Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Alright, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet will clearly work. What other ideas do you have for books with one of these words in the title?

I really loved Bitter Sweets. I'll probably look for for one I haven't read for this challenge but this might be helpful for others.

I thought of Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler..it's been on my shelf for a while

Sara wrote: "Alright, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet will clearly work. What other ideas do you have for books with one of these words in the title?"

This was good. I had read an ARC. :)

Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

Who knew there were this many books with Bittersweet in the title?

Sweetbitter, two birds, one stone.

And how about a book with a derivative of one of the words - for example sweetness, bittherness? Would that work?

I can't find any books with specifically "salty", "sweet", etc. in the title, but I do have Salt and Saffron... I guess that'll have to do.

I suppose I could give Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet another try--I wasn't sure whether it was the book or just the audio version I didn't like when I tried it the first time.

I also have these on my TBR though:

Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet: Tasting the Goodness of God in All Things

The Nerdy Nummies Cookbook: Sweet Treats for the Geek in All of Us

And, if we're going with variations, I could count Salt which I was going to use for ATY's 'related to the periodic table' prompt.

Lauren Conrad's Sweet Little Lies fits this prompt. It's the second book in the L.A. Candy series and I believe the first book works as an author's debut.

I'm a little surprised at how few books on my TBR fit this! I might fudge this a bit and use "salt" instead of "salty" and then I can read:
The Price of Salt
Salt: A World History
Salt Houses
Salt to the Sea
The Salt Line

If I stay 100% true to the prompt, my choices are:
The Sweetest Seduction
Talk Sweetly to Me
Bitter Greens
Bitterblue
none of which I'm really excited about ...

Bitter Harvest sounds pretty good...

I have this from the book of the month club that I have not read yet.

Floor wrote: "Lauren Conrad's Sweet Little Lies fits this prompt. It's the second book in the L.A. Candy series and I believe the first book works as an author's debut."

Also the 3rd book of that series Sugar and Spice can work for "pop", "sugar" or "challenge" in the title :)

The Sweet Hereafter.

I might go with Summer of Salt for this one and stretch it a little bit.

I just read Salt to the Sea - highly recommend!

I'm going to read The Map of Salt and Stars for this prompt, stretching the "salty" bit. I had it on my TBR and haven't gotten to it yet.

I have absolutely zero books on my TBR with these terms. So I just tossed them in the search engine and settled for the sweet.

These sound interesting:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (cosy mistery)
Sweet Cheeks (romance, my friends gave it good ratings)
Sweet Tooth, Volume 1: Out of the Deep Woods (graphic novel)
Sweet Little Lies (romance again)

This year I read excellent nonfiction book with salty in it Sex in the Sea: Our Intimate Connection with Sex-Changing Fish, Romantic Lobsters, Kinky Squid, and Other Salty Erotica of the Deep

Its about reproduction of the sea life and the effects of pollution and global warming on it. Written in the style of Mary Roach, informative and fun.

I wish it was salt instead of salty too (and spice instead of spicy), so I might bend it a bit.

Chrissi wrote: "I just read Salt to the Sea - highly recommend!

I'm going to read The Map of Salt and Stars for this prompt, stretching the "salty" bit. I had it on my TBR and hav..."

Salt to the Sea is one of my all-time favorites!

Sweet Caress by William Boyd

LittleRedRidingHood wrote: "This year I read excellent nonfiction book with salty in it Sex in the Sea: Our Intimate Connection with Sex-Changing Fish, Romantic Lobsters, Kinky Squid, and Other Salty Erotica of the Deep

Its about reproduction of the sea life and the effects of pollution and global warming on it. Written in the style of Mary Roach, informative and fun."


This sounds fun. I would pair it with watching Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno videos, which are also about animal reproduction.

I'm thinking of using The Bitter Side of Sweet

I've been wanting to read Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. I know it's not "salty" but is it close enough do you think?

poshpenny wrote: "This sounds fun. I would pair it with watching Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno videos, which are also about animal reproduction. ..."


Hahaha I forgot about those!!! Doesn't she wear giant foam costumes?

Brittany wrote: "I'm thinking of using The Bitter Side of Sweet"

That looks interesting. I had been planning to "cheat" and use "SALT" instead of "SALTY" but maybe I'll read this instead.

I'll also be reading Bernice L. McFadden's This Bitter Earth. It's the second book in a duology.

I'll be starting with the first book, named book:Sugar|495369] for that other prompt. :D

Nadine wrote: "poshpenny wrote: "This sounds fun. I would pair it with watching Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno videos, which are also about animal reproduction. ..."


Hahaha I forgot about those!!! Doesn't she wear giant foam costumes?"

Yes! And lycra and paper... They are so fun.

I'm thinking about this poetry collection.

Salt

Stacey wrote: "I thought of Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler..it's been on my shelf for a while"

Same here

Hmmmm... I feel like I just posted to this thread in the wrong thread but I have no idea where LOL

Edit: Found it over in the 2 books same title thread:

Bittersweet.... huh, I actually have this on my kindle ( in addition to a physical copy of its opposite Sweetbitter, LOL... I guess it will depend on my mood and if I actually read this prompt ( which is maybe my least favorite)

I searched and searched my bookshelves, at first I could only find Bitterblue and Salt to the Sea, and I've read both of those. Although I wouldn't mind rereading either one! But I finally found a book that's been sitting on my shelves for years, quite buried!

Sweet Peril

LittleRedRidingHood wrote: "I have absolutely zero books on my TBR with these terms. So I just tossed them in the search engine and settled for the sweet.

These sound interesting:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie"

Highly recommend The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, especially if you like precocious little girl characters. :-)

While hunting for titles I found Bitter Greens which looks like a historical fantasy Rapunzel retelling. I think I'll give it a go.

Any of the Sweet Valley books - they would count for the nostalgia prompt also. I used to love these when I was in school. :)

Another Kindle freebie falls under this prompt -- twice even -- with A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet: Southern Stories of Faith, Family, and Fifteen Pounds of Bacon.

As soon as I saw The Bitter Side Of Sweet was set in the Ivory Coast I was sold since it helps with my goal self-imposed goal next year of reading books set in 10 countries that I've never read about before.

Brittany wrote: "I'm thinking of using The Bitter Side of Sweet"

The Bitter Side of Sweet is an excellent book. There are parts that were hard, I just wish it had put me off sugar forever instead of a month.

I'm going with Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler even though it doesn't have a great rating..

Lindi wrote: "I'm going with Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler even though it doesn't have a great rating.."

That's only because it wasn't great. In my opinion, of course.

Milena wrote: "Lindi wrote: "That's only because it wasn't great. In my opinion, of course."

I assumed as much lol. I wouldn't read it if it didn't have me a little bit curious, as "popular" books with low ratings sometimes do.

so Jimmy Buffett wrote a novel A Salty Piece of Land

Other obscure possibilities:
Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet
Sister Gumbo: Spicy Vignettes from Black Women on Life, Sex and Relationships
The Ultimate Guide to Sex After Fifty: How to Maintain – or Regain – a Spicy, Satisfying Sex Life

Bitter Is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office has been on my TBR forever! Perfect excuse to read this one.

Julie wrote: "Bitter Is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office has been on my TBR forever!..."

I feel like I need to read this at some point in my life

Anyone has any YA suggestions for this prompt? :)

Salt to the Sea is a YA historical fiction, or Summer of Salt is a YA contemporary that everyone is raving about at the moment. I've only read 'Salt to the Sea' and rather liked it.

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan could be a contender for me. If i'm feeling like something a bit lighter I might go with Sweet Little Thing by Renee Carlino or Sweet Addiction by J. Daniels. I think these last two are romances, but I have no idea if they are any good haha I got them as freebies on my phone though, so why not.

Can definitely recommend Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren if you enjoy fun, swoony romances that contain a bit of smut ;)

My grandmother really wants me to read [books: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet], so that will be my entry.

If I don't cheat, I have Serious Sweet on my bookshelf. But I already have an A.L. Kennedy book (albeit a non-fic) for another prompt, so... If I cheated, I could get another from my TBR - Salt to the Sea. I'll see how I feel.

I loved Bitter Greens (can also be used for retelling)

A bit stumped for this one so might also cheat and finally read As Meat Loves Salt which has been on my tbr for years.

(and for anyone else cheating & using 'salt' I join in with the recommendations for Salt to the Sea)