Pop Sugar Reading Challenge

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill fulfilled the Ghost Story category of the 2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge. I think I missed something. I read the book earlier in the spring and realized I forgot to write up my review. I couldn ’t remember much about the tale, only the PopSugar category. Which is odd because I love a good horror story. Hell, I’ve been reading Stephen King since I was eleven. But this book slipped from my mind. So, as a good reviewer, I researched the tale to refresh my memory. I found entries about the movie with Daniel Radcliffe and to my utter shock, a play that has the longest running history next to The Mousetrap . (Have I mentioned I love Agatha Christie and am 80% finished reading her books.) Shocked is not the word. I must have missed something in the reading. I need to do more research. Mind jogged. Here ’s a summary. The book is written in a Gothic style ala Poe and Hawthorn. I used to love classic American writers in my college days. And Go

A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett fulfilled the Book with Salty, Sweet, Bitter, or Spicy in the title for the 2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge. Disclaimer: I am not a parrot head. I enjoy a margarita occasionally and like a good beach song. I did not love this book. A Salty Piece of Land chronicles Tully Mars ’ journey to a new life in a new home. He meets a great cast of characters as he travels from Wyoming to the islands of the Caribbean. The people are diverse, full-bodied with their own story to tell. Tully merely touches on their lives as he moves towards his happy ending. Unfortunately, the book is not quite in chronological order. It caused me no end of confusion as I listened to the tale. Many times I didn ’t know what time period we were in. And I was disappointed to not get more details of his romance with an amazing female character. Donna Kay was his true love, and it ended in flames. I wanted to hear that whole story in detail, but Buffett seemed to b

Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope fulfills the “Retelling of a Classic” category on the PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge. This retelling fell short. I am a huge Jane Austen fan. I read Pride and Prejudice no less than four times in college. The book is my all-time favorite. I dipped into the rest of her books when the Sense and Sensibility movie premiered. The story touched my heart in a way I can’t put into words. Everything about it spoke to me. And this book was a poor reproduction. Austen retellings fill my shelves. (I even have the Choose Your Own Adventure one for another category). I read Bridget Jones’s Diary , disliked it, and wrote my own version. The book came out just okay. I learned if you’re going to take on the master, do it right. I’ve enjoyed many retellings of various tales that hit the mark and even knock it out of the park ( Cinder being one). But this book took the story, threw in an iPod, and called it a retelling. I had some problems

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon fulfills the category “ Book with at least One Million Ratings on Goodreads ” for the 2019 PopSugar Reading Challenge. So yes. I ’m late to the game once again. I tend not to read or watch TV shows currently in demand and have never been a girl for best-selling literary fiction. A good book is better than a popular one. Most of my favorite books were never best sellers. So, recently I’ve read, for the first time, books such as this one, Anne of Green Gables , and Neuromancer . Yep. I carve my own path. **snort** I was curious myself what the deal was with the dog. Listening to the book on audio was an amazing experience. The book delighted me with a great reader, elegant style of writing, and interesting and different subject matter. I loved Christopher. I have two daughters, twelve and fifteen, and I used to be a teacher. The character was very relatable to my world. I thought Mr. Haddon gave Christopher s

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware fulfills the PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge category “a book revolving around a puzzle or a game.” I ’ve read three Ruth Ware stories. And I don’t love her. I like the stories okay, but honestly, most fall short. I liked The Woman in Cabin 10 though the titled glommed on to the “the girl” titled novels like Gone Girl . But The Lying Game bothered me as a reader and a writer. I ’m not much a fan of unreliable narrators. I still curse Moriarty . Grrr …In fact, unless it’s done superbly well, i.e. Gone Girl , the book will probably remain on my unfinished/unread list. The Lying Game didn ’t quite have an unreliable narrator, but she sure held back. Spoilers…but let me explain. The women in the book come together because of an urgent call from one of their high school friends. They all fly back to a small town under the preamble of going to a reunion. But in reality, the police have found a body and the women need to talk/get their story straigh

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman fulfills the “Book Inspired by Myth, Folklore, or Legend” category of the PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge. Hmmm … If these are actual Norse myths, can I say they were inspired by myths? I need to do some research. …Ten minutes later… According to Wikipedia , the book is a retelling. Therefore, it might not count for the category, but I have read a couple Rick Riordan this year. I ’m covered. I’ll review it anyway, seeing as I read the thing. (I need to be better about keeping track of my books. Twice now, I’ve doubled up on categories and read books I didn’t need. Sigh.) I listened to Norse Mythology on audio with Mr. Gaiman himself reading the tale. It was lovely. When The Ocean at the End of the Lane came out, I saw him speak in Saratoga Springs, NY. I liked the Ocean book but didn ’t love it. Then he read aloud, and I loved the book all over. He’s a wonderful storyteller. There’s something to be said for hearing a book read aloud by