Reading Challenge and Birthday Book List
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
As I said in my previous entry, I am doing some new things with my blog. One is to participate in PopSugar's 2020 Reading Challenge.
The other is to post one book each month for an author's birthday. There will be some overlap between PopSugar and the Birthday Book. Also, two books on the PopSugar list are New Book Alerts while the others are Weekly Readers or Classics Corners.
Also note: I will not necessarily read the PopSugar books in this order. Some will coincide with certain times and events.
Birthday Books will be noted in the title and the PopSugar challenge prompt will be listed at the beginning of the review.
There is also a list of books that fit neither category but I would like to read this year anyway.
I hope to take these opportunities to read more current and classic books and expand my reading into new and interesting directions.
Now that is done, on with the lists.
2020 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge Books and Prompts
The Secrets They Left Behind by Lissa Marie Redmond-A book published in 2020
Before I Had The Words: On Being a Transgender Young Adult by Skyler Kergill-A book by a trans or non binary author
The Trial by Franz Kafka-A book with a great first line
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler-A book about a book club
White Teeth by Zadie Smith-A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics
The Tin Drum by Gunter Grasse-A bildungsroman
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens-The first book that you touch on the shelf with your eyes closed
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon-A book that has an upside down image on the cover
Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George-A book with a map
Remembrance of Things Past/In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust-A book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club
A Good Man is Hard to Find And Other Stories by Flannery O’Connor-An anthology
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout-A book that passes the Bechdel Test
The Devil You Know by K.J. Parker-A book that has the same title as a movie or TV series but is unrelated to it
Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan-A book with an author that has a type of flora or fauna in their name
The Women's Room by Marilyn French-A book that was published the month of your birthday
Hedy's Folly: The Life and Brilliant Inventions of Hedy Lamar by Richard Rhodes-A book by or about a woman in STEM
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi-A book that won an award in 2019
Return of the Hypotenuse: Poetry in Math and Sciences by Sunli Mishra-A book on a subject that you don't know anything about
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger-A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics
Books Can Be Deceiving: A Library Lover’s Mystery by Jen McKinley-A book with a pun in the title
In the Arms of Evil: A Story of Greed, Obsession, and Murder by Carlton Smith-A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie-A book that features a robot, cyborg, or AI character
H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald-A book that has a bird on the cover
The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory-A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt-A book with “gold,” “silver,” or bronze” in the title
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros-A book by a WOC
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak-A book with at least a Four star rating on Goodreads
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead-A book you meant to read in 2019
The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West-A book about or involving social media
Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell-A book with a book on the cover
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum-A medical thriller
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess-A book with a made up language
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan-A book set in a country that begins with “C”
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion-A book that you selected because the title caught your attention
Ship of Fools by Katherine Ann Porter-A book with a three word title
Heartburn by Nora Ephron-A book with a pink cover
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry-A Western
Ten Days in a Madhouse by Nelly Bly-A book by or about a journalist
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote-Read a banned book during Banned Books Week
American Gods by Neil Gaiman-Your favorite reading prompt from a past PopSugar Reading Challenge
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers-A book written by an author in their 20’s
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella-A book with “twenty” or “20” in the title
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller-A book with a character with either a vision impairment or enhancement
Hiroshima by John Hersey- A book set in Japan
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie-A book by an author who has written more than 20 books
The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essay, Speeches and Meditations by Toni Morrison-A book with more than 20 letters in the title
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez-A book published in the 20th century
Roaring Twenties Whodunnits Edited by Mike Ashley-A book set in the 1920’s
A is for Alibi: A Kinsey Milhone Mystery by Sue Grafton-A book with 20 or more books in the series
Losing Gemma by Katy Gardner-A book with a main character in their 20’s
Birthday Book
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco-January
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan-February
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez-March
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver-April
Ship of Fools by Katherine Ann Porter-May
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie-June
Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust-July
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser-August
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote-September
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky-October
Slaughterhouse House Five by Kurt Vonnegut-November
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion-December
Other books that I want to read this year
Weekly Reader
The Last Tudor by Philippa Gregory
The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
Where the Crawdads Sang by Delia Owens
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
Arena by Holly Jennings
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
Confessions of A Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
The Collected Schizophrenias by Esme Weijun Wang
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Carolyn Fraser
The Freedom Writers Diary Edited by Erin Gruwell
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexeiovich
Classics Corner
The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
A list of my favorite Shakespeare plays
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt
And of course various, various New Book Alerts.
I know this is ambitious over 100 books on this list not counting the New Book Alerts, but hopefully this will lead to a very well-read year!
As always, Happy Reading!
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