2025 Reading Challenge discussion

After originally starting with a target of 52, I've caught a particularly nasty reading bug and am now aiming for 150 books. I include books of any length and format (including audiobooks) in my challenge.

I'm prioritising non-fiction but will also dabble in fiction throughout the year. I welcome any book suggestions that readers of this thread would like to offer.

Current Total: 75

I hope you go beyond your 52 book resolution! Best of Luck!

Best of luck with your challenge in 2021, Tom!

Thanks Blagica and Lisa! Good luck with your own reading challenges!

1.
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson

A book I'd been looking forward to reading for a long time, being interested in the American Civil War and seeing numerous people declare this to be the best single-volume history of the conflict. Happily, it lived up to expectations and even altered some of my own views on the important aspects of the war. 5 stars.

2.
The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie

Knowing virtually nothing about Inca history, and having recently had my interest piqued by a podcast episode on the subject, I decided to dive into this one. MacQuarrie pieces together what little is known of the Inca empire prior to Spanish conquest, as well as what happened after Spanish arrival, in a gripping narrative. This is bookended by the story of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu and the intrigue which followed -- also interesting, but I'd have preferred it as a separate book. 4 stars

3.
Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975 by Max Hastings

Illuminating one-volume biography of the Vietnam war and all the folly it entailed. Besides offering scant detail of a few major events during the conflict (such as My Lai), my one criticism is that it doesn't capture the horror of the war in the way Ken Burns' excellent documentary series did. 4 stars

4.
Lee: The Last Years by Charles Bracelen Flood

Review here 4 stars

5.
Means of Ascent by Robert A. Caro

The second in Robert A. Caro's exhaustive series on Lyndon Johnson, which focuses on LBJ's "wilderness" years that culminated in his tainted victorious senate run. If there's a flaw in this otherwise brilliant book, it's that Caro presents Coke Stevenson, Johnson's rival in the senate race, as an essentially noble man, omitting his racist views. 4 stars

6.
The False Cause: Fraud, Fabrication, and White Supremacy in Confederate Memory by Adam H. Domby

A timely examination of the Lost Cause and how it, and its perversion of Civil War history, has abided and changed over the years. 4 stars

7.
The Promise and the Dream: The Untold Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. And Robert F. Kennedy by David Margolick

Very good dual biography that examines the convergences and divergences of RFK and MLK's public careers within the civil rights movement leading up to their assassinations in 1968. Not exhaustive by any stretch, but illuminating. 4 stars


8.
The Safety of Objects by A.M. Homes

Decent short story collection with an overarching theme of suburban surrealism and dislocation. Only one bad story in the bunch, IMO. 3 stars


9.
Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde by Jeff Guinn

Review here 5 stars


10.
Desolation Game by Greg McLean & Brett McBean

The second novel spin-off from the Wolf Creek movie/TV franchise, elaborating on the backstory of murderous Australian Mick Taylor -- possibly my favourite horror villain. Violent, bleak and darkly amusing. 4 stars

January 2021



Best Book: Battle Cry of Freedom
Final Tally: 10

11.
Guns by Stephen King
An essay on gun violence in the United States, written in King's distinctive style. Compelling, particularly since it doesn't strictly follow partisan lines. 4 stars

12.
Master of the Senate by Robert A. Caro
The third entry into Caro's series on LBJ, which I believe is also the longest entry, although it's so engrossing in its drama and detail that you scarcely notice it. A deserved Pulitzer Prize winner. 5 stars

13.
Reconsidering Reagan: Racism, Republicans, and the Road to Trump by Daniel S. Lucks
A damning look at President Reagan's exceptionally poor civil rights record -- a black mark on Reagan's legacy that's tellingly obscured or omitted by his biggest fans in and outside of the media. Necessarily one-sided, it provides a timely indictment of a Presidency that, for all its successes, exacerbated racial strife in the US. 4 stars

14.
Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

A decent, violent story of intergenerational strife and murder in a small southern town. The biggest downsides are its awkward attempts to incorporate the spectre of Trumpism and the fact that the book has a truly awful title. 3 stars

15.
Why to Kill a Mockingbird Matters by Tom Santopietro

Review here. 2 stars

Look at you go do you have a standout favorite yet?

Blagica wrote: "Look at you go do you have a standout favorite yet?"

It's a tough call between Master of the Senate, Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause, and Battle Cry of Freedom.

For fiction, Christine is the best I've read so far, although I'm lazy and haven't updated the thread with it yet.

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

Moved thread to 101+ section since I surpassed my initial goal quicker than expected. I've now set an ambitious target of 150, which would be the most books I've ever read in a single year.

MAY