Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A book from a genre you typically avoid.


Oh boy. I know a lot of members do not like this sort of category. Be brave! Push your boundaries! Venture forth into uncharted waters!! Maybe you'll find something good.

Personally, I tend to avoid magical realism, Westerns, up-lit, self-help, and Christian fiction. I have dabbled in all of these genres, and some I dislike more strongly than others, so I'll have to decide exactly how much I want to challenge myself here.

Since this is specific to each reader, a group-generated Listopia won't work for this one.

I don't read much non-fiction whatsoever. I plan on reading Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for the "a nonfiction book about Indigenous people" prompt, so I think I'll read The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder for this prompt.

This should be slightly easy. I have a hard time reading fiction so that will be interesting since there are so many.

Welp, looks like I read either a historical fiction, a regency romance, or a Christian fiction book. Haha...

I've been contemplating a reread of Left Behind - time to see if my high school memories hold up, bahahahaha

Ashley Marie wrote: "I've been contemplating a reread of Left Behind - time to see if my high school memories hold up, bahahahaha"

Nice! Even though I'm not religious, I loved the Left Behind books in high school.

Maybe I'll read something from the "humour" genre as I never seem to have heard of anything in that Goodreads Choice category, so I guess I am avoiding it? And at least it has a chance to be fun.

Well I already have to read two cozy fantasys, and magical realism so what's one more prompt with a genre I avoid. Watch I'll read four 5 star books. 🤣

Morgan, I'm reading Killers right now and it's SO good! I read (and Ron does too!) loads of non-fiction, so if your choices don't work, I'm happy to make recommendations!

Nadine, I can recommend Charles Martin for Christian fiction. I don't read much of it either, but I've read a couple of his books and they do NOT end up in a place of "I trust God and that makes everything OK". More of "I trust God, but I still have to figure my own sh*t out". Chasing Fireflies is going on my Must (re)Read next year list, it had interesting characters and a mystery or two in there.

My first thought for this prompt is self help, but I could certainly go with romance, fantasy, memoirs, sci-fi, cozy mysteries, Christian fiction, poetry, short stories.... lol, I do read all of those things, just not very often!

Wasn't sure that's there's any genre I totally avoid - was initially thinking maybe extreme horror /gore.

But thanks for the mention of self-help above, Nadine, that will likely be where I go. Definitely that would usually be an avoid for me.

I avoid most horror, but I trust T. Kingfisher, so I think I will read one of her horror novels for this.

I generally hate historical fiction, so I'll put one in here.

Morgan wrote: "I don't read much non-fiction whatsoever. I plan on reading Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for the "a nonfiction book about Indigenous peopl..."

Thank you! I'm going to read both books for those prompts.

I'm going to say "typically" will be the key word for me here. There are some genres (self-help, Christian, splatterpunk) that sound physically painful for me. But there are some genres (Western, Middle Grade, non-fiction) that I rarely (not never) read. I think I might go Middle Grade. Something else to think about is the possibilities for subgenres you avoid. Maybe you read a lot of domestic thrillers, but you avoid crime thrillers.

I'm not sure what to do for this one, I'll have to think on it. I don't really like this prompt.

Even though fiction isn't my genre, now I need to narrow it down because there's so much fiction in general!

Good thing I have a descent set of books to choose from. This might be a bit tricky.

*****

Yikes, however there's a lot of NF I typically avoid too.

Gah this is going to be hard!

I don't like reading horror, fantasy, mystery, but believe me I have been TRYING to get into mystery so maybe I will find one I could actually finish.

maybe i could try to reread some mystery books i dnf-ed, might give it a shot

Hmm, I read a lot in all kinds of genres, and don't really avoid anything. I guess I rarely read romance, Christian fic, and sci-fi fantasy, so I'll probably pick up a book with a cover that appeals to me. That's how I found The Seep!

I *HATE* romance, so I'll probably read one. Any recs for romance that aren't romance-y?

Megan wrote: "I *HATE* romance, so I'll probably read one. Any recs for romance that aren't romance-y?"

You can try these authors, they write romance, but often their books have so much more going on and it's not "just a romance."

Lauren Willig - her first big hit was a historical fiction / mystery / espionage novel, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. That book spawned an entire series, each one framed by the present day researcher looking at journals or letters. Willig's more recent books are more "women's historical fiction" than "romance" so you might like them even more. In my mind, they still count as "romance" - books like The Summer Country & The English Wife.

Beatriz Williams - she's usually classified as "women's fiction" rather than romance, but each one of her books has a M/F romance at its core. They are generally set in the 1920s through 1950s. A few (like The Wicked City) have both a modern storyline and a a historical storyline combined. My favorites of hers are A Hundred Summers and Her Last Flight.

Jenny Colgan - her books seem to be shelved as "chick lit" rather than romance, and they are always set in a cute little village, often on the coast, generally with a bookshop or bakery setting. Try The Bookshop on the Corner

Mhairi McFarlane - I've actually only read one book by her, but it really surprised me with its emotional depth - this was about grieving the end of a relationship and starting your life over, and oh yeah she has a new romance too. If I Never Met You

Alyssa Cole - MOST of her books are straight up romance, and kinda cheesy (but entertaining!!), but An Extraordinary Union was different, it's based on a real women who worked as a spy for the North during the Civil War.


Here's a list from Book Riot also, which lists all completely different books than what I'd list (and I beg to differ on some of these choices, I think some of these books would ONLY be enjoyed by someone who DOES like reading romance) https://bookriot.com/romance-novels-f...

I'll read a random western here LOL

I personally really like this prompt. I think one of the main strengths of a reading challenge is that it inspires you to read more broadly. This prompt does exactly that while still being flexible. No idea what I'm going to read for it yet, though!

Megan wrote: "I *HATE* romance, so I'll probably read one. Any recs for romance that aren't romance-y?"

Depends on what you mean.

Usually a good start, and this is just my opinion, would be A Walk to Remember . It's a soft romance because it's about teenagers falling in love, but there's nothing over the top with it.

Hoping to go through my home library today. Even though there are books I avoid, I know I have collected some at one point or another.

To me this prompt is somewhat redundant as I already have books from genres I wouldn’t typically read just by doing the other prompts lol

Megan wrote: "I *HATE* romance, so I'll probably read one. Any recs for romance that aren't romance-y?"

I really enjoyed The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, by India Holton. It's a fantasy/historical romance that takes place during the Victorian Era. It does have romance in it, but it has a fun plot.

Business: Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America it is also History - Pulitzer Prize for History (2021)

True Crime: The Montreal Massacre by Louise Malette also, Feminism.

This is hard for me, too. There are genres that I do not prefer, like Horror, Christian Fiction, and Romance (to name a few), but I do read those genres occasionally and I have authors that I trust in each.

If I had to choose a category (rather than genre), I would choose owned books. I have several shelves of books in my home but seldom get around to reading any of them due to my library addiction! Or a BIG BOOK.

And, as someone has already said, other prompts for this list have already stimulated me to read in genres that I usually don't.

Dilemma.

The Jinn Daughter

I have found a genre! I do not often read poetry.

In scanning my shelves in the guest room (where I store those book categories like Native American, Poetry, Mysticism, Short Stories, etc.), I realized that I seldom read Poetry. In fact Barbara Kingsolver's How to Fly in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons was the first in many years.

So, I will read an owned book: Good Poems

Anna wrote: "To me this prompt is somewhat redundant as I already have books from genres I wouldn’t typically read just by doing the other prompts lol"

I have nothing to add here except to say that I wholeheartedly agree with you.

I really don't like speculative fiction--I try and avoid at every turn--and Popsugar likes to make sure I have to read 2-3 speculative books (or more) each year This year is no exception. So I feel I will have fulfilled this category many times over. Sigh.

I guess I'll put on my adult pants for this one. Does anyone have any recs for horror books? I also thought about high fantasy, so if you have a rec, I'll take a book under that genre as well haha!

Aryn wrote: "I guess I'll put on my adult pants for this one. Does anyone have any recs for horror books? I also thought about high fantasy, so if you have a rec, I'll take a book under that genre as well haha!"



I like "light horror" not the full on body horror or can't-be-alone-at-night horror. And I HIGHLY recommend both Cherie Dimaline's Empire of Wild and T. Kingfisher (What Moves the Dead, Nettle & Bone, A House with Good Bones, The Hollow Places, The Twisted Ones)

I also really liked Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

And I read a lot of zombie books, Aftertime is one of my favorites. The Girl with All the Gifts is very good too.

Aryn wrote: "I guess I'll put on my adult pants for this one. Does anyone have any recs for horror books? I also thought about high fantasy, so if you have a rec, I'll take a book under that genre as well haha!"

I'll second the rec for T. Kingfisher for horror that's more gothic suspense than gory slasher. Also take a look at Ring Shout which is about a post-Civil War south in which the KKK is comprised of actual demonic monsters (and it's a novella so you can get your horror and then bounce).

Aryn wrote: "I guess I'll put on my adult pants for this one. Does anyone have any recs for horror books? I also thought about high fantasy, so if you have a rec, I'll take a book under that genre as well haha!"

I don't usually do horror, either. I read and enjoyed The Hunger about the Donner party, which is already doomed, but she adds a supernatural element. I thought it was well done.

I've never read a western and it's a genre I tend to avoid in movies. Any suggestions?

Emilia wrote: "I've never read a western and it's a genre I tend to avoid in movies. Any suggestions?"


Yes! I've enjoyed:
The Sisters Brothers
News of the World
Lone Women
True Grit
American Elsewhere
Karen Memory


some books that I have on my TBR that are shelved as "western":
Sing Her Down
Vampires of El Norte
The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu
Chenneville
An Easy Death
Pity the Beast


Caveat Lictor and all that - some of these may not count as "westerns" to everyone, and some of these may not be your kind of book.

So I generally avoid Christian fiction because I am pagan. If I even see anywhere in the blurb or listed on the site that I am reading about it from that it calls it Christian fiction that automatically turns me off to the book.
So if anyone can give me a recommendation for one where you can barely tell it is Christian fiction or even if you wondered why it was classified as Christian fiction that would be great.
Otherwise I may either just skip this prompt or use a genre I rarely read even though I am not intentionally avoiding it.

I am with you on any kind of religious fiction, Brenda. And self-help is my other no-no.
I am thinking I will do espionage for this prompt. It's another genre I generally avoid. If anyone has any recommendations for something similar to American Spy, please let me know.

I occasionally read Christian nonfiction because I'm fascinated by the history, but it's rare that I go that route. There are a lot of genres I skip over, but I now that I think about it Christian nonfiction might be interesting.

I don't have a direct religion as I'm more spiritual than anything else so any religion is pretty much outside my wheelhouse.

So in terms of books, aside from avoiding Christian-themed books, I also tend to avoid fiction (I've chosen not to go that route because I want to read more nonfiction this year). So I'll need to think of other topics I usually avoid.

I was originally gonna go with chick lit for this, because ever since I became an adult I thought these books were... not my style, let's say.

I hadn't even considered "non-fiction" at first, because I usually only read for fun... so I guess that'd say I avoid that more than chick lit. So I guess I should actually go with that, huh? lol

I used to really love literary fiction like Orhan Pamuk, and Barbara Kingsolver, but haven't been able to get into anything in the last few years. I usually read a lot of fantasy and spec fic. Any suggestions as I've kind been out of the loop of this genre for a while?

Is this the year I'm finally brave enough to tackle enormous classic Western Lonesome Dove??

Amy wrote: "Is this the year I'm finally brave enough to tackle enormous classic Western Lonesome Dove??"

Oh nice! I have this one on my book shelf and have yet to read it.

Ron wrote: "Oh nice! I have this one on my book shelf and have yet to read it."

Let's do it!

I'm going to do self-help for this. I generally don't read it but started and was enjoying SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient - Powered by the Science of Games a couple years ago. I didn't finish though, because my library hold expired.

Anyone have recs similar to that? I know Jane McGonigal has some others, but I've read Imaginable, and the others don't seem that self-help-y from the blurbs.

Amy wrote: "Ron wrote: "Oh nice! I have this one on my book shelf and have yet to read it."

Let's do it!"

Okay sure, I'm game!

Just let me know how and when.

I'm reading Does It Hurt? and the dark romance/erotica are definitely two genres I typically avoid haha!

Ron wrote: "Amy wrote: "Ron wrote: "Oh nice! I have this one on my book shelf and have yet to read it."

Let's do it!"

Okay sure, I'm game!

Just let me know how and when."

That is an excellent choice! Enjoy!

Amy wrote: "Is this the year I'm finally brave enough to tackle enormous classic Western Lonesome Dove??"

Ron wrote: "Amy wrote: "Ron wrote: "Oh nice! I have this one on my book shelf and have yet to read it."

Let's do it!"

Okay sure, I'm game!

Just let me know how and when."



Buddy reads can be fun!! You can create a post about Lonesome Dovein the Book Discussions folder if you wish.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...