PopSugar is my favorite reading challenge. In this year’s edition of PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge, there are 40 Regular prompts and 10 Advanced prompts. My favorite part of this challenge is searching, selecting and then buying books for the various prompts. Oh, there’s one more thing that I absolutely love is tracking the books read against the various prompts. This year, I have completed this challenge a month earlier and I cant get enough of seeing the completed excel sheet.
I love PopSugar Reading Challenge the most for a lot of reasons. This challenge broadens my scope of reading as I get to explore a whole lot of books. From diverse genres (this year I read a Cli-Fi, LitRPG, Choose Your Own Adventure Book for the first time) and topics to variety of authors, from different characters in every book to distinct settings, from short tales to really long ones, from classics to contemporary stories, from fiction to non-fiction, from memoirs and biographies to popular books, from books in various formats to books outside my comfort zone, PopSugar Reading Challenge makes me read all these and much more. Another interesting aspect of taking up this reading challenge is that it makes my reading list so lively. Don’t believe me, check it out for yourself….
Here are the books I read for the various prompts of PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge with some brief info and thoughts.
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REGULAR PROMPTS OF POPSUGAR 2019 READING CHALLENGE
| 1. A book becoming a movie in 2019 – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. The trailer is already out, hopefully the movie will be released soon too.Such an addictive, charming, funny and endearing story. It was like reading about Sheldon in love. Loved Don’s systematic approach with questionnaire and even field validation to find a wife. He meets Rosie who is his polar opposite and is unsuitable as a potential wife. Do opposites attract? Read this sweet, hilarious story to find out. Excellent read!! |  |
| 2. A book that makes you nostalgic – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling. After reading it in 1999, I re-read it this year and I realized that this is a story that’ll never get old and you’re never too old to read Harry Potter. |  |
| 3. A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction) – Mile 81 by Stephen King. I wasnt aware that King is a musician and that he had collaborated with Michael Jackson to create Ghosts and played guitar for the rock band Rock Bottom Remainders, several of whose members are authors. |  |
| 4. A book you think should be turned into a movie – My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. A short, dark, fast-paced, humorous story with family dynamics, loyalty-love-hatred between sisters. |  |
| 5. A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads – Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. This book has 2.06 million ratings. What an outstanding read. |  |
| 6. A book with a plant in the title or on the cover – Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. A beautiful coming-of-age story of a lonely and reclusive 15-year-old girl, Kambili. What I loved about this book is that transports you to her world. Set in the Nigeria of 1980s, this is a story of her family, but also gives insights about the political unrest, power, social norms and religious fanaticism, loyalty and love. |  |
| 7. A reread of a favorite book – The Godfather by Mario Puzo. This is one of my all time favorites! Brilliant story that is dramatic, fascinating, heart breaking and chilling with characters so memorable and dialogues that are so powerful and iconic. |  |
| 8. A book about a hobby – Dance with Me by PG Van. A sweet and romantic, hot and sizzling breezy read. And yes, the book is about dance!! |  |
| 9. A book you meant to read in 2018 – When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. This book was on my TBR for over 2 years! Finally got to read it. An adorable, funny, happy, contemporary romance. |  |
| 10. A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title – Sugar Daddy by Victoria Snow. It’s a long, long, drawn out story but still an okayish read. |  |
| 11. A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover – High Heels: The Year of Short Stories – May by Jeffrey Archer. It’s a short, well crafted mystery that will keep you hooked till the end. |  |
| 12. A book inspired by myth/legend/folklore – Ganesha’s Secret: Different People See God Differently by Devdutt Pattanaik. This book explores the story and the ideologies, beliefs, myths, cultures & traditions associated with Indian spirituality and mythology. |  |
| 13. A book published posthumously – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. The author died suddenly in 2004 and this book which is the first one in the Millennium trilogy was published in 2005. |  |
| 14. A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie – The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. In Natural Born Killers, Juliette Lewis was reading this book. |  |
| 15. A retelling of a classic – The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling. It’s an interesting retelling of Cinderella. Loved the twisty take on the classic fairy tale. |  |
| 16. A book with a question in the title – Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr Spencer Johnson. A book with a lot of learnings and insights. |  |
| 17. A book set on college or university campus – Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. The main characters begin their freshman year in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. |  |
| 18. A book about someone with a superpower – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling. And we have Boggart, Werewolf, Hippogriff, Dementors, Crookshanks with some unusual superpowers. |  |
| 19. A book told from multiple POVs – Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. A charming and delightful story of two teenagers, misfits in their own right and who manage to find love despite all odds. |  |
| 20. A book set in space – Time Crawlers by Varun Sayal. Interesting collection of stories on alien invasion, dark artificial intelligence, time-travel… |  |
| 21. A book by two female authors – The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen. A hyped up thriller that everyone loved but disappointed me!! |  |
| 22. A book with SALTY, SWEET, BITTER, or SPICY in the title – The Salty Taste of Murder by Christine Zane Thomas. It’s a story of a food blogger with interesting insights about her way of reviewing restaurants and creating recipes and blog posts. |  |
| 23. A book set in Scandinavia – Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrick Backman. A delightful, quirky, humorous story with some eccentric characters. The story focuses on relationships, loneliness, the desire to make a difference and be loved and appreciated. |  |
| 24. A book that takes place in a single day – The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. A cute story with a lot of heart. |  |
| 25. A debut novel – This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay. What an amazing book!! It has anecdotes about life-threatening birth complications, shocking injuries and quiet joys of being a junior doctor in a hospital. Some stories are so horrifying, shocking, surprising and amusing. It also shows how the young docs are overworked and underappreciated. Loved the way this book is written. Cant wait to read his second book, Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas. |  |
| 26. A book that’s published in 2019 – You Beneath Your Skin by Damyanti Biswas. A compelling and credible crime thriller that is really hard to put down. |  |
| 27. A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling. And there’re so many of them in this book… Dobby, Whomping Willow, Mandrakes, Cornish Pixies, Fawkes, Basilisk… |  |
| 28. A book recommended by a celebrity you admire – Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal. It’s recommended by the Reese Witherspoon Book Club. The book addresses many issues of the Punjabi widows in Southall, is thought-provoking and is hands down funny and interesting. |  |
| 29. A book with LOVE in the title – Love A Little Stronger by Preeti Shenoy. I have read, 34 Bubblegums and Candies, this book is its newer version with some additional stories. An enjoyable read with fun, humorous and heart-warming anecdotes from author’s life. |  |
| 30. A book featuring an amateur detective – Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. Not my favorite John Green book. Liked the way the dark and ugly side of mental illness is portrayed but found the story a bit tedious and boring. |  |
| 31. A book about a family – Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. A fascinating read with insights about Japanese and Korean lifestyle and dynamics from 1910 to 1989. Loved the first half of this family saga though the second half wasn’t that bad! |  |
| 32. A book author from Asia, Africa, or South America – Guardian Angel by Ruchi Singh. I love books that completely engulf me in the story and Guardian Angel is one such book. It’s a page turner and totally un-putdownable. |  |
| 33. A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in title – Journey Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino. With lots of sub plots and unexpected twists, this multi-layered mystery keeps you guessing till the last. |  |
| 34. A book that includes a wedding – Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. It is about the high society wedding in Singapore. I was looking forward to read it after seeing all the hype around the book and the movie. While the setting of the story is interesting but it drags and is repetitive. With so many characters and constantly changing POVs, this was one tedious read for me. |  |
| 35. A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter – A French Girl in New York by Anna Adams. It’s a typical YA fluff kind of book but I loved the insights I got about the musicians and music industry through this book. |  |
| 36. A ghost story – Ghost Stories by Ron Ripley. Unimaginative title but scary stories guaranteed. |  |
| 37. A book with a two-word title – Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair. It’s a story of six women from different walks of life who happen to be in a ladies coupe of a long distance train. They bond with each other and through their life stories reveal the dilemmas that women face in their different relationships. It is a journey towards self-discovery and self realization. |  |
| 38. A novel based on a true story – The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. I find stories about World War II and holocaust, compelling and morbidly fascinating. I have read The Book Thief, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (this book haunted me for a long long time), The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Diary of a Young Girl. I picked The Tattooist of Auschwitz which is based on a true story, with great expectations. I believe this book is an example of a great story with a lot of potential but poor execution. |  |
| 39. A book revolving around a puzzle or game – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling. There’s The Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament in this book. By far the best book in the series! |  |
| 40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling. I picked the prompt, “The next book in the series you started” from the PopSugar 2018 Reading Challenge. |  |
ADVANCED PROMPTS OF POPSUGAR 2019 READING CHALLENGE
| 41. A “cli-fi” (climate fiction) book – Watermelon Snow by William A. Liggett. My first climate-based thriller. A compelling story about the worsening climate change crisis along with all the elements of a good novel—danger, suspense, unusual discovery, intrigue and some romance too. |  |
| 42. A “choose-your-own-adventure” book – Choose Your Own Story: The Minecraft Zombie Adventure by Aidan Orion. It’s my first Choose Your Own Story book. After each chapter, book will offer you a couple choices about what you want to do next. As you make your choices, your experience of reading the story will be different from everyone else’s. There are 25 different endings to discover and only some of them will take you to the sequel. |  |
| 43. An “own voices” book – A Quilt Is Meant To Keep You Warm: Humor, Love and Misadventure in the Age of AIDS by MJ Hobbs. An honest account of the author’s coming out, survival, and misadventures of being a part of the LGBTQ community in the 80s. A warm, witty and poignant memoir. |  |
| 44. Read a book during the season it is set in – Let It Snow by John Green. It’s a collection of 3 holiday romances by J Green, L Myracle and M Johnson. Such cute, heat-warming stories. Loved all of them and the best was how all the characters come together in the end. It’s a perfect wintery Christmassy read. |  |
| 45. A LitRPG book – Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer. Another first for me. LitRPG, short for Literary Role Playing Game, is a literary genre combining the conventions of RPGs with science-fiction and fantasy novels.I was hesitant to read this genre but this book was a delightful read. |  |
| 46. A book with no chapters / unusual chapter headings / unconventionally numbered chapters – The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. This book has no chapters. A simple yet profound story that makes you reflect and shares some amazing life lessons like persisting despite failures, accepting challenges, never give up…. |  |
| 47. Two books that share the same title – Bring Me Back by BA Paris. I loved Behind Closed Doors – one of the best psychological thriller that I have ever read. The Breakdown was not that bad. But Bring me Back was not convincing enough. |
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| 48. Two books that share the same title – Bring Me Back by Taryn Plendl. An okay-ish one-time read of 2 broken and flawed characters. |  |
| 49. A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The phrase “as dead as a doornail” is originated from a French poem by William Langland in 1350. Later Shakespeare used it in King Henry VI but it is Charles Dicken who plays an important role in making it popular in A Christmas Carol where he wrote, ‘Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.’ |  |
| 50. A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent – The Monastery Murders by EM Powell. I don’t read much of historical fiction and I wasn’t actually looking forward to read it. But this book took me by surprise and pulled me into the story, like I’d stepped into a movie. Loved the way the characters are developed and the murder plot is intriguing and the twists and turns are intelligently crafted. A gripping and riveting murder mystery. |  |
How many of these prompts could you tick off for this year? Which books have you read from these 50 books? Do you like to take up Reading Challenges? Let me know in the comments below!
11 Responses
Wow! That’s amazing. Even the advanced section conquered! Way to go SG.
I did 30/40 so far. I don’t think I’ll be finishing the 40 😛
Woah!! Shilpa. This is super fabulous. There are some real gems in your list., Also, what on earth are Cli-Fi and LitRPG?
Wow, Shilpa. This is amazing! You really are an inspiration when it comes to regular reading.
I hadn’t heard of this challenge until now – what a great way to explore other genres than you are used to reading. I don’t know if I could get through that many books in a year – but that’s why they call it a challenge right?
Congratulations! Well Done!!
I did read this year, I swear. But nowhere near what this formerly “avid reader” might have done in middle school. I need to step it up, this year.
This list is amazing. Many of these are on my TBR list. I am participating in a few reading challenges next year. I might do the Popsugar one too. Let see how much reading gets done in 2020. I am on the verge of finishing a 2019 reading challenge too. 🙂
Your reading list always leave me amazed Every. single. Year. I am impressed by the variety in genre as well. I wish my reading list was as adventurous as yours. I got just one book common with you that I read this year. Will keep this in mind while looking for new reads.
I read the HP series, a huge fan, Preeti Shenoy Love a lil longer a fantastic read, Godfather of course while would love to read Dimple met Rishi-here can’t think about the two 70s and 80s film stars and Damyanti’s book. I love the popsugar referral concept that must be popularized.
Oh wow! Not only have you aced the challenge, you’ve presented it here so beautifully, Shilpa! Well done, you!
Wow, that’s so interesting!
You are one of those who have been diligently blogging, Shilpa. Kudos. 🙂