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2018 Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

01.02.2019 by Tana Henry //

In 2016 I participated in the PopSugar Reading Challenge. In 2017 I participated in the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading for Growth and Reading for Fun Challenges. And in 2018 I completed another PopSugar Reading Challenge. I loved that the challenges expanded and directed my reading, rather than it being completely haphazard. Below are the books that I read to complete the challenge categories.

A book made into a movie you’ve already seen: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

True Crime: Columbine by Dave Cullen

The next book in a series you started: Wayward by Blake Crouch

A book involving a heist: The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

Nordic noir: The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

A novel based on a real person: The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper

A book set in a country that fascinates you: Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

A book with a time of day in the title: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story by John Berendt

A book about a villain or antihero: The Anatomy of Motive by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker

A book about death or grief: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

A book about a female author who uses a male pseudonym: The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

A book with a LGBTA+ protagonist: Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

A book that is also a stage play or musical: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you: Feeding the Dragon by Sharon Washington

A book about feminism: Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson

A book about mental health: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift: The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

A book by two authors: Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer by John Douglass and Johnny Dodd

A book about or involving a sport: Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace

A book by a local author: Alexander’s Bridge by Willa Cather

A book with your favorite color in the title: Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

A book with alliteration in the title: The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss

A book about time travel: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

A book with a weather element in the title: The Coming Storm by Michael Lewis

A book set at sea: The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard

A book with an animal in the title: The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection (The Wolves in the Walls) by Neil Gaiman

A book set on a different planet: Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith

A book with song lyrics in the title: Count Your Blessings: Inspiration from the Beloved Hymn by Barbour Publishing Inc.

A book about or set on Halloween: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

A book with characters who are twins: Mischling by Affinity Kovar

A book mentioned in another book: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

A book from a celebrity book club: (Reese’s Book Club) The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

A childhood classic you’ve never read: Kabumpo in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson

A book that’s published in 2018: An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew by Annejet van der Zijl

A past Goodreads Choice Award winner: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

A book set in the decade you were born: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

A book with an ugly cover: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

A book that involves a bookstore or library: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 PopSugar Reading Challenges: (2017 a book that’s more than 800 pages) The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

A bestseller from the year you graduated high school: Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson

A cyberpunk book: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place: Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

A book tied to your ancestry: Deadwood by Pete Dexter

A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title: The Art of Peeling an Orange by Victoria Avilan

An allegory: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

A book by an author with the same first or last name as you: The Likeness by Tana French

A microhistory: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

A book about a problem facing society today: The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand

A book recommended by someone else taking the PopSugar Reading Challenge: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

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Categories // What I Read Tags // 84 Charing Cross Road, A Wise Man's Fear, Affinity Kovar, Agatha Christie, Alexander's Bridge, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, An American Princess, Annejet van der Zijl, Ayn Rand, Barbour Publishing Inc., Blake Crouch, Brown Girl Dreaming, Celeste Ng, Code Name Verity, Colin Woodard, Columbine, Count Your Blessings, Dave Cullen, Deadwood, Diamond Ruby, Donald Goldsmith, Elise Hooper, Elizabeth Strout, Elizabeth Wein, Everything I Never Told You, Feeding the Dragon, Goodnight from London, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Helene Hanff, Hidden Figures, Inside the Mind of BTK, J. K. Rowling, Jacqueline Woodson, Jennifer Robson, Jo Nesbo, Jodi Picoult, John Berendt, John Douglas, John Grisham, Johnny Dodd, Joseph Wallace, Kabumpo in Oz, Kate Quinn, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Kristin Hannah, Lewis Carroll, Lilac Girls, literature, Little Fires Everywhere, Margot Lee Shetterly, Mark Olshaker, Martha Hall Kelly, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Mischling, Murder on the Orient Express, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Neil Gaiman, Olive Kitteridge, Origins, Patrick Rothfuss, Paul Kalanithi, Pete Dexter, Ransom Riggs, reading, reading challenge, reading list, Robert Galbraith, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Sharon Washington, Sing You Home, Stephen Chbosky, Sylvia Plath, Tana French, The Alice Network, The Anatomy of Motive, The Art of Peeling an Orange, The Bell Jar, The Cuckoo's Calling, The Likeness, The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection, The Other Alcott, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Rooster Bar, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, The Snowman, The Virtue of Selfishness, The War I Finally Won, Treasure Island, Victoria Avilan, Wayward, What I Read, When Breath Becomes Air, Willa Cather, Winter Garden

July 2018 Reading List

07.31.2018 by Tana Henry //

Every month I try to read at least one book from the following categories: nonfiction, devotional, and fiction. And this year I’m participating in the 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge, so I’m also going to be listing which category my books fulfill. If you want to join in on the fun, you can check out the list of categories here! This is my July 2018 Reading List, my brief reviews and book recommendations for July 2018. Hopefully I’ll provide you with some inspiration for your future reading as well!

Books Finished:

Mischling by Affinity Kovar

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book with characters who are twins

The fictional story of twins in one of Mengele’s camps, I thought that this book would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, I just didn’t connect with the characters like I thought that I would. The story was horrifying and heartbreaking. But I just didn’t love it quite like I expected.

Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer by John Douglas and Johnny Dodd

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book by two authors

I listened to this in audio, as my husband is a huge fan of true crime and had already purchased it from Audible. I’ve read John Douglas previously, and do enjoy his books. This book was very, very good. But the narrator is not good. He mispronounces words, and doesn’t have an engaging voice. So I recommend the book, but not on Audible.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book about mental health

This book reminds me so, so much of The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, but with a female protagonist. The story is told from the perspective of a woman with serious mental illness. It is haunting.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to

The structure of the book, telling essentially short unrelated stories that peripherally deal with Olive Kitteridge, threw me off at first. But the pieces tied together to paint a beautiful picture of a flawed but good woman. I just can’t recommend this book high enough.

Speed Girl: Janet Guthrie and the Race That Changed Sports Forever [Kindle in Motion] by Stephan Talty

I’m a fan of drag racing, and there are few (but more all the time) female racers. So the opportunity to read about the first woman racer in NASCAR and INDYCAR. The struggles and sexism that she faced were shocking. But her perseverance and grit are inspiring.

The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book involving a heist

I really didn’t like this book at all, which is surprising because I’m a big fan of Grisham. It is the story of law students who were not qualified to attend law school, and paid way too much money to get into the only school that would take them. They then decide to rip off a company to try to ‘make it right’ after practicing law without law licenses or even law degrees. But the characters struck me as naive and whiny. I borrowed money to go to law school, and finished at the height of the downturn in the legal economy. This meant essentially no jobs for my husband or for me. But we were practical and chose to go to law schools that didn’t require borrowing six-figures. And we worked hard after law school to get our careers where we wanted them to be. And we both practice criminal law, so the story just struck me as self-centered, false, and immature. I didn’t like it.

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

I’ve been meaning to read this for quite some time, but wasn’t ever sure that I was ready for it. It’s such an amazing true story of God’s work in hard, terrible situations. I’m so glad that Corrie survived World War II and the concentration camps to tell it.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book from a celebrity book club (Reese’s Book Club)

The story of female spies in World War I and II, and the story of a lost young woman right after World War II, this book is fantastic. I loved every minute of it, and trying to figure out exactly how the pieces fit together. I definitely understand why Reese Witherspoon picked it for her book club…hopefully she’ll turn it into a movie.

Chu’s First Day of School by Neil Gaiman

This short little children’s story is about a panda who is nervous for his first day of school. It’s sweet and adorable. The audio version is performed by Neil Gaiman, who is a fantastic narrator (in addition to his stellar writing).

The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection (including The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, The Wolves in the Walls, Cinnamon, and Crazy Hair) by Neil Gaiman

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book with an animal in the title

Also performed by Neil Gaiman this collection of short stories is fantastic. I enjoyed them all, and they were a great way to pass the time while I was driving this month. I recommend listening to all of them.

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence

This is a series of letters from a librarian to the books and bookshelves in her life. It is sweet and sassy and fun and serious. And it is easy to read, or listen to, in small chunks of time. I really liked this book, even though (or perhaps because) it added a few titles to my To Be Read List.

Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a bestseller from the year you graduated high school

I graduated from high school in 2002, and this short little book appears on Amazon’s best seller list from that year. This little book is a parable, and a classic, and has been on my To Be Read List for quite some time. I listened to it on audiobook, and it didn’t take long. I’m glad that I read it, and recommend it for others, especially those who are business owners or thinking of starting a business.

 

Books in Progress:

Twelve Women of the Bible by Lysa TerKeurst (My bible study just started working through this book and the associated videos)

Life by Keith Richards and James Fox

Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study Of The Years 1900-1925 by Vera Brittain

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek (My overdrive checkout expired on this, so I’m waiting for my new hold to come up on it so that I can finish it.)

Flawed Convictions: “Shaken Baby Syndrome” and the Inertia of Injustice by Deborah Tuerkheimer

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

 

Books Abandoned:

Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen

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Categories // What I Read Tags // Affinity Kovar, Annie Spence, Chu's First Day of School, Cinnamon, Corrie Ten Boom, Crazy Hair, Dear Fahrenheit 451, Deborah Tuerkheimer, Elizabeth Strout, Flawed Convictions, Harry's Trees, Inside the Mind of BTK, James Fox, JD Salinger, John Douglas, John Grisham, Johnny Dodd, Jon Cohen, Kate Quinn, Keith Richards, Leaders Eat Last, Life, Lysa Terkeurst, Mischling, Neil Gaiman, Olive Kitteridge, Simon Sinek, Speed Girl, Spencer Johnson, Stephan Talty, Sylvia Plath, Testament of Youth, The Alice Network, The Bell Jar, The Catcher in the Rye, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, The Hiding Place, The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection, The Rooster Bar, The Wolves in the Walls, Twelve Women of the Bible, Vera Brittain, Who Moved My Cheese

My name is Tana, and I am an attorney in South-Central Nebraska. I'm married to a great guy, named Mike, and have a dog named Emmy and a cat named Scout. I read as much as possible, and travel any chance I get. Luggage and Literature chronicles both. I hope you enjoy looking around! Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

HELP KEEP CREATIVITY GOING AND MY MIND AWAKE WHILE READING AND REVIEWING!

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