Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Four weeks into the year and we're closing out our first month. Those of us working on the "monthly challenge" are trying to make our way through the 600-page book by Sunday. (I still have 200 pages to go in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Wish me luck!)

We've seen lots of activity on the discussion boards this week. Be sure to tell us about your progress. And final reminder to vote on the March to December challenges if you want to have a say in that one.

Finished 3 of 52, have a few "currently reading" but I'm at the beginning of all of them, and am not feeling any of them as much as I wanted to be. So, I'm not sure which I'm going to truly dive into next.

I just finished The Maze Runner for my sci-fi book. Originally, it was going to be my dystopian novel, but I just couldn't get through Fahrenheit 451 for sci-fi. It's a lot easier for me to find another dystopian book to read than a sci-fi :)

I spend the first half of the week reading bits and pieces of several different books just not having luck settling on something. Hopefully I will have better progress in the coming week!

I've read 7 books so far this year.

This week, I completed Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Oprah's Book Club) and Steel Scars (Prequel - I'll get to the book part when the second full-length novel in the series comes out in a couple weeks.).

That puts me at 5 books. I'm halfway through another, so I should have a couple more to report next week.

5/42 so far this year.

This week, I finished Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography for my autobiography. Highly recommended.

Just today finished The Maltese Falcon for my "Book and its prequel" book. Will follow it up soon with the prequel Spade & Archer: The Prequel to Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon.

Today, I begin my "Book Set in Your Home State" The Fault in Our Stars for Indiana.

I've finished 12 of the list books. I just finished my library book, One Kick by Chelsea Cain and my murder mystery Still Life by Louise Penny. I might read another murder mystery for a monthly challenge, especially as I didn't really love my choice.

I finished four books this week, putting me at 7/40 prompts so far. I think I'm going to slow down and read some non-challenge books, as I want this list to last through the entire year.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for A book you haven't read since high school
The Old Man and the Sea for A book under 150 pages
The Body Book for A book written by a celebrity
The Tales of Beedle the Bard for A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy

This week I chipped away at A Clockwork Orange for the book I haven't read since high school (still haven't finished it though) and devoured The Versions of Us nominally for the occupation prompt but mainly because I wanted to read it ;)

Next goals: Actually read A Clockwork Orange and stop grabbing new books which get in the way of my January aim to read the 600+ book Gone with the Wind!

I finished go set a watchman for my book I meant to read last year, started a couple others but just picking away at whichever ones I'm feeling at a given moment

I've finished three currently reading station 11 as my dystopian novel and a fighting chance as my political memoir.

I finished my 600+ page book (thanks for encouraging me to get that out of the way!) A Little Life which was beautifully written but could have stood being edited a couple hundred pages.

I finished young adult best seller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Chidren which I've started a few times over the last few years but finally read all the way through.

And I read As You Wish for book written by a celebrity. It was absolutely delightful!!! OMG. And I didn't realize until I was nearly completely through with a print copy that the audiobook was a real gem with a brilliant narration by Cary Elwes and then cameos from the majority of the rest of the cast. I highly recommend either the print or audio version if you love the movie!

And for my other challenge I read Between the World and Me which is a national book award winner, even though I'm not using it for that category.

I finished two more this week, i was hoping to finish three (working on the less than 150 pages book also) but got ended up reading others that don't apply to the challenge. So finished the YA bestseller Graceling by Kristin Cashore and unnatural selection by Aaron Elkins. Since I live in Hawai'i I wanted to do an island book set some place else, & Elkins book is set on an island in the archipelago of the British isles. Challenge within a challenge!

I plan on finishing my under 150 page book before the end of this week, other books aside I'm really distracted now by Felicia Day's book "you're never weird on the Internet (almost)" or my book that brings me joy. So hopefully two more by next weeks check in.

Happy reading all!

I too was delayed a bit during the previous two weeks, due to the sheer size of my 600+ book. I finished it during week 4 (Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy, 1474pp.). I then finished another big one (but with less written text): Chagall et la musique, the catalogue of two beautiful exhibits, for the "first book you see in a bookshop" category. Art books (not to say coffee table books!) deserve more space in our challenges...

Browsing my bookshelves I stumbled upon a book with a blue cover which I hadn't read before: À supposer, by Jacques Jouet. It's much less bulky than the other two: only 46 pages. Poetry: more bang for less shelf space!

Still working on a few other prompts: autobiography (The Vienna Paradox: A Memoir by Marjorie Perloff), less than 150 pages (Lou Rowan, My Last Days), 100 years older (Marguerite de Navarre's Heptameron), and probably others than I'm forgetting about right now. On the whole I'm pretty much on schedule, given that I intend to double up on the challenge! :-)

Last week I managed to finish The Forever War for my science fiction prompt. It could go in blue cover too.

Yesterday I started and finished Someday, Someday, Maybe. It will probably go in library book or blue cover. Thnaks to the person who suggest this book. It was an easy and pleasant read.

I started this morning Night for the 150 pages and in parallel I am also reading the 600 pages book The Wise Man's Fear.

I also read 2 other books for fun. Le Dernier livre de la jungle - tome 1 - Homme (It could be for the movie prompt) and L'île des enfants perdus.

Fannie wrote: "Yesterday I started and finished Someday, Someday, Maybe. It will probably go in library book or blue cover. Thnaks to the person who suggest this book. It was an easy and pleasant read...."

I need to give that book a try again. I started it last year, but I couldn't really get into it. Maybe I quit too soon :) I like Lauren Graham's comedy style so I should like it! :)

I didn't finish any prompts but made progress on my 600 page book. I'm at 90% so I'll be able to finish that today.

I think next I'm going to read a novella and then tackle my "first book you see in bookstore" which was Carry On. I liked all of Rainbow Rowell's books but this one makes me nervous because I didn't like the fan fiction parts of Fangirl. Not to mention that reviewers are slamming it for being a Harry Potter knock-off. I'm going to give it a shot though.

Fannie wrote: "Yesterday I started and finished Someday, Someday, Maybe. It will probably go in library book or blue cover. Thnaks to the person who suggest this book. It was an easy and pleasant read."

It also fits "written by a celebrity" as Lauren Graham is an actress (Gilmore Girls, Parenthood).

Megan wrote ... "tackle my "first book you see in bookstore" which was Carry On. I liked all of Rainbow Rowell's books but this one makes me nervous because I didn't like the fan fiction parts of FangirlFangirl. Not to mention that reviewers are slamming it for being a Harry Potter knock-off. I'm going to give it a shot though.

Let me know what you think! I've had my eye on that one too. Am finishing the Harry Potter series right now and I had the same thoughts when I was reading Fangirl. But I do love Rainbow Rowell so willing to give her a chance.

Sara wrote: "I just finished The Maze Runner for my sci-fi book. Originally, it was going to be my dystopian novel, but I just couldn't get through Fahrenheit 451 for sci-fi. It's a lot easier fo..."

Hey how did you like the maze runner?

Mike wrote: "5/42 so far this year.

This week, I finished Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography for my autobiography. Highly recommended.

Just today finished [book:The Maltese Fal..."

I want to read Neil Patrick Haris book and I loved the fault in our stars!!

Sara wrote: "Fannie wrote: "Yesterday I started and finished Someday, Someday, Maybe. It will probably go in library book or blue cover. Thnaks to the person who suggest this book. It was an easy and pleasant r..."

Oh I want to read this!! Thank you for your review on it!!

Marisa wrote: "Hey how did you like the maze runner? ..."

I liked The Maze Runner. Sometimes I get tired of the dystopian genre because it feels like people are just tweaking a well-used formula. This one is a little different, and it was well-written. My only issue is that sometimes I just want to read A book. Not a trilogy, not a long series, just A book. Even though this book leads directly into the next book I really don't plan to read any more.

I think my issue is more about the genre as a whole and I'm just taking it out on The Maze Runner :) Bottom line is that if you are a fan of dystopian books then it is worth a read.

I finished 4 books this week so I am now at 13/40 tasks. My personal goal is to be done by April so I can read whatever I want.

15. A book written by a celebrity- The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy by Rainn Wilson 1/23/16
21. A book recommended by a family member- The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan 1/22/16
34. A book from the library- 44 Charles Street by Danielle Steel 1/25/16
40. A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy- Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson 1/22/16

This week I finished Go Set a Watchman. It was a hard book to read and to get through but, I finished it for the book with a blue cover prompt! I have now completed four prompts for this challenge! I am happy to be staying on track! :)

I am also listening to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which, is kind of hard to listen to but, hopefully I can finish this soon too and cross off my fifth prompt! :)

This week I finished The Buried Giant for Book about a road trip, The Martian for my Science Fiction, and Matched for my dystopian. Started Inferno on audible for set in Europe, and Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin…Every Inch of It for self-improvement.

Sara wrote: "Marisa wrote: "Hey how did you like the maze runner? ..."

I liked The Maze Runner. Sometimes I get tired of the dystopian genre because it feels like people are just tweaking a well-used formula. ..."

Thank you for your review!! I wonder how I will feel about it! :)

I also just finished The Grownup for my book that is under 150 pages! I now have 5 prompts done! :)

I finished The Selection by Kiera Cass for my book finished in a day and I'm still chipping away at The Wise Man's Fear. I'm really enjoying it though. I've also checked out three books from the library that I can't wait to get to: BossyPants (book by a comedian), Scarlet (fairy tale re-telling), and True (book by a celebrity).

I knocked out 4 books for this challenge this week: Everything, Everything (a YA bestseller), Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight?: Confessions of a Gay Dad (a book with a blue cover), Honor Girl: A Graphic Memoir (a book that takes place during summer), and Not to Disturb (a book that's under 150 pages). All were pretty good - Not to Disturb was my favorite of the bunch - and they were all really quick reads, in case anyone is looking to punch up their totals in a hurry :)

Here's what I've read for the month of January.


A Book That is Becoming a Movie This Year - The 5th Wave
A Book With a Blue Cover - Hopeless
A Book About a Road Trip - Winters Heat
A Book Recommended by Someone You Just Met - Tragic
A Book You Can Read in One Day - The Muse and the Fairy Tale

Just finished my blue book: big little lies by liane Moriaty. Loved it!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In week 4 I finished:

A book translated into English (would also work for set in Europe or Murder Mystery): Nemesis by Jo Nesbo - this book was a Kindle freebie I acquired several months ago, I was vaguely familiar with the name "Jo Nesbo" and figured it was worth a try. It's book 3 (or 4?) in the "Harry Hole" mystery series. I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I really enjoyed it!! I will definitely read other books from this series in the future, and if I can I will read them in order (they weren't translated into English in order, so it might be hard for me to find them all).

A book written by a comedian: Yes Please by Amy Poehler - This was a disappointment for me.

I am still plugging along on my 600+ page book, Winter (and REALLY enjoying it, I might add!)

Finally finished The Causal Vacancy (a book set in Europe) just yesterday, haha. So I'm officially 2/41 books for this challenge and the year. Started I Am Malala for my political memoir today. Hoping to knock it out quickly, but we'll see. Definitely feeling way behind and it's only the end of the first month. =/

Finished 6 in the month of January, ending up with my book set in Europe: Joan of Arc: A History. I requested it LAST year as part of my goal to increase my non-fiction reading, and it didn't come in for a really long time. Interesting enough to finish, but still a bit of a slog in places...

I finished The Girl on the Train (set in Europe), and started Rebecca (classic from the 20th century) and The Color of Water in July (blue cover) and The Amityville Horror (first book I saw in a book store)

I got hooked on reading a non-challenge book because the cover was just so cool! The Middlesteins was really good, too. But reading The Color Master now which is a blue book so I'm back on track!