I have been plugging away at the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge all year. Here are the results.
Results from previous years:
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1. A book with the word "leap" in the title
Lucky Leap Day by Ann Marie Walker - I regret finishing this book. 2/5 stars
2. A bildungsroman
My Brilliant Friend (Neapolitan Novel #1) by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein - Such a good book. 5/5 stars
3. A book about a 24-year-old
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh - She's really 26 in the book, but I'm giving myself credit for it. 2.5/5 stars
4. A book about a writer/author
Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon - Ghostwriter who falls in love with her subject. I wanted this book to be a million times better than it was, but if you want a steamy open door romance, I can recommend it. 4/5 stars
5. A book about K-pop
Idol, Burning by Rin Usami - This one left me feeling a bit meh. 3/5 stars
6. A book about pirates
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea (The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea #1) by Maggie Tokuda-Hall - I like a book set on a boat. 4/5 stars
7. A book about women's sports and/or by a woman athlete
The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike's Elite Running Team by Kara Goucher and Mary Pilon - Sigh. So much entitlement. 2/5 stars
8. A book by a blind or visually impaired author
Redsight by Meredith Mooring - I was disappointed in this. I think it's hard to write about religion and war without coming off as a bit preachy. 2.5/5 stars
9. A book by a deaf or hard-of-hearing author
True Biz by Sara Novic - I learned a lot reading this. 4/5 stars
10. A book by a self-published author
Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee - Fine. Fine. I think there's going to be interspecies romance in this series, though, so that's not my jam. 3.5/5 stars
11. A book from a genre you typically avoid
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett - I still am not entirely sure I'm smart enough for Patchett. I thought this book was fine, but I didn't love it. 3.5/5 stars
12. A book from an animal's POV
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - I reread this in September. It holds up pretty well and my constant rereading of this as a teen explains my tendency to anthropomorphize animals. 4/5 stars
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Swordheart (The World of the White Rat) by T. Kingfisher - Loved every page. 5/5 stars
14. A book recommended by a bookseller
Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash - What's not to love here? The first half was probably a bit better than the second half, but I enjoyed it all. 4.5/5 stars
15. A book recommended by a librarian
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes - The librarian in our book club suggested this as our book club pick for February. It's a retelling of the Trojan War from the perspective of women. It felt mostly like homework. 3.5/5 stars
16. A book set 24 years before you were born (1955)
I read The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett - Surely there were scenes from 1955 somewhere in there. SURELY. 5/5 stars
17. A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list
Northern Spy by Flynn Berry - Set in Ireland. Just fine. 3/5 stars
18. A book set in space
Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis - I wanted to like this book, but The Expanse does the premise of solving mysteries in space so much better. 2/5 stars
19. A book set in the future
The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles (Mossa & Pleiti #2) by Malka Older - Truly a delightful series. 4.5/5 stars
20. A book set in the snow
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton - Beautiful meditation on life and the end of it. 4.5/5 stars
21. A book that came out in a year that ends in "24"
The Work of Art by Adam Moss - Lovely book. Get the physical copy and don't read this as an ebook. Published in 2024. 4.5/5 stars
22. A book that centers on video games
You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir by Felicia Day - Just not as insightful as I wanted it to be, but I'm glad I read it. 3/5 stars
23. A book that features dragons
How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon #1) by Cressida Cowell - The audiobook was narrated by David Tennant and that was distracting to me, but it is a mostly fun book. 3.5/5 stars
24. A book that takes place over the course of 24 hours
This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher - This book was soooo boring. 2/5 stars
25. A book that was published 24 years ago (2000)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4) by JK Rowling - Look, I love these books. I have no defense. 5/5 stars
26. A book that was turned into a musical
The Color Purple by Alice Walker - This book was fantastic. (Um, hard to read, though. Lots of physical, sexual, and emotional violence.) 5/5 stars
27. A book where someone dies in the first chapter
Payback in Death (In Death #57) by JD Robb - What a joy that this series is still pumping out books. 3.5/5 stars
28. A book with a main character who is 42 years old
Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent - Very well-done thriller. 4.5/5 stars
29. A book with a neurodivergent main character
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim - I didn't love Happiness Falls and I didn't love this one. I saw the ending coming from pretty far away. I don't think this is the author for me. 3/5 stars
30. A book with a one-word title you had to look up in a dictionary
Zazen by Vanessa Veselka - Dystopian novel I am pretty sure I am not smart enough to understand. Gorgeous cover. 3/5 stars
31. A book with a title that's a complete sentence
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez - No, just no. 2/5 stars
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell - Compelling thriller. 4.5/5 stars
32. A book with an enemies-to-lovers plot
Calamity (Uncharted Hearts #1) by Constance Fay - Fun sci-fi romp. 4/5 stars
33. A book with an unreliable narrator
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera - This is a fabulous audiobook. Truly loved it. 5/5 stars
34. A book with at least three POVs
Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy #1) by Ken Follett - I am a sucker for Follett's writing. 5/5 stars
35. A book with magical realism
The Change by Kirsten Miller - Confusing. Not sure how I feel about this. Too much misandry or just enough? 3.5/5 stars
The Face of a Stranger (William Monk #1) by Anne Perry - This book was so boring. I kind of loved it because I would read two paragraphs and then fall asleep, but it was bad, friends. 2/5 stars
37. A book written during NaNoWriMo
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo - Not necessarily my jam, but I appreciate it being out there in the world. 3.5/5 stars
38. A cozy fantasy book
Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel #1) by T. Kingfisher - A bit disappointing, to be honest. Long and sort of boring, particularly in the middle. 3/5 stars
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher - Another Kingfisher disappointment. I should have loved it, but somehow I didn't. 3.5/5 stars
Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree - Good, but not as good as the original. 3.5/5 stars
39. A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author
The Deep by Rivers Solomon - Lovely, haunting audiobook. 4/5 stars
40. A horror book by a BIPOC author
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due - It was good, but I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. 4/5 stars
41. A memoir that explores queerness
Love Letters by Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West - BRILLIANT. I'm in love with Vita Sackville-West now and I don't even care that she's been dead for more than sixty years. (Is this memoir? Not really. Am I going to count it? Absolutely.) 5/5 stars
42. A nonfiction book about Indigenous people
Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot - I read this in August and did not care for it at all. It was a bit too stream of consciousness for me with flowery writing that seemed at odds with the challenging topics covered. 2.5/5 stars
43. A second-chance romance
Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff Zentner - I don't know if I'll read a lot more romance novels written by a dude from a male point of view, but I enjoyed this one. 4/5 stars
44. An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll
Dolly Parton Songwriter: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton - I'm counting it as rock 'n' roll. Don't get mad. Listened to the audiobook and it made a meh book slightly less meh because it included some bits of songs here and there. 3/5 stars
45. An LGBTQ+ romance novel
Iris Kelly Doesn't Date (Bright Falls #3) by Ashley Herring Blake - The two main characters here should definitely not have been together. Too bad. I know Blake can write a very good romance, but this didn't work for me. 2/5 stars
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood #1) by Becky Albertalli - Honestly, I know better than to read YA. Sigh. It was fine for what it was. 3/5 stars
Advanced prompts
1. A book in which a characters sleeps for more than 24 hours
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera - I wanted to love this book about a young girl who loves stories, but instead I just thought it was derivative and boring? Eh. Lots of people love it based on the number of awards it has garnered. 3/5 stars
2. A book with 24 letters in the title
Heartaches by the Number by Bill Friskics-Warren and David Cantwell - A disorganized mess of a book, but at least I got a fun playlist out of it. 3/5 stars
3. A collection of at least 24 poems
Serious Concerns by Wendy Cope - Lovely. A lot of these poems were funny. 4.5/5 stars
4. The 24th book of an author
Innocent in Death (In Death #24) by JD Robb - Just so much comfort reading for me. 4/5 stars
5. A book that starts with the letter "X"
X (Kinsey Millhone #24) by Sue Grafton - It's always so much fun to hang out with Kinsey. The ending wasn't that great, though. 3.5/5 stars
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Completed prompts: 50/50 (if I'm being generous - numbers 16 and 44 are stretches)
Average star rating: 3.58/5 stars
I don't know. It was a meh year. I did read The Century Trilogy and Love Letters, though, so not all was lost. I feel like this challenge pushes me to read outside of things I normally would and that's a good thing. Stay tuned for the 2025 challenge!
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Did you do a reading challenge this year? How did it go? If not, would you ever take on something like this?
I'm going to say you nailed it. To answer your question, I wouldn't do a challenge like this, because I feel like I would end up reading too many "meh" books.
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel any better, I didn't love The Dutch House either. But the Century Trilogy was a highlight of my year!
It is a lot of meh books, but I also think I read a lot more widely because of this challenge. But you're right - maybe I'd read better books if I didn't do it!
DeleteI liked seeing the parade of books you've reviewed over the year... You covered a lot of ground: Go, Engie!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't commit to something so regimented, but I love the treasure hunt aspect of it for you :).
I do like the planning for this - more on that next week!
DeleteI would never do something like this myself, but I am oddly fascinated by the concept! I would say you absolutely nailed it.
ReplyDeleteWell, I skirted the true meaning of the prompts a couple of times, but I think I did all right. Thanks for the validation!
DeleteI did the Goodreads challenge. Fell one book short of my goal, though. (Actually, I need to hustle to finish that current book in the next few days or I'll end up TWO books short...can't have that!)
ReplyDeleteIs the Goodreads challenge just where you set yourself a number? I would just read a bunch of romance novels that take me a few hours to read. LOL. I'd cheat!
DeleteYep, it's totally self-directed. I've had the same thought, being ONE book short! I suppose I could re-read "Green Eggs and Ham" or something...
DeleteYes! You could cheat, too. LOL.
DeleteHa! Love the 24-themed "advanced prompts." Clever.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Harry Potter, too. Sigh.
P.S. My copy of Alphabetical Diaries just arrived. Thank you for the recommendation.
Oh, that's so great! I hope you like that book as much as I did. Such a crazy concept, but it really worked for me.
DeleteI am too much of a mood reader to be interested in such a rigorous challenge, but I am always impressed to see you complete it! Of all these books you've read, I think I've only read three? I enjoyed Strange Sally Diamond a lot and also really enjoyed None of This Is True, although I had to read the description to refresh my memory about it.
ReplyDeleteNone of This Is True was part of a mini-genre of podcast-related books I read this year. Maybe that's my new favorite thing.
DeleteI used to do reading challenges, but haven't done one in years. This one is SO HUGE, I don't think I would be able to manage 50 books in a year. I don't think I want to read 50 books in a year. The ones I did were small, like read 5 books of more than 500 pages, that kind of thing. Finding the books to fit all of these categories has to be half of the fun!
ReplyDeleteYes, the search for the books is so much fun! I love spending time planning it all out and making sure I can get books from the library and things like that!
DeleteThank you for recapping this. It is interesting to see which boks you picked for the challenges. A few went or already were on my TBR.
ReplyDeleteI have never attempted the PopSugar Reading challenge but a few prompts are really interesting. Maybe I check it out. But then I never get my reading challenges all crossed of. For me they are more like suggestions when I am unsure what to pick up next.
I wish I could be as laidback as you are about it. You're right they should feel like suggestions, but in mind they become mandatory. I'm realizing maybe I shouldn't be doing this to myself! LOL.
DeleteI am always so impressed by how you manage to complete this challenge every year! Although an overall 3.58 rating is rather low. I looked at the 2025 challenge yesterday and immediately “noped” out of it after seeing the first few challenges. It’s just not for me but I’m glad it works for you!
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wonder if I could do the challenge if I said every book had to be a romance novel or at least have a romantic element to it. Imagine some of the deep cuts I'd get to read!
DeleteI did not take on a reading challenge this year, and I never intend to. I'm happy to find a book that I like that's been highly recommended or that's on the list for my book list without the added challenge of counting how many letters are in the title. I got a good chuckle out of some of your summaries/book reactions. I'm in awe of how you manage to find all of these titles to work with this challenge.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand why people wouldn't want to do this type of challenge. It definitely impacts my reading all year long.
DeleteI used to do the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge but I found that my rating for books in the challenge tended to be lower than my other reading. So I decided to stop doing challenges. I really enjoyed researching books for each category, though! That was probably my favorite part.
ReplyDelete