Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2018 Weekly Checkins
>
Week 2: 1/4 - 1/11
Hello! It’s cold here in Nova Scotia but at about -8 (Celsius) it feels mild compared to the -27 of last week! BrrrI actually had a good week but I’m trying to finish 2 books in time for my book club on Tuesday so I’ve had to alternate and therefore am within about 50 pages of being finished both Emma by Jane Austen (probably a book recommended by someone doing the challenge) and The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa which I haven’t decided for this year but will check off one of the couple I’m still working on for 2017 (recommended by a librarian)
I’m running a buddy/group read in February for The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule if anyone wants to join us there is a thread!
QOTW: I didn’t meet the challenge goal last year so part of my goal this year is to be more organized so I can get it done. I also upped my Goodreads goal to 55 from 50 the past 2 years and 30 the year before that. I’m also (allowing overlap) trying the bookriot read harder and modern mrs Darcy challenges this year. As well as doing the popsugar with kids books with my 3 year old again.
I'm on a roll so far.I finished three books this week
The Bear and the Nightingale that I have used for "Book set in a country that fascinates you". I absolutely LOVED the book and can't wait for the next one in the series.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory for "book with a song lyric in the title". I found it just OK. But I do want to read the author's newest book (which I plan to use for the book about death)
Under the Green Star for my "book with your favorite color in the title". It was a quick fun read that was very much an homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter series.I have started two others:
Headhuntersfor my Nordic Noir and Bloodline, which I haven't determined yet which of the several categories it will fit in I will use it for.
QOTW
I have given thought to trying to do some of Book Riot's challenge as well, but my first focus is PopSugar's. I do usually find myself picking up at least one or two books not for the challenge throughout the year... usually because I want to keep with the series because it's been so good.
Mod
It's 40F and raining here in northern NY, which feels balmy after our single digits. It's supposed to go up to 55F tomorrow, and then a low of 11F, so ... geez. So far our deep snow cover has been holding steady, and I hope that continues, because (a) otherwise my dogs will find MUD, and (b) a huge temperature swing like that will be hard on the plants, the snow blankets them and protects them.
I finally finished two challenge books this week, so I feel like I'm back on track for the challenge, which is a relief. I am now 2/50. I also abandoned one challenge book, and read a great graphic novel.
Abandoned:
Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen - this was going to be my "male pseudonym" book, but ... I gave it 100 pages, and I just couldn't take it. She's so PATRONIZING to the people living around her in Kenya!
Success!:
Avengers Assemble: Science Bros by Kelly Sue DeConnick - this year I've been trying to read an assortment of superhero comics, and this was my first try at an Avengers title, and oh boy did I love this! If you like watching Ironman just to hear Robert Downey Jr crack jokes, then you will enjoy this comic book collection.
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas - this was my "recommended by a fellow Popsugarer" (she recommended it a few years ago, but it was right here in this group so it counts!) I was disappointed in this one.
Provenance by Ann Leckie - I read this because I love Ann Leckie and my library hold came in. It can fit any number of prompts: different planet, heist, LBGT+, meant to read in 2017, or favorite from past years. For now, I'm penciling it in for "heist." I really loved this book and I highly recommend it. It was just so much fun! The protagonist, Ingray, is not a super-duper bad-ass (a la Breq of the Ancillary series, whom I also love), she is a regular person, she makes some stupid decisions, she gets herself into a jam, she's prone to moments of panic, she's often afraid (to the point of breaking into uncontrollable tears), but she is kind, intelligent, capable, aware of her strengths, well-meaning, and brave, and she steps forward despite her fear and does what needs doing, and in the end she is the hero. Also, it was quite funny, kind of like the movie Guardians of the Galaxy.
QOTW YES! This year, along with Popsugar, I plan to do Around the Year, AND I have a personal challenge, a list of 43 specific books that I chose to read in 2018. I did this personal challenge last year, and I missed by 4 books (which I'm reading now, when I can get them - Out of Africa was one, boy that was a bust!) Whenever possible, I will count one book towards more than one challenge, but that won't always work. It's a little intimidating, I may have signed up for more than I can do, so I won't be too hard on myself if I don't complete the AtY challenge. The personal challenge feels good, because it's good to finally get to "those books" that I've been telling myself I "really ought to read soon." Sometimes the books are fantastic, sometimes they are disappointments, but it always feels good to finally have gotten to read them.
I finished one book and started another. Finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Using this for Nordic Noir. I do plan on reading the other two books.
Started Turtles All the Way Down. I was going to use this for mental health but I saw a girl reading it at the airport terminal this weekend so I'm switching it to being read by a stranger in public. I'm 58% in.
QOTW
My goals will be to complete the popsugar challenge, finish my re-read of Harry Potter, read at least 60 books, and finish 5 series.
This is a super busy time for me at work, getting exams coordinated for school, so I've slowed down from week 1 on the challenge. I'm working on 3 books at this time. Listening to (and struggling through) my Nordic Noir, The Keeper of Lost Causes. This genre is so different from my lovely cozy mysteries, and I'm really having a hard time even listening to parts. Currently reading my mental health book The Enneagram Made Easy: Discover the 9 Types of People which is the easiest of my current reads. My choice for the year I graduated is a historical mystery, The Virgin in the Ice, but I haven't had time to sit and really read, so it's slow going so far. Hopefully this weekend, I will knock out at least one of the three.
QOTW: Yes, I'm doing other challenges alone with Popsugar. My goal this year is 105 books, which is 2 more than I read last year. It's doable, but it's definitely going to be a push. Also, I participate in a cozy BINGO game several times a year, and one is about to begin. Luckily, I make sure I have books that will fit into some of the categories in this challenge as well as the game, so I don't usually fall behind in either.
I have finished 5 books this week, which is pretty amazing if I do say so myself. Those were:Spectacles - fulfils "LGBTQ+ protagonist" prompt
A Quiet Kind of Thunder - fulfils "weather-related title" prompt
Every Heart a Doorway (a reread)
Down Among the Sticks and Bones (a reread) - fulfils "book with characters who are twins" prompt
Beneath the Sugar Sky - fulfils "2018 release" prompt
Really liked all of them, too. :D
Currently reading No Name and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stane (Scots Edition).
Liking No Name a lot, I'm quite a fan of Wilkie Collins. The Scots Harry Potter was hilarious for the first few chapters but once you get over the novelty of the language it's a bit... "meh".
Question of the week:
Aside from the Popsugar challenge do you have any reading goals for 2018?
My total reading goal is 100 books and I'm also doing the Read Women challenge, for which my goal is at least 50 books. Apart from that, taking it pretty easy this year!
Sara wrote: "Hello and welcome to another edition of the Thursday check-in! This 2018 challenge is off to a great start! We are finally getting back into a normal routine in my house after holidays and school c..."The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books. I highly recommend that one.
Good morning! It is temporarily warm here, but we have another cold front moving in. I finished several books this week, and I'm 5/50 in the challenge (good start!):1924: The Year That Made Hitler by Peter Ross Range - this is my True Crime book, as it examines not only the crimes Hitler committed prior to taking over Germany but also how his words and actions foreshadowed what was to come; it's a really good case study on Hitler's early years.
Attack on Titan, Vol. 1 by Hajime Isayama - I'm also doing the Book Riot Read Harder challenge and it requires 3 comic books this year, since I am not a big comic book reader I figured I'd knock these out early; I also used this for the PS prompt A book with an ugly cover because the creature on the cover is hideous
Pathfinder Vol. 1: Dark Waters Rising by Jim Zub - another comic done, and used for the PS prompt A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist
Fairest of All by Serena Valentino - this was my book about a villain or antihero, as it is the story of Snow White told from the Queen's perspective; loved this so much that I plan to continue with the series
Next up, because I really need to read a book set in the US to start my Around the World in 80 Days challenge for the year, I'm reading The Daughter of Union County by Francine Thomas Howard. This is going to be my book I meant to read in 2017, because I checked it out on Prime Reading a year ago and never got to it. So far it is really good.
QOTW: Obviously I am full of reading goals for 2018; I don't know how to keep it simple. I met most of my goals last year, so I feel pretty comfortable with what I've chosen this year - I'm doing PopSugar, Book Riot, Around the World in 80 books, and the 50 books in 50 States challenge (plus a few others that I think will easily crossover with the books I'm reading for these). Last year I managed to complete all of these challenges except ATW80, but I did a ton of monthly challenges (and lots of non-challenge reading), so this year I'm sticking with yearly challenges to stay focused. Of course, if I don't meet any of these goals, it's no big loss since I still will have read a ton of books. My TBR list is ever growing.
Happy Thursday from confused Wisconsin! It is currently 40*F, misty and foggy, but is supposed to drop 20* in the next 4 hours, start snowing, and freezing. Plus its about 80* and dry in the library that I work so I have no idea how to dress! Layers, layers, layers!This week I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Didn't care for it too much but I did write my own reviews and will discuss in our group discussion.
I have no started any other books. Before Christmas I started Little Women and A Clash of Kings so I will probably pick up one of those next.
QOTW: Popsugar is my top priority, I would REALLY like to actually finish the challenge this year! I'm also hoping to read at least one new release a month to keep myself current. I never much cared about reading new releases but it's fun to see them pop up in the Goodreads Choice Awards at the end of the year!
Here in the Netherlands the weather has been kind; too kind really. We've not really had a winter. It's like y'all took our winter and added it on top of yours!My first week was a huge success! I have never before done a challenge, besides the regular Goodreads challenge because I was afraid it would put too much pressure on me, resulting in me not reading at all. I wasn't even gonna do this challenge, but I signed up for the BTB challenge, and people kept mentioning this one, so I checked it out, and I got excited. And here I am!
So far I have read the following:
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for the year you were born in
A Single Man for the LGTBQ+ prompt
Dante's Numbers for the heist prompt
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass for the childhood classic I never read
Alice I Have Been for the novel based on a real person
At the moment I'm not reading anything, but I plan to start My Ladybird Story today, for the animal in the title prompt.
I decided to start working on school again last Monday so I won't keep up the pace I set so far, but I'm real pleased with what I've read so far!
QOTW
I have quite small goals compared to some of you. I set my reading challenge on Goodreads to 40, but for Popsugar alone I already have 46 books to read in total, with hopefully the other 5 advanced challenges to be added as well. And then there is the Beat the Backlist challenge I signed up for. I didn't set a number for that one, just a 'as much as possible'. Luckily a lot of books on my Popsugar list are on my backlist as well, but there are quite a few that are just on one of the lists. Basically, if I don't make my Goodreads goal, I don't finish any challenges haha!
My first check in here (missed last weeks). So far I've finished 2 books. Final Girls for my book I didn't get to in 2017 and Little Fires Everywhere for the GR choice award winner, since it won for 2017. Absolutely loved the first book, could have done without the second but hey I read and crossed off a prompt so that's something.QOTW: The only other thing I'm doing is the GR reading challenge, which is nice because all you have to do is count books. Doesn't matter what you read. I have it set for 150. We'll see how I do. It's my first year doing it so I didn't exactly know what to set it for.
Happy Thursday, everyone!I have had a pretty productive reading week. Finished 3, and they all work for multiple prompts. (yay!) I'm not assigning them to a specific prompt yet, and then I'll how things pan out after a few months.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas - I really did not like the first book in this series, but everyone talks about how great the second one is so I gave it a try. This was awesome! SO my pattern of liking the second book in the series the best continues.
A Court of Wings and Ruin - ACOMAF was so good I had to go straight into the second one. Luckily my library had the ebook available so all I had to do was download and go!
Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond - This was relatively short (about 180 pages), but also eye opening.
QOTW
I am also doing the book riot challenge. But what will be even more difficult is my goal to read 50 books I already own. I need to focus on clearing out my shelves. I'm not off to a great start, because every book I read this week was a library book.
Luckily I own The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story and have been meaning to read it for a couple years. So I will definitely be joining Tara's group read of that next month.
Kristina wrote: "I'm on a roll so far.
I finished three books this week
The Bear and the Nightingale that I have used for "Book set in a country t..."I read The Bear and the Nightingale last year! It was one of my favorite reads. I'm so glad that you enjoyed it. I recommend it to friends every chance I get.
Happy Thursday!This week I had a packed (for me) social calendar. My alma mater, located 800 miles away, started the new football coach tour in my city! Strange because we don't have a huge number of alums in the area. We only do two meetings a year, so it was pretty exciting and a must go! That's in addition to other things cutting into my reading!
Finished 2 this week, both fluffy reads:
#18. A book by 2 authors: 16th Seduction by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. I gave it 3 stars, but wanted meatier resolutions.
#29. A book set on Halloween. Town in a Pumpkin Bash by B B Haywood. 2 stars -- again, I wasn't completely pleased with the resolution and felt the book had too many tangents occurring.
Currently reading:
#20 Book by a local author. Kingdom of Happiness: Living the Beatitudes in Everyday Life by seven miles from me Fr. Jeffrey Kirby. While short, it is a meaty book, full of self reflection and deep thinking exercises. It's excellent, but I'm not getting through a chapter a day like I had forecast. That's okay -- I'll be better off for the deep dive!
#27 Book set on a different planet. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. I'm not the target demographic for this. It's fine, but I wouldn't be reading it if not to complete a prompt.
I've picked up The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, and Other Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald for my book mentioned in another book #31, It was mentioned in The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.
Sara and Kellene -- The Count of Monte Cristo is my Celebrity Book Club read! I'm excited to hear others are reading it and enjoying it!
QOTW: My reading goals
This is my first PopSugar and I'm also doing a 50 states challenge. It's been fun trying to cross-over the books for planning. I also plan to read at least 30000 pages. Finally, I like to read up on vacation destinations and I've been on a Presidential homes kick. I hope to squeeze in biographies of Andrew Jackson, James Polk, and Andrew Johnson before my vacation.
5/50Yay! We are not having below-freezing weather anymore! Three more prompts down:
A book with alliteration in the title:
I didn't even plan this one, but I was trying to finish up Fahrenheit 451. This was a tough read. I mean why would anyone want to burn books! :-(
A book by an author with the same first or last name by you:
I immediately thought of Johanna Lindsey. I knew she was a popular author, but didn't know she was in the romance department. I almost picked someone else, but I thought that would defeat the purpose of the challenge - to broaden my scope of reading. So I picked When Passion Rules and was immediately sucked in. I really liked this book! And will probably read another by her at some time.
A book involving a heist:
I read Heist Society. If you love YA, then I highly recommend this book! I loved that the protagonist was a teenage girl and managed to accomplish what she set her mind to.
On my bedside table is still Autonomous for my Cyberpunk pick and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - can't decide if it will be for True Crime or a book with a time of day.
QOTW:
I also do the Goodreads challenge and I set it to the number of books I need to complete for this one. This challenge is pretty much it for me. I basically am trying to get out of my comfort-zone of chick lit and historical fiction. And in the past couple of years I have really found some books I have love which I would not have read otherwise.
This week was Drood by Dan Simmons.I enjoyed the writing which is crucial at close to 800 pages, but the secrets were rather obvious. Mostly satisfying. I'll call this my book about mental health.
QOTW:
The two books on my 2018 must read list are:
Middlemarch
and
A Tale of Two Cities
I might fit in another Tolstoy this year. (Last year had War and Peace and Anna Karenina)
Johanna wrote: "I immediately thought of Johanna Lindsey. I knew she was a popular author, but didn't know she was in the romance department. I almost picked someone else, but I thought that would defeat the purpose of the challenge - to broaden my scope of reading. So I picked When Passion Rules and was immediately sucked in. I really liked this book! And will probably read another by her at some time."She was one of my go-to authors when I used to read a ton of romance novels. She has a series about the Malory family (first book Love Only Once) which I remember liking. There's a series about a viking family, and I think there is also a futuristic series (which would work for book on another planet). Typical romance books but still fun :)
Anne wrote: "Sara and Kellene -- The Count of Monte Cristo is my Celebrity Book Club read! I'm excited to hear others are reading it and enjoying it!..."I read about 300 pages last year, but I had to turn it into the library and never got around to checking it out again. I am hoping to get back into it this year!
Working on books 3 & 4 for the 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge.I’m struggling a bit with The Vampire Lestat. I think maybe it’s because I enjoyed the first book of the series, then this book just sort of comes along and says, “No, no. Don’t believe all that. Unreliable narrator and whatnot. This is who I really am.” Yeah, no. I’m not that into revisionist history. Instead, it feels like Rice had post-publishing regrets and thought she could create a cash cow by changing certain aspects of her favorite character.
I don’t approve.
But I will (eventually) persevere.
The Lies of Locke Lamora is a bit smoother (although considerably longer) read, perhaps because it doesn’t carry the same baggage as Lestat. I am enjoying it thus far, but not always a fan of the nonlinear storytelling. I can see why the author made the choice to tell the story that way, and perhaps it’s more immersive than after-the-fact exposition, but there’s still something about it that doesn’t feel quite right.
At page 159 of 550 on Lestat and around page 300 of 752 on Lamora. Original goal was to finish both in 2 weeks, but not sure that will happen now. Definitely will be done with both by end of the month and onto the next books for the challenge.
Dunno if this interests anyone, but this week I managed to finish the first draft for the book I'm writing! :D Excited! I know this is only the first step toward publication, but still, it feels great to have actually finished something. Now just hope I can rewrite/revise/edit it and do the challenge at the same time...Finished FIVE books this week... holy crow. Though to be fair, one of them was a graphic novel...
The Book of Three -- Book that fits one of prompts from the 2015 PopSugar challenges (book with a number in the title). A friend has recommended this series to me, and while I found it good but not great, I plan to continue it and see if it gets better as it goes.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- Nordic noir. The mystery aspect was intriguing, but I could have done without the graphic depictions of violence, especially against women...
Stealing Snow -- Book by an author with the same name as you. I cheated on this one and used an author whose last name matched my middle name. And boy, this one was bad -- it felt slapped together in a rush, the usual love triangle has been replaced by a love SQUARE, and the author's depiction of mental illness is laughable.
The Last Battle -- Not for the challenge, just to finish the Narnia series. I liked it, but have issues with the ending. (view spoiler)
Athos in America -- Not for the challenge. The graphic novels of Jason aren't for all tastes (and are DEFINITELY not for kids), but he has a knack for giving one a thoughtful, deeply emotional story, and this one's no exception.
QOTW:
The PopSugar challenge is my main focus for this year, though I'd also like to finish the series I've started over the course of last year and the beginning of this one - Parasol Protectorate, Prydian Chronicles, The Old Kingdom, etc. At least I've finished Narnia...
Hi everyone! It was a good reading week as I was a bit under the weather, giving me a lot of time curled up on the sofa with a blanket and book. Unfortunately that was when it was nice outside, and later today we might get snow in Dallas with temperatures back to cold (for us) for the remainder of the week.I finished 2 for Popsugar this week, so I am at 2/50. I should finish up 2 more today, so I feel this year is off to a good start!
Books I read this week:
The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand for a book with characters who are twins (30). This was okay. It was really hard to like one of the twins because her decisions were poor and she never took any responsibility for them. I did (mostly) like the other twin, though, and I enjoyed the way the teenaged daughter matured over a summer.
Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit for a book about feminism (15). The title says it all. The statistics in some of the essays are horrifying but sadly true. I would love to have dinner with Solnit and pick her brain.
I am currently reading:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot for the Around the Year challenge prompt a narrative nonfiction (16).
Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen for the obvious prompt a book with song lyrics in the title (28). I should finish this today.
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman for a book made into a movie I’ve already seen (1). I'll finish this one tonight also.
QOTW: I plan to finish both the Popsugar and Around the Year challenges, with as few duplicates as possible. Now that I travel a lot for work I read more, so I set a goal to read 75 books this year. I will re-evaluate that in August if I look to be way ahead or behind. I also have a goal to read at least 1 non-fiction and 1 classic per month.
Hi Everyone! Got a bit of a warm up this week, finally melting some of the snow. We're getting more snow tomorrow so it won't last long, but at least when I shovel I'll have room to dump it.
This week I finished Ancillary Sword which I'm using for the other planet prompt. Technically it's mostly on space stations, but they do go to a planet at one point. And I figure the spirit of the prompt is more "not earth" than specifically planet based. I'm also using it for the ATY prompt for a book rated five stars by a friend. I only gave it 4 myself, I don't seem to LOVE the series as much as everyone else does. But it is very good and I enjoy it.
I also read Last Rituals for my nordic noir, and ATY for a country I'd like to visit but haven't. I already had read the whole Millennium series, including the new guy's contributions. I picked this one because it was a female author, female lead and was set in Iceland. I didn't love it, but it was ok. I don't know if it was a translation issue or what but the tone was weird. I also was left wondering how on earth the main woman got involved, the reason given was very tenuous and it was never really clarified. She was not part of the police, an investigator, and even as a lawyer she worked on contracts not criminal law.
I started The Power which i'd been waiting for for about 3 months, but i ended up putting it on hold a bit to give myself a break re-reading Reserved for the Cat. I thought The Power was going to be a kind of rah rah woman book, where women gained an ability that allowed them to balance the scales in society. But then I kept seeing reviews talking about how dark and compelling it was, and decided I needed something a bit lighter before really diving down into it. I'll finish it this weekend. It will be my celebrity book club pick, since it was a pick for Emma Watson's feminist bookclub. (It'd probably also work for a book on feminism) and I'll count it for ATY for a woman's prize winner.
QOTW:
I'm doing 3 challenges this year, yes I know I'm kind of crazy. Popsugar, Around the Year, and Read Harder. I'm letting myself double (or triple if i can) count across the challenges though. I also set a reading goal of 175, which is more books than I've ever read in a year. But last year I did hit 169, so it's not that far off. I read a lot of comic trades which I count, which is why the number's so high. I want to get through more of my backlog this year so maybe the higher reading goal will help goad me into it.
This year has not gotten off to a great start for me as I started off very sick and still haven't finished a single book for the Popsugar challenge, but I am close. Currently Reading:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for Nordic Noir and the group read. I will be listening to the rest on audio so I can listen to it while I walk/run. I gained a lot of weight from being so sedentary last year from the book challenge.
The Rescue for local author. I am almost done. It is interesting but too unintentionally comical.
I have read a handful of picture books and Ramona Quimby, Age 8.
QoTW: I am really challenging myself on goodreads with 100 books goal but mostly because I count a lot of the picture books I read to the kids and it blows my past years goals out of the water. I will make it more of real challenge this year. Including Popsugar I am also doing the Newbery Reading Challenge hosted by Smiling Shelves.
Hi everyone,Besides a couple of books I read outside of this challenge, this week I read:
Saga, Vol. 1 finally!!! It was all sorts of amazing, I'll probably end up reading the following volumes really soon. I read it as part of the "book set on a different planet" prompt.
Five Days by Douglas Kennedy for the "book that was given to you as a gift" prompt. It wasn't my cup of tea to begin with and I didn't really like it in the end. But there are some books mentioned in it and maybe I'll use one of them for this other prompt... everything's not lost!
QOTW:
I've signed up on Goodreads last month, I've never really did a challenge, never even counted how many books I would read per year or try to reach a number so it's all a bit new. I'm trying the general Goodreads challenge but I have no idea what's too low or too high for me so I guess I'll see how I go during the first months of 2018 and adjust accordingly.
I've been wandering around some other challenges here, like Around the Year in 52 Books, but I'm not sure I'll do it as seriously as the Popsugar challenge, that's my main goal.
As for books to read in particular, it's going to be the year I read The Art of Joy (L'arte della gioia) by Goliarda Sapienza. Yepppp.
I hope everyone has a nice week!
Kenya wrote: "Dunno if this interests anyone, but this week I managed to finish the first draft for the book I'm writing! :D Excited! I know this is only the first step toward publication, but still, it feels gr..."Great job! As a fellow author I know what a huge step this is. Keep at the rewrites, it is worth all the hard work when you see the cover of your book with your name on it.
I've always been a voracious reader, but my reading has definitely dropped off over the last couple of years. Our house flooded in October 2015, again in October 2016, and very nearly in September of this past year. In addition, we had a baby in February 2016, so to say that life has been hectic between becoming parents and being in a near constant state of flood preparation, evacuation, and rebuilding would be a definite understatement. I don't have as many books completed as I'd like yet, but I'm doing ok so far.Completed:
The Paris Spy: A Maggie Hope Mystery
I'm using this for "a book set in a country that fascinates you," as I've always been a Francophile and was a French major in college. I've really enjoyed this series, and this one definitely left me with no idea as to what I should expect from the next installment.
In Progress:
The Morning Miracle
"A book with a time of day in the title." I'm about 2/3 of the way through and expect to finish tomorrow or Saturday at the very latest. It's been recommended by various people approximately a jillion times, so it was nice that it fit neatly into the challenge.
The Hammer of Thor: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
"A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to." I'm about halfway through and am really enjoying it. Rick Riordan is a brilliant author. I wish I'd had him around when I was a kid.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo:
"Nordic Noir" I started this on audio yesterday. Sometimes audio is just easier with a little one running around the house. Plus, I can get in reading time when we're in the car running errands. Extra convenient is the fact that my sister already had the audio for this one. So it's perfect. I'm about an hour in, and the book is 16+ hours.
Question of the week:
Aside from the Popsugar challenge do you have any reading goals for 2018?
I'm thinking of adding another reading challenge or two, which is absolutely ridiculous, but there it is. Modern Mrs. Darcy is intriguing, as is Bookriot's Read Harder challenge. It looks like there would definitely be some crossovers between lists, so perhaps it's not quite so ridiculous? I'd also like to get to the point where my little guy and I are reading at least 5 books a day together. For quite some time, he hasn't wanted to sit still while I read, even though he loves books, so I'm trying to figure out ways to make it work. Read to him while he's eating dinner? Read to him while he's nursing? Read to him even though he's running around like a crazy person?
I am currently working from home while waiting to go into labor with my first child so i have a lot of time before and after work to read. So far this week I have been able to finish 5 books which i haven't done in years! Without Merit
Two Girls Down
The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story
Year One
The Bookshop on the Corner
Currently reading: A Clash of Kings
Besides working on the popsugar challenge, I am hoping to finish reading a lot of the books i've purchased in the past but have not gotten to yet. They are just collecting dust right now on the shelves right now. I have also joined Book of The Month this year as a treat to myself. Hopefully, when the little one gets here, I will still find some time to read and complete my challenge for the year!
I didn't get to read as much as usual this week. Funerals, kiddos performing, flooding basement- you know how life gets in the way. Now I've done all I can currently accomplish in the basement, and the weather has taken a turn for the worse, I can give myself permission to snuggle up in a blanket and read.I read One of Us Is Lying and will count that as a book with an ugly cover. I enjoyed it, but was not surprised by the big reveals. It is written for young adults, so maybe they would be more shocked but I really don't think so.
I also read Lincoln in the Bardo which I decided to read because of the reviews in this group. I liked it.
The third, and final, book I read this week was Nothing. What a grim little read. I am glad it was suggested to me for the Nordic Noir prompt because I can't go more grim then this. I am too much of a wimp in my reading. I am really glad to be done with both the book and the prompt.
Currently I am still plugging away through The Complete Father Brown and The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey. Both are books I am enjoying.
QOTW: I just do the Popsugar reading challenge and read for a youth book committee (which is why you will see so many YA and children's books in my weekly updates). I have set a Goodreads goal of 150 books, and have always surpassed that. I am thinking about setting it to 175, but I will make that call a little later in the year.
Happy Reading!
Amanda wrote: "I've always been a voracious reader, but my reading has definitely dropped off over the last couple of years. Our house flooded in October 2015, again in October 2016, and very nearly in September ..."Rick Riordan is one of my favorite writers! I bought the first Magnus Chase book recently, and it's on my list for this year! It won the Goodreads Award in 2015, so it goes nicely with that prompt. I also hope to finally finish the Heroes of Olympus series this year, but I might have to reread them to refresh my memory; it's been way too long. I want to reread Percy Jackson as well, but that might have to wait with all I still want to read haha!
The way he incorporates myth into the modern world is just amazing, and as his first series dealt with the Greek Gods (my favorites) I was hooked right from the start. I also still have Trials of Apollo waiting for me, but I need to finish Heroes of Olympus first.
Good luck reading, and I hope this year will be easier on you!
Hello Readers! I have been home getting over a cold this past week, so I have been able to get quite a bit of reading done. For the book made into movie that I've already seen, I chose Misery. Finished it last night. Reading this was a reminder of what a great writer Stephen King is!
For the book with a weather element, I read The Storm King. This was an advance read copy and the book comes out February 6th.
For a book about mental health, I read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I had started this book last year and abandoned it because I was afraid it was going to be too sad. Well, I was right, but having the break about midway from reading was just the thing I needed to get through it.
My reading goals for this year--other than completing the PopSugar challenge--is to get caught up on the BOTM titles I have on hand and read books I already own on the kindle. In fact, one of the reasons I decided to do the Popsugar challenge again this year was because I already owned so many books to fill the prompts. I thought this would be a good way to make a dent in the TBR stack!
One other goal is to read more books over 500 pages. When doing these challenges, it's easy to overlook the big ones because of the time commitment, but I feel like I am missing out on some great stories. I already have one started--Scotland: The Story of a Nation, which may go under the prompt for a country that fascinates me.
Greetings from tropical South Bend, Indiana, USA! After a few cold and snowy weeks, we top out in the mid 50sF today, before returning to our regularly-scheduled winter overnight tonight. Enjoying it while I can.Finished one book this week:
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for my Song Lyrics in the Title prompt. This epic poem was the inspiration to a long (11+ minutes) song of the same name by one of my favorite bands, Iron Maiden. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and actually had the song going through my head as I was reading. Thanks to Nadine for giving me the idea for this one!
In progress:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Nordic Noir)
How to Train Your Dragon (Movie I've Seen). Audiobook narrated by David Tennant, who is remarkable. The only similarities to the movie are the names of the characters.
The Potawatomi (Based on Ancestry). I am precisely 1/32 Potawatomi, and their ancestral homeland happens to be right here in N. Indiana/S. Michigan (our zoo is named after the tribe), so I was in the mood to learn more. Plus, the new casino opens here next week!
I hope to finish all three in the next week.
QOTW
Simple goal. There are 50 prompts in the Popsugar challenge, and I rounded it up to 52 to make it an easy one-per-week.
Until next week, happy reading!
Happy Thursday everyone!! I didn't finish any books this week, still working on the same two.Currently Reading:
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I'm about halfway through and had to take a break. I was quite enjoying it until some *ahem* "historically accurate" parts happened and I'm a bit put off.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman. Really loving this so far! My first Backman and I enjoy his writing style.
Question of the Week:
My inner goal is to read 75 books (I finished 68 in 2017). And, like last year, I want to read more classics! In addition to this challenge I'd like to read one a month. I've checked out Jane Eyre for the month of January.
Sara wrote: "Hello and welcome to another edition of the Thursday check-in! This 2018 challenge is off to a great start! We are finally getting back into a normal routine in my house after holidays and school c..."Sara, It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree is on my TBR list as well, but I'm not sure if I will use it for the ancestry prompt. I'm one of the lucky ones that knows quite a bit about my family history, so I could choose just about anything from American history and relate it to my ancestry. :)
But, I'm like you, I think the book will be fascinating!
This week life, work and so forth got in the way, and I didn´t finish a book for the challenge. I enjoyed following the different threads here, though, and I got a ton of inspiration.I am currently reading:
The Blade Itself I don´t know which prompt I will use it for, but probably "villain/ antihero" since more or less all of its main characters are antiheroes.
A book called "Mombom - havevæsnernes verden" for the "ugly cover" prompt (Book not on Goodread, got it for a review)
The Rule of Thoughts #2 in James Dashner´s Mortality Doctrine. I will probably use this for "Cyberpunk", but it fits other prompts as well.
Question of the week:
I am not doing other challenges, except my own personal; to read more books on my TBR piles and lists (yes, both are plural). So I´m using PopSugar for this, as well as to broaden my reading field.
Happy reading!
Kristina wrote: "I'm on a roll so far.I finished three books this week
The Bear and the Nightingale that I have used for "Book set in a country t..."Kristina and Kelly, the sequel, The Girl in the Tower was also really good. In fact, I liked it better than the first book.
Hello- so glad that it's finally warming up here in Baltimore (50F) :). This has been a busy week for me and it doesn't seem like its going to let up anytime soon, so finding time to read is at a premium. I'm reading The Girl Who Played With Fire, Steig Larsson. It checks off 2 boxes (Nordic Noir/Next book in Series). Currently, I'm on page 1,935 out of 9k+.
QOTW: This is the one and only reading challenge I am doing. Its also my first. Clearly you can see that I'm also trying to maximize my time by reading books that check off several prompts. No matter how many prompts/ books I actually finish reading for this challenge; I've already won!! (due to the fact that I read maybe 1 book last year). So I'm using this challenge to get back into reading for pleasure again. I've also joined a local book club that utilizes this challenge; we have yet to officialize things. Hopefully, between this challenge and the book club, I can get way more reading done.
I welcome suggestions for getting as much reading done as possible.
Aside from the Popsugar challenge do you have any reading goals for 2018?Aside from this first challenge I am setting a goal of reading books from Reese Witherspoon Bookclub. I am going to try to match most of them to the prompts i this challenge also.
I am currently on Book #3 under prompt of book involving a bookstore or library . I chose This is the story of a happy Marriage by Ann Patchett , which is this month's read also on RW Bookclub so yay!!
I took a break from reading for the first week of the year, but now I'm going in swinging. Books Finished:
The Book Thief for Aty52
All Our Yesterdays for Popsugar - Author with the same first or last name (first name in this case)
Currently reading:
Touch (not sure where it is going yet)
A Room of One's Own (a book on feminism)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Popsugar 2017 advanced - a book over 800 pages)
QOTW: In addition to Popsugar I'm doing AtY52, Modern Mrs. Darcy, BookRiot Read Harder, and trying to finish out the 2017 Popsugar/Aty52 prompts I didn't finish last year. Thankfully, about everything I read for a prompt for one of these will also count to any random challenges I pick up over in my challenge group (monthly word finds, spell-outs, etc.)
Already week 2. I can't believe it. This week I read:
Nr. 40 pick a favorite (A book with a number in the title)The Seven SistersReally liked this one. Hoping to fit all the books in to the reading challenge. Just waiting for the next one to be available in overdrive.
Nr. 20 A book by a local author Med kærlig hilsen ...: Historier fra Europa og omegn
Currently reading:
Nr. 1 A book made in to a movie you have already seen The Fellowship of the Ring
Considering the next book to start. Always have an ebook/paperback and an audiobook going. I just can't decide what my ebook should be...
QOTW:
I am doing the popsugar as my main challenge. I pick out several books for each prompt in my spread sheets (gotta love those) and then whatever I end up reading I see where I can fit it in, in ATY and A-Z. I am not allowed to double dip within a challenge, but a book can be used for several challenges.
The GR challenge is at a modest 60 books this year. As I am not sure I will reach the same number as I did last year due to work.
Am hoping to finish a few series this year if possible. If not no biggie there is always next year.
Hello!It's snowing here again so I'm going to just keep on hiding under a blanket reading!
This week I finished:
Remedial Rocket Science for the alliteration title
The Bertie Project for an ugly cover
The Art Forger for the heist book.
I loved The Art Forger and definitely recommend it.
Currently reading:
Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory for the movie I've already seen
QOTW:
I am doing the Read Harder and Modern Mrs. Darcy challenges. I have a GR challenge goal of 300 books. I am also hoping to at least make a dent in previous years challenges as this is my first year and I'm weird like that. :)
Good morning, everyone!I finished three books this week, though two were fairly short and one I have been reading slowly over a few weeks:
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. I'm using this for 16, mental health. It's a fascinating look at what happens to our bodies during stress and how that affects us both physically and mentally. The basic take-away is that stress is a double-edged sword.
I, Columbus: My Journal 1492-1493. This was for prompt 25, a book set at sea. I was disappointed in this, as some of Columbus' more unpleasant comments were edited out (I found an original online to check this against) and it makes Columbus - and by extension, the European discovery of America - seem much nicer than he was.
Citizen: An American Lyric. This is a short but very powerful read. I'm using it for 37, a book I meant to read in 2017 (it got lost in my to-read shelf!). It's a combination of poetry, essays, photos and other artwork. The parts telling the author's everyday encounters were a real stomach punch and put me inside her perspective. Highly recommended.
And I also started another book:
Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing (7, a book about a country that fascinates you). So far I'm really enjoying learning about the everyday life of the author and her family under Soviet rule, and coming to understand her comment about how her strongest food memories center around food she never tasted.
Question of the Week
I had promised myself to do only two challenges this year (Popsugar and Around the Year in 52 books), but of course I've added another already! It's an ongoing personal challenge, though, to read my way around the world. I'm planning to stop in every country and have no intention of finishing this quickly. I'm counting books from the last few years of challenges and I'm not even half way done! My personal goal is 75 books, which is about a book and a half a week. (I don't double count books within a challenge, but I do count one book toward more than one challenge if it fits.) That's pretty doable in my life now, although I have a couple difficult reads planned for this year so I'll see if I can make it.
Having the same weird weather here in the midwest that several others have reported (strangely warm temps, soon to be followed by another huge temperature drop). We also have some family staying with us this week, so the last couple of days I've slowed down on my reading, but I got an amazing start on my reading week before that (and finished off a lot of books I was already in the middle of), so I'm still doing very well (for me).Books Finished:
Three Men in a Boat This was well written and amusing, and I think those who enjoy P.G Wodehouse would also enjoy this book. For me though, it was only okay, because I have to love the characters to really love a book, and I didn't find these characters lovable.
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made I really enjoyed this one!
Eats, Shoots & Leaves I picked up an audiobook of this at a book sale, intending to listen/read it for the 'bestseller the year you graduated high school'. I discovered when I went to read it that it was actually the radio mini-series the book was based on, so I'm counting for that prompt for now, but I may still try to go back later and read the book itself.
168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think Some of the side commentary irritates me sometimes, but her core principles and ideas are excellent.
The Blue Castle I'm counting this for 'childhood classic you never read' and I loved it!
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles I'd been in the middle of this book for a very long time, and finally just finished it off. He has a peculiar perspective in places, but it leads to some very accurate and helpful thoughts in the end.
The Better Life: Small Things You Can Do Right Where You Are I was kind of hoping for more from this book. It's the kind of book that's great when you need inspiring little reminders in bite sized chunks, but there was very little new in it for me.
Currently reading:
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage I'm really enjoying the Audible version of this book! I think I'll use it for the microhistory prompt, because I really want to use Captains Corageous for the book set at sea. (Though I also have several ideas for the microhistory prompt, so it doesn't matter much in the end which ones I count for the challenge and which ones I read just because.)
Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's There were some unsettling parts of the book early on, especially those dealing with the dysfunction of his family, but I found the descriptions of his mechanical and electronic work to be fascinating, and am still contemplating the way his brain works, and how close my brain might be to that. (Reading this for the 'mental health' prompt.)
The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict I will probably count this as 'book I meant to read in 2017, since our whole church was reading through it at the end of the year and I fell behind.
Golden I started this one just so I'd have a book going on my phone, because all the other books I'm reading are in print, and it's easier to get reading in at odd moments from my phone.
Forgot to answer the QOTW!I'm mostly focused on doing the Popsugar challenge at this point. I also set my goodreads challenge to reading 90 books this year, because I read 100 last year, and I'd love to duplicate that, but am setting my initial goal a bit more conservatively since it's the first time in my adult life I've hit that many books in a year and I'm not *sure* it's repeatable.
I am also planning to do the Modern Mrs. Darcy challenge (allowing for books to count for both challenges), and I'm intrigued by the Book Riot challenge and various geographical challenges, but don't want to overload myself, so all those are on hold at least until I finish the Popsugar and MMD challenges.
Hello!This week I finished
Goblin Night Fever for the 'Ugly Cover' prompt,
Verblendung (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo/German) for 'Nordic Noir' and/or 'made into a movie I've seen'
Bed, Breakfast and Bones for 'alliteration' and
Kirkasant for 'local author' and maybe 'different planet'
and made progress on
Zwanzigtausend Meilen Unter'm Meer (20,000 leagues under the Sea) for 'Childhood Classic and/or 'set at sea'
Last year I tried to complete an A-Z challange with a SciFi/Fantasy group here on goodreads and lost steam about halfway through. So this year I want to beat that thing, that's why there will quite a lot of SciFi/Fantasy books for the Popsugar prompts as well. For now I'm going to fill any and all prompts with whatever I read with the option of filling each prompt with a single book as time allows. My goodreads goal is set to 40 for now, but I hope to adjust it higher to maybe 76 later in the year.
I also want to include some of the classics on my radar from Project Gutenberg and use almost only books I already own either as epub/kindle or REAL books... ;-)
That will need some serious juggling.
Hi Everyone, This is my first time doing this challenge and my first post. I had surgery two weeks ago so due to medication I haven’t been able to stay a week while reading so it is taking longer to read and have lost track of time lol. But I finally finished my first book yesterday.
This week I finished:
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - 35. A past Goodreads Choice Awards Winner (2015)
Currently reading:
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - 23. A book about time travel
QOTW:
The only other reading goal I am working is Goodreads Reading Challenge and I set a goal of 100 books for 2018
Hi all! Very busy week for me. Only read The Mystery of the Blue Train which was good. Agatha Christie is always a comfort read for me. I have What Happened from the library but I'm definitely going to need to renew it because it is very long.
Hi everyone!I feel like I've had a productive week working on this challenge.
I finished the two books I was reading last week along with starting and finishing Heart-Shaped Box for the book with a song lyric in the title. It was really interesting and definitely had more of a horror vibe than Horns, which I read few years ago.
This morning I started Three Wishes which is set in Australia, which I've always wanted to visit (hello prompt).
I'm not participating in any other reading challenges this year. I'd like to try and read unread books from my personal bookshelves or Kindle. I also want to tackle some of the larger tomes that I've had sitting around forever.
I have finished 2 books one that I started last week Catch Me When You Fall. The I finished The Dazzling Heights which was for prompt 3, a book that is next in a series.I am still going on my True Crime book as I am still waiting for a hard copy. But I have started prompt 4. A book involving a heist Crooked Kingdom.
The only other goal I have set myself is to read 60 books this year with the good reads challenge.
Dolly wrote: "Hello- so glad that it's finally warming up here in Baltimore (50F) :). This has been a busy week for me and it doesn't seem like its going to let up anytime soon, so finding time to read is at a p..."Kudos to you for participating! It may be super nerdy, but I created a spreadsheet to keep track of all of the books I'm reading, what prompts they work for, how many pages each book is, and then the average number of pages I will need to read per day to stay on track (color coded books that I'm using for 2 prompts).
I also wake up early and read in bed about an hour before I have to get ready and then usually read for at least 30 minute before bed each night, as well.
This is my 3rd year participating. I reached my goal of 26 the first year (made sure each book counted for 2 different prompts - that was a task in and of itself!) Did not reach my goal of 52 last year. My goal is 42 this year. Part of why I reached my goal the first year and did not last year is that I wasn't connected to all of the books I chose last year. My then 15 year old daughter and I selected books together, but they didn't all interest me as a result.
This year, I chose books by authors who are female and/or POC. I am a bit of a social justice warrior, so I also chose topics that I could relate to. I think it's helping as I've completed 3 books and halfway through my 4th.
Just remember that there is no failure...like you said, you've already won just by participating and getting back into reading! Good luck to you!!!
Week two is done and with it six more books, again three of which fulfill prompts for this challenge. I read Call Me by Your Name (everyone has been asking for it at the bookstore where I work) for the "lgbtq protagonist" challenge. It was beautifully written, though so much of it was in the main character's head I wonder how that translates to the big screen. Gives new meaning to that question posed by T.S. Elliot:"Do I dare to eat a peach?"
For the "animal in title" prompt I read the poetry collection The Bees which was super British and meh, though the poem "Scheherazade" was amazing and I enjoyed comparing Duffy's bee poems to those of Dickinson and Plath.
And I finally finished Neil Gaiman's The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction, which I started about a year ago, in fulfillment of the "didn't get around to it in 2017" prompt. I liked the essays on writing and the section on fairy-tales, but I feel reading a preface apart from its text is kind of pointless? I dunno. That's probably just me.
I also read a few graphic novels this week: Klaus, a medieval superhero origin of sorts for Santa Clause which was okay (maybe a little too linear and predictable for a Grant Morrison story), and both Trigun: Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action!! Vol. 1 and Trigun: Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action!! Vol. 2, a sci-fi western manga that was mostly unintelligible action scenes.
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
When Dimple Met Rishi (other topics)Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More (other topics)
Homicide in Hardcover (other topics)
The Lost Plot (other topics)
Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (other topics)P.G. Wodehouse (other topics)
Ray Porter (other topics)
Jonathan Cecil (other topics)
Robin Miles (other topics)
More...
Reminder: Polls are still open for the second quarter (April, May, June) monthly reads. Polls are set to close Saturday night at midnight, eastern time. If you are interested in participating you can go here to vote: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...
Books finished:
I was home sick on Monday which gave me plenty of time to finish one book and completely read another one!
It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree by A.J. Jacobs. I took a different perspective and used this one for a book tied to your ancestry. My ancestry is primarily Scottish, English and German, but I read a lot of books set in those countries already. This book was more about the genetic connections between us all as human beings. I love genetics so it was an interesting read.
Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian's Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her Life by Annie Spence. This was my book that involves a bookstore or library. The letters were hit or miss for me. Some were quite clever and entertaining. Some, honestly, felt like filler added to increase the page count. It’s a fun idea, and I know several people who absolutely LOVED this book.
Currently reading:
The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff. I’m stretching this one a bit and calling it true crime. There was a line in the first chapter where the author mentioned the Salem witch trials as the first true crime story in America.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Planning to use this for my book I meant to read in 2017. I am listening to the audio narration by Davina Porter.
Question of the week:
Aside from the Popsugar challenge do you have any reading goals for 2018?
I try to keep it simple. I have set a total reading goal of 90 books (I have achieved this the last two year so I think it is completely doable). I also have some specific books that I really want to tackle this year: Anna Karenina, Alexander Hamilton, The Count of Monte Cristo. All are books I've planned to read the past several years and just haven't done. I think I can get two of the three done this year. That's the goal anyway.
I'm also tracking additional details about my reading choices this year (gender of author, genre, page count, ethnicity, etc) so I can look for gaps in diversity.
How has your reading been this last week?