Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A book with a holiday that's not Christmas

I know of a few...
The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer
A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli
The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story by Lemony Snicket

Listopia is HERE

This will be the book I go with.

We Say #NeverAgain: Reporting by the Parkland Student Journalists

It's a bit heavy as far as the content but it took place on Valentine's Day so that's what makes this one easy.

Oh, a good place to put Something Wicked This Way Comes, which I have been looking forward to reading all year but haven't yet done so.

I think I'll be slotting in my yearly relisten of The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING; Or, Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog as it takes place through numerous Holidays (New Years, Easter, Fourth of July and Halloween). It does have Christmas but it has all the other ones so I'm counting it.

Daisy Darker takes place on Halloween!

Ron wrote: "This will be the book I go with.

We Say #NeverAgain: Reporting by the Parkland Student Journalists

It's a bit heavy as far as the content but it took place on Valentine's Day so t..."
I did not remember it was on Valentine's Day. Even sadder somehow...

Chocolat by Joann Harris takes place over Lent /Easter.

Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series often takes place during holidays. The first book, Still Life, over Canadian Thanksgiving and the third book, The Cruelest Month, during Easter.

Lucy Foley's "The Hunting Party" takes place on New Year's Eve. I audiobooked it a month or so ago, so it goes out the window for me.

I guess I'll go with The Cruelest Month.

The babysitter lives by Stephen Graham Jones. takes place at Halloween

A Night in the Lonesome October by Robert Zelazny takes place in October with the climax of the book happening on Halloween. It has a talking dog and literary and historical characters and is very Lovecraftian-ish.

Walpurgisnacht by Gustav Meyrink takes place (unsurprisingly) on Walpurgis Night. It's very dark and strange but I enjoyed it.

The Gates by John Connolly also takes place at Halloween. It's the first of the Samuel Johnson vs. the Devil series and is a fun "horror" story.

Every Day Is a Holiday by George Mahood is a humorous nonfiction option that covers a bunch of obscure holidays.

I Choose Darkness
Oddly this short story (25 pages) was not about Christmas even though it has an elf on the cover. It is actually about Halloween.

So, I absolutely adore Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. I think it's Dresden Files #7?

It takes places over three days, culminating on Halloween. It's gloriously ridiculous in places, but still with excellent characters, an intriguing mystery, lots of action—great urban fantasy!

"Polka will never die!" <-- Best battle cry ever!

If you like mystery/crime novels, Mad Mouse by Chris Grabenstein takes place over Labor Day weekend. It's set on the Jersey Shore. Danny is a young lifelong resident beach bum who has taken a temporary job as a "summer cop." He's partnered with Ceepak, a former MP who is fresh out of the Army after multiple tours in Iraq. Their dynamic is great—as Danny helps Ceepak adjust to civilian life and work through some minor PTSD, Ceepak helps Danny grow up into a responsible person who actually wants to uphold the ideals of "protect and serve."

I know police are a controversial topic, but it's nice to see a couple of people who have the right motives and refuse to give in to the temptations of power. Ceepak is sort of what we wish every police officer could be.

(view spoiler)[There's an underlying serious theme of bullying and its long term effects on both the bully and the victim. (hide spoiler)]

This year for a similar challenge I read The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade, which takes place mostly during Holy Week. Highly recommend it.

Based on the other recs from last year, I think I'll read Everyone Knows You Go Home by Natalia Sylvester. It's set around the Day of the Dead.

Faye Kellerman's Decker series has a lot of Jewish holidays in them, I just do not remember which is where.

edit: number 4 Day of Atonement has Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year’s celebration, with Yom Kippur to come, the Day of Atonement,

Debbie Macomber's Angels at the Table takes place on New Year's Eve, and I may listen to it for this prompt after all.

Christopher Golden's All Hallows comes out on January 23rd and takes place on Halloween in 1984, so it may fit more than one prompt for some of us ;-)

The Second You're Single - It's about Valentine's Day and comes out Jan 31st.

Eight Nights of Flirting - it's YA book set on Nantucket and centers more on Hanukkah than Christmas or New Year's

I am reminded of some books I enjoyed in my girlhood: The Devil on Lammas Night by Susan Howatch and On the Night of the Seventh Moon by Victoria Holt.

Everyone Knows You Go Home is a dual timeline novel with elements of magical realism by Peruvian author Natalia Sylvester. It is about family secrets and the hardships of immigration, with a ghost who returns on every Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Here is my review

I just finished Penance by Kanae Minato and it takes place on the Japanese traditional holiday, Obon, the time to honor ancestors and deceased loved/ ones / spirits.
I liked Confessions a little better, but this was excellent too,

The Family Game begins around Thanksgiving and culminates by Christmas Eve! Great page turner with the holidays as a central plot device.

Night of the Cupid takes place on (and around) Valentine's Day.

I may slot in Cold Spectrum for this one - I just started the book yesterday and the opening chapter talks about it being a few days from Halloween, which means Halloween itself will most definitely occur during the story.

I might go literal and read a nonfiction book for this one, about the history of a holiday.

Any suggestions?

Tanvi,

I'm thinking of a nonfiction one too.

I don't mind reading about the Parkland shooting, but I want to find something different.

Tanvi wrote: "I might go literal and read a nonfiction book for this one, about the history of a holiday.

Any suggestions?"

A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts
Samhain The Roots of Halloween
The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East
This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving: The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience
Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween
Every Day Is a Holiday

Jamie wrote: This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving

Thanks, I had overskipped this one. I'll certainly add it especially since I already own a copy.

Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year by Eleanor Parker is an overview of a year of Anglo-Saxon holidays.

Similarly, Classical Living: Reconnecting with the Rituals of Ancient Rome by Frances Bernstein takes the reader through the ritual year and holiday schedule of Ancient Rome.

The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis features several Jewish holidays in an Orthodox community. It has an interesting "Greek chorus" narrative style

Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series has "between the numbers" books themed around holidays: Plum Lovin' , Plum Spooky, and Plum Lucky.

I'm trying to find nonfiction books with this prompt.

Ron wrote: "I'm trying to find nonfiction books with this prompt."

“Please to remember, The Fifth of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot.” —Traditional English Rhyme

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot

Not "nonfiction" but a short read. Or maybe it will help you find a nonfiction book.

"The fateful events of November 5, 1605 are still celebrated across the country with bonfires, sparklers, and the now-ubiquitous Guy Fawkes mask."

Thanks, Robin.

Ron wrote: "I'm trying to find nonfiction books with this prompt."
I did some Googling - maybe one of these will spark your interest.
Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Fall Holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot (there are a few different versions with the history of various Jewish holidays)
Yule: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Winter Solstice
Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture
History of American Holidays: A Thought-Provoking Glimpse into America
How to Spell Chanukah: and other holiday dilemmas
Revolution Song: The Story of America's Founding in Six Remarkable Lives
Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History
Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween

Oh perfect, thanks Melissa :)

*****

Your Google search got me thinking of searching Amazon as well. Now I'm looking for Pagan ones which I think will be cool.

Or ones with Indigenous themes. Looking into Thanksgiving, but from an Indigenous view. I already have the book This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving, but I'm looking for others as well.

Cool I found a perfect holiday book. I was on amazon searching 'halloween history books for adults' and this book came up:

Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween

It's 232 pages which is perfect and it sounds fun. I normally don't go by reviews, but this one has a lot of positive ones so certainly one worth looking into.

I READ the ex hex

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed is a sweet YA romance between a Jewish boy and a Muslim girl who bond over helping out with his mom's electoral campaign as a state senator, and it's set during Ramadan.

Speaking of Ramadan, technically The Ship of the Dead would work ... the Muslim character in that series is also fasting for Ramadan (during the final epic battle, no less).

I'm in the world of children's books these days with my two young grandsons. I found this book to be a pleasant surprise - delightful, informative and beautifully illustrated. I also learned a lot and have recommended it to others with children.
Little Sen's Chinese Holidays by Yujia Zhao

I read Bank Holiday Monday by Henry Sutton. A group of family and friends holiday in Norfolk over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

There was some brilliant description in this book - I could taste the salt, feel the sand, and that holiday tiredness.

I read The Hunting Party

I think I'm going to be going with The Eye of the World because it has fictional holidays in it.

While I was going to go with 'The Eye of the World', I discovered a fascinating nonfiction book:

The Wheel of Time: Origin of the Holy Days

This book not only talks about Christmas, but it goes into the history of other holidays and religions as well.

I read Thanksgiving by Janet Evanovich

I read The Kiss Curse. Halloween.

I am reading The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales. This is a coming-of-age novel that focuses on the protagonist's experience around various holidays, like Halloween and the Day of the Dead.

I read Cemetery Boys which is set around the Day of the Dead. Excellent book!

Halloween!

Finished Look Closer by David Ellis

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...