Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A book with pictures could be:
* a traditional children's picture book
* a coffee table book
* a book of photographs
* an autobiography or biography with photos of the subject

I see myself holding onto this one until I need to slot an otherwise difficult to slot book.

This was one of my suggested topics :) I had just finished reading A Work in Progress by Connor Franta and loved his photos throughout. And I love looking at the photos in biographies. There are some interesting ways to meet this catergory, but for anyone who is struggling you can always pick up an Elephant and Piggie boom for a good laugh! :)

I love this prompt. I adore good illustrations. Here are some of my favorites:

Any of Brian Selznick's novels.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is my favorite and uses sections of illustration to advance the story. It's kinda like reading a movie.

Wonderstruck tells the stories of two people in different eras, one only in text and one only in illustrations.

The Marvels entire first section of the book is a story told entirely in illustrations, and the second part is text.

I am also enamored by the picture books of Torben Kuhlmann. These two are long for picture books and have gorgeous illustrations.

Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse and it's sequel
Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and it's sequels would also be good for this prompt.

The new illustrated Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets would work for this. I still need to get my hands on them - I cry a little inside when I pick them up at the bookstore (they're too pretty).

I'm trying to do minimal re-reads for this challenge so I'm going to go with my copy of Humans of New York: Stories since it's been sitting on my bookshelf since last Christmas.

Lindi wrote: "TI'm trying to do minimal re-reads for this challenge so I'm going to go with my copy of Humans of New York: Stories since it's been sitting on my bookshelf since last Christmas. "

I used that one for NYT bestseller this year. And I checked last night and didn't see that Brandon has any new books due in 2017. :(

Only mention Illuminae? It has pictures.

Sara wrote: "... There are some interesting ways to meet this catergory, but for anyone who is struggling you can always pick up an Elephant and Piggie boom for a good laugh! :) "

Hahah! We LOVE Elephant and Piggie!! I'm sorry that my kids are older now and have lost interest - sometimes when a new one comes out I borrow it to read for myself :-)

I'm planning to read a graphic novel for this category. I read a lot of graphic novels, so I'm not choosing one in advance.

Tibet: Through the Red Box
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet
Austerlitz
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Night Film

Lindi, yes! The illustrated HP are so beautiful! That was one if the first things I thought of for this prompt.

The Arrival

^^ I LOVED this book, highly recommend. Its' a graphic novel, the whole thing is pictures. It's obviously a quick read but very heartwarming!

I was thinking about Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends and then I remembered Jack Prelutsky. If you have young children and you have not yet discovered the poetry of Prelutsky you really should give it a try (and great illustrations).

The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders
Monday's Troll
The Dragons Are Singing Tonight
Awful Ogre's Awful Day
Ride a Purple Pelican

Last year I read Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ by Giulia Enders with delightful, funny illustrations by the author's sister, Jill Enders. It's super readable and a really fascinating look at our digestive tract.

I think I'm going to read Turner Classic Movies: The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter. It fits the prompt and gives me movie night ideas. :)

Any of Walter Moers books would work.

Would a graphic novel work for this? There is one I've been planning to read.

I'll probably do a graphic novel, or I suppose I could put in one of the 8000 picture books I'll read to my toddler this year!

Shannon wrote: "I think I'm going to read Turner Classic Movies: The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter. It fits the prompt and gives me movie night ideas. :)"

This book looks awesome! Going on my list!

The Giving Tree would also work well for this prompt.

I haven't finished The Walking Dead, Compendium 3... I have actually barely started it. On this prompt it goes.

Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters looks fun.

I read Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs this year and found it very interesting. Would definitely fit the category as the book has many of the author's photos in the book.

I really want the first three!

The Case of Beasts: Explore the Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Peek

S. by J.J. Abrams, Doug Dors - Peek

Bats of the Republic: An Illuminated Novel - Possibly kinda spoilery trailer thing


A Passage to Shambhala - Peek and chat

Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders

There is Neil Gaiman's Stardust (if you can get a version with the original illustrations)

And many (all?) of the works of Brom who is a dark fantasy illustrator who also writes stories (often dark adaptations of fairy tales and the like)

I know there are some editions of The Hobbit floating about with some beautiful pictures in them, if anybody has interest in Tolkien's works.

For graphic novels, which I only recently started reading, I can recommend The Complete Persepolis, The Complete Maus, and V for Vendetta. All three are GREAT. I personally may do Watchmen for this task, but I could also start Ransom Riggs' series so I dunno. CHOICES.

If anyone has The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo on their TBR, this would qualify. There are photographs throughout the book :)

I'll probably re-attempt Watchmen

If that fails (again) I'll reread Harry Potter - the gorgeous illustrated version.

I feel like this shouldn't count, but I received a beautiful illustrated copy of Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. It's a poem, of course, not a book. But hey, I'm starting a new job in January and I may not make it through 10 books, never mind 40. ;)

Amy Beth wrote: "I feel like this shouldn't count, but I received a beautiful illustrated copy of Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. It's a poem, of course, not a book. But hey, I'm starting a new..."

Part of the fun of the challenge is seeing how people interpret the prompts differently. And good luck on the new job!

Cindy wrote: >>Part of the fun of the challenge is seeing how people interpret the prompts differently. And good luck on the new job!<<

Thank you, Cindy!

I am probably going to read What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions for this prompt.

I'm going to go with Brides of Eden: A True Story Imagined. It is a fictionalized account of actual events and it has photographs from the time period and of the town the story is set in.

I've got The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer checked out and sitting on my nightstand, waiting for me to read sometime next week.

I'm taking the opportunity to read Duck, Death and the Tulip, which has been recommended to me with rave reviews.

But for what it's worth, Saga, Volume 1 and The Unwritten, Volume 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity are dynamite!

Also, for kids' books, I agree anything by Mo Willems, and Lauren Child's illustrations are lovely in this edition of Pippi Longstocking

I love Lauren Child's style! We own her The Princess and the Pea and it's a particular favorite of mine.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children centers around a series of old photographs.

I highly recommend A Monster Calls, and you can read it just in time to see the movie!

I am currently reading Scrappy Little Nobody and she has pictures in it! There are pictures from her childhood. This prompt did not say that it had to be a children's book so I am sure you could get away with using this book for it. I might use it if I don't finish it before the new year haha

Going to read The Magician's Elephant

So I think I'm changing my mind. My brother and sister-in-law got me How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You for Christmas and I basically have to read it.

It also counts for books with a red spine and books with a cat on the cover, but I have about two million options for each of those categories so I'm putting it here instead of Watchmen.

Bossy Pants, a fairly good read.
Unbroken, I didn't like it, but I have had my fill of WWII books.

I actually finished this one today already! I read Adulthood Is a Myth. It is kind of a graphic novel but mostly just a collection of comic strips she has written about struggling with becoming an adult. Given how much I have struggled with that over the last two years I found it VERY relatable however I think any would find it entertaining!

I just bought Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Chris Riddell. The illustrations are beautiful and I can't wait to read it. Also Sleeper and the Spindle (same author/illustrator pair) would work well for this.

Just checked out the new Mary Russell short story collection, Mary Russell's War: And Other Stories of Suspense, and it has photos/illustrations.

I am reading the first Harry Potter with my daughter. I bought her the illustrated edition for Christmas. I have always wanted to read Harry Potter and it's a nice reading session with the little one.

Nadine - I'm going for The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer too, it was recommended on another site/forum. I don't own it and am imposing a bit of a spending ban on myself so this has inspired me to finally get round to joining the library in my new home town (moved in the summer).

One I can definitely recommend is Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema The 'scandals' title makes it sound a bit trashy (no bad thing) but it's actually a really interesting look at celebrity, the media and us as consumers.

It's short but incredibly sweet and amazing.

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

House of Leaves One Rainy Day in May of The Familiar series by Mark Z. Danielewski

All of which I highly recommend.

I read The Secret Keepers.

If I could only use one word to describe this book, it would be CLEVER. It had great character development including a character I didn't really like at first turning into my favorite character by the end. The author has a knack for describing everyday things in a surprisingly insightful way. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this story was the witty dialogue found throughout it.

(Note: It is 500 pages)

Juanita wrote: "A book with pictures could be:
* a traditional children's picture book
* a coffee table book
* a book of photographs
* an autobiography or biography with photos of the subject

I see myself h..."

Could I extend the last category to true crime books? They usually have pictures of the crime scene, detectives involved, etc...

Timbra wrote: "I read The Secret Keepers.

If I could only use one word to describe this book, it would be CLEVER. It had great character development including a character I didn't really like at ..."

That's on my TBR! Yay!