2025 Reading Challenge discussion

My goal for 2020 is 24 books. I've finished one so far - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Edit: I'm changing my goal to 52 books. I'm at 27 right now.

I finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman and Binti by Nnedi Okorafor.

Currently reading The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. Starting Doctor Zhivago.

Finished reading The Maltese Falcon.

The Night Circus is one of my favourite books, Morgenstern's writing is just so beautiful! How did you like it?

Best of luck with your reading challenge!

Ilona wrote: "The Night Circus is one of my favourite books, Morgenstern's writing is just so beautiful! How did you like it?

Best of luck with your reading challenge!"

Thanks!

I loved The Night Circus. It did move a bit slower but, as you said, the writing is beautiful and it really built up the magical environment of the circus. Morgenstern was able to add some disturbing aspects to the circus and its origins without stripping the setting of its wondrous quality. I also loved the supporting characters and it left me interested in the story of Alexander and Prospero and, especially, Tsukiko.

Finished...
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
- The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
- Dune by Frank Herbert (I'm actually still rereading my favorite sections)
- The Russian Revolution 1917-1932 by Sheila Fitzpatrick

I'm still reading Doctor Zhivago. I paused to read Fitzpatrick's book because it was interesting and Pasternak writes like the reader is always going to understand the details/timeline of events.

Started I, Robot by Isaac Asimov and The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.

Finished the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (minus the prequel). The first two were rereads, but it's been so long since I read them that they felt new. I loved this series.

Finished I, Robot and Foundation. I want to go through at least the first foundation trilogy. I started Foundation and Empire.

Finished the City & the City by China Mievelle, Devolution by Max Brooks, and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. My favorite of these was Devolution. I was looking forward to it because I loved World War Z, and it didn't disappoint. The City and the City was interesting, but I was more interested in what was not true than what was. (I don't want to spoil by saying more than that.) Children of Blood and Bone was a mixed bag. I was really into the characters and overall conflict but not so much the magic system or how certain character conflicts played out.

Currently reading:
Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Doctor Zhivago (yes, still this book. I am determined to finish if only to find out what happens to Lara and Pasha. The titular character has really been boring me.)

Finished:

28. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - It was not what I expected, but I liked it. I never read Bradbury before. I picked up Something Wicked This Way Comes to read sometime this month.
29. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue/Getting Lucky - This was really, really cute.
30. And Then There Were None by Agathie Christie - My first Christie novel and, wow. Wonderful tension and I kept second-guessing my conclusions throughout the book.
31. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I enjoyed it, the story moreso than how it was written.

Finished

32. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov: This one pulled me in more than the first (though the takeover of the kingdoms from the first book is still my favorite part.) The general and the Mule made me understand the main idea a lot better too (how the predictions of Seldon worked - and didn't work.)

33. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson: The journey of emotions and understanding that Neville goes through made this book good for me.

34. The Dark Half by Stephen King: I could not put this down. The villain was so vicious and the protagonist was a cave of very dark things.

35. The Starless Sea by Erin Morganstern: Still gorgeous writing of a fantastical setting. I loved the main characters and side characters. It also ends in a way that ties things up while still making clear there's so much more to the world.

36. Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons: I liked this one. It's long and a lot of it is absolutely miserable. However, I was rooting for the main characters, I have never hated villains like I did here, and it could be fun watching a small group of scifi characters just wreck things in an oblivious world. The scary elements really came from their way of thinking. Since the villains get their POV, it's chilling - and miserable - to witness one person's devastation and then to switch to their POV and realize they think of it as swatting a fly. No big deal. Doesn't matter.

37. Dracula by Bram Stoker: This is a reread, but it's another one I barely remember. There's times Stoker's wordiness tires me out, but I still love this book. My favorite parts are Jonathon's time in the castle and the record of the ship captain. The atmosphere is wonderful.

38. Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker: It was creepy and well-written, but I didn't connect with the characters and the goriness isn't my thing.

Looks like you are having a good reading year. Congrats on surpassing your goal!

This year really has been great for reading. It's been a few years since I've hit any reading goals.

39. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - It's odd. I liked this book more after it was over than while I was reading it. Maybe it was because events felt random with Richard's story being the thing that tied it all together and so nothing seemed right until his journey ended. Maybe...

40. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - Feel-good space opera that really did make me feel good. I love that I can compare this space crew with other fictional space crews in personality, but these ones are all non-violent. Instead of a gang having one or two rays of sunshine or pacifists or diplomats or scientists-only, that's just the whole Wayfarer crew. That was different.

41. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux - Super dramatic and dark but, also, I was surprised into a laughter a few times.

42 & 43. Sandman Slim & Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey - I'm definitely continuing this series. It's so quirky and morbid. I love the magical underworld created here.

44. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert - I cared more about Paul in this one than in the last. I think it's less about this particular book and more about having the beginning and sort-of-end of a journey. (I'll probably get to the third book next year.)

45. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera - One of my new favorites. At the beginning, the slang in Rufus' chapters were awkward to me. I'm not sure if it got smoother or if I just got used to it. Either way, this book made me emotional and I found myself going through stages of grief as this book went on.

46. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear - This is another series I'll come back to. I thought the really long flashback placement was odd and the mystery wasn't really mysterious, but I enjoyed it. It was charming. Maisie's backstory was interesting. I liked the supporting characters too.

47. Sherlock Holmes Definitive #1-8 by Conan Doyle (narrated by Stephen Fry): This is one of my new favorites. I enjoyed Hound of the Baskervilles the most (out of the novels) because of the story's creepiness and because we got to see so much of Watson in action. For short stories, my favorites were Charles Augustus Milverton, the Blue Carbuncle, and His Last Bow. The U.S. version of this doesn't include The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. So, that's now on my reading list.

48. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien: This is a reread because I'm going to try LotR again. I always liked the Hobbit. It's funny, and Bilbo Baggins is charming.

49. Hearts of Resistance by Soraya M Lane: Interesting and inspiring characters in harsh circumstances. Liked the beginning and ending more than some middling parts. The very beginning (a flash-forward) was a great hook.

50. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov: It wasn't an ending (to what I think was the original trilogy?) that I expected, but it was an engaging story.

51. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak: I finished it! It took me longer than I was planning, but I just lost interest so many times in the middle sections. I did love the first half though, and the ending drew me back in.

Congrats!