2025 Reading Challenge discussion

The Randomiser Challenge
Duration: January-December
Completed: 2/15

13. Pride and Prejudice
22. The Screwtape Letters
36. Keturah and Lord Death
51. Atonement ✓
83. Oskaloosa Moon
101. Go Forward With Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley
103. Life's Lessons Learned: Personal Reflections
132. The Night Circus ✓
137. The Miracle of Forgiveness
178. Night ✓
187. The Road
189. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
220. The Midwife's Apprentice
288. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
325. The Shawl

The Listopia Challenge
Duration: January-December
Completed: 2/12

Best Books Under 200 Pages
Great Short Short Books
Quick Reads
Most Influential Books Under 100 Pages
World's Greatest Novellas

Showing completed books only
1. Night
2. Animal Farm

Possibilities:
The Road
The Shawl

The New Year’s Resolutions Challenge
Duration: January
Completed: 4/3

1. Save more money. Instead of buying a book, read a book you borrowed (from a friend or the library) or was given to you as a gift.
✓ Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love

2. Quit smoking. Smoking is an addiction which is a neurological disorder explained by science. Read a science non-fiction book.

3. Exercise more. Read a book whose cover shows people being active in some way OR read a book in which one of the main characters is an athlete.

4. Spend more time with friends. Old favorite books are just like old friends. Reread an old favorite.

5. Watch less TV. Instead of watching TV or going to the movies, read a book that got turned into a movie or TV show.

6. Go back to school. Read a book from this list: Best School Assigned Books
✓ Night

7. Go on a trip. Read a book that takes place in a country you've never been to. (This can be a made up country.)
✓ The Hangman's Daughter

8. Volunteer or donate more. Read a book you own then donate it. There are many places that accept donated books. You can try your library, thrift stores, or local charitable organizations. Let us know where you donated your book!
✓ The Last Lecture (Freecycle.com)

The Chinese Zodiac Challenge
Duration: January-March
Completed: 9/9

1. The Horse. Read a book where the main character is famous OR read a memoir about or a biography of a celebrity.

2. The Goat. Read a book that takes place in the country you were born in.
✓ Atonement

3. The Monkey. Read a humorous book.
✓ Animal Farm

4. The Rooster. Read a non-fiction book.
✓ The Last Lecture

5. The Dog. Read a book that contains a troubled romance.
✓ The Rosie Project

6. The Pig. Read a book you have purchased (rather than borrowed).
✓ The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust's Shadow

7. The Rat. Read a book that teaches you something.
✓ Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love

8. The Ox. Read a book in which the main character could be described as an introvert.
✓ My Story

9. The Tiger. Read a book you find challenging in some way maybe because of its length, style, or subject matter.

10. The Rabbit. Read a book about a culture not your own.
✓ The Hangman's Daughter

11. The Dragon. Read a book that contains a mythical or paranormal creature.

12. The Snake. To prevent boredom, read a short book (i.e., one with fewer than 100 pages).
✓ Night

Pride and Prejudice is a fantastic read, Rachel! And I like the sound of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. I have Night on my TBR list, but I'm a bit apprehensive about reading it… Are you planning on reading it in Jan? You can tell me what you think about it! Or if you're planning on reading it sometime after Feb, let me know - we could do a buddy read.

Kathryn wrote: "Pride and Prejudice is a fantastic read, Rachel! And I like the sound of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. I have Night on my TBR list, but I'm a bit apprehensi..."

I did end up reading it already Kathryn and it was horrifyingly great! Really, really interesting, but completely heartbreaking. If you want to read Perfume: The Story of a Murderer with me as a buddy read sometime this year that would be great!

Candy Hearts Challenge
Duration: February
Completed: 3/4

1. Love me. This one's easy! Read a romance novel.
✓ The Rosie Project

2. Puppy love. Read a book that features animals.
✓ Animal Farm

3. Love bug. The word "bug" means a few different things. Read a book with a title that contains a word with multiple meanings.
✓ Atonement

4. Tweet me. Read a book that involves technology in some way.

Rachel wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Pride and Prejudice is a fantastic read, Rachel! And I like the sound of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. I have Night on my TBR list, but I'm ..."

I'm thinking about it, although I haven't added Perfume: The Story of a Murderer to my TBR list yet...but I'm not sure it wouldn't actually be too scary for me... Do you normally read scary books, Rachel? Your description of Night as "horrifyingly great" makes me slide that one a little further down my mental book list!!

Kathryn wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Pride and Prejudice is a fantastic read, Rachel! And I like the sound of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. I have Night on my TBR..."

I read Perfume last month and it was more creepy than it was really scary. There was more psychological horror than physical and gory scenes. It was definitely one of the strangest books I've ever read, and I still don't quite know how I feel about it, but I'd say it's worth the time.

20 Friends' Book Recommendations
Duration: April 5, 2014-December 31, 2016
Completed: 2/20

1. Dad: A Girl from Yamhill or Escape from Rwanda
2. Tyler: Memoir of a Revolutionary Soldier: The Narrative of Joseph Plumb Martin
3. Casey: S.
4. Jen: Rocket Boys or The Hunger Games
5. Nick: Les Misérables
6. Shai: Eragon
7. Lorayne: (fiction) When Crickets Cry or (non-fiction) The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
8. Carly: The Hummingbird's Daughter
9. Kacey: The Rithmatist or Storm Front
10. Dani: Yearning for the Living God
11. Tiffany G.: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
12. Shilo: The Third Twin
13. Trina: The Kite Runner
14. Richard: The Silmarillion
15. Genna:Where'd You Go, Bernadette
16. Karly: Outlander
17. Andrea: "Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?": A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity
18. Mia/Liz: The Night Circus ✓
19. Jen St.: The Amish Midwife
20. Emma: Bel Canto ✓

Hoarders Challenge
Completed: 3/10

1. Read the book that has been on your Goodreads TBR list longest.
Pride and Prejudice
2. Read a book from your physical book shelf or any other stash of books.
The Book Thief ✓
3. Read a book you got as a gift or for free.
Cane River OR Strong Women, Soft Hearts: A Woman's Guide to Cultivating a Wise Heart and a Passionate Life
4. Read a book recommended by or borrowed from a friend.
The Night Circus ✓
5. Read a group read from 2014 Reading Challenge's Bookshelf that you didn't read.
Life of Pi OR The Color Purple OR Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children OR The Kite Runner
6. Read the next book in a series that you've neglected.
Unbroken Connection
7. Read the book that you've most recently added to your TBR list.
Death and the Chapman
8. Read a book you started and never finished.
The End of Your Life Book Club ✓
9. Read a book you bought with great intentions to read and just haven't got to it yet.
Half Broke Horses
10. Read a book that you should have read in high school or college but you faked through instead.
The Great Gatsby

The First World War
Duration: October-December 2014
Completed 3/12

1. Read a book that is at least 100 years old or at the most 100 days young.
Jo's Boys

2. Read a story set in at least two countries.

3. Read a book in which an important person is killed OR read a crime novel.

4. Read a family saga.
The Glass Castle ✓

5. Read a book where a code needs to be cracked OR read a spy novel.

6. Read either a book where something new is introduced OR read a book about technology or science.

7. Read a book on animals OR read a book where at least one animal is important to the story.

8. Read either a book set at Christmas OR with the word Christmas in its title.

9. Read a novel in which the main protagonist is in fear for his life or health.
The End of Your Life Book Club ✓

10. Read a book where one of the characters is mad or traumatized.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption ✓

11. Read a book by an author who served in the Great War OR read a novel set in the Great War.

12. Read a novel set in a town that has a First World War Memorial statue OR plaque. In case it is your own town, you can read a book set in your town or about your town.