For the third year in a row, I completed the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge.
2018 and
2019. Most of these are links to reviews I wrote when I read it at the time, but I wrote a sentence or two if I didn't do a full review.
1. A book that's published in 2020:
Golden in Death by JD Robb (library) - This is the 50th book in the series. It's as comfortable as old sweatpants. I, obviously, loved it.
2. A book by a trans or nonbinary author:
Meanwhile, Elsewhere edited by Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett (library)
3. A book with a great first line:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (library) - The first line is: Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
4. A book about a book club:
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams (library)
5. A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics:
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (library) - Los Angeles hosted the Olympics in 1984 and will again in 2028.
6. A bildungsroman:
The Outsiders by SE Hinton (library)
7. The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed:
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover (library)
8. A book with an upside-down image on the cover:
Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (library)
9. A book with a map:
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (library)
10. A book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club:
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (library) - Recommended by the great and good Kat Chow on the podcast
Pop Culture Happy Hour.
11. An anthology:
Well-Read Black Girl by Glory Edim (library)
12. A book that passes the Bechdel test:
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (library)
13. A book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it:
The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan (library)
14. A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name:
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb (library ebook)
15. A book published the month of your birthday:
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (library ebook) - Published in August 2016.
16. A book about or by a woman in STEM:
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center (library ebook)
17. A book that won an award in 2019:
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi (library) - This book won the National Book Award for fiction in 2019, despite it being kind of a terrible book.
18. A book on a subject you know nothing about:
Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roper (library)
19. A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics:
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi (library)
20. A book with a pun in the title:
Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay (library)
21. A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins:
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (library ebook) - Anger is right there in the title. Good deal about greed, as well.
22. A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character:
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (library ebook)
23: A book with a bird on the cover:
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls (library)
24. A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader:
A Column of Fire by Ken Follett (library) - Lots of Queen Elizabeth talk.
25. A book with "gold," "silver," or "bronze" in the title:
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (library)
26. A book by a WOC:
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones (library)
27. A book with at least a four-star rating on Goodreads:
The Purity of Vengeance by Jussi Adler-Olsen (library) - It had 4.05 stars when I started it.
28. A book you meant to read in 2019:
Lethal White by Robert Galbraith (book given to me by my father-in-law)
29. A book about or involving social media:
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green (library)
30. A book that has a book on the cover:
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (library ebook)
31. A medical thriller:
Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell (library): Dr. Kay Scarpetta is a medical examiner who solves a series of murders. It was fine, but I didn't love it and I won't be seeking out more from this series.
32. A book with a made-up language:
Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey (library) - The Belters speak a creole language, sort of a pidgin language that was created to help aid communication when people came from a variety of different locations.
33. A book set in a country beginning with "C":
Girl at War by Sara Novi
ć (library ebook) - Set in Croatia
34. A book you picked because the title caught your attention:
The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout (library ebook) - I picked it from the "skip the line" when I didn't have any library books on my Kindle.
35. A book with a three-word title:
The Hanging Girl by Jussi Adler-Olsen (library ebook)
36. A book with a pink cover:
Rendezvous by Amanda Quick (library)
37. A Western:
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (University library) - Maybe a tiny bit of a stretch to say it's a Western, but let's go with it.
38. A book by or about a journalist:
Charm City by Laura Lipmann (library)
39. Read a banned book during Banned Books Week:
George by Alex Gino (library ebook) - A moving book written by a trans author about an elementary school aged girl who was born into a boy's body.
40: Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge:
Circe by Madeline Miller (library) - 2019's "a book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore." It's maybe not my
favorite prompt, but the book is an interesting twist on a myth.
Advanced list!!
41. A book written by an author in their 20s:
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (library)
42. A book with "20" or "twenty" in the title:
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler (library)
43. A book with a character with a vision impairment of enhancement (a nod to 20/20 vision):
Dark Lover by J. R. Ward (library) - The hero vampire in this novel can barely see.
44. A book set in Japan, host of the 2020 Olympics:
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (library)
45. A book set in the 1920s:
Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen (library ebook)
46. A book by an author who has written more than 20 books:
Butchers Hill by Laura Lippman (library)
47. A book with more than 20 letters in its title:
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers (library ebook)
48. A book published in the 20th century:
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (library ebook) - First published on March 1, 1996.
49. A book from a series with more than 20 books:
The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux (library ebook): Deveraux was an important author in my early romance readership. This book did not hold up especially well upon a reread, but I'm determined to get through all of the
Montgomery-Taggert books because I know there's some good stuff in there. (NOTE: I did not make it past the second book in the series. So goes my vow.)
50. A book with a main character in their 20s:
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang (library)
Wrap-up!
Books I loved: Six of Crows, Such a Fun Age, Royal Assassin, A Very Large Expanse of Sea, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, A Closed and Common Orbit, Cibola Burn, A Tale for the Time Being, Record of a Spaceborn Few, Assassin's Apprentice
Books I liked: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Big Sleep, Unfollow, A Column of Fire, Silver Sparrow, Lethal White, George, Girl at War, Charm City, Dark Lover, Butchers Hill, The Bride Test
Books I thought were fine: Meanwhile, Elsewhere, Bromance Book Club, Fleishman is in Trouble, Well-Read Black Girl, The Hating Game, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, Spinning Silver, Purity of Vengeance, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, The Burgess Boys, The Hanging Girl, Circe
Books I thought were terrible: The Outsiders (I'm sorry!), Turtles All the Way Down, Trust Exercise, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, The Luminaries, The Bone Season, The Black Lyon
Books I forgot ten minutes after I finished them: Golden in Death, It Ends with Us, The Nanny, Things You Save in a Fire, Books Can Be Deceiving, Postmortem, Rendezvous, Twenty Boy Summer, Bright Young Things
