Linda Jo Martin

Writer, Artist, YouTuber

  • About
  • Journal
  • Fiction
  • Art
  • Home
  • The Art of Writing
  • Book Reviews
  • Lists & Challenges

My Progress on the PopSugar Reading Challenge for 2021

January 1, 2021 By Linda Jo Martin 2 Comments

This is my sixth year of doing the PopSugar Reading Challenge. This page will list books I read that fit the prompts of the challenge. I will modify the page as I read books throughout the year.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13




Currently Reading


49. A DNF book from your TBR list

I started reading this years ago as novel research, and now am rereading from the beginning and hope to finish it by the end of the year. It is about the lowlifes and criminals of early San Francisco history from the time of the gold rush until the turn of the century.

The Barbary Coast, by Herbert Asbury
The Barbary Coast, by Herbert Asbury


40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

Year 2017 Prompt #10: A book with a cat on the cover – I love this cat-covered book.

Whittington, by Alan Armstrong
Whittington, by Alan Armstrong



Books I’ve finished reading for the challenge



1. A book that published in 2021

★★★ This is nonfiction – a history of the music industry in Los Angeles in the 1950’s and 1960’s – focusing mostly on Jan & Dean and associated musicians. It includes information on the Beach Boys and Nancy Sinatra, and many others. Here’s my review of Hollywood Eden at Goodreads.

Hollywood Eden: Electric Guitars, Fast Cars, and the Myth of the California Paradise, by Joel Selvin
Hollywood Eden: Electric Guitars, Fast Cars, and the Myth of the California Paradise
, by Joel Selvin


2. An Afrofuturist book

★★★★★ This novel is so much better than I ever expected! Seriously, the title Invisible Man and the nondescript cover are not very enticing, but I was drawn in quickly and loved the story once I got started. It is about a young man trying his best to find his way in the world. Really great writing! I listened to an audiobook recording by Joe Morton and it was one of the best audio performances I’ve ever heard. Recommended! Here’s my review of The Invisible Man at Goodreads.

Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison


3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover

★★★ A boy growing up during four eras of his childhood. Definitely not the most exciting Newbery Honor Book I’ve read. It includes a long description of a baseball game, which I found barely readable. A child involved in school sports might like this. It is more of a boy book than a girl book. Boy books are necessary for all the boys to read. They don’t like girl books at all, normally. Here’s my review of What Hearts at Goodreads.

What Hearts, by Bruce Brooks
What Hearts, by Bruce Brooks


4. A book by an author who shares your Zodiac sign

★★★★★ This was my second time to read this book and once again I was startled by the sudden POV change on page 16… from Fern to Wilbur… but the story is so sweet and heart-pinging I could not help but love it to pieces. Again. The little girl is named Fern – so who is Charlotte? She’s the one with a web. She’s a spider! Here’s my review of Charlotte’s Web on Goodreads.

Charlotte's Web
Charlotte’s Web


5. A dark academia book

★★★★★ Amazing book! This is a classic so you’ve probably heard of it before. It is about teenage boys at a boarding school in New Hampshire. It is 1942 and the boys are concerned about being drafted into World War II. This looming concern takes a toll on each one differently. Most importantly, this is the story of studious Gene Forrester and his roommate (and best friend) Phineas, a carefree athlete. Here’s my review of A Separate Peace on Goodreads.

A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
A Separate Peace, by John Knowles


6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title

★★★ I’d been wanting to read this for a few years. I remember liking the movie years ago. This was the first audiobook I listened to during 2021 and I was a little disappointed. It was a nice imagined story about what the relationship between Johannes Vermeer and the girl he painted might have been. In the novel, Griet was a maid in the painter’s household. I’d call this a slow-burn kind of novel and the slowness of the plot frustrated me. We never got to hear Griet’s deepest feelings about her employers because as a maid, she was suppressed. Here’s my Goodreads review.

The Girl With the Pearl Earring
The Girl With a Pearl Earring


7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job

★★★★★ I very much love this middle grade novel about Calpurnia, a girl who wants to be a naturalist. She loves the study of nature and can do that with her grandfather who teaches her observation skills. Unfortunately, she’s a girl and is expected to be a wife and mother, not a scientist. Here’s my review of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate on Goodreads.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly

8. A book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction

★★★★★ A novel about the family of William Shakespeare, beautifully written. Hamnet was his son. Here’s my review of Hamnet on Goodreads.

Hamnet, by Maggie O'Farrell
Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell


9. A book with a family tree

★★★★ This was my second attempt at this novel and this time, I succeeded. What an interesting book about a multi-generational family in a village. Odd people and situations reign supreme.

One Hundred Years of Solitude
One Hundred Years of Solitude


10. A bestseller from the 1990s

★★★★★ This is a page-turner. What a precious story! A young girl is entrapped into prostitution at a young age. She escapes a bad East Coast situation to go to California during the gold rush, and again becomes a prostitute. How will she ever get out of that life style? Great novel. Here’s my review of Redeeming Love on Goodreads.

Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers
Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers


11. A book about forgetting

★★★★ – I enjoyed reading this juvenile novel about a boy who lost his memories after falling off his roof. Here’s my review of Restart, by Gordon Korman.

Restart, by Gordon Korman
Restart, by Gordon Korman


12. A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.)

★ – This book focuses on morbid issues and includes obituaries and an autopsy, among other things. I did not like it and did not think it was appropriate for the ages it was ostensibly written for. Here’s my review of Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos at Goodreads.

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos


13. A locked-room mystery

Hercule Poirot is a thorough, intuitive and methodical detective and I’d love to read all the Poirot books, but this month had to satisfy myself with this one. It is a “locked-room” mystery because nobody could leave a train stuck in heavy snow.

Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express


14. A book set in a restaurant

★★★ This is a dark, depressing view of various personalities. Here’s my review of The Wayward Bus, by John Steinbeck at Goodreads.

The Wayward Bus, by John Steinbeck
The Wayward Bus, by John Steinbeck


15. A book with a black-and-white cover

★★★ This is a YA adventure/horror novel. Interesting, but I’m not a big fan and won’t be reading the sequels. Here’s my review of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs at Goodreads.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs


16. A book by an indigenous author

★★★★★ This is a fantastic middle grade novel about a 12-year-old boy with an OCD habit of counting all the letters people use when they talk to him. The book starts as he’s being expelled from yet another Los Angeles area school because he’s the victim of bullies due to his OCD. His father decides to send him to his mother who he’s never met in Minnesota. She’s Ojibwe and he has to adjust to life on the Fond du Lac reservation near Duluth. Here’s my review of The Brave, by James Bird at Goodreads.


The Brave


17. A book that has the same title as a song

★★★★ Memoirish fiction about a teenager raised in a radical Pentecostal church in a very urban setting. Well-written. James Baldwin’s writing is immersive. Here’s my review of Go Tell It on the Mountain, by James Baldwin at Goodreads.

Go Tell It on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
Go Tell It on the Mountain, by James Baldwin


18. A book about a subject you are passionate about

★★★★★ I’m passionate about Christian testimonial memoirs. Here’s my review of Hiding in the Light, by Rifqa Bary at Goodreads.

Hiding in the Light, by Rifqa Bary
Hiding in the Light, by Rifqa Bary


19. A book that discusses body positivity

★★★★ You can get an education on modern day teen slang by reading chapter one of this novel. Fortunately the rest of the novel takes it down a bit. The protagonist is a thirteen-year-old girl who is obsessed with the idea that her skin is too dark – an idea she got from a couple of adults in her life. She’s a precious character and I liked reading her story. This is a 2020 Newbery Honor Book. Here’s my review of Genesis Begins Again, by Alicia D. Williams at Goodreads.

Genesis Begins Again, by Alicia D. Williams
Genesis Begins Again, by Alicia D. Williams


20. A book on a Black Lives Matter reading list

★★★★★ This is an important American memoir that should be required reading in every high school. It grieves my heart to know this book has been suppressed and consigned to history when the message is just as important today as it was at the time it was written, just prior to the Civil War.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass


21. A genre hybrid

★★★★★ World War II as seen by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. – anything could happen. Here’s my review of Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. at Goodreads.

Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.


22. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors

★★ This is an older Newbery Medal winner about the Navajo tribe. As a source of anthropological information about the tribe’s culture, it is a resource. However the fictional plot dragged. Info dumps interfered with the action. Here’s my review of Waterless Mountain, by Laura Adams Armer at Goodreads.

Waterless Mountain, by Laura Adams Armer
Waterless Mountain, by Laura Adams Armer

24. A book by a Muslim American author

★★★★ A poetic middle grade novel about a young Syrian refugee. The story starts in Syria so we get to learn why she had to leave. In Ohio she meets relatives and adjusts to life in the USA. Recommended!

Narrative of the Other Words For Home
Other Words For Home


26. A book with an oxymoron in the title

★★ This book is ostensibly poetry for children but I found that some things in here were not appropriate for children. Warning for violent images. Here’s my review of Falling Up, by Shel Silverstein at Goodreads.

Falling Up, by Shel Silverstein
Falling Up, by Shel Silverstein


✓ 27. A book about do-overs or fresh starts – Persuasion, by Jane Austen
✓ 28. A magical realism book – When You Trap a Tiger, by Tae Keller
✓ 29. A book set in multiple countries – The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson
✓ 30. A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021 – (Oregon) A Girl From Yamhill, by Beverly Cleary


33. A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child)

★★★★ This is a Newbery Honor Book of 2009. It is very juvenile and amusing. A girl expects to receive a “savvy” on her thirteenth birthday. Everyone in her family does. My Goodreads review: Savvy.

Savvy, by Ingrid Law
Savvy, by Ingrid Law


34. A book about a social justice issue

★★★ A Newbery Medal winner from the 1950’s – this book follows the life of Amos Fortune from his African village into slavery and eventually, freedom, in New Hampshire. Based on a true story. Here’s my review of Amos Fortune, Free Man, by Elizabeth Yates at Goodreads.

Amos Fortune, Free Man, by Elizabeth Yates
Amos Fortune, Free Man, by Elizabeth Yates


35. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels)

★★★★★ This is a play written for children, possibly around middle school level. It contains poetic monologues, nonfiction explanations, and helpful footnotes to explain Medieval history, habits and customs. Here’s my review of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz at Goodreads.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz


36. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads

★★ A Mayan boy must grow a crop of corn to help feed his family during hard times. This is a 1957 Newbery Honor Book. Here’s my review of The Corn Grows Ripe, by Dorothy Rhoads at Goodreads.

The Corn Grows Ripe, by Dorothy Rhoads
The Corn Grows Ripe, by Dorothy Rhoads


37. A book you think your best friend would like – At Home in Mitford, by Jan Karon

My best friend is a Christian and might appreciate this classic Christian novel series.

At Home in Mitford, by Jan Karon
At Home in Mitford, by Jan Karon


38. A book about art or an artist

★★★★★ A San Francisco graffiti artist meets a sweet Christian single mother. Here’s my review of The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers at Goodreads.

The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers
The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers


41. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list

This is about a man traveling from New York to California for the 1849 gold rush. Because it is quite long I’m reading it slowly over a number of months.

The World Rushed In
The World Rushed In


42. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list

This is a 42-page picture book with wacky surealistic poetry. It was plenty of fun to read but for me, the art stole the show.

A Visit to William Blake's Inn
A Visit to William Blake’s Inn


47. A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing

This is fiction set around 1850 with a Native American main character. It is a local self-published book and is hard to find online.

The Valley of Little Rivers, by Wally Coleman
The Valley of Little Rivers, by Wally Coleman



PopSugar Reading Challenge Links




1. The 2021 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Is Here — Ready, Set, Read! – at the PopSugar website

2. Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge – a Goodreads group

3. POPSUGAR Book Club – a Facebook group




I finished the PopSugar Reading Challenge in 2020!




Here’s the page with the list of all books I read for this challenge in 2020.

2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge Finisher




My notes about what I may be reading for each of the prompts




(My book choices are subject to change as the year progresses. I changed most of the titles in March when I decided to focus more on Newbery list books this year.)

★ – reading this month
☆ – still need to read
✓ – finished

REGULAR
1. A book that published in 2021 – Jewel of the Nile, by Tessa Afshar
✓ 2. An Afrofuturist book – Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
✓ 3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover – by What Hearts, by Bruce Brooks
✓ 4. A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign – reread… Charlotte’s Web, by EB White
✓ 5. A dark academia book – A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
✓ 6. A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title – Girl With a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier
✓ 7. A book where the main character works at your current or dream job – The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
✓ 8. A book that has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction – Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell
✓ 9. A book with a family tree – 2nd attempt… One Hundred Years of Solitude,by Gabriel García Márquez
✓ 10. A bestseller from the 1990s – Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers
✓ 11. A book about forgetting – Restart, by Gordon Korman
✓ 12. A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.) – Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos
✓ 13. A locked-room mystery – Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie
✓ 14. A book set in a restaurant – The Wayward Bus, by John Steinbeck
✓ 15. A book with a black-and-white cover – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
✓ 16. A book by an indigenous author – The Brave, by James Bird
✓ 17. A book that has the same title as a song – Go Tell It on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
✓ 18. A book about a subject you are passionate about – (Christian testimonies/memoirs) Hiding in the Light, by Rifqa Bary
✓ 19. A book that discusses body positivity – Genesis Begins Again, by Williams
✓ 20. A book on a Black Lives Matter reading list – Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass
✓ 21. A genre hybrid – Mother Nighto, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
✓ 22. A book set mostly or entirely outdoors – Waterless Mountain
☆ 23. A book with something broken on the cover – The Headless Cupid, by Zilpha Keatley
✓ 24. A book by a Muslim American author – Other Words for Home, by Jasmine Warga
☆ 25. A book that was published anonymously – The Kneeling Christian, by An Anonymous Christian
✓ 26. A book with an oxymoron in the title – Falling Up, by Shel Silverstein
✓ 27. A book about do-overs or fresh starts – Persuasion, by Jane Austen
✓ 28. A magical realism book – When You Trap a Tiger, by Tae Keller
✓ 29. A book set in multiple countries – The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson
✓30. A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021 – (Oregon) A Girl From Yamhill, by Beverly Cleary
☆ 31. A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality – Todd’s novel
☆ 32. A book whose title starts with “Q,” “X,” or “Z” – Zlateh The Goat and Other Stories, by Isaac Bashevis Singer
✓ 33. A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child) – Savvy, by Ingrid Law
✓ 34. A book about a social justice issue – Amos Fortune, Free Man, by Elizabeth Yates
✓ 35. A book in a different format than what you normally read (audiobooks, ebooks, graphic novels) – Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz
✓ 36. A book that has fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads – The Corn Grows Ripe, by Dorothy Rhodes
✓ 37. A book you think your best friend would like – At Home in Mitford, by Jan Karon
✓ 38. A book about art or an artist – The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers
✓ 39. A book everyone seems to have read but you – Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine
★ 40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge – Year 2017 Prompt #10: A book with a cat on the cover – Whittington, by Alan Armstrong

ADVANCED
✓ 41. The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list – The World Rushed In
✓ 42. The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list – A Visit to William Blake’s Inn
☆ 43. The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover – The Girl Who Drank the Moon
☆ 44. The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover – The Tale of Despereaux
☆ 45. The book that’s been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time – The Story of Mankind
☆ 46. A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn’t – Scary Stories for Young Foxes
✓ 47. A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing – The Valley of Little Rivers, by Wally Coleman
☆ 48. A book from your TBR list chosen at random – Bright Island, by Mabel Robinson
★ 49. A DNF book from your TBR list – The Barbary Coast, by Herbert Asbury
☆ 50. A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library) – White Poplar, Black Locust, by Louise Wagenknecht

Similar Posts:

  • Linda Book Lady’s December 2021 Reading Report & Diary
  • Linda Book Lady’s November 2021 Reading Report & Diary
  • A Christian Fiction Reading Challenge #christianfictiothon2022
  • Linda Book Lady’s July 2022 Reading Report & Diary
  • Linda Book Lady’s October 2021 Reading Report & Diary



Trackbacks

  1. Linda Book Lady’s October 2021 Reading Report & Diary - Linda Jo Martin says:
    October 13, 2021 at 9:48 am

    […] why I’m not getting enough reading done these days. I spent much of the day bringing my 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge page up to date. Did not even finish that, but most of the updates are done. I discovered I failed […]

    Reply
  2. Linda Book Lady’s May 2021 Reading Report & Diary - Linda Jo Martin says:
    May 1, 2021 at 12:18 am

    […] forward to this reading experience. I’m reading this for 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #5 – A dark academia […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

A recent video on my Booktube channel, at YouTube

To receive blog update notifications via email, enter your email address:

About Me

Hi, I'm Linda, the Book Lady, and I'm excited about reading. A book is a gift you give yourself. It is so much fun to open that cover and discover what was hidden within. Books share the wisdom of the ages with us. Who wouldn't want that? So I read frequently and encourage reading. If you're a reader, let me know by becoming my friend on GoodReads.


My novel, River Girl, is about a girl living in the Klamath River Valley.

Here's a link to my prayer website:
Prayer Power.

My childhood memoirs: ljm memoirs.

Professional Reader
I use Amazon affiliate links on this site and appreciate it very much when you purchase from my links.

My Art

Water Girl - by Linda Jo
Acrylic Ink / Sketchbook
Sanctuary, by Linda Jo Martin
Acrylic Ink / Sketchbook
Ready to Sail, by Linda Jo Martin
Acrylic Ink / Sketchbook

Flowers Forever - art by Linda Jo Martin
Acrylic Ink / Sketchbook
Mother-Daughter Dance, by Linda Jo Martin
Acrylic Ink / Sketchbook
Mary and Jesus - art by Linda Jo Martin
Acrylic / Junk Journal

Watercolor
Bird Art by Linda Jo Martin - http://lindajomartin.com
Acrylic
Wild and Precious - art by Linda Jo Martin
Watercolor / pen

Summer Afternoon - art by Linda Jo Martin
Pen / Watercolor
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” ? Cicero - Art by Linda Jo Martin http://lindajomartin.com
Acrylic
Angel art by Linda Jo Martin
Sketchbook

Psalm 91:9-11 - Angel art by Linda Jo Martin http://lindajomartin.com
Sketchbook
Art: Idaho Hills, by Linda Jo Martin
Acrylic / Junk Journal
March Mystery Madness 2020, art by Linda Jo Martin
Gouache journal

Plan A to Z - lettering by Linda Jo Martin
Lettering class project
A daring adventure - art by Linda Jo Martin
Fountain pen ink journal
Small Joys
Watercolor sketchbook

Watercolor sketchbook
Valley of decision.
Bible journaling
Mount Glittery by Linda Jo Martin - mountain climbing quote by John Muir
Acrylic painting

Watercolor sketchbook
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” ? Ralph Waldo Emerson ... watercolor painting by Linda Jo Martin
Watercolor sketchbook
Imagination Soars, by Linda Jo Martin - http://lindajomartin.com
Watercolor sketchbook

Plant Seeds
Watercolor sketchbook
The Prayer by Linda Jo Martin
Acrylic painting
A basket of flowers, by Linda Jo Martin - http://lindajomartin.com/writing/art
Fountain pen ink journal

California Reading

California Reading

California Reading
5 members

This group is for anyone wanting to read California based fiction or nonfiction.

Our recommended shelf

The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience
The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience
by J.S. Holliday


Hillinger's California: Stories from All 58 Counties
Hillinger’s California: Stories from All 58 Counties
by Charles Hillinger





View this group on Goodreads »


RSS My Most Recent Book Reviews

  • Freedom's Light
  • The Last Enchantment (The Arthurian Saga Book 3)
  • Commodore Hornblower
  • Winning Your Spiritual Battles (Harvest Pocket Books)
  • Heart of Darkness
  • The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
  • News of the World
  • 84, Charing Cross Road
  • Lady into Fox
  • Out of the Silence: After the Crash
  • Flying Colours

RSS Goodreads Status Updates

  • Linda Martin is on page 60 of 240 of When to Walk Away
  • Linda Martin is 23% done with Vanity Fair
  • Linda Martin is on page 38 of 240 of When to Walk Away

You can find me on Pinterest

Visit Linda Jo Martin, Book Lady's profile on Pinterest.

My art is at Zazzle.com

Dating Palms
Linda Jo Martin Art and Photography
Buy Scrivener for Windows (Regular Licence)
I love Scrivener, and use it for all my writing. It is a fantastic writing software that organizes a novel, ebook, or screenplay efficiently while I write and revise.

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

© 2023 - LJ Martin Web - Legal Notices
Linda Jo Martin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,
an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for
sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.Com.