Pop Sugar's Annual Ultimate Reading Challenge discussion

In a different thread Bonnie asked about 2015 releases and I offered to give suggestions. After typing my response and seeing how big it was I decided to start a new topic. Please feel free to comment and contribute as well!

Also, I'm reserving the right to come back and edit this if/when I get my hands on some of these and thus have a first-hand opinion of them but so far these are some of the 2015 releases I'm psyched for. You'll notice that they're light on the adult novels and there is no Non-fiction. Trust me, as the year goes on there will be other books you'll hear about that will get buzz (and I might edit and add those too!)

Alexandra Bracken has two books coming out in 2015, one of which is the first in a duet and the other is a re-telling of Star Wars: A New Hope! Alex is an author I've followed online and whose writing I personally have liked, I'm particularly excited for the Star Wars re-telling because she is a HUGE Star Wars fan and if anyone can do this right it's her.

is going to be a book full of hot men and smut. Also crazy crazy fantasy world stuff. I do not know where Sarah gets some of the things she writes. I personally am not planning to read this (it's in a genre (NA) I personally don't like) but I'll recommend it to friends I think would like it. If it sounds like something you'd like totally put it on your list.

I know just enough about this to be keeping it on my radar.

This is the first in a series by an author I've met who is a total sweetheart. It sounds pretty interesting and is coming out pretty soon.

The next three books were all written by someone I know or someone my bff knows.


Two books I'm interested in from blurb and hype but have no other connection to:

And last but not least, you'll have to read the first book in this series first (but it could count for a couple categories and is totally worth it) but Shadow Scale, the long awaited sequel to Seraphina will be out very soon, eep!

Sorry for the long post and again, I reserve the right to come back and edit when I have more knowledge about 2015 releases, including these.

How about the rest of you? any 2015 suggestions?

I'm half posting this just so I don't lose the link, but http://bookriot.com/2015/01/21/2015-y... has a discussion of some 2015 YA releases that sound exciting. If "feminist" is a word that doesn't exactly sell a book for you, click through anyhow - they've got a nice little blurb about each book they mention.

Oh! And I second the Seraphina / Shadow Scale recommendation big time.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, set for release this summer! can't wait!

I'm pretty sure everyone in our group just updated their list to include "Go Set a Watchman" by Harper Lee. WHOOP!

Can I be the party pooper who is a little concerned that Lee's lawyer telling us "we found this 60-year-old manuscript she never mentioned before but now she can't wait for you to read it!" sounds a little... off?

Nicole wrote: "Can I be the party pooper who is a little concerned that Lee's lawyer telling us "we found this 60-year-old manuscript she never mentioned before but now she can't wait for you to read it!" sounds ..."

It actually sounds super legit. Apparently she wrote Go Set a Watchman first, her editor was like "these flashbacks are super interesting, could you write about Scout's childhood from her perspective first?

She did, To Kill A Mockingbird became super famous, she assumed the first manuscript was destroyed and 55 years later while going through rare TKAM manuscripts her lawyer found it.

What I'm worried about is the no revisions thing.

ALSO: Bonnie and Sherry, seriously when I hear the news I was like "I think we all have our 2015 read now!"

Caitlin wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Can I be the party pooper who is a little concerned that Lee's lawyer telling us "we found this 60-year-old manuscript she never mentioned before but now she can't wait for you to re..."

I just saw my friend post this: http://jezebel.com/be-suspicious-of-t...

Yeah, that gets at where my "hmmmm" reaction is coming from. After all these years, avoiding publicity, swearing she wasn't gonna publish again, that whole mess with the (un?)authorized biography... just seems out of character. And especially the no edits parts?? This manuscript is 50 something years old, and they're just gonna send it straight to the printer? That strikes me as weird.

Then again, maybe she's like "hell with it, I'm old. They wanna print it, they can print it." I hope it's great.

Also this interview with the editor does nothing to make me feel better: http://www.vulture.com/2015/02/harper...

Nicole wrote: "Also this interview with the editor does nothing to make me feel better: http://www.vulture.com/2015/02/harper..."

yeah... that sounds more like the editor is putting his fingers in his ears and saying if I don't hear about it, nothing is wrong, right?

Also, question: how do you have an editor if you have never published something with that person?

That was one of many questions I had. Another would be "Why does the editor seem unsure if the book will be edited?"

(Other questions would be basically Mallory Ortberg's whole Toast post on the book.)