2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Hey everyone!

This year I am going to try and read 15 books and hopefully I can surpass it! My last few years have not been the best for me reading wise, but I am hoping to turn it all around now that I am finally done with nursing school. I will finally have some actual free time and I am planning on using it to finally start putting a dent in my TBR!

Molly wrote: "Hey everyone!

This year I am going to try and read 15 books and hopefully I can surpass it! My last few years have not been the best for me reading wise, but I am hoping to turn it all around now ..."

Sounds like a nice goal Molly! I hadn't been reading for years myself, so I started this year slowly building it back up so I set a goal of 12 books which I reached and surpassed. This group has been extremely helpful in accomplishing that, with all it's great challenges, interesting group and buddy reads and super friendly group members who are always willing to help you and encourage you. I hope it will be the same for you and that you bring down that TRB (although in my experience it's an everlasting and even growing list hahaha).
Wishing you the best of luck with your goal & happy reading!

Best of luck in 2018 Molly! I think every year is a time you can start fresh I am sure you will do great.

1. The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

I really enjoyed this book. I have always been interested in the story of the Cottingley fairies so this immediately piqued my interest. I was emotionally invested from beginning to end and this book made me want read more about the Cottingley fairies, the girls involved, and about the public reaction and speculation about the photos.

Molly wrote: "1. The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

I really enjoyed this book...."

It’s always great to start the year with a read we really enjoy!
Have you picked your next one yet?

Susy wrote: It’s always great to start the year with a read we really enjoy!
Have you p..."

Yes it is definitely a great way to start the year and it just makes me so excited for the books to come! And yes I have picked my next book. I’m going to be reading The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb.

Molly wrote: "Yes it is definitely a great way to start the year and it just makes me so excited for the books to come! And yes I have picked my next book. I’m going to be reading The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb."

Hmm, that one sounds interesting too. I'll wait for your verdict before adding it to my TBR :)

Congratulations on finishing your first book keep up the great work and of course happy reading!

2. The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb

I thought this was a pretty good book. I really enjoyed the premise and the setting of the book. The fact that it was set in an old TB sanatorium really drew me in. I love anything with creepy settings, mystery, strange things going on, and really anything with just a spooky vibe. I could definitely see it playing out in my head as a movie because it reminded me of horror/scary movies I’ve seen. Because of that I will say that many of the twists were kind of predictable and I called some of them early on in the book. One or two surprised me but a bunch of them didn’t. Even though that was the case it was still enjoyable. I liked the characters and the mystery of the manor.

One of the things that I didn’t enjoy was that the main character, Eleanor, just seemed to have instant sparks flying and feelings for the two available men in the book. I am all for a good love triangle and romance when there is enough interaction to support it and room for it to grow and develop naturally. But she was feeling guilty for having feelings for both and feeling like she was betraying one when she was with the other and she had had maybe like five pages of total interactions with both men so it just seemed all too sudden for me. I kind of wish the romantic subplot was cut out because any time it was brought up I had to push myself through it. I just wanted to get back to figuring out the mystery of the manor because that was far more interesting to me.

The ending of the book also felt kind of rushed. Everything came to a head and got wrapped up in a nice little bow in the last 30 pages and I really just wish it was drawn out more.

You are doing great. Hoping March is a great month for you.

3. Sulphuric Acid by Amélie Nothomb

I was not a fan of this book in the slightest I would even go so far as to say it is one of my least favorite books I have ever read. If it wasn’t such a short book I would have definitely DNF’d it (and I hate to DNF books) because at no point did I enjoy this reading experience. There was maybe one moment where I finally saw potential but it was over just as soon as it started and only popped up about 10 pages before the end of the book. The premise sounded interesting and like a commentary on our society and I had high hopes for it and that was probably my bad for setting my expectations so high.

I am not sure if it was the translation (because it is originally in French) or the story in general but it felt stilted and there were just weird transitions between scenes. I also did not feel for any of the characters even the main character we were supposed to see as like the face of resistance and someone to get behind. I just could not find it in me to care.

I would just like to forget this entire book and move onto the next book.

4. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

I absolutely loved this book! It was everything I wanted out of a book and more. I loved the characters, the plots, the emails, just every single aspect! I cried my way through the last 20 or so so pages just because it was so cute and it made me so happy! I just felt pure joy at the end of this book and I enjoyed every second of the journey getting there.

This was such a vastly different reading experience from the last one I read and I could not be more thrilled!

Molly wrote: "4. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

I absolutely loved this book! It was everything I wanted out of a book and more. I loved the characters, t..."

Sounds good! Added!

5. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

I thought this was a great first book in the trilogy. I liked the world building, the magic system, the characters, basically everything in this book. It definitely made my long car ride from Florida to New York seem a lot more bearable because I couldn’t put it down. I am absolutely going to the store to get the other two books tomorrow because I just want to keep reading about these characters and this world and see where the journey goes.

I just realized I only have one more book to read until I am tied with my total number of books read in 2017. So if nothing else I will have at least read more than last year by the time I finish the trilogy. I already feel supremely accomplished reading wise this month and I hope it only continues from here!

A book is a dream that you hold in your hand. I hope that April brings you many more five star reads.

“Reading brings us unknown friends” While the warm weather is coming I hope you make some new friends in May!

6. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

I thought this was a great follow up to Shadow and Bone. It was everything I loved about the first book combined with more action. There was great character development and growth. We got a more in depth look at the politics of the society and how the main character, Alina, had to adapt to fit her new role and the expectations put upon her. I loved seeing her explore and grow into her powers even more. Some amazing new characters got introduced and I fell absolutely in love with one of them so much so that I actually cried when I found out he is getting a duology based around him. I am excited to see what happens in the next book. I’m hoping I enjoy the conclusion because the journey so far has been amazing.

It definitely took me longer than I wanted to get to this book. I didn’t get to the store to buy it as soon as I wanted to and then got sucked back into being busy with work and not making time for enjoyable things like reading. So now I’m hoping I’m out of my slump and striking a better balance between work and everything else.

“I have always imagined paradise will be a kind of library.” I hope you find a corner in Paradise with some great books!!

7. A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

I actually finished this on Saturday but completely forgot to post about it until now. I was looking for a good historical romance novel and this book delivered. It made a 16 hour car ride just fly by. It just really had everything I was looking for: redemption, exploring new and hidden desires, a dark brooding love interest, and relationship that I enjoyed watching develop. I am really excited to get my hands on the other books in this series because I enjoyed this one so much!

8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

I’m not usually one for detective novels but this one really intrigued me because it is about a detective named Thursday Next who investigates literary crimes. Literature is taken very seriously in this universe and she looks into things like forgeries, bootleg books, and stolen manuscripts. In this book the technology is created to be able to enter into a work of fiction but also to take someone or something out. So when Jane Eyre is suddenly missing from her book Thursday needs to find her and get her back into the book and apprehend the criminal who is threatening to remove and kill literary characters.

I really enjoyed this book. I originally picked it up because the summary said something about Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books and I will read pretty much anything that has to do with it. This book gave me the Jane Eyre content I wanted and so much more. I loved all the character names like Braxton Hicks and Jack Schitt and there are thousands of people who changed their name to their favorite poet’s and all have to have a number to say which “Milton” or “Keats” they are for legal purposes, I loved the world of the book people could travel through time, enter books, and they had dodos for pets. It had action and humor and was a really interesting book. I am excited to read more of the series.

9. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand

I completely forgot to add this back when I finished it on July 14th. I absolutely loved this book. It was a history reimagining with magic mixed in. There were 3 different POVs in the book in alternating chapters and I found that I really didn’t mind because each of them had their own distinct voice and I never forgot whose part of the book I was in. This book was a great mix of wit and humor but also of serious moments. There was even a “Tangled” Easter egg which I lived for. I laughed so much while reading this book and I just loved every minute of it.

10. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Yet another book I forgot to update this page with and I finished it on July 18th. I bought this book because I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson movies when they came out and I was not disappointed. I liked this book even more than the movie. I always loved learning about Greek gods back in school and so I just loved having a series based on their half-blood children. I liked that there was still information on the gods but that they only made some cameos when the story called for it. None of their appearances felt wasted and they didn’t overstay so the focus stayed on the children. There was great imagery and character development and I especially enjoyed the dynamics between the core trio of Percy, Grover, and Annabeth. I am already well into the second book and so far it is a really good sequel and I will hopefully finish it soon.