2021 POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE & RCOMMENDATIONS

2021 POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE & RCOMMENDATIONS

Have you heard of the Popsugar Reading Challenge?

The Popsugar Reading Challenge is a collection of prompts and the goal is to find books that match these prompts.

I must admit, I’m not good at these kind of challenges. The restriction to read certain books doesn’t mesh with my mood reading personality. And it’s also a reason why I wasn’t successful in finishing the challenge last year.

On the other hand a challenge like this is a great way to add books to my 2021 tbr that I’ve always wanted to read but never found the time for it. I imagine I’m not the only one who has books that fit that bill. And a challenge like the Popsugar Reading Challenge is perfect for picking books that have been on my tbr for the longest.

So, if you are interested in participating. There is a forum on Goodreads, with booklists for each prompt that helps with choosing books.

Also, I added some of my own book recommendations below for each prompt. In case you are interested in participating as well.

2021 POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE & RCOMMENDATIONS

Here are my choices for this year’s Popsugar reading challenge:

A book that’s published in 2021, One Last Stop

✔️ An Afrofuturist book Ring Shout

I must admit I picked this book up mainly because of the cool cover and the intriguing plot. The audiobook 🎧 was incredibly well narrated and the story turned out to be a dark but smartly written novel.

(Ring Shout review – 3 stars)

A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover The Heart Principle
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle,
One to Watch,
Love and Other Words,
The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient, #2),
Jar of Hearts,
The Honey-Don’t List,
Heart-Shaped Hack (Kate and Ian, #1) 

A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Malibu Rising or the next Colleen Hoover book

A dark academia book Girls with Bright Futures

What an interesting book. Ever since Big Little Lies, I’ve enjoyed books about crazy parents, last year’s Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes was similarly darkly fascinating.

BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Broken Girls,
They Never Learn
Minor Dramas & Other Catastrophes 
Big Little Lies 

A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title Saving Ruby King
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
Darling Rose Gold,
Girl with a Pearl Earring,
The Silver Linings Playbook,
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

A book where the main character works at your current or dream job Battle Royal

A book that has won the Women’s Prize For Fiction The Song of Achilles
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
An American Marriage

A book with a family tree Homegoing, Bell Hammers: The True Folk Tale of Little Egypt, Illinois 
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill,
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1),
The Dutch House

A bestseller from the 1990s Fight Club
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
Jurassic Park,
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster,
The Perks of Being a Wallflower,
Outlander (Outlander, #1),
Seabiscuit: An American Legend

A book about forgetting The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine,
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle,
Oona Out of Order 

A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.)

A locked-room mystery The Devil and the Dark Water, The Guest List 
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
Anxious People,
Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10),
One of Us Is Lying (One of Us is Lying, #1)

✔️ A book set in a restaurant Act Your Age, Eve Brown

Sexy, fun, and flirty. A solid romance, with a great female lead and a grumpy hero.

(Act Your Age, Eve Brown review – 4 stars)

BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
Beard Science (Winston Brothers, #3),
Tweet Cute,
With the Fire on High

A book with a black-and-white cover Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Whisper Man,
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children, #1),
Middlegame (Middlegame, #1),
Artemis, All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1),
Year One (Chronicles of The One, #1) 

A book by an Indigenous author Firekeeper’s Daughter 

✔️ A book that has the same title as a song Layla

Layla wasn’t exactly what I expected, honestly I don’t know what I expected, but I was entertained from beginning to end. Also the audiobook narration, which was narrated by the male POV, was very well done.

(Layla review – 4 stars)

BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
Carry On (Simon Snow, #1),
Wayward Son (Simon Snow, #2),
American Gods (American Gods, #1),
Matilda,
Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1),
The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1),
Station Eleven,
Long Way Down,
Becoming,
Skyward (Skyward, #1),
Pretty Things 

A book about a subject you are passionate about

A book that discusses body positivity  Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
One to Watch,
Wonder (Wonder, #1),
Big Summer

✔️ A book found on a Black Lives Matter reading list Punching the Air

Powerful, thoughtful, and meaningful. I had this book on my tbr since last year, and I’m so glad that I finally was able to read it. Similar to THUG and Dear Martin, the story is raw, emotional, and a must read.

(Punching the Air review – 4 stars)

BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1),
Dear Martin (Dear Martin, #1),
Long Way Down,
The Poet X,
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

A genre hybrid The Princess Bride, One Last Stop 
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Sun Down Motel,
Naked in Death (In Death #1),
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

A book set mostly or entirely outdoors The Great Alone, This Tender Land, The Song of Achilles, Kings of the Wyld (The Band, #1)
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail,
Station Eleven,
Where the Crawdads Sing,
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster,
The Giver of Stars,
The Girl in Red,
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

A book with something broken on the cover The Maidens
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Broken Girls,
Big Little Lies,
The Silent Patient,
It Ends with Us,
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1),
Love and Other Words,
Oona Out of Order,
Skyward (Skyward, #1),
Regretting You

A book by a Muslim British author Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Punching the Air 
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

A book that was published anonymously Pride and Prejudice 
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
Pride and Prejudice

A book with an oxymoron in the title The Once and Future Witches, Second First Impressions 
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
Big Little Lies,
Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1),
Bittersweet (True North, #1),
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things,
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

A book about do-overs or fresh starts Second First Impressions, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Homegoing, The Four Winds, Big Lies in a Small Town, Honey Girl
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
A Man Called Ove,
The Midnight Library,
The Switch,
Dear Edward,
In a Holidaze,
Eat, Pray, Love,
How to Walk Away,
Things You Save in a Fire,
Evvie Drake Starts Over

A magical realism book Piranesi, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Where the Forest Meets the Stars, Under the Whispering Door
BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane,
Nothing to See Here,
The Midnight Library,
Oona Out of Order

✔️ A book set in multiple countries The Queen’s Gambit 

I loved the show and can say that the show is exactly as the book. Down to the dialogues. And it’s one of the rare times I would say the show is as good as the book. Loved them both and can only recommend them.

(The Queen’s Gambit review – 4.5 stars)

BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
Red, White & Royal Blue,
Eat, Pray, Love,
Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1),
The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2),
Clap When You Land

✔️ A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021 The Summer of Broken Rules

Martha’s Vineyard has always been on my bucket list, and the way it was described in this book made me want to go right away. I really enjoyed The Summer of Broken Rules, it’s a YA contemporary romance, a perfect beach and summer novel, and the second book by the author I devoured.

(The Summer of Broken Rules review – 4 stars)

BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Unhoneymooners,
Eat, Pray, Love,
Call Me By Your Name (Call Me By Your Name, #1),
The Nightingale

A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality

✔️ A book whose title starts with “Q,” “X,” or “Z” Quiet in Her Bones

I struggled so much with this book. And I don’t think it was the book’s fault. Probably me expecting something different, and not being able to connect with the story. In the end I was glad when it was finally done. And that makes me kinda sad.

BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Queen’s Gambit 
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald,
The Queen and the Cure (The Bird and the Sword Chronicles, #2)

✔️ A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child) A Million Things

This book was just AMAZING, BRILLIANT, EMOTIONAL, one of the best debut novels I’ve read in a long time. A 5 star read for me and a book I’ll be recommending for years to come. MUST READ!!!

(A Million Things review – 5 stars)

BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry,
Red, White & Royal Blue,
With the Fire on High,
Tweet Cute,
The Switch,
You Had Me at Hola

✔️ A book about a social justice issue Concrete Rose

Ever since reading THUG, I have loved this author’s writing. Strong characters, moving stories, her books are must read.

(Concrete Rose review – 4.5 stars)

BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1),
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,
The Help,
Dear Martin (Dear Martin, #1)

A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels)

A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads

✔️ A book you think your best friend would like The Turncoat King

My first fives star of 2021 and it was a fantasy romance – I couldn’t have picked a better book. All I can say is read the book. You’ll love it. A strong and smart heroine, an alpha male who is devoted and loving, awesome skills, great world building and most of all an original plot.

(The Turncoat King review – 5 stars)

✔️ A book about art or an artist Angels & Demons

I remember reading this book years ago, right after I visited Rome and I loved being able to visually walk from one location to the next. I thought the book was incredibly well done, original, and fascinating. If you haven’t read this book yet, check it out. Finding the clues, the chase against time and the atmosphere of Rome is a page turner.

BOOKS I CAN RECOMMEND:
The Silent Patient,
Little Fires Everywhere,
Girl with a Pearl Earring,
Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1),
Felix Ever After,
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History 

A book everyone seems to have read but you

Your favourite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
✔️ 2018 – Next Book in series – Wild Sign

I’m a BIG fan of Patricia Briggs and Urban Fantasy. Whenever I get a new book in her series I drop whatever I read. Wild Sign delivered in every way. This is such a great series and a must read for anyone who loves this genre.

(Wild Sign review – 4 stars)

2020 – Book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character – Fugitive Telemetry

2021 POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE & RCOMMENDATIONS

Advanced

The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list Rhythm of War

✔️ The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list After The Fall: A collection of Matt and Abby short stories

Abby and Matt’s love story in Worth the Fall by Claudia Connor has been one of my all time favorite romance novels. I don’t remember anymore how often I’ve read the book. But when I found out the that author wrote short stories about all the major holidays, I just had to read it. It was PERFECTION!!

The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover Heard It in a Love Song

The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover Best Knight Ever (A Kinda Fairytale #4)

The book that’s been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn’t Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas

A book from your TBR list you associate with a favourite person, place, or thing

A book from your TBR list chosen at random

A DNF* book from your TBR list (*not actually DNFed just put down) Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Know My Name, Big Lies in a Small Town, The Nothing Man

A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library)

2021 POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE & RCOMMENDATIONS