2021 GoodReads Around the Year in 52 Books

I finished most of the prompts fairly early, as the prompts are rather general, compared to prompts like “read a sff book by a LGBTQ+ author”. The only challenge is I somehow get the word “Chip” by the random word generator, and did have to rack the brain a bit to link the books I’ve read with the word. Chocolate chips cookie comes to mind but I didn’t read a book about cookies. I read a book about See’s candies but they don’t make cookies. I thought about computer chips, but didn’t read a book about computers. I thought about robots, and Klara and the Sun may work if I haven’t used it for another prompt. Finally, I was reading The Persian Pickle Club for a readathon and realized that, hey, pickle chips is a thing. I hate pickles, but hey challenge completed.

1. A book related to “In the Beginning…”: Tunkashila
2. A book by an author whose name doesn’t contain the letters A, T or Y: The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer
3. A book related to the lyrics for the song “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music: Girls Made of Snow and Glass
4. A book with a monochromatic cover: Medicine Walk
5. A book by an author on USA Today’s list of 100 Black Novelists You Should Read: Brown Girl Dreaming
6. A love story: The Prodigal
7. A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn’t make the final list – A book about an invention or discovery: Brightstorm
8. A book set in a state, province, or country you have never visited: Bring Jade Home
9. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year: The Autumn Castle
10. A book with a female villain or criminal: The Puffin of Death
11. A book to celebrate The Grand Egyptian Museum: Elsewhere, Home
12. A book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation: Things We Lost in the Fire
13. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020: Mexican Gothic
14. A book set in a made-up place: The Lust Lizard Of Melancholy Cove
15. A book that features siblings as the main characters: The Sacrifice
16. A book with a building in the title: The House in the Cerulean Sea
17. A book with a Muslim character or author: The Olive Season
18. 3 books related to “Past, Present, Future” – Book 1: The Reluctant Assassin
19. 3 books related to “Past, Present, Future” – Book 2: Before the Coffee Gets Cold
20. 3 books related to “Past, Present, Future” – Book 3: We Are the Weather
21. A book whose title and author both contain the letter “u”: The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
22. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads: Klara and the Sun
23. A cross genre novel: The Archer (self help + fiction)
24. A book about racism or race relations: This Is What America Looks Like
25. A book set on an island: Claire of the Sea Light
26. A short book (<210 pages) by a new-to-you author: Doppler
27. A book with a character who can be found in a deck of cards: Castle in the Air
28. A book connected to ice: My Penguin Year
29. A book that you consider comfort reading: The Tale of Hill Top Farm
30. A long book: Braiding Sweetgrass
31. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years: Aleph by Paulo Coelho
32. A book whose cover shows more than 2 people: My Two Moms
33. A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry: Japanese Fairy Tales
34. A book with a travel theme: Gullible’s Travels
35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer: Things We Lost in the Fire
36. A book with six or more words in the title: The Woman Who Died a Lot
37. A book from the Are You Well Read in World Literature list: The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes
38. A book related to a word given by a random word generator (chip): The Persian Pickle Club
39. A book involving an immigrant: The Buddha in the Attic
40. A book with flowers or greenery on the cover: The Olive Tree
41. A book by a new-to-you BIPOC author: Cadwell Turnbull
42. A mystery or thriller: Gone Bamboo
43. A book with elements of magic: The Bear and the Nightingale
44. A book whose title contains a negative: We of the Never-Never
45. A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet: Secret Daughter (India)
46. A winner or nominee from the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards: The Midnight Library
47. A non-fiction book other than biography, autobiography or memoir: What If?
48. A book that might cause someone to react “You read what?!?”: Mauve
49. A book with an ensemble cast: The Power
50. A book published in 2021: The Immortal Boy
51. A book whose title refers to person(s) without giving their name: The Boy from Baby House 10
52. A book related to “the end”: Armageddon Summer

2021 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge

i managed to finish this year’s challenge with a week or so to spare, yay!! The has quite a lot of LGBTQ+ and POC representation, which honestly does push my boundary a bit, in a good way. Definitely would not have read those books if not for the challenge, and I don’t regret reading them.

Read a book you’ve been intimidated to read: We of the Never-Never
Read a nonfiction book about anti-racism: This Is What America Looks Like
Read a non-European novel in translation: Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Read an LGBTQ+ history book: Gentleman Jack
Read a genre novel by an Indigenous, First Nations, or Native American author: The Master Butcher Singing Club
Read a fanfic: Hikaru’s Game (Hikaru no Go + Ender’s Game)
Read a fat-positive romance: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
Read a romance by a trans or nonbinary author: If I Was Your Girl
Read a middle grade mystery: Lady Margaret’s Ghost
Read an SFF anthology edited by a person of color: Love After the End
Read a food memoir by an author of color: Eat a Peach
Read a work of investigative nonfiction by an author of color: Push Out
Read a book with a cover you don’t like: Keeper of the Female Medicine Bundle
Read a realistic YA book not set in the U.S., UK, or Canada: Goong
Read a memoir by a Latinx author: In the Dream House
Read an own voices book about disability: Waking
Read an own voices YA book with a Black main character that isn’t about Black pain: A River of Royal Blood
Read a book by/about a non-Western world leader: Peace Is Every Breath
Read a historical fiction with a POC or LGBTQ+ protagonist: The Book of Salt
Read a book of nature poems: Poems for a Small Park
Read a children’s book that centers a disabled character but not their disability: Brightstorm
Read a book set in the Midwest: My Two Moms
Read a book that demystifies a common mental illness: Losing My MInd
Read a book featuring a beloved pet where the pet doesn’t die: Bring Jade Home

2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge

Another new year of reading! I’ve joined this challenge since 2018, so this is my fourth year participating.

Last year I wrote “Of all the challenges I participate in, this one really takes me out of my comfort zone, not to mention introduces me to some new genres and words” and seems like this continues to be true! I’ve never heard of Afrofuturist? And what is dark academia? And locked room mystery is definitely something I would read only for a challenge.

Dec 23: I completed this relatively easily this year. with time to spare, and nothing too out of my ordinary routine.

REGULAR
1. A book that published in 2021: The Immortal Boy
2. An Afrofuturist book: The Lesson
3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover: Martin Misunderstood
4. A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign: Eat a Peach by David Chang
5. A dark academia book: Mexican Gothic
6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title: Bring Jade Home
7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job: The Tale of Hill Top Farm
8. A book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction: The Power
9. A book with a family tree: Brown Girl Dreaming
10. A bestseller from the 1990s: Jazz by Toni Morrison
11. A book about forgetting: The Book of Lost Names
12. A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.): Brightstorm
13. A locked-room mystery: The Sanatorium
14. A book set in a restaurant: The Apprentice
15. A book with a black-and-white cover: Girls Made of Snow and Glass
16. A book by an indigenous author: Medicine Walk
17. A book that has the same title as a song: Gone Bamboo
18. A book about a subject you are passionate about: See’s Famous Old Time Candies
19. A book that discusses body positivity: Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
20. A book on a Black Lives Matter reading list: Push Out
21. A genre hybrid: Keeper of the Female Medicine Bundle
22. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors: Row for Freedom
23. A book with something broken on the cover: The Woman Who Died a Lot
24. A book by a Muslim American / Muslim British author: This Is What America Looks Like
25. A book that was published anonymously: The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities
26. A book with an oxymoron in the title: Elsewhere, Home
27. A book about do-overs or fresh starts: My Maasai Life
28. A magical realism book: The Midnight Library
29. A book set in multiple countries: The Book of Lost Names
30. A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021: A Van of One’s Own
31. A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality: What If?
32. A book whose title starts with “Q,” “X,” or “Z”: Quiet
33. A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child): Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
34. A book about a social justice issue: My Two Moms
35. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels): Poems for a Small Park
36. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads: Gullible’s Travels
37. A book you think your best friend would like: The Buddha in the Attic
38. A book about art or an artist: The Last Nude
39. A book everyone seems to have read but you: Before the Coffee Gets Cold
40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge – (2019)  A book inspired by myth/legend/folklore: The Moorchild

ADVANCED
41. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list
42. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list
43. The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover
44. The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover
45. The book that’s been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time
46. A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn’t: Things A Little Bird Told Me
47. A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing
48. A book from your TBR list chosen at random
49. A DNF book from your TBR list
50. A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library)