A few years ago I first discovered PopSugar’s reading challenge list. At the commencement of each new year, the website puts out a list of topics, themes and categories to challenge yourself in reading throughout the course of the year to come. I’ve found it a great way to be exposed to new genres, authors, and styles of writing, and so as we enter 2019, it’s time to set the list out again.
This list isn’t what’s locked in – I might find something different during the year that ticks one of the boxes, but as we stand here at the beginning of 2019, these are the ones I’m aiming for.
A book becoming a movie in 2019
The Woman in the Window – A.J. Finn
A book that makes you nostalgic
The Crimson Tapestry – Michael Joens
A book written by a musician
Unashamed – Lecrae Moore
Did you know that Stephen King is a musician?
A book you think should be turned into a movie.
Daughter of the Empire – Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts
This is complicated, because I absolutely love Feist’s series of tales that are set in Midkemia, but the Empire series is absolutely fantastic, and Mara is one of my all-time favourite characters. I would love to see her, and this story, on screen one day.
A book with at least a million ratings on Goodreads
Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
A book with a plant in the title or on the cover
Prince of Thorns – Mark Lawrence
A reread of a favourite book
Magician – Raymond E. Feist
A book about a hobby
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft – Stephen King
Not that I consider writing to be a “hobby,” per se; however, the rest of the options on the GoodReads suggestions for books on hobbies seemed to be all about knitting and sewing.
A book you meant to read in 2018
Wolf Winter – Cecilia Ekback
A book with “pop,” “sugar,” or “challenge,” in the title
Challenge Accepted – Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox
A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore
The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller
A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
King of Ashes – Raymond E. Feist
A book published posthumously
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie
Desperate Characters – Paula Fox
As seen in You
A retelling of a classic
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow – Jessica Day George
A book with a question in the title
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick
A book set on a college or university campus
Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell
A book about someone with a superpower
Godsgrave – Jay Kristoff
I read Nevernight last year, and loved it. I think it’s reasonable to consider Mia to have a superpower.
A book told from multiple character POVs
A Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin
I didn’t want to start reading this series while the TV show was still going on. With Game of Thrones concluding this year, it makes it time to start getting into the novels.
A book set in space
Trust and Treachery – Charissa Dufour
A book by two female authors
Flawed – Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox
A book with a title that contains “salty,” “sweet,”“bitter,” or “spicy”
Bitter Kingdoms – Shantal Sessions
A book set in Scandinavia
Beartown – Fredrik Backman
Geography lesson for the day. Scandinavia is only considered to be Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Iceland and Finland are Nordic nations, but are not actually Scandinavia.
A book that takes place in a single day
The Sun is Also a Star – Nicola Yoon
A debut novel
Give It Back – Danielle Esplin
I’ve been connected with Danielle on social media for quite a while now, but have never actually gotten around to reading her first book. So here we go!
A book that’s published in 2019
Courting Darkness – Robin LaFevers
A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature
Raptor Red – Robert T. Bakker
This was such a hard prompt to narrow down. I’ve found a number of additions to my ‘TBR’ list in looking up what to read, but I can’t go past dinosaurs.
A book recommended by a celebrity you admire
Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
One of three books that Anna Kendrick highly recommends.
A book with “love” in the title
Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A book featuring an amateur detective
A Study in Charlotte – Brittany Cavallaro
A book about a family
A Night Divided – Jennifer A. Nielsen
A book written by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America
One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A book with a Zodiac sign or astrology term in the title
Sagittarius: The Bridge Maker – Rick Dains
A book that includes a wedding
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter
A Shadow on the Glass – Ian Irvine
A ghost story
The Shining – Stephen King
One review called it the scariest book ever written.
A book with a two-word title
The Secret – K.L. Slater
A novel based on a true story
Before We Were Yours – Lisa Wingate
A book revolving around a puzzle or game
Enders Game – Orson Scott Card
Your favourite prompt from a past PopSugar Reading Challenge
You – Caroline Kepnes
2018’s reading challenge included a book that involves a bookstore or library. It’s hard to say there’s necessarily a “favourite,”prompt, especially across multiple years and hundreds of options, but after watching You on Netflix, I wanted to include the novel in my reading list, so this one made the list.
A “cli-fi” (climate fiction) book
Cut – Annelie Wendeberg
Is it good or bad that we now have a fiction genre dedicated to climate change?
A “choose-your-own-adventure” book
Wishquest: A Destiny Novel – Megan Anderson
An “own voices” book
If I was Your Girl – Meredith Russo
Read a book during the season it is set in
The Blue Fox – Sjon (Winter)
A LitRPG book
NPCs – Drew Hayes
Technically, I guess, I’m a LitRPG author – or will be very soon, with The Unforgetting series.
A book with no chapters, unusual chapter headlines, or unconventionally numbered chapters
Cinnamon and Gunpowder – Eli Brown
It’s a pirate book.
Two books that share the same title
Queen of Shadows – Sarah J. Maas
Queen of Shadows – Dianne Sylvan
A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom
1984 – George Orwell
I was talking to a friend about needing to tick this book off my list literally the day before I looked up this year’s challenge.
A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent
Grave Mercy – Robin LaFevers