Here it is, the end of the year again. Time for a new list of books to read. This will be the sixth year I have participated in Popsugar’s reading challenge. They have planned their list this year around the idea of nostalgia. As such, many of the prompts this year are familiar ones. At first, I was put off by the idea of so many repeated prompts, but I decided to run with it regardless. With my own little push against the familiar, however, I have chosen many books by new-to-me authors, such as Vanessa Len, Angeline Boulley and Neal Shusterman. These join other, more comfortably familiar authors like Brandon Sanderson, Tad Williams and Marissa Meyer.
Here’s my list for the 2023 Popsugar Reading Challenge:
A book you meant to read in 2022 – Renegades, by Marissa Meyer
A book you bought from an independent bookstore – Bands of Mourning, by Brandon Sanderson
A book about a vacation – Book Lovers, by Emily Henry
A book by a first-time author – Only a Monster, by Vanessa Len
A book with mythical creatures – His Majesty’s Dragon, by Naomi Novik
A book about a forbidden romance – The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
A book with “Girl” in the title – The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente
A celebrity memoir – The Princess Diarist, by Carrie Fisher
A book with a color in the title – Grey Sister, by Mark Lawrence
A romance with a fat lead – Spoiler Alert, by Olivia Dade
A book about or set in Hollywood – Hidden Hollywood, by Kylie Gilmore
A book published in spring 2023 – TBD
A book published the year you were born – Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead Moore
A modern retelling of a classic – Lost Boy, by J. M. Sullivan
A book with a song lyric as its title – Stars Above, by Marissa Meyer
A book where the main character’s name is in the title – Damia, by Anne McCaffrey
A book with a love triangle – The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
A book that’s been banned or challenged in any state in 2022 – Dear Martin, by Nic Stone
A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past challenge: A book you own, but haven’t read (2015) – Nemesis, by Isaac Asimov
A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2023 – Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann
A book set in the decade you were born – The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum
A book with a queer lead – Under the Whispering Door, by T. J. Klune
A book with a map – The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon
A book with a rabbit on the cover – The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo
A book with just text on the cover – Process: The Writing Lives of Great Authors, by Sarah Stodola
The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list – The Hill We Climb, by Amanda Gorman
A #BookTok recommendation – Scythe, by Neal Shusterman
A book you bought secondhand – The Memory of Earth, by Orson Scott Card
A book your friend recommended – Shadows of Self, by Brandon Sanderson
A book that’s on a celebrity book-club list – Firekeeper’s Daughter, by Angeline Boulley
A book about a family – Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
A book that comes out in the second half of 2023 – TBD
A book about an athlete/sport – Out of the Silence, by Eduardo Strauch
A historical-fiction book – Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
A book about divorce – A is for Alibi, by Sue Grafton
A book you think your best friend would like – By My Side, by Nora Roberts
A book you should have read in high school – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
A book you read more than 10 years ago – One For the Money, by Janet Evanovich
A book you wish you could read for the first time again – Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo
A book by an author with the same initials as you – The Better Part of Valor, by Tanya Huff
A book written during NaNoWriMo – Volkswagen Summer, by Katie Chance
A book based on a popular movie – The Last Starfighter, by Alan Dean Foster
A book that takes place entirely in one day – Columbine, by Dave Cullen
A book that was self-published – Wool, by Hugh Howey
A book that started out as fan fiction – Point Pleasant, by Jen Archer Wood
A book with a pet character – Hounded, by Kevin Hearne
A book about a holiday that’s not Christmas – The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury
A book that features two languages – The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list – The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
A book with alliteration in the title – Happy Hour in Hell, by Tad Williams
I tried to choose first from books I already own, and I think I was fairly successful. Out of the fifty, twenty-eight are on my shelves or in my e-library as of the end of the year. A couple of others I would have purchased eventually anyway.
I also wanted to stretch myself at least a little bit. Some of the prompts do this for me anyway, such as a romance with a fat lead, or a book set in, or about Hollywood. I had a hard time finding anything that sounded interesting to me, and I’m afraid I may have simply “settled” for a good enough book. Hopefully I can still find them enjoyable.
Another stretch I tried to include are the potentially more difficult books. Such as a couple of classics. The Brothers Karamazov, for example, has been on my “I should read this” list for many years. And then there are the nonfiction choices: memoir, poetry, serial killers and school shootings. These won’t necessarily be easy reads, but hopefully, they will be good reads.
I rounded out the list with authors I love and books that I have been excited to read for some time. And this year, there are two highly anticipated new releases that may come out just in time to fit into this challenge.
Here’s to another year of great reading!
TAwrites 