Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Happy Thursday! Wow I can't believe it's February already! It's still the middle of winter here in northern NY, but I know some people in the Northern Hemisphere are starting to see signs of spring at this time of year. For us, it's still snowing. And it will be "still snowing" for weeks to come ...

Administrative stuff:
It's the start of a new month, which means it's time for our next monthly read! February is "a book involving sports," the group's choice was Beartown, and Chrissy has volunteered to lead the discussions. Remember, monthly reads are optional, just for fun, and the discussions can be very open ended and loose. Just be sure to hide any spoilers in spoiler tags!

This week I finished five books, four of them count for this Challenge. I am now 13/50.

Dead Lions - a British espionage thriller by Mick Herron, book 2 in the series (I read book 1 last year for the "espionage" category) - this could count for several categories, I'm using it for "animal in the title." I really enjoy this series, they have a dark, twisted humor and a full cast of characters who feel very real.

(Has anyone else found that, once you check off a particular category, you end up reading several more books that would also work? I surprisingly had some difficulty thinking of a book with an animal in the title, I penciled in The Hound of the Baskervilles, and then I remembered I wanted to read Dead Lions, and I read it. Voila! Category completed! And now on my night stand I have Red Sparrow AND The Wolves of Winter checked out from the library! When it rains it pours?)

The Authority, Vol. 1: Relentless - a graphic novel written by Warren Ellis. This is one of those "alternative superheroes" comics, like Watchmen or Planetary. I had some issues with this book, but I'm intrigued enough that I know I'll be continuing the series. "The Authority" is a group of superhumans who are trying to make the Earth a better place by battling the usual supervillains. (NOT to be confused with Authority!)

Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn - I learned about this book last year, when many of you read it for "book of letters." This would work for "allegory," but for now I'm checking off "vegetable in the title." This book was a very fast read, and a lot funnier than I expected. And I never would have read it if not for the Challenge!

Brass - a debut novel by Xhenet Aliu, just published a few weeks ago. I had high expectations, because that cover drew me in and I'm one of those fools who judges books by their covers, and I was very disappointed by this book. It's bleak. I'm using this one for "published in 2018."

American Assassin by Vince Flynn - I enjoy listening to thrillers as audiobooks, because it's kind of like those old radio plays like The Shadow, plus you can zone out now and then and it doesn't matter. I have a weakness for action heroes, and Mitch Rapp is one of my favorite badasses. I had put this book on hold a while ago and forgotten about it, and it wasn't until after I'd started listening to it that I realized I could use it for "alliteration."

Question of the Week:

What is your favorite source to learn about new books coming out?

For me, I use Goodreads, of course, I look at the new books my GR friends are reading, and I love the email GR sends out now with new books by authors I've read.

Book Riot, and tor.com, and just general word-of-mouth from friends all help me find books, but I think my favorite way to find out about new books by new-to-me authors is to browse through The Millions Most Anticipated:

The Millions Most Anticipated for first half of 2018
This also gets made into a handy Listopia list: The Millions Most Anticpated: The Great 2018 Book Preview List

Nadine wrote: "Has anyone else found that, once you check off a particular category, you end up reading several more books that would also work?..."

Yes!!! Usually as soon as I pick up the next book I'm like wow I could have used this for SO MANY OTHER categories rather than the one I am reading it for. But I think it's good, keeps me engaged and thinking about what I am reading and arms with many suggestions for other challenge takers!

Books Finished:
The Girl Who Played with Fire - I used this for the "next book in the series" prompt. Honestly wasn't a huge fan of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but I really liked this second book so much more. Pacing was better and I felt less detached from the characters.

Six of Crows - For the "involving a heist" prompt. Normally I do not like high fantasy novels, with mages and elves and the like, but this is an exception. Set in a steam-punk-y version of the Netherlands, it was a quick read with lots of diverse characters.

Currently Reading:

Let the Right One In - Using this for Nordic Noir. The best way to describe this book is that it is like a fully realized adult version of Twlight. Yes, there are vampires, but this book doesn't hold your hand as much as the Twlight saga. The vampires actually kill people and no, they don't sparkle. I will say it took me a while to warm up to this book, but once I got about 30% of the way in, I came around to the abrupt writing style.

QOTW:

My favorite source to learn about new books coming out is the magazine Bookmarks. My mom subscribed to the magazine when I was in high school so I just kind of continued to rely on it ever since.

I can't believe we are already a full month into the year! It's birthday month for my family (3 birthdays - each a week apart) so lots of gift shopping to do. Too bad my family is tired of me gifting books cuz that's my favorite!

I just want to add a BIG THANK YOU to all of those who have volunteered to lead discussions so far. I think it's been a nice improvement to our monthly reads!

I have not made much progress in reading the last couple of weeks. One book is just very long and will take a while, but mostly it's just overall busyness!

Currently reading:

Beartown by Frederik Bachman. I had already chosen this for my book about sports and was pleased that (for once) my choice ended up being the selected monthly group read! It's been a slow starter for me. I'm almost halfway through and up until now it's mostly just been a buildup to "something happening". It is well-written and engaging though. This morning the major event that, I assume, leads into the rest of the story finally happened.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - I promised myself this was the year I would read this. I'm doing the audio version which is very good. I just have not had as much time to listen to audiobooks lately as I used to (changes in work responsibilities left me with less desk time to zone out and listen while working).

Question of the week:

My biggest sources of information on new books are Goodreads (including this group) and my Facebook book club. I do sometimes browse for myself online or in the bookstore, but mostly I hear about them from my readerly friends.

Hello, everyone!!
So this was a slow week. I only finished one book and it was not for this challenge.

QOTW: Tbh my favorite source of information is bookstagram and booktube. I am a very visual person and I love photography and there are lots of wonderful IG accounts with wonderful pics and reviews. I don't follow many booktubers but the couple I do have contributed immensely to my TBR, nuff said.

Happy week everyone!!

Not the QOTW: @Nadine stated “Has anyone else found that, once you check off a particular category, you end up reading several more books that would also work?”

I am finding that my planned out reading is resulting in multiple categories for each book!

@Sara – Kudos for reading Anna Karenina! That’s a real challenge!

I had a more productive week than I was expecting! And they were all five star reads! I finished three books and started two.

Completed:
#20 Kingdom of Happiness: Living the Beatitudes in Everyday Life – Author near me. This one isn’t for the faint of heart! It’s about incorporating the 8 Beatitudes from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Jn 3:30) into your daily life. In fact there is even an eight day online challenge to incorporate your activities through TAN Books. My favorite part of the book was on the classic Martha and Mary story – I’m totally a Martha (not a good thing) and had realistic steps to being more Mary-like (without serving guests pig slop). Five stars!!

#40 Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World– I opted to pick a previous challenge incorporating a cat on the cover although this could also be set in a library, if I need a spare. I have some challenging reads worked into my plan (some 600 pagers and literature) so I opted for an easy read here. As an animal lover, I probably should not have finished this on my lunch. I had to go back to work with streaked mascara, crying over a long dead cat. I’m not even a cat person! I’m concurrently doing a 50 states challenge, so this book gave me an Iowa read as well. 5 Stars!!

#38 Death Comes for the Archbishop– Pulled out the literature for the ugly color read. The cover may not be attractive but the prose was! Willa Cather, also known for O Pioneers and My Antonia, which are both being added to my eventual reading list, knocked this out of the park. It is the fictionalize telling of the life of Archbishop Jean Marie Latour, based on the life of Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, as he restores order to the Church in New Mexico. He built the Cathedral in Santa Fe, brought the Sisters of Loretto to educate the children (the only school for miles), and was a man of the people, regardless of their Native American, Mexican, or Caucasian heritages. And the prose! It’s almost poetry to read even if the events of the day (getting a widow to admit to being closer to her real age in court or meeting priests who raise parrots because the local people love parrots and he fits in better) may not be the modern excitement of movies. Just outstanding! Is a 6th star available?


Currently reading:
#44 The Secret Place – my ancestry could not be more Irish. Tana French’s fifth Dublin Murder Squad. Two new detectives, Stephen Moran, and Antoinette Conway follow a pack of mean girls through the halls of their boarding school in pursuit of a dead boy from the nearby (one street and two very tall walls) boys’ boarding school.

#6 On This Rockne – Ralph McInerny, who is best known for Father Dowling, also penned a series of Notre Dame mysteries. He was a professor there! (Who knew?) Obviously, this is the fictionalized real person, though Death featured Kit Carson quite prominently and could have been used for that, too. Knute Rockne, was a legendary football coach at Notre Dame after graduating from the school with a chemistry degree. He coached the Irish for 13 years – including the infamous four horseman and George Gipp. Remember the old slogan “Win one for the Gipper?” (a phrase used by Ronald Reagan frequently at election time)? Reagan played George Gipp, a young coed, who played for Coach Rockne and died from pneumonia ( – let that be lesson to those who stay out after curfew! ) in the wonderful classic movie the Knute Rockne Story. Rockne died tragically in a plane crash at age 43, but not before leaving football with the forward pass. McInerny’s mystery follows the murder of a wealthy alum who was (insanely) against funding a statue in the great Rockne’s image on campus.

QOTW: New book debuts
Goodreads is my go-to for the new books coming out. Additionally, I have friends, a Facebook group, and trusted librarians.

Hi everyone,

I already have books that I want to read that fit in a category that I have another book slotted for, or one that I have already completed. I feel your pain. I hope to complete the challenge early and have time left over to read all the extra books.

Books completed:
I'll Give You the Sun for a book about twins. I really liked this book. I am terrible at explaining why I like something, maybe that's why I have never joined a reading challenge before.

Girls of Riyadh, I guess I will use it for author of a different ethnicity. I listened to the audiobook, since my library did not have an ebook version. This was my first ever audiobook, and I listened on Overdrive. I am officially hooked. All that time wasted while walking, cleaning, etc, I could have been listening to audiobooks this whole time.

Currently Reading:
The Bear and the Nightingale for a book with an animal in the title. I am really loving this book so far, almost halfway in. I love the use of Russian words mixed in, but I speak Russian. I am wondering how people are dealing with that, considering most of those are slang words that are not in the dictionary. Is there a glossary? I have not looked.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. Not sure what I will use it for, since I have already fulfilled the LGBTQ+ protagonist category. I am listening to the audiobook narrated by the amazing Lin-Manuel Miranda. My love for him knows no bounds, so I am not sure if the book is good or if his narration is making it good. I am not very far in so we will see. I suppose I could use it for book recommended by someone taking the POPSugar challenge, since I heard about it here when someone was praising Lin's reading.

Question of the week:
Until I found this challenge on Goodreads, I mostly heard about new books from the Amazon best of the month, and just occasional lists that I found, new releases from the library, etc. My MIL is a big reader, so I get occasional recommendations from her. Most notably she is the one that recommended This is How It Always Is, although I would have heard about it eventually.

Bonjour,

Still snowing in here and still very cold. We'll see what the groundhog will say tomorrow for the rest of the winter. In here it's alway until mid-March anyway.

I finished The Amulet of Samarkand for the book received as a gift. It was fun, but slow sometimes.

Now reading The Eye of the World for another group read and I don't think it will fit any prompt. I read it 20 years ago and I liked it then, but now I feel like it was better when I was a teen.

QOTW:
Honestly I do not really care about new books, there so much old ones that I didn't read. I will see what's new at my Library sometimes but mostly because I am waiting on Michel Folco and Daniel Pennac to release new books.

Hi everyone! It has been fairly mild overall this week in Dallas, but my allergies are killing me! I thought winter was the one season where allergy sufferers could relax, but not in Texas as I’ve learned in the 6+ years of living here. There are these awful cedar trees in the Austin area that give people problems in winter, and we are in the thick of it now. My business trips this month are taking me to cold, snowy parts of the country, but at least I'll be able to breathe and keep my voice.

Nadine, I’m with you. That happens to me all the time!

I finished 1 book for Popsugar this week, so I’m now at 8/50.

Books I read this week:
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor for a book published in 2018 (34). This was Tudor’s debut novel, and I’m impressed. I thought it had a great pace, the right amount of reveals and cliffhangers between chapters, which alternate between 1986 and 2016. If I hadn’t read in the author’s bio that it was her debut, I would have assumed she had already written several because of the quality of the writing and story. I’ll watch for more by her in the future.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley for the Around the Year challenge. I am amazed that this was written in the late 1930’s. I would compare his foresight to Margaret Atwood’s in The Handmaid’s Tale. Brave New World is about a society that is genetically farmed, with each group destined for specific tasks. Death is no big deal; it is aging that is a horror. And everyone is fed drugs on a regular basis and brainwashed, so no one questions those in charge of this scary society.

Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine for the Around the Year challenge. The first fourth of this book was monotonous and repetitive, but I’m glad I stuck with it because the second half was great. Fast-paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. I definitely plan to read the next book in the series.

I am currently reading:
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen for the Around the Year challenge.
Forever Odd by Dean Koontz for the next book in a series you started (3). This is #2 in the Odd Thomas series, and I just read the first book a few weeks ago.

QOTW: I mostly use Goodreads to discover new titles to add to my list, but I also use various newsletters from sites like Book Riot. On the rare occasion when I allow myself to go into a bookstore, I’ll browse the new writers or “we recommend” section.

Happy Thursday PopSugar group! Hope all are well.

17/50

This week I read Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky It takes place on another planet.

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Everyone should read this book, unless you have arachnophobia, in which case you should avoid it like a planet-sized nest of spiders. At some point in this story the spiders break a physical law in such a minor way that I remember thinking, "Well that's not possible, no big deal." The rest of the book is kind of air-tight. A great time. Recommended.

QOTW:
Most of my book news comes from The New York Times. They have a book calendar that keeps me abreast of new releases and other booky things. For example, today 2/1 is World Read Aloud Day, I recommend public transportation as a good place to read aloud. See you next week.

I didn't read a single thing this week - but I have a good excuse (well - its a good excuse if you like dogs).. We got our puppy over the weekend and I'm now a helicopter pawrent (I follow her around the house to make sure she's not chewing or leaving tiny "presents" for us around the house). This has taken up all of my time but she's adorable and I hope to get us on a good routine very soon.

3/52

QOTW I follow a lot of book people on youtube so I usually hear about new books through them. And goodreads of course.

Hey everyone. We have finally warmed up a bit here in Central Texas. I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately. In the past two weeks (I forgot to check in last week) I have only finished 2 books for the challenge and one of those was my nighttime read that I have been reading for the last month.

Finished:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - a childhood classic you've never read
With as many times as I have seen the movie, I can't believe that I have never read the book. Although I did end up reading the whole thing in Gene Wilder's voice.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - a best seller from the year you graduated high school
This was actually a reread for me and I loved every minute of it.

Challenge Status:
4/42 regular challenge
2/10 advanced challenge

Currently Reading
Renegades - non challenge book (reading for a book club)
Wonder Woman: Warbringer - book with alliteration
Seabiscuit: An American Legend - a book about or involving sports

QotW
I get most of my book recs either here on Goodreads, Instagram, Youtube, and my reading groups on Facebook.

Megan wrote: "I didn't read a single thing this week - but I have a good excuse (well - its a good excuse if you like dogs).. We got our puppy over the weekend and I'm now a helicopter pawrent (I follow her arou..."

CONGRATULATIONS!!! All dogs are the best dogs, so I'm sure she's perfect :-) What does she look like? how old?

(Fair warning: my younger dog has chewed up more than a few books - I've never had a dog chew books before though so maybe she's "special")

Nadine wrote: "What does she look like? how old?"

Thanks - she's a mini goldendoodle turning 9 weeks old on Saturday. She's a honey brown color and currently weighs 4.7 pounds. She's precious when she's sleeping on my lap! So far she has taken to chew on whatever pants I'm wearing and my fingers! We got her lots of toys for her teething process though.

I added a photo in my profile if you're interested in seeing her -
https://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/...

Milena wrote: "The Bear and the Nightingale for a book with an animal in the title. I am really loving this book so far, almost halfway in. I love the use of Russian words mixed in, but I speak Russian. I am wondering how people are dealing with that, considering most of those are slang words that are not in the dictionary. Is there a glossary? I have not looked...."

I think there is a glossary at the end, but I didn't use it. I do not speak a bit of Russian beyond "nyet", and I loved that book - I was able to figure everything out from context if it wasn't explicitly explained. You should definitely read the second book, too! The Girl in the Tower. It's set in Moscow, and her brother and sister play a large role in the plot, so it's a rather different feel. Also, there's a bit more angsty romance. And if you haven't read it yet, check out Uprooted by Naomi Novik too! - I think it's more Polish than Russian, but it's got a similar "Eastern European fairy tale" feel to it; Baba Yaga gets mentioned a few times.

This week I read The Keeper of Lost Causes, and really enjoyed it. I think I will end up reading more of this author. I used it for the Nordic Noir prompt. I am currently reading Reservation Blues for the book that has your favorite color in the title. The style of the book reminds me a little of Alice Hoffman. It's the first Sherman Alexie book I've ever read.

QOTW - I mostly get book recommendations from BookRiot, NPR, and sometimes from Entertainment magazine - they have about a paged devoted to books in the back.

Week 5
Last year I feel like I very much read the "wrong" type of book for the prompt and did so much shuffling, but this year I planned out the whole year a little meticulously (I was feeling too sick to read but not too sick to work on my reading list) so I am a little proud that I am not overthinking as much as last year.
So excited that it is February! I have planned out my reading to mostly coincide with Lent- I found a few Saint books that will fit some prompts so I am excited for future reads. But for now...

Finished:
Only one book this week Emily Climbs (next book in a series you started)- LOVED this book, so optimistic in the face of so much negativity

Currently reading:
Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile (read aloud to the girls, favorite color in title)- fun mystery, this boy is a great character
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog (separate Newbery Challenge)- I like the concept of Chaucer for kids and it has funny moments but so far it is just running from one bad situation to another, I feel like the story hasn't really started yet
Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace (a problem facing society today)- this is for my Kindle when my husband turns out the light so not sure if I am committed to finishing it but it is there just in case, it has a crass writing style but I find the topic interesting

Upcoming Reads:
Beartown (about sports, Feb. group read)- need to get the audio version and I will be all set, planning to listen while I walk/run

5/40 & 0/10

QoTW:
I don't search out many new books as there are so many older ones I still have to read, but if I am curious I will browse through the library's new book shelf or look on goodreads or Modern Mrs. Darcy. If I am interested in new books it is usually because they are slotted to win an award- usually Christy awards or Newbery contenders.

9/50

Happy Thursday everyone! Tomorrow if pay day for me, so we are in good spirits at work.

I too read a book for a certain prompt and then find it fits another prompt. I use this to my advantage when I find it fits another prompt that I am just dreading. Love when that works out! And it did for me this week.

A book tied to your ancestry: I am Greek, so I read The House by the River which takes place in Greece. I loved the descriptions of the village where this book started (and ended) and it reminded me of my childhood summers spent there. This was a great story about 5 sisters who feel stifled by their small village and go out into the great big world, only to seek the comfort of their childhood home (the house by the river) when their lives all take a turn........

True Crime: I'm going to add Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil because I only have about 10 pages left and I will finish it today. I started this book for the prompt of a book with a time of day in the title, but then realized it fit the true crime prompt. This book is okay. I love how he rights about the eccentric characters in the Savannah society. But there is not as much "crime" in the book as I would have expected - it is only a small part of the book.

Currently reading Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library with my son and The All Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion. I have put down Autonomous for a bit - I cannot get into it. Maybe if I step away, I can come back to it refreshed.


What is your favorite source to learn about new books coming out?
From a lot of different sources. Goodreads of course. Bookbub. And I read the Skimm, which often has recommended books to read.

I've had a big week of progress in books, but not many finishes! Still hunting for jobs, still wishing the weather was nicer so I could pass the time outside.

The only thing I finished this week was Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, which was a cute little graphic novel that I had a lot of fun with. A lot of sass, a lot of action, really nice art. I liked it a lot.

Currently reading?
Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House: I feel like I'll be working on this forever. I've decided it's hard for me to read about current events in book form when I'm constantly following the news all day.

1808 by Laurentino Gomes; This book is still a ton of fun! Reading for a book by a Brazilian author for another challenge. With all of my European history background, I can't believe I had no idea the Portuguese court just up and left the continent to go to Brazil.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray: I am really, really not enjoying this book. I think I would've loved it as a preteen, but as a grown woman I find it intolerable. The satire is much too forced, too obvious, and not as funny or clever as it thinks it is.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay: I was given this as a gift a few years ago and am just getting around to it. It is really a word-for-word screenplay of the movie (which I haven't seen since it first came out), so it's not really adding anything for me, BUT the art is stunning. And I love Newt.

QOTW:
Honestly, I'm not a big reader of new books? That's probably weird. Aside from graphic novels, where I pick up whatever sounds fun. I own too many unread books to pick up new ones as they come out. Maybe after this year that won't be such a problem!

I made up for not finishing any books last week by finishing a 700 pager and an 800 pager this week! That takes me to 4/40.

First I finished Catilina's Riddle which I have tentatively put down for the next book in a series prompt but I could also use it for the villain or anti-hero or based on a real person prompt so I could move it later in the year if I end up starting a series that I am desperate to continue straight away (a distinct possibility). It was a really good book about an election in Ancient Rome but it was quite different to the other books in the series which are more mysteries with a (very well researched) historical setting. This book skewed more towards historical fiction but I have no complaints as I am fascinated by this period of history.

The second book I finished was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which was a re-read for the Wizarding World Book Club on Twitter. There are lots of prompts I could use it for but I think I will probably use it for the film I've already seen prompt as I watched the film far more recently than the last time I read the book. I was very surprised by this book as I ended up liking it much more this time around, I was more understanding towards Harry's angst, he is in a pretty terrible situation. Also, the ending had me in tears!

So after two mega books, I really should have known better than to embark on another 800 pager (I'm never going to complete the challenge at this rate) The Goldfinch. I am around 1/3rd in and I am loving it! It is a strong early contender for my favourite book of the year. I'm listening to it on audiobook alongside reading it on kindle so hopefully shouldn't take too long to finish it. It will fulfil the prompt of book about a heist.

Side note, is anyone else's propensity for long books holding them back in this challenge?

When I finish The Goldfinch I will make a start on my book about a sport which will be The Taliban Cricket Club

QOTW

I'm not too fussed about reading new books as they only go to the end of my stupidly long TBR. When choosing a new book to read I always start from the furthest back in my TBR so that nothing gets missed. This means I usually don't get round to books until a few years after they are published.

The exception is books that I am eagerly awaiting from my favourite series. Make no mistake I will be reading The Winds of Winter The Thorn of Emberlainand War Storm as soon as they are released!

This group has given me a lot of great recommendations and I also follow a few booktubers who give great recommendations (although they always seem to be very YA focused I'd love any recommendations for booktubers who read more adult books). A last note, weirdly the book reviews in The Big Issue (a street paper sold by homeless people in the UK) are really good and I have read some of my favourite books on their recommendations.

Until next week popsugarers!

Katie wrote: "Beauty Queens by Libba Bray: I am really, really not enjoying this book. I think I would've loved it as a preteen, but as a grown woman I find it intolerable. The satire is much too forced, too obvious, and not as funny or clever as it thinks it is...."

I started out loving that book, but I became progressively more and more annoyed with it. It never got any better. it gets worse, actually. Have you gotten to the Momo B. Chacha part yet? I hated that part, it was just ... stupid. And felt kind of racist, too.

Nadine wrote: "Katie wrote: "Beauty Queens by Libba Bray: I am really, really not enjoying this book. I think I would've loved it as a preteen, but as a grown woman I find it intolerable. The satire is much too f..."

Nooope, I have not gotten there yet. I'm not as far as I could be, given that it's such an easy read, because I keep getting annoyed and putting it down. I find it hard to believe it's only going to get worse, but I'll brace myself for when it does. It seems too short to DNF so I just need to buckle down and get through it.

I took part in the 24 in 48 readathon at the weekend so I felt like I made a lot of progress on the challenge. I guess it's still at the easy stage where most things I pick up naturally slot in somewhere.

14 A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

30 A book with characters who are twins: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

37 A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to: The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss

9 (Advanced) A book about a problem facing society today: The Line Becomes A River by Francisco Cantu

I also read The Only Harmless Great Thing but I don't think it fits any prompts.

8/40 | 1/10

QOTW:
Social media, mostly Twitter and Instagram. I follow a lot of bloggers and people in publishing so I am always hearing about new books... I kinda miss hearing about older ones! I do read Book Riot but find it is very US-centric and half the time the books I like the sound of aren't published in the UK.

Since I am on GR it might seem odd that it's not a top source but I prefer to use it to read thoughts on books I have already read (or to double check I'm not buying something terrible).

Megan wrote: "I didn't read a single thing this week - but I have a good excuse (well - its a good excuse if you like dogs).. We got our puppy over the weekend and I'm now a helicopter pawrent (I follow her arou..."

I hope you're managing to get plenty of sleep! Our Labrador was such a whiner and it felt like to took forever to get her to sleep through the night. She was adorable though..and she's finally grown into her ears which were like elephant flaps at that age.

I just finished A Gentleman in Moscow. As I said in my review, it's one of the best books I've ever read.

Yes, Nadine, I've definitely noticed that once I finish one category, I realize all these other books on my tbr will fit in! I actually noticed this with the same category, animal in the title.

I had a rather slow reading week, only one book completed! I finished Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay which was incredible. I highly recommend this! I read this for the prompt a book from a celebrity book club, since it was one of the picks for Emma Watson's book club.

I was really ambitious in January to kickstart the challenge, but I've had a lot in my personal life to deal with and not much time for reading! I've been so exhausted that when I have downtime, I just watch Youtube or Netflix.

QOTW: I'm not great on staying up to date on new releases unless it's an author I know and love. Social media such as twitter has been one of the best resources for me. Goodreads obviously helps find new reads, and booktube has been a great resource! I just watched a video about diverse YA reads being released this year, so I'll have some new things to look forward to!

I am also having the problem of having multiple books I want to read for a prompt--for me it's mostly been that I 'accidentally' fill a prompt with a book I picked up, but still have my heart set on checking my originally planned book off my TBR. For now I'm just marking them complete as I complete them, and once I finish I'll hopefully have time to go back and read some more of my originally planned books.

Currently Reading:
In Their Own Words: Women Healed Not sure if I'll read straight through this or not. My mother-in-law loaned it to me hoping it would be encouraging, and it is to some extent, but could also get tedious to try to read every single (slightly repetitive) story.

The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You Over 3/4 done with this, and I would go so far as to say that if a woman is only going to read one time management book this is a pretty good one to pick. There are still a few annoying things about it, which seems inevitable for this sort of book...

Magician's Gambit Still working my way through the Belegariad series. This one doesn't even fill a prompt, but it's fun, and I'm getting through them fast enough that it shouldn't be a big distraction from the challenge.

The Secret Piano: From Mao's Labor Camps to Bach's Goldberg Variations Just started a 60 day trial of Kindle Unlimited that I got free through Groupon a few months back, and this is included in audiobook through KU. So far it's not the most amazing book, but it is a look into a part of history I wasn't very familiar with, so it should be worth it just for that.

(This is when I realize that NONE of my currently reading books count for the challenge. Oops...)

Finished Reading:

Unearthed A fun YA sci-fi Indiana Jones style adventure. I'm using for the published in 2018 prompt for now, but may move it to set on another planet or written by two authors depending on what is hardest to fill.

Queen of Sorcery I used this for 'next book in a series you started', even though I still really want to read the rest of the Gregor the Overlander books this year...

The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict Finally finished this! Seems like a solid, practical and Biblical guide to dealing with all levels of conflicts.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage I'm slotting this as 'microhistory' for now. I LOVED this book (listened to it on audio, and the narrator was good as well). It was bit stressful in a few places, but it's also a really great non-fiction adventure and checked both Antarctica and the island of South Georgia of my 'settings of books I've read' map.

QOTW:
I don't particularly try to follow new releases--as a few others said, I have enough old books to read already! I do end up finding out about newer books I want to read since I joined this group (or just generally since being more active on goodreads) and since I started following a couple of favorite authors on Twitter. Other than that, it's just if I happen to notice a book in a new release display at the library.

I only finished one book this week

A Study in Scarlet Women, which I used for "book with alliteration in the title"

This week I started a couple a new books
The Just City for my "book about time travel"
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened for "past Goodreads award winner"

I am also still working through a couple other books

I, Ripper for my "book about a real person". This is my lunch time read so I only get a little bit of time to read it at one sitting. I am very much liking this book.

Bloodline - will work for a couple categories, and I haven't decided yet which I will apply it to. I have this as an e-book and is my "waiting in line/for an appointment" book. So is even slower go than "I, Ripper" but I"m enjoying it.

QOTW

Goodreads, Book Riot, my library's FB page, friends, Pop Culture Happy Hour's podcast, favorite authors' and critics' blog posts.

I had a hard time focusing on any book this week. I finally finished three, but it was a stretch to get the last two finished.
I read:
The Halloween Tree, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory, and The Librarian of Auschwitz.
I started two more, but decided not to finish one- it was supposed to be for the prompt where you see a stranger reading in public. So far I have seen two strangers reading in public (where I could get a look at their book), one was an Amish romance (nope) and one was a teen romance (too much angst in the first two chapters- just couldn't do it). I have decided to pull from this groups experiences of seeing people read in public and pick one from the thread. I will hold off though, there is the possibility I will see someone reading the most amazing book ever before one of my daughter's choir concerts (unlikely). I have to say, it is a discouraging prompt if you live in suburbia.
The other book I started, The Afterlife of Holly Chase, I am reading for the youth reading committee I am on. I am not enjoying it much because I really don't like the protagonist, but I will finish it since I am on the committee.

QOTW: I mostly look at new books for young people. The reading committee I am on reads all new books for three different age groups (K-2, 3-5, 6-8). I find those from several sources. I'm not very fussed about reading new books for adults. I find I read a lot of new books, but I don't actively search for them.

Books that tick off prompts

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han. I love Jenny Han (and so do my students). It’s YA romance and adorable. I’m using this for next book in a series although I found it to be the weakest of the trilogy.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post Emily M. Danforth. YA, set in the 90s, gay teen sent to a Christian re-education camp. I liked it but didn’t love it, I never really got emotionally invested in the characters. Using it for the LGBT character prompt.

Caraval by Stephenie Garber. YA, magic carnival type business, abused daughters trying to escape their dad. I’m using it for the meant to read in 2017. This was a book that the kids considered for book club and then chose another which is good because I found it very meh and will probably not read the next one.

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson. I’m using the mental health prompt. I found this to be really interesting. It was basically interviews with various people (psychologists, psychiatrists, people in a mental health hospital, etc.)

QOTW:
The Goodreads newsletter about upcoming titles from authors on my shelves and book riot are my go to for new releases. I also follow some authors on twitter-Sarah Maclean is especially good at recs for romance.

Katie wrote: "Beauty Queens by Libba Bray: I am really, really not enjoying this book. I think I would've loved it as a preteen, but as a grown woman I find it intolerable. The satire is much too forced, too obvious, and not as funny or clever as it thinks it is."

This is one of the YA books that had a lot of buzz and I avoided it for awhile but finally picked it up and hated it for all the reasons you mentioned. For a long time, I avoided buzzed about YA which means I was late to Dumplin' and Simon Vs. Homos Sapien Agenda and I actually ended up loving those.

I finally finished a book this week!! woohoo!
I finished A Dance with Dragons, which took me almost 2 years to read! I'm using it for prompt 26 - A book with an animal in the title.

As I'm typing this post, I just finished my first ever audiobook! It was a different experience. The audiobook was They Both Die at the End and I'm using it for prompt 10 - A book about death or grief.

I also started 2 books this week:
- The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, which I'm using for prompt 1 - A book made into a movie you've already seen. I was thinking about using it for the death prompt, but decided to go with this one instead.
- Fatal Legacies, which I'm using for prompt 34 - A book that's published in 2018.

QotW:
I use Goodreads, Book Riot, and some Booktubers!

I sometimes have the problem of having multiple books that could fill a prompt, but the bigger issue I have is having multiple prompts one book could fill. Last year, when I looked at my list I realized I was actually done with the challenge if I just moved a few things around. This year I have a spreadsheet, so hopefully I'll be more on top of things.

This week I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on audio with my kid. This is one that could fit about half of these prompts. Right now I have it in "Characters who are twins" because I'm having a hard time finding a book I want to read to fill that prompt. It might end up getting moved to "Bestseller from the year I graduated" (2007) if I accidentally read another book with twins.

The Ersatz Elevator aloud to my son. I'm using this for my favorite prompt from last year "book with a red spine" because I just needed to put this somewhere.

And The Grapes of Wrath for "fruit or vegetable in title."

QOTW:
I pretty much just use goodreads. Otherwise I would be on the internet looking at books I want to read all the time instead of actually reading them.

This is my first checkin, so hi everyone :) I finished Big Little Lies for prompt 23, then one book from Slovak author for my Czech book challenge (Priateľky) and I started The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, which I don't know where I'll put yet. I'm currently home with the flu, so I'll probably finish it today as well.
As for QOTW, I don't specifically follow new books coming out, but I'm constantly in search for interesting books, for which I use one Czech group on Facebook and of course Goodreads. My to-read shelf here expanded quite significantly since I joined Popsugar challenge group :)
Hope you all have a great week :)

Good morning, all!

In skimming through everyone's posts, I see that my reading this week overlapped with Milena's and Shannon's. Fun!

Finished

The Mathematician's Shiva - I liked this book! The narrator's mother, a world famous mathematician, has just died and there is a rumor that she has solved a famous problem. Mathematicians from the world over converge on her funeral and shiva (Jewish mourning) in the hopes of finding her solution. It is both humorous and poignant. I enjoyed the characters and the mixture of intellect and emotion. I used this for a book about death and grief.

The Keeper of Lost Causes - I read this as my Nordic noir book. To be honest, I was dreading this prompt, but I ended up enjoying the book quite a bit - everything but the lead detective, who is a lazy, self-involved, crass pig of a jerk. But the plot was different and interesting, and the book was really well written/translated.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - I rarely read young adult books and don't usually enjoy audio books, but this is an exception to both! Thank you, fellow Popsugar readers, for recommending this. It was a terrific "listen." I read it for the LGBTQ+ protagonist prompt.

Currently reading

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women - for the microhistory prompt. It's very well done!

Question of the Week

Yay for new book lists! I look at all of them I find. :) I get the NYTimes and Washington Post book lists, and of course the Goodreads monthly newsletter. I have some Facebook friends who share my taste in books and I hear about new books from them, too.

Hi everyone!

Weather's all over the place in Michigan, as usual. Warm up, freeze again. Snow melts, get more snow.

This week I finished:

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race - This is my book for a problem facing society. It is also the current Emma Watson book club pick, if people need something for that. It focuses on British history and race relations, but it feels pretty applicable for America as well. It was a great read, well written that gave me a lot to think about. (ATY book with an all text cover, as well)

Blackout - This was the third Newsflesh book, finishing off the trilogy. I'm counting it as my "next book in a series". I really enjoyed it, even if I got a little dubious about some of the science. (also counting it for my ATY book about science or science fiction since it's a pretty science-heavy science fiction book)

No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters - This doesn't count for popsugar. I'd just seen it last time I was at the library, and had thought about grabbing it but already had 3 books in my stack and decided to wait. After her passing last week, I went and picked it up. It's always bittersweet to read authors mortem when it's really fresh. I felt the same way when reading Wishful Drinking shortly after Carrie Fischer passed. I am counting it for Read Harder's anthology of essays, though. She referred to her blogging as a series of essays so I'm counting it.

Currently I am reading The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter. I got it in a book exchange with a facebook group, so I'm counting it for my book that was a gift. I'm really liking it so far! It kind of reminds me of Penny Dreadful in the sense of mashing up various old horror, but with a more youthful and numerous twist along the lines of Gail Carriger's writing.

QOTW:
Mostly goodreads, and following around the threads in my various groups. I don't really go out of my way to read new books just because they're new, so I only get really excited if they're from an author I already follow, or if tons of people are saying it's great. Not awards or best seller lists, but people I actually know. (or at least people i know via groups, like here)

I do tend to check out A Mighty Girl's book recommendations and such, because she often features books by women, particularly women of color so it always feels worth checking out to broaden my author scope.

Hello from an unseasonably warm Idaho everyone!

Not participating in the monthly read this month, as I've already read my "book involving a sport" book. I will be leading next month's discussion, though, so it looks like I need to re-read "The Handmaid's Tale" and brush up on the particulars. (Read it last year for a "problem facing society today" book.)

Finished FIVE books this past week. Can we say over-achiever? XD

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America -- true-crime novel. This book was fantastic, and really breathed life into its characters instead of reducing them to dry facts and statistics. And it also helps that the true-crime story -- about one of America's first recognized serial killers -- was interwoven with another, equally fascinating story about America's first World's Fair in Chicago.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon -- book by an author of a different ethnicity than you. I loved seeing (and even recognizing) actual Chinese folk tales woven into the narrative. Enjoyable, if a little flat.

You Don't Know Me but You Don't Like Me: Phish, Insane Clown Posse, and My Misadventures with Two of Music's Most Maligned Tribes -- book with song lyrics in the title. Weirdly enough, the title comes from neither a Phish song nor an ICP song (it's from "Streets of Bakersfield" by Dwight Yoakum). I was a big fan of Nathan Rabin's writing before picking this up, but this book actively turned me off from ever picking up another book of his. It's not only incredibly self-indulgent, but he seems to actually condone the drug use and violent behavior of the fans he's researching in this book.

Space Case -- not for the challenge. Maybe it was a mistake to read another "crime caper on the moon" book so soon after Artemis, but this one was quite obnoxious to read. No one likes to read about a main character who does nothing but whine and complain all book...

The Last Musketeer -- not for the challenge... and not the Stuart Gibbs YA novel, but a graphic novel. An entertaining mashup of retro sci-fi elements and a displaced-in-the-modern-era classic fiction character (in this case Athos, one of the Three Musketeers).

Last month I did something I've never done before -- purchased books for the challenge. (Usually I use books from the library or that I already own.) I bought five books, four to be used for various challenge prompts and one simply because it looked entertaining. To be fair, I didn't realize that one of them could qualify for the challenge until I read the dust jacket again...

QOTW:

I work at a library, so I'm constantly checking the back room for whatever new books have come in to see if any look interesting enough to add to my massive "must read" list. Amazon, NoveList, and Fantastic Fiction also help in this regard, though in the past few months I've been using Goodreads more often.

The extraordinarily hot weather we've been having in New Zealand has broken (temporarily) - we now have the edge of a tropical cyclone pounding us! Sounds like the perfect excuse to hunker down and get through a few books :)

I managed to deal to two prompts this week so I'm now 10/40. I read Illuminae for the book with two authors - it was fabulous. Clever story, some nice political twists, and a feisty woman lead character. The graphic design is great too - it's cute and original, but it also serves the story very well.

My second was less successful. I picked up The Herald of Hell as a random pick for the library because it would fit the "alliteration in the title" prompt. The history side of it was very interesting (it's set on the eve of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381) and the story was ok, but neither the writing nor the characters did anything for me.

Still, it's another prompt down. Whereupon - as you say - I will promptly be showered with much better books with alliterations in the title! Sigh. I'm not shuffling my completed list though, so they'll just have to go somewhere else!

QOTW. I have a magnetic attraction to our fabulous independent bookstore so I usually find new stuff from their displays or catalogue (they do author events too). The Guardian is also a good source. But my GR friends are rapidly overtaking both as my 'go to' source of information about the new and upcoming...

How is it February already? It was a slow reading week for me because I was busier than usual with work and trying to reclaim my apartment (they finally finished work on it about an hour ago) and I'm working on some slow books.

For the regular challenge's A book with alliteration in the title I read Lethal Licorice. It's a cozy mystery and I enjoyed it. I have an ARC. It's not due out for a month or so, so it would work for the published in 2018 if someone wants it for that.

For the advanced challenge I read The Complete Persepolis for A book about a problem facing society today. The problems here being forced to flee your country, xenophobia, religious radicals, misogyny and blaming an entire group of people for the actions of a few. This could also be read for the celebrity book recommendation prompt as it was on Emma Watson's list. Honestly though I didn't care that much for it.

I also read Thornhill but it didn't fit any categories for me.

QOTW Um, you know I don't know. I mean I have a lot of book clubs and Tor.com but honestly probably the library's new book shelf.

Hi everyone, I’ve not checked in for a little while, I finished 2 books this week and so am on 6/50 - slow going at the moment but have a week off work coming up so I’m sure it will pick up.

I finished
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith for a book about a villain or antihero. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it far more than I expected to. I’ve never seen the movie so it doesn’t work for that prompt, but I may watch it now.

Also The Silkworm I’m using this for by a female author who uses a male pseudonym. I’ve gone straight onto Career of Evil and will probably finish that by tomorrow, that will be used for next book in a series you’ve already started.

QOTW: In terms of looking for new books - either newly published or just new to me - I always say I’m going to avoid it as my to read pile could probably last me a good couple of years and that’s books I actually own either in physical or digital form, then there’s another wish list of books not owned yet but to ask for at birthdays/Christmas or to buy when I’ve got extra cash (so never!). However between this challenge and discussions, another forum I’m on where we talk books, and general browsing in bookshops which I will do at any given opportunity, the pile just keeps growing. I also like to listen to BBC Radio 4s podcast ‘books and authors’ and so I get ideas there. Plus a few people, either writers or otherwise, I follow on Twitter often have good recommendations. And then finally a couple of friends and one aunt who shares my love of reading will swap recommendations with me. It never stops! (and we wouldn’t want it to)

Milena wrote: The Bear and the Nightingale for a book with an animal in the title. I am really loving this book so far, almost halfway in. I love the use of Russian words mixed in, but I speak Russian. I am wondering how people are dealing with that, considering most of those are slang words that are not in the dictionary. Is there a glossary? I have not looked.

I could figure out the words from the context of the story. I waited until I was finished to read about Slavic mythology, in case anything I read online spoiled the story for me. It did take me awhile to realize what an upyry was, though. I felt silly once I figure it out. I loved that book so much. I'm afraid to read the sequel in case it's not as good.

Finished
The Miniaturist - This book started off so promising. It's a book about defying conventions, which I love, but every character is so reckless about it. I don't buy it. The writing was beautiful, though.

Reading
Artemis - I don't want to put this book down! Okay, so it's not as good as The Maritan. But that's a hard book to top.

QOTW
Mostly from Goodreads, Bookstagram, and Booklr. I trust the recommendations of people who love a book enough to take a picture, write a review, or talk about it.

Hello everyone. It is bitterly cold here in Yorkshire today so it is a good time to snuggle up inside with a good book.

This week I finished two books which I started last year to try and complete the alphabet challenge (I can't remember who suggested it - sorry!) but then I was hospitalised and forgot about them.

First was Xerxes which started out interesting but the second half seemed more like a list of places and events, like the author wanted it over with.

Second was Yes Please which was not what I expected. I don't read many autobiographies but this was so disjointed, it read more like a bunch of notes stuck together. I wasn't sure where to put it until I realised it was a Goodreads Choice Winner.

Currently reading: It was my birthday at the weekend and I got The Republic of Thieves so I've been steaming through that since Saturday. The bar has been set pretty high from the previous two books so I am hoping it lives up to expectations.

I also had a bunch of my holds at the library come in today so I have plenty to be getting on with.

QOTW: I find 99% of my TBRs from Goodreads but I don't really follow new books unless they're part of a series or from a favourite author.

And @Nadine, I seem to have lots of books for the animal prompt suddenly appear too!

That happens to me all the time, the harder it is to fill a prompt, the more likely I will then immediately read 2 more books that would work, lol.

I only finished 1 book this week, though I was working on a couple others, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer. I used it for the favorite prompt from 2015 slot, nonfiction. It would also work for True Crime or a book about a problem facing society today, but of course I already filled those slots.

Right now I'm reading Speed Girl, which I'm using both for the book about or involving a sport (since I read Beartown last year) and for a different nonfiction challenge that requires a nonfiction book about a sport for February. I'm at 13/50 for the Pop Sugar Challenge.

QOTW: Thanks for the lists. I usually hear about new books on Goodreads, in emails from Amazon and my library, or in the newspaper.

This has been a week of many short reads for me - I didn’t think I was lacking concentration, but in retrospect, I think that’s probably the case! I’ve got some longer books planned for February though and I think I didn’t want to get stuck into something long at the end of the month.

Saga, Vol. 6 - I continue to love this series! For me, challenge-wise, once I put a graphic novel series into any slot, even from a previous year, I don’t use future volumes for new prompts, since it’s still continuing the same narrative.

A Bear Called Paddington - I totally thought this would be a picture book! I added books by authors who’d died in 2017 from an article and so I wasn’t paying too much attention beyond that this was the first. I’d meant to just read it to the girls, instead I put it into the Book Riot’s children’s classic - though it would equally fit into PS. I like to try and polish off Book Riot first because it’s shorter (especially this year with three graphic novel prompts!)

Very, Very, Very Dreadful: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 - I’m sort of obsessed with books about disease pandemics (movies too!), so I had this on hold the moment the library added it. It’s YA and at first that felt very noticeable because they explained that vodka was a type of alcohol! However, I got really drawn in to the story and that stopped bothering me. It’s so odd to me that I wasn’t taught about this in school considering the huge impact the pandemic had on WWI and its outcome. Highly recommended. It could be shoehorned into a few prompts with a bit of stretch, but I just put it under published in 2018.

The Battle of the Labyrinth - I really liked Book 4 of Percy Jackson. It felt a bit like the stakes were finally raised a bit in this one and for once they didn’t stop and play a game of capture the flag before dealing with a crisis! That said, there is something about the lack of any urgency by these characters while weeks pass and they aren’t dealing with the critical issues that drives me up the wall!

Revival, Vol. 2: Live Like You Mean It - Rural Noir! A new genre for me. I like this series. The second volume didn’t advance the plot too much, but it expanded the world and what was going on. I am looking forward to the next!

Afar - last night was story time at the library, so I finished this off so it could be returned. It was an interesting story of a pair of siblings in Africa, left on their own, and the daughter learning to use her powers to travel to other worlds and inhabit other species’ bodies.

Wild Embers - an old ARC I’d failed to get to, I read this last night while trying to get the baby to nurse to sleep because of the ATY readathon. I thought I might as well help my team by knocking off the poetry prompt. I’m not much of a poetry reader at all but I actually really loved this. It could perhaps fit into the feminism prompt because it talks a lot about violence against women and healing from trauma, plus alternate Disney princesses and Greek Goddesses.

So, I didn’t really accomplish much of any reading for PS this week! Oops. I’m hoping a bunch of my 1001 books for February will fill into some PS prompts.

I’m currently reading Bones of the Earth for ATY and listening to In the Shadow of the Glacier which I picked mostly because I feel like I don’t read enough Canada-centric books while living in the US. I’m trying to read a Canadian book at least monthly this year.

QOTW: I mostly hear about new books here in this group, from a Book Riot, the Professional Book Nerds podcast and tor.com. Also sometimes from Netgalley. It usually takes me awhile to get to new releases though - I get excited and put them on my tbr, but then often forget about them for a bit. Since I’m a library only reader, it’s frustrating to be on long waiting lists even if I do place a hold early on, so I don’t really keep up with the “it” books everyone is talking about.

I am blowing myself away with the number of books I have read so far this year and I have this group to thank for it. Last year I read 18 with a goal of 12 so this year I made my goal 15 and I have already read 6! The past few years I was hosting a monthly theme group with my facebook friends but I found that I would only read one book that month until I put up the next theme. With the group losing interest I started to stalk this group. This year I have decided to fully participate here and look at me now. I have read 5 more books than I did this time last year!


This week I finished (gasp) 3 books! I never thought I would say that.

A Child Called "It" - I read this for a problem facing society. I thought it would be appropriate due to the recent news of the 12 kids in California. I found this book disturbing. As a mom of two, I can't wrap my brain around how a mother could treat a child like this. Sadly as a domestic abuse victim becomes desensitized to their beatings (or other forms of abuse), I too became desensitized to the beatings the further along I got in the book. That is a horrible thing to say and believe me I thought it was a horrible thing to feel as I was reading the book, but It got to the point where the abuse escalated and you hoped it would just be a beating. - I am giving this book back to the person that gave it to me as I do not want to be responsible for handing it to someone else. It was a good book but I'm not sure I can say I recommend it. I'll leave that decision up to each individual.

Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom I read this for a movie I have already seen. My daughter was home from school sometime last year and made me watch this with her. She was so disappointed at how different the movie was from the book that she left me the book to read. I had 2 books on my shelf to fit this prompt. This and The Girl On The Train. I heard so many bad things about The Girl On The Train so I grabbed this thinking it would at least be short. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down. This became the best book I've read in awhile. I don't read comics or manga but I highly recommend trying this one.

Death Note, Vol. 2: Confluence I read this for the next book in a series. I'm on a self imposed book buying ban since I have 175 unread books between physical ones and my kindle, so I was thankful the book my daughter left me had volumes 1 and 2 in it. I may need to break my ban to buy the rest of the books. I need to know what happens next. Who's going to win? L? Light? Ryuk? I need answers!

My totals are now 6/50 PS - 6/15 GR - 6/24 BRRH - 6/52 ATY
I am allowing myself to use 1 book for every challenge but that book can only fill 1 prompt within a challenge. So far I have been able to fit all of them somewhere within each challenge.

QOTW
My favorite source to find new books is a podcast, All The Books. I try to limit myself to just adding to my TBR list from here. My list is already over 500 books long so adding to it from many locations will just make me depressed on all the books I won't ever have the time to read.

Hello! My current score is 2/50. It's slow but I guess that's because I have work-related reading to do on the side.

Anyway, I finished The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer under the prompt "A book about death or grief". This is a book about cancer, the history behind the understanding of the disease, the treatments developed, the research and new treatment which are underway and hence the future expected. While it's not directly about death, but given today's scenario, cancer in many cases is synonymous to death.

I am currently reading A Suitable Boy, a novel about a middle-class Indian family set in the 50's and their quest to find the perfect groom for their daughter. This is a very long book (1,349 pages) and will require quite some time to complete. Not an ideal book for reading challenges, but then I really wanted to read it some day, so why not now!

I am planning to resume Somnath, which is about the Somnath temple in India and it's repeated plunder by Mahmud of Ghazni.

QOTW: I get book recommendations from a whatsapp group of book readers, from friends, Quora and from my friends' update on Goodreads.

7/50
Finished
The Light We Lost- This book is soooo good. I have so many emotions: sadness, anger, frustration. I really related to the main character and the story and I think part of it is growing up outside of NYC for sure. Using this for alliteration

Fierce: How Competing for Myself Changed Everything- Again, I'd recommend this book for all young girls. It is the best book I've read from an Olympian. Aly discusses body image and confidence issues and how they can be detrimental. This is a good book, though, while this book is not focused on the abuse by Larry Nassar it is mentioned and discussed, so tread lightly, it's not graphic but could be triggering. Using this for a book about sports.

Update
I decided to use A Short History of the Girl Next Door for Halloween which I read a few weeks back, I just don't like this prompt.

Currently Reading
Emma in the Night- My audiobook. It's interesting, but I'm not loving it.

Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History- My hold for this came in and it's really really interesting so far.

I expect my hold for It Ends with Us to come in soon as well

QOTW
I usually read Buzzfeed or Bustle.

Hi All,

I am really enjoying this challenge and reading everyone's comments.

While I have been reading quite a bit, I only finished one challenge book last week. Have to get moving! I got distracted by the following books:

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra--Funny, a fast read, highly recommend

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness--while it is set in the same country as the book above, it is nearly its opposite. While at times uplifting, ultimately disturbing as I'm sure it was meant to be. A slow read but, for me, worth it.

I am reading a few other books but have not gotten through them yet. The one book I am currently reading for the challenge is:

The Librarian of Auschwitz--borrowing this from my daughter who received it for Christmas. The first chapter is one of the most compelling first chapters I have ever read. (for the prompt: a book that involves a bookstore or a library).

QOTW
My favorite source to find new books is my local independent bookstore, the Book Stall in Winnetka, iL. When I was volunteering at a K-8 school library, I would bring in finds from the Book Stall, and within a few years those finds would become Blue Stem or Caudill award-winners. I am always impressed by their selection; so different from the big chains.

Hi everyone!

Yes, I'm finding one I've finished a prompt, I find even more that fit that prompt! This year, I'm also finding that most of the books I slot in fit more than one category, so I've been moving things around like crazy. I still have quite a few that I've read that fit multiple categories, and haven't officially chosen where they'll go yet.

Megan wrote: "I didn't read a single thing this week - but I have a good excuse (well - its a good excuse if you like dogs).. We got our puppy over the weekend and I'm now a helicopter pawrent (I follow her arou..."

Awww, congratulations on the new puppy! Sounds like a great excuse to me. Puppies are precious! We are currently dog-sitting my father-in-law's 9 week old Dachsund puppy this week - picked her up on Saturday. We're having so much fun, although our routine's definitely been thrown off with all the chewing, overnight whining, and attempts at housebreaking! Honestly, though, we've enjoyed it. Our two big fluffy dogs (Chow/Lab mixes) are being good sports about being chewed on, too.

I managed to finish two books this week, so I'm sitting at 7/50.

You Will Know Me, which I used as a book involving a sport (gymnastics). I thought it was decent, as far as thrillers go, but for me it was a bit predictable and I had expected more from it (I'm pretty demanding when it comes to thrillers). However, still an entertaining read.

Stardust as a book with an ugly cover. I did this on audio because I absolutely adore anything narrated by Neil Gaiman. I'm finding I get more involved in any story when he tells it! But I did love this book, and am planning on watching the movie next, as I hear it's good. It's funny, when I listened to Gaiman's intro for the audiobook, he mentioned being proud of the cover. Then I felt a little bad for thinking it was ugly ;)

In progress:

I've just barely started The Neverending Story, which fits either the childhood classic or a book made into a movie you've already seen. So this is another one I'm kind of waiting to slot in officially until I figure out the rest of my list!

QOTW: I kinda sorta keep up with new releases, though I'm not great at it. I do it through Goodreads, of course, but also by following authors I like (here and on social media). I also get quite a few recommendations for new releases or pending releases from librarian friends as well. And I do still love to browse the new release or new author sections of physical bookstores too.

Hello from Columbus! We’re getting some not as cold weather so we’ve been able to spend some time at the park, albeit still pretty bundled up. The kids were with the grandparents this weekend, so I went on a walk in one of our metro parks and was attempting to listen to an audiobook while I walked but someone else on the trail brought a BOOM BOX and I couldn’t seem to escape them. How frustrating 😂

Tulip Fever was a second movie I’d already seen pick, since I had recently seen the movie earlier in the year I was interested in seeing the book. I honestly think I liked the movie more, the actual story is pretty meh but the cast and the scenery and costuming really sold me on it. I thought the book would get more into the tulip subplot but it didn’t so I didn’t get anything new from it. I had the same frustrations with the main character, Sophia, that I did with Anna from Anna Karenina. Very selfish, doesn’t care about who she hurts in her pursuit of “romantic” love, etc. But there are a lot of redeeming qualities to the story.

The Bear and the Nightingale was my pick for a country I’m interested in. The book was fun, and magical. It kind of lost me a bit toward the end but I got the overall point of it all I think. I’d be interested in reading the sequels. This is a great pick if you like folklore mixed in with your storylines.

Faceless Killers was another Nordic Noir pick (I can never just pick one book for each category). I felt obligated to read some of Henning Mankell’s works since I had my son a few years ago, people have asked if he’s named Henning after the author. It was a good book and I don’t mind if people think I named my kid after Mankell. I’m excited to read some more of the series.

So this brings me to 8/40; 0/12 with 11 books read this year.

Everyone seems to be reading The Bear and the Nightingale this year! I have it picked out for the "book set in a country that fascinates you" prompt but haven't gotten to it yet... I hope it's good!