2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge

The PopSugar Reading Challenge is a reading challenge I have been participating in for about 5 years. PopSugar is a lifestyle site on social media. but I only tap into it for the annual reading challenge which is designed to be a fun way to expand one's reading genre comfort level.

It starts with a list of 40 basic prompts, and if you wish to challenge yourself further, there are an additional ten prompts, usually around a theme.  This year was the To Be Read (aka TBR) pile.  I struggled with this one because I really don't have a list of books I want to read - either I read them or move on.  I ultimately decided ALL books I had not read were TBR.  I also considered any books I had on hold at the library were TBR.  In addition, I also get a free e-book (or two) from Amazon Prime and an audio book from Audible, so those also go on the TBR pile.

Having said that, I don't know how The Priory of the Orange Tree ended up on my TBR pile.  I don't enjoy fantasy, and as the longest book in my TBR pile, it took forever to read.  But it was the final book to complete the challenge, and now I am done.  My summary of the book is feminist fantasy novel based on the story of St. George and the dragon.  

So it's back to Amish romance novels (look for a future blog post for an explanation and understanding of my love for the Amish romance novel) until the new year when the 2022 challenge starts.  

Standard List

✔ 1. A book that's published in 2021 - The Wedding Game by Meghan Quinn 

✔ 2. An Afrofuturist book - Kindred by Octavia Butler

✔ 3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover - Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby 

✔ 4. A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign - Still Life by Louise Penny 

✔ 5. A dark academia book - Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas 

✔ 6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title - A Virtuous Ruby by Piper G. Huguley 

✔ 7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job - Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn 

✔ 8. A book that has won the Women's Prize For Fiction - An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 

✔ 9. A book with a family tree - The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman 

✔ 10. A bestseller from the 1990s - Hornet’s Nest by Patricia Cornwell 

✔ 11. A book about forgetting - The Secret History of Us by Jessi Kirby 

✔ 12. A book you have seen on someone's bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.) - The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams  

✔ 13. A locked-room mystery - One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus 

✔ 14. A book set in a restaurant - Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler 

✔ 15. A book with a black-and-white cover - Balls: It Takes Some to Get Some by Chris Edwards 

✔ 16. A book by an Indigenous author - Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden 

✔ 17. A book that has the same title as a song - Someone Like You by Susan Mallery 

✔ 18. A book about a subject you are passionate about - Sourdough by Robin Sloan 

✔ 19. A book that discusses body positivity - One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London 

✔ 20. A book found on a Black Lives Matter reading list - Dear Martin by Nic Stone 

✔ 21. A genre hybrid - Verity by Colleen Hoover 

✔ 22. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors - The Last One by Alexandra Oliva 

 ✔ 23. A book with something broken on the cover - The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas 

✔ 24. A book by a Muslim American author - Accidentally Engaged by Faith Heron 

✔ 25. A book that was published anonymously - Becoming Duchess Goldblatt 

✔ 26. A book with an oxymoron in the title - Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls 

✔ 27. A book about do-overs or fresh starts - Anxious People by Fredrik Backman 

✔ 28. A magical realism book - The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 

✔ 29. A book set in multiple countries - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab 

✔ 30. A book set somewhere you'd like to visit in 2021 - An Unexpected Amish Romance by Patricia Davis 

 ✔ 31. A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality - I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel 

✔ 32. A book whose title starts with "Q," "X," or "Z" - Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan 

✔ 33. A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child) - Sea of Memories by Fiona Valpy 

✔ 34. A book about a social justice issue - Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid 

✔ 35. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels) - Jo by Kathleen Gros (graphic novel) 

✔ 36. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads - Hadley & Grace by Suzanne Redfearn 

✔ 37. A book you think your best friend would like - A Minute to Midnight by David Baldacci 

✔ 38. A book about art or an artist - Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 

✔ 39. A book everyone seems to have read but you - Becoming by Michelle Obama 

✔ 40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - How The Light Gets In by Louise Penny (2018 - next book in a series) 

ADVANCED LIST

 ✔41. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list - The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon 

✔ 42. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list - Amish Truth Be Told by Rachel Stoltzfus 

✔ 43. The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover - The Light Through the Leaves by Glendy Vance 

✔ 44. The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover - Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump 

45. The book that's been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time - Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson 

✔ 46. A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn't - The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop: A Novel by Fannie Flagg 

✔ 47. A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing - The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure 

✔ 48. A book from your TBR list chosen at random - Legacy of Lies: A Legal Thriller by Robert Bailey 

 ✔ 49. A DNF book from your TBR list - Hour Game by David Balducci 

✔ 50. A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library) - The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell’Antonia