Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2019 Monthly Challenge
>
2019 Monthly Challenge
2019 Monthly Challenge Suggestions:January - 8. A Book About a Hobby (January is National Hobby Month)
February - 29. A Book With LOVE in the Title (Valentine's Day)
March - 16. A Book With a Question in the Title (International Ask a Question Day is March 14th)
April - 6. A Book With a Plant in the Title or on the Cover (Arbor Day is April 26th)
May - 31. A Book About a Family (International Family Day is May 15th)
June - 34. A Book that Includes a Wedding (stereotypical month for weddings)
July - 20. A Book Set in Space (Commemorating the First Moon Landing on July 29th, 1969)
August - 21. A Book by Two Female Authors (National Women's Equality Day is August 26th)
September - 17. A Book Set on a College or University Campus (Stereotypical Month that School Starts. At least in the US/Northern Hemisphere)
October - 36. A Ghost Story (Halloween)
November - 13. A Book Published Posthumously (All Souls Day is November 2nd/ Day of the Dead is mostly in November)
December - 26. A Book that's Published in 2019 (a tradition for me. IMHO, this prompt belongs in December).
As always, I love your list Mike. The only thing I can think of that would be different would be to change January from hobby to game or puzzle (also hobbies!). National Puzzle Day is January 29. I find it easier to imagine a group all reading the same book for that one.
poshpenny wrote: "As always, I love your list Mike. The only thing I can think of that would be different would be to change January from hobby to game or puzzle (also hobbies!). National Puzzle Day is January 29...."
I had actually considered both of them for January, and chose Hobby only because I found Hobby Month before I found Puzzle Day.
Looks good to me, though I do agree about game/puzzle possibly being easier to reach a consensus on!I didn't manage to join any monthly read this year, but hoping to this time around.
I agree about swapping game/puzzle for hobby. I was hoping that "10. A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title" would be one of the group reads. I don't know how easy it would be to find a book the majority like, but it seems fitting for us to read that prompt together.
Heather wrote: "I agree about swapping game/puzzle for hobby. I was hoping that "10. A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title" would be one of the group reads. I don't know how easy it would be to find a ..."We could always do that prompt in November since it is when the new Popsugar challenges are announced :)
Either option is fine with me!
Mike, you did an awesome job as always!
I like the prompts you picked and the reasons you picked them! And I'd also think switching game/puzzle for hobby would be a little easier.
I like those prompts, too. A few other possibilities I thought of (just for consideration):January - debut novel (since it’s the first month of the year)
March - book with zodiac sign in title (since traditionally the Zodiac begins in March with Aries)
May - book published posthumously (since May is also associated with Memorial Day)
August - could move book set on a college to here if there was another category for September (most colleges now start in August)
I like the original list, but also like the game/puzzle for hobby and 'pop, sugar, challenge' for posthumously published options.Edited to add: I could also see moving to posthumously to May, as suggested, to make that switch work.
Thank you, Mike, for honoring Arbor Day! I tried to shoehorn that in last year as I feel it is an ignored special day.I like switching January to puzzle/game both because one of the books I would suggest is set at Christmas, and because I suggested the prompt and would love to start off with it.
Mike wrote: "2019 Monthly Challenge Suggestions:January - 8. A Book About a Hobby (January is National Hobby Month)
February - 29. A Book With LOVE in the Title (Valentine's Day)
March - 16. A Book With a Q..."
Great work Mike! Love your list.
My only suggestions might be to change:
February - 'A book becoming a movie in 2019'- as when the Academy Awards are held
June - 'A book set in Scandinavia' (23) - as the National Day of Sweden is 6 June.
Rachel wrote: "Mike wrote: "2019 Monthly Challenge Suggestions:January - 8. A Book About a Hobby (January is National Hobby Month)
February - 29. A Book With LOVE in the Title (Valentine's Day)
March - 16. A ..."
And Denmark´s national day is June 5. But Norway´s is May 17...
Johanne wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Mike wrote: "2019 Monthly Challenge Suggestions:January - 8. A Book About a Hobby (January is National Hobby Month)
February - 29. A Book With LOVE in the Title (Valentine's Day)
..."
Lol! Thanks :) Maybe keep June as the wedding prompt then
Seconding the suggestions made to change January to debut author and November to the pop sugar challenge prompt.
Mod
You always come up with the best reasons, too :-)
I've noticed that a lot of people in this group seem to have the same hobby interest (baking) so it may not be difficult for the group to pick a hobby book, but I can also see it might be great fun to choose a debut novel as a group.
It might be easier for everyone to come together on the same Scandinavian book in June instead of wedding, but I think both ideas are great.
Great job, Mike. I love the list and the reasons. I will not have any objections to any of the changes suggested either. I'm just excited to join in the monthly challenges, whatever they might be. I hope to be a discussion leader again, so I can't wait to see what books we decide upon.
Great suggestions Mike!I think it sounds like a great plan. But I would join the group of people to change January to 'A book revolving around a puzzle or game'.
Can't wait for our first poll for 2019. Hope to join in more this year and try to read the selected books instead of those I have planned currently.
Just one suggestion for when polling begins for monthly challenges - that books that have already been monthly challenge discussions in a prior year are not be eligible. This year at least one book (The Night Circus I think?) fell flat because it had been a monthly discussion choice in 2017. Basically there was no discussion in 2018!
I would selfishly love for a book revolving around a puzzle or game to be a monthly read, since I have no ideas of my own for it.
Theresa wrote: "Just one suggestion for when polling begins for monthly challenges - that books that have already been monthly challenge discussions in a prior year are not be eligible. This year at least one book..."It was The Woman in Cabin 10. And I agree about them not being eligible. Hopefully there is a record or someone will remember which books have already been used.
Theresa wrote: "Just one suggestion for when polling begins for monthly challenges - that books that have already been monthly challenge discussions in a prior year are not be eligible. This year at least one book..."Nadine and I made a list after this happened last year. We will make sure to check that books haven't been chosen before. Anything nominated that has been discussesd in the last two years will be ineligible.
I really like Mike's suggestions from above. One other option that I thought would make for an interesting discussion would be #15 a retelling of a classic. I'm excited to do monthly reads again as I love read the same books as others!
I think this is a great list. I'd quite like to read my Scandinavian book in January as it will be cold and winterry but I understand that that might be too much of a repeat of the Nordic Noir prompt from this year.
Jess wrote: "I think this is a great list. I'd quite like to read my Scandinavian book in January as it will be cold and winterry but I understand that that might be too much of a repeat of the Nordic Noir prom..."whereas I love reading cold and wintery books in the middle of summer (NYC summers are so miserably hot and humid). I also like reading books set on beaches and in tropical climates in the middle of blizzards!
I also like reading Christmas themed books year round. I'm just weird.
Theresa wrote: "Jess wrote: "I think this is a great list. I'd quite like to read my Scandinavian book in January as it will be cold and winterry but I understand that that might be too much of a repeat of the Nor..."Me too....a little relief from the heat by reading about cold seems to work. (and stop me wanting to complain so much)
International family day is in May? xDIn Canada, family day is a statutory (national) holiday in February so the idea of it in May seems so bizarre for me! I don't have objections to the prompt or the fact that we would use that in May..I just find that interesting.
I like the list of prompts you selected but I love Sara's idea of doing the "pop" "sugar" or "challenge" prompt in november to remind us all about the new challenge!
Also of note, September (always the tuesday right after labour day) has always been the stereotypical back to school day for most Canadians as well.
Also I know you've chosen all regular prompts for the monthly reads but I also think a lot of people might struggle with LitRPG. I don't want to alienate anyone not doing the advanced prompts but think it might be a really good idea to do a group read for that prompt one month since I know a fair amount of people are going to struggle with it.
Mod
We can always do other group reads outside of the monthly reads! We did that two (three?) years ago with A Night in the Lonesome October. It can be more unstructured, with everyone talking about the same book but not necessarily reading it at the same time. If you see a lot of people talking about the same book (or if there's a book you think will have mass appeal), rally the troops and start a group read for that book!! No polls necessary, just get a group of people reading the same book and create a post about it.
There is a Book Discussions folder that is perfect for that!
ok sounds good Nadine! I'm planning on reading a few LitRPGs once i'm done with my 2018 challenges so will be able to have some recommendations soon at least!
Stacey wrote: "ok sounds good Nadine! I'm planning on reading a few LitRPGs once i'm done with my 2018 challenges so will be able to have some recommendations soon at least!"Glad to have someone in the field resesearching for the rest of us :)
I think when school starts is a regional thing really. When I lived in New Jersey, we started school the day after Labor Day and I think that's true for most northern states. When I lived in Georgia and here in Oklahoma, we start in the middle of August. That's also when all of the Universities start school. I don't think any American universities wait until September.
Regarding the start of school: I realize that many (most?) schools start in August now. My kids here in Northern Indiana started on August 8th!However, this is why I included the word "stereotypical" with my reasoning. Perhaps a better word would have been "traditional".
The Korean school year starts in March, so I tend to still think of that as the school year after teaching there for ten years. I’m sure I’ll switch back to September once my kids start. Here in Colorado it would have been an August start but we are moving back to Canada. Interestingly Scottish universities (all? Some?) start in October. And not only did my Canadian university not start until September, we started later than the traditional day after Labour Day one year to allow people to start classes during the Jewish High Holy days when those fell early in Sept one year.
I’d prefer to see the posthumous prompt left in November and not moved to May - Memorial Day is only an American holiday and the date is tied to the Civil War. Whereas many countries celebrate Remembrance Day on 11/11 and the US has Veterans Day. Interestingly, even though Wyatt is a US vet, we observe Remembrance Day and follow the traditions I grew up with (poppies, visit to a cenotaph) because both Wyatt and I feel that Veterans Day is mostly dominated by getting a free dinner and Memorial Day with barbecues and sales at the stores whereas Remembrance Day has maintained a sense of solemnity.
Love Mike's list. I would like to maybe see a debut novel in January. It's a new year, why not read something by a new novelist?
I like Mike's list, and support the suggestion to change the November read to the "pop" "sugar" title prompt.I also support changing the January prompt to puzzle/game or debut novel.
Chinook wrote: "I’d prefer to see the posthumous prompt left in November and not moved to May - Memorial Day is only an American holiday and the date is tied to the Civil War. Whereas many countries celebrate Reme..."Agree with everything you just said.
We could do "pop", "sugar", "challenge" at the mid-point of the challenge in June and leave "posthumous novel" in November. January is hobby month, but it seems like a lot of us would rather read "a book about a game or puzzle" together. We could do "debut author" in January and move "game/puzzle" to September?
Hi. I am new to this monthly challenge so excuse me for being a tad bit dense. In the monthly challenge listed by Mike, are we all reading the same book? Thanks in advance for your answer!
Mod
So, to start, a set of twelve categories that work for everyone is selected. When we are ready, we will open posts for members to suggest books for each month (we do this quarterly), the top suggestions are included in a poll, everyone can vote, and the winning book becomes the monthly read.
I also like the idea of a debut novel in January over the hobby or game/puzzle topics. I have quite a few on my TBR list. ;)Other than that the rest of the list looks good to me!
Ok everyone. Time to finalize this list. Most of Mike's suggested list is uncontested. Below are the months with multiple options. We will go with the majority of opinions or, if that fails, Nadine and I just get to pick (lol) :)January:
-A book about a hobby
-A book involving a game or puzzle
February:
-A book with "love" in the title
-A book becoming a movie in 2019
May:
-A book about a family
-A book published posthumously
June:
-A book that includes a wedding
-A book set in Scandinavia
November:
-A book published posthumously
-A book with "pop", "sugar", or "challenge" in the title
The best way to handle this is just to list each of the months above and which prompt you prefer.
PS - I left the college campus one in September because there really is no consensus on when schools start, and September is when Autumn actually begins :D
January: A book involving a game or puzzleFebruary: A book with "love" in the title"
May: Erm...I really don't have a preference here :)
June: A book that includes a wedding
November: A book with "pop", "sugar" or "challenge" in the title
January:-A book involving a game or puzzle
February:
-A book with "love" in the title
May:
-A book published posthumously
June:
-A book that includes a wedding
November:
-A book with "pop", "sugar", or "challenge" in the title
January:-A book involving a game or puzzle
February:
-A book with "love" in the title
May:
-A book published posthumously
June:
-A book that includes a wedding
November:
-A book with "pop", "sugar", or "challenge" in the title
January:-A book about a hobby
February:
-A book becoming a movie in 2019
May:
-A book published posthumously
June:
either
November:
-A book with "pop", "sugar", or "challenge" in the title
January:-A book involving a game or puzzle
February:
-A book with "love" in the title
May:
-A book about a family
June:
-A book that includes a wedding
November:
-A book with "pop", "sugar", or "challenge" in the title
January- a book involving a puzzle or gameFebruary- a book with “ love” in the title
May- a book about a family
June- a book about a wedding
November- a book published posthumously
( was this really a choice for two different months?)
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
A Night in the Lonesome October (other topics)The Woman in Cabin 10 (other topics)
The Night Circus (other topics)
Sara and Nadine have asked me to lead the charge for determining which of the prompts will be our Monthly Group Reads for 2019. I would like to thank them both for this opportunity and I hope I don't disappoint.
I have come up with a list of the Objective Prompts from among the 40 in the Regular Reading Challenge:
1. A book becoming a movie in 2019
3. A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction)
5. A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads
6. A book with a plant in the title or on the cover
8. A book about a hobby
10. A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title
11. A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
12. A book inspired by myth/legend/folklore
13. A book published posthumously
15. A retelling of a classic
16. A book with a question in the title
17. A book set on college or university campus
18. A book about someone with a superpower
19. A book told from multiple POVs
20. A book set in space
21. A book by two female authors
22. A book with SALTY, SWEET, BITTER, or SPICY in the title
23. A book set in Scandinavia
24. A book that takes place in a single day
25. A debut novel
26. A book that's published in 2019
27. A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature
29. A book with LOVE in the title
30. A book featuring an amateur detective
31. A book about a family
32. A book author from Asia, Africa, or South America
33. A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in title
34. A book that includes a wedding
35. A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter
36. A ghost story
37. A book with a two-word title
38. A novel based on a true story
39. A book revolving around a puzzle or game
It turns out that only 7 prompts didn't make the cut!
I've come up with a list of suggestions for the months in 2019. This is by no means the final list! I determined a reason for each selection because I wanted the list to be more than just picking prompts at random. Some are admittedly more of a stretch than others. Also, some are more US-centric than others. My apologies to our members from around the globe, but I happen to be American so that is what I am familiar with.
Bottom line is: if you have a better idea for a month than I have suggested, by all means let's hear it! My feelings are not easily hurt.
My suggestions are in the next post. Happy Reading!!