean up my yard so I have a garden again instead of a hot mess
* get rid..."
Love your list (●♡∀♡)
Boipoka wrote: "I'm not a bucket-list kinda gal, so this one's hard. Anyone know of a book that features a non-traditional family (aka one that is acquired by means other than marriage and blood), with at least ..."
The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett. I read it to start off 2024 and loved it. Eudora is the MC and she is 85. She meets people of various ages too become "family" with
Nadine in NY wrote: "I don't really have a bucket list and I am so stuck on this one. There are things I kind of want to do:* write a novel
* clean up my yard so I have a garden again instead of a hot mess
* get rid..."
This list is great! I know I've a read a book where the characters did an Irish pub crawl, but for the life of me I can't remember the title. I'll have to see if I can find it. In the meantime, I did remember this one: Pint-Sized Ireland: In Search of the Perfect Guinness
Mod
Thank you! I'm more of an ale drinker than a porter drinker, but I might end up reading that book if I can't find anything else!!
Thanks for the suggestion Nadine! How grim is the flight/how bad are the odds the group has to overcome? The top review on The Marrow Thieves says the book is mainly about loss of culture and identity, caused by being forced out of one's homes, which sounds a bit similar to what some members of my family have experienced in the past (refugees). So am wondering if it'll hit too close to home for me.
Given the protagonist is 11, I'm hoping it isn't too dark/detailed!?
Thanks for the rec, Denise! Does Eudora Honeysett get into a romantic relationship with the widower described in the blurb? That would kinda break the bucket list thing for me (I'm aromantic). If not, I'll try to get ahold of it - I saw one review describe it as "like The Man Called Ove, but quicker paced and you warm up to the MC faster", which sounds perfect! I have wanted to read The Man Called Ove, but those two attributes have always held me back!
The blurb also gave me another interesting idea. Choosing to die on my own terms is sort of on my bucket list - as weird as that sounds. Maybe I should read a book on euthanasia!
Mod
How grim is the flight/how bad are the odds the group has to overcome? The top review on The Marrow Thieves says the book is mainly about loss of culture and ide..."
It's written for the YA audience so it's not explicit, but it is grim. It didn't give me nightmares, but it's not a cozy read either. People die. The kids are orphans. The government literally wants to take their bone marrow from them.
There's a few on my life list that I could use, but I'm going with "take a hot air balloon ride"!I was going to read Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. It's a classic. However, I've been informed that the book doesn't contain a hot air balloon, despite so much of the imagery associated with it. It would, however, tick a lot of travel boxes, including riding an elephant.
And I'm still looking for a good hot air balloon book!
Here's some I've read that would fit, if a hot air balloon is on your list!
All by Gail Carriger
Timeless (Parasol Protectorate #5) features a couple of hot air balloon rides
The Custard Protocol books take place primarily on a hot air balloon.
Prudence
Imprudence
Competence
Reticence
Boipoka wrote: "Thanks for the rec, Denise! Does Eudora Honeysett get into a romantic relationship with the widower described in the blurb? That would kinda break the bucket list thing for me (I'm aromantic). If..."
I don't think so, I believe just friends and there will be another "older" person involved. I have read A Man Called One and liked it, but I liked Eudora much more. There are so many things Eudora did not do that she tries at 85...like pizza!
Mod
I was going to read Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. I..."
Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne has the balloon .
Dea wrote: "And I'm still looking for a good hot air balloon book..."The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois features hot air balloons. It’s tagged as middle grade/YA, and won the Newbery Medal.
Oh! I have over 1000 things on my "bucket list" - which is more "things I'd like to do/have done some day" than "things I want to have done before I kick the bucket" :-DBut... it should be easy to find a book that fits :-D
Nadine in NY wrote: "I don't really have a bucket list and I am so stuck on this one. There are things I kind of want to do:* write a novel
* clean up my yard so I have a garden again instead of a hot mess
* get rid..."
Love your list!
I have a book in my TBR that might work: The Messy Lives of Book People
Mod
Love your list!
I have a book in my TBR that might work: The Messy Lives of Book People"
thanks that looks like a fun read! (and it fits "books on the cover" and "change careers" too)
So, I actually just formalized a bucket list last year (as a result of one of my PS challenge books, Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life, where he recommends writing out what you want to do - and at what age, so not everything keeps getting pushed back). On my list, a lot of the things are travel-related, but I want to avoid those since travel destination / country prompts seem to come up a lot. One of my other goals was to see a ballgame in every major league stadium, and people here have talked about I Don't Care if We Never Get Back: 30 Games in 30 Days on the Best Worst Baseball Road Trip Ever. My goal is certainly not to do it in 30 days, but I think it would still qualify for this. Of course, if I find another book that fits, then I can use that one for the road trip prompt.
I'm reading Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age. I don't have a bucket list per se, but I do want to stay active as I get older and outdoor activity has always been my happy place. So hopefully I'll come away with some insights and a plan to try something new.
Looking for fiction books that feature adventure activities - skydiving, shark cages, wingsuit flying, white water rafting, etc!
It'll never happen because the place for lessons is too far away, but I've always thought I'd like to learn to fence, so I read Fence, Vol. 1 by C.S. Pacat.
I don't exactly have a bucket list, but I have a vague wish list of things I'd love to do if I hit the lottery. I'd love to spend a long time, at least a month or so, in Ireland. Small Things Like These was an absolute gem! The ending hit me so hard. I'll be reading more of Claire Keegan
I don't really have a bucket list either, but I'd quite like to see Monet's garden at Giverny, apart from the crowds of other people who also want to see it...So Black Water Lilies, where characters do manage to do that, appealed to me for this prompt.A very clever, twisty mystery, with an end I did not see coming, and an evocative look at Giverny itself.
Mod
ohhh I would like to visit Giverny too!! I'm adding that to my (very short!!) list of possible books.
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Wow. There are several different things I had hoped to do 'later in life. The two main things on my bucket list were:
1) Travel to Africa and spend longer than just a few days. No safari! Just getting to know the people in their everyday 'normal' life! I do not foresee being able to do this due to the arthritis in my body overall and titanium knee joints! Plus, unless I receive a tremendous infusion of money, I could never afford it!
2) Quilting. I have crated projects by sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, cross-stitching, macrame, and basket weaving at different times in my life but never attempted quilting. I had always imagined doing it the "old-fashioned way," stitching by hand. No sewing machine. But the arthritis in my hands will definitely not allow that!
So, with all that said, I think I will purposefully target books about Africa, but especially Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass by Isak Dinesen
And although I have never read any of Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts books, perhaps it is time to read the first in that series, The Quilter's Apprentice.
Tell us about your book plans in relation to an activity on your bucket list!
This represents a personal/individual choice, so there is no Listopia!