Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2025 Weekly Check-Ins
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Week 52: 12/18 - 12/25
Happy birthday you Christmas baby!At one point in my life I had a boyfriend born on Christmas Eve and another born Christmas Day.
You may now complain about a childhood of combined presents if you want.
PS 26: 8/4052 26: 17/52
52 Connections: 8/21
Anti-Capitalist: 11/30
Finished: Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know? Using Aristotle's framework of hedgehogs and foxes, this book calls into question the idea that experts can make better political forecasts than dilettantes.
Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others Recommended to me by an ED of a non-profit, this felt like an important book on secondary trauma.
Dinner at the Night Library This book was all right, a quick easy read relating to books and libraries (and food pairings.) I will probably not keep the book.
Started: Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life
Frequently Asked Questions about the Universe Given as a Christmas gift!
QotW: Wendy's Ever After
The Court of the Dead
Katabasis
A Time Traveler's Theory of Relativity
Return to Sender
The Strange Case of Jane O.
A Short Walk Through a Wide World
Something in the Woods Loves You
Something I'm noticing is that even though I read primarily non-fiction, most of my 5 star reads are fiction!
Happy birthday Nadine! I hope you enjoy your comics and b-day cake!
Merry Christmas all, and happy birthday Nadine!
Merry Christmas!I finished 3 books this week! If I ever get to retire, I swear I could read over 100 books my first year.
I'm on track to finally get that book I started during Lent done by the end of the year. My daughter and I gave up on our buddy. It's too hard to read during the school year. We could have maybe read it before January 1, but it would have made the holidays unpleasant. We might go back to it in May when school is done.
Finished:
To Give and to Have, and Other Poems.
Popsugar prompt: can't find one
ATY prompt: can't find one
Somewhere Beyond the Sea
Popsugar prompt: A book about chosen family
ATY prompt:
Anniversary prompt: A book involving a "group" with at least 4 members that's not a family
Nine Perfect Strangers
Popsugar prompt: A book that features an unlikely friendship
ATY prompt:
Anniversary prompt: A book with an emotion in the title (anger) - I had to move the book that was here to another prompt.
Series - 10/10 - Completed!
Reading Across Canada - 9/10
Nobel laureates - 5/5 - Completed!
PS - 43/40 - Completed!
Regular ATY - 48/40 - Completed!
Anniversary ATY - 10/10 - Completed!
Summer Challenge - 5100/5000 points - Completed!
Currently reading:
Interior Castle - 90%
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Real - 55%
QOTW: I'm going to have to work on picking one. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was the best mystery I read all year. The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, Who Has Seen the Wind, and An Audience of Chairs were all 5 star reads.
Happy whichever holiday you celebrate, and happy birthday NadineQuestion of the Week
It's the penultimate week of the year! Time to talk about: what were your favorite books that you read this year? (Any book, not just books for Challenge categories.)
Some of my favorite books from this year were Mambo in Chinatown, Discount Armageddon and The House in the Cerulean Sea.
Happy Thursday and Merry Christmas! (And Happy Birthday, Nadine!) I'm sitting here in the our ruin of a living room, kids' presents scattered across the floor, and listening to Ewan (3) exclaim over all his Paw Patrol goodies... It's been great. Today is super low-key. I'm not cooking anything - it's all just sandwiches and charcuterie and pizza. Todd totally spoiled me with gifts, but now I have to rearrange (clean out) the entire kitchen to figure out where I'm going to put all my new goodies. I'm excited to try my new bread machine.Reading Challenges: And that’s… how it’s done, done, done 🎶
🏆 52 Book Club: 52/52 (December Mini-Challenge: 9/9)
🏆 ATY: 52/52 (Winter Challenge: 24/24)
🏆 The Book Girls’ Guide: 74/74
🏆 Booklist Queen: 52/52
🏆 Popsugar: 50/50
🏆 Goodreads Fall Challenge (Bookmarks): 12/12
Recently Completed:
🎄 Flopping in a Winter Wonderland (52 Books December Mini-Challenge #7 – features a contest/ATY Winter Challenge – OF: Flopping) ★★
🎄 My Imaginary Mary (ATY Winter Challenge – CHRISTMAS: Cynthia Hand) ★★★★
🎄 The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding (ATY Winter Challenge – TWELVE: Joseph J. Ellis) ★★★★
🎄 Gods of Howl Mountain (ATY Winter Challenge - TWELVE: Taylor Brown) ★★★★
🎄 Patriarchy Inc.: What We Get Wrong About Gender Equality—and Why Men Still Win at Work ★★★★
🎄 After Happily Ever (ATY Winter Challenge – DAYS: Jennifer Safrey) ★★★
🎄 A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking (52 Books December Mini-Challenge #8 – related to baked goods) ★★★★
🎄 Idle Grounds (ATY Winter Challenge – CHRISTMAS: Idle) ★★★
🎄 Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's (ATY Winter Challenge – CHRISTMAS: Tiffany Midge) ★★★
🎄 You Must Not Miss
🎄 Let It Snow (52 Books December Mini-Challenge #4 – featuring a blizzard) ★★★★
QOTW: Laura's Top 10 of 2025:
The Book of George
The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree
What Happened to the McCrays?
By Any Other Name
Say You'll Remember Me
Spectacular Things
The Book Club for Troublesome Women
Woodworking
Small Great Things
My Other Heart
Merry Christmas if you're celebrating today, happy Thursday is you're not! My family decided to postpone out holiday get together till Saturday- a freak storm was supposed to be sweeping in, and the country roads in my hometown tend to get wrecked during bad weather, so it made sense to not have us all driving through the mess. Of course, the weather hasn't been as bad as predicted yet, but I still think it was the right call.Spending the day cuddled under blankets, planning to finish up my last book of the challenge, maybe watch a movie or two. I took a walk during a moment of sunny skies, and then 20 minutes in the skies opened and I got completely drenched-even though I'd brought a little umbrella with me. It's been a nice day so far, and I have tomorrow and the weekend off as well, so I'm just enjoying relaxing.
Hope everyone is having a great day whatever you're doing! And happy birthday Nadine!
Finished:
Amor Actually- this was a fine collection of romance short stories. But because they're short stories, I never got enough of the relationship build up I need to care about a couple. Still introduced me to a few new authors to check out
-no prompt
Currently reading:
The Saturday Morning Park Run- decided to pick this up for the run club prompt- the book I was wanting to read is a little to quiet for my brain to latch onto right now. Will pick it up again at a later date. So far this is very sweet, lots of found family goodness
QotW:
I had a really good reading year this year! A lot of new favorites, it's hard to whittle them down to just a few:
How Long 'til Black Future Month?
Patriot: A Memoir
Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space: A Literary Mixtape
Palaver
Cursed Bunny or Midnight Timetable: A Novel in Ghost Stories
Happy Holidays, whatever one you may celebrate! And happy birthday Nadine!Typing this from my sister's house -- I spent the week of Christmas with her and her family. It's been a fun time, and I'm a little sad that I have to go home tomorrow. But I'm also looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, heh...
Books read this week:
Lure -- horror novella featuring a vicious mermaid and a potshot at toxic masculinity that feels… not very well developed, but good try at least.
A Lot Like Christmas -- collection of Christmas-themed sci-fi stories. Only one story I’d classify as a dud -- the rest were fun, and one of them even made me tear up.
A Dragon Used to Live Here -- cute, but definitely aimed at younger readers.
Currently reading:
Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer
William
QOTW:
Boy, how do I choose just one? I'll compromise by doing one from each month of the year.
January -- The Witch King
February -- Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses
March -- The Bones Beneath My Skin
April -- The Spirit Bares Its Teeth
May -- The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances
June -- Bury Your Gays
July -- The Second Chance Convenience Store
August -- Automatic Noodle
September -- Hemlock & Silver
October -- Nevada
November -- The Keeper of Magical Things
December -- Eli Harpo's Adventure to the Afterlife
I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this week.QOTW: I just looked at my books to refresh my memory and I only gave one book 5 stars this year. The Lake House.
Hi all! Happy Birthday, Nadine! Merry Christmas if you're celebrating! I'm exhausted, but it's all done for us here. Last weekend was at my dad's, last night was boyfriend's family (which we hosted and I cooked), this morning was Santa, and this afternoon was at my mom's/ grandparents'. Kiddo made out like a bandit as expected. My best gift was a new pair of winter boots. My old ones weren't waterproof. Anyone have any New Year's Eve plans? We never do, and I'm totally cool with that!
We got a new kitty today. It wasn't really a Christmas present. My mom had a very friendly stray show up (dropped off??) about 2 months ago. My mom and her parents don't have the time or energy to take care of a cat, so we said she could join our family. Our other 2 cats aren't so thrilled about this development. She really is a sweetie, and making herself right at home. She's a long hair tuxedo, mostly black. Seems young. Kiddo named her Angel.
Still working on See You When the Snow Falls. Just too much to do this week to get ready for Christmas. I think I'm under 80 pages. I really want to finish it, hopefully this weekend.
QOTW: My favorite book of the year was The Fox Wife on audio. I had 2 other 5 star reads: Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness and Chasing Fireflies, a reread. I had a lot of 4 star reads this year, too.
Mod
Happy Thursday! “Happy Holidays” for whatever you may celebrate during this season! I always do celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. I always hope the next one will prove to be more enjoyable than the one just ended!
I haven’t posted on this thread for 3 weeks. I’m really trying to get my SH*T together before this year is done and over! Lots of stress and lots of adjustments…
I’m planning to complete my last 3 books for the 2025 Popsugar challenge before the end of this year! I am currently reading two of them.
ADMIN STUFF:
THE JANUARY 2026 MONTHLY GROUP READ SELECTION IS
Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey!!
This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #24 A book about postpartum
Celebration of Life Day is January 22!
**Please post if you are willing to lead this discussion. ** (Since we can no longer 'message' each other using Goodreads! 😒)
THE FEBRUARY 2026 MONTHLY GROUP READ FINAL SELECTION POLL IS HERE!
This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #22 A book about a book club
International Book Giving Day is February 14!
The top four vote-getters from the nomination poll:
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook
*** This poll will run through January 6th. ***
********
THE DECEMBER MONTHLY GROUP READ FINAL SELECTION IS Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng!
This book could be used to fulfill Prompt #25 A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee
International Migrants Day is December 18, 2025
THE LISTING OF 2025 MONTHLY GROUP READ TOPICS IS HERE!
And THE LISTING OF 2026 MONTHLY GROUP READ TOPICS IS HERE!
***
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
What are your favorite books that you read this year? (Any book you read, not just for this challenge)
I always dread this question! 😉
In reverse chronological order...
Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls
Brigands & Breadknives (Legends & Lattes #2) by Travis Baldree
The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls
Naked Sleeper: A Novel by Sigrid Nunez
Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery
Broken Light by Joanne Harris
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez
Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
The Cat in the Stacks mystery series by Miranda James
Wrexford & Sloane series by Andrea Penrose
Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews
Life of a Cactus series by Dusti Bowling
James Baldwin: The Fire Next Time, Giovanni’s Room (both rereads)
Marie Bostwick: Almost done with her backlist! I love them all!
Authors I discovered this year and whose backlist I wish to read:
Fiona Davis: **The Dollhouse, **The Lions of Fifth Avenue, **The Chelsea Girls
Colleen Oakley: **The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise, You Were There Too
Victoria Christopher Murray: **Stand Your Ground, **The Personal Librarian (coauthor)
Marie Benedict: **The Personal Librarian (coauthor), **The Only Woman in the Room
Week 51: Which 2026 Popsugar Challenge prompt are you planning to fulfill first in 2026?
The Favorites by Layne Fargo for prompt #17 A book about your favorite event in the Winter Olympics.
Week 50: Do you give books as gifts?
Rarely. I prefer gift certificates/gift cards unless I know the person’s reading tastes well enough to feel confident that the book I am gifting will be enjoyable to that person…
2025 READING CHALLENGES:
Popsugar: 47/50
52 Book Club: 49/52
2024 Popsugar: 47/50
FINISHED:
*A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1) by Becky Chambers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was once again a beautiful read! Even the third time around! 😉 Discussion is HERE!
POPSUGAR: #6, #8, #12, #20, #23, #26, #28, #29, #35, #46
52 Book Club: #38, #46
*Nicked by M.T. Anderson ⭐⭐ for an IRL book club meeting this Sunday. If not for book club, I would have DNFd this one. Just not the type of story line or writing style I enjoy… I was bored throughout the great majority of this one… I ended up not attending the meeting since the weather was abominably cold and I didn’t have much to contribute to a discussion other than I was BORED!
POPSUGAR: #6, #8, #20, #28, #35
52 Book Club: #4, #5, #10, #13, #33, #37, #38
*Brigands & Breadknives (Legends & Lattes #2) by Travis Baldree ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was, in my opinion, quite different from Legends & Lattes and Bookshops & Bonedust, but not in a bad way! As Baldree describes it in his Acknowledgments: a cozy fantasy novel that was less cozy in every way than the ones that preceded it… Does anyone want a “cozy” story about the grief of disappointing your friends, and the agony of saying “no”? I, for one, was quite enthralled by this book but wonder if younger readers will be as appreciative of the story line as those of us with more ‘life experience’… There are certainly more scenes of conflict, as well as a touch of ‘other’ spiritual belief systems, etc. I would have appreciated a bit more of a ‘wrap-up’ at the end, but perhaps that will be forthcoming in book #3 of the series…? I cannot imagine Baldree’s writing able to truly disappoint me!
POPSUGAR: #6, #7, #12, #14, #18, #19, #20, #26, #28, #35, #40, #43
52 Book Club: #2, #5, #22, #29, #42, #46, #51, #52
*Hang the Moon (Written in the Stars #2) by Alexandria Bellefleur ⭐⭐ read much more like a typical ‘romance’ novel for me than the first book in the series, Written in the Stars. That is not a good thing! Way too many romantic details for me and almost every single interaction among the characters involved romantic attraction, etc. This book represents the reasons I typically avoid ‘romance’ books! But I now have another fulfilled Popsugar challenge prompt! 😊
POPSUGAR: #6, #20, #26, NEW #37
52 Book Club: #2, #29, #46, #51
*Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ was a favorite read for me! Walls’ writing style just suits me, I guess! There were twists and turns and the way they were revealed had me dropping my jaw at least 3-4 times as I read! Anything Walls publishes will be a must-read for me! Talk about ‘family’ secrets!! They abound in this book!
POPSUGAR: #2, #14, #20, #21, #24, #26, NEW #38
52 Book Club: #2, #5, #12, #33, #38, #41, #43, #46
*Sackett's Land (Sackett’s #1) by Louis L'Amour ⭐⭐⭐ was more interesting than I expected it to be. I guess that is a compliment…? 😊 The Sackett series was an absolute favorite of my former father-in-law and now my husband and my best friend (a female)! I won’t continue with the series, but this was a quick and, to my mind, rather shallow reading experience. Lots of action. Rather stilted dialogue which I presume is in keeping with the end of the 16th Century and beginning of the 17th Century. (As a pre-teen I went through a rather brief phase of reading horse books and westerns. I thought I remembered that I had much preferred the writing of Zane Grey to that of Louis L'Amour. Grey’s descriptive skills are amazing, IMO! I plan to follow-up with some Zane Grey books!)
POPSUGAR: #6, #8, #14, #16, #20, #26, NEW #30, #39, #44
52 Book Club: #21, #24, #36, #38, #43, #46, #47
CONTINUING:
*Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez is rather fascinating. I keep wondering exactly where/how this will end…
*Hope on the Inside by Marie Bostwick is not what I was expecting! Bostwick is so savvy at connecting titles…
*The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
*Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power by RebeccaSolnit
*East of Eden by John Steinbeck
*The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley
*The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong for an IRL book club meeting
*The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
PLANNED:
*The Last of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez
*What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez
*For Rouenna by Sigrid Nunez
*Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict
*The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley
*The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
*The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict
Merry Christmas from Santa Fe. NM! It's quite a change from NYC at Christmas, that's for sure. LIghting is more lumieres (candles in brown paper bags outlining roofs, driveways, and walkways) and colorful lights (including purple and orange and yellow, not just clear, red or green with occasional blue) around exterior trees and bushes more than windows and such. Strings of dried chilis are everywhere, and even the menorah still sitting in La Plaza, though not lit of course, is on top of a red chili pepper stand! As I announced at the end of last week, I finished the PS challenge finally! I had the book for months ... just didn't get around to reading it until now. Thank you everyone who congratulated me in last week's thread.
Finished:
Silk Route Adventure: On Horseback in the Heart of Asia
Wide Sargasso Sea - this was my final read for Prompt overlooked woman in history. It's an out of the box pick as I chose as the overlooked woman in history Jane Eyre's Madwoman in the Attic - of who we know little and only through what Rochester briefly tells us. But also the author Jean Rhys is an overlooked woman in history, at least now. Wide Sargasso Sea was her final book, published in 1966 and considered her best, and even it is hard to find in print. It tells the story of Rochester's first wife -- and a tragic story it is -- which also is told in part from Rochester's perspective. Rhys herself was a creole, growing up in the Caribbean. She wrote this after reading Jane Eyre because she thought Charlotte Bronte thought all creole women were mad, and wanted to correct that. It's brilliant, revelatory, engaging, and tragic, all in less than 200 pages. I highly recommend it. I recently had learned something about Rhys, whose life had its own tragedies. I do want to read more of her works.
Currently reading:
This Side of Paradise
China Trade
Dreamland
QOTW: I have 16 books on my shelf for 2025 Top Ten reads. Here are the 5 star reads only:
Wide Sargasso Sea
The Summer Country
Beautiful Ruins
Come, Tell Me How You Live
Crooked House
The Odyssey
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
Five Little Pigs
Clementine in the Kitchen: Modern Library Foods
My Favorite Scar
Up Country
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Happy birthday Nadine! And I hope everyone had a lovely day yesterday whatever you did.I saw a beautiful kingfisher on Christmas Eve. I haven't seen one in over a decade and there it was, just fishing a stream that runs behind houses. A little bit of seasonal magic!
Finished:
Swordheart by T. Kingfisher. A bit slow and meandering but still fun. I am wondering if eventually the Sainted Smith will somehow be connected to the Saint of Steel.
Good Spirits by B. K. Borison. An OK holiday romance but the premise felt a bit forced and soon felt apart. I skimmed over the sex scene that lasted two whole chapters. Not inclined to read any more of this author.
QOTW:
I've not had the best reading year but there have been a few gems:
Greenteeth
We Are All Ghosts in the Forest
Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
Eat the Ones You Love
Just for the Summer
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
We got some picturesque light snow in Massachusetts on Christmas Eve but not to the level of needing any shoveling, which was just right for me.Finished:
Prelude to Foundation (reread, 4/5 stars, Space Opera Fans buddy reread)
This was my first Asimov novel, and it still holds up for me. There's adventure and food for thought aplenty, and I find myself drawn to all of the main characters.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (reread, 4/5 stars (upgraded from 3/5), Agatha Christie Challenge)
It's a fun coincidence that both of these rereads were of books I enjoyed that have highly memorable twists. Besides the game of spotting the foreshadowing after the fact, this time around, I was quite impressed with how Christie wove a web of small town characters and side plots. Everybody had something to hide, big or small, and the exploration of human nature was relatable even 100 years later.
Shadow Life (2/5 stars, other book club January pick)
The premise of guiding people on the brink of death to their next stage of existence has some novelty. The execution in this book ended up not being to my liking. There was a lot of time spent dealing with some of the worst of human actions and suffering. People who like stories about paramedics, war, or hospitals would probably get more out of Shadow Life than I did.
Currently reading:
The Book of Lost Tales 1
The Battle of the Labyrinth
Blood Over Bright Haven
Question of the Week:
These are the books I read for the first time in 2025 that I gave 4 stars to (no 5 star new reads this year):
Spartacus
How to Honeymoon Alone
Shuri, Vol. 1: The Search for Black Panther
Into the Light
Lost to Eternity
Sanctuary
Star Trek Memories
All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release
Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Memories of My Life on Tour
Usagi Yojimbo Saga Volume 7
Asylum
Garth Brooks The Anthology, Part V: The Comeback The First Five Years
George Lucas: A Life
The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko
Appointment with Death
Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
Overall, that's a pretty good year for new books read.
I got a book for Christmas - End of Story. The protagonist mentioned that she was lefthanded, so I might be able to get one more prompt in by the end of the year.
113 books and counting for 2025!Finished:
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. The "What's behind the veil" subplot had a great setup, but 300 pages later, the payoff fizzled. But overall a great book, dripping with MOOD.
Naked Came the Manatee by 13 Florida writers including Dave Barry, Tananarive Due, and Carl Hiaasen. Each wrote a chapter, giving the next writer increasingly ridiculous setups to resolve.
Currently reading:
So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park, yet ANOTHER romance where the woman ditches her high-powered NYC job. This one sets up her own Korean cooking channel on Youtube. It's good, but I can't believe I accidentally picked it in December, when every tv movie has the same plot.
Happy Birthday, Nadine! And happy holidays to everyone who celebrates.My grandma was an orphan, so she had Christmas assigned as her birthday since they didn't know her actual birthday. Growing up, there was always a special birthday-specific gift for Grandma under the tree, and a birthday cake for dessert.
Finished:
Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan - 3.5 stars - not for a prompt. Overall, this wasn't bad, but I think Brennan's more recent work is way better. No burning desire to read the sequels, but I might get around to them eventually.
Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot - 3.5 stars - not for a prompt. Beautiful writing about difficult subject matter. A little hard to follow on audio. Not something I think I'd read again.
Little Moons by Jen Storm - 4 stars - not for a prompt. A graphic novel about an indigenous family dealing with the disappearance of their eldest daughter. Very nice art, and big feels.
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan - 4 stars - not for a prompt. I wanted to read this to coincide with the second season of the TV show.
Comics and manga:
Skip·Beat!, Vol. 51
Colette Decides to Die, Vol. 4
Colette Decides to Die, Vol. 5
Currently reading:
The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan - not for a prompt. Just felt like reading something light and fun for the liminal space between Christmas and New Year's.
Upcoming/Planned:
The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel - planning to read this on January 1, to knock out the Pilates prompt early. :D
QOTW:
I added my top ten for the year to the listopia, but there were a lot of books I enjoyed this year. I reread some favorite books, but among the new-to-me ones I enjoyed:
Holy Terrors
A Sorceress Comes to Call
The Keeper of Magical Things
The River Has Roots
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Hemlock & Silver
Happy birthday Nadine and happy holidays to those who celebrate any of the many this time of year.I only managed to finish one book this week To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear, from the Maisie Dobb's mystery series. This one felt less like a mystery and more about the war story Winspear wanted to tell but didn't want to do the heavy lifting of creating all new characters. It was good but not great.
QOTW
Fiction - To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower
Bodies and Battlements by Elizabeth Penne
Last Dance Before Dawn by Katharine Schellman
Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings
The Witch's Orchardby Archer Sullivan
Minstrels in the Galaxy: Stories in the Key of Tull, Volume 1: edited by Sam Robb
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
We Can Never Leave by H.E. Edgmon
When the Bones Sing by Ginny Myers Sain
Graphic Novels/Manga
Lackadaisy vol 1 &2 by Tracy J. Butler
H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth manga adaptation by Gou Tanabe
Third Shift Society, Vol. One, Vol. 1 & 2 by Meredith Moriarty
And honestly I can't recommend any of the non fiction I chose this year
💖📖💖📖💖📖💖📖💖📖💖📖💖📖💖📖💖📖💖📖💖📖💖📖💖Happy Boxing Friday!!
ULTIMATE POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE 2025
Acidic Quagga's List - Started July 18, 2025
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Popsugar Challenge Completion: 28/25, 112%
📖=book 💻=ebook 🎧=audiobook 🌠=rating
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Currently Reading
📖Anathema by Keri Lake
36: A Book with Silver on the Cover or in the Title.
Completed
📖 🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
48: A book that features a married couple who live apart.
Fall Challenge: Fiction Faves
Buddy Read With Bookworm_0143
📖 🌠🌠A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson
14: A book about a nontraditional education.
Fall Challenge: Community Picks.
Fall Challenge: Choice Awards.
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Hello, y’all. Happy Holidays to all who celebrate one of the many special days in December! Happy Birthday, Nadine. My sister-in-law’s BD is 12/23. Darla and I got our certificate! And, promptly took a week off from training. LOL We have even walked less, since I strained one of my hip muscles. All is much improved today, though. So, although I missed exercise class on Wednesday, I should be ready to go back on Monday.
I have accomplished a lot of small things and a couple of big ones…like mopping the wooden floor in the dining room, which is seldom used as it should be. I am starting the new year with all my floors really clean.
Darla got into the compost pile again and/or had too much sugar/maybe garlic (I share small bits of cookie with her and threw some pretzel sticks for her to chase – but they came out of the garlic mix and so might have had some garlic on them). As a result she vomited in several places overnight. Since I cannot keep her out of the compost area, I have ordered a composting kitchen gadget. It turns the food into soil.
My yard has been totally cleaned up. Now to get myself together and work on the trailer.
Finished:
Weighed in the Balance – PAS. 4*.
Death on Eat Street – PAS. 4*.
Mistletoe Mysteries – No prompt. 3*.
Currently Reading:
Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony - PAS, PS #21 (politician). 1%
Bad Boy Brawly Brown – PAS
The Woman in Blue – PAS
On Deck: (library)
The Violin Conspiracy – PS #31 (Music)
The Personal Librarian – PS #24 (Happily single woman)
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London – PS #45 (left-handed character)
Bones of Betrayal - PAS
(owned)
True Detectives – ATY# 52 (sunset vibes)
PS 41/50
ATY 43/52
GR 195/200
QotW: what were your favorite books that you read this year?
Discover Your God-Given Gifts
Deerskin
Home Front
Sweet Bean Paste
Project Hail Mary
Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame
The Paris Novel
Mod
Are there ever any good romances where one or more of the participants KEEP their high-powered job AND have their HEA?
@Nadine I think Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors by Somali Dev does this pretty well
Happy Friday and a happy second day of Christmas! I was very hectic but lovely yesterday and am just now getting a second to sit down alone. Today was the salon’s holiday work party. We affectionately refer to it as pasta day because we go wild at Buca di Beppo. I missed last weeks check in, the week before the holiday is always wildly busy. Finished:
Katabasis not for a challenge but I think it counted for one of the Goodreads bookmarks. I mostly just was excited to read this because I really enjoy R.F. Kuang’s work. This was a wild, gnarly ride and I throughly enjoyed it.
The Devil Three Times for a read harder prompt. This followed several generations of a black family in Tennessee, from a woman being brought over on a ship to modern day. Each section is a vignette of an individual’s life as the devil comes to visit during a trying time. I loved this book but I would have liked to have a family tree so I could keep up with the long and fairly complex lineage.
The Bright Side Running Club for the running club prompt. This was one of those sweet little reads that tugs at your heart a bit, but in a good way. I don’t know if I ever would have reached for this on my own so I’m glad this was what I picked to this prompt.
We Shall Be Monsters for the second part of the two books with the same name prompt. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I had been more familiar with the Indian lore this book was based on. It was Frankenstein reimagined through Indian mythology. I liked the story overall but sometimes I was a little lost.
Geekerella for a book about a food truck. Another reimagining of an old story. This involves cons, cosplay, and a vegan food truck. It was fun and I’m kind of interested in read more in the series but I don’t think those books include these characters. So we’ll see.
Currently Reading:
Gormenghast
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Great Adventure Catholic Bible
Recently Watched:
I got caught up on the first four episodes of the new stranger things season.
QOTW:
I don’t have the gumption to think about this too hard tonight 😭
Challenges:
Popsugar - 38/40; 4/4; 2/3; 3/3
Read Harder - 23/24
Classics - 10/12
European Tour - 10/10
12 Friends - 7/12
Yearly Goal - 166/175
QOTW:
Sometimes but I find I have very different taste in books from the people in my life.
Nadine in NY wrote: "Laura Ruth wrote: "yet ANOTHER romance where the woman ditches her high-powered NYC job....."Are there ever any good romances where one or more of the participants KEEP their high-powered job A..."
Book Lovers
QOTW: Some of my favorites this year:James by Percival Everett. An extremely subversive take on the character from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. A lesbian crime story set in the 1800s, with two big unreliable-narrator twists.
The Payback by Kashana Cauley. A darkly funny heist story where 3 women set out to erase their student loans.
Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You: The Murky World of Online Romance Fraud by Becky Holmes. A foul mouthed woman takes on online scammers.
The Future by Naomi Alderman. Billionaires prepping for the apocalypse overestimate their own brilliance.
The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sarah Raasch. Sorta like Red, White & Royal Blue, but set at a wizarding college?
Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas or whatever winter holiday you celebrate. This is a 3 week check-in for me, and thanks to the ATY read-a-thon, It's kinda packed. But the good news is I'm now done almost all of my challenges.🥳Stats:
Books Read: 254/250 Achieved Dec. 16th
Popsugar: 50/50 Finished Dec. 12th
ATY: 52/52 Finished Nov. 30th
ATY Anniversary: 10/10 Finished Nov. 2nd
ATY Rejects: 28/28 Finished Dec. 9th
ATY Rewind: 10/10 Finished Nov. 17th
GR Bookmarks: 25/25 Finished Dec. 13th
TBR: 9/10
GR Choice: 24/30
I'm working my way through the last book for my TBR challenge, but I've just had to accept that I'm not going to hit my final goal. It's the least important one, and I'm mostly avoiding new reads so I can save them for next years challenges.
Finished
Knight of the Ice, Vol. 1 & Knight of the Ice, Vol. 2 ⭐⭐⭐
I love the figure skating, but the story is just okay.
That Reminds Me ⭐⭐⭐
I picked this poetry collection up for the read-a-thon and then couldn't put it down, even though I'm not sure I liked it.
Small Magics Dramatized Adaptation , White Hot Dramatized Adaptation & Network Effect Dramatized Adaptation ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind ⭐⭐⭐⭐
GR Choice Bookmark
The Chilli Bean Paste Clan ⭐⭐
ATY Rejects: Set in the Eastern Hemisphere
This was a BIG disappointment for me. I had been looking forward to it, and then I had to force myself to finish it.
In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I listened to the audiobook, and Gad did a really good job of narrating his book.
Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Another audiobook. They had the guy who does Ghostface's voice read it, which just took the book up another notch.
The Things Gods Break ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
PS: Snake on cover
This was even better than book 1.
Thornhedge ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
GR Short Books Bookmark
Red Threads: A Graphic Novel ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Sandman Companion ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Trouble with Mistletoe ⭐⭐⭐
In Progress:
Accidentally on Purpose
The Dating Playbook
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror
QotW
I'm limiting myself to 2 top 10 lists, but I'm cheating a bit by including multiple books from the same series as just one entry.
Fiction
🔹Malibu Rising
🔹Daisy Jones & The Six
🔹The River Has Roots
🔹Snow White Learns Witchcraft
🔹The Nefarious Nights of Willowweep Manor
🔹DallerGut Dream Department Store & The Dallergut Dream-Making District
🔹To Clutch a Razor
🔹Cascade Failure
🔹Full Speed to a Crash Landing, How to Steal a Galaxy & Last Chance to Save the World
🔹Bridge to Terabithia
Nonfiction
🔹In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some
🔹Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words
🔹Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Eezier to Spell
🔹Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror
🔹Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness
🔹Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City
🔹Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV
🔹Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out
🔹It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time: The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote
🔹Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever
Life update: I am exhausted, but happy. Our building works were supposed to finish on the 19th, but in the way of such things, there were some hiccups and some new problems that were discovered, so we have two more days of roofing and 1-2 more days of plastering to go. The roofing will probably start on Monday and the plastering on 3 January. The plaster dust made our Christmas preparations extra challenging, but it all went well in the end, and it was great to spend time with our grandson and two of our children.Reading update: I finished two novellas and two short stories:
Automatic Noodle for my last GR bookmark. I was less enthused by this than friends who have read it; I gave it 3 stars.
Where the Drowned Girls Go - next in series, and a really good instalment. The two short stories I read are in the same series:
Juice Like Wounds - more fairytale-like in tone than the rest of the series, but still pretty good
In Mercy, Rain - excellent, 5 stars
Stats:
GR Fall Bookmarks: 1 this week, 9/9 total
Queer Reads Bracket Challenge: 0 this week, 4/7 total
The German Challenge: 0 this week, 4/10 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
Anti-Capitalist Inspiration: 0 this week, 9/30 total
Reading About Writing: 0 this week, 2/40 total
All books finished this year: 4 this week, 177 total
DNF or paused: 0 this week, 34 total
Challenges completed this year: 10
Challenges started but not completed: 1 (didn't realise it had an end date)
Ongoing challenges (no end date, or end date in 2026): 8
New challenges planned for 2026: 3, including PS
Currently reading:
Leviathan Falls. Next in series; if I don't finish it by NYE, I'll use it for the "book you meant to read in 2025" prompt. If I do finish it, I have other options lined up.
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda: Volume 3 - audiobook, no prompt
The Complete Mahabharata - spiritual reading, no prompt
Journey to the West (Chinese Lore podcast) - Discord book club, no prompt
QOTW: My absolute favourite was Babel, no question. I used it for "silver on the cover". It was not my only 5-star read, but it was the only one from this year's reading that made it onto my favourites shelf when SG introduced that feature mid-year. I finished it on 1 March and still think about it often.
I finished my final book for the challenge!! Now off to my postponed christmas get together!
Good evening, everyone! Happy Saturday! If you were celebrating Christmas on Thursday, I hope you had a very happy holiday!
Normally I am very good at staying on top of things around this time of year, because I have to be, but 2025 has been “one of those days” all year long. I got behind on pretty much everything this week, and ended up spending the first half of the week running around like a crazy person trying to get everything done. Between the gift wrapping, running to various stores for things I forgot, trying to make it to the hair salon for a badly-needed haircut, and the laundry, this has been a very busy week.
Fortunately, I was able to get everything done (with the exception of the laundry, which I have decided is a problem for next year) in time to enjoy spending Christmas with my dad. We decided to have Christmas Day at his house this year, which was great since I didn’t have time to get my house cleaned up. We had a wonderful time!
Despite the busyness of the week, I did manage to find time for reading…mostly because I didn’t turn on the television once this week. I spent all of my free time continuing my quest to complete 25% of my owned TBR, and managed to make a ridiculous amount of progress. Going into the final week of 2025, I only have 6 books left to read! I don’t want to jinx myself, because there’s still time for something to go wrong, but I think I might actually be able to accomplish my goal!
Here are my current challenge and TBR totals…
Goodreads Challenge: 429/250 (171% — Challenge Complete!)
Mount TBR Challenge: 235/150 (156% — Challenge Complete!)
📚Physical TBR: 167/731
📱Ebook TBR: 57/218
🎧Audiobook TBR: 11/12
TBR Checklist Total: 235/961 (24% complete)
TBR Books DNFed in 2025: 5
I did purchase one new release this week, which was That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 28, by Fuse.
I also received several books as gifts on Christmas. The books I was gifted include: Darkly, by Marisha Pessl; What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions and What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, by Randall Munroe; This Princess Kills Monsters, by Ry Herman; The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Titanic Tragedy, by William Seil; The Scroll of the Dead, by David Stuart Davies; The Ether Witch: Confronting the Crafty Concubine, by Delemhach; Slayers of Old, by Jim C. Hines; and Crossroads of Ravens, by Andrzej Sapkowski.
Rather than attempting to read all of the books I was gifted before the end of 2025, which would not be possible at this point, they will all be added to my TBR list for next year.
“New” Books Bought in 2025: 181
“New” Books Read in 2025: 179
“New” Books DNFed in 2025: 1
“New” Books Checklist Total: 99% complete
Here are the books I finished this week…
Finished Reading (Fiction):
~The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Angel of the Opera — This is the tenth book in the Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series, and follows Holmes and his cousin (Doctor Henry Vernier) as they travel to Paris to investigate the city’s opera house and the Phantom that has been making demands on the new management. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and really liked the author’s choices regarding the characterization of the main characters from The Phantom of the Opera. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Mr. Dickens and His Carol — While more fictional than historical, I thought this novel about Charles Dickens and the creation of A Christmas Carol was really good. It was a great read for this time of year. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~For Your Eyes Only — This collection of five short stories is the eighth book in the James Bond series. While I wouldn’t consider this my favorite of the James Bond books, I did think all five stories were pretty good. My favorite ended up being “Risico,” which was the fourth story in the book. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Thunderball — This is the ninth book in the James Bond series, and one of the longer novels in the series. Unfortunately, I did feel like the narrative pacing of this book was somewhat off. There were several chapters that felt like they dragged, due to long conversations or descriptions. Others felt too short for the amount of action that was occurring, which I felt made the ending rather abrupt. While I did enjoy this story, and appreciated the chance to read some scenes that never made it into the movie adaptation, this is one of the few times when I do prefer the movie to the original novel. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Spy Who Loved Me — This is the tenth book in the James Bond series, and I have to report that it is officially my least favorite book in the series. Unlike most of the Bond novels, this one was written in first person, specifically from the perspective of a woman who falls in love with Bond after he saves her life. I found this a rather tedious read, especially in the beginning. Most of the first half of the book is taken up by exposition, with Bond himself not even making an appearance until the later chapters. At least it was one of the shorter books in the series. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️
~On Her Majesty's Secret Service — This is the eleventh book in the James Bond series. I thought this was a very interesting and exciting story, and it ended up being one of my favorites of the series so far (which I find kind of funny considering that it was one of my least favorite Bond films). Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~You Only Live Twice — This is the twelfth book in the James Bond series. While this book does contain a lot of problematic elements, I did really enjoy all of the action and adventure, as well as the fact that the story took place in Japan. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Man With the Golden Gun — This is the thirteenth book in the James Bond series. I thought this was an interesting story, but didn’t enjoy it as much as the movie adaptation. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~Octopussy and the Living Daylights — This collection of short stories is the fourteenth book in the James Bond series. While these stories were okay, there really weren’t any that stood out to me as being excellent. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️
~Under Loch and Key — I thought this was an okay read, but it was not exactly the cute, grumpy/sunshine Scottish romance I was expecting. There is a lot of family drama in this book, which actually brought me to tears a couple of times, but I also didn’t realize going into this book that it is actually a Loch Ness Monster-shifter romance…which was a bit of a surprise. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐️⭐️
~A Kiss of Hammer and Flame — This is the first book in the Fated for Hael series. I really wanted to like this book…but I really didn’t. While the story had an interesting premise, I felt like it wasn’t executed as well as it could have been by the writer. As a result, I lost interest in the plot and the characters about 10 chapters in, and never regained it. I did finish the book, but I will not be continuing the series when the next one is released. 📚: ⭐️⭐️
~The Light Fantastic — This is the second book in the Discworld series. I really enjoyed this story, and found myself doing a lot of laughing as I was reading. Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐⭐⭐
~Equal Rites — This is the third book in the Discworld series. I absolutely loved this story; it’s been my favorite book in the series so far! Content Alert: (view spoiler) 📚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads is throwing a fit at the length of this post, so Part 2 will be coming up shortly...
And here's Part 2...Finished Reading (Nonfiction):
This week I had a chance to read the Visual Companion books for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movie trilogies. I thought these were pretty good books. They provided a lot of information about the characters and locations, and included tons of full-color photographs. I do think the books would have been improved by more detailed information about each movie’s plot, and I wish the author had included some information about the making of the films (outside of what the actors had to say in their introductions), but I did enjoy the insights into some of the characters’ backgrounds that aren’t expressly mentioned in the movies. The books I read include…
~The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Visual Companion — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Visual Companion — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Visual Companion — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Visual Companion — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Visual Companion — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
~The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Visual Companion — 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finished Reading (Manga, Comic Books, & Graphic Novels):
None
Finished Reading (Poetry and Drama):
~One Hundred and One Famous Poems with a Prose Supplement — While there were some poems included in this collection that I didn’t love, I really enjoyed a lot of them. Reading this book was a very special experience for me. My copy of this book used to belong to my grandma, and as I read, I came across several sticky notes that she had left inside the book to mark her favorite poems. Every time I came across a new sticky note, I knew I was in for a treat (because she had great taste in poetry), and it made me really happy. 📚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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 45 hours remaining, but definitely won’t have enough time to finish it before the end of the year. 🎧
~Mort — This is the fourth book in the Discworld series. I’m really enjoying this book, and am currently two-thirds of the way through it. I will be finishing it this evening. 📚
QOTW:
I actually ended up reading (or continuing) a lot of fantastic series and trilogies this year. Some of my favorites include…
~The Dungeon Crawler Carl series, by Matt Dinniman
~The Bloodsworn trilogy, by John Gwynne
~The House Witch series, by Delemhach
~The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series, by various authors
~The Delicious in Dungeon manga series, by Ryoko Kui
~The Discworld series, by Terry Pratchett
Happy Holidays everyone, and Happy belated birthday Nadine! I wanted to wait until I finished all my 2025 reading challenges to post this week! We had 2 days off work, so I was able to squeeze another 7 books since my last post. It helped that most of these were real page-turners, and they were all enjoyable. Now that I've completed all my challenges, I am going to try to decrease my Book-of-the-Month TBR for these remaining days of the year. I only have the seasonal challenges left, but those end March 2026, so I'll continue those next year.2025 Reading Challenges
Finished
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year- felt fitting to read this during the days leading up to Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I liked the banter between the leads and even the mystery was engaging. Overall, it was a good time ☆☆☆ 1/2
52 BC December Mini-Challenge #4- blizzard
ATY Winter #1- on the 12th day of Christmas
Kissing Kosher- read this because I needed to read a book that featured baked goods and this was available on Libby. It was a sweet romance that tackled serious topics (namely female chronic pain) and had a strong focus on Jewish culture. ☆☆☆
52 BC December Mini-Challenge #8- baked goods
Buzzword #12- alliterative titles
ATY Winter #2- my true love gave to me
The Mysterious Affair at Styles- After watching Wake Up Dead Man, I was feeling in the mood for a locked room mystery. I can definitely see this book's influence on the genre. I loved the detective character, and that this book toyed with my expectations! I have already placed the next books in the Poirot series on hold. ☆☆☆ 1/2
ATY Winter- THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
Love in Plane Sight- Lauren Connolly's PS: I Hate You was the first book I finished in 2025, and it quickly became one of my favorite romances of the year! Thought it would be cool to bookend the year with her latest release. I really enjoyed this one and felt it was more light-hearted than her previous romance but still equally hot! ☆☆☆☆
52 BC December Mini-Challenge #3- that's so "predictable"
Like Life- This was my initial pick for the alliterative title prompt in the Buzzword Challenge, but I ended up reading another qualifying book first. The first two stories in the collection were just okay for me, but by the third story I had settled into the writing style and found myself much more engaged. While the stories initially seem fairly mundane, they reveal themselves to be surprisingly poignant, and their subtlety really grows on you. “Starving Again” was my favorite, though stories #3-7 were all standouts. ☆☆☆☆
Good Spirits- this was one of my Book-of-the-Month unread books. It was my latest acquisition, and I thought it was the perfect time of year to read it. The plot is predictable, but the romance is as sweet as candy even though I found it a bit cheesy. ☆☆☆
52 BC December Mini-Challenge #6- seasonal romance
ATY Winter #13- two turtle doves
The Compound- read this to fulfill my last remaining reading prompt of the year! This was already a book I had my eye on because I'm finding books set in reality shows to be guilty pleasures, lol. This book did not disappoint! The characters are unlikable, but the plot was surprisingly thrilling and entertaining. I liked the subjects the book tackled and the note it landed on. I can definitely see why it won the Goodreads Choice Award, even though I hadn't voted for it. ☆☆☆☆
52 BC December Mini-Challenge #7- features a contest
ATY Winter #5- ten lords a-leaping
And with that, I finished all my reading challenges this year!
Currently Reading
The Bombshell
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
QOTW
These were my top favorites of 2025:
The Slip
Heart the Lover
The Dream Hotel
The Moor's Account
Behind You Is the Sea
Sky Daddy
Disappoint Me
Saving Francesca
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
The Return
Happy belated birthday Nadine. My daughters dad was also born Christmas Day and no one ever celebrates him 🙁, glad your daughter did something special.I finished the challenge today. This past week I finished off a bunch of books in progress and one new one:
Killing It: An Education
Black Candle Women
To Paradise
Olive, Again
A Farewell to Arms
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
An Old-Fashioned Girl
QOTW:
5 star reads:
Out of My Mind
Milkman
In Five Years
Wow, No Thank You.: Essays
Anne of Avonlea
Death of the Author
We Need New Names
James
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Mostly Harmless
How Proust Can Change Your Life
The Razor’s Edge
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
Happy Sunday everyone!Belated Happy Birthday, Nadine! And to all other peeps who celebrate their birthdays in the midst of the busy solstice season. I hope you were properly spoiled by loved ones, and no one meshed your birthday into another holiday.
I hope you enjoyed whatever Winter Solstice holiday you enjoy, and wish you a happy, healthy season full of good reading.
We celebrated Jokabokaflod – any holiday with chocolate, exchanging books, and reading is good with us.
Since I could not get time off of work to go North, we observed our traditional tribal/nation winter solstice celebration here in the “tropics” near Boston. Peboniwi, tôni kizos wazwasa . It translates to, “In winter, when the sun returns to the same place”. This is a prayerful celebration, and traditionally we sing the Sun up, but I had to sleep to get to work. So, I missed that.
And last night, we joined my brother, who celebrates Christmas with his wife, as well as Kwanzaa. Lots of good company, lots of good food, and lots of music and lights.
Challenges completed this year:
PopSugar 2025, BPL Winter Challenge, BPL Summer Challenge, BPL Read Harder Summer Challenge, and the Bookmarks: GR Community Favorites, GR Seasonal, GR Summer, GR Fall
Finished:
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I tried to read this in the Middle English, and it went fairly well, or better than I expected. Burton Raffel's translation is great.
Murder at the Vicarage. I liked it, but didn’t love it. But it was nice to spend time with Miss Marple again.
House of Leaves. A reread. All the stars in the sky! I can't limit to only 5. I will reread this countless times in my life, and each time I find myself finding more evidence to support the belief that (view spoiler)
DNF:
What Girls Are Made Of Looking for teen angst book, and this one will definitely fit the prompt. Very realistic situations. However, the MC volunteers for a high-kill dog shelter. Nope, no thank you. My line in the sand.
A Vision of Sugarplums. Possibly cute novella, and the characters were well-drawn. However, the behavior of the MMC was just way too stalker-ish for me to stomach. He’s also not into ejaculating responsibly. Ick! No thank you.
I think I could do the entire 2026 challenge with rereads of some good books!
QOTW:
The Change. Harriet is my guardian spirit.
The Takeout. I came for the food truck prompt. I stayed for the Filipino folk magic and the Filipino/ Indian fusion cuisine
Sweet Bean Paste. I loved the 3 MCs. I did not want the story to end.
Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression. It’s OK to choose a book by its cover. Some entertain good books thereby unawares.
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. I love when I can relate to the author’s worldview!
Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice I love when I can relate to the author’s worldview!
The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story This woman and her accomplishment are so important.
Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts. Never judge a book by its number of stars on GR. Some entertain good books thereby unawares.
Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza. If I were president, I would compose an executive order that every person on our soil read this book. I don’t think you can come away with no sense of urgency or compassion.
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This is one I intend to read in 2026. I'll be anxious to see what you think of it!
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I cannot imagine listening to this on audio, though I usually avoid that if at all possible. It is, IMO, beautifully written! I met her, her husband, and son. It was an amazing discussion!
"As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow"
This book! I don't think I'll ever forget it!
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Ooohhh...thanks for the reminder of this series! I've read the first one and loved it!
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My yard has been totally cleaned up. Now to get myself together and work on the trailer."
I had a compost pile for about 20 years and we ended up using cement blocks to build one with somewhat of a barrier to animals. I have debated about one to keep in the house (or I suppose garage)...
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YAY YOU!!
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This looks like an excellent book for one of my book clubs!!
Does anyone have a guess for what color goodreads is going to pick for the challenge next year? My friend thinks it’s silly I always try to guess, but I’m thinking a light, sunny yellow
Erin wrote: "Does anyone have a guess for what color goodreads is going to pick for the challenge next year? My friend thinks it’s silly I always try to guess, but I’m thinking a light, sunny yellow"I'm guessing purple.
I'd say a light asparagus green shade.
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L Y N N wrote: " End of Story. The protagonist mentioned that she was lefthanded, so I might be able to get one more prompt in by the end of the year."This is one I intend to read in 2026. I'll be anxious to see what you think of it!..."
I liked it and gave it 4 stars. There are 3 mysteries in the book - 2 disappearances 20 years ago and a body that pops up on page one before you go back 6 days. If you like mysteries, you will like it.
It fits a couple 2026 prompts too.
Mod
I really didn't expect another blue shade, they've done blue shades twice and purple once.
Yeah I think Dubhease definitely wins! Really thought they'd go for something completely different from 2025
I've had a couple of friends "like" my challenge, but I don't see where to do that for other people. But at least we can SEE each others' challenges this year, unlike last year.
Mod
I think when you decide on the number you'll read, it gets posted on the GR newsfeed, and has a "like" option. Honestly I don't understand "liking" it, but I'm seeing it in my newsfeed every time a friend likes another friend's Challenge. Some people just like to be very supportive I guess?
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
End of Story (other topics)What Girls Are Made Of (other topics)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (other topics)
A Vision of Sugarplums (other topics)
Murder at the Vicarage (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
R.F. Kuang (other topics)Kate Quinn (other topics)
Keri Lake (other topics)
S.F. Williamson (other topics)
Terese Marie Mailhot (other topics)
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***** 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 January group read will be: Woman on the Edge Let us know if you'd like to lead the discussion!!!
The final poll for February's group read (which could fill Prompt #22 "a book about a book club" ) is here:https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/3...
This week I finished 2 books:
The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long - I always love Long's writing, she makes the characters and dialogue feel real. This was my final book for the AtY challenge, an author who goes by three names.
Holy Boy: A Novel by Lee Heejoo - this NetGalley book was interesting, and I'm glad I read it, but I can't say I enjoyed reading it. It was a really odd and powerful story buried under a lot of chaff. Maybe it made more sense in the original Korean. I know the title makes it sound appropriate to Christmas, but it's not like that, the title is from the title of a Japanese poem, "Holy Girl" about loving an idol so much that you cut yourself open and swallow them into your body.
I have now finished all my reading challenges (except my own LOL - all my NetGalley reads got in my own way on that one)!
Popsugar 100% 50 /50
Must Reads 90% 9 /10
AtY 100% 52 /52
AtY bonus 100% 10 /10
2025 pub 118% 59 /50
NetGalley ratio 94% (five good books left to read now!!)
Question of the Week
It's the penultimate week of the year! Time to talk about: what were your favorite books that you read this year? (Any book, not just books for Challenge categories.)
I had a really strong start to my reading year and I read a lot of great books in the first half of the year, not so many in this second half.
All Fours
Here Beside the Rising Tide
Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping On a Dead Man
The Wedding People
Hemlock & Silver
Women of Good Fortune
Ruth Run
Stone Blind
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng
You can add your favorites to our list, here!!
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...