Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Ron wrote: "I've been trying to find some nonfiction books with these initials:

RA

AM

RM"



Reza Aslan
Rick Atkinson
Rachel Aviv
A. Roger Merrill
Randall Munroe
Robert K. Massie
Resmaa Menakem
Rachel Maddow
Robert Macfarlane
Amanda Montell
Armistead Maupin (he's got a mix of fiction & memoir)
Amy Morin
Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich (true crime)
Adeline Yen Mah
Alice Miller
Adam Makos
Anchee Min (mix of fiction & memoir)
Andrew Morton

not non-fiction, but historical fiction based on real people:
Robert Alexander

Thanks Nadine. It's funny that you mentioned Reza Aslan. I was looking through my home library and it turned out I had one of his books so for this prompt I'll be using:

ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

I found nothing in my TBR with my initials (CJ) and some googling only found one author of no interest to me. Anybody else have ideas? I'm only doing a partial Popsugar this year, so this is a prompt I'm likely to skip unless something interesting shows itself!

Chrissy wrote: "I found nothing in my TBR with my initials (CJ) and some googling only found one author of no interest to me. Anybody else have ideas? I'm only doing a partial Popsugar this year, so this is a prom..."

I only found Craig Johnson in terms of authors I've heard of. If you like Western mysteries, then it may be a good fit.

Chrissy wrote: "I found nothing in my TBR with my initials (CJ) and some googling only found one author of no interest to me. Anybody else have ideas? I'm only doing a partial Popsugar this year, so this is a prom..."

A couple of possibilities for you:
Carsten Jensen
Claire Jimenez

Ron wrote: "Thanks Nadine. It's funny that you mentioned Reza Aslan. I was looking through my home library and it turned out I had one of his books so for this prompt I'll be using:

[book:ZEALOT: The Life and..."


When I saw his name, I thought "oh! I bet Ron would like his books!!" :-)

Chrissy wrote: "I found nothing in my TBR with my initials (CJ) and some googling only found one author of no interest to me. Anybody else have ideas? I'm only doing a partial Popsugar this year, so this is a prom..."




WOW CJ is challenging!!! I got a bazillion JCs but very few CJs.

a few more names:

Carrie Jones
C.G. Jung
Colin Jost
Carolyn Jessop
Carole Johnstone
Cherie Jones
Chloé Cooper Jones
C.R. Jane
Coralee June
Corrine Jackson

and there are always picture books!
Crockett Johnson

Hi! Someone has a suggestion for authors with JC or JB? Thanks!!

Nadine wrote: When I saw his name, I thought "oh! I bet Ron would like his books!!" :-)

Nice call, thanks. I'll be adding it to either my April or May pile. I'm thinking April.

Jessica wrote: "Hi! Someone has a suggestion for authors with JC or JB? Thanks!!"



Yes there are a bunch of JCs & JBs. Your problem is going to be picking just ONE:

JC
Jenny Colgan
Joseph Conrad
Jeanine Cummins
John Carreyrou
James S.A. Corey
Justin Cronin
Janet Skeslien Charles
Julie Clark
James Clavell
Jessamine Chan
Jung Chang
John Connolly
Julia Child
Jennifer Crusie
John le Carré
Jay Crownover
Janell Cannon
J.M. Coetzee
James Fenimore Cooper
Joseph Campbell
Jacqueline Carey
Joelle Charbonneau
Jenny Carroll
Jerry Craft
Justina Chen
James M. Cain
Jane Corry
Jennifer Close
Jim Carroll
Jennifer Chiaverini
Jen Campbell
Jack Carr

and that's just tip of that JC iceberg


JB
John Boyne
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
J.M. Barrie
John Berger
John Berendt
Jim Butcher
Judy Blume
James Baldwin
Julian Barnes
Jessie Burton
Jenna Blum
Julie Berry
Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jennifer Brown
Jennifer S. Brown
Jorge Luis Borges
Jessica Anya Blau
John M. Barry
Janelle Brown
Jenn Bennett

JB = John Buchan — The Thirty-Nine Steps. It was a classic group read last month, a short adventure/thriller that I enjoyed.

I knew nothing about Say Say Say by Lila Savage- simply a random pick from the library shelve- but it turned out to be a very good book. Ella deals with her life as a carer in difficult circumstances and her relationship with her partner, Alix, and Bryn, husband of a brain-damaged wife. Sad, but not depressing.

Would also fit: Book about a family; book with a queer lead, and obviously ATY book about a character with a disability.

Does anyone have any ideas for the initials BM? I’m kinda stumped on it. Thanks!

Becky - wrote: "Does anyone have any ideas for the initials BM? I’m kinda stumped on it. Thanks!"

If you like thrillers, Brad Meltzer is kind of a big deal in that genre. BookBrowse had several other BM combinations, but I did not recognize any of them.

Becky - wrote: "Does anyone have any ideas for the initials BM? I’m kinda stumped on it. Thanks!"


a few more ...
Brandon Mull - Fablehaven
Bella Mackie - How to Kill Your Family
Brian McClellan - Promise of Blood
Beryl Markham - West with the Night
Bethany C. Morrow - A Song Below Water
Betty Mahmoody - Not Without My Daughter
Brittney Morris - Slay

Does anyone know any authors with the initials LF? (Not Lucy Foley) :-) thanks!

Lauren wrote: "Does anyone know any authors with the initials LF? (Not Lucy Foley) :-) thanks!"

Laurie Frankel is all I got right now, This Is How It Always Is I can 100% recommend!

Lauren wrote: "Does anyone know any authors with the initials LF? (Not Lucy Foley) :-) thanks!"


Louise Fitzhugh - Harriet the Spy
Layne Fargo - They Never Learn
Laurie Forest - The Black Witch
Leslie Feinberg - Stone Butch Blues
Laurie Elizabeth Flynn - The Girls Are All So Nice Here
Lynn Flewelling - Luck in the Shadows
Lisa Fipps - Starfish
Lauren Fox - Send for Me
Liz Fenton - The Good Widow
Lyndsay Faye - Jane Steele
Lauren Forsythe - The Fixer Upper


and, of course:
Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Does anyone have any suggestions for initials IL or IA? Thank you!

Immy wrote: "Does anyone have any suggestions for initials IL or IA? Thank you!"

The only one I can think of for IA is Ilona Andrews.

Or Isaac Asimov, if you like sci-fi.

Isabel Allende

Immy wrote: "Does anyone have any suggestions for initials IL or IA? Thank you!"


a few more ...

Ingrid Law
Ira Levin
Ivy Layne
Isabel Allende
Ivy Asher



It's a short list, but there are some excellent and prolific authors there!

Does anyone have suggestions for F.M. initials? I've only found one potential author so far. Or F.L. if I use my middle name instead! :)

There's an author called Michelle Frances, if you don't mind swapping around. No idea what her books are like, sorry.

Also Fiona McIntosh.

Faydra | PuzzledBooks wrote: "Does anyone have suggestions for F.M. initials? I've only found one potential author so far. Or F.L. if I use my middle name instead! :)"

A few more options for you:
Freya Marske
Francesca May
Faith McKay
Foz Meadows

And for F.L.:
Fonda Lee
F.T. Lukens

Frank Miller, if you like Batman or Daredevil

Though of reading ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth , but I came up with a better one instead.

The Alpha Female Wolf: The Fierce Legacy of Yellowstone's 06

I was having trouble with this one, so I found a celebrity with the same initials as me (Issa Rae) and read her book (The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl).

Does anyone have any recommendations for the initials VH that isn’t Victor Hugo?

Vickie wrote: "Does anyone have any recommendations for the initials VH that isn’t Victor Hugo?"

Umm, the actress Valerie Harper has written a few books. They're mostly memoirs.

Virginia Hamilton, a children's book author.

Victor Heck, a horror author

Violent Hunt

Depending on how you want to stretch it, there's also Victoria Holmes who wrote the Warriors series as Erin Hunter.

Victoria Holt (aka Jean Plaidy) wrote gothic type romances.

Vickie wrote: "Does anyone have any recommendations for the initials VH that isn’t Victor Hugo?"

A couple more options:

Virginia Heath (historical romance)
Veronica G. Henry (fantasy/mystery)

Isa wrote: "Any suggestions for IM or MI ?"

The only one that comes to mind immediately is a vegan cookbook author, Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

I haven't read any of these authors, but I found these names as well:
Ian McEwan
Isaac Marion
Imbolo Mbue
Ilsa Madden-Mills
Isabella Maldonado

If you don't mind comics, there is also a manga author:
Mitsu Izumi

Anyone else here with non-English, rare initials? If so how do you solve it? My initials are DØ (it means die in Norwegian lol). I also have another name though and a middle name. All of my initials are DMHØ

Finally found a book with my initials. Took forever!

(R.A.)

Super Volcanoes: What They Reveal about Earth and the Worlds Beyond

I am having trouble finding a book with the initials KB. Any ideas?

Kayla wrote: "I am having trouble finding a book with the initials KB. Any ideas?"


Kendare Blake
Katherine Boo
Kelly Barnhill
Kalynn Bayron
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Kate Bowler
Karen Blixen
Kimberly Belle
Kristen Britain
Katarina Bivald
Kai Bird
Kylie Lee Baker
Kira Jane Buxton
Kate Brian
Kate Beaton
Kate Baer

I read The Outsiders. 4 stars. I'm not a fan of this prompt. I had a hard time finding an author with SH as initials. I never planned on reading this book. I only read it to fulfill the prompt. I couldn't come up with a creative twist.

Sherri wrote: I'm not a fan of this prompt. I had a hard time finding an author with SH as initials

I've had a hard time too. I had to mix things up. I was going based off algorithms: first name, last name; last name, first name; first name, middle name; nickname, last name; nickname, middle name.

Pretty much any combination with the first 4 letters in my names (first name, middle name, last name, nickname): M, R, V, A.

I managed to find only 3 books and I was getting tired of looking for them so I'm lucky my third and final search came up with something.

I chose Wild Pork and Watercress for this prompt. I had never heard of this author nor the book when I chose it, but it sounded like fun. At least I thought I could give it a try.

Imagine my amazement after I put it on hold to learn that there is a waiting list! I have made it to #1, so I should have it soon. Now I am really curious to read it.

Okay found a book with the initials R A so I'll be going with a book about volcanoes.

Super Volcanoes: What They Reveal about Earth and the Worlds Beyond

Oh I found an even better book!

Insane: America's Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness

This one has the letters 'A' 'R' so that's fine, it's the backwards of RA.

After a long period of searching for an author with the initials S.B., I found the book Days Without End by Sebastian Barry at my library and I'm really excited to read it!

any authors that have T.A.? i know there is an author with the same name as me (first and last!) but i wanted to know what other authors have the same initials as well

honeyfolds wrote: "any authors that have T.A.? i know there is an author with the same name as me (first and last!) but i wanted to know what other authors have the same initials as well"


Tomi Adeyemi
Taylor Adams
Tom Angleberger

Nadine in NY wrote: "honeyfolds wrote: "any authors that have T.A.? i know there is an author with the same name as me (first and last!) but i wanted to know what other authors have the same initials as well"


[author..."


There’s also [author:Toni Anderson|2820461].

Hi! I am having trouble coming up with a book for CB, I know the obvious answer is Charlotte Bronte but I would really like some romance or litfic recommendations if anyone has some!

Christopher L. Bennett has written some great sci-fi, Star Trek, and superhero books. Those are not exactly the same as the genres you requested, but the writing is quite different from Bronte!