2025 Reading Challenge discussion

I am so super behind on this challenge, but I am pushing myself to catch up. It's gonna happen. Right now I am on a kick to read the books that it seemed everyone else had to study in school, but I never did. So I hope to be able to read a lot of older, well-known novels. Super excited for them! Since I am really busy through the year, I haven't actually read too many, but I hope to be able to spend this summer just reading one after the other. :)


1. Persuasion by Jane Austen. Loved it. Not my favorite, but anything by Austen is worth reading. Such a beautiful story.

2. Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Super quick read, but didn't do much for me. I was kind of disappointed actually.

3. Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. I really enjoyed this book. I had heard lots of good things about it and I would definitely recommend it.

Welcome, Jaymie! Good for you with reading the school books lists. That's an ambition of mine, but I always feel exhausted just thinking about it. I look forward to following your progress and seeing where this personal reading challenge takes you.

Thanks so much, Jackie! I hope to be able to make it through the bunch, that's for sure. Thanks for the comment and hope to keep in touch along the way. :)

4. Also Known As by Robin Benway. A fun YA novel with great sarcasm, witty writing and fun characters. Really enjoyed it!

I'm also trying to read some books that it feels like everyone else read in school. Do you have any specific ones in mind or just whatever feels right at the time? I hope the summer brings lots of time for you to read!

Cassandra wrote: "I'm also trying to read some books that it feels like everyone else read in school. Do you have any specific ones in mind or just whatever feels right at the time? I hope the summer brings lots of ..." Hello Cassandra! Yeah I have some in mind, like The Great Gatsby, Wuthering Heights, A Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, The Scarlett Letter, 1984 and The Catcher in the Rye. Other than that, I may have a few randoms thrown in just to take a break from the classics. Thanks so much and you as well!

Awesome! I really liked most of those (I haven't read The Scarlet Letter or The Catcher in the Rye yet) and I hope you do too.

My favorite of the bunch is definitely A Clockwork Orange. The language style is hard to get into (it has its own slang that doesn't come with a definition guide) but really shapes the world. I didn't look up any of the words online until I was done, and it was interesting to see how much meaning you can get from context - most of my understandings of the words were basically the same as Burgess' definition.

Yeah, I loved the movie so I'm sure I would love the book even more! I can't wait to get started. I'm pretty excited for them!

5. The Blood of an Englishman by M.C. Beaton. My first Agatha Raisin mystery which, unfortunately, left me uninterested in the rest of her stories. Too bad.

6. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. This book kept me on my toes and fascinated the entire way through. I really enjoyed the story and the thrills. I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the book. Thought it made the story even better.

7. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. Oh my gosh. This book was hilarious! Listened to this one on audiobook as well and it was awesome. Relatable, entertaining and enlightening. Loved it.

8. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Loved this book! It took me a while to get through it because there is just so much to read, but totally worth it.

9. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Holy cow. This book was amazing! It was a tough read, obviously for both content and writing, but it was totally worth it. And after a while, it just seemed as if I had always understood Nadsat and I just knew that "rookers" meant hands and "moloko" meant milk. Quite a read and highly recommend it.

10. Going Rogue by Robin Benway. This is the second book of the Also Known As series and I loved it. This YA series is great for anyone who likes the Gallagher Girls series.

11. The Selection by Kiera Cass. I enjoyed this book a lot, however, I found it difficult to get past the similarities between this and The Hunger Games. Which is unfair to this book, so I will continue the series and try my best to not compare and just take it as it is.

12. Off the Page by Jodi Picoult. This book was really fun and I loved the idea that characters in a book are simply living their own lives, only to act out the story each time someone opens the book. Didn't realize that it is the second in a series until I was already too far into it, but I am excited to go back and read the first one.

Jaymie wrote: "Didn't realize that it is the second in a series until I was already too far into it, but I am excited to go back and read the first one. "

Ooh-- that's fascinating to me. I've never accidentally read a series out of order. I look forward to hearing how that shapes your opinion of these books.

Oh I know! I hate the thought that I missed the first book, but yeah it should definitely make it interesting to say the least.

13. The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp. I loved the world building and the strange mixture of setting and story. But the book overall was not my favorite. I won't say no to reading the rest of the series though.

14. The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands. I liked this book, but it was just a little disappointing. It started out strong but plateaued quickly. I didn't really enjoy the characters, but the codes were fun.

15. Prescription for Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Blain. The 39th book of the Murder, She Wrote series and the first book of the series that I have read. I loved it! I love Jessica! I can't wait to read more of them!

I didn't know there was a Murder, She Wrote book series! I used to watch that show all the time. Did you feel comfortable jumping in the middle of the series?
(I love that it's "co-written". Brilliant.)

I chuckled at that too. Yeah I had no idea there were books! My friend found them, thankfully! I didn't have a problem jumping into the series because I was already familiar with the characters and the premise. This one also took place in Tampa instead of Cabot
Cove, so they didn't really refer to much outside of the mystery at hand.

16. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie. The Queen of Mystery leaves me unimpressed with this story. I already knew I wasn't a fan of Poirot, but this one was probably my least favorite of them all. Just too much talking and thinking and not enough action.

17. Slaugherhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I hated this book so much. Probably would have enjoyed it more had I found that deep and powerful meaning that I am sure others have found. But this went way over my head and I found myself miserable while reading it.

18. A Fatal Feast by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain. This is the 32nd book of the Murder, She Wrote series and I absolutely loved it. I wish I could live in Cabot Cove, Main and be a mystery writer like Jessica.

19. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. This book was unlike any other book I have ever read. I had a love/hate relationship with it. But in the end, I realized it was pretty amazing.

20. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler. A disappointing read for such a great idea for a book. It was ruined by a disagreeable character that insisted on ranting 24/7 about women's rights. For someone who claims to be a huge Jane Austen fan, she really shouldn't have been so surprised.

I enjoy reading your reactions to each book! I'm not a fan of Slaughterhouse-Five either, but I actually do like some of his other work.

Great job with your reading this year!

Thank you! Working hard to finish the year out strong!

21. Dreamland by Robert L. Anderson. I really liked this book. It was creepy and mysterious, with fantasy elements that I loved. It left me with burning questions and hoping that there is a sequel in the works.

22. Maid for Love by Caroline Mickelson. To be completely honest, I am just trying to finish my reading challenge and so I picked a short fun book. I regret that decision.

23. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. This was the first Poirot book, and probably one of the better that I have read. Although, Poirot is still full of himself.

24. The Gloria Scott by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In an attempt to complete this challenge, I thought it would be smart to finish a book I have long been reading...a collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories. That way, I finish an entire book, but also get those short stories in to finish the challenge for the year. Cheating? Maybe. But I still love these short stories enough that I believe it should suffice. And this one thoroughly entertained me. It was quite different from other stories of his that I have read. I loved that! We got to see what launched Sherlock's career, which was extremely fascinating.

Totally not cheating! I am in a similar boat with some of my reading challenges. Short stories can totally count separately if you need them to!

If you are counting them that way then CONGRATS! Way to make your goal! Did you have a favorite story in that collection?

Oh, good! Haha I'm glad to hear that it isn't cheating. I felt kind of bad about that. Thank you! Yes, the first story in the book, A Study in Scarlett, was probably my favorite. It's just a great example of a quintessential Sherlock Holmes mystery.

25. The Heiress of Linn Hagh by Karen Charlton. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't love it. Overall, it just fell sort of flat for me. Very detailed and descriptive writing though. I did enjoy that.

26. The Musgrave Ritual by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I enjoyed this one because we really get to see a lot of his personality. He is untidy and all over the place. He has strange quirks that I now understand appears in the movies. I loved it!

Great job with your reading this year! What were some of your favorites?

Thanks! I really enjoyed A Clockwork Orange, The Girl on the Train, Persuasion and all of the Murder's She Wrote. It was a good year of reading for me.

Awesome! I'm glad to hear that.