Rhonda’s Comments (group member since Nov 19, 2025)

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

To be honest, I really don't like a lot of the prompts this year and was not going to participate. But, a friend of mine is doing it, so I'm going to as well. We are going to enjoy complaining about the prompts as we find books to fit them.

1 A book with the word "leap" in the title - LEAP by Jacob Garbarino
2 A bildungsroman book
3 A book about a 24-year-old
4 A book about a writer
5 A book about K-pop
6 A book about pirates
7 A book about women's sports and/or by a woman athlete - Kulti by Mariana Zapata
8 A book by a blind or visually impaired author
9 A book by a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing author - El Deafo by Cece Bell
10 A book by a self-published author
11 A book from a genre you typically avoid
12 A book from an animal's POV
13 A book originally published under a pen name - Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher
14 A book recommended by a bookseller - Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
15 A book recommended by a librarian
16 A book set 24 years before you were born
17 A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list - Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
18 A book set in space -
19 A book set in the future
20 A book set in the snow
21 A book that came out in a year that ends with "24"
22 A book that centers on video games
23 A book that features dragons
24 A book that takes place over the course of 24 hours
25 A book that was published 24 years ago (2000)
26 A book that was turned into a musical
27 A book where someone dies in the first chapter
28 A book with a main character who's 42 years old
29 A book with a neurodivergent main character
30 A book with a one-word title you had to look up in a dictionary
31 A book with a title that is a complete sentence
32 A book with an enemies to lovers plot
33 A book with an unreliable narrator
34 A book with at least 3 POVs
35 A book with magical realism
36 A book written by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person
37 A book written during NaNoWriMo
38 A cozy fantasy book
39 A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author
40 A horror book by a BIPOC author
41 A memoir that explores queerness
42 A nonfiction book about Indigenous people
43 A second-chance romance
44 An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll
45 An LGBTQ+ romance novel
46 A book in which a character sleeps for more than 24 hours
47 A book with 24 letters in the title
48 A collection of at least 24 poems
49 The 24th book of an author
50 A book that starts with the letter "X"

Ana O. ⭐ wrote: "Has anyone read Happy Place?
I saw that it has been placed on the list and I want to know if it works for this category. 😅😅"

I'm currently reading it and I don't see how. None of the main characters is even married. One of the friends has been affected by her father's practice of divorcing and remarrying, so maybe that? I think it's a stretch, though. I'm going to use it for the vacation prompt.

1 A book you meant to read in 2022 - Raven Cursed
2 A book you bought from an independent bookstore - Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
3 A book about a vacation - Happy Place
4 A book by a first-time author - The Friend Zone
5 A book with mythical creatures - Mercy Blade
6 A book about a forbidden romance - An Enchantment of Ravens
7 A book with "Girl" in the title - Strawberry Girl
8 A celebrity memoir
9 A book with a color in the title - Black Arts
10 A romance with a fat lead
11 A book about or set in Hollywood - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
12 A book published in spring 2023 - The Book That Wouldn’t Burn
13 A book published the year you were born- Endless Night
14 A modern retelling of a classic - Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes
15 A book with a song lyric as its title - Part of Your World
16 A book where the main character's name is in the title - The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
17 A book with a love triangle - Blood Trade
18 A book that's been banned or challenged in any state in 2022 - March: Book Two
19 A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past challenge - Broken Soul
20 A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2023 - Lessons in Chemistry
21 A book set in the decade you were born - The Summer of the Swans
22 A book with a queer lead - Upright Women Wanted
23 A book with a map - The Fifth Season
24 A book with a rabbit on the cover - Rabbit Hill
25 A book with just text on the cover
26 The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list - The Bookstore Sisters
27 A #BookTok recommendation - Ever After Always
28 A book you bought secondhand - Third Grave Dead Ahead
29 A book your friend recommended - The Keeper of Lost Things
30 A book that's on a celebrity book-club list - Wrong Place Wrong Time
31 A book about a family - A Million Junes
32 A book that comes out in the second half of 2023 - Mammoths at the Gates
33 A book about an athlete/sport - If Only You
34 A historical-fiction book - The Things They Carried
35 A book about divorce - Yours Truly
36 A book you think your best friend would like - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
37 A book you should have read in high school - Passing
38 A book you read more than 10 years ago - Romancing Mister Bridgerton
39 A book you wish you could read for the first time again - All Systems Red
40 A book by an author with the same initials as you
41 A book written during NaNoWriMo
42 A book based on a popular movie - Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down: The Official Behind-the-Scenes Companion
43 A book that takes place entirely in one day - Magic Tides
44 A book that was self-published - Always Only You
45 A book that started out as fan fiction - Love on the Brain
46 A book with a pet character - My One and Only
47 A book about a holiday that's not Christmas - Something Wicked This Way Comes
48 A book that features two languages - Warrior Girl Unearthed
49 The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list
50 A book with alliteration in the title - Moon Over Manifest

I've had to do this prompt before and I really dislike it. I was born in 1967 and it is a challenge to find anything from that year that I care to read. Yuck.

I started looking at my bookshelves and found one.

Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven is blurbed by Ilona Andrews.

REGULAR

√1. A book published in 2022 - Must Love Hockey by Sarina Bowen
√2. A book set on a plane, train, or cruise ship - The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
√3. A book about or set in a nonpatriarchal society - Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
√4. A book with a tiger on the cover or "tiger" in the title - When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
√5. A sapphic book - Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
√6. A book by a Latinx author i The Murmur of Bees by Sofía Segovia
√7. A book with an onomatopoeia in its title - Hum If You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais
√8. A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid - Perfect World, Vol. 1 by Rie Aruga
√9. A book about a "found family" - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
√10. An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner - There There by Tommy Orange
√11. A #BookTok recommendation - Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe
√12. A book about the afterlife - Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
√13. A book set in the 1980s - Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
√14. A book with cutlery on the cover or in the title - Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
√15. A book by a Pacific Islander author - Bonds of Justice of Nalini Singh
√16. A book about witches - Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
√17. A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2022 - Killing Floor by Lee Child
√18. A romance novel by a BIPOC author - A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert
√19. A book that takes place during your favorite season - It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
√20. A book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read - Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop
√21. A book about a band or musical group - XOXO by Axie Oh
√22. A book with a character on the ace spectrum - Loveless by Alice Oseman
√23. A book with a recipe in it - Lemon Meringue Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke
√24. A book you can read in one sitting - Magic Tests by Ilona Andrews
√25. A book about a secret - The Secret Place by Tana French
√26. A book with a misleading title - Looking for Alaska by John Green
√27. A Hugo Award winner - The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
√28. A book set during a holiday - Christmas Eve by Jim Butcher
√29. A different book by an author you read in 2021 - Cold Days by Jim Butcher
√30. A book with the name of a board game in the title- Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games by Lopez Lomong
√31. A book featuring a man-made disaster - How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Changing the World, One Plastic Bottle at a Time by Will McCallum
√32. A book with a quote from your favorite author on the cover or Amazon page - Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews - quote by Patricia Briggs
√33. A social-horror book - Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
√34. A book set in Victorian times - The Awakening by Kate Chopin
√35. A book with a constellation on the cover or in the title - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
√36. A book you know nothing about
√37. A book about gender identity - George by Alex Gino
√38. A book featuring a party - Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie
√39. An #OwnVoices SFF (science fiction and fantasy) book - A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
√40. A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge (book published in 2021) - A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske


ADVANCED

√41. A book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title - The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie
√42. A book that features two languages - Silent Melody by Mary Balogh - English and sign language
√43. A book with a palindromic title -Mem by Bethany C. Morrow
√44. A duology (1) - It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
√45. A duology (2) - Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
√46. A book about someone leading a double life - Skinwalker by Faith Hunter
√47. A book featuring a parallel reality - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
√48. A book with two POVs - The One for You by Roni Loren
√49. Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (1) - Battle Royal by Lucy Parker - London
√50. Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (2) - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - Moscow

I think this would be a great idea. I've been part of a discord book chat before, but only once. I'm no expert.

50/50

CHALLENGE COMPLETED!!! 9/30/20

2020 Challenge - Regular prompts

√1. A book that's published in 2020 - The Bright Side of Going Dark
√2. A book by a trans or nonbinary author - I Wish You All the Best
√3. A book with a great first line - Solitaire
√4. A book about a book club - Undercover Bromance
√5. A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics - Les Miserables
√6. A bildungsroman - Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life
√7. The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed Emily of New Moon
√8. A book with an upside-down image on the cover - The Body in the Library
√9. A book with a map - Lirael
√10. A book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club - Far from the Tree
√11. An anthology - Poirot Investigates
√12. A book that passes the Bechdel test - Carmilla
√13. A book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it Just One Of The Guys
√14. A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name
Assassin's Apprentice
√15. A book about or involving social media - Tweet Cute
√16. A book that has a book on the cover - Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
√17. A medical thriller - Miracle Creek
√18. A book with a made-up language - Sword of Destiny
√19. A book set in a country beginning with "C" - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (China)
√20. A book you picked because the title caught your attention - Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
√21. A book published the month of your birthday - Archer's Voice
√22. A book about or by a woman in STEM - The Calculating Stars
√23. A book that won an award in 2019 - Recursion
√24. A book on a subject you know nothing about - History of Bourbon
√25. A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics - X
√26. A book with a pun in the title - Sweep in Peace
√27. A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins - Envy of Angels
√28. A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character - Pluto, Vol. 4
√29. A book with a bird on the cover - The Brush of Black Wings
√30. A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader - The Life and Times of Prince Albert
√31. A book with "gold," "silver," or "bronze" in the title - Viva Durant and The Secret of the Silver Buttons
√32. A book by a WOC - Branded by Fire
√33. A book with at least a four-star rating on Goodreads - Daisy Jones & The Six
√34. A book you meant to read in 2019 - Sabriel
√35. A book with a three-word title - The Princess Bride
√36. A book with a pink cover - Etiquette & Espionage
√37. A Western - Jessica
√38. A book by or about a journalist - Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know
√39. Read a banned book during Banned Books Week - Where the Sidewalk Ends
√40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - published in 2019 - Get a Life, Chloe Brown

2020 Challenge - Advanced prompts

√1. A book written by an author in their 20s - Radio Silence
√2. A book with "20" or "twenty" in the title - Four and Twenty Blackbirds
√3. A book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement - Artificial Condition
√4. A book set in the 1920s - The Big Four
√5. A book set in Japan, host of the 2020 Olympics - Pachinko
√6. A book by an author who has written more than 20 books - Carpool
√7. A book with more than 20 letters in its title - The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
√8. A book published in the 20th century - Holiday in Death
√9. A book from a series with more than 20 books - Vengeance in Death
√10. A book with a main character in their 20s - Things You Save in a Fire

You can find some author's ages on Wikipedia. I found that Pierce Brown is 31, which means that his original Red Rising series was all published when he was in his 20s.

Red Rising
Golden Son
Morning Star

Can we include subtitles? I'm thinking of Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption.

Date you finished: December 7, 2018

Message number of your list post (if you've got one): 390

Favorite prompt (and what book did you read for it?): Characters who are twins, for which I read The Thirteenth Tale.

Favorite book (and what prompt was it for?): My favorite book was The One-in-a-Million Boy and was for a book about death or grief. It was heartbreaking, but beautiful. It's a very underrated book. Read it!

Was there a book you LOVED that you never would have read if not for the Challenge?: Yes! I I read A Light in the Attic for a bestseller from the year I graduated from high school. It was funny and clever and thoroughly enjoyable.

Least favorite prompt: Nordic noir. I do not like dark, psychological thrillers.

Prompt you hope to see again: A book set in a a country that fascinates you.

Last prompt you finished: True crime

Finally, are you in for 2019? No. I burned myself out on challenges last year, so I'm sitting out of all of them for a year. I'll probably be back in 2020.

Hi! I'm Rhonda. I heard about this challenge for the first time about halfway through 2017 and decided I would take part for 2018.

I'm very excited about all the prompts! I've discovered some of my favorite books through reading challenges.

Shelly wrote: "Rhonda wrote: "Man, I wish my dad was still alive. He knew all this stuff.

I know we came here from France back in the 1600s. On my mom's side her great-grandmother (so my great-great) was Native..."

You're right. :) Now to start searching for my choice.

**a bit later**

Okay, now this is fascinating. My husband has been investigating his ancestry on ancestry.com for awhile. We sat down and withing half an hour, found my great- great-grandmother's name, and that she was from Chickasaw, MS. While trying to figure out how she ended up in Texas, I found out that she was born right around the time of the Removal to Oklahoma! I found a a book, Chickasaw Removal, so I know what I'm going to read. :)

2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge

COMPLETE: 50/50 - My goal was 50%. Now that I've hit that, I have other challenges to work on. Still hoping to come back and complete this!

Finished 12/9/18

* 1. A book made into a movie you've already seen - True Grit
* 2. True Crime - Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
* 3. The next book in a series you started - Silence Fallen
* 4. A book involving a heist - Six of Crows
* 5. Nordic noir - The Keeper of Lost Causes
* 6. A novel based on a real person - Julius Caesar
* 7. A book set in a country that fascinates you - Twenties Girl
* 8. A book with a time of day in the title - Born of Night
* 9. A book about a villain or antihero - The Ring of Solomon
* 10. A book about death or grief - The One-in-a-Million Boy
* 11. A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym - Lethal White
* 12. A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist - I'll Give You the Sun
* 13. A book that is also a stage play or musical - Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade
* 14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you - The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
* 15. A book about feminism - Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions
* 16. A book about mental health - Turtles All the Way Down
* 17. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift - A Lady by Midnight
* 18. A book by two authors - Gemina
* 19. A book about or involving a sport - Coming in from the Cold
* 20. A book by a local author - Arrogant Devil
* 21. A book with your favorite color in the title - How Green Was My Valley
* 22. A book with alliteration in the title - Monsters of Men
* 23. A book about time travel - Paper Girls, Vol. 2
* 24. A book with a weather element in the title - Storm Born
* 25. A book set at sea - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
* 26. A book with an animal in the title - Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir of Appalachia
* 27. A book set on a different planet - A Wrinkle in Time
* 28. A book with song lyrics in the title - Anything You Can Do
* 29. A book about or set on Halloween - Paper Girls, Vol. 1
* 30. A book with characters who are twins - The Thirteenth Tale
* 31. A book mentioned in another book - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
* 32. A book from a celebrity book club - Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (Reese Witherspoon)
* 33. A childhood classic you've never read - James and the Giant Peach
* 34. A book that's published in 2018 - The Kiss Quotient
* 35. A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner - Adulthood Is a Myth
* 36. A book set in the decade you were born - The Secret Life of Bees
* 37. A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to - Ruin and Rising
* 38. A book with an ugly cover - Beautiful Mistake
* 39. A book that involves a bookstore or library - I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks
* 40. Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges - book published in 2016 - Crooked Kingdom

2018 Popsugar Advanced Reading Challenge

* 1. A bestseller from the year you graduated high school - A Light in the Attic
* 2. A cyberpunk book - Descender, Vol. 5: Rise of the Robots
* 3. A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place - Crazy Rich Asians
* 4. A book tied to your ancestry - The Journal of Rufus Rowe, A Witness to the Battle of Fredericksburg
* 5. A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title - Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage
* 6. An allegory - Watership Down
* 7. A book by an author with the same first or last name as you - The Crucible
* 8. A microhistory - An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793
* 9. A book about a problem facing society today - Still Alice
* 10. A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - Mrs. Mike

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir. The first two books had such beautiful covers, but this is just terrible! I'll read it, but I probably won't buy it.

Tara wrote: "What about Still Alice by Lisa Genova? That's a great book!"

Would this work for this prompt? I own this and am trying to stick to my shelves as much possible for the challenges.

Man, I wish my dad was still alive. He knew all this stuff.

I know we came here from France back in the 1600s. On my mom's side her great-grandmother (so my great-great) was Native American, but I don't know which tribe. I'm assuming one in Texas. We've been here for several generations. (Can I claim my ancestry as Texan? lol)