Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Happy Thursday

We are getting a ridiculous amount of snow here in NY, well above average for this time of  year.  It's slowed down my search for a new car!  I did order a set of Blizzaks for my daughter's new car after getting a panicky phone call from her one morning because she was having such a tough time driving to work.



 ***** Admin stuff *****
The December group read, which could fill Prompt #25, A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee, is:  Everything I Never Told You.   You can join the discussion here:   https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The final poll for January's group read, for a book which could fulfill "postpartum," is coming soon.

And, just in case you didn't see the note from Goodreads, they are disabling DMs between individuals:

Hello Goodreads Member,

In the coming weeks, we will be making some updates to how messaging works on Goodreads.

What's Changing?
• Direct messages between individual members will no longer be available
• Images and external links will no longer be supported in messages

While direct messages between individual members are no longer available, you can still access your past messages from your inbox, Group moderators can still send broadcast messages to their group members, and you can still send group invitations to your Goodreads friends. All other public interactions, such as writing and responding to book reviews, remains unchanged. 

I think this is a shame because I use the DM feature now and then.  In the discussion on reddit, A LOT of replies indicated relief because they were sick of getting spammed by creepy guys.  That was kind of shocking to me!   I can't say it's NEVER happened to me, but I sure do not remember the last time it did happen, so it's less often than once every few years, because that's about as accurate as my memory is.  I've gotten a few DMs from authors pushing their book, but I just politely decline or ignore - it's not really such a pain to get DMs about books on a book site so I never really minded.

I'm wondering how you all feel about it.




This week I finished 1 book:

How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley - this NetGalley novel was extremely mid.  The author was trying to do WAY too much in one slim novel, she was all over the place with tone and topic.  She easily had four or five (or more!) novels' worth of ideas dumped into this. She's talking about the immigrant experience, racism, coming of age, sisters' bonds, the political separation of India & Pakistan, and more.  Major trigger warning (which for some reason is NOT noted in the book blurb): the titular murder is planned because the girls are being sexually abused by their uncle.  That's not a plot spoiler, it's spelled out in the third chapter, and it was shocking and disturbing to get to that when most of the book up to that point had been very light and a bit wacky.  I was settling in for a silly novel like a YA version of Dial A for Aunties when I got to that part, and the bottom just dropped out for me.  This is a very dark and tragic novel, but for some reason it's pretending to be light-hearted.



Popsugar 100% 50 /50
Must Reads 90% 9 /10
AtY 96% 50 /52
AtY bonus 100% 10 /10
2025 pub 116% 58 /50
NetGalley ratio 93% (LOL still going down instead of up!)







Question of the Week
 Which 2026 Popsugar Challenge prompt do you believe to be the most challenging to fulfill?



To my surprise, I'm having a hard time getting excited about any of my choices for "dad as primary caregiver."

Oh I see the Goodreads Choice winners were announced! Mostly no surprises at all, most of the winners are very popular books by very popular authors, except ... science fiction. I read The Compound, and it's BARELY sci-fi, and I never see anyone else talking about it so I didn't think it was very popular. I expected maybe Scalzi to win that category.

Hello, y’all.

I have started taking action on reading decisions. I have finished my goal in one group and then left it. Mount TBR got me started on reading my own books, so I am grateful. However, it is that time of the year to look at my reading commitments, and this one will get rolled into other challenges and not require separate tracking.

I have moved a couple of my currently reading books to my on-hold-for-now shelf. Both are books I own and am not actively reading or using right now.

I have also made peace with myself over the fact that I am not finishing PS or ATY this year, either. It isn’t worth the pressure that I would have to put on myself nor do I have the reading time now that I have Darla.

Finished:

The Awakening – PAS. 3*. I had the sense the whole way through this book that I had read it before. I couldn’t find any proof of that, though.

I'm Just a Person – PAS. Memoir. 3* I had mixed feelings while reading this book. Although she is gay, it wasn’t much of a topic except at the end. Instead, this book was focused on her disastrous health as well as the sudden death of her mother. I admire the fact that she came out on the other side more put together than it looked like she would.

Currently Reading:
Black Hotel: A Supernatural Thriller – Kindle. PAS. 16%.
The Black and Tans – PAS. 11%
Knife Creek - PAS

Spiritual Reading:
The Imitation of Christ – Devotional reading. 49%
The Heart of Stillness, the Elements of Spiritual Practice – Devotional reading. 32%

On Deck: (library)
Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony - PAS, PS #21 (politician)
The Pearl Thief – PAS
Quick and the Dead - PAS
Ghost Hunt, Vol. 1 - PAS
Bad Boy Brawly Brown - PAS
Weighed in the Balance - PAS

PS 41/50
ATY 39/52
GR 186/200

QotW:

I am less than enthused about the FOMO prompt. In general, I find that I do not feel like I am missing out on anything. Sure, there are dreams and hopes, but none of those include feeling like I am missing out on something. I like my life, my home, and my circumstances and, since I do not go the route of wanting to read what others are reading...well, this prompt just does nothing for me.

Wow! GR is glitchy this morning. Posting only took about 10 tries!

Happy Thursday all.

My gallbladder surgery has been scheduled for December 9th. While this is a bit of a curveball (it messes with school and work and the holidays), it's also a relief that something that's been making me uncomfortable will soon not be a problem anymore. I just hope the diet adjustment afterwards is bearable...

I never use the DMs, so I don't care one way or the other about the DM system being removed.

Books read this week:

The Village Beyond the Mist -- I admit, I read this mainly because it’s said to be the inspiration for the film Spirited Away. It’s a cute story, but bears little resemblance to Spirited Away, so you might be disappointed if you’re expecting it to be similar.

The Convenience Store by the Sea -- didn’t like this as well as some other “healing fiction” I’ve read, but it was still a comforting read. I want Japanese convenience-store food now…

Diffusion -- decent sci-fi thriller with some interesting things to say about cross-cultural contamination, and how much harm can be done when civilizations cross paths.

Currently reading:

The Monsters We Defy
The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year
Brigands & Breadknives
Flicker

QOTW: Probably the Pilates/Lagree prompt. In general the prompts feel harder this year...

Nadine in NY wrote: "Oh I see the Goodreads Choice winners were announced! Mostly no surprises at all, most of the winners are very popular books by very popular authors, except ... science fiction. I read [book:The Co...and I never see anyone else talking about it so I didn't think it was very popular. I read The Compound, and it's BARELY sci-fi, and I never see anyone else talking about it so I didn't think it was very popular.I expected maybe Scalzi to win that category."

I was surprised by that one too considering that the whole contest is really just about popularity. John Scalzi seems a much more obvious choice. I was also surprised by the Holly Jackson pick - there were certainly better books on that list - as well as "Alchemised" for debut fiction.

Happy Thursday!

Two weeks ago I had $1000 worth of work done on my car (2016 Chevy Malibu), including a new battery and auxiliary battery, so I was feeling pretty good about my chances of a winter full of easy starts. But Sunday afternoon, I needed to do some errands and… nothing. The car didn’t start. It didn’t even try to start! No noise, no lights, nothing. Of course, since it was Sunday, the shop wasn’t open, and they’re not open on Mondays either. They opened at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and I think I called them at 7:04. They towed my car away around 9:30, and I was left to await the verdict. Mid-afternoon they finally called: They said it took them a while just to figure out what had happened, testing the batteries, the alternator, the starter. But they finally figured out that when they replaced the batteries, some wires to the fuse box came loose. Over the two weeks of driving, the wires had completely fallen away. A weird problem, but such an easy fix!

Reading Challenges:

🏆 52 Book Club: 52/52 (December Mini-Challenge: 2/9)
🏆 ATY: 52/52 (Winter Challenge: 5/24)
The Book Girls’ Guide: 68/74
🏆 Booklist Queen: 52/52
🏆 Popsugar: 50/50
Goodreads Fall Challenge (Bookmarks): 11/12

Recently Completed:
🎄 Little Women ★★★★
🎄 Magical Meet Cute ★★★
🎄 The Haunting of Paynes Hollow: BOTM Selection. ★★★★
🎄 Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence (ATY Winter Challenge - TWELVE: Why) ★★★★
🎄 Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice (ATY Winter Challenge – TWELVE: Virginia) ★★★★★
🎄 A Spell for Midwinter's Heart (52 Books December Mini-Challenge #5 – set in a small town/ATY Winter Challenge – DAYS: Spell) ★★★
🎄 The Once and Future Me (ATY Winter Challenge: OF: Once) ★★★★
🎄 Romancing Christmas (52 Books December Mini-Challenge #3 – “that’s so predictable”/ATY Winter Challenge – DAYS: Aster) ★★★★



QOTW: While I'm not enthused about the FOMO prompt, I think it will be easy to fill. I'll just read some wildly popular book that I actually have no interest in. The "underwater civilization" prompt is the one that's got me stuck. I have no idea what to do with it...

Bea wrote: "Hello, y’all.

I have started taking action on reading decisions. I have finished my goal in one group and then left it. Mount TBR got me started on reading my own books, so I am grateful. However,..."




Yes I've got to make some choices, too. I've got three challenge books left (for AtY and my own challenge), two books for GR bookmarks, and four NetGalley books. There are four weeks left in the year, I've been reading one book a week, and I have nine books left I want to read this year. That's not going to work LOL.

Kenya wrote: "Happy Thursday all.

My gallbladder surgery has been scheduled for December 9th. While this is a bit of a curveball (it messes with school and work and the holidays), it's also a relief that someth..."



I'm glad they got you scheduled. Best wishes on a speedy recovery and I hope you get to have a nice meal once you're healed.

Laura Z wrote: "I was also surprised by the Holly Jackson pick - there were certainly better books on that list - as well as "Alchemised" for debut fiction...."


Yes the Holly Jackson pick was a little surprising too - I think Frieda McFadden fans were stymied because she had THREE books listed, so her votes were split. That was not really fair to anyone.


I didn't really look at the debut pick - which one did you expect to win?

Laura Z wrote: "Happy Thursday!

Two weeks ago I had $1000 worth of work done on my car (2016 Chevy Malibu), including a new battery and auxiliary battery, so I was feeling pretty good about my chances of a winte..."



SO FRUSTRATING!!! I hope you didnt' have to pay for the tow, since it was their mistake that caused the problem.

Good morning, everyone! Happy Thursday!

I know we're only four days into the month, but it feels like December is flying by! I have so much to get done in the next couple of weeks...and not just for the holidays.

I've been wanting to re-do the closet in my master bedroom ever since I moved into this house, because it's just not functional as it is now, so I contacted my handyman a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving to see if I could get on the schedule to have the current shelving removed and the walls repaired. Then I'll have a consultant from the Container Store come out to design and install a closet system that's more functional. I figured it would be January before my handyman's team could come out and get the work done, but I got a text from him on Monday asking if December 9th would work for them to get started. So now I'm having to hustle to get everything out of the closet before Tuesday morning…and there's a lot more junk in there than I thought was possible.

As far as reading is concerned, this has been a phenomenal week. I've had a chance to read quite a few books this week, and have officially managed to complete 20% of this year's TBR list. I'd really like to reach 25% completion before the end of December, but I don't know if I'll be able to pull that off. That's a lot of books between now and December 31st!

Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…

Goodreads Challenge: 384/250 (153% — Challenge Complete!)
Mount TBR Challenge: 196/150 (130% — Challenge Complete!)

📚Physical TBR: 142/731
📱Ebook TBR: 43/218
🎧Audiobook TBR: 11/12
TBR Checklist Total: 196/961 (20% complete)

TBR Books DNFed in 2025: 5

I purchased a few new releases this week, including A Kiss of Hammer and Flame, by Amy de la Force; Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki, vol. 3, by Yû Watase; and Garfield Crash Diet: His 78th Book, by Jim Davis.

“New” Books Bought in 2025: 179
“New” Books Read in 2025: 173
“New” Books DNFed in 2025: 1
“New” Books Checklist Total: 97% complete

Here are the books I finished this week…

Finished Reading (Fiction):
~Grave Mistake — This is the first book in the Hedgewitch for Hire mystery series. I thought this was a fun story. I especially liked Archie, the main character’s talking cat. 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Social Medium — This is the second book in the Hedgewitch for Hire series. I really enjoyed this story, and thought that the social media element really added to the drama of the story. This book also introduced more supernatural characters to the series, which should be a lot of fun in future books. 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Household Demons — This is the third book in the Hedgewitch for Hire series. I really enjoyed this mystery, especially because it took place in a haunted house. Unfortunately, I do not have any of the later books in this series, so this is the last one I’ll get to read for a while, but I will definitely be continuing this series at some point in the future. 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Chestnuts Roasting Over Dragon Fire — I have to be honest. I really didn't care for this book. I felt like the author tried to pack too much world-building and personal character history into a book that was far too short for that. There were so many flashbacks and a lot of info-dumping, and the main characters spent a significant amount of the book apart from each other, which really didn't sell me on their romance. And given that this was a fated mates/second-chance romance, that kind of makes things worse. I definitely will not be getting a copy of the next book. 📱: ⭐️⭐️
~Hazard in Hawaii — This is the first book in the Doctor Danger supernatural mystery series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and really liked the cast of characters. I will definitely be reading the second book (which unfortunately I don’t currently own) at some point in the future. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book does include multiple relationships involving cheating spouses. (hide spoiler)] 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Lenny Among Ghosts — This was a fun middle grade read about a kid who accidentally ends up enrolled at a boarding school for ghosts. I really enjoyed the story and characters, though I did think the ending was a bit abrupt. 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~A Cowboy's Christmas — This is the sixth book in the McGavin Brothers series, but I feel like it stands well on its own as a Christmas romance. This reminded me of a Hallmark Christmas movie in the best possible way. I loved both of the main characters, and was really invested in their story. 📱: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
~Medieval Warrior: Weapons, Technology, And Fighting Techniques, Ad 1000-1500 — I thought this was an interesting book. In addition to various types of medieval warriors and weapons, the author also discussed common battle tactics of varying effectiveness, as well as famous historical battles. 📚: ⭐⭐⭐

Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
~Garfield Crash Diet: His 78th Book — This is the 78th book in the Garfield comic series. I thought this was a fun read. 📚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
None

DNFed:
None

Currently Reading:
~NIV Audio Bible — This audiobook edition of The Bible is read by David Suchet. I currently have a little less than 50 hours remaining. 🎧
~The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights, Volume 2 — I am currently about 250 pages away from finishing this book, and hope to finish it before the end of the week. Content Alert: (view spoiler)[ This book includes, but is not limited to: animal deaths, references to bestiality, cannibalism, size shaming, and insults toward people of various skin colors. (hide spoiler)] 📚
~Shadow of the Gods — This is the first book in the Bloodsworn trilogy. I currently have around 150 pages remaining in this book, and I will probably finish it this evening. I've really enjoyed this one so far. The world-building is excellent, and I really like the characters. 📚
~His Passerotta — This book is from the Gruco Crime Family series. I'm currently 6 chapters in, and I'm not impressed. I don't like either of the main characters, and I'm not thrilled with the direction the story seems to be taking. I am currently planning to finish it, but I'm glad I haven't bought any of the other books in the series. 📱

QOTW:
I'm not planning to do next year's challenge, so I haven't really thought about which prompts would be the most challenging for me to complete.

Last week I was in Northern Ireland for work. I managed to get into Belfast once, but mostly we just saw darkness and the airport. We did get driven down the runway one morning, which was an experience. Work has been trying to get me to travel again pre-Christmas but I'm really ready for a break now!

Then as soon as I got back my partner had a minor operation (there was a cancellation so it was all last minute). So I've been waiting on him this week (he's feeling much better today and managed to come out with me on the dog walk).

Finished:
We Are All Ghosts in the Forest by Lorraine Wilson (ATY - haunting book). I loved this. The internet has collapsed and fragments now haunt the world as ghosts. It's also a reflection on lockdown, with a bit of magic.

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde (ATY - set in winter). A bit slow in places but I always enjoy his books. In part a satire on big pharma.

Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston (ATY - music/art/etc). Her books are a bit hit and miss for me. This was better than her last one and fun enough, but nothing special.

QOTW:
I feel like a lot of them I think are hard but I will stumble across something that fits well enough for me... But Winter Olympics event is hardest because I hate prompts that expect me to have a favourite something, especially a favourite from a thing I don't even care about.

Greetings from a snow-less NYC! Nadine overstated things just a bit when she said NY has more snow than usual this year. That's true of Upstate NY but downstate, especially in NYC, it's the usual global warming: zero snow but rain. Even the nor'easter due this weekend no longer is showing snow for NYC! Makes me very grumpy because I love snow. I also don't need to drive in it, or even go out before sidewalks shoveled and streets plowed.

I'm still 1 prompt from finishing PS. I've read the intro and translator intro though ...

Finished:
Cat Among the Pigeons - an average Christie - good not great.
Apple Cider and Subterfuge - smutty novella set in November that should have been a short story - skip.
Turkeys and Thanksgiving - a stand alone short story (48 pages) cozy mystery that goes with a series I now will be trying out.

Currently reading:
Silk Route Adventure: On Horseback in the Heart of Asia
Murder by Lamplight

QOTW: I'm still finishing 2025 challenges so no thought yet on 2026 PS or any challenges. Plus I don't preplan.

52 Book Club: 8/52
Connections: 5/21

Hmmmm... I seem to have started and/or returned to a bunch of books this past week and not finished any!

Started: The Book of Lost Hours

QotW: Maybe travel ghost story? Not including the ones I've decided not to do at all because I don't even have them listed!

I don't use the DM feature of Goodreads very often, but I'm annoyed that it's no longer an option. If I want to give a specific person my contact info. I no longer have a good way to do that.

Nadine in NY wrote: "SO FRUSTRATING!!! I hope you didn't have to pay for the tow, since it was their mistake that caused the problem."

Nope, I didn't have to pay for anything. I'm just glad it happened at home... not when I was out with the kids or with a trunk full of groceries.

I ordered a few Christmas Presents. Spent Thanksgiving with my husband at the nursing home. Spent time with my 6-month-old great grandson. Next week I have the pleasure of seeing both heart doctors, doing labs for my PCP, and taking the dog for his bath and primping.

GR Books in a year 120/100
GR Fall Challenge 11/12

Finishing up Read the Bible in a Year

Books completed this week:
Where Treetops Glisten 12/4/2025
An Irish Country Christmas 11/28/2025
Under Siege: Three Children at the Civil War Battle of Vicksburg 11/27/2025
Buddy's Tale 11/27/2025

TBR Next week: The Christmas Book Flood, Once Upon a Christmas Carol, Mistletoe Season, Everything I never Told You, More than A Manger

Theresa wrote: "Greetings from a snow-less NYC! Nadine overstated things just a bit when she said NY has more snow than usual this year. That's true of Upstate NY but downstate, especially in NYC, it's the usual g..."



LOL well yeah! When I say "NY" I mean New York, the state. The ENTIRE state, EXCEPT the tiny bit south of Yonkers, has gotten buried this week. I know, those of you who live in NYC call the rest of the state "upstate" - "upstate" is big.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Greetings from a snow-less NYC! Nadine overstated things just a bit when she said NY has more snow than usual this year. That's true of Upstate NY but downstate, especially in NYC, ..."

Geographically. Population-wise ... NYC and Long Island far outstrips you!

You know I have roots 'upstate'. and the Southern Tier is below the snow belt and while it had snow, not buried, or so my friends and family report. Though they are all complaining.

Nadine in NY wrote: "I didn't really look at the debut pick - which one did you expect to win?"

There'd been a lot of chatter about The Names and The Correspondent, so I really expected it to be one of those. My personal choice was Woodworking. If anyone's looking for a book featuring a trans- character, I highly recommend this one!

I just realized the holiday threw me off and I missed last week! I'm getting better at checking in though! Baby steps. I have had not even a remote threat of snow all year so far but it is finally now cold and damp. I need to figure out a way to add a sort-of inner pocket for my coat to keep books dry going to and from the bus.

Finished:
Guilty by Definition - I enjoyed this. I picked it up because even though I'm American I know who Susie Dent is and lexicography is apparently a topic I like to read about. So much so that years ago when I unconsciously read fiction and non-fiction books about it back-to-back and made it it's very own Goodreads shelf! Lexicographer mystery? Yes please


Currently Reading:
Strange Houses
The Four Queens of Crime
We Used to Live Here (I'm not that far in but it's so boring so far)


QOTW:
Honestly I still haven't sat down and tried to narrow things down yet but at least half of them are not filling me with joy

I did wander around at work collecting short books to add to the list so I hope to get to that soon-ish even though a lot of people have probably already made their final selection.

Happy Thursday!

Today was bitterly cold and windy. I felt like I was fighting the van, keeping in my lane driving home due to cross winds. People who claim that driving relaxes them probably didn't mean driving in Canadian winter.

I finished 2 books last week. Technically, I finished PopSugar as I only signed up for 40 prompts. Doppelganger was a 2 star read, but it gave me 2 prompts.

I have 5 books on reserve. I think our library lost its copy of James. I have been first in line to receive it since September.

I am back into the Interior Castle as I want it finished this year. I finished castle/mansion 5 of 7. I'm really enjoying The Five. I finished Polly Nichols and am half way through Annie Chapman.

Finished:
The Doppelgänger
Popsugar prompt:Two books with the same title
ATY prompt: A haunting book

Cabin Fever
Popsugar prompt: can't find one
ATY prompt: A book set in the winter

Series - 10/10 - Completed!
Reading Across Canada - 9/10
Nobel laureates - 4/5

PS - 40/40 - Completed!
Regular ATY - 46/40 - Completed!
Anniversary ATY - 9/10
Summer Challenge - 5100/5000 points - Completed!

Currently reading:
Interior Castle - 50%
To Give and to Have, and Other Poems. - 45%
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper - 30%

Buddy Reads:
Library of Souls - 20%

QOTW: Probably the Pilates prompt. I'm only reading books on my TBR list next year and I don't have anything.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Oh I see the Goodreads Choice winners were announced! Mostly no surprises at all, most of the winners are very popular books by very popular authors, except ... science fiction. I read [book:The Co..."

I can't believe two books that I read won their category and another winner is on my TBR list. Most years, I have one book I'm interested in that won.

I finished Broken as a book by a neurodivergent author.

I read Losing Music as a book with a character with chronic pain.

I started The Devil's Highway: A True Story as a book with an immigrant character, but I think it's actually more jsut a book about immigration. I don't have time to quit and find a new book, though.

QOTW: Most of them, LOL.

December already which means a school vacation coming. I badly need it.

I did finish three books, two for prompts and one for a book club.

War and Peace--book mentioned in another book

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail------nature as the antagonist

Six Days in Bombay


QOTW:

I haven't had time to try find books for most of the prompts, I'll so it during the aforementioned vacation, but of the ones I HAVE looked at pilates seems to be a problem

Hi all! The first of the kittens went home with her new human yesterday. I know she'll be very much loved, but we're still sad to see her go. 3 or 4 more will likely be leaving this weekend. We'd planned to keep one, and are now sorely tempted to make that two, never mind we already have 3 adult cats. (And yes, Mama Cat already has an appointment to be spayed.)

Finished:

The Forger of Faces, Catherine Butzen's sequel to Painter of the Dead. The new one has a more straightforward plot. Both are urban fantasy steeped in Egyptian mythology, and this was my final book for the Booklist Queen challenge (mythology retelling).

Currently reading:

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. A much easier read than I expected for an 18th-century book, though I'd definitely describe the pace as "leisurely." I'm 150 pages in and they haven't reached the castle yet.

Speculative Shorts: Stories that fell out of my brain by Cait Gordon. Warm, optimistic SF stories where disabled characters are always the heroes, never the sidekicks.

Next Up:

Cluster Luck: A sci-fi comedy series, second in H. Claire Taylor's Alice Luck series, a naughty SF comedy about an interplanetary dating service.

QOTW: Although I've found books for pilates and "shadow daddy," I still think those were ridiculously narrow categories.

I plan to do 3 challenges this year (Popsugar, 52 Books Club, and Booklist Queen), and Popsugar will be the hardest by far. More of the categories are about content (as opposed to author, title, cover, or weird stuff), and some are very niche.

Laura Ruth wrote: "Hi all! The first of the kittens went home with her new human yesterday. I know she'll be very much loved, but we're still sad to see her go. 3 or 4 more will likely be leaving this weekend. We'd p..."

Kittens are nearly irresistible, so cute and soft and amusing!

But I also tend to think there's a home waiting for it with someone else too.

Happy Thursday! I'm jealous of all your snow. We got just a light dusting and freezing rain. Ugh!

Finished 49/50

Fahrenheit 451 for "a dystopian with a happy ending". Wow, this did not disappoint. Also wild that he wrote this in the 60s. Because it's totally all coming true now!

The Spiritual Life and How to be Attuned to it for "book that features an item on your bucket list". This was GREAT!! Life changing. Literally. I'm sad it's over.

QotW

Uh the pilates one because that's so freaking specific.....

Hi all! Getting bitterly cold tonight, 10 with a wind chill around 0. My senior cat is giving me the Kitty Death Stare (iykyk) because I won't let him outside. It's too cold, but even if I did open the door, he wouldn't go outside anyway, and then would give me the KDS because it's frigid out. We had about 3 inches of snow the other day, and most of that has blown around and I can see grass poking up (the Weather Channel has been talking about how many areas around the Great Lakes are above average, and Syracuse is about 10 inches up).

I agree, December has barely begun and feels almost over! We have a winter fest this Saturday for Girl Scouts, Sunday I think we can chill (or rather, decorate the house), and then every weekend until the end of the year is booked!

I'm totally irritated that they're taking away private messages. What's the point of making friends on here if you can't speak directly with them and them alone? I don't think I've ever been spammed. I've had authors contact me about reading their book or whatever, but joke's on them, it takes me ages to get to things! And I can't think it would be that hard to block people??

Last night I finished The Storm We Made. Excellent book! Could have been in contention for the best book of the year, but I'm not sure about the ending. And I can't figure out why it's bugging me so much. I'd love if someone else who has read it would message me to talk about it, but.... ya know...

I picked up See You When the Snow Falls again. It was easy to get back into.

I started Sick and Tired: An Intimate History of Fatigue the other night. So far, I can really relate. It's a library book, but even if it wasn't, I don't write in books, but I feel like I would be highlighting most every line.

QOTW: Probably either shadow daddy or zodiac sign. I'm likely going to define "shadow daddy" as absentee father (he casts a shadow, but isn't really there), so that should help. And I haven't found many references to Sagittarians in books that I tend to read.

Happy Thursday everyone! Last month I focused on reading Indigenous authors, and out of the 14 books I finished, 10 were by Indigenous writers! This month, I’m aiming to make a dent in my TBR and finishing the last of my remaining reading challenge prompts. I have 20+ holds sitting on Libby, so I think it’s time to unsuspend them and let them all come in at once, lol. I'll be taking part in the ATY Winter Read-a-thon next week so perfect timing too!

2025 Reading Challenges
PopSugar- 50/50 COMPLETED
ATY- 52/52; Anniversary- 10/10; Summer- 7500/5000; Fall- 18/18 ; Winter- 1/24 COMPLETED
52 Book Club- 52/52; Connections- 21/21; Mini-Challenges- 20/28 COMPLETED
Barnes & Noble- 52/52 COMPLETED
Booklist Queen- 50/52
Read Good- 12/12 COMPLETED
Buzzword- 11/12; Cover- 11/12
GR Bookmarks- 9/12

1001 Books- 10/10 COMPLETED
TBR- 20/20 COMPLETED

Finished
LaRose- This is the fifth Erdrich book I've read and it's by far my favorite. The plot hinges on an unconventional arrangement between two families and the whole time you're thinking, there's no way this is going to work. I loved getting to know all the characters and the book does a great job at building tension and subverting expectations. ☆☆☆☆

The Truth According to Ember- I picked this up because I needed a light-hearted indigenous read, and I figured a Romance would deliver. This was just okay for me. The female lead made a lot of questionable decisions, especially in regards to lying, and there was really no reason for her to do so. ☆☆☆
52 BC November Mini-Challenge #3- set in an office

Ceremony- I listened to this on audio so I could finish it before it's due date the next day, and I think that was my mistake. I had a hard time getting into the book and would space out frequently. Plus, the narrative switches between the past, present, dreams, and indigenous myths and I had a hard time keeping up. ☆☆

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries- I needed to read a book with fairies to complete a separate challenge and this was available as a skip-the-line loan on Libby. I'm not a fantasy reader, but I quite enjoyed this! I loved the banter between Emily and Wendell and reading it during a cold December was very fitting, very cozy. It also gave me a GR's bookmark! Looking forward to the rest of the series. ☆☆☆ 1/2
GR Bookmark- Heart-warmers
52 BC December Mini-Challenge #1- feels like home
ATY Winter- THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Currently Reading
Intermezzo
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
The 39 Steps

QOTW
The Pilates prompt. I feel like I'm going to depend on chance to see if I stumble by one that fits this.

Also the shadow daddy. Y'all, I try to avoid Romantasy like the plague! This character type never appealed to me, so the challenge will be to find a book that actually interests me.

Laura Z wrote: "I was surprised by that one too considering that the whole contest is really just about popularity. John Scalzi seems a much more obvious choice. I was also surprised by the Holly Jackson pick - there were certainly better books on that list - as well as "Alchemised" for debut fiction"

The Holly Jackson book was the only book in the Mystery/Thriller category I read and it was just okay to me. It had its humor and was surprisingly sentimental, but I guessed the mystery earlier on, so it didn't leave a huge impact. I didn't vote in the category, but was surprised it won.

I looked up Alchemised because I see it everywhere and it has 1000+ pages?! Did people read the whole book? It came out in September and beat out books that were released earlier this year.

Finished:

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie (2/5, Agatha Christie Challenge)

I would not have finished this one except for the challenge. The parts on the boat are okay, but everything else drags on and on.

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (4/5, reread, a character with curly hair, author has the same first and last initials)

This remains fun, and I liked Tyson much more on the reread.

How to Honeymoon Alone by Olivia Hayle (4/5, grumpy sunshine trope, FOMO book, kangaroo word on the cover, interior contains a handwritten font)

Most of this book is fun romance, island and resort activities, and flirtation. The intimate scenes are open door. While they are mostly tasteful and hot, the first intercourse scene feels just a little bit inferior in how it is written compared to the rest of the book. There is a bit of a contrived conflict near the end, but the rest of the ride is such fun that I can forgive it.

Currently Reading:

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2026
Poirot Investigates
The Titan’s Curse

Question of the Week:

A book about college and a travel ghost story were among the hardest to find ideas for.

Happy Thursday! Can't believe we're already in December! My apartment is very very chilly this week, so I've been staying huddled under blankets,drinking far too much coffee. My central heating works in theory, but the amount it actually warms up the room is not worth the amount it raises my electric bill, so I just layer up all winter

Still have 4 prompts for popsugar, but I'm reading two of them at the moment, so I should still be able to finish.

Finished:
A Holiday by Gaslight-I really liked this historical romance novella. Woke up super early the morning after Thanksgiving, and read most of this while waiting for the rest of the family to wake up
-no prompt

Last First Kiss- I loved this romance from Julian Winters, an arc from netgalley. Loved the characters!
-no prompt

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World- this was interesting, but not overly memorable for me
-no prompt

Currently reading:
In the Midst of Winter- I'm really liking this so far

Whiteout- listening to this for the "two titles same name" prompts. Don't typically read romantic suspense, but it's entertaining enough. I would have finished this today, I was planning to listen to it while doing some busy work at the office, but then it got to some explicit scenes that I did NOT feel comfortable listening to at work...

On Hiatus:
Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials- my loan ran out on libby, but I needed to take a break from it anyways. I'll pick it up again in a month or two, but I need a break from reading about groups of women getting targeted and tortured.

QotW:
Probably the women astronauts one. I'll probably read Atmosphere or something from Becky Chambers, but none of them sound all that interesting at the moment.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

I hardly use the DM feature on Goodreads, so it doesn't really affect me much, but I can see both sides of the issue.

Finished:
Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine - 4 stars - for two books with the same title. I really enjoyed this more than I expected. Hoping I can work the sequels into 2026.

I am currently at 49/50 for Popsugar (40/40 and 9/10).

Currently reading:
Emma by Jane Austen - for a book by the oldest author in your TBR pile. I didn't realize how long this was, and I haven't gotten too far yet because work has been getting a little crazy. I might pivot to something shorter just to finish Popsugar.

Upcoming/Planned:
The Names by Florence Knapp - not for a prompt.

QOTW:
Pilates, for sure. It feels incredibly niche and hard to find unless you're reading a book for something else and come across it.

Happy Thursday.

Stats
GR: 238/250
PS: 49/50
ATY: 52/52 - Finished
ATY Anniversary - Finished
ATY Rejects: 27/28
ATY Rewind: 10/10 - Finished
GR Choice: 23/30
GR Bookmarks: 10/12
TBR: 8/10

Finished (2 weeks worth)

Thief of Night ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I had to finish it before the library took it away, so I didn't get the bookmark for it.

Book Love ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reread.

Three Shattered Souls ⭐⭐⭐⭐
PS: Book you avoided reading.
I have had several copies of this since it was published, just switching to a new one every time the library made me give one back, and yet I'd read a chapter here and there and then find every excuse to read something else. I did enjoy it, but not as much as the first 2. This just felt very drawn out and over padded.

Sanctuary ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reread.

The Same Backward as Forward ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It was nice to get the other side of the story, but I'm ready for the series as a whole to be done.

Queen Demon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It took me a while to get back into the world and remember who everybody was. The dual timelines did not help.

A Bit Much ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY: Common household item on cover. (tin can)
Poetry collection. It mentions doing Pilates, but I don't start the challenge until Jan. 1st,

The Vinyl Cafe Family Pack ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
ATY: Set outdoors

Layover ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Arcana Academy ⭐⭐⭐⭐
GR Community Picks Bookmark
This took a long time for me to get into it and enjoy, but by the end, I didn't want to stop reading.

In Progress
The Chilli Bean Paste Clan

QotW

Last Week: I'm neither. I treat the challenges like a game where I match books after I read them. Planning out every prompt takes the game away an makes my reading into one big homework assignment. But I do make plans, it's just I don't pick out prompts for each book in my plan. I do make sure I have a book planned for the 'hard' prompts, and then I try to read those early in the year, so if I end up DNFing them, I have time to find something else.

This Week: Z title is the one that's sticking out to me. I've looked through the list a couple of times now and nothing really appeals to me.

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Happy Thursday!

ULTIMATE POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE 2025
Acidic Quagga's List - Started July 18, 2025

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Popsugar Challenge Completion: 24/26, 92%
📖=book 💻=ebook 🎧=audiobook 🌠=rating
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Currently Reading
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The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
24: A Book with a Happily Single Woman Protagonist.
Fall Challenge: Fiction Faves
Buddy Read With Bookworm_0143

Completed
📖 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠
You Weren't Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White
42: A Book with a Title That Starts with the Letter Y.
Buddy Read With Bookworm_0143

📖 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
07: A book about a cult.

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Other
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Currently Reading
📖
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Multiple Authors
Fall Challenge: Native Voices

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Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere by Maria Bamford
Fall Challenge: Memorable Memoirs.

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Life update: The company that is doing our chimney repairs came round yesterday to do a drone survey, which will help them to figure out what scaffolding they need. The young man in charge was really lovely, so that's a good start.

Reading update: I finished two books this week:
Ring Shout - GR Fall Bookmarks: Spine Tinglers. It's very good and has a lot of parallels with Cronus, which I read last week.
Midnight's Choice - audiobook, no prompt. Okay, but not as good as the first in the series. I will still go on and finish the trilogy, though.

I also part-read and then paused two books by way of celebrating Hindu holidays:

Avadhuta Gita of Dattatreya - all the multiple introductions, plus chapter 1, for Dattatreya Jayanti yesterday. This is the birthday of Dattatreya, who is regarded as a combined avatar of the so-called Trimurti deities, Brahma-Siva-Vishnu. This book is said to have been composed by him.
The Holy Geeta - the introduction, for Gita Jayanti on Monday. This is the "birthday" of the Bhagavad Gita, the pre-eminent Hindu sacred text, and the book is a translation and commentary by the founder of the Mission I study with.

I dnf'd two books:
The Austen Girls. I didn't get on with the writing style; it felt too contemporary for a story that's supposed to be set in Jane Austen's lifetime. I don't expect modern authors to imitate Regency style entirely, but it needs to be close enough to avoid breaking my immersion.
The Answer Is No. I decided to give the audiobook a try because I'd liked other work by the same narrator, but in this one she was using a more nasal voice that I didn't like. The blurb didn't engage me enough to make me switch to a different edition, so I just dnf'd.

Stats:
GR Fall Bookmarks: 1 this week, 7/9 total
Queer Reads Bracket Challenge: 0 this week, 4/6 total
The German Challenge: 0 this week, 3/10 total
Spanish Titles ABC: 0 this week, 1/26 total
French TBR: 0 this week, 1/20 total
The Great Big Jewish Literature Challenge: 0 this week, 4/21 total
Politics & Philosophy: 0 this week, 5/15 total. Will probably not complete by the deadline.
Anti-Capitalist Inspiration: 0 this week, 9/30 total
Reading About Writing: 0 this week, 2/40 total
All books finished this year: 2 this week, 168 total
DNF or paused: 4 this week, 32 total

Challenges completed this year:
PopSugar, Pride Season, Star Trek Series, Horror Subgenre, Disability Pride, Readers of the Wild Moor, GR Community Favorites, GR Seasonal, GR Summer

Currently reading:
Die Biene und der Kurt - The German Challenge: a modern classic
High Lonesome - audiobook, no prompt
The Quicksand Theatre Company - NetGalley, no prompt
The Complete Mahabharata - spiritual reading, no prompt
Journey to the West (Chinese Lore podcast) - Discord book club, no prompt

QOTW: The most challenging prompt to find something for was definitely the Pilates/Lagree one, but now that I've found The Secret to Superhuman Strength, I don't have any concerns about actually completing it. The most challenging in that sense will probably either be two books by real-life partners or the marathon prompt, because I've chosen non-fiction that might be a bit dry. I'll have to be in the right mood for those.

K.L. wrote: "Good morning, everyone! Happy Thursday!

I know we're only four days into the month, but it feels like December is flying by! I have so much to get done in the next couple of weeks...and not just f..."

Lenny Among Ghosts sounds delightful. And since it's a boarding school, it counts as a travel ghost story.

Kendra wrote: "... Queen Demon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It took me a while to get back into the world and remember who everybody was. The dual timelines did not help. ..."


That's exactly what I'm afraid of! I was already really confused in Witch King, and it's been a while since I read it so I forgot a lot.

That happened to me in Mirrored Heavens, I actually DNF'ed that because I was so confused. I keep meaning to go back to it to try again, so I can finish the series.

Yes lots of snow in Ohio, canceled my lab final and I had to scramble to get students to make it up. I'll be honest I never use the DMs for GR and no one has ever slid into mine to spam me. So I won't miss it I suppose. I'm much more upset over the changes in the past few years when they stopped emailing us with notifications. I can't have them pinging away while I'm working so I never get to see what's happening here unless I remember to log in.

And I have finished the challenge. YAY. My last couple were these

I read A Twist of Murder by Heather Redmond for ps 2. a book you want to read based on the last sentence. To be honest I didn't read the last sentence first. I just waited to find one with a fun last sentence because this prompt was against how I like to read books (I never flip to the end)

and for ps 38. Two books with the same title (2) I read Spellbound: A Graphic Memoirby Bishakh Kumar Som which I found to be a boring slog. So I disliked both of my choices for this prompt. Yay me.

QOTW
There are a fair few I think will be hard and/or unpleasant

A book about a sexless marriage
A book with a character who does Pilates or Lagree
A book about a bachelorette trip
A book about postpartum
A book with a character who navigates infertility
a book about birding

so yeah mostly the relationship ones which there are far too many of this year strike me as challenging and I might just skip them.

and oh, Nadine, for the dad raising a kid, if you like mysteries both Nancy Drew and Flavia de Luce would work