Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller.

I'm sure there are many more...

Listopia is here

For anyone curious, here's a list of the 88 officially recognized modern constellations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAU_des...

I might stretch this one a bit, like using a cover with a dragon on it as representing Draco the dragon constellation, or one with a giraffe representing my favorite constellation, Cameleopardalis (the giraffe)!

This might be helpful: https://www.britannica.com/topic/list...

This one should be fun?

The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Evolution
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Corvus: A Life with Birds
The Labors of Hercules
Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories Annotated
Leo: A Ghost Story
Libra
Lyra's Oxford
Orion Colony
Pegasus
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Phoenix Extravagant
The Pisces
Songs in Ursa Major
The Vela

Oh, I'm sorry! I see someone else posted a list.

I am going with Across the Universe

The Dog Stars is a book that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I might re-read this one.

Alex wrote: "For anyone curious, here's a list of the 88 officially recognized modern constellations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAU_des...

I might stretch this one a bit, like using a co..."

I'm stretching as well. From Pegagus to The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.

I think I'm cheating on this one. I have a book called the Arch of Stars and there's a picture on an arch of stars. It's not actually a constellation. It's a book about the REvolutionary War, I think, so it's really about the flag. But an arch of stars could be a constellation. I mean it's stars in a formation.

- has the added benefit of being relatively quick.

For constellations on the cover, the first ones I thought of were from the same author: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World, and The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. Bonus: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is also read by Lin-Manuel Miranda on the audiobook.

Has everyone already forgotten about The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue? Addie has a constellation of freckles across her nose, likened to a constellation of 7 stars, and the Pleiades constellation is referenced. Most important, the image of a constellation is on the cover.

One of my top 5 reads this year.

I think I will read Dark Emu as this is an Australian constellation.

At a stretch perhaps we can also use English translations of the constellations such as:
Orion (the Hunter)
Andromeda (the Chained Maiden)
Cassiopeia (the Queen)
Ursa Major (the Great Bear)
Ursa Minor (the Small Bear)
Canis Major (the Greater Dog)
Canis Minor (the Smaller Dog)
Auriga (the Charioteer)
Draco (the Dragon)
Cygnus (the Swan)
Leo (the Lion)
Aquarius (the Water Bearer)
Apus (the Bird of Paradise)
Chamaeleon
Dorado (the Dolphinfish or Swordfish)
Grus (the Crane)
Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs)
Lacerta (the Lizard)
Leo Minor (the Smaller Lion)
Lynx
Scutum (the Shield)
Sextans (the Sextant)
Vulpecula (the Little Fox)
Tucana (the Toucan)
Volans (the Flying Fish)
Musca (the Fly)

If you enjoy romance, Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur has constellations depicted on the cover! It's also got some plot points about astrology, so constellations definitely play a part in that sense!

There is a short story anthology of Star Trek: The Original Series called Constellations. If you are looking for something good and unambiguous, there you go.

I'll be reading Peacock Emporium, an older Jojo Moyes book. Yes, the Peacock is a constellation^^

Martha C. Lawrence has a mystery series that fits here:

Murder in Scorpio
The Cold Heart of Capricorn
Pisces Rising
Aquarius Descending
Ashes of Aries

Emily wrote: "If you enjoy romance, Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur has constellations depicted on the cover! It's also got some plot points about astrology, so constellations defin..."



Thank you that looks perfect!

Is it just me, or does The Light Between Oceans look like it has constellations? I might be able to finally cross this one off my list!

In Australia we call Orion a different name. We refer to it as the Saucepan. Well that's what it looks like from down here. A big pot with a handle.

Jacqueline wrote: "In Australia we call Orion a different name. We refer to it as the Saucepan. Well that's what it looks like from down here. A big pot with a handle."

Is that not Ursa Major?

Looking at Murder in Scorpio. This looks like an intriguing series.

Would Wolf Hall count? The constellation name is in Latin though (Lupus) but it translates to wolf!

Rachael wrote: "Jacqueline wrote: "In Australia we call Orion a different name. We refer to it as the Saucepan. Well that's what it looks like from down here. A big pot with a handle."

Is that not Ursa Major?"

Google it....some sites say that it's Ursa Major and others say it's Orion. The Powerhouse Museum says it's Orion.

https://www.maas.museum/observations/...

Does anyone know if the stars on the cover of The Night Tiger is a specific constellation? Also I’m thinking it’s ok to use the modern English interpretation of the names in the title or cover like dog, lion, giraffe??

Jennifer wrote: "Does anyone know if the stars on the cover of The Night Tiger is a specific constellation? Also I’m thinking it’s ok to use the modern English interpretation of the names in the title or cover like..."

It looks a bit like Cassiopeia.

Jacqueline wrote: "In Australia we call Orion a different name. We refer to it as the Saucepan. Well that's what it looks like from down here. A big pot with a handle."


that's interesting! what do you call the Big Dipper?

Nadine in NY wrote: "Jacqueline wrote: "In Australia we call Orion a different name. We refer to it as the Saucepan. Well that's what it looks like from down here. A big pot with a handle."


that's interesting! what d..."

We can't actually see it from down here which is why the Saucepan isn't Ursa Major (The Big Dipper) but Orion. People in the Northern Hemisphere can't see the Southern Cross which is on our flag as well as the flag of New Zealand and we can't see a few of the ones you can see.

I'm going to read The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie. Thanks to Dixie for the link to britannica.com:

Hercules, constellation in the northern sky at about 17 hours right ascension and 30° north in declination. Its brightest star is Beta Herculis, with a magnitude of 2.8. Hercules contains the solar apex, the point on the sky toward which the Sun is moving as it orbits in the Milky Way Galaxy, and M13, one of the brightest globular clusters. To early Greek astronomers such as Eudoxus and Hipparchus, this constellation was known as Engonasin, Greek for “the kneeling man.” It was not until the 2nd century BCE that the identification was made with the Greek hero Heracles.

I'm going to read The Vela. Becky Chambers has an author credit on it!

Children's non-fiction books:
Find the Constellations by H.A. Rey

OR
The Stars: A New Way to See Them

It looks like there are a lot of stars on Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1's cover and I feel like I see one of the Dippers on there, so I'm going to be using that for this prompt.

While Station Eleven doesn't necessarily have constellations, it does have a lot of stars in the night sky so I'll be adding this one in.

I keep seeing it advertised around here and given that it's a post-apocalyptic novel it's right up my alley so it's perfect.

If anyone is interested in learning about constellations and what can be seen in the sky in 2022, the Almanac might interest you :)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Girl Made of Stars has constellations on the cover, right??

Looks like it to me. Nobody said they had to be real-life constellations.

Matariki: The Maori New Year

I don't think these are real constellations on the covers, but I could be wrong.
Star Mother
Star Father

Jaime wrote: "I don't think these are real constellations on the covers, but I could be wrong.
Star Mother
Star Father"

Fortunately the prompt doesn't mention if it's suppose to be a Real Constellation or Fake. I would count these because they are making a constellation.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Even though the book I chose fits the "Found Family" category it also fits with this one.

It's Station Eleven and though it doesn't have constellations directly it does feature a lot of stars on the cover which I think works just as well.

Highly recommend this book, unless you don't want to read a book about a pandemic during a pandemic.

It was my top favorite book of 2021 and remains in that spot as of 2022 as I did the re-read. It's rare that I do re-reads of books but this one was absolutely necessary. I could not get enough of it.

I've been really struggling to find something for this one! I've found many books with lots of stars on the cover, but couldn't decide if they actually counted as a constellation since I'm not sure they were really ones.

Rachel wrote: "I've been really struggling to find something for this one! I've found many books with lots of stars on the cover, but couldn't decide if they actually counted as a constellation since I'm not sure they were really ones."

The prompt is a constellation on the cover or in the TITLE. So you could use a book with a title that has a constellation. I'm going to read The Greatest Short Stories of Leo Tolstoy for this prompt as Leo is a constellation.

El wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I've been really struggling to find something for this one! I've found many books with lots of stars on the cover, but couldn't decide if they actually counted as a constellation sin..."

I know, but I thought it would be much easier to find a cover than title since there are so many books with stars on them.

Rachel wrote: "El wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I've been really struggling to find something for this one! I've found many books with lots of stars on the cover, but couldn't decide if they actually counted as a conste..."

At first I thought so too but then realised title is easier.

M wrote: "It looks like there are a lot of stars on Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1's cover and I feel like I see one of the Dippers on there, so I'm going to..."
THANK YOU I was wondering where I could fit this one in!!

Tara wrote: "M wrote: "It looks like there are a lot of stars on Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1's cover and I feel like I see one of the Dippers on there, so I'..."

Excellent! I fit it in (though probably inappropriately) into Two Languages. I would also say Afterlife would work for it too if you need other suggestions (though I'm using Afterlife for Heaven Official's Blessing).