2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

AND THE WINNER IS...
Duration: 1 October - 31 December 2018

Earlier this year, Lit Hub published a post called If they gave Oscars to books. For this quarterly challenge, we would like you to read as many of the nominated books as you can.
At the end of the challenge, we will announce the winner of each category based on the number of people who read that book. For example, Lincoln in the Bardo has been nominated in several categories and if 10 people read it, it will get 10 votes for each category it's in.

Dlyn will be keeping track of the participants and goals and the moderators will be counting the votes

I'm going to try for 8

1. Fever Dream - finished 10/10/2018
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

I'll try for 4 books.

Yay I'm in.

AND THE WINNER IS...
Duration: 1 October - 31 December 2018

8/8

Best Novel: Lincoln in the Bardo (also Best Setting and Best Work of Experimental Literature) COMPLETED DEC 22

Debut by a Male Author: Stephen Florida COMPLETED DEC 23

Best YA Novel: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter COMPLETED NOV 15

Best Work of Nonfiction: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI COMPLETED OCT 23

Best Picture Book:
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut COMPLETED OCT 6
Walk with Me COMPLETED OCT 6 ***my favorite
Triangle COMPLETED OCT 6
A Different Pond COMPLETED OCT 6

I'll try to read 6.

Dlyn wrote: "Welcome to the challenge, everyone. I am starting My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 tonight :)"

I was going to read this one later in the month, but maybe I’ll start this one first too.

I'm in for 3 books

Best Book of Poetry (sound editing & sound mixing)
- Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
- Into Each Room We Enter without Knowing by Charif Shanahan

Best Comic/Graphic Novel (visual effects)
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

Best Picture Book (short film-animated)
- A Different Pond by Bao Phi
- Walk with Me by Jairo Buitrago

Best Work of Nonfiction (documentary-feature)
- Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
- The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexievich
- We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Best YA Novel (animated feature film)
- Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
- I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
- American Street by Ibi Zoboi
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Debut by a Male Author (actor in a supporting role)
- American War by Omar El Akkad

Best Novel (best picture)
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Best Book of Short Stories (short film-live action)
- The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Best Work of Fantasy/SF/Speculative Fiction (makeup & hairstyling)
- The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

It looks like there are 2 that are on my list to read the rest of the year, so I'm in for 2.

1. Little Fires Everywhere
2. American War

Thanks Kristine, I will switch over to the other quarterly challenge as I have read quite a few books on the Lit Hub list and unlikely to have access to the newer ones.

Dlyn wrote: "Hey, everyone. This thread has been super quiet. Just checking in to see how progress is coming along."

I am currently listening to Mrs. Caliban.

1/4

Finished Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls! The end made the whole thing really good.

5 please.

I'm going to try for 3

Finished 2/4

2. American War by Omar El Akkad

Please sign me up for 7 books.
Updated to 8 books.


Progress: 9/8

✅1. Fever Dream (30 Oct)
✅2. A Different Pond (30 Oct) [Best Picture Book]
✅3. There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé (1 Nov)
✅4. Walk with Me (4 Nov)
✅5. The Stone Sky (5 Nov)
✅6. Sing, Unburied, Sing (21 Nov)
✅7. A Kind of Freedom (13 Dec)
✅8. Don't Call Us Dead (23 Dec)
✅9. In the Distance (28 Dec)

The Book of Disquiet: The Complete Edition <--ugh, DNF (14 Nov)

-- -- -- --
Award Categories

Best Novel (Best Picture)
✅Sing, Unburied, Sing (Jesmyn Ward)

Debut by a Male Author (Actor in a Supporting Role)
✅In the Distance (Hernan Diaz)

Debut by a Female Author (Actress in a Supporting Role)
✅A Kind of Freedom (Margaret Wilkerson Sexton)

Best Setting (Cinematography)
✅The Stone Sky (N. K. Jemisin)

Best Picture Book (Short Film—Animated)
✅A Different Pond (Bao Phi, Thi Bui)
✅Walk with Me (Jairo Buitrago, illus. Rafael Yockteng)

Best Work of Experimental Literature (Film Editing)
✅Fever Dream (Samanta Schweblin)

Best Work of Fantasy/SF/Speculative Fiction (Makeup and Hairstyling)
✅The Stone Sky (N. K. Jemisin)

Best Book of Poetry (Sound Editing & Sound Mixing)
✅There Are More Beautiful Things than Beyoncé (Morgan Parker)
✅Don't Call Us Dead (Danez Smith)

I just finished my 3rd book.
I'm reminded once again why I don't usually read poetry.

Updated message 8:

5/8

Best Comic/Graphic Novel (Visual Effects)
The Best We Could Do, Thi Bui

Best Book of Poetry (Sound Editing & Sound Mixing)
Electric Arches, Eve L. Ewing

2/6

Update to msg 27

✅The Stone Sky

Progress: 5/7

3/4

Finished Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Kristin wrote: "Just picked up a huge stack of books to read from this list. So excited!!!

I'll be reading Monograph to finish reading all the comics nominated from the category (I read most of them previously),..."

I'm still not on the Participants List, so I shamelessly reduced my challenge goal from 10 books to 7 books recently, haha.

I've really enjoyed this challenge! i read Book 1 of Ward's Bois Sauvage series (Salvage the Bones) recently to prepare for Book 2 (Sing, Unburied, Sing) which I'm REALLY looking forward to reading). The challenge also pushed me to finish Book 2 of Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy.

I've ended up moving two planned books into 2019.
Can't wait to see if any of the books from this challenge will fit either of the December challenges. :D

Good luck with your 1600+ page doorstopper!

I finished! 4/4

Last one was Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

I will say I wasn't super enthusiastic about this challenge but one of my main goals this year was to sign up for all the quarterly and monthly challenges, even if it was just for 1 or 2 books.

I really enjoyed all my choices for this challenge and likely never would have picked them up if it hadn't been for this. So yay! Fever Dream was probably my favorite. I love really weird disturbing atmospheric books, and this is that.

SarahKat wrote: "I finished! 4/4..."

Way to go, SarahKat! :D

Update to message 27


Progress: 6/7

Hi everyone!
Hope you're enjoying this challenge and apologies for the lack of updates. This is your progress so far (let me know if you spot any mistakes):

Amanda 0/2
Brittany 1/8
Cindy III 0/3
Claire 0/5
Dlyn 0/2
Jessica 0/3
Kristin 3/10
Mindy 5/8
oshizu 6/7
Reija 2/6
✅ SarahKat 4/4

Also, I had a quick look at the 'votes' and Fever Dream seems to be the most popular book at the moment

Best Book of Poetry (Sound Editing & Sound Mixing)

I Know Your Kind, William Brewer (Milkweed Editions)

3/6

Updated message 8:

6/8

I'm standing in for Dlyn as leader of this challenge and I'll be using this post to track your progress.

updated to message 52

Amanda 0/2
Brittany 1/8
Cindy III 0/3
Claire 0/5
Dlyn 0/2
Jessica 0/3
✅ Kristin 10/10
✅ Mindy 8/8
✅ oshizu 9/8
✅ Reija 6/6
✅ SarahKat 4/4

Best Book of Short Stories (Short Film—Live Action)

Anything is Possible, Elizabeth Strout (Random House)

4/6 and I have started to read last two so maybe this is doable.

Update to msg #27

Debut by a Female Author (Actress in a Supporting Role)
✅A Kind of Freedom (Margaret Wilkerson Sexton)

Progress: 7/7
I'm done!

Best Book of Short Stories (Short Film—Live Action)

Homesick for Another World, Ottessa Moshfegh (Penguin Books)

5/6

Update to msg #27:
I've increased my goal to 8 books. 😊

✅Don't Call Us Dead (Danez Smith)

Progress: 8/8

Updated message 8:

8/8 -- complete!

Update to msg #27:

✅In the Distance (Hernan Diaz)

Progress: 9/8

Best YA Novel (Animated Feature Film)
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, Erika Sánchez (Knopf Young Readers)

6/6

Well done, everyone! This thread will be open for a few days so you can update your books read between October and December for this challenge. And then I will reveal the winning book(s)