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!
I 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 would never do something like this myself, but I am oddly fascinated by the concept! I would say you absolutely nailed it.
ReplyDeleteI 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!)
ReplyDeleteHa! 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.
I 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.
ReplyDelete