Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the tenth day of the month is "Judgment." I have personally decided that I will pass judgment on a book (or, in this case, many books) on the tenth day of each month.
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I'm going to attempt to the Pop Sugar reading challenge again this year. Here are my past attempts: 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. This is the first year I've done star ratings for each book, and I'm curious to see what the ratings look like.
I tried to read female/non-binary authors and mostly succeeded. I did note when I caved and read a book by a dude.
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1. A book published in 2022: Hook, Line, and Sinker (It Happened One Summer #2) by Tessa Bailey (library ebook, 2022) - Pretty good romance novel. 4/5 stars
2. A book set on a plane, train, or a cruise ship: Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot #10) by Agatha Christie (library ebook, 1934) - A bit of a snooze, if I'm honest, but it's good to read some of the early works of mystery novels. 3/5 stars
Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am by Julia Cooke (library 2021) - Interesting material, but organized badly. 3/5 stars
3. A book about or set in a nonpatriarchal society: The Cloud Roads (The Books of Raksura #1) by Martha Wells (library, 2011) - Perfectly acceptable book about a shapeshifter, but not the best from Wells (Go read Murderbot!). 3/5 stars
4. A book with a tiger on the cover or "tiger" in the title: Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry (library, 2020) - This took me down a depressive rabbit hole for a bit. 3/5 stars
5. A sapphic book: The Priory of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (library ebook, 2019) - Feminist fantasy with dragons. Somehow, it still didn't quite land with me. 3/5 stars
6. A book by a Latinx author: Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera (library ebook, 2019) - Not the book for me. 2.5/5 stars
7. A book with an onomatopoeia in its title: Buzz Off by Hannah Reed (library ebook, 2010) - Set in the area where I live, but I didn't love it the way I wanted to. 2.5/5 stars
8. A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid: Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots (library, 2020) - The main character has an injury and uses crutches and then a cane for the rest of the book. Highly enjoyable. 4.5/5 stars
9. A book about a "found family": American Hippo by Sarah Gailey (library, 2018) - I loved this book more than I can tell you. I was obsessed with the source material (the "American Hippopotamus" article) and I thought this book was a great addition to it. 5/5 stars
10. An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner: Great House by Nicole Krauss (library, 2010) - Perfectly fine, middle of the road book. Won a 2011 AF Award for Fiction. 3.5/5 stars
11. A #BookTok recommendation: A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorn and Roses #1) by Sarah Maas (library ebook): This interspecies romance was an absolute no go for me. 2/5 stars
12. A book about the afterlife: Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (library ebook, 2005) - Interesting conceit, but I was grossed out by the age difference elements. 2/5 stars
13. A book set in the 1980s: The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickles (library, 2020) - This is written by a dude. I started several books for this category and none of them really resonated with me until this one. A touching tale about HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and the reverberations in one family. 4.5/5 stars
14. A book with cutlery on the cover or in the title: The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson (library ebook, 2014) - I am no longer the core audience for this type of book. I'm not sure why domestic violence is so glorified in YA novels, but I'm over it. 2/5 stars
15. A book by a Pacific Islander author: Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) by Nalini Singh (library ebook, 2021) - Acceptable romance, but I'm deep in this series for the overarching world at this point. 3.5/5 stars
16. A book about witches: The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling (library ebook, 2021) - Lighthearted romance. 4/5 stars
17. A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2022: The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (library, 2016) - Solid, atmospheric book. 3.5/5 stars
18. A romance novel by a BIPOC author: Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory (library, 2019) - Acceptable romance novel, but forgettable. 3/5 stars
19. A book that takes place during your favorite season: On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave by Candace Fleming (library audiobook, 2012) - A nice, semi-spooky collection of short stories. 3.5/5 stars
20. A book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read: The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers (library ebook, 2017) - I read this after I finished A Natural History of Dragons. I enjoyed this little historical mystery. 4.5/5 stars
21. A book about a band or musical group: The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Watson (library, 2021) - Brilliant. I loved it. 5/5 stars
22. A book with a character on the ace spectrum: Blank Spaces by Cass Lennox (library ebook, 2016) - Very different from many romance novels I've ever read. I'm undecided on whether or not the ending was satisfying for me. 4/5 stars
23. A book with a recipe in it: Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron (library ebook, 2021) - Readable, but there were some problems with this book. 2.5/5 stars
24. A book you can read in one sitting: Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal (library, 2018) - Very fun, but lacking the substance I was looking for. 3/5 stars
25. A book about a secret: One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus (library, 2017) - I really struggle with young adult titles at this point in my life. I spent an enjoyable Saturday afternoon with this on the couch and felt the mystery was propulsive (although I figured out most of it about a third of the way through), but the depictions of mental illness were problematic and the issue of dating violence wasn't really dealt with. Hm. 3/5 stars
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| Coveted five-star books from NGS |
26. A book with a misleading title: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka (library, 2005) - Sad family drama. Just fine. 3/5 stars
27. A Hugo Award winner: Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire (library, 2016) - Really great fantasy boarding school story. Won a 2017 Hugo for Best Novella. 4.5/5 stars
28. A book set during a holiday: A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli (library ebook, 2021) - Not the book for me. I found it quite sleepymaking. 2/5 stars
29. A different book by an author you read in 2021: Well Played (Well Met #2) by Jen DeLuca (library ebook, 2020) - Not as good as the first one in the series, Well Met, which I read last year and adored. 3/5 stars
Book Lovers by Emily Henry (library, 2022) - Good, not great. 4/5 stars
30. A book with the name of a board game in the title: Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #1) by Louise Penny - A reread of a book I really want to get on board with, but it turns out I just found Gamache a bit too chilly for me. 3/5 stars
31. A book featuring a man-made disaster: Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich (library ebook, 1997) - Powerful book that packages the words and stories of people who had firsthand experience with a terrible disaster. 5/5 stars
The Library Book by Susan Orlean (library, 2018) - Interesting look at an arson investigation at the central Los Angeles library. 4.5/5 stars
32. A book with a quote from your favorite author on the cover or Amazon page: Dawn by Octavia E. Butler (library, 1987) - Fabulous book. I read it because Becky Chambers namechecked it as one of her inspirations in a Reddit AMA. 5/5 stars
33. A social-horror book: When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen (library, 2021) - Very promising debut. Creepy atmosphere that really left an impression. 3.5/5 stars
34. A book set in Victorian times (1820 - 1914): A Rogue of One's Own (A League of Extraordinary Women #2) by Evie Dunmore (library, 2020) - Set in 1880. I love this series. This couple wasn't my favorite, but it's still quite a good romance. 4/5 stars
How to Be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman (library ebook, 2013) - Nonfiction exploration of daily life in the Victorian era. Pretty interesting. 4.5/5 stars
35. A book with a constellation on the cover or in the title: The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon, and S.L. Huang (library ebook, 2019) - I liked the idea of a "group project" with great authors writing together, but the idea is better than the execution. 2.5/5 stars
36. A book you know nothing about: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (library, 2022) - I read it based solely on Lisa's recommendation and thought it was a very good book. Great dog character. 4.5/5 stars
Jade City by Fonda Lee (library, 2017) - I only read this because it was on r/fantasy's list of top books by women authors and knew nothing else about it. So good. 5/5 stars
37. A book about gender identity: Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (library, 2020) - Sweet YA book about a teenager discovering their gender and sexual identities. 4/5 stars
38. A book featuring a party: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (library, 2021) - Even the worst Taylor Jenkins Reid is still pretty good. 3.5/5
39. An #OwnVoices SFF book: A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1) by Becky Chambers (library ebook, 2021) - My least favorite Becky Chambers. 3/5 stars
Binti: The Complete Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor (library, 2019) - The first novella is amazing. The other two were good. 5/5 for the first novella and 4/5 overall
40. A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past Pop Sugar Reading Challenge - I chose to just use a prompt from 2021 which was a book that has won the Women's Prize for Fiction: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell - I thought the writing in this look at Shakespeare's family life was a bit chilly. 3/5 stars
Advanced list!!
41. A book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title: The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (library, 2020) - Mandel is always a thought-provoking author. 4/5 stars
42. A book that features two languages: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley (library, 2021) - Phenomenal book. Highly recommend. The main character speaks English and an Ojibwe language, along with a side of French now and again. 5/5 stars
43. A book with a palindromic title: Madam by Phoebe Wynne (library, 2020) - Atmospheric book taking place at a girls boarding school in Scotland. 4/5 stars
44. A duology (1): In the After by Demitria Lunetta (library, 2013) - Pretty good YA sci-fi thriller about aliens killing most humans and our surviving teen heroine is here to save the day. 3.5/5 stars
45. A duology (2): In the End by Demitria Lunetta (library, 2014) - This wasn't exactly how I wanted it to end, but it was fine. 3/5 stars
46. A book about someone leading a double life: American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson (library audiobook, 2019) - Perfectly acceptable Cold War historical fiction. 3/5 stars
47. A book featuring a parallel reality: The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett (library, 2015) - Three outcomes of two people who have a chance meeting in Cambridge. I liked the concept, but found it incredibly confusing to keep track of everything. 3/5 stars
48. A book with two POVs: Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon (library, 2015) - Very interesting look at the parallel lives of these two famous women. 4.5/5 stars
Dublin and Barcelona are sister cities.
49. Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (1) The Secret Place by Tana French (library, 2014) - I do not understand the love for Tana French. Set in Dublin. 2/5 stars
50. Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (2) Hot Milk by Deborah Levy (library, 2016) - I understand that this was a Booker Prize finalist, but I did not care for it. Set near Barcelona. 2.5/5 stars
Average star rating: 3.5/5
4.5 star books
Overall, I like that this challenge forces me to read books I wouldn't normally read. There's no way I would have stumbled up on The Firekeeper's Daughter or American Hippo if not for this challenge. I can also sneak a romance novel or two into the mix to keep it from getting too serious all the time. I plan on doing it again in 2023 and will start doing research on it soon (although I see there's one that says "bought from an independent bookstore" and I am pretty sure that's just not going to happen!).
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5 stars |
4-4.5 stars |
3 – 3.5 stars |
<3 stars |
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American Hippo |
Hook, Line, and Sinker |
Murder on the Orient Express |
Never Look Back |
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The Final Revival of Opal & Nev |
Hench |
Come Fly the World |
Buzz Off |
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Voices from Chernobyl |
The Prettiest Star |
The Cloud Roads |
A Court of Thorns and Roses |
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Dawn |
The Ex Hex |
Tigers, Not Daughters |
Elsewhere |
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Jade City |
The Second Mrs. Hockaday |
The Priory of the Orange Tree |
The Impossible Knife of Memory |
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Firekeeper’s Daughter |
Blank Spaces |
Great House |
Accidentally Engaged |
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Every Heart A Doorway |
Last Guard |
A Holly Jolly Diwali |
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Book Lovers |
The Wonder |
The Vela |
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The Library Book |
Royal Holiday |
The Secret Place |
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A Rogue of One’s Own |
On the Day I Died |
Hot Milk |
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Lessons in Chemistry |
Woman World |
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Felix Ever After |
One of Us Is Lying |
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Binti: The Complete Trilogy |
A Short History of Tractors in Ukraine |
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The Glass Hotel |
Well Played |
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Madam |
Still Life |
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Romantic Outlaws |
When the Reckoning Comes |
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Malibu Rising |
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A Psalm for the Wild-Built |
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Hamnet |
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In the After |
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In the End |
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American Spy |
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The Versions of Us |
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To see what Bestest Friend wrote about judgment, go visit her at Too Legit to Quit.
Well, this is impressive. I'd be interesting to hear how you go about doing the research for all of these. I can definitely see how this challenge would get you to read books you wouldn't normally read. And I'm pretty sure you could order a book from an independent bookstore if you want to follow next year's challenge faithfully!
ReplyDeleteI hate to buy books! Chances are I'll probably punt on that challenge, although there are a couple of fantasy books that I can't find in our library system that I might by from Powell's.
DeleteWow, this is really great. I personally don't read much at all by male authors, to the point that if I mention I don't like a book, the guys will say "Why, was it written by a MAN?" Ha! Yes, usually. I don't think I have read much at all by nonbinary authors, I cannot think of anything. But women writers are my jam.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't 100% successful at reading women and nonbinary authors, but it was easier than I thought it would be. It will be nice in 2023 when I release myself from this constraint, though, and read more men.
DeleteWhat Jenny said - how do you find these books??? Do you google "book set in a nonpatriarchal society" and "book with a reflective image on its cover" to get those titles? Enquiring minds want to know! And in the meantime bravo for an epic reading year!
ReplyDeleteI wrote about my research process in a longer post from January 2022. Basically, Goodreads has threads about each of the topics, so I try to start there.
Deletehttps://ngradstudent.blogspot.com/2022/01/pop-sugar-2022-challenge-plan.html
I loved Hench! And Every Heart a Doorway. And Binti, although I've only read the first one. I have a Becky Chambers on my shelf, and I tried to read The Glass Hotel and couldn't get into it, even though I adored Station Eleven and after GH loved Sea of Tranquility. It's funny how sometimes books aren't for us and sometimes it just isn't the right time. I do a book bingo with friends and my non-patriarchal society book is Scorpica, which I'm liking but somehow not making my way through quickly. Maybe it's all the house-cleaning that's interfering with my reading, which now that I think of it is unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteThe Glass Hotel was quite hard to get into. The first few chapters are told from Paul's perspective and I found him to be terribly uninteresting. I must've started that book three or four times before I powered through those and THEN the book is as sparkling as the rest of her stuff. I think you'd like it if you can get through the early chapters!
DeleteI am so glad that you liked lessons in chemistry! That is one of my fave books for the year! I used to do the read harder challenge through book riot. But then I found I was reading a lot of duds. So I gave up on book challenges. But I did love researching what to read for every category!!
ReplyDeleteI do love the research part. LOL. We're just book nerds over here!
DeleteThat's a lot of books! I am planning to buy Dawn for my daughter. She's read 3 books by Octavia Butler, and I think she would really enjoy this one. Bonus is that I can read it when she is finished.
ReplyDeleteThat's impressive. I am always up for challenges (but they're usually exercise-related for me LOL)... but this is cool, as you're forced to think (read) outside of the box.
ReplyDeleteThat's such an intense book challenge. 50 books! Nice job getting it done!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to change up the "bought from an independent bookstore" category, you could make it "published by an indie press" - still getting that independent feel, but without having to actually BUY a book!