2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Hi :).
This is my personal reading challenge.

I recently got a shiny new bookshelf (my first proper one), and I want to make sure that I do it justice.
I used to have many unread books, but I gave away quite a lot (about twice the amount currently in the shelf, I think, if you can imagine such a thing).

>> my bookshelf <<

Now my shelf consists of some read and unread books in uneven quantities, but to add enjoyment (and make it easier for me), I am including rereads, so that I will have read every book on my shelf between today and whenever I have finished this challenge.

My shelf is a 5x5 square, and every individual square will get its own comment, except for P and U, which hold dictionaries and language learning books.

Wish me luck please :).

A - This is the "Random Foreign Language" shelf and will definitely take me the longest.

Read:

Unread:

Swedish
- Harry Potter 7 (because my friend is evil)
- Cirkeln
Russian
- Harry Potter 1
- Волшебник Изумрудного города
- Russische Volksmärchen
- Licht im Fenster. Russische Erzählungen
Italian
- Italien in kleinen Geschichten
Latin
- Harry Potter 1
- Seneca
- Rom. Hauptstadt der Welt
Hindi
- Life of Pi
Arabic (French)
- Nouvelles arabes du Maghreb

B - This is "Random Nonfiction Shelf #1"

Read:

Unread:
- My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes)
- Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen: How One Girl Risked Her Marriage, Her Job, and Her Sanity to Master the Art of Living

- Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading
- Howards End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home

- Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley
- Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty

- No God But God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam
- Gefangener Gottes. ( Erfahrungen).

- Evening in the Palace of Reason
- Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna
- The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain
- In Europa
- Das Jahrhundert meines Vaters
- Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
- Maria Theresia: Die große Habsburgerin

- The Snoring Bird: My Family's Journey Through a Century of Biology
- The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions

- The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality

C - This is "Literary Fiction in English, Shelf #1"

Read:

Unread:

- Pride and Prejudice
- Any Human Heart
- The Absolutist
- The Bellwether Revivals
- Two Lives

- The Perfume Collector
- Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
- The Imperfectionists
- A Far Piece to Canaan: A Novel of Friendship and Redemption

- Out of the Easy
- The Disappeared
- In a Strange Room
- The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
- The Last Gift

- The Storyteller of Marrakesh
- The Watch
- In My Father's Den
- The Spinning Heart
- Atonement

- Notes from an Exhibition
- The Last Banquet
- Family Matters
- A Fine Balance

D - This is the "Magic Realism #1" shelf.

Read:

Unread:
- Monsoon Summer
- Der geheime Name
- Among Others
- The Girl With Glass Feet
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane
- Leben um davon zu erzählen
Zafon
- Marina
- Der Mitternachtspalast
- The Shadow of the Wind
- Das Spiel des Engels
- Der Gefangene des Himmels

E - This is the magic school shelf.

Read:

Unread:
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two

- The Hound of Rowan
- The Second Siege
- The Fiend and the Forge
- The Maelstrom
- The Red Winter (this is on kindle, but just to complete the series)

F - This is the "French Language" shelf. I shall need to add many books to Goodreads.

Read:

Unread:
- Parce que l'oiseau
- Quatre saisons à l'Hôtel de l'Univers
- Histoire de mes assassins
- Petit traité sur l'immensité du monde
- Jean de Florette

- Par une nuit où la lune ne s'est pas levée
- Ru
- Oscar et la dame rose
- Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran
- L'enfant de Noé

- L'Amour et les Forêts
- Le Monde Selon Fawad
- La Mécanique du cœur
- Au cœur des forêts
- L'enlèvement

- HP1
- HP2
- Provence-Lesebuch

G - This is "Random Nonfiction Shelf #2".

Read:

Unread:
- Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It
- The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
- The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload
- Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise

- The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci
- Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment
- The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
- The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance
- The White Road: Journey into an Obsession

- Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics
- The Map and the Territory 2.0: Risk, Human Nature, and the Future of Forecasting
- The Swerve: How The Renaissance Began
- The Soloist
- The Moor: Lives Landscape Literature

- The Secret Life of Trees: How They live and Why They Matter
- Here and Now: Letters 2008-2011
- A History of the Middle East: 4th Edition
- The Map That Changed the World
- The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean

- Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe
- The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens

H - This is 'Literary Fiction in English, #2'.

Read:

Unread:
- The Yellow Birds
- The Course of Honour
- The Signature of All Things
- North and South

- Ghost Light
- The Go-Between
- Wolves of the Crescent Moon
- Today
- Love and Summer

- Dogs at the Perimeter
- The Miniaturist
- Such a Long Journey
- The Death Of Vishnu
- Sacred Games

- Midnight's Children
- The Wilding
- Telescope
- Skeletons at the Feast
- The Sentimentalists

- John Saturnall's Feast
- Harvest
- The Gift of Rain
- Red Earth and Pouring Rain
- The Disappeared

I - This is "Magic Realism, #2".

Read:

Unread:
- The Lovely Bones
- Ape House
- The Tiger's Wife
- The Chemistry of Tears
- The Night Circus

- The Garden of Evening Mists
- The Professor of Poetry
- Blue Jasmine
- A River Sutra
- The Housekeeper + The Professor

- Like Water for Chocolate
- The Man Who Rained
- The Land of Decoration
- The Snow Child
- Alif the Unseen

- The Oracle of Stamboul
- The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
- The Owl Service
- The Orphan Master's Son
- Winklers Traum vom Wasser

- The Mistress of Spices
- When Autumn Leaves
- The Silver Bough
- All the Names

J - This is a Christoph Marzi shelf :).

Read:

Unread:
- Nimmermehr
- Charing Cross

- Lycidas
- Lilith
- Lumen
- Somnia: Uralte Metropole 4 - Roman
- London

- Das Geheimnis der singenden Stadt
- Die Hüterin der Nebelsteine
- Die Königin der Schattenstadt

- Fabula
- Lyra

- Heaven: Stadt der Feen
- Memory: Stadt der Träume

- Die wundersame Geschichte der Faye Archer
- Der letzte Film des Abraham Tenenbaum
- 5 Tage im April

K - This is a A.A. Gill appreciation shelf. <3

Read:

Unread:
- Pour Me: A Life
- The Best of A. A. Gill
- Lines in the Sand: Collected Journalism

- Here and There: Collected Travel Writing
- AA Gill is Away
- A.A. Gill Is Further Away: Helping with Enquiries
- Previous Convictions: Assignments From Here and There

- The Golden Door: Letters to America
- The Angry Island: Hunting the English
- Paper View
- Uncle Dysfunctional

- Table Talk
- Breakfast at the Wolseley: Recipes from London's Favorite Restaurant

Not A.A. Gill:
- For Richer, For Poorer: Confessions of a Player
- What Happened
- Can I Speak to Someone in Charge?

L - This is "Travel, #1".

Read:

Unread:
-Tausend Tage in der Toskana: Eine Romanze mit Rezepten
- Ararat Pilgerreise Eines Ungläubigen
- An den inneren Ufern Indiens: Eine Reise entlang des Ganges
- The Alhambra
- A Moveable Feast

- Schiffstagebuch.
- Apricots on the Nile: A Memoir with Recipes
- Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found
- Nirgendwo war Heimat: Mein Leben auf zwei Kontinenten
- Das große Los

- Die Hügel der Toskana: Mein neues Leben in einem alten Land
- Ein Weinberg in der Toskana - Wie mein Traum wahr wurde
- Into the Wild
- Flying Visits
- Travels with a Tangerine: A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah

- A Year in Marrakesh
- Die Kunst zu fliehen: Vom Glück sich in kleine Dinge zu versenken und große Kontinente zu entdecken.

M - This is "Literary Fiction in German, #1", so my grandma has something to steal.

Read:

Read but gave away:
Aug 2 ⋆⋆ Du findest mich am Ende der Welt by Nicolas Barreau, Review here.


Unread:
- Die stille Macht der Frauen
- Der Apfelsammler
- Das zweite Leben des Monsieur Moustier
- Wintersterne: Roman
- Die Brückenbauer

- Wie ein Stein im Geröll
- Die durchs Feuer gehen
- Das Gold der Mühle
- Das Regenorchester
- Wald aus Glas

- Die Frau meines Lebens
- Das Lächeln der Frauen
- Eines Abends in Paris

- Der Duft des Regens
- Das Kind, das nicht fragte
- Das Museum der Stille

N - This is a "Favourite Women's Literature' shelf.

Read:

Unread:
Sarah Addison Allen
- The Girl Who Chased the Moon
- Garden Spells
- The Peach Keeper
- The Sugar Queen

Kristin Hannah:
- Fly Away
- On Mystic Lake
- The Things We Do for Love
- Magic Hour
- Distant Shores
- Summer Island
- Between Sisters
- True Colors
- Firefly Lane
- Home Front
- Night Road
- Winter Garden

O . This is a "Random Fantasy" shelf.

Read:
Jul 28 ⋆⋆⋆ Doctor Who: The Blood Cell by James Goss, Review here.


Unread:
- Flesh and Fire
- Weight of Stone
- The Shattered Vine

- Neverwhere
- Perdido Street Station
- The Lies of Locke Lamora
- American Gods

- Earth Girl
- Earth Star
- Earth Flight

- Drachenbrut
- Die Verpflichtung
- Animant Crumbs Staubchronik

- Hogfather
- The Colour of Magic
- Interesting Times
- A Hat Full of Sky
- Men at Arms
- Equal Rites
- The Last Continent
- Reaper Man
- Mort

Q - This is "Travel, #2"

Read:

Unread:
- Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut
- Eastward to Tartary: Travels in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Caucasus
- In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale
- Shadow of the Silk Road
- Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman

- Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark
- The Valleys of the Assassins: and Other Persian Travels
- The Southern Gates of Arabia: A Journey in the Hadhramaut

- Donau. Biographie eines Flusses
- On the Road to Babadag: Travels in the Other Europe
- Meine orientalische Reise: Auf den Spuren der Beduinen durch Syrien, Jordanien und Persien

R - This is "Literary Fiction in German, #2" (again for my grandma to steal things).

Read:

Unread:
- Abendland
- Die Eleganz des Igels
- Dem neuen Sommer entgegen
- Das Labyrinth der Wörter
- Zaira

- Maya
- Eine Frage der Zeit
- Der Duft von Erde und Zitronen
- Nachtzug nach Lissabon
- Liebende

- Via Gemito
- Ferne Verwandte
- Der Lebensläufer. Ein Jahrbuch.
- In Zeiten Des Abnehmenden Lichts
- Das Glasperlenspiel

- Die Geister schweigen
- Die Saat. Roman aus den deutschen Bauernkriegen
- Das Geheimnis des Kalligraphen
- Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen
- Die Geschichte des Wassers

- Die Jakobsleiter
- Die Frau mit dem Hund
- Der Sommer der Freiheit: Roman

S - This is the shelf of random things. Even more random than all the other shelves.

Read:

Unread:
- Sophie's World
- Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg: Vollständige, kommentierte Ausgabe in 3 Bänden

- Tigermond
- The Gratitude of Kings
- Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances
- Stadt der Masken
- Weizenhaar: Ein Sommer In Marokko

- Der Stollen im Eulengebirge
- Deutschland, ein Wintermärchen
- Die schönsten Sagen aus dem Harz

T - This is a "High Fantasy" shelf.

Read:

Unread:
Guy Gavriel Kay
- Ysabel
- A Song for Arbonne
- Sailing to Sarantium
- Lord of Emperors
Daniel Abraham
- Sommer der Zwietracht
- Winter des Verrats
- Herbst der Kriege
- Frühling der Vergeltung

Pierre Grimbert

- Gefährten des Lichts
- Krieger der Dämmerung
- Götter der Nacht
- Kinder der Ewigkeit

- Das Erbe der Magier
- Der Verrat der Königin
- Die Stimme der Ahnen
- Das Geheimnis der Pforte
- Das Labyrinth der Götter

- Ruf der Krieger
- Das magische Zeichen
- Die Macht der Dunkelheit
- Das Schicksal von Ji

- Die Hüter von Gonelore
- Der Ruf des Drachen

V - This is a "Clarkson (+ Hammond + May)" shelf :).

Read:

Unread:
- Top Gear Ambitious But Rubbish
- And on that Bombshell: Inside the Madness and Genius of Top Gear

Richard Hammond:
- On the Edge
- As You Do: Adventures with Evel, Oliver, and the Vice-President of Botswana
- On the Road: Growing Up in Eight Journeys - My Early Years

James May:
- Car Fever: Dispatches From Behind The Wheel
- May on Motors
- Notes from the Hard Shoulder

Jeremy Clarkson:
- The World According to Clarkson
- And Another Thing
- For Crying Out Loud!
- How Hard Can It Be?
- Is It Really Too Much To Ask?
- As I Was Saying . . .: The World According to Clarkson Volume 6

- The Top Gear years
- Dont Stop Me Now
- Round the Bend
- What Could Possibly Go Wrong...

- Clarkson on Cars
- I Know You Got Soul: Machines With That Certain Something
- Motorworld
- Driven to Distraction

W - This is "Literary Fiction in English, #3". The Hardcover Edition ;).

Read:

Unread:
- My Real Children
- The Rise & Fall of Great Powers
- City of Thieves
- The Bee-Loud Glade
- Land of Love and Drowning

- Life After Life
- Lights Out in Wonderland
- Questions of Travel
- The Casual Vacancy
- This Magnificent Desolation

- All the Light We Cannot See
- Sweetness in the Belly
- Behind the Scenes at the Museum
- The Magic of Saida
- The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope

X - This is a short story shelf. I am the only person in my family to love them, thus I have "inherited" a ton of really old books and little magazines. I won't list them all, I don't even know what they are.

Read:

Unread:
- The Complete Sherlock Holmes
- Moscow But Dreaming
- Wenn ein Reisender in einer Winternacht
- Walk the Blue Fields: Stories
- Umm Nur

- Elizabethtown
- Dschinnistan Oder Auserlesene Feen Und Geistermärchen
- Der kleine Trommler
- Das Tor Zur Roten Gasse. Erzählungen.
- So zärtlich war Suleyken

- Ox-Tales: Earth
- Ox-Tales: Air
- Ox-Tales: Fire
- Ox-Tales: Water

- Zu viel Glück: Zehn Erzählungen
- Tanz der seligen Geister: Erzählungen
- Love and Longing in Bombay
- The Collected Stories
- Fantastic Tales: Visionary and Everyday

Y - This is a Brandon Sanderson shelf. Just how much can one man write?

- Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology
- Warbreaker
- Elantris

- The Way of Kings
- Words of Radiance
- Oathbringer

- The Rithmatist
- Steelheart

Not Brandon Sanderson:
- For Darkness Shows the Stars
- A Natural History of Dragons

Sovotchka wrote: "Hi :).
This is my personal reading challenge.

I recently got a shiny new bookshelf (my first proper one), and I want to make sure that I do it justice.
I used to have many unread books, but I ga..."

Interesting challenge you have set for yourself Sovotchka! Of course I wish you the best of luck with it & happy reading!

Susy wrote: "Interesting challenge you have set for yourself Sovotchka! Of course I wish you the best of luck with it & happy reading! "

Thank you very much, Susy :).

Read in 2018

Read & Kept
Jul 28 ⋆⋆⋆ Doctor Who: The Blood Cell by James Goss, Review here.


Read & Gave Away
Aug 2 ⋆⋆ Du findest mich am Ende der Welt by Nicolas Barreau, Review here.