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2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge

written by Kelly Mongan January 8, 2018

Every year, Popsugar releases a list of reading prompts in the form of a challenge – read a book from each of the 40 prompts, plus the advance prompts if you want to push yourself even further. The book can be any book you want to read, so long as you can fit it into a prompt. I participated in the reading challenge for the first time last year, but fell off the wagon less than half way through the year. Basically, I became hooked on suspense novels during our honeymoon in July and said, ‘Screw it. I’m going to read what I want to read’. However, looking back and realizing how many books I’m capable of reading in a year, I want to again challenge myself to complete these prompts. Plus, one of my goals for the year is to read 60 books, and reading the 50 on this list will have me well on my way!

My favorite thing about this challenge last year was sitting down and researching which books I want to read. So, naturally, I (impatiently) waited for the 2018 list to be released and immediately started looking for books. There is a great group on Goodreads dedicated to the challenge and all the members share their ideas for each prompt. I go through those, and also my TBR list, in order to find books that match.

There is no doubt that this list will change many times over the next year as I find books at the library, am gifted books, or as things pop up on Kindle Daily Deals. However, in case there is anyone out there thinking of doing the challenge, I wanted to go ahead and share the books I am planning on reading as of this moment. Let me know if you are planning on reading any of the same books – I’m always looking for people to discuss with!

2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge*

  1. A book made into a movie you’ve already seen: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
  2. True Crime: American Kingpin by Nick Bilton
  3. The next book in a series you started: Killman Creek by Rachel Caine
  4. A book involving a heist: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
  5. Nordic noir: The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
  6. A novel based on a real person: Victoria by Daisy Goodwin
  7. A book set in a country that fascinates you: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
  8. A book with a time of day in the title: Two O’Clock Boy by Mark Hill or The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  9. A book about a villain or antihero: Lolita by Vladimir Nobokov
  10. A book about death or grief: The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
  11. A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym: The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
  12. A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist: I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
  13. A book that is also a stage play or musical: Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
  14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
  15. A book about feminism: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  16. A book about mental health: January First: A Child’s Descent into Madness and Her Father’s Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield
  17. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
  18. A book by two authors: The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
  19. A book about or involving a sport: Beartown by Fredrik Backman
  20. A book by a local author: East of Acre Lane by Alex Wheatle
  21. A book with your favorite color in the title: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  22. A book with alliteration in the title: Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
  23. A book about time travel: 11/22/63 by Stephen King
  24. A book with a weather element in the title: Hurricane Season by Lauren K. Denton
  25. A book set at sea: The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa
  26. A book with an animal in the title: The Cows by Dawn O’Porter
  27. A book set on a different planet: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman
  28. A book with song lyrics in the title: Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
  29. A book about or set on Halloween: The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
  30. A book with characters who are twins: The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand
  31. A book mentioned in another book: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  32. A book from a celebrity book club: The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
  33. A childhood classic you’ve never read: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott or The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
  34. A book that’s published in 2018: The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
  35. A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
  36. A book set in the decade you were born: The Future of Us by Jay Asher
  37. A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to: You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
  38. A book with an ugly cover: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
  39. A book that involves a bookstore or library: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
  40. Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges: A Novel Set During Wartime (2017): Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

A Note on Prompt #38

This is the cover of the version of I Capture the Castle that I have on my Kindle. I’ve had it downloaded for probably two years now and always pick stuff over it when choosing something to read because I just don’t like the cover. The say ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’, but I just can’t help it! The book does, however, have excellent reviews on Goodreads – hopefully including it in my 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge list will encourage me to actually get around to reading it!


2018 Popsugar Advanced Reading Challenge*

  1. A bestseller from the year you graduated high school: Room by Emma Donoghue
  2. A cyberpunk book: Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
  3. A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place: TBD
  4. A book tied to your ancestry: Songs of Love and War by Santa Montefiore
  5. A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
  6. An allegory: Watership Down by Richard Adams
  7. A book by an author with the same first or last name as you: If We Were a Movie by Kelly Oram
  8. A microhistory: The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World’s Great Drinks by Amy Stewart
  9. A book about a problem facing society today: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  10. A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

As I said, this list will change many times throughout the course of 2018. However, instead of updating it here, I am going to post the books that I actually read for each challenge during a monthly reading recap. At the end of each month, I’ll share all of the books that I purchased and read in that month, as well as the ones I am currently reading. This will also be a great way for me to track how much I am spending on books (it’s not going to be a pretty number!).

If you are a member of the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group on Goodreads, you can follow along with my reading challenge progress in the ‘Post your 2018 reading lists’ thread – I am comment #35! If you are not yet a member of the group, join! It’s a great community of readers of all ages and all across the world. They also read a book each month that fits one of the prompts, so it’s a great way to get some motivation if you’re stuck.

Comment below if you are participating in the challenge as well!

*These lists contain affiliate links. To read more about what that means, see my Disclaimer.

2 comments
Kelly Mongan

Kelly Mongan is a full-time professional with a pure blogging obsession, running two blogs and countless Instagram accounts. While she's always tied up from 9-5, Kelly spends her free time exploring London (or Europe) with her husband, dreaming up ways to improve her house, or having a crazy cuddle sessions with on the couch with her dog. She's passionate about writing, reading, wine, and travel. She blogs about her travels on A Pair of Passports.

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2 comments

Chloe (Musings on Dinner) January 8, 2018 at 10:20 pm

I LOVE those themed challenge reading lists. I did one a few years ago and while I didn’t make it to the end, I read books that I would never have otherwise selected (for example, I read a memoir about drug addiction and prostitution, which is really not my thing. It still isn’t, but it was interesting to branch out).

Reply
Kelly Mongan January 11, 2018 at 9:37 am

That’s the best part of them! Even a relatively simple prompt like ‘Read a Book by an Author from a Country You’ve Never Visited’ makes you sit down and think about it and usually choose a book you wouldn’t have chosen otherwise. I didn’t complete this challenge when I did it last year, but I’m hoping that I’ll push through and complete it this year. I just need to keep diversifying my reading (last year I got swept up in a total suspense/thriller binge and forgot all about the prompts).

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Welcome to Mongan Moments, a personal and lifestyle blog and home to the Diversify Your Reading Challenge.

About Me

About Me

Hi, I'm Kelly!

I'm a lover of coffee, wine & craft beer, and all things American - baseball, summer BBQs, and Thanksgiving, to name a few. I'm a traveler with a desire to get to know every corner of this earth, but nothing makes me happier than curling up with a good book and a glass of wine at home.

I currently reside in South West London with my husband, Sean, and our dog, Giorgio. Join us as we renovate our home, navigate marriage, prance about town, and attempt to live the best life possible each and every day. And stay tuned to hear about all the books I read along the way!

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