I have been plugging away at the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge all year. Here are the results. It was not as successful as it has been in previous years, but at least I read some interesting books.
Results from previous years:
1. A book about a POC experience joy and not trauma
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama (translated by Alison Watts) - Cozy slightly magical book about a librarian who knows just how to help people with their biggest challenges. It read like a series of interconnected short stories. It was a bit too self-help-y for me, but it was a gentle, kind read. 4/5 stars
2. A book you want to read based on the last sentence
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer - Sort of a problematic book, but it's very readable. 3/5 stars
3. A book about space tourism
Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis - Not exactly what I suspected. It was a fun cozy book and then suddenly there was a dead body? 3/5 stars
4. A book with two or more books on the cover or "book" in the title
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman - I stand by my review. #ninaisaterribleperson 2/5 stars
5. A book with a snake on the cover or in the title
The Last Magician (The Last Magician #1) by Lisa Maxwell - So much promise. The most meh of books. 3/5 stars
6. A book that fills your favorite prompts from the 2015 PSRC - 2015 was before my time, so I had to look these up!
I think I'll probably do a book with more than 500 pages:
Here Be Dragons (Welsh Princes #1) by Sharon Kay Penman - Historical soap operas are my catnip. 4.5/5 stars
7. A book about a cult
The Girls by Emma Cline - DNF in January
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman - Beautiful little book. 4.5/5 stars
8. A book under 250 pages
Dear Fahrenheit 541 by Annie Spence - I enjoyed spending time with Annie as she talked to her books. 4/5 stars
The City in Glass by Nghi Vo - DNF May
9. A book that features a character going through menopause
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg - DNF July
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley - DNF
The New Moon's Arms by Nalo Hopkinson - DNF May
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans - Basically a perfect book if you ask me. 5/5 stars
10. A book you got for free
The Bee Sting by Paul Murphy (recommended by Maya, J, and Nance) - Slow start, but then I was really invested. J gave me an audiobook copy, so I got it for free! 4/5 stars
11. A book mentioned in another book
Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters - Mentioned in How to Read a Book. It was worth a read! 4/5 stars
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12. A book about a road trip
Planes, Trains, and All the Feels by Livy Hart - Unremarkable romance, but this couple is never going to make it. 3/5 stars
13. A book rated less than three stars on Goodreads
14. A book about a nontraditional education
Truly, Devious (Truly Devious #1) by Maureen Johnson - This was legitimately a terrible book. 2/5 stars
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams - DNF January
15. A book that an AI chatbot recommends based on your favorite book
When I asked ChatGPT to recommend books based on my love of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, it recommended:
The Chosen by Chaim Potok - Nothing happened in this book. 3/5 stars
16. A book set in or around a body of water
The Most by Jessica Anthony - Marriage in peril and the wife won't get out of the pool. The ending ruined what could have been a promising novel. 3/5 stars
The Wedding People by Alison Espach - DNF
17. A book about a running club
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami - Oddly enough, I could have used less talk about running or being thin. 3/5 stars
18. A book containing magical creatures that aren't dragons
I read Alberich's Tale in the Valdemar saga - lots of Companions in that series.
Exile's Valor - 3.5/5 stars
19. A highly anticipated read of 2025
Sunrise on the Reaping (Hunger Games #0.5) by Suzanne Collins - Nice bit of fan service if you're interested in Haymitch's story. 4/5 stars
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green - Super interesting topic. I wish another author had written it. 3/5 stars
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry - I did not care for the subplot of the old lady recounting her life, but the romance was pretty fun. 3.5/5 stars
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid - DNF September
20. A book that fills a 2024 prompts you'd like to do over (or try again)
I'd like to do a book by a blind or visually impaired author over again - I didn't get a great book last time
Feed by Mira Grant - The main character has issues with her eyes because of the zombie virus. Also, I loved this book. Bloggers! Zombies! 5/5 stars
21. A book where the main character is a politician - Well, you can't say I didn't try with this one.
Infomocracy (The Centenal Cycle #1) by Malka Ann Older - DNF July
Never by Ken Follett - DNF in April
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin - DNF November
22. A book about soccer
The Long Game (Green Oak #1) by Elena Armas - Slow burn romance. Fine if you like that sort of thing. 3/5 stars
23. A book that is considered healing fiction
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood - I really liked this one. 5/5 stars
24. A book with a happily single woman protagonist
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo - Too many POVs for me. 3/5 stars
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25. A book where the main characters is an immigrant or refugee
Real Americans by Rachel Khong - Long, but good. I did not find it memorable, though, because as I went to write this blurb a couple of months later, I couldn't remember much about this book. 4/5 stars
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng - For Pete's sake, this book was a snooze. 2.5/5 stars
The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri - DNF May
26. A book when an adult character changes careers
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer - Girl stumbles into a job with the bad guy. Fine read. 3/5 stars
27. A book set at a luxury resort
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie - The writing is subpar, the characterizations nonexistent, and the ending was exasperating. 2/5 stars
28. A book that features an unlikely friendship
News of the World by Paulette Jiles - A perfect book for this prompt. I loved Captain and Johanna together. I actually bought this book for my 16-year-old nephew as a present for Christmas. 4/5 stars
29. A book about a food truck
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen - I read this. It's not about a food truck. The Truth About Forever is the one that features a food truck. Grr. 3/5 stars
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen - This one isn't about a food truck, either! The main character works for a catering company and there's a catering truck, but it's not really the same thing. It's better than the other Dessen book, though. 4/5 stars
30. A book that reminds you of your childhood
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - This audiobook is read by E.B. White himself and is sheer perfection. What a fantastic book. 5/5 stars
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (on hold at library) - Still a lovely story of self-discovery and found family. 4/5 stars
31. A book where music plays an integral part of the storyline
A Visit from the Goon Squad (Goon Squad #1) by Jennifer Egan - DNF July
August Lane by Regina Black - If you like your romances with a bit of a deeper message, this might be for you. It was not for me. 3/5 stars
32. A book about an overlooked woman in history
Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait?: Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Fight for the Right to Vote by Tina Cassidy - YES!! This book. Maybe I wouldn't want to be friends with Alice Paul, but I was so happy to read all about her fight for women's suffrage. I liked how it was framed with Paul and Wilson as big players. This made me feel better about our current political landscape. 5/5 stars
33. A book featuring an activity on your bucket list - My bucket list item is to eventually have more than half my wardrobe be clothing I have made with my own two hands, so I looked at books with seamstresses in them. I just didn't get around to reading any of them.
34. A book written by an author who is neurodivergent
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children #9) by Seanan McGuire (also could be for a book under 250 pages) - Not the best in the series, but I read it! 3/5 stars
35. A book centering LGBTQ+ characters that isn't about coming out
Space Opera (Space Opera #1) by Catherynne M. Valente - On my reading spreadsheet (borrowed from Stephany), I put a no in column labeled LGBTQ+. I mean, I guess maybe? The thing is that both of the main male characters were in relationships with women. Maybe they were bi? Who knows? I'm counting it.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Sea #2) by TJ Klune - This fits the prompt much more directly. 3/5 stars
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36. A book with silver on the cover or in the title
The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls - I wanted more. 3/5 stars
37 & 38. Two books with the same title
This just didn't happen this year.
39. A classic you've never read
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville - I DID IT!!! 4/5 stars
40. A book about chosen family
Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #1) by Ilona Andrews - So much fun! 4/5 stars
41. A book by the oldest author in your TBR pile
I don't even know how I would go about finding this out. A bunch of authors I read are dead - does that count?
42. A book with a left-handed character
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - Hmm...is there a left-handed character here? I don't know. I read it, though. I think I missed the point of this book. 2/5 stars
43. A book where nature is the antagonist
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff - Servant girl runs into the woods during the "starving time" in the Jamestown colony. Despair and loneliness follow. 3.5/5 stars
44. A book that features a married couple who don't live together
Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup - This is an interesting slave narrative, but I sort of wanted it to be more? 3.5/5 stars
45. A book with a title that starts with the letter Y
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks - The writing was great, but maybe I'll never really be ready for a book about the plague. 3/5 stars
46. A book that includes a nonverbal character
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (reread for me) - I think Just Listen handles these themes better, but both books have their place in YA books about rape. 3.5/5 stars
47. A book you have always avoided reading
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - Easily my most favorite book I read in 2025. 5/5 stars
48. A dystopian book with a happy ending
I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane - Look, was this really a happy ending? I don't know about that. 3/5 stars
49. A book that features a character with chronic pain
False Witness by Karin Slaughter - This was a good thriller, fast-paced. But I think it was a bit too much for the likes of me. 4/5 stars
50. A book of interconnected short stories
Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon - I listened to this one and it got me really pumped up for summer. 4.5/5 stars
One thing I really like about this challenge is that I do read outside of my normal tendency. Look at me reading contemporary fiction, poetry, and mystery! Sure, much of it is romance and fantasy/sci-fi, but I like that I branch out a bit, too.
So, here's the problem I have with reading challenges. It seems like you ended up reading a lot of "meh" books this year, because you were trying to fit books into the challenge. Do you feel like that? Or do you think you would have had this same success rate even if you weren't doing a challenge?
ReplyDeleteI will say this- the challenge got you to read Gone With the Wind, which then got me to read it, and it was definitely one of my favorites of the year.
Well, my average for all the books I read this year is about 3.5, so I'd say I don't read more meh books because I do the challenge. The challenge gives me structure so I do read different types of books. I never would have read that Alice Paul/Woodrow Wilson book without the challenge and I adore that book.
DeleteGone With the Wind was such a win for 2025!!
I do a summer reading program which has "reading a different book than usual genre" and other prompts to force me out of my rut. I read Gone with the Wind on your recommendation-I never would have touched it otherwise. I still haven't got into Spoon River Anthology- I'll make my high schooler read it and so I'll have to as well. I'm also supposed to read Wuthering Heights in January- I don't know if I can become absorbed in the overwrought Victorian emotions.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if "And then There Was None hit differently when it was first released. The twist ending has been copied a lot, so such a thing is more disappointing than surprising.
I always do the Goodreads reading challenge. This year I killed it; 28 books completed (my goal was 20) – my most ever. Only because I finally discovered reading on the treadmill.
ReplyDeleteOh, and #4 on your list: "The Book of Doors." I just finished this one, and it was definitely in my Top 3 for the year.
I discovered the Pop Sugar reading challenge through your blog and did the 40 prompt version for the first time this year. I appreciated how the challenge broadened the books and genres that I read. I also think I read more new books that I would have otherwise because I invested time into finding books to fit into the categories and staying on top of my library holds, which was a great outcome. It's fun to see some of the overlap between our lists. "And Then There Were None" was my book mentioned in another book, and I liked it about as much as you did. On the plus side, I read a lot of Kingfisher this year and fit her books into 4 categories.
ReplyDeleteI'm planning to do the challenge again in 2026 but only aim to finish 40 of the 50 overall prompts. Most of my 2025 books were really good and/or books I'm glad to have read but I slogged through a couple of books just to fill the prompts towards the end. (My food truck book was a YA Cinderella retelling. I disliked it and knew how it would end but kept reading anyway.) I hope that doing 40 of 50 will continue to broaden my reading while keeping me from finishing books only to check the boxes.