Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2020 Challenge - Advanced
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01 - A book written by an author in their 20's
I think I’m going with Sally Rooney for this one. She is 28and has been called “the first great millennial writer”.
Sara wrote: "It can be tough to determine an author's age. Who has a good trick for finding this information? What books can you suggest written by young authors?"If you look at the 5 under 35 authors you might find someone in their 20s.
Wuthering Heights was published when she was 29.The Rules of Attraction also qualifies
Cinder was published when she was 27
Pretty much all Amelia Atwater-Rhodes books qualify for YA readers
Pretty sure The Bell Jar would qualify Sylvia Plath died at 30.
Why don't more authors put their date of birth on their websites? Don't they know how important it is to us?! LOL! I just looked at a bunch I want to try and fit in next year and I couldn't find their ages.
I helped to organise a book festival a couple of months ago and I know one of our authors, Rebecca Barrow, is in her 20's. Rebecca is a queer woman of colour and writes fantastic young adult books. Her 2 titles so far are This Is What It Feels Like and You Don't Know Me But I Know You.
I read Pink Mountain on Locust Island by Jamie Marina Lau for the 2019 challenge and loved it. Lau was 21 when it was published.
Adam Silvera will be 29 the first half of next year.Wait... it doesn't say they still have to be in their 20's just that they wrote the booj in their 20's. Well all his books to date will work.
And a lot of up and coming authors are in their 20's
Johanne wrote: "Adam Silvera will be 29 the first half of next year.Wait... it doesn't say they still have to be in their 20's just that they wrote the booj in their 20's. Well all his books to date will work."
Got any recommendations? I read They Both Die at the End for "takes place in a single day" this year and loved it.
Haha I have to confess I only read that one as well, and really liked it. But I hear good things about his other books.
I did a bit of Googling. Zadie Smith wrote White Teeth at 24.
Mary Shelley was only 21 when Frankenstein was published
Tea Obreht wrote The Tiger's Wife at 26.
Stephen King was 26 when Carrie was published. I've read a ton of King but have actually not read Carrie so that might be my pick.
Question--are these books separate from he main Popsugar Challenge (as in you read these 10 books only for this) or can one book be used once each in the regular and advanced challenges?
Charles Dickens published at least one novel when he was in his 20s, The Pickwick Papers, but his collection Sketches by Boz was published a year earlier.Other books published in his 20s:
Nicholas Nickleby
The Old Curiosity Shop
Barnaby Rudge
I just compared his birth year with the list of his books by publication year--this isn't as hard for long dead authors as for some of the more recent ones :)
Karin wrote: "Question--are these books separate from he main Popsugar Challenge (as in you read these 10 books only for this) or can one book be used once each in the regular and advanced challenges?"You can pretty much do what you want. But personally, I consider it all part of the same challenge. (But also, I'm more lax about double-dipping in general... I'm currently planning on double-counting a couple of books for the more difficult 2019 prompts.)
Drakeryn wrote: "Karin wrote: "Question--are these books separate from he main Popsugar Challenge (as in you read these 10 books only for this) or can one book be used once each in the regular and advanced challeng..."Thanks--I just found a picture of the new challenge and see it looks separate.
My library hold on White Teeth just came in. I have lots of library books out just now and less reading time than usual. I might let this one go for now and save it for next year instead.
I'll probably slot Loveless in here (Alice Oseman is 25) unless Samantha Shannon (28) gives us another Bone Season book next year.
I was looking for a book with great first lines, when I came across The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter turns out Carson McCullers wrote it when she was 23. Have no idea if it is good but considering reading it for this prompt.
Karin wrote: "Question--are these books separate from he main Popsugar Challenge (as in you read these 10 books only for this) or can one book be used once each in the regular and advanced challenges?"That is entirely up to you. This is a personal challenge, and each participant can make their own decisions on how to proceed. Most of us use each book only once (whether for the regular or the advanced prompts). But there are some that will check off as many prompts as they can with each book. Either way is fine! You do you :)
It's hard to figure out an author's age! I like the scavenger hunt aspect of the challenge, but not when the hunting goes nowhere so often.Chloe Benjamin was 29 in January 2018 so that means The Immortalists and The Anatomy of Dreams both work.
Hannah Kent was 28 when Burial Rites was published.
Here is a list of writers who published their first books in their twenties: https://www.scifacts.net/human/writer...
I'm pretty sure C.G. Drews (author of YA contemporaries The Boy Who Steals Houses and A Thousand Perfect Notes) is in her 20s, though I can't find the link atm to confirm.
Shannen wrote: "I think I will finally read Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. I believe she was 26 when it was published.I also found this list of books from authors under 30:
https://www.goodreads.com/lis..."
Thank you so much. I've been wanting to read The Pickwick Papers, so this is perfect, not to mention it is free on my Kindle.
Good to know that Alice Oseman fits this prompt! I've been meaning to try more of her books.
Anabell wrote: "I was looking for a book with great first lines, when I came across The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter turns out Carson McCullers wrote it when she was 23. Have no idea if it is good but con..."Anabell, I read that some years ago and quite enjoyed it. The Member of the Wedding would also work.
I think I'm going to read
Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life
by Cleo Wade. It was published when she was 28 or 29.
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
Aha! V.E. Schwab was born in 1987, so any of her books published prior to 2017 would count! This includes Vicious and the first two books in the Shades of Magic Trilogy for sure
Heather L wrote: "Anabell wrote: "I was looking for a book with great first lines, when I came across The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter turns out Carson McCullers wrote it when she was 23. Have no idea if it..."Oh I am glad to hear that. Think I will give it a go :-)
Sarah J Maas was in her 20’s when A Court of Thorn and Roses came out. Been on my TBR forever. 
I really want to find a place for Wilder Girls on this list and I suspect Rory Powers is in her 20s... Can anyone confirm?
Book Love would be a good option for this prompt. The author, Debbie Tung, tweeted that she turned 29 this week.
Jessica wrote: "I really want to find a place for Wilder Girls on this list and I suspect Rory Powers is in her 20s... Can anyone confirm?"I can't find her exact age but she graduated college in 2014, so assuming she hadn't taken time out, she would be in her 20's still.
Ellie wrote: "Jessica wrote: "I really want to find a place for Wilder Girls on this list and I suspect Rory Powers is in her 20s... Can anyone confirm?"I can't find her exact age but she graduated college in ..."
I messaged her on IG! LOL! I'm really not crazy, I swear! She said she is! :)
Brandon Sanderson wrote Elantris while he was in his 20s and it was published when he was 29. He also either wrote or started some of his other books in his 20s (The Final Empire, The Way of Kings) but they weren't published until later.
Sarah wrote: "Why don't more authors put their date of birth on their websites? Don't they know how important it is to us?! LOL! I just looked at a bunch I want to try and fit in next year and I couldn't find th..."I did that too with the authors I have listed on my page of ARCs for the upcoming year. It's very frustrating.
Sara wrote: "What books can you suggest written by young authors?Listopia link: https://www.goodreads.com/list/..."
It helps if the author has biographical info on wikipedia
I will likely choose between Jane Austen's
and
They 're also options for reading PS Challenge
20 yr old characters ☺
Mod
Haha that’s awesome! I’m sure she’s pleased that she’s being read.
Mod
Yes. This. LOL This is why I dislike prompts like this. How am I supposed to know how old an author is (or was, when a book was written)???
Karin wrote: "Charles Dickens published at least one novel when he was in his 20s, The Pickwick Papers, but his collection Sketches by Boz was published a year earlier.Other books p..."
Great I need The Old Curiosity Shop for a different challenge and want give Nicholas Nickleby a try as well. Thank you!
R.F. Kuang is 23, which makes two of her books eligible:The Poppy War
The Dragon Republic
The third book also says it's expected for publication in 2020.
I'm going for Life, the Universe and Everything. It's a bit of a stretch, in that it was published in 1982, and Douglas Adams was born in 1952, so he was 30 when it was published, but the prompt does say written when they were in their 20s, not published, so he would have been less than 30 when he wrote it, therefore it counts!
Rachael wrote: "I'm going for Life, the Universe and Everything. It's a bit of a stretch, in that it was published in 1982, and Douglas Adams was born in 1952, so he was 30 when it was published, but t..."Ha! I really like this logic and want to adopt it...
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Red Rising (other topics)Reverie (other topics)
Reverie (other topics)
Tweet Cute (other topics)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ryan La Sala (other topics)Emma Lord (other topics)
Brandon Sanderson (other topics)
Chanel Miller (other topics)
Daphne du Maurier (other topics)
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Listopia link: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...