Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A #BookTok recommendation

Oh, boy! Here we go again! I am depending upon you-all for excellent recommendations! :)

HERE is the Listopia from Popsugar 2022 prompt #11! For your reference and convenience!

Listopia for Popsugar 2023 is HERE

I am going to read Allegiant because I saw Divergent on a Booktok list.

I'm really disappointed by the many, many repeat prompts from the past couple of years. I hope we can put together a thread of suggestions for next year's prompts. There are too many fun possibilities that haven't been explored yet to keep coming back to the same ones again.

I don't have TikTok. Has anyone seen Hamnet or The Marriage Portrait on there?

If anyone has Pinterest but not TikTok, if you type #BookTok into a Pinterest search you'll get a bunch of videos. I just got about 10 recommendations including
Curse Painter
Of Snow and Roses
Six of Crows

And the one I'll probably read, The Song of Achilles. I read Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood for this prompt this year, and it was great.

I'm thinking of including Instagram. There aren't a lot of nonfiction readers on TikTok which makes it difficult. On Instagram, there are pages and pages of readers who read NF.

I think it's great that BookTok helps boost backlist titles, but so many of the lists are full of books I've already read. I guess I'm just ahead of the curve 🤣 I'm sure I'll find something, even if I have to venture onto TikTok myself 😱

So thankful for the Listopia list! My only social media is FB.

Me too! I think I'll try Firekeeper's Daughter as I've seen several recommendations for it on Goodreads.

I would also include BookTube in the mix. There is no difference between what those YouTubers are doing and what TikTok users are doing besides platform and length.

Some channels I follow: Merphy Napier, Jonathan Koan, withcindy, poptimist, polandbananasBOOKS

Books popular on BookTube lists have a lot of overlap with books popular on BookTok lists, so if you don't want to watch hours of video to find a book for this prompt, I don't think the platform makes much difference.

Last year my BookTok book was Neon Gods, which might have been cheating because I really enjoyed Katee Robert's books before I read this one! This year I am going to be stricter with myself and actually look up the tag and pick something from there.

Last year, I tried searching a book that I wanted to read anyway + booktok and found one for it (John Scalzi's The Kaiju Preservation Society which is very good) and read that. This year, a book that i had been looking at called Legends & Lattes is apparently a "booktok sensation", so I'm going to read that.

I've been trying to find books on nonfiction booktok. Haven't come across any good ones so far. If anything I've come across a lot of ones I've already read so it might not hurt to do a reread with some of them since it's been a while.

I wil be reading Room for this category.

Decided to expand this to Instagram as well. There just aren't any good books on TikTok and the ones I find are repetitive by so many different people. It can get kind of annoying after a while when I'm trying to find something new.

So I did a search on IG for indigenous nonfiction and came across this one: The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America

I saw these on the listopia and have to recommend:
A Deadly Education
The Anthropocene Reviewed
We Were Liars
You and Me on Vacation

Oh here were a couple of unexpected ones and they're books I already have. They're also books on Indigenous topics which is even better. Just had to dig deep on TikTok I suppose:

Settler Memory: The Disavowal of Indigeneity and the Politics of Race in the United States

Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance

I'm thinking of reading this one. I liked her other book, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.

- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Okay so I'm going with Settler Memory: The Disavowal of Indigeneity and the Politics of Race in the United States which is a Native American studies book.

It's a very fascinating history book and there are many podcasts in which the author discusses his book so there's a lot more learning.

I'm annotating the book and via the author talking about it, I find myself taking notes. It's really engaging.

I'm going to go for maybe Sixteen Souls for this one! Or Circe. I wasn't super keen on The Song of Achilles though, so it's hard to want to pick up Circe now.

I have too many options that I have saved because of TikTok so hopefully this can help some of you! Warning, some of them are supposed to be sad....

The Way I Used to Be
Pack Up the Moon
If He Had Been with Me
The Lost Girls of Willowbrook
The Perfect Marriage
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Archer's Voice
A Thousand Boy Kisses
The Flat Share
Left Neglected
Local Woman Missing

If you are a fan of Brandon Sanderson, literally every book of his has been on BookTok at some point. Ditto for The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. (And the upcoming BS "Secret Projects" WILL be on BookTok the moment they come out! There are literally multiple accounts dedicated to his work.)

I'm going to read one of my remaining (YA) books for the reading quiz book I'm involved in judging for February. (I've delayed reading any of them except the ones I wrote questions for, so they will be fresh in my mind. Two this month, four January, one February.)

The Assignment by Liza M. Wiemer
Eat Your Heart Out by Kelly deVos
The Girls I've Been by Tess SharpeHold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury
Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury
Perfectly Parvin by Olivia Abtahi

Really, if there is any book you're interested in, go to the tiktok website on a desktop. Search for the book name (or author) and "booktok". You'll probably find it, unless it's very recent or obscure. (You can do this on the app, but it's slower and you don't see as much of the caption for the video from the search page.)

My daughter, who knows I need to find a BookTok book again, sent me a BookTok listing some TikToker's favorite sapphic reads of the year (these would also work for "queer lead" obviously). I'll add them to the Listopia, too! These are nicely broken down by genre and trope / topos so I'll try to maintain that order here:

"friends to lovers"
Late to the Party
Valiant Ladies
The Lucky List
Her Name in the Sky

"fake dating"
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating
She Drives Me Crazy (this one could also work for song lyric! because now I have that old FYC song stuck in my head)*

"dislike to lovers"
Not My Problem
Her Royal Highness
I Think I Love You
Home Field Advantage

"fantasy(ish)"
The Dead and the Dark
The Coldest Touch
My Dearest Darkest
The Grimrose Girls

"mystery"
The Drowning Summer
The Girls I've Been
A Lesson in Vengeance
The Good Girls

"second chance romance"
Cool for the Summer *
Melt With You *

"new adult"
Change Of Heart *
Something to Talk About *
Delilah Green Doesn't Care
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail

"favorites"
The Falling in Love Montage
Some Girls Do *
She Gets the Girl
Ophelia After All
I Kissed Shara Wheeler

*lots of books with song lyric titles!!

“Cool for the summer” works for song lyrics because that’s a Demi Lovato song.

Erica wrote: "“Cool for the summer” works for song lyrics because that’s a Demi Lovato song."

Also I Think I Love You and Something to Talk About. I am sure there are more. This is why I always love the song lyrics category.

Erica wrote: "“Cool for the summer” works for song lyrics because that’s a Demi Lovato song."


Milena wrote: "Erica wrote: "“Cool for the summer” works for song lyrics because that’s a Demi Lovato song."

Also I Think I Love You and Something to Talk About. I am sure there a..."

Yes! I put asterisks after the titles that jumped out at me as song lyrics too - those were three of them :-)

Are there any non-fiction booktok recommendations?

Megan wrote: "Are there any non-fiction booktok recommendations?"

This is what I try to look for. It's hard to find them but on TikTok I usually search for 'nonfiction books' or 'nonfiction book recommendations' and sometimes will come up with a few.

not many people on TikTok who read NF.

Nadine in NY wrote: "My daughter, who knows I need to find a BookTok book again, sent me a BookTok listing some TikToker's favorite sapphic reads of the year (these would also work for "queer lead" obviously). I'll add..."

I usually don't vibe with the big BookTok recs but I enjoyed My Dearest Darkest, A Lesson in Vengeance and I Kissed Shara Wheeler! I'll come back to this list if I get stuck, but I usually read a few things that come with that "TikTok made me read it" tagline.

Megan wrote: "Are there any non-fiction booktok recommendations?"

Non-Fiction Now Trending on #BookTok:
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/...

Oh I was wondering where I could fit this book and then it struck me that I had just discovered this book today on TikTok so it works perfectly:

The Words We Keep

Is Princess of Souls per any chance a #BookTok thing? I don't have TikTok but it is called "Tiktok sensation" in the blurb. Do you think that counts?

Shanoe wrote: "Is Princess of Souls per any chance a #BookTok thing? I don't have TikTok but it is called "Tiktok sensation" in the blurb. Do you think that counts?"

As someone who doesn't use TikTok, I totally count things like that, it's how I tend to find books for these prompts.

Thanks Ellie - then I will gladly do so as well :)

Nadine in NY wrote: "My daughter, who knows I need to find a BookTok book again, sent me a BookTok listing some TikToker's favorite sapphic reads of the year (these would also work for "queer lead" obviously). I'll add..."

omg this is awesome!!! please tell your daughter thanks and I appreciate you both for sharing!

Finished Book Lovers by Emily Henry

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

I read Verity

I found a Booktok podcast on The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, so I'm counting that as a recommendation.

This is a clever mystery book where the main mystery is being written about by a fictional author in a draft novel which is being beta read by a fan. The beta reading (an email at the end of each chapter) may itself be part of a separate mystery. It's much easier read than it sounds and I thought it was an enjoyable read. The book within a book format also allowed the (real) author to raise questions - should the race/ethnicity of the characters be described? Should the pandemic be included or ignored?

I don't have Tiktok nor do I watch anything like this but I managed to find a book on my TBR list since my goal for this year's challenge is to only use books I already own. I'm going to read The Darkest Flower for this prompt! There weren't many #Booktok recommendations for this particular novel, at least that I could find, but I'll take it :)

I read The Kaiju Preservation Society for an ATY prompt and discovered it's also a #BookTok rec, so I'm counting it here. Really good book!

PBS Newshour Weekend just had a news' segment on Booktok. I couldn't hear most of it however, because my man and my daughter decided that was the right moment to play soccer in the house... (eye roll). They post them on pbs.org, so I'll have to look for it later. It probably won't have many recs (and I already plan on reading Verity for this prompt if I ever get around to it), but as I live under a rock when it comes to social media and all tech things 21st century, at least I could learn a thing or two!

Books-A-Million's website usually has a pretty good #booktok section and in honor of basketball's March Madness, they're doing their own booktok bracket on their instagram account. I'll save you the time and tell you in includes:
A Court of Mist and Fury
The Ballad of Never After
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
The Song of Achilles
They Both Die at the End
People We Meet on Vacation
The Unhoneymooners
It Ends with Us
The Duke and I
It Happened One Summer
Red, White & Royal Blue
The Love Hypothesis
Things We Never Got Over
One of Us Is Lying
The Silent Patient
House of Sky and Breath
Six of Crows
The Deal
Icebreaker
The Cruel Prince
Shatter Me
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
We Were Liars
A Touch of Darkness
Heir of Fire
Kingdom of the Wicked
Terms and Conditions
Twisted love
From Blood and Ash
The Final Gambit
Neon Gods

YA fiction isn't usually my thing, but I read One of Us Is Lying, and I really liked it. Well-plotted, and the characters' interrelationships brought back fond high school memories.

Came across this interesting article: https://preply.com/en/blog/most-popul...

In addition to the most popular booktok books overall, it also looks at which authors are the most popular on tiktok, most popular book by state, and some older books that are trending on tiktok, which I thought was interesting. Anyway, could be a good way to find some options.

Jackie wrote: "Came across this interesting article: https://preply.com/en/blog/most-popul...

In addition to the most popular booktok books overall, it also looks at which authors are the most popu..."



That article keeps saying a nation's most popular books can tell you a lot about the nation, but ... what, exactly, does it tell us? Carrie Soto Is Back is apparently the most popular booktok book in my state, NY - but what does that tell me? I have no idea.

I thought it was weird that the article keeps implying that the BookTok community accurately represents the overall society, as if everyone in the nation is on tiktok

I chose this one...


Lessons in Chemistry - I really enjoyed this one. The characters, the era (1950-1960s), women's roles, even all that the chemistry (LOL). Maybe not your usual romance but such a rich story. A very insightful author. Oh, the paths that other women have forged for us...

I stumbled across a few lists on Pinterest that might be useful for those struggling with this prompt.

Booktok Checklist #1
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/6874550...

Booktok Checklist #2
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/8444936...

Booktok Checklist #3
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1196337...

Booktok Checklist Standalones
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1196337...

Nadine in NY wrote: "Jackie wrote: "Came across this interesting article: https://preply.com/en/blog/most-popul...

In addition to the most popular booktok books overall, it also looks at which authors ar..."

Yeah I think their sociology needs some work but it's a nice long list to work from if you're lost.

On Earth we’re briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong