2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

2014: 0/101 books

Yearly challenges

Randomiser: 2/25
Month around the world: 5/55 (on track)
Goodreads Recommended Reading: 2/8
2014 published books: 0/12
Listopia!: 0/20
Monopoly Genre: 1/4
String Theory: 1/12

Quarterly challenges
1st Quarter: The Chinese Zodiac: 0/12

Monthly challenges
January: New year's resolutions: 0/6

Yearly challenge: Randomiser
2/25
Randomly selected books from the to-read shelf

There... I generated my list from my "owned, but not read"-shelf. It looks like a good pile!

1. Galileo's Dream
7. Robopocalypse
18. House of Suns
30. Alas, Babylon
45. Story Engineering
52. The Word for World is Forest
57. Nine Princes in Amber
67. Foundation's Edge
84. Thinking, Fast and Slow
86. As I Lay Dying
90. Changes
92. Fortunately, the Milk
100. The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking
107. Dimension of Miracles
119. Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain
130. The Strain
139. The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories
142. Sandman Slim
148. Sucker's Portfolio
165. Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities
166. Bagombo Snuff Box
173. Jailbird
211. The Wordy Shipmates
223. Catch-22

Yearly challenge: Read the month around the world
Italics for planned options

January: Kapampangan 5/5

E Erik Larson - The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
N Sun Tzu - The Art of War
E Jim Butcher - Small Favor
R Connie Willis - Time is the Fire: The Best of Connie Willis 10 stories
O John Scalzi - Fuzzy Nation

February: Arabic
F Thinking, fast and slow
I The last unicorn
F Fortunately, the milk
R Mindhunter
I Startide rising

March: Malay
M
A
C

April: Papiamento
April 5/5:

A - H.G. Wells - The Island of Dr. Moreau
P - Karen Russell - Sleep Donation
R - Robert Sheckley - Dimension of Miracles
E - Jim Butcher - Side Jobs: Stories From the Dresden Files
L - Marion Zimmer Bradley - The Mists of Avalon

May: Romanian
M
A
I

June: Greenlandic
J
U
N
I

July: Swahili
J
U
L
A
I

August: Japanese
H
A
D
U
K
I

September: Basque
I
R
A
I
L

October: Ewe
K
E
L
E

November: Venda
L
A
R
A

December: Niuean
T
E
S
E
M
O

Yearly challenge: The Goodreads Recommended Reading Challenge
2/8

1. Catch-22
2. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

Possible choices:
Catch-22
The sweetness at the bottom of the pie
The name of the wind
11/22/63
The devil in the white city
Howl's moving castle
The shadow of the torturer
Being Wrong: Adventures in the margins of error

Yearly challenge: 2014 Published books
0/12

12 newly published books from different genres:
Fiction
Mystery & Thriller
Historical Fiction
Fantasy
Paranormal Fantasy
Science Fiction
Romance
Horror
Memoir & Autobiography
History & Biography
Nonfiction
Food & Cookbooks
Humor
Graphic Novels & Comics
Poetry
Debut Goodreads Author
Young Adult Fiction
Young Adult Fantasy
Middle Grade & Children's
Picture Books 

Yearly challenge: Listopia!
0/20


MEDICINE AND LITERATURE
0/5

Possible choices:
Bonk: The curious coupling of science and sex
The Professor and the madman
Guns, germs and steel
Never let me go
Man's search for meaning
An anthropologist on Mars
The coming plague
Bitten
The American Plague
Illness as metaphor
The poisoner's handbook
Spillover
Zoobiquity


SF & THEOLOGY
0/5

Possible choices:
The Sparrow
Parable of the sower
Parable of the talents
A case of conscience
Calculating God
Way Station
The Martian Chronicles

GREATEST PSYCHOLOGY BOOKS
0/5

Possible choices:
Freakonomics
Predictably Irrational
Thinking fast and slow
The blank slate
The stuff of thought
How the mind works
Mindhunter

CHINA MIEVILLE RECS
0/5

Possible choices:
The Master and Margarita
Beloved
The island of Dr Moreau
Pavane
The Dark Domain

The Monopoly Genre Challenge
1/4 genres completed

Young Adult
Coming of Age
YA Fantasy

Romance
Historical Romance
Paranormal Romance
Chick-lit

Suspense
Crime
Horror
Mystery

Historical (time periods)
Medieval
Victorian
Ancient

Fantasy
Epic/high fantasy
Mythic fiction
Magical realism

Science Fiction
Cyberpunk/Steampunk
Dystopian
Space Opera

Biographical
Memoir
Autobiography
Biography

Non-fiction
History: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Science: Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife

THE STRING THEORY CHALLENGE
1/12

Pick a book, any book, and note the things you find interesting in the story. After that first book is read, you'll select another book that links with something from the first book.

01. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

The story of Chicago's world fair - and the "American Jack the Ripper". Since then, the serial killer has become far better known in the American (and the world's) cultural landscape, thus...

02. Mindhunter
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.
09.
10.
11.
12.

FIRST QUARTER CHALLENGE: THE CHINESE ZODIAC (Shēngxiào)
Duration: January 1 - March 31, 2014

4/12

1. The Horse. On January 31, 2014, it becomes the Year of the Horse! Horses like being the center of attention. Read a book where the main character is famous OR read a memoir about or a biography of a celebrity.

2. The Goat. Home is where Goats feel the most comfortable. Read a book that takes place in the country you were born in.
Menneskefluene

3. The Monkey. Monkeys are the masters of practical jokes. Read a humorous book.
John Scalzi - Fuzzy Nation

4. The Rooster. Roosters tend to "tell it like it is." Read a non-fiction book.

5. The Dog. While loyal and faithful, Dogs have trouble finding mates. Read a book that contains a troubled romance.

6. The Pig. Pigs love to have fun but tend to prefer spending to saving. Read a book you have purchased (rather than borrowed).

7. The Rat. Constantly seeking knowledge, Rats are curious and clever. Read a book that teaches you something.
Erik Larson - The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

8. The Ox. Oxen aren't very sociable and prefer life-long friendships to casual acquaintances. Read a book in which the main character could be described as an introvert.

9. The Tiger. Tigers love to be challenged. Read a book you find challenging in some way maybe because of its length, style, or subject matter.
Anathem / Thinking, fast and slow

10. The Rabbit. Rabbits tend to enjoy meeting people from different places and learning about different cultures. Read a book about a culture not your own.
Sun Tzu - The Art of War

11. The Dragon. The Dragon is often considered to be the strongest sign, and the only one that is a mythical animal. Read a book that contains a mythical or paranormal creature.
Jim Butcher - Small Favor

12. The Snake. Snakes work hard but tend to be easily bored. To prevent boredom, read a short book (i.e., one with fewer than 100 pages).
Shirley Jackson - The tooth

JANUARY: NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS CHALLENGE
Duration: January 1 - 31, 2014
4/6


1. Save more money. Instead of buying a book, read a book you borrowed (from a friend or the library) or was given to you as a gift.
How to Make a Zombie: The Real Life (and Death) Science of Reanimation and Mind Control
(Gift from secret santa)

2. Quit smoking. Smoking is an addiction which is a neurological disorder explained by science. Read a science non-fiction book.
Mary Roach - Spook

3. Exercise more. Read a book whose cover shows people being active in some way OR read a book in which one of the main characters is an athlete.

4. Spend more time with friends. Old favorite books are just like old friends. Reread an old favorite.
Terry Pratchett - the light fantastic

5. Watch less TV. Instead of watching TV or going to the movies, read a book that got turned into a movie or TV show.
Small Favor
(This book is a part of the Dresden files series, which was also made into a TV show, though quite possibly ended/cancelled earlier in the series - I have no idea, I've never watched it)

6. Go back to school. Read a book from this list: Best School Assigned Books
Catch-22

7. Go on a trip. Read a book that takes place in a country you've never been to. (This can be a made up country.)
The Art of War
(Well, the commentators refer to events in/around China - so I'll count it as 'takes place in')

8. Volunteer or donate more. Read a book you own then donate it. There are many places that accept donated books. You can try your library, thrift stores, or local charitable organizations. Let us know where you donated your book!