2025 Reading Challenge discussion

message 40 updated: 6/18 books read

3. I'm Traveling Alone (Norway)
4. Grand Hotel (Germany)
5. Noord (Belgium)
6. Britt-Marie Was Here (Sweden)

Please increase the goal on message 6 to 36.

Update to message #5

PROGRESS: 100/150

Megan, increase my goal to 150, please! 😉

Update to Message 136: 29/36

Update to message 32, 22/20 books

18. Running With Lions
19. Normal People
20. The Importance of Being Earnest
21. The Lightning Thief
22. Roxy

Updated message 10-- 11/15

Updated msg 14

Polish, translated from Polish

The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski, translated by David French. There were parts of this conclusion to the series that I loved. And other parts that were unnecessary and just seemed to lengthen the already long story. I appreciated how the characters progressed, and the ending for Ciri was satisfying. Glad I read the series! Worth reading. 4 stars

40/50

oshizu wrote: "May update to msg #27: 32/50

Megan, please increase my goal to 50. Thank you!"

Updated!

Gail wrote: "Please increase the goal on message 6 to 36."

Updated!

Carmen wrote: "Update to message #5

PROGRESS: 100/150

Megan, increase my goal to 150, please! 😉"

Updated!

Congrats to Janine on completing the challenge! And several of you are increasing your goals, so great job! Updated to here!

Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.
~ Verna Myers

Update msg 241
13 Abyssinian Chronicles *** Uganda

Updated msg 14

Bisexual

Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur. Super cute and full of cute little scenes! Loved the characters and the continuation of the first book. My only critique is that at times I felt like a sentence was skipped. Worth reading! 4 stars

41/50

I'm halfway there! 26/50

1. How to be an Anti-Racist (male author)
2. Arsenic and Adobo (Filipino author)
3. Waking Up White (White author)
4. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (White lesbian author)
5. The Love Hypothesis (White STEM author)
6. The Unhoneymooners (Two White authors)
7. They Both Die at the End (White gay male author)
8. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Latino gay male author)
9. Clap When You Land (Afro-Latina author)
10. Afterparties (Cambodian gay male author)
11. Oona Out of Order (White Ukrainian author)
12. Beautiful World, Where Are You? (White Irish author)
13. The Spanish Love Deception (White Spanish author)
14. The Worst Best Man (Afro-Latina author)
15. The House on the Cerulean Sea (White gay male author)
16. Living in Color (male author)
17. Don’t You Forget About Me (White Scottish author)
18. Dial A for Aunties (Asian Indonesian author)
19. Black Cake (Multiracial Caribbean author)
20. Skinny Dip (White male author)
21. One Last Stop (White queer author)
22. The Downstairs Girl (Asian-American author)
23. Writers and Lovers (White author)
24. Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned (Male author)
25. Migrations (White Australian author)
26. Book Lovers (White author)

Updated to here!

We can convince ourselves to do things in conjunction with one another that we wouldn’t have been able to do as an individual.
~ Jordan Peele

Updated msg 14

African-American, bisexual, lesbian, Chinese-American, Native American, Japanese-American, Mexican-American, Indian-American

The Vintage Book of American Women Writers edited by Elaine Showalter. This is an impressive anthology! I truly appreciated the author’s concerted efforts at inclusivity. And I loved the bios at the start of each chapter - so many amazing authors added to my tbr! Definitely worth reading! 5 stars

42/50

Update to msg #27
Please increase my goal to 60. Thank you, Megan

Progress: 46/60

Update message 241
14/18 Aunty Lee's Delights **** (Singapore)

Update to Message #9: 109/65 -- COMPLETE

This challenge has been such an eye-opener. Turns out that 76% of the authors I've read this year are different from me in some way. Maybe even more. Some of the white female authors I read keep their online presence rather private, so I couldn't always find info on sexual preference, religion, etc.

Thank you, Megan!

Update to Message 136: 32/36

Update to Message #25:

The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani

13/25

Updated msg 14

African-American

The Taming of Jessi Rose by Beverly Jenkins. Really enjoyed this story, from the tidbits about train robberies, to the historical accounts of Comanches, black seminoles scouts, and more. Love this author’s blend of history and romance! Definitely worth reading! 4.5 stars

43/50

Update message 241:
14 Burial Rites / Hannah Kent ***** Author: Australian, set in Iceland

Updated msg 14

English

Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal. I have mixed feelings about this book. I appreciated the history and some of the characters. Others seemed to be not fully realized. There were a few times that words were left out of the action sequences. Interesting overall. I received this book as a free giveaway in exchange for my honest review. 3.5 stars

44/50

Update message 241
15 The Guest List/Lucy Foley ***** Author is British, setting is Ireland

Updated to here! oshizu, I increased your goal. TerryJane, great observations about your reading this year! Great job, everyone!

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Update to message #5

PROGRESS: 129/150

Update to Message 136: 35/36

Updated msg 14

Japanese, translated from Japanese into English

At the End of the Matinee by Keiichiro Hirano, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter. This is a very introspective book. A lot of the plot is reflected through the internal reactions and thoughts of the characters. I had difficulty getting interested in this book. It picked up a bit towards the end. I liked the discussions surrounding refugees and music, but it was a bit too quiet for my tastes. 3 stars

45/50

Update message 241:

16 The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah: Fear and Love in the modern middle east/ Adam Valen Levinson *** Author: Male, set in Middle East

Updated msg 14

Bisexual

Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur. At the beginning, I got a bit irritated because the characters weren’t talking to each other. It’s one of my pet peeves when reading about adults - use your words! But it was acknowledged and used as part of the plot, so it got much better after that. Nice conclusion to the trilogy. 4 stars

46/50

Updated msg 14

Mexican-American

The Tiger Came to the Mountains by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Wonderful short story loosely based on her great-grandmother. “And some men end up on coins and bills after a war, but that doesn’t make them saints.” Definitely worth reading! 5 stars

47/50

Updated message 10-- 12/15

Update to message 6:
27/24
Please increase my goal to 36

Updated msg 14

Australian

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill. This held so much promise. I found the story within a story fascinating. It was delightfully creepy. But the ending was just meh. It didn’t quite land. However the story was interesting. 3.5 stars

48/50

Update to msg #27: 54/60

Thank you, Megan!

Update Message 242:
17 The queen of water / Resau and Farinango *****Author: Ecuadorian, set in Ecuador

Update to Message 136: 36/36!

Updated to here! Gail, your challenge has been updated. Congrats to Shelley on completing the challenge!

When everyone is included, everyone wins.
~ Jesse Jackson

message 40 updated: 10/18 books read

7. Beautiful World, Where Are You (Ireland)
8. Klara and the Sun (Japan)
9. The Promise (South-Africa)
10. Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head: Poems (Somalia)

Update to Message #25

Only the Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones - Native American

14/25

Update to message #5

PROGRESS: 150/150

Thanks so much, Megan! 🤗

Updated msg 14

Bisexual

Read Between the Lines by Rachel Lacey. Fun and interesting retelling of You’ve Got Mail. I enjoyed one of the mains, but the other irritated me quite a bit at times. However, I loved all the bookish talk! Worth reading! 3.5 stars

49/50

Updated message 10-- 13/15

Update message 6: 28/36 completed

Updated msg 14

Jewish

Listen to the Moon by Rose Lerner. I needed something light and fluffy, and this fit, with the added bonus of teaching me more about downstairs life in England. Loved the character development! Worth reading! 4 stars

50/50 - completed!

Congrats to Carmen on completing the challenge! Updated to here!

When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become a wiser, more inclusive, and better organization.
~ Pat Wadors

Updated msg 14

Jewish

A Taste of Honey by Rose Lerner. Sweet, sexy novella to end this series. I really like how the author incorporates relationship issues into the character development! Worth reading! 3.5 stars


51/50

Updated msg 14

Chinese, immigrant

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang. A heart-wrenching, necessary story to tell! I give the author a lot of credit for this being her first published book. There are indications of debut authorship - gaping holes in the ending and not quite knowing how to land the tale. The imagery surrounding food is useful but a touch overdone. Definitely worth reading! 4 stars

52/50

UPDATE to msg 241:

18 Allah is not obliged / Ahmadou Kourouma ***** Author: African, set in Ivory Coast and Liberia
19 A general theory of oblivion / Jose Eduardo Agualusa ***** Author: Portuguese, set in Angola.

Upping goal to 20.