So I decided this week that I’m going to try to participate in the POPSUGAR reading challenge for the first time this year. Apparently, they’ve been doing this challenge for the past four years but I’ve never participated. When one of my friends/followers sent it to me last night, I realized that doing this challenge would be PERFECT to force me to read some diverse books and genres this year (which is one of my goals for 2019, don’t forget).
There are 40 different “regular” prompts and 10 “advanced” prompts to REALLY get outside of your comfort zone this year. I know my goal is to read 25 books in 2019 but maybe I can check off a few prompts for each book. We’ll see!
As I was going through the prompts and taping it into my planner, I was naming off a few good books I’ve read over the past few years that would fit GREAT in each category. I’ve also been doing some research myself of books I potentially want to read for each prompt as well (this Goodreads group is extremely helpful). I’m not committing to anything yet, but thought this would be a fun little post so y’all can get familiar with the challenge and see if you want to participate too! Now without further ado, here are some ideas for the 2019 POPSUGAR reading challenge…
A book becoming a movie in 2019.
The Nightingale. Where’d You Go Bernadette. The Knife of Never Letting Go.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Rosie Project. The Woman in the Window.
A book that makes you nostalgic.
Looking for Alaska. The Giver. Frindle. The Devil’s Arithmetic.
A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction).
Honestly have no idea what I want to read for this prompt. Apparently the author of Bird Box is a musician so I might use that book for this! If you’ve read any good musician memoirs lately, let me know!
Something I’ve read & recommend: Scrappy Little Nobody.
A book you think should be turned into a movie.
I think this one is hard to fulfill without reading the book first. There are probably a lot of thrillers on my shelves right now that would make excellent movies! I’ll let you know.
Something I’ve already read & recommend: Final Girls. Dark Matter. One Day in December.
A book with at least 1 million ratings on Goodreads.
The Diary of a Young Girl. Gone Girl. The Da Vinci Code. Memoirs of a Geisha. The Help.
Something I’ve read & recommend: Harry Potter series. To Kill a Mockingbird.
A book with a plant in the title or on the cover.
Flowers for Algernon. In a Dark, Dark Wood. The Sun and Her Flowers. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. The Immortalists. The Perfect Mother. How to Walk Away. What Alice Forgot.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Husband’s Secret. It Ends With Us.
A reread of a favorite book.
A book about a hobby.
I’m struggling with this one as well! I feel like the main characters in books can have all sorts of hobbies but you don’t know until you read. Maybe The Kiss Quotient (math)?
Something I’ve read & recommend: 13 Little Blue Envelopes (travel).
A book you meant to read in 2018.
Oh there are so many! The Immortalists. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. Then She Was Gone. Into the Water. The Last Time I Lied.
A book with “pop”, “sugar”, or “challenge” in the title.
This one was also pretty hard to find. I have this book called Sugar on my Goodreads shelf that I have on my Kindle that I think I will try to (finally) read for this prompt!
A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover.
The Devil Wears Prada. China Rich Girlfriend.
A book inspired by mythology, legend, or folklore.
Circe. This one was pretty popular this past year so I figure it could be a good one for me to try to read! Definitely a book that’s out of my comfort zone.
A book published posthumously.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. The Diary of a Young Girl.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays & Stories. When Breath Becomes Air.
A book set in space.
The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The Martian. Illuminae.
A book by two female authors.
The Wife Between Us. Love and Other Words. The Last Mrs. Parrish.
A book with a title that contains “salty”, “sweet”, “bitter”, or “spicy”.
A book set in Scandinavia.
A Man Called Ove. The Snowman.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Woman in Cabin 10.
A book that takes place in a single day.
The Dinner. They Both Die at the End. One Day.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Dinner List.
A debut novel.
The Kiss Quotient. Bird Box. The Immortalists. The Wife Between Us. The Perfect Mother. The Astonishing Color of After. The Time Traveler’s Wife.
Something I’ve read & recommend: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. The Woman in the Window. The Chalk Man. Looking for Alaska. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
A book that’s published in 2019.
Daisy Jones & the Six. Looker. The Hiding Place.
A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Something I’ve read & recommend: Harry Potter.
A book recommended by a celebrity you admire.
Becoming (Oprah). Where the Crawdads Sing (Reese Witherspoon). The Other Woman (Reese Witherspoon).
Something I’ve read & recommend: One Day in December (Reese Witherspoon). The Hate U Give (Emma Watson). Milk and Honey (Emma Watson).
A book with “love” in the title.
Eat, Pray, Love. Love and Other Words.
Something I’ve read & recommend: One True Loves. Ugly Love. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. The Lovely Bones.
A book featuring an amateur detective.
The Last Time I Lied. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. Turtles All the Way Down.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Girl on the Train. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. The Woman in Cabin 10.
A book about a family.
Educated. China Rich Girlfriend. The Glass Castle. Everything I Never Told You.
Something I’ve read & recommend: We Were Liars. Crazy Rich Asians. Little Fires Everywhere. The Book Thief. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series. My Sister’s Keeper. The Lovely Bones. Goodbye, Vitamin.
A book written by an author from Asia, Africa, or South America.
Rainbirds. Born a Crime. I Am Malala. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Kite Runner.
A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in the title.
It’s easier to find titles when you look at a full list different astrology terms. Into the Water (an element). Water for Elephants. American Fire (an element). I’ll Give You the Sun (luminaries).
A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie.
Rory Gilmore makes choosing a book for this so easy! The Bell Jar. The Diary of a Young Girl.
A retelling of a classic.
Eligible (Pride and Prejudice). Circe (Greek mythology).
A book with a question in the title.
Where’d You Go Bernadette. (there’s no question mark actually in the title though so IDK!)
Something I’ve read & recommend: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Why Not Me?
A book set on a college or university campus.
Emergency Contact. My Oxford Year.
Something I’ve read & recommend: A Little Something Different.
A book about someone with a superpower.
The Power. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Red Queen.
A book told from multiple character POVs.
Into the Water. Gone Girl. The Time Traveler’s Wife.
Something I’ve read & recommend: Wonder. An American Marriage. Eleanor & Park. What Alice Forgot. The Girl on the Train. Don’t You Cry. One Day in December. A Simple Favor.
A book that includes a wedding.
The Wedding Date. China Rich Girlfriend. Less. The Hating Game.
Something I’ve read & recommend: Crazy Rich Asians.
A book by an author whose first name and last names start with the same letter.
Anything in the Crazy Rich Asians Series (Kevin Kwan). Call Me By Your Name (Andre Aciman). The Kiss Quotient (Helen Hoang). I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (Michelle McNamara). Let’s Get Lost (Adi Alsaid).
A ghost story.
The Haunting of Hill House. Sing, Unburied, Sing.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Lovely Bones.
A book with a two-word title.
Watching You. Emergency Contact. Still Me. No Exit. Six Stories. Too Late. Bird Box. The Sandman. Firefly Lane. Maybe Someday. The Snowman.
Something I’ve read & recommend: Final Girls. November 9. Ghost Boy. Dark Matter. After You. Left Neglected. Still Alice. Ugly Love.
A novel based on a true story.
This list was super helpful! I had a hard time with this prompt. The Girls. Murder on the Orient Express. Room.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Fault in Our Stars.
A book revolving around a puzzle or game.
The Lying Game. The Last Time I Lied. Ready Player One.
Something I’ve read & recommend: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore.
Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR reading challenge.
I haven’t decided which past prompt I’ll use but here they are for reference: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018.
~ADVANCED Prompts~
A cli-fi (climate fiction) book.
I’m honestly having a hard time finding any book that even remotely interests me for this prompt. If you find anything, let me know! You could just read The Lorax. 😉
A “choose-your-own-adventure” book.
Pretty Little Mistakes. My Lady’s Choosing.
An “own voices” book.
In case you were curious about what “own voices” means: “Own voices” means that the author of a book with a main character who is part of a marginalized group is also part of that marginalized group. The definition of a marginalized group can be pretty broad, based on: skin color, ethnicity, sexual-orientation, gender identity, religion, etc.”
Everything I Never Told You. The Bell Jar. El Deafo.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Hate U Give.
Read a book during the season it is set in.
My plan for this one is to see if I end up reading any books that happen to take place in the season along the way. But I want to read The Snowman this year so I’ll keep that one here for winter.
Winter: The Snowman.
Something I’ve read & recommend: One Day in December (winter).
A LitRPG book.
A book with no chapters, unusual chapter headings, or unconventionally numbered chapters.
Where’d You Go Bernadette. Into the Water. Gone Girl.
Something I’ve read & recommend: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. One Day in December. Goodbye, Vitamin. The Chalk Man. Thirteen Reasons Why.
Two books that share the same title.
This one was really difficult for me as well! I might save this one for last and see if I come across anything. If you have suggestions, let me know!
A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom.
1984 (“big brother”). The Help (“you is kind. you is smart. you is important.”)
A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent.
I’m planning to stretch this prompt to include an ashram so I can read Eat, Pray, Love to fulfill it!
Talk to me!
PHEW. That was a long post but hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) it was helpful and it gave you some great ideas for the challenge! Maybe it even convinced you to participate? We’ll see! I chose a lot of the same books on purpose because a) they are books I already have on my shelves and b) they work for multiple prompts. If you have alternative ideas or you think there’s a great book that could fit perfectly with any of these prompts, leave it in the comments! I’d love to hear what you all are reading 🙂
