I'm back with the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge again this year.
The theme this year is about gardens and plants, but some of the prompts seem like a real stretch to me (astronauts?). Oh, well. Who am I to criticize when one of the prompts is about my home state?
1. A book where gardening or a garden is central to the plot
All the Presidents' Gardens: Madison’s Cabbages to Kennedy’s Roses―How the White House Grounds Have Grown with America by Marta McDowell
The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
5. A book about women astronauts
The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush
The Martian Contingency (Lady Astronaut #4) by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James & Wren James
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes
The Dark Lord's Risk Assessor by Nikki Moyes
2. A book that features a platonic friendship between a man and woman
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
3. A book you meant to read in 2025
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C. A. Fletcher - It's already loaded up on my Kindle.
4. A book that starts with the letter "Z"
Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo by Zlata Filipović
Zoya by Danielle Steele
Zone One by Colson Whitehead
6. A book with an overweight main character whose story isn't about losing weight
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
Puddin' by Julie Murphy
Sing Anyway by Anita Kelly
7. A book about a granny hobby
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini
8. A book about a sexless marriage
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara
Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang
The Bachelor's Valet by Arden Powell
9. A book with a "type C" character
Ms. Demeanor by Elinor Lipman
10. A book about a horse or with a horse on the cover
Horse by Geraldine Brooks - I'll be honest, though, I'm just putting this here because everyone raves about it. It does not sound interesting to me.
I just requested the Complete Arrows Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. I know the magical beings Companions aren't really horses, but I think I could count it.
11. A book with a dad as the primary caregiver
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Nosy Parker by Lesley Crewe
12. A book with "pop" or "sugar" in the title
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
The Cost of Sugar by Cynthia McLeod (translated by Gerald R. Mettman)
The Way We All Became The Brady Bunch: How the Canceled Sitcom Became the Beloved Pop Culture Icon We Are Still Talking About Today by Kimberly Potts
13. A book featuring a character with a hidden past
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney
A Winter in New York by Josie Silver
The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King
Maybe a Love Lettering reread?
14. A book set in Michigan or written by an author from Michigan (shoutout to the Library of Michigan's Michigan Notable Books series)
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
A Viola Shipman joint
The All-American by Susie Finkbeiner
We Live Here: Detroit Eviction Defense and the Battle for Housing Justice by Jeffrey Wilson and Bambi Kramer
When Detroit Played the Numbers: Gambling's History and Cultural Impact on the Motor City by Felicia B. George
15. A book about new beginnings
I think I could just slot in any romance novel I read here.
16. A book less than 260 pages
I'll just sort my books by length at the end of the year. Surely I'll have a short book on there.
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17. A book about your favorite event in the Winter Olympics - Definitely a romance novel about ice skating here.
Life on the Edge by Jennifer Comeaux
Red Flags by Jens Lyon
Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
18. A love story that defies social boundaries
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
19. A book about teen angst
Maybe reread Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard
20. A book with a character who does Pilates or Lagree
Legacy by Nora Roberts
You Are Here by Eva Woods
21. A book about a bachelorette trip
The Bachelorette Party by Karen McCullah Lutz
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
22. A book about a book club
The Book that Matters Most by Ann Hood
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons
23. A book you were hoping would fit into a prompt but doesn't - I currently have a couple of books requested from the university library. I'd sort of hoped at least one would work.
The Island of Last Things by Emma Sloley
Dog Show: Poems by Billy Collins
24. A book about postpartum
The Nursery by Szilvia Molnar
Fault Lines by Emily Itami
Chouette by Claire Oshetsky
25. A book that explores influencer culture
Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
26. A book with a character who navigates infertility
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane
The Best Worst Thing by Lauren Okie
27. A book with a character who has curly hair
The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History by Karen Valby
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser, Robyn Smith (Artist), Bex Glendining (Colorist), Kazimir Lee (Colorist)
Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
28. A book about debt
The Limit by Kristen Landon
Debtor Nation: The History of America in Red Ink by Louis Hyman
29. A book that takes place during harvesting season
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett - Much like Horse, I'm putting this here because it's on all the lists, but I don't really want to read it
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
Massacre at Mountain Meadows by Ronald W. Walker, Richard E. Turley Jr., and Glen M. Leonard
30. A travel ghost story
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Grave Sight (Harper Connelly #1) by Charlaine Harris
Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan
31. A book that makes you feel FOMO
How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously by Hannah Berner, Paige DeSorbo
Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn't Built for Us by Alison Mariella Désir
32. A book with an underwater civilization
New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson
Dark Life (Dark Life #2) by Kat Falls
33. A book about college
The Groves of Academe by Mary McCarthy
Dear Committee Members (Jason Fitger #1) by Julie Schumacher
34. A book with a trans or nonbinary protagonist
Dreadnought (Nemesis #1) by April Daniels
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
35. A book that makes you want to travel to Italy - Look, nothing is going to make me want to do international travel. LOL.
The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
36. A book about a mob (fiction or nonfiction) - I probably won't do this one unless someone has an amazing suggestion. It's not my jam.
37. A book about a pop star
XOXO (XOXO #1) by Axie Oh
Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston
Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie
38. A book with any type of fruit on the cover or in the title
Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell
Together We Burn by Isabel Ibañez
The House Witch (The House Witch #1) by Delemhach
Aniana Del Mar Jumps In by Jasminne Mendez
Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves by Nicola Twilley
39. A book with a character who runs a marathon
Today We Die a Little!: The Inimitable Emil Zátopek, the Greatest Olympic Runner of All Time by Richard Askwith
Run with the Wind by Shion Miura, translated by Yui Kajita
Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon
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40. A book outside your comfort zone
Well, let's just see what happens here, shall we?
Advanced Prompts
41. A book in a different format than your usual: physical, audio, eBook
Ha ha! Little does PSRC know that I am a varied reader and read all of these!
42. A book inspired by a real song, album, band, or artist
Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna
The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James - This would also be a great audiobook, I think.
Life on Mars: Poems by Tracy K. Smith
43 & 44. Two books written by real-life partners or spouses (1 & 2) - I can't tell if this means read a book by one partner and then another book by the other partner or if it means two books from partner teams. I'm going with books written by partnered pairs.
One Fell Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #3) by Ilona Andrews
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
Lord of the Stars by Jean and Jeff Sutton
Mimsy Were the Borogoves by Lewis Padgett
45. A book that features birding
The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love (Love's Academic #1) by India Holton
46. A sapphic comic
The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor
When I Arrived at the Castle by Emily Carroll
Always Human by Ari North
47. A book told entirely through letters
Several People are Typing by Calvin Kasulke (it's actually Slack messages, but I think it counts)
I feel like this is a great opportunity to reread Love Letters: Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West
48. A book with a shadow daddy - Ugh. Hard pass.
49. A book with a mention of your zodiac sign
Should I read some Leo Tolstoy?
I can reread Rock with Me (With Me in Seattle #4) by Kristen Proby - The male protagonist is named Leo.
50. A book about Afrofuturism
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
War Girls (War Girls #1) by Tochi Onyebuchi
The Gilded Ones (Deathless #1) by Namina Forna
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Is anyone else doing this challenge this year? Did I miss an obvious choice for any of these that you were screaming at the computer?
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