2025 Reading Challenge discussion

I have decided to read 30 books in 2021 of different genres.

Hi Dikshita! All the very best.. Hope we finish our goals of reading in 2021.. Happy reading! :)

Thanks Surabhi.

With the year 2020 being the way it was, I plan to read for my sanity. I am hopeful of having a great 2021. Wish the same for everyone.

Hey Dikshita, good luck with your reading goal!

Good luck :)

Batul wrote: "Hey Dikshita, good luck with your reading goal!"

Thank you so much Batul. Wish a great reading year 2021.

Lisa wrote: "Good luck :)"

Thank you so much Lisa. Wish a great reading year 2021

Dikshita wrote: "I have decided to read 30 books in 2021 of different genres."

That's a great goal, Dikshita! I read a lot but I tend to ignore a number of genres. Your goal is inspiring me to get out of my comfort zone. Btw, good luck with your reading challenge! :)

Trisha wrote: "Dikshita wrote: "I have decided to read 30 books in 2021 of different genres."

That's a great goal, Dikshita! I read a lot but I tend to ignore a number of genres. Your goal is inspiring me to get..."

Thanks a lot Trisha! I hope all of us have a great reading year!

Finished my first book of 2021 The Midnight Library

This book was like a breath of fresh air. It gave me the positivity I was looking forward for the New Year.

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You can read my review of the Midnight Library here.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Nora Seed feels useless and unwanted which pushes her to an extent that one day she decides to take her life. But instead of facing death, she enters the Midnight Library which is a world between life and death.
"It is not the real world in a conventional sense. But nor is it a dream. It isn’t one thing or another. It is, in short, the Midnight Library."

The book takes us through the journey of Nora Seed wherein she is given various choices of alternative lives in the form of books. She can enter into these lives and choose to stay or leave.
"You have as many lives as you have possibilities. There are lives where you make different choices. And those choices lead to different outcomes. If you had done just one thing differently, you would have a different life story. And they all exist in the Midnight Library. They are all as real as this life."

Every now and then, all of us have thoughts as to how certain alternate choices could have made our lives better. But most of the time, we tend to overestimate its bearing on our lives. What stood out for me in this book is the fact that this overestimation that gives us sleepless nights and anxiety have been dealt so beautifully by Matt Haig through the eyes of Nora Seed.

"Every second of every day we are entering a new universe. And we spend so much time wishing our lives were different, comparing ourselves to other people and to other versions of ourselves, when really most lives contain degrees of good and degrees of bad."

The book is a breath of fresh air and captures the issue of depression in the best possible manner. I had read it on social media, that someone had told Matt Haig that the Midnight Library helped his daughter overcome depression. Honestly, I can say that I totally believe it.
This book gave me the positivity that I was looking for and gave me the solution to certain issues that were lying unresolved in my own head. I would recommend it to each and everyone because as far as I know, we all have a Nora Seed in us looking for answers and this book might have them because "You don’t have to understand life. You just have to live it."




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Great going Dikishita, 1 short of reaching your goal!

1 like to that review!

Leena wrote: "Great going Dikishita, 1 short of reaching your goal!"

Thanks a lot. Hope you are having a happy reading time too... 😊

Niharika wrote: "1 like to that review!"

Thanks a lot 😁

I am , thankfully.

Finished my second book Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India

As my reading goal goes, I planned to read books of different genres. So my first book belonged to the speculative fiction genre and now the Inglorious Empire is non-fiction (History).

Rating - I don't have the intellectual capability or the courage to rate the work of Shashi Tharoor. Being one of his greatest admirers, whatever he speaks is gold to me so I choose to refrain from rating his work here.

You can read my review of the Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India here

Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India by Shashi Tharoor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


History belongs in the past, but understanding it, is the duty of the present.

The book gives a detailed account of the inequities of the British Empire in India. The book touches upon several aspects and answers the arguments that are generally made in favour of the British Rule. It discusses how a trading company systematically deindustrialized, divided and destroyed a country with once a GDP of 30%. It gives hypothetical perspectives and counternarratives of what the position of India would have been had not the British come to India. The arguments made in the book are support by facts and thus becomes difficult to contradict. It was such an informative read and is recommended to anyone who has an interest in the Modern History of India.

I was drawn to this book after hearing the speech Shashi Tharoor gave at Oxford on the topic. I had the hardcover of the book for the past 2 years but I just didn't start reading it for some reason or the other. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Shashi Tharoor, the man himself and I don't think there was a better way of consuming the book. I had the best experience listening to the book and for anyone planning to read this book I would definitely recommend that the audiobook is the way to go.



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I just saw I haven’t updated my thread.

I have finished 2 more books.
I am re-reading the HP series. I have finished the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

I am really lagging behind but I have completed 4 books till now.

Finished my 5th book of the year Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished my 6th book of the year Shadow and Bone

Find my review here

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I had been on a reading slump for a while now and something was to be done to get out of it. I am grateful that the release of the Netflix series was something that helped me with it.

The Grishaverse was on my TBR for a really very long time and the series just made it easier. Leigh Bardugo’s style of writing keeps the reader interested in the plot. Although at times the terminologies for Grisha got a little confusing ( maybe it’s just me ), but I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
I had a great time reading it.
Unpopular opinion - I loved the Darkling🤪

Plot ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fav characters Darkling and Genya
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Bye now! It’s time to watch the show.




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Books I have read so far.

Finished my 7th book of the year The Kite Runner

Find my review here

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Man! Is Khaled Hosseini one of the best when it comes to writing tragedies? I would say yes. A thousand times Yes.

The thing I liked about the book is it didn’t portray the characters as people who are flawless. It showed the real side of them and showed how it’s human to make mistakes, realize them and take actions to correct them.

The plot of the story had so many twists and turns that after every few chapters there was something unexpected taking place. When I started the book I never anticipated the book to end how it did.

I haven’t read anything like the friendship portrayed between Hassan and Amir. It was absolutely beautiful.

Is it one of my favourite reads? Yes.

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



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Books I have read so far.

Finished my 8th book of the year in the Sci-if genre.



Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Books I have read so far.

Finished my 9th book of the year today.

Books I have read so far.

Forgot to update my 10th book before in the group.
And also Finished three short books in a day. Read 13 books till now.

Books I have read so far.

Also kept my goal up by reading different genres and categories. Read two short stories and one graphical novel.

Finished my 14th book of the year.

Books I have read so far.

Finished my 15th book of the year.

Books I have read so far.

Finished my 16th book of the year

Books I have read so far.

Finished my 17th book of the year

Books I have read so far.

Finished my 18th book of the year

Books I have read so far.

Finished my 19th book of the year

Books I have read so far.

Finished my 20th book of the year

Books I have read so far.

Finished my 21st book of the year in the Non-Fiction genre

Books I have read so far.

Trying to complete the challenge I have given myself as fast as I can as there is little time left. I hope I make it. 🤞

Finished the 22nd book of the year.

Books I have read so far.