2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Each year I find a challenge list to keep me motivated for reading. I've done the PopSugar challenge before, but only because I found it on Pinterest LOL
My personal rule for my challenges is, unless the challenge specifically states to reread a book, I have to read books I've never read before! I will take a book in any format I can find it, so it could be an audio book, on Kindle, or a paper copy.

This year's challenge is 50 books, and here is the list of categories, with the books I've chosen listed under the category (books already finished will be linked to my reviews):

1. A book published the year I was born.
High Rise by JG Ballard (audio version because Tom Hiddleston!)
2. A book originally written in another language.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
3. A book with textured pages. (can anyone give me some examples??)

4. A book written by someone 17 years or younger.
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
5. A book I can read in one sitting.
You Are Special by Fred Rogers (audio, because I miss Mr Rogers voice)
6. A book my friends read in high school that I didn't.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
7. A debut novel.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
8. A deceased author's last book.
Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett
9. A book I judged by it's cover.
All the President's Men by Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein
10. A book I traded for another book.

11. A comedy book.
Cat Confessions-A "Kitty Tell-All" by Allia Zobel Nolan
12. A book with characters a different religion.
Islam Religion by Luke H Hardy
13. A book with food in the title.
Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
14. An audio book from the best narrated list.
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene, narrated by Colin Firth
15. A book set in the mountains.
Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K Runyan
16. A book with royalty in it.
A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen (audio)
17. A book about healing.
Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
18. A book with a character name I'd never use.
The Immortal Irishman by Timothy Egan
19. A book by a prolific author.
Death Masks by Jim Butcher (audio, because James Marsters)
20. A book with a one word title.
Emma by Jane Austen
21. A novella.
Tartuffe by Moliere (audio by LA Theater Works)
22. A book set where a friend lives.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
23. A book that starts with my first initial.
The Golden Compass by Phillip Putman
24. A book with a spine my favorite color.
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (the spine is green)
25. A book with dust on in.

26. A book with a tree on the cover.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
27. A book recommended by a stranger.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (recc'd by Wil Wheaton)
28. A book off a friends shelf.
Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks (from Mary)
29. A graphic novel.
One of the Hatter Madigan series by Frank Beddor
30. A book with an author with an unusual name.
Sir Percy Leads the Band by Emmuska Orczy
31. 2018 best seller.

32. A book someone gave me.
Thirteen Days by Robert Kennedy
33. A book with a yellow cover.
Harry Potter & the Cursed Child by JK Rowling
34. A book where someone makes the best of a situation.
Mayflower, the Voyage from Hell by Kevin Jacobs
35. A book written as a journal.
Colonel Brandon's Diary by Amanda Grange
36. A book based in the Southwest United States.
Life Among the Apaches by John Cremony
37. An apocalyptic book.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
38. A book by an author I like.
All My Road Before Me by CS Lewis
39. A book by an Australian author.
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
40. A true story about survival.
The Wolves at the Door by Judith L Pearson
41. A book with an animal I have never had as a pet.
Life of Pi
42. A book with no cuss words.

43. A book about siblings.
Little Boy Lost by JD Trafford
44. A book with a list price of $5 or less.

45. A book I chose with my eyes closed.
The Silver Music Box by Mina Baites
46. A book that takes place on another planet.

47. A book that is reflective.

48. A book with a musical instrument on the cover.
Season of Grace by Perpetua Langley
49. A book with an astronomy term in the title.

50. A book I own but haven't read.
Kingdom of Scars by Eoin Macken

If you've got suggestions for any of the blank prompts, let me know!

Wishing you the best of luck with your goal Geri & happy reading!

Thank you, Suzy!

5 down, 45 to go!
If I keep this pace, I may actually complete my challenge this year! I always seem to get bogged down at some point, so encouragement is certainly welcomed LOL

Geri wrote: "5 down, 45 to go!
If I keep this pace, I may actually complete my challenge this year! I always seem to get bogged down at some point, so encouragement is certainly welcomed LOL"

Wow! You’re off to a great start Geri! I’m sure you will keep it up. We’ll be rooting for you!!

I hope I can keep it going. There always seems to be one book that becomes my personal 'Waterloo' and bogs me down. Last year it was Lincoln's Melancholy, which I'm still working on. Interesting book, it just reads more like a textbook for historical psychologists.

I've finished 9 of my 50 challenge books so far this year. Some I couldn't put down and at least on didn't finish quickly enough (Tartuffe by Moliere. I know it's a classic, and technically a play, but, despite the excellent cast, it's not one I enjoyed.)

I was pleasantly surprised by The Hunger Games. Usually, if I see the movie before I read the book, I end up not liking the book. Since I enjoy reading, I prefer to read the book before the movie comes out. (That's how I got sucked into the Harry Potter books. I heard that Alan Rickman was going to be in the movies, so I had to read the books before the movies came out. I blame Alan completely for my cosplaying in a bookstore at midnight on two separate occasions, but I'm pretty sure he would've taken that as a compliment.)
Anyway, back to The Hunger Games. I enjoyed the movie, so I figured I wouldn't enjoy the book as much. I did. Now I'm hoping Ready Player One the movie is as good as the book!