Laurie’s Comments (group member since Dec 30, 2019)

Laurie’s comments from the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group.

Date you finished: December 31
Message number of your list post (if you've got one): 195

Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?): Book About a Writer The Winter Sea

Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?): James Published -24

Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge? (and what prompt was it for?) : X Marks the Spot: The Story of Archaeology in Eight Extraordinary Discoveries Title Starts w/X

Least favorite prompt: Centers on Video Game, Book About K-Pop, and Set in Space

Prompt you hope to see again: Recommended by Book Seller or Librarian

Last prompt you finished: 24+ Poem Collection Call Us What We Carry

Did you like all the extra-challenging and specific categories this year? No, I didn't like the "too specific" categories

Did you like the "24" theme scattered throughout? Yes

Finally, are you in for 2025? Yes

Title: Chain-Gang All-Stars
Author: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Would you recommend this book? yes

5/5 stars

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Popsugar Reading Challenge 2024
Last Update: December 31
50/50

✅ 1 A book with the word "leap" in the title
Sydney and Taylor Take a Flying Leap

✅ 2 A bildungsroman book
The Girl with the Louding Voice

✅ 3 A book about a 24-year-old
Tom Lake

✅ 4 A book about a writer
The Winter Sea

✅ 5 A book about K-pop
Somewhere Only We Know

✅ 6 A book about pirates
The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd

✅ 7 A book about women's sports
Fast Girls: A Novel of the 1936 Women's Olympic Team

✅ 8 A book by a blind or visually impaired author
Jane Eyre

✅ 9 A book by a Deaf author
Show Me a Sign

✅ 10 A book by a self-published author
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

✅ 11 A book from a genre you typically avoid - horror
Mr. Mercedes

✅ 12 A book from an animal's POV
Word of Mouse

✅ 13 A book originally published under a pen name
The Running Grave

✅ 14 A book recommended by a bookseller
Summer of '69

✅ 15 A book recommended by a librarian
28 Summers

✅ 16 A book set 24 years before you were born - 1946
The Lost Girls of Paris

✅ 17 A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list - Australia
Boy Swallows Universe

✅ 18 A book set in space
The Martian

✅ 19 A book set in the future
Chain-Gang All-Stars

✅ 20 A book set in the snow
Winter Garden

✅ 21 A book that came out in a year that ends with "24" - 2024
James

✅ 22 A book that centers on video games
A Boy Made of Blocks

✅ 23 A book that features dragons
Fourth Wing

✅ 24 A book that takes place over the course of 24 hours
Dawn

✅ 25 A book that was published 24 years ago (2000)
Parable of the Sower

✅ 26 A book that was turned into a musical
Hamlet

✅ 27 A book where someone dies in the first chapter
Yellowface

✅ 28 A book with a main character who's 42 years old
Rebecca

✅ 29 A book with a neurodivergent main character - synesthesia
Only the Beautiful

✅ 30 A book with a one-word title you had to look up in a dictionary - bellwether: leader of a flock of sheep
Bellwether

✅ 31 A book with a title that is a complete sentence
Now Is Not the Time to Panic

✅ 32 A book with an enemies to lovers plot
The Final Gambit

✅ 33 A book with an unreliable narrator
The Housemaid's Secret

✅ 34 A book with at least 3 POVs
Banyan Moon

✅ 35 A book with magical realism
The Firebird

✅ 36 A book written by a formerly incarcerated person
Dawn

✅ 37 A book written during NaNoWriMo
The Conductors

✅ 38 A cozy fantasy book
Secrets and Snowflakes

✅ 39 A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author
The Death of Vivek Oji

✅ 40 A horror book by a BIPOC author
Blacktop Wasteland

✅ 41 A memoir that explores queerness
One Life

✅ 42 A nonfiction book about Indigenous people
Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation

✅ 43 A second-chance romance
Beyond That, the Sea

✅ 44 An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll
My Love Story

✅ 45 An LGBTQ+ romance novel
Razorblade Tears

✅ 46 A book in which a character sleeps for more than 24 hours
The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes

✅ 47 A book with 24 letters in the title
Conversations with Friends

✅ 48 A collection of at least 24 poems
Call Us What We Carry: Poems

✅ 49 The 24th book of an author
Her Last Flight

✅ 50 A book that starts with the letter "X"
X Marks the Spot: The Story of Archaeology in Eight Extraordinary Discoveries

Date you finished: December 25
Message number of your list post (if you've got one): 243
Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?): book you meant to read in 2022 - The Winners
Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?): Demon Copperhead - main character's name in title
Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge? (and what prompt was it for?) : The Count of Monte Cristo - longest book on TBR list
Least favorite prompt: book you wish you could read for the first time again and fan fiction book
Prompt you hope to see again: first-time author
Last prompt you finished: longest book TBR list :)
Did you like the "nostalgia" theme for this year?: yes, except for the 2 prompts that required me to reread a book
Finally, are you in for 2024? Definitely!

Date you finished: December 30

Message number of your list post (if you've got one): 233

Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?):
#3 Non-patriarchal Society The Island of Sea Women

Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?):
#30 Name of Board Game in Title The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge? (and what prompt was it for?) :
#47 Featuring a Parallel Reality Piranesi

Least favorite prompt:
#20 Title Begins w/Last Letter of Previous Read (though I learned much from the book I chose) The Devil's Highway: A True Story

Prompt you hope to see again:
#26 Misleading Title Sacred Sins

Last prompt you finished:
#27 Hugo Award Winner Beowulf

Were you overall satisfied with your Challenge reading?: Yes

Did you like the "double" theme for the "advanced" prompts?: Yes

Finally, are you in for 2023? Yes!

COMPLETED - 2023 PopSugar Reading Challenge
Last Update: December 25
Completed = ✔
50/50

✔1 A book you meant to read in 2022
The Winners
✔2 A book you bought from an independent bookstore
The Tender Bar: A Memoir
✔3 A book about a vacation (January)
One Italian Summer
✔4 A book by a first-time author
Remarkably Bright Creatures
✔5 A book with mythical creatures
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
✔6 A book about a forbidden romance
Woman on Fire
✔7 A book with "Girl" in the title (March)
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea
✔8 A celebrity memoir
I'm Glad My Mom Died
✔9 A book with a color in the title
The Ink Black Heart
✔10 A romance with a fat lead
Get a Life, Chloe Brown
✔11 A book about or set in Hollywood
Blonde
✔12 A book published in spring 2023
I'd Really Prefer Not to Be Here with You, and Other Stories
✔13 A book published the year you were born
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
✔14 A modern retelling of a classic
Gingerbread
✔15 A book with a song lyric as its title
All the Lonely People
✔16 A book where the main character's name is in the title
Demon Copperhead
✔17 A book with a love triangle
Out of the Easy
✔18 A book that's been banned or challenged in any state in 2022
Beloved
✔19 A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past challenge (Woman in STEM)
The Half-Life of Marie Curie
✔20 A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2023
The Plot
✔21 A book set in the decade you were born
Killers of a Certain Age
✔22 A book with a queer lead (June)
The Tradition
✔23 A book with a map
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
✔24 A book with a rabbit on the cover
Watership Down
✔25 A book with just text on the cover
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
✔26 The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list
Half Light
✔27 A #BookTok recommendation (April)
Transcendent Kingdom
✔28 A book you bought secondhand
The Dragon in the Sock Drawer
✔29 A book your friend recommended
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
✔30 A book that's on a celebrity book-club list (August)
Sula
✔31 A book about a family
North and South
✔32 A book that comes out in the second half of 2023 (December)
None of This Is True
✔33 A book about an athlete/sport
Hank Aaron: A Tribute To The Hammer 1934-2021
✔34 A historical-fiction book
The Fountains of Silence
✔35 A book about divorce
Mad Honey
✔36 A book you think your best friend would like
The Women of Chateau Lafayette
✔37 A book you should have read in high school
Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass
✔38 A book you read more than 10 years ago
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
✔39 A book you wish you could read for the first time again
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
✔40 A book by an author with the same initials as you
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
✔41 A book written during NaNoWriMo (November)
Evvie Drake Starts Over
✔42 A book based on a popular movie
The Color Purple
✔43 A book that takes place entirely in one day (February)
The Sun Is Also a Star
✔44 A book that was self-published
Murder at the Mayfair Hotel
✔45 A book that started out as fan fiction
Austenland
✔46 A book with a pet character
The Travelling Cat Chronicles
✔47 A book about a holiday that's not Christmas (July)
Pumpkins in Paradise
✔48 A book that features two languages
Next Year in Havana
✔49 The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list
The Count of Monte Cristo
✔50 A book with alliteration in the title
Silver Sparrow

Title: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Author: Holly Jackson
Would you recommend this book? Yes. I'm continuing the series by reading Good Girl, Bad Blood.

I'm also reading Such a Fun Age for this prompt, but I've just started it. Glad to see so many people enjoyed it.

General Questions: What made you decide to read this? Do you like the BookTok prompt? Are you using this book for a different prompt?

I read People We Meet on Vacation for prompt #28 A Book Set During a Holiday using the European term for holiday. I don't read much romance, but I enjoyed it immensely. I found it fun and entertaining, listening to the audiobook in one weekend.

I am not on TikTok, but I like the #BookTok prompt. I asked my teen daughter to recommend a book for me. She handed me a book from her own bookshelf, one she purchased because she saw a recommendation on TikTok. I read They Both Die at the End, a book I would not have read without this prompt. I liked having the opportunity to share my reading challenge with my daughter and read one of her books.

Title: They Both Die at the End
Author: Adam Silvera
Would you recommend this book? I would recommend it for those who like to read Young Adult books. I found the concept interesting, and I enjoyed the different points of view throughout the story. It was fun to read a book from my teenage daughter's bookshelf.

2022 PopSugar Reading Challenge
Last Update: December 30 - Finished!
Completed = ✔
50/50

REGULAR
✔1. A book published in 2022 (December) Book Lovers
✔ 2. A book set on a plane, train, or cruise ship Salt to the Sea
✔3. A book about or set in a nonpatriarchal society (March) The Island of Sea Women
✔ 4. A book with a tiger on the cover or "tiger" in the title The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (bent the rules on this one)
✔5. A sapphic book True Biz
✔6. A book by a Latinx author (September) Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon
✔7. A book with an onomatopoeia in its title Black Widow: The True Story of Giggling Granny Nannie Doss
✔8. A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body
✔ 9. A book about a "found family" Three Sisters
✔10. An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner (June) Wade in the Water: Poems
✔ 11. A #BookTok recommendation (January) They Both Die at the End
✔12. A book about the afterlife Under the Whispering Door
✔13. A book set in the 1980s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
✔14. A book with cutlery on the cover or in the title Brazen Virtue
✔15. A book by a Pacific Islander author (May) I've Been Thinking About You, Sister
✔16. A book about witches (October) Sleigh Spells
✔17. A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2022 Anatomy of a Scandal
✔ 18. A romance novel by a BIPOC author (February) Pachinko
✔19. A book that takes place during your favorite season The Broken Girls
✔20. A book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read The Devil's Highway: A True Story
✔21. A book about a band or musical group The Wicked City
✔22. A book with a character on the ace spectrum The Lincoln Highway
✔23. A book with a recipe in it Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
✔24. A book you can read in one sitting Before the Coffee Gets Cold
✔25. A book about a secret The Lost Apothecary
✔26. A book with a misleading title (April) Sacred Sins
✔27. A Hugo Award winner Beowulf: A New Translation
✔28. A book set during a holiday People We Meet on Vacation
✔29. A different book by an author you read in 2021 Once Upon a Wardrobe
✔30. A book with the name of a board game in the title The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
✔31. A book featuring a man-made disaster The Temps
✔32. A book with a quote from your favorite author on the cover or Amazon page The Yellow Bird Sings
✔33. A social-horror book My Monticello
✔34. A book set in Victorian times The Importance of Being Earnest
✔35. A book with a constellation on the cover or in the title (August) The Bear
✔36. A book you know nothing about The Power
✔37. A book about gender identity The Vanishing Half
✔38. A book featuring a party Stealing Home
✔ 39. An #OwnVoices SFF (science fiction and fantasy) book Kindred
✔40. A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

Advanced
✔ 41. A book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title The Girl in the Mirror
✔42. A book that features two languages Girl at War
✔43. A book with a palindromic title Sing, Unburied, Sing
✔ 44. A duology (1) A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
✔ 45. A duology (2) Good Girl, Bad Blood
✔ 46. A book about someone leading a double life The Kommandant's Girl
✔47. A book featuring a parallel reality (July) Piranesi
✔48. A book with two POVs The Lions of Fifth Avenue
✔49. Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (1) Five Little Indians - Vancouver, British Columbia
✔50. Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (2) The Wages of Sin - Edinburgh, Scotland

Date you finished: October 30
Message number of your list post: 710
Favorite prompt: Genre Hybrid - Lovely War
Favorite book: The Song of Achilles (Women's Prize for Fiction) and Daisy Jones & The Six (Free Book From TBR List)
Was there a book you especially enjoyed that you never would have read if not for the Challenge? After Elias (Book With Less Than 1,000 Reviews)
Least favorite prompt: DNF Book from TBR List
Prompt you hope to see again: Book About a Social Justice Issue
Last prompt you finished: Book with Something Broken on the Cover - The Chicken Sisters
Were you overall satisfied with your Challenge reading?: Yes
Did you like the TBR theme for the "advanced" prompts?: Yes
Finally, are you in for 2022? Definitely

I read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. The main character is forgotten by everyone she meets. Enjoyable read - 5 stars

Read A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History. Powerful read - 5 stars.

The very first book I added to my TBR list was Reading in the Wild. That was several years ago! This challenge encouraged me to buy it on Audible and finish it already. Glad I did! Lots of useful information I'll use in my classroom this year.

I started When Kids Lead: An Adult's Guide to Inspiring, Empowering, and Growing Young Leaders during the summer of 2020 but didn't have a chance to finish once school started. As a teacher, reading a book in print during the school year is quite difficult. I finished it this past summer, though, and I'm looking frorward to implementing some of the strategies with my 3rd graders this year.

I just finished We Are Not Free for this prompt. Highly recommend.

I read The Duke and I, but my favorite book for this prompt is Homegoing.

50/50 completed
REGULAR
✔️1. A book that published in 2021 - Malibu Rising
✔️2. An Afrofuturist book - Binti
✔️3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover - Buttercream Bump Off
✔️4. A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign - The President Is Missing
✔️5. A dark academia book - Catherine House
✔️6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title - Girl with a Pearl Earring
✔️7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job - A Lesson Before Dying
✔️8. A book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction - The Song of Achilles
✔️9. A book with a family tree - The Duke and I
✔️10. A bestseller from the 1990s - One for the Money
✔️11. A book about forgetting - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
✔️12. A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.) - Invisible Girl
✔️13. A locked-room mystery - The Hunting Party
✔️14. A book set in a restaurant - Death by the Dozen
✔️15. A book with a black-and-white cover - A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History
✔️16. A book by an indigenous author - Ultimate The Pale Faced Lie : A Novel
✔️17. A book that has the same title as a song - Anxious People
✔️18. A book about a subject you are passionate about - The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
✔️19. A book that discusses body positivity - The Bluest Eye
✔️20. A book on a Black Lives Matter reading list - Dear Martin
✔️21. A genre hybrid - Lovely War
✔️22. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors - Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
✔️23. A book with something broken on the cover - The Chicken Sisters
✔️24. A book by a Muslim American / Muslim British author - Leave the World Behind
✔️25. A book that was published anonymously - Love and Friendship
✔️26. A book with an oxymoron in the title - The Last Days of Night
✔️27. A book about do-overs or fresh starts - Dear Edward
✔️28. A magical realism book - The Midnight Library
✔️29. A book set in multiple countries - The Glass Hotel
✔️30. A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021 - The Bookshop on the Corner
✔️31. A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality - Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion
✔️32. A book whose title starts with “Q,” “X,” or “Z” - A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Survival, Learning, and Coming of Age in Prison
✔️33. A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child) - The Four Winds
✔️34. A book about a social justice issue - We Are Not Free
✔️35. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels) - Miguel Street
✔️36. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads - After Elias
✔️37. A book you think your best friend would like - The Great Alone
✔️38. A book about art or an artist - Frida Kahlo: Artist and Activist
✔️39. A book everyone seems to have read but you - The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
✔️40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - Circe

ADVANCED
✔️41. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list - The Fiery Cross
✔️42. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list - Desiree's Baby
✔️43. The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover - Inside Out & Back Again
✔️44. The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover - And Then There Were None
✔️45. The book that’s been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time - Reading in the Wild
✔️46. A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn’t - Troubled Blood
✔️47. A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing - Sprinkle with Murder
✔️48. A book from your TBR list chosen at random - The Whole Cat and Caboodle
✔️49. A DNF book from your TBR list - When Kids Lead: An Adult's Guide to Inspiring, Empowering, and Growing Young Leaders
✔️50. A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library) - Daisy Jones & The Six

Title: Dear Martin
Author: Nic Stone
Recommend: Yes

Title: The Song of Achilles
Author: Madeline Miller
Recommend: Yes