Thursday, January 1, 2015

Jamie Plans To Embark On The Popsugar 2015 Reading Challenge

So I told myself I didn't want to do any challenges this year and then a week or so ago I saw this fun reading challenge on Popsugar. Pretty much it looks like the Seasonal Reading Challenge I used to do on Goodreads like 5 years ago (it's still alive today!) and I always had fun with these sorts of challenges because it meant I was reading a VARIETY of things!

Is anyone else doing this?? Here are my picks so far and I'm looking for suggestions for some of these!




1. A book with more than 500 pages: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

2. A classic romance: Sense & Sensibility -- but okay I really didn't know what they meant by a classic romance. Like how classic are we talking? Could a Danielle Steele novel work? IDK. Would love other suggestions on this one!!

3. A book that became a movie: Oh tons of possibilities here! Still thinking! Any suggestions?

4. A book published this year: Umm this year being 2014 or 2015? Either way, I have a zillion options.

5. A book with a number in the title: Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood -- really enjoyed her book Wildlife and so I'm itching for this to be published here in the States.

6. A book written by someone under 30: The Duff by Kody Keplinger

7. A book with nonhuman characters: The Bees by Laline Paull

8. A funny book: I'm thinking Is Everybody Hanging Out With Me? by Mindy Kaling

9. A book by a female author: Ummm that's a lot of my TBR list haha. Pretty much anything I want to read.

10.  A mystery or thriller: Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

11. A book with a one word title: Solitaire by Alice Oseman

12. A book with short stories: Hmmm this is very out of my comfort zone because I don't do short stories. Any recommendations.  I've had A Good Man is Hard To Find by Flannery O'Conner on my shelf for forever.

13. A book set in a different country: A Daughter of Smoke & Bones by Laini Taylor or Carpe Diem  by Autumn Cornwall or Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

14. A non-fiction book: Hmm so many options. Will I go biography or memoir? History? Travelogue? Self help? I DON'T KNOW. For now

15. A popular author's first book: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

16. A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet: Hmm thinking I'll read a David Levithan book I haven't gotten to yet.

17. A book a friend recommended: Oh jeez. Lots of options here too. Always having books recommended to me by friends in this community.

18. A Pulitzer Prize winning novel: I'm so out of the loop re: awards so I definitely had to look up what has one because i couldn't recall one. I'm thinking Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.

19. A book based on a true story: HMMMM. Help? I mean, does a memoir count?

20. A book at the bottom of your TBR list: Okay what even does this mean? I mean, my TBR list is infinite basically and I don't understand. Like a book I'm not sure I want to read and it is on the bottom? or PHYSICALLY?

21. A book your mom loves: Well, that's awkward because my mom died in 2006 and I really don't know what she loved other than John Grisham? I guess I can go for one of those.

22. A book that scares you: Hmm going to have to think about that more.

23. A book more than a 100 years old: Emma by Jane Austen

24. A book based entirely on its cover: I'll probably go to the library and wander for this one.

25. A book you were supposed to read in school and didn't: Lord of the Flies. WAH PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME.

26. A memoir: Oh I have so many of those! I want to reread Eat, Pray, Love actually so maybe that.

27. A book with antonyms in the title: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

28. A book you can finish in a day: I can finish a lot of novels in a day if I have time? Even decently long books. I'll just pick a short-ish one -- The Summer I Learned To Fly by Dana Reinhardt

29.  A book set somewhere you've always wanted to go: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick -- TEXAS! Have always wanted to visit Texas!

30. A book published the year you were born: Well, that was 1985! So Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale!

31. A book with bad reviews: SIGH. I don't want to subject myself to bad books but this will also give me the opportunity to read a book I was REALLY excited about but got not so great reviews! September Girls by Bennett Madison!

32. A Trilogy: Definitely the Newsoul Trilogy by Jodi Meadows

33. A book from your childhood: Maybe Harriet The Spy?

34. A book with a love triangle: Apparently The Conspiracy Of Us by Maggie Hall has one!

35. A book set in the future: Cress by Marissa Meyer

36. A book set in high school: UH like all of my YA books basically? Or does it need to take place physically IN school for the most part? I'll figure this one out later as I read.

37. A book with a color in the title: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

38. A book that made you cry: If I Stay by Gayle Forman
 

39. A book with magic: Second Harry Potter book? YES I KNOW I KNOW I SHOULD FIGURE OUT A WAY TO MAKE THE WHOLE SERIES FIT WITHIN THIS CHALLENGE SO I WILL JUST READ IT ALREADY.

40. A graphic novel: Blankets by Craig Thompson
 

41. A book by an author you've never read before: Oh this is easy. LOTS of choices. The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma is one I really want to read!

42.  A book you own but never read: *Stares at the hundreds of books I own but have never read* 

43. A book that takes place in your hometown: Hmm Fever 1793 takes place in Philly. I know there are others but I'm BLANKING. Any recommendations??

44. A book that was originally written in another language: The Wind up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Marakami

45. A book set during Christmas: Decked With Holly by Marni Bates 

46. A book by an author who had your same initials:  I almost started looking for JB authors but then I was like OH WAIT I GOT MARRIED TWO YEARS AGO I AM NOW JM. Thank you Jodi Meadows for having the same initials as me -- The Orphan Queen it is!

47. A play: Hmmm. Not excited about this one. No ideaaaa. Recommendations??

48.  A banned book: Forever by Judy Blume -- been dying to reread this!

49. A book based on or turned into a tv show: The first Veronica Mars book!

 50.  A book you started but never finished: Crime & Punishment here I come!

30 comments:

  1. I've decided to do this challenge too! I saw it on Pinterest and thought it was such a great list. I haven't put into much thought of what I will be reading but it sounds a lot a fun! Happy reading and good luck!

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  2. Hi! I've also decided to do this challenge. i saw it on Tumblr a few weeks ago and was really intrigued by the topics. Your post made me realize that I probably shouldn't go into this without a plan so I also made a tbr list which you can find here on my blog. Maybe some of my choices can help you? I think memoirs count for the based on a true story one. At least I picked one for that one. :) Good luck with the challenge!

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  3. This looks really fun. It looks like a great way to get a bit of variety into your reading, which is something I really want to try and do this year because it can be refreshing and I'm hoping it will mean I get stuck in less reading ruts. I may have to give this a try. Good luck with the challenge, it's a lot of books to be reading.

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  4. I'm thinking about doing this challenge too! You've got a lot of awesome books on your list. As far as plays go, I've got a ton of recommendations but I think my top one would be Doubt by John Patrick Shanley - that was the first play that I ever flew through like it was a novel.

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  5. Unbroken was a great book and could fit the criteria for book made movie or true story. Happy reading

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  6. I have so many other challenges I am doing but I am sort of thinking of putting it up on my blog to see if I can get to any of them through the other challenges I am doing. As far as a book from my hometown..nobody I know of has ever written a book about my little one horse town..so that one is so not doable. As far as plays...Read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, it's hilarious! :)

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  7. I'm going to do this challenge too. I think for book based on a true story If you Find Me by Emily Murdoch would be good. She based some of her characters from an article she read. Or Etched on Me by Jenn Crowell.

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    1. Loved If You Find Me!! Will check out the other one! Thanks!

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  8. This does look like a really fun challenge. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me is fantastic; I can never decide if I like that one or Tina Fey's Bossypants more. There are some really great plays published out there. The classics are great, but there are also a lot of newer plays that you can find. One of my favourite more recent ones is Speech & Debate by Stephen Karam; at times funny, but at times absolutely heartbreaking.

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  9. Ooh, this looks like a lot of fun! I'm already doing a standard 100-book GR challenge, but I think I might get crazy and do this one as well. BTW I think Kaling's book is an awesome pick for a humor book!

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  10. I really liked A Grave Mercy, and Wild is one of my favorites. If you're looking for short stories I highly recommend Thunderstruck and Other Stories by Elizabeth McCracken or Tenth of December by George Saunders.

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  11. Wait....there is a Veronica Mars book series????....I was obsessed with this show when it was out. I recently found that there is a movie and of course I had to watch it haha I must check out the books though!

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    1. YES!!! And it's gotten good reviews from people I trust!

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  12. I thought The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams was a pretty good play to read. :)

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  13. This looks like fun! How about some Shakespeare for a play? They're usually quick!

    Good luck!

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  14. I was thinking I want to do this too. It looks like fun

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  15. I am doing this challenge too for this year. I would be fun and interesting to read books based on this list.

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  16. 14. Why not try something a little different? What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe is fun and is something that you can pick up and put down, or Running Like a Girl by Alexandra Heminsley?
    19. So many options!! Unbroken? The movie tie-in for the Imitation Game? Anything by Philippa Gregory?
    47. Oh!!! Read the script for Tribes or God of Carnage. Both are fascinating and really different ways to look at the world. Great plays, too :-)
    Oh, and as for a Philly book - In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner takes place partly in Philly - does that count? A lot of the Lisa Scottaline books are set there too... good mystery/thrillers.

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  18. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IS MY FAVORITE EVER! So much so that it totally warrants all caps! ( I have no idea how I deleted that last time!)

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  19. Oh, and I'm definitely doing this challenge, too. Love it!

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  20. For number 19, which can also be used for number 3, why not try Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand?

    As for number 47, I get the feeling you are not a fan of plays? If that's the case try something short, but entertaining. I recently picked up Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim. It's just 138 pages long. And there's music too so you might want to get the soundtrack (might I suggest the stage version with Bernadette Peters). But if you don't like musicals, then my only other suggestion would be anything by Lillian Helman (she wrote The Children's Hour which is AH-may-ZING)?

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  21. It's been awhile since I've read it, and I'm a little nervous recommending it because my reading tastes have shifted over time, BUT.......love walked in is set in Philly I absolutely adored this book when I read it, and I loved the writing of Marisa de los Santos!

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  22. For a play I'd suggest The Road to Mecca by Athol Fugard. It's very famous, very good, and very short.

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  23. On short stories, I highly recommend Junot Diaz or one of the best american collections. I'm not a big Flannery O'Connor fan-you have to like Southern Gothic aka really dark tales set in the American South.

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  24. I love reading and since I had my son 4 year ago the only books I read lately are parenting books and children's books :) So I decided to challenge myself and I did a search for a reading challenge and came across popsugar's 2015 Reading Challenge. I am starting with Gone With The Wind (def. over 500 pages)... I am still looking for #24 Book Based Entirely on It's Cover???
    If anyone can recommend a book set in Philadelphia (my hometown)??
    A banned book - Of Mice and Men
    A book you were supposed to read in hs but didn't - To kill a mockingbird
    Thank you for your suggestions :)
    Good Luck!!

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  25. Yay for Jane Austen! She's my fav :) I'm happy you'll be reading Attachments and My Life Next Door--too of my favorite reads from last year. Enjoy! - Maggie @ macarons & paperbacks

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  26. You could try The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde for your play! I read it a while back and loved it - I don't think it's too long and it's really funny :)

    Good luck with the rest of your challenge! It looks really fun but I can't decide whether to do it or not...! Your list looks great though!

    Rachel @ Dashing Good Books

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  27. Hi! I am doing the Reading Challenge too and I created a printable list where people can add the name of each book they are reading as well as their start and end date for each one. I posted it on my blog and I thought I would share it with you:

    http://print-cut-paste-craft.com/popsugar-2015-reading-challenge-free-printable-list-with-prompts-title-author-start-and-end-date/

    Feel free to share!

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