Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

I've read Viciousand Vengeful, A Lady's Guide To Petticoats and Piracy, and Loveless. I didn't get intoLet's Talk About Love though. Would love some more recs of explicitly ace characters

I ran across the list that was posted on Buzzfeed a few days ago: https://www.buzzfeed.com/michelekiric...

It looks like it has some pretty good books listed.

I just finished Joan is Okay by Weike Wang, and I feel it would fit this prompt, but not totally sure. Anyone else read this one? Just trying to clarify since the ace spectrum is new to me. Thanks.

Diana wrote: "I ran across the list that was posted on Buzzfeed a few days ago: https://www.buzzfeed.com/michelekiric......"

Thanks! Some of those look real good.

I just read Shades of A by Tab A. Kimpton, a webcomic which I found in a list for another reading challenge. It started as a parody of 50 Shades of Grey, but then developed into something quite different.

"When openly asexual Anwar Sardar gets dragged to a kink night by his (soon to be ex) best mate, JD; he is surprised to make friends with Chris Slate, a middle aged transvestite with a penchant for Dr Who. Convinced they’ll never meet again Anwar puts him out of his mind, but the awkwardly charming man keeps turning up in his life."

You can read it online at https://www.discordcomics.com/comic/s...

What I particularly enjoyed was being able to read comments by the author and other readers on each page: I learnt a lot, and questioned some assumptions I'd made about asexuality.

In book 3 & 4 of the Diviner series (Before the Devil Breaks You and The King of Crows ) there's an ace character.

Thomas wrote: "Anne of Green Gables maybe?"

I think Marilla was in love with Gilbert Bly's dad when they were younger and she got so angry with him that she quit talking to him for so long that it broke the relationship.

I don't know about Matthew. Maybe he was too shy . . .?

I read Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann.

I read Little Thieves which has two demisexual characters (they as much as say on the page, though they don't use the word b/c this isn't set in our universe, but the author does say that they're demi).

I just started reading A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, published in July 2021 and I think it fits - certainly as well as Murderbot does. Anyone read it and have any thoughts on that?

I'm reading it for my Feminerdy Book Club discussion this weekend -- and I will be delighted if once I finish it also fits this prompt for PS.

Behind Closed Doors

This book fills this prompt for me.

Georgia, the mc from loveless (by alice oseman) is aroace

In case someone is looking for a very good, non-fiction book, I'm listening to one about an agender kid who is the victim of an impulsive crime, spurred on by their atypical way of dressing. I remember when it was in the news, and they mistakenly said the victim was a man wearing a kilt. The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives

Theresa wrote: "I just started reading A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, published in July 2021 and I think it fits - certainly as well as Murderbot does. Anyone read i..."

I would vote no as the MC uses they/them, and is interested in someone who buys tea physically and had a former relationship with a fellow monk. Murderbot on page says they/it have no interest in sex.

But Mosscap is likely ace.

That is fair and we always need more ace rep. It is whether failure to claim sexuality works for your interpretation of the prompt versus explicitly claiming ace. This also enters a grey area (no pun intended) with robots and AI being labeled as ace by default, as some aces like the rep and some find it dehumanizing. Again, personal preference varies.

That's a very good point re. robots and ace rep. I do have friends who identify as ace who love Murderbot because they feel that Murderbot is a lot like them but ace rep is so sparse that I think it's a relief to see any characters at all who are relatable that way (not that I want to speak for them).

I saw Alice Oseman mentioned, and I read a different book by her for this challenge - in the text one of the characters even discusses being ace and what it means.

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

In a Facebook group someone suggested the book The Maid by Nita Prose for this category. Can anyone confirm if it would work?

Linda wrote: "In a Facebook group someone suggested the book The Maid by Nita Prose for this category. Can anyone confirm if it would work?"


I don't think so. She's neurodivergent, but she's pretty clearly interested in romance and sex, so I wouldn't say she's ace. That said, I still don't understand the whole "ace spectrum" thing, I dont' know what all that includes.

Nadine in NY wrote: "Linda wrote: "In a Facebook group someone suggested the book The Maid by Nita Prose for this category. Can anyone confirm if it would work?"


I don't think so. She's neurodivergent, but she's pret..."

Agreed; the main character is pretty clearly heterosexual, and I can't think of any side characters that would qualify.

Eight Kinky Nights features a main character who is exploring her identity as gray ace and coming to terms with and honoring her own consent.
Leah felt even more real than Alice in Let's Talk About Love

For romance fans, I loved The Charm Offensive (demisexual character) and His Quiet Agent (slightly iffy, because we don't really know whether the character is ace by natural inclination or has been traumatized around sex. But it's just lovely, and his LI is happy to keep the relationship to whatever he needs.)

Elatsoe is an entertaining YA book, with an aro/ace main character.

Re Murderbot and Mosscap -- I would be hesitant to count Mosscap, but I think Murderbot is sufficiently human to count. It obviously has emotions and I don't think is inherently incapable of sexual feeling.

I read Every Heart a Doorway. The lead character is asexual and it's mentioned in the book by term more than once. It has great reviews, but for me it was just okay. I really liked the premise and I think I would have liked the story more if it had been expanded in to a full novel rather than a novella. It just felt like something was missing.

On the plus side, it was a quick read and it's also a Hugo winner, so it would fit that prompt too.

I was looking for a way to make Kaikeyi fit into this years' popsugar prompts. Goodreads has an LGBTQ+ tag for Kaikeyi and lots of readers commented that she was asexual (*spoiler*: She doesn't necessarily enjoy the sexual engagement with her husband, but absolutely loves his friendship). So just another option if others are reading this one!

There’s a side character in Homicide and Halo-Halo who is ace.

Homicide and Halo-Halo

I read The Love Hypothesis.

Charlsa wrote: "I would include A Prayer for Owen Meany on this list."

I just finished this book, and came here to see if it might work. Thanks for posting this.

I'm currently reading Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg. My original intent was to use this for "gender identity" but I also have Gender Queer borrowed from the library, so I'm wondering if I can use Stone Butch Blues for "ace spectrum"? I don't know much about ace, and I'm hoping someone more knowledgeable than I am can weigh in. Feinberg had a pretty complicated identity, which was a female butch lesbian transgender asexual. It's confusing for me. This book is fiction, but highly autobiographical. The character is a "stone butch" lesbian, meaning she enjoys giving sexual pleasure but does not want to be touched. But she does have sex, and she initiates sex. So I'm wondering: does this book work for "ace spectrum"?


This GLAAD article explains some of it, and after reading this, I think I'm okay using Stone Butch Blues for "ace spectrum." Thoughts?


https://www.glaad.org/amp/proud-asexu...

From the GLAAD article:

Two scales are often conflated with each other, and that is: general attitudes towards sex and personal attitudes towards sex. When thinking about sex in general, one can range from being sex positive (believing sex to be something that people should be free to engage in if they so choose); to advocating for sexual freedom; to being sex negative (believing that sex is a bad and evil act that should not be engaged in or talked about.) A sex neutral individual has no stance on the matter or is indifferent.

When thinking about attitudes towards sex personally, the scale ranges from sex favorable (desiring to have sex, finding pleasure and enjoyment from sex), to sex neutral (indifference towards sex, would be okay having or not having sex); to sex repulsed (finding the act of sex personally unfavorable, regardless of general feelings towards sex: a strong desire not to engage in sexual actions.)

An asexual person could be sex repulsed, and have zero desire to engage in sex. They could be sex neutral, and would not initaite sex for pleasure, but might enjoy being able to please their partner. An asexual person could also be sex favorable, have a high sex drive, and desire sex often. All of these descriptions, as well as everything in between, are equally valid representations and ways to be ace. None of these attitudes and actions would make anyone less ace.

Nadine wrote: I'm currently reading Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg. My original intent was to use this for "gender identity" but I also have Gender Queer borrowed from the...



You could use Gender Queer for a "character on the ace spectrum". The MC identifies as beyond the binary as well as ace.

ETA: Then , of course, you could use Stone Butch Blues for " gender identity".

Asexual means, at its most basic level, not experiencing sexual attraction. Just not having the "must bang now" sensation. Lots of aces have vanilla sex, but they find it rooted more in emotion and connection to a partner, rather than getting one's rocks off.

Lilith wrote: "You could use Gender Queer for a "character on the ace spectrum". The MC identifies as beyond the binary as well as ace...."


Thanks, I will switch them around!

Just read Gender Queer and I agree that it fits the ace spectrum prompt I’m using it for the Gender Identity prompt though.

Has anyone come across a book featuring a fraysexual character? There’s little non fiction on the subject and I haven’t seen any fiction works at all.

Melissa wrote: "Has anyone come across a book featuring a fraysexual character? There’s little non fiction on the subject and I haven’t seen any fiction works at all."



That's a new term for me! I had to look that up. I found:

Fraysexuality is a sexual orientation that lies on the asexual spectrum. The term fraysexual describes people who only experience sexual attraction towards people they don’t know or don’t know very well. The attraction fades away after they get to know the person.

And the book I just started seems to fit this quite well: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. So far she's hooked up with a guy she knew for five minutes, and she has no intention of staying with him. I don't know if she counts as "fraysexual" however, since she was happily monogamously married prior to the start of the book.

There’s a book called Hands Like Secrets by Mariah Norris that is very good, and has an ace character! I don’t know how to add the book to the list, can anyone help me?

Erin wrote: "There’s a book called Hands Like Secrets by Mariah Norris that is very good, and has an ace character! I don’t know how to add the book to the list, can anyone help me?"



You can only do it from a browser version of Goodreads, the app does not have the capability (which is one of the many annoying aspects of the app).

When looking at a Listopia in the browser, click on "Add Books to this List" (right at the top of the list of titles). Then click SEARCH. (This step is important, it prevents duplicate copies of the same title from being added. Do not use the "My Books" links!! Use the Search!) Type in your title, then click "Vote for this Book" - click on "All Votes" and/or refresh the page and you'll see it's been added to the List, and it also appears over in the right margin as a book you voted for. The Listopia "score" is recalculated every few minutes, it takes into account the order of the books you've voted for (your first vote will be counted highest, etc) and the number of votes each title received. You can change the order of the books you've voted for by just typing in a new number. If you voted for three books, and you want the third one to be counted highest, then just replace the "3" with a "1" in the box next to the title in the right margin, it will automatically re-sort when you hit enter.

The Cybernetic Tea Shop is short and cute af.

I was going to read Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey, as I'd read an interview where he identified as ACE, but then couldn't get hold of the book. So thanks to @Karen above for mentioning Loveless by Alice Oseman.

This was a sweet book and did a very good job of explaining the spectrum to someone who was pretty ignorant about it.

Lexi wrote: "Also, recommend Elatsoe and her second book A Snake Falls to Earth"

Seconded in both cases. I loved them.

More to the point, there's a line from the main character of A Snake Falls to Earth: "Jess was witty, friendly, and read the same series as Nina; plus, they were the only other ace sophomore she knew."

The only book I had in Mount TBR that fit this prompt back in December was A Prayer for Owen Meany, so that’s what I planned to read. I made an attempt in July, but I found the beginning slow-going and at over 600 pages couldn’t get into at the time. I set it aside to try again later.

I saw a lot of people here and in BookTube recommending The Love Hypothesis and it sounded like something I might like, but couldn’t lay hands on it. I finally lucked onto a free audiobook version this weekend and enjoyed it, despite narrator foibles. Would definitely have preferred the print or ebook, but it was good. (And, of course, now that I’ve essentially read it, you know I’ll find the print version—never fails!)

Only three prompts left!

I read More Than Enough by Elizabeth Wambheim. It was a lovely retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

Finished Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Love Hypothesis
It is IMPOSSIBLE and downright HORRIBLE for this book to get anything under a 5 star rating. ITS SOOOO GOOD and I’m in such a hangover now i literally do not know what to do with myself.

If you're interested in fantasy, one of the prominent characters in the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson is asexual (but not aromantic). They're long, so it's a bit late. But if you're looking for more books with interesting Ace characters, here you go.

The Way of Kings
Words of Radiance
Oathbringer
Rhythm of War

Raybearer duology fits for sure