2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Hi everyone!

Time to nominate books for September! The theme is Perseverance.

~Please remember to state a connection to the theme when you nominate.

~Books we have read less than three years ago are not eligble. To see which books are not eligble, see this google sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

~ Each person can nominate 1 book.

~ Book must be available both as a physical copy and as an ebook.

~ Authors: Please do not nominate your own book.

~ Please do not nominate books that are part of a series, unless it is the first book.

~ You can second someone else's nomination, but that will count as your nomination.


This thread will be closed by July 26th, and we will choose ten books for the poll. If there are more than ten books nominated, we will choose "seconded" books first. If there is still a tie to get into the top ten, we'll go back to the Goodreads average rating to see which is highest.

I'd like to nominate I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban as I feel she is the epitome of perseverence.

I'd like to nominate Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for it tackles a story of how a perseverance of a man to crack a case about the mysterious murders of the Osage people

Oooh, both of those are on my TBR! But I’ll second Malala because I already own a copy of it.

Dee wrote: "I'd like to nominate Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for it tackles a story of how a perseverance of a man to crack a case about the mysteriou..." I second this

I'm going with first reaction on this one:
Know My Name will therefore be my nomination.

I'll second Killers of the Flower Moon, because I also have a copy of this and It's on my TBR.

Also I read Malala several years ago and I don't particularly want to read it again.

Lisa wrote: "I'm going with first reaction on this one:
Know My Name will therefore be my nomination."

Lisa, could you please add the connection to the theme perseverance?

Her whole testimonial is about resilience and the fight to get justice and on her behalf, and ob the behalf of every other survivor ofsexual violence that had ben silenced by the University.

From the description: "Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic.

If you don't agree with my choice, I can change it to Between the World and Me

Actually. Sorry. If my initial nomination isn't acceptable, I would like to change it to The Hobbit (really Lord of the Rings as whole, but since I can only nominate first in the series, there it is )

Lisa wrote: "Actually. Sorry. If my initial nomination isn't acceptable, I would like to change it to The Hobbit (really Lord of the Rings as whole, but since I can only nominate first in the series..."

Your nomination is fine, we just require everyone to state a connection between the book and the theme.

I nominate Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Two friends, both aged 11, develop a friendship while playing the video game Super Mario Brothers in a hospital rec room for chronically ill children. The two reconnect some years later while college students, one at Harvard and the other at MIT; they then decide to get into video game-making as a business. One friend perseveres despite having to deal with a long-term physical disability.

Jordan wrote: "
I nominate Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Two friends, both aged 11, develop a friendship while playing the vide..."

I second this one!

I will nominate Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. My late best friend used to say, this was a book about survival which I agree with. Frankly my dear, spoiled Scarlett has to endure/survive/persevere through a lot of hard stuff throughout the course of this story.

D.L. wrote: "I will nominate Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. My late best friend used to say, this was a book about survival which I agree with. Frankly my dear, spoiled Sca..."

I'll 2nd this one.

Some great nominations!! I’ll just wait for the poll!

I wish to nominate Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Everest Disaster. Sherpas, guides, and climbers persevere through brutal cold and oxygen deprivation to summit the sacred Mount Everest. Over the years, hundreds have died or gone missing in this extremely risky pursuit.

L Y N N wrote: "Some great nominations!! I’ll just wait for the poll!"

Agree!

I'd like to nominate Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert, a book about learning from failures and how to move forward and persevere.

Ivanhoe has persevered in my conscience since I first borrowed it in children’s school, but never finished it. Now would be a good time!

I am going to nominate The Hobbit. Perseverance is a skill that takes a long time to develop. Bilbo is one who gains this skill over the course of the book. He undergoes many struggles along that test his loyalty to his group. The dwarf company showed perseverance throughout the book.

I haven't read this in a really long time, and it is back on my TBR list.

Bernadette wrote: "I am going to nominate The Hobbit. Perseverance is a skill that takes a long time to develop. Bilbo is one who gains this skill over the course of the book. He undergoes many struggles ..."

That is a great book and I will second it. I recently listened to the Audiobook narrated by Andy Serkis who played Gollum in the movies. He does a great job on the voices (but, um, not so much on the singing parts).

Poll is up! :D Go vote for our next read!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...