Week 46: 11/6 - 11/13

[Brandon]

A brief, celebratory challenge update:

I was able to pencil in something for every prompt for both PopSugar and 52 Books for 2026. The listopias and comments from the last two weeks have been super helpful in bringing to light some palatable possibilities for even the most bizarre and specific prompts. Thanks to all of those who contribute. The posts and votes do get read, even if they do not get acknowledged in the thread.

It is super exciting to imagine all that the group will discover over the next year.

[Jackie]

QOTW: Besides Popsugar, I also do Around the Year and the Buzzwordathon challenge (from Booksandlala for the curious). I keep track of which Bookriot Read Harder prompts I complete, but I don't attempt to get them all. I also have an informal personal challenge in which I look at the books added to my TBR over 5 years ago and make a concerted effort to read them or remove them. Bare minimum I have to try a chapter and decide if I'm truly still interested or if it needs to get dropped off the list. This year I had it relatively easy with like 15 books. Next year when I have to look at the 2020 additions - whooo boy. I uh had a lot of down time that year to browse books and add them to my tbr.

[Nadine in NY]

Brandon wrote: "A brief, celebratory challenge update:

I was able to pencil in something for every prompt for both PopSugar and 52 Books for 2026. The listopias and comments from the last two weeks have been supe..."




I strongly agree!! When I first saw the list, I was disappointed and not at all enthusiastic about the upcoming year. With all the help and suggestions in this group, I've now come up with an idea for every category (except FOMO, and i trust that one will present itself in time) and I am excited about next year's reading, I can hardly wait to get started, I've got nine books on hold at my library to pick up in the end of December so I can start this challenge with a bang! (three of the categories are getting knocked out with picture books - I haven't read any picture books in about a year so I'm excited about that, too)

[Cornerofmadness]

Bea wrote: "Hello, y’all.

Finally a nice week for me. A feeling of being at home in myself and competent. Nothing special except that I survived the two nights of freezing and saved some outside plants. I got..."

I forgot to put this one on my list. I do the Mount TBR too

[Lilith]

Ron wrote: "I finally have time to post! I have been so busy with work and school, but I've been loving all of it.

My psychology class ended a few weeks ago. Passed it with a 'B'. So grateful that one is over..."

Oooooh, thank you for this!
Beyond the Glittering World: An Anthology of Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms - 5 star read! It can be read in a day easy. There were a lot of excellent short stories and poetry in this book and several really stood out.

I'll seek this out!

[Acidic Quagga]

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Happy Saturday!

ULTIMATE POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE 2025
Acidic Quagga's List - Started July 18, 2025

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Popsugar Challenge Completion: 19/26, 73%
📖=book 💻=ebook 🎧=audiobook 🌠=rating
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Currently Reading
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Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend by M.J. Wassmer
27. A Book Set at a Luxury Resort

Complete
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The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman
18. A Book Containing Magical Creatures (that are not Dragons)

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This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman
40. A Book About Chosen Family

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Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
30. A book that reminds you of your childhood - No Listopia

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Open Throat by Henry Hoke
43. A Book That Includes a Nonverbal Character
Fall Challenge: Bite-Size Books

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2025 Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge
Read Harder Challenge Completion: 5/24, 21%

Currently Reading
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The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
17. Read a book about little known history.
Fall Challenge: Fiction Faves

Complete
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Out of the Drowning DeepA.C. Wise
11. Read a work of weird horror.

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Other

Currently Reading
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Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Multiple Authors
Fall Challenge: Native Voices

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Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Fall Challenge: Choice Awards

Complete
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Nothing But Blackened Teeth Cassandra Khaw.

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Exquisite Corpses, Volume 1 by James Tynion IV

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The Backstagers, Vol. 1: Rebels Without Applause by James Tynion IV

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Question of the Week
Do you complete reading challenges other than the Popsugar annual challenge? If so, what are some of those other challenges?

I've been participating in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge. It's my first time participating, but as far as I can tell, they put a big emphasis on reading books by and about social minorities. I've come across some good books while attempting to fill out the prompts. They offer 24 prompts plus a Bonus Task: Complete all tasks with LGBTQ and/or BIPOC books.

Other than that, I've just been filling out Goodreads' yearly and seasonal challenges.

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[L Y N N]

Life has been extremely hectic and chaotic and I’m exhausted! Didn’t get to posting last week, but included my answer to that Question of the Week below! So excited by this new list! I am trying to finish the listing of 2026 Popsugar Monthly Group Read topics tonight. If not, it will be tomorrow at the latest! Then we can start polls to select the January Group Read!

Also very excited to meet Sigrid Nunez this coming Monday! It is the very first time that I have taken off from teaching at the gym to do something else! The only times I have missed was when I was sick or my car quit on me! LOL I guess that’s not too bad in six years!

I just inadvertently discovered this posting about Ali Velshi’s Banned Book Club! (https://www.ms.now/ali-velshi/read-ev...) I particularly appreciated his comments regarding democracy and limiting what can be read. These two concepts are diametrically opposed! He is a commentator on MSNBC and is the one who read all of Project 2025 and summarized it in multiple broadcasts during the 2024 Presidential election campaign.

A list!
https://link.harpercollins.com/view/5...
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ADMIN STUFF:
THE DECEMBER MONTHLY GROUP READ FINAL SELECTION POLL IS Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng!
This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #25 A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee
International Migrants Day is December 18, 2025
We are searching for a "year-end yeoman" to lead this discussion! Message either Nadine or me to volunteer!

THE NOVEMBER MONTHLY GROUP READ IS A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1) by Becky Chambers!
This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #29 A book about a food truck
National Fast Food Day is November 16, 2025
https://www.calendarr.com/united-stat...
Who among you is the “fearless foodie” willing to lead this discussion? Message either Nadine or me to volunteer!
*sigh* No one has volunteered and I adore this book, so am more than willing to reread it and post some questions. However, I am reading books in preparation for an author event as well as two IRL book clubs through November 18, so I most likely won’t get to this until after the 18th. In the meantime, I have posted some introductory questions HERE

THE LISTING OF 2025 MONTHLY GROUP READ TOPICS IS HERE!
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QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
Do you complete reading challenges other than the Popsugar annual challenge? If so, what are some of those other challenges?
Just Popsugar and the 52 Book Club Challenge for 2026! Though I am seriously considering at least one (maybe two!) ‘personal’ challenges I create for myself... Maybe 10 books in each?

From Week #45: What category jumped out at you as The Most? (Interpret how you will: most surprising or most exciting or most fun or just your favorite?)
The prompt I dislike the most! 48. A book with a “shadow daddy” Ugh.
The most creative and intriguing! 43. Two books written by real-life partners or spouses
The most creative wording! 35. A book that makes you want to travel to Italy
The most humorous prompt! 31. A book that makes you feel FOMO
The prompt that may be the most challenging to fulfill! 25. A book that explores influencer culture
The prompt that strikes me as the most obscure and perhaps most difficult to fulfill! 21. A book about a bachelorette trip
My most favorite: 1. A book where gardening or a garden is central to the plot


2025 READING CHALLENGES:
Popsugar: 42/50
52 Book Club: 47/52

2024 Popsugar: 47/50

FINISHED:
*Naked Sleeper: A Novel by Sigrid Nunez ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was, IMO, and excellent example of “literary fiction”! Those last 11 pages certainly set a different tone, and what was, again, IMO, a happy ending. At least for the present!
POPSUGAR: #2, #6, #8, #20, #31, #35, #43, #48
52 Book Club: #4, #33, #36, #46

*A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was such a dense read for me, as well as for the other book club members. Belcourt’s writing definitely crosses genre boundaries. It is very poetic and symbolic, requiring me to take my time and read 2-3 pages at a time in many spots, then take a break, come back and reread those pages to try to determine the author’s meaning and intention. In the end, we all felt he was adept at depicting the trauma visited upon indigenous peoples by colonizers. Not only in the present-day, but the historical murders and oppression that continue to haunt modern-day indigenous folks. Add to that the fact that Belcourt is a gay male indigenous person, and there is the cross-sectional prejudice and oppression he experiences. The loneliness and sense of abandonment must be fierce and all-consuming. This book certainly depicts those resulting emotions and the damage to a person’s psyche. Be warned: this is not a book to be read quickly! Each book club member stated it required concentration and attention…but it does, as we all agreed, provide excellent insights into this individual’s life and experiences… I will not easily forget just how this book made me feel in response to Belcourt’s lived experiences. Nor do I want to forget. We should all remember and strive to do better ourselves, as well as encourage others to do the same.
POPSUGAR: #6, #20, #35
52 Book Club: #37, #43, #46

CONTINUING:
*All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert for an IRL book club meeting Tuesday
*Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez is rather fascinating. I keep wondering exactly where/how this will end…
*Hope on the Inside by Marie Bostwick is not what I was expecting! Bostwick is so savvy at connecting titles…
*The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
*Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power by RebeccaSolnit
*East of Eden by John Steinbeck
*The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
*The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong for an IRL book club meeting
*The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

PLANNED:
*The Last of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez
*What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez
*For Rouenna by Sigrid Nunez
*Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict
*The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley
*The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
*The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict

[Kendra]

Happy Saturday. Another 2 week check in.

Stats:
PS: 48/50
ATY: 50/52
ATY Anniversary: 10/10 - Finished
ATY Rejects: 26/28
ATY Rewind: 8/10
GR Choice: 22/30
GR Bookmarks: 8/12
TBR: 7/10

Finished

Chaos Reigning ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Shifting Shadows ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Forever Girl ⭐⭐⭐⭐
All rereads.

The Last Black Unicorn ⭐⭐⭐
ATY Anniversary: Book that's been on your TBR for 1 year +
GR Memorable Memoirs Bookmark
I'm not a big Haddish fan, so I have no idea why I bought a used copy of her book. But now that I've read it, I can get rid of it.

Annie Muktuk and Other Stories ⭐⭐⭐
ATY: Featuring adult friendships.
I liked Dunning's other short story collection more.

In Progress
Love for Beginners
Cold
Three Shattered Souls

QotW

I do Popsugar, all the the ATY challenges (regular, seasonal, read-a-thon etc) and then I make up a rejects challenge for that, I do the GR bookmarks, I belong to a challenge group called The Lost Challenges that has a bunch of challenges that run anywhere from 1 month to as long as it takes you, and while I don't do every one, I usually have about 30 on the go at a time, and then I have a few personal goals ( 30 GR Choice nominees a year, 10 books out of my physical TBR) I've actually tried to cut back on the amount of challenges I do.........