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Well, I've had a crazy busy morning at work. Hope your day is going well! Sorry that this post is late(r than usual). It's going to be a quick one because, still crazy ...

I don't have any progress to report but I am reading a book for my road trip challenge which is one of my four remaining prompts. I hope to finish it this weekend. I am still at 36/40 prompts; 37/41 books.

Haven't heard anything from our Popsugar peeps since the whirlwind a few weeks back. :( Hope they are still checking in on us.

I'll create the poll for the December "book released in 2016" for next week. Sorry that I'm behind on that one. But hey, if you haven't nominated a book there's still time.

Question of the week: Which prompt do you hope NOT to see on the 2017 challenge list?

For me, it's the ones that are along the lines of "own but have never read" or "started but never finished." I learned the hard way that there's a reason I never finished these books and "having" to do so makes it even less fun.

I finished two books this week to make up for no progress last week. I read I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban for my political memoir. I wasn't crazy about the writing style but clearly it is an intriguing story with a strong message. I also read Beauty Queens for my satire. This book is laugh-out-loud funny. I thought it was great and the author did an awesome job in pointing out the mixed signals girls receive from every aspect of their life on how to behave. I only have three more prompts to fill.

QOTW: A self-improvement book. While I ended up liking the book I chose, I don't want to have to search for another.

I finished two challenge books in the last week:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for a book set in my home state. It was a great read. I have a biology degree, and genetics was a favorite class (kinda wishing now that I had pursued it!). We have a lot to thank the Lacks family for (even though they were not treated well).
The Light Between Oceans for my book being made into a movie. Heartbreaking story. That's all I'm going to say.

I only have 4 books left to finish the challenge! I am currently reading one and listening to one. Another is on hold at the library, and I just requested the last one. I think I'm going to make it! Then I will have plenty of room in my schedule to read the book chosen for the December read along!

I am not-so-patiently waiting for my library to catalog the newest book from a favorite author - A Most Novel Revenge. It took them a month to get a copy, and now it is being cataloged but I can't put a hold on it yet. Grr...

Question of the Week: Please, oh please, do not ever request that we read a book based on our occupation again. The first book I read was ok. For the second I have had to resort to a children's book on Marie Curie (one of those "Who Was" books with the big caricature heads). Most of the other books I found that looked interesting aren't available at my library, but they aren't interesting enough to warrant purchasing.

I moved countries a week ago, but managed to finish off The Book of Phoenix (the prequel to Who Fears Death) and Slade House for my "first book seen in a bookstore" prompt.

That leaves me with two prompts! I've started An Ember in the Ashes for my YA best seller. I intended to read Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk for my "becoming a movie this year" book, since I abandoned The Girl with All the Gifts, but I sent it with the movers. If I can find it on Overdrive, I'll pick it up. Otherwise, I might go for A Monster Calls.

QOTW: I agree with Juanita about the "started but never finished," but I'd really hate to see another "written by a celebrity" prompt. I'm out of Mindy Kaling books.

I finished three books and I'm this close to finishing a fourth. I'm sad I wasn't able to finish the fourth in time for this check in. But on to what I did read:

~Finished In the Woods for my murder mystery. I won't go in detail about what I didn't like but overall it was a very good read and I will continue to read the other books the author has written.

~Started and finished Inside Out & Back Again for the culture I'm unfamiliar with. I liked this. I didn't intend on ever reading this book but after DNF-ing The Crane Wife I had to come up with something fast.

~Started and Finished It Was Me All Along because I needed a food memoir for another challenge. I feel like she was a little bit repetitive but I did enjoy this.

~Started Baby Doll for around the year. I like this and I'm reading it rather quickly - which is good because its due back at the library soon!

37/41 for PopSugar and 38/52 for around the year. The chances of me finishing both at this point is pretty bleak but I'm not going to give up yet!

QOTW There's actually quite a few that I would cringe to see again. Political memoir, satirical book, unfamiliar culture. But I do appreciate being pushed out of my comfort zone so I'm going in to next years challenge with an open mind to give the categories a fair shot!

I stayed up pretty late last night finishing The Cuckoo's Calling for a protagonist with your occupation. I'm a receptionist, not a private detective unfortunately. I really liked it, and I'm bummed I can't fit The Silkworm or Career of Evil into any of my remaining prompts.

Since I still have 8 prompts to go, I'm going to set a goal for myself this next week. I hope to finish The Color Purple and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Question of the week: Which prompt do you hope NOT to see on the 2017 challenge list?
There were really no prompts I hated, however this was my first reading challenge so I guess I haven't gotten sick of any prompts yet ;)
There were some I didn't care too much for, but they forced me to read some books that have been sitting in my TBR for forever.

Wait! I changed my mind :)

I didn't have an issue with this for 2016 Popsugar, but I have seen this in other challenges. I wouldn't like to see any prompts that might not apply to everybody.

Such as..
"A book your book club read and you skipped"
"A book you started but never finished"
"A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't"
Etc etc.

I don't mind prompts I can change to fit my needs. For example, I read a book I saw first in the library instead of a bookstore. But some prompts are limited in the ways you can interpret them.

Anna wrote: "I'd really hate to see another "written by a celebrity" prompt. I'm out of Mindy Kaling books..."

I agree. I am not a big celebrity follower. I have read a few of these books over the years, but it isn't my favorite. I especially don't like books written by the celebrities themselves. I would be more interested in reading a biography of an older actor no longer with us. I read a book on Ingrid Bergman last year which was good.

It took a month, but I finally finished Station Eleven for my Dystopain Novel. I loved it, and it only took me that long because we have moved in the last few weeks. Back on track.

Currently about 30% through Sharp Objects for my murder mystery/October challenge.

37/41. So close!

I have hit a brick wall with the challenge and it's so frustrating! I have finished 21 out of 41 books and have been at that number for quite some time. Not due to lack of reading, but because I've had to read an extraordinary amount for my grad school classes this semester. I was able to make 2 of the books fit challenge prompts, but not the rest. I also found out that I'm pregnant a couples months ago, and my pregnancy books don't really fit in anywhere! Oh and there's the first trimester exhaustion that keeps me from staying up and reading before bed like I normally do.

Currently on my bedside table I have Mine Till Midnight which will be my book with a blue cover, Truly Madly Guilty which will fulfill the book published in 2016 prompt, and A Discovery of Witches which will be my book set in Europe. I've become disinterested with Mine Till Midnight, and not sure if I'll push through. I need a good book to grab my attention!

QOTW: I'm tired of a few of the prompts. There are a ton of the self-help, memoir, autobiography genres and although some can be interesting, they need to keep it to 1 per year, not multiple. Also the prompts that are really more than 1 book are my least favorite.

Nothing to report here, but as always I love to come here and see what happened to the rest of you guys.

I'm almost done with Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. It's interesting, I am learning things but I am not a big fan of non-fiction.

I was on a list at the library for The Fireman and I am now reading this and it will fill no prompt. Too bad it's a 700+ pages book. :)

QOTW: I don't want to see again: A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't. I read ALL my books in high school, even those I didn't like.

Linnie wrote: " I also found out that I'm pregnant a couples months ago, and my pregnancy books don't really fit in anywhere! Oh and there's the first trimester exhaustion that keeps me from staying up and reading before bed like I normally do."

Congratulations! A pregnancy book would certainly qualify for a self-improvement book (if you haven't already used that one). Better to take care of yourself and enjoy your reading than to stress yourself out trying to finish the challenge :)

Sara wrote: I agree. I am not a big celebrity follower. I have read a few of these books over the years, but it isn't my favorite. I especially don't like books written by the celebrities themselves. I would be more interested in reading a biography of an older actor no longer with us. I read a book on Ingrid Bergman last year which was good."

I would prefer a biography as well. Memoirs feel too sugar-coated to me because nobody wants to admit to their flaws and bad decisions (and this comes from someone who helps people write memoirs for a living).

Fannie wrote: "I don't want to see again: A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't. I read ALL my books in high school, even those I didn't like. "

I did, too! But I chose to interpret the prompt as "a book commonly assigned in school that was never assigned to you." (I read Animal Farm.)

I finished 5 books this week, but only one for Popsugar so I'm at 34/41.

Popsugar:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling. I read this for a book that's becoming a movie in 2016. It was fun to revisit the world of Harry Potter again.

Book Riot
Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi for a book set in the Middle East. It's a graphic novel and very short. I'm trying to catch up with the Book Riot challenge so I've switched to shorter books.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. I read this for historical fiction set before 1900. It's a young adult book I never read when I was young.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. An imaginative young adult fantasy which I read for the first book in a series by a person of color.

Around the Year
I finished Dracula by Bram Stoker for a book set more than 100 years ago. I was surprised at how much I liked the book. Excellent writing.

So I have 16 books total left to read for my three challenges. Luckily some are short!

QOTW:
I didn't like the prompts for a book written by a celebrity or by a comedian.

Sara wrote: "Linnie wrote: " I also found out that I'm pregnant a couples months ago, and my pregnancy books don't really fit in anywhere! Oh and there's the first trimester exhaustion that keeps me from stayin..."

Thank you! I'm trying not to worry about it, but I hate not finishing things I've started. I have read more books this year then last year, so I'm calling it a win no matter what!

This week was "Sherlock Holmes week" for me, since two of the three book I finished were SH books. I finished the Popsugar challenge, but I'm frustrated by the other two challenges I decided to follow. I've STILL got two books left for BookRiot, and about 13 books left in Around the Year, and I'm not sure if I should push myself to finish, or just give up and read what I want.

The big one I have left for BookRiot is "a book of essays" - I'm a little stumped and not sure which book to read. I was planning to read Gaiman but now I'm having second thoughts. I'm just being very indecisive for no reason. Has anyone read any great books of essays recently?

The books I finished this week:
The Last One - about a "survival reality" contestant out in the woods of NY who unknowingly survives a deadly plague that wipes out most of the Eastern Seaboard. I LOVED this book! I gulped it down in one weekend. From the reviews, it looks like not everyone felt this way, some people just didn't identify with or care about the characters.

A Study in Scarlet - the first Sherlock Holmes book. So much fun! Why have I never read one of these before??

The Sign of Four - the second Sherlock Holmes book, which I finished last night while getting my hair cut.

After gulping down The Last One, I've been struggling to stay awake while reading The Lake House all week. I'm still only about 60 pages in. Somebody tell me that this gets good soon!

QotW: I've disliked a lot of categories! But if I can only pick one, it's: "a category that forces me to read a book BECAUSE I'm guaranteed to not enjoy it" (for example: "book you were supposed to read for school but didn't," "a book you never finished," "a book with bad reviews," or "a book by an author you hate."). No, just no. If I've tried it and rejected it already, why make me go back to it? Reading is a pleasure, it should not be a chore.

Linnie wrote: " ... I also found out that I'm pregnant a couples months ago ..." Congratulations!! Sleep if you need sleep, it's more important than any reading challenge. :-)

Linnie wrote: "... I also found out that I'm pregnant a couples months ago ..."

Wow I skipped that part. Congratulations!

Nadine, I felt the same about Sherlock Holmes the first time I read one of these books. So much fun!

Nadine wrote: "This week was "Sherlock Holmes week" for me, since two of the three book I finished were SH books. I finished the Popsugar challenge, but I'm frustrated by the other two challenges I decided to fol..."

I was also doing Popsugar and Around the year. I had an epiphany yesterday and I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to finish both. Really epiphany is a very fancy way of saying that I'm giving up on ATY to make myself feel better. I'm going to read what I want and see if I can pencil books in to ATY but its dumb for me to pressure myself to read something that I don't want to read.

Nadine wrote: "The big one I have left for BookRiot is "a book of essays" - I'm a little stumped and not sure which book to read. I was planning to read Gaiman but now I'm having second thoughts. I'm just being very indecisive for no reason. Has anyone read any great books of essays recently?"

I can't make any specific suggestions, but I found this list. Maybe you can find something good in there.

/list/show/4...

No progress to report. Since I couldn't cope with Kletva I-II to be for my Book set in my home country, I switched it with Girl at War. I feel bad as hell, but also relieved of such a big book.

QOTW: I hope I will not see any prompts like book recommended by someone you just met, since it's equal to stopping a random stranger on a street and asking him/her what is the book they would recommend, and I don't really meet any new people. With other prompts I'm okay.

Linnie I just had my son a few weeks ago and was super sick all pregnancy, plus when I'm pregnant I have zero attention span so I just had to accept this year would be a bust and just aim for 30 books. Congratulations and don't stress if you're not reading as much, it is totally normal!

I've finally made a little more progress on the Challenge. I am now at 73% (30/41).

I recently finished Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys for the prompt "a book and its prequel". This book is the prequel to one of my favorite books of all time: Jane Eyre.

Question of the week: Which prompt do you hope NOT to see on the 2017 challenge list?

I hope there aren't any books by celebrities next year.

Tara wrote: "Linnie I just had my son a few weeks ago and was super sick all pregnancy, plus when I'm pregnant I have zero attention span so I just had to accept this year would be a bust and just aim for 30 bo..."

Congratulations on your new little one Tara! This is our first and we're super excited, so my ability to concentrate on anything else is really low!!

Mike wrote: "Nadine wrote: "The big one I have left for BookRiot is "a book of essays" - I'm a little stumped and not sure which book to read. I..."
I can't make any specific suggestions, but I found this list.

Thanks, that was helpful, it narrowed down my choices. I put a few books on hold. Maybe I actually CAN finish all my Challenges this year! Or at least two of them. Either way, I'm not going to try to do all three next year.

Three more for me this week: One for the year and two for the fall challenge. I'm at 34/41

I finally finished Station Eleven and I really enjoyed it!

I listened to Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party for my Fall challenge book with an orange cover and Emma Thompson read The Turn of the Screw as a scary book. I didn't find either of them scary.

I've just started and I'm listening to Eggs, Beans and Crumpets by P.G. Wodehouse for the Fall book with food in the title. I love P. G. Wodehouse, particularly when read by Jonathan Cecil.

All but one of my remaining books for the year I have in print, and I fear I won't be able to finish them. Primarily because I fell asleep last night while writing this post, with my laptop still on my lap, because I had to get up at 2:30 am for work yesterday. MAYBE I can switch to a couple of audio alternatives...

I'm struggling with my pick for Oprah's Book Club: The Road. I really don't like it and I find it a chore to pick up and read it. I only have it and 3 more to read to complete before the end of the year so I'm going to take a break from it and read something from my TBR pile that's also on a book club were reading this month (Go Set A Watchman)

QOTW: I hated the prompt "set in your home state". Easy enough if you live in certain states/countries but my particular province in Canada has very few set in it so it's a struggle to find one. That's actually one of the prompts I haven't finished yet (plan on an autobiography of a political leader so it hits two remaining categories in one)

Ok I changed my mine. Had to finish this book even though I hated. Good thing I did because I had less than a hour left in it. Another one checked off

I have been in a rut. I chose a book I thought I would like, but I actually hate, for one of the categories. Unfortunately, it has slowed me down because I dread reading it. The good news is, I am almost done with it now, and I have 9 more to read to complete the entire challenge once I am done with that one!

I haven't made any progress on this challenge this week, since I was stuck on the same book. I read The Girl with All the Gifts for another challenge, and it took me all week even though I enjoyed it.

In terms of the question of the week, there were several prompts I would not like to see again. I would not like to see anything to do with my hometown/home state. I also didn't like "a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't," since I read everything that I was supposed to. I also don't like prompts that ask for recommendations because I've done so many of them already, and I'm not so comfortable asking most people for recommendations.

Kathy wrote: "I finished 5 books this week, but only one for Popsugar so I'm at 34/41.

Popsugar:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling. I read this for a book that's becoming a mo..."

The Witch of Blackbird Pond is one of my favorite books that I read as a child! I reread it as a young adult and loved it all over again!

I read one non-fiction book this week, but it was for another book club: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind for Book Vipers. I like reading books that challenge my thinking and add to my knowledge and understanding of our world.

Late again! I've been very forgetful lately.

As of Thursday I was 35/41 having finished The Girl on the Train. I really enjoyed this book and I'm excited to see movie adaptation hopefully soon!

I wouldn't want to see another prompt that requires purchasing a book (i.e. The First Book you see in a Bookstore). While this one was flexible and I ended up changing it to library instead of bookstore, I didn't like that I had to change it. I wouldn't have changed it, but I don't want to spend money on a book that I may not like.