2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

I know the month isn't over yet but I thought we could get an early start.

My 5 star reads for January are as follows:

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
The Survivors: A Story of War, Inheritance and Healing by Adam Frankel
Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan
Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear

My favorite reads for Jan were:

I've finished one 5-star book so far this year:


The Terror by Dan Simmons

Sunny wrote: "My favorite reads for Jan were:



"

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed those two books.
The first two books in the Oxford Time Travel series were great.
And, though I don't usually enjoy wartime novels, I'd really like to finish the last two books in that series.

I was supremely lucky in January to read three five-star books!

*Tigana (historical fantasy)
*Ninefox Gambit (science fiction)
*Fingersmith (Victorian-era historical fiction)

RJ wrote: "I've finished one 5-star book so far this year:


The Terror by Dan Simmons"

@RJ
Horror is not typically my jam, but I've added The Terror to my TBRs with much fear and trepidation. :)

I'm just getting back into reading so I only accomplished reading one book for January. However, I did read it in about three days so I'm happy with that one book. It wasn't a five star but it was a four star for me.

Death Takes Priority by Jean Flowers

Ashley, I’m really happy for you, keep it up 👍🏻

Thank you Rabani!

oshizu wrote: "Sunny wrote: "My favorite reads for Jan were:



"

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed those two books.
The first two books in the Oxford Time Travel series were great."

I'm reading the other two later on. I had a brain warp and decided to read things out of order -- which I hardly ever do when it comes to series,

oshizu wrote: "@RJ
Horror is not typically my jam, but I've added The Terror to my TBRs with much fear and trepidation. :)"

I get ya. Horror is not my favorite genre either although I'm trying to explore it a little more with an open mind. But The Terror is actually more of a historical novel, quite well researched and written in fact, with some horror elements. I liked it a lot. I hope you do too.

Sunny wrote: "My favorite reads for Jan were:



"

I'm hoping to get to those later this year. I have a whole bunch of SF series that I need to get wrapped up and that's one of them.

My favorite reads thus far are:
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

Things in Jars by Jess Kidd

A True Novel by Minae Mizumura

Of those, the first two are strong early contenders for my favorites of the year.

It’s early in December but I already read 2 of my favorite books fir this month.

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Robinson.

You won’t go wrong if you read these books.

My favorite books in February so far are:

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

My favorites so far in 2020 are:
In the Distance by Hernán Díaz
The Translator by Nina Schuyler
Seasons of the Moon by Julien Aranda

Favorites thus far, listed in priority:
1) The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
WW II historical fiction as you've never read it before, IMHO! Superb!
2) The Sunday Lunch Club by Juliet Ashton
What a pleasant surprise! Loved it, as did all my book club members!
3) A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Oh, my! Lila is my kind of girl! I loved this fantasy! As did all the other book club members!
4) The Firm by John Grisham
It had been forever since I'd read a John Grisham book other than one of the Theodore Boone series installments! He is a master of suspense, IMHO!

My favorite book so far, Feb. 12, for 2020 is Vic Boyo, Doofus Detective: Double Murders Are Twice As Bad, by Milo James Fowler. A roller coaster of great fun, perfect grammar, and every prohibition era gumshoe cliche, masterfully incorporated into one character and story. Fowler is definitely a new favorite author. I found him by serendipity when I picked up his book of short stories, Deep Space, and I was hooked. He is a very skilled writer in all ways.

My favorite books/plays of 2020 so far:
Animal Farm by George Orwell
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
I have some more favorites that I didn't read entirely in 2020 but finished this year:
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Favorite reads of 2020

Joss by Erin Falligant

Joss touch the sky by Erin Falligant

Conceal don't feel by Jen Calonita

Dragon slippers by Jessica Day George

My favorite reads for February are:

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
After Long Silence by Helen Fremont

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Ashley wrote: "I'm just getting back into reading so I only accomplished reading one book for January. However, I did read it in about three days so I'm happy with that one book. It wasn't a five star but it was ..."

Congrats! That is great!

Favorite reads for Feb:

Favorites so far:
1. Beartown byFredrik Backman
2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - I read book and graphic novels and all are great
3. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - despite all the flaws i really enjoyed reading this

I found this book at random, decided to listen to it on audio at random, but I'm so glad I did:

Words on Fire

Was such an interesting read about a part of history I knew absolutely nothing about

My favorite books so far this year have been:

update top 5

1. Ivy Aberdeen's letter to the world by Ashley Herring Blake

2. Joss by Erin Falligant.

3. Joss touch the sky by Erin Falligant.

4. Conceal don't feel by Jen Calonita

5. focused by Alyson Gerber

I've read some fantastic books this year.
3 highlights were:


First book in a series of 10 books (plus short stories and a spin off series) Read 9/10 plus some of the shorts and the spin-off. All excellent


Childrens/Tween series of 5 books. Read 3/5. Highly recommended for adults too


Read this over the course of 2 days. I can see why this book is a best seller

My top 3 so far:

1) Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman

2) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

3) Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

A couple of my favorites from this year so far are

It by Stephen King ****


and

Find Me by Andre Aciman ***.5

My favorite February books are:

Dear Edward by Anna Napolitano
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
After Long Silence by Helen Fremont

My favorite books of 2020 so far have been:

~Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young (read in January)
~The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (read in March)

I rated both at 4.5 stars.

Top 2 of 2020 out of 21 books read.

1. Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake

2. The Summer I Saved the World . . . in 65 Days by Michele Weber Hurwitz

So far, my favorite book I've read of 2020 is Moloka'i By Alan Brennert!

So very good!

Top 2

1. Ivy Aberdeen`s letter to the world by Ashley Herring Blake

2. The friendship bracelet by Arlene Stewart

Favorite fantasy: The Vampire Lestat
Favorite Fiction: The Wife Between Us

And Then There Were None.

This was my first Agatha Christie novel and I'm obsessed! It was so good. Also my first time reading this kind of a book. The only reason why I ended up reading this was because I linked my best friend to my To Read shelf and had her pick my next book and I'm so glad I did!

Dear Edward, homo deus, & amerikan dirt.

I have read 55 / 75 books this year. My top 5 favorites are :

1. Oasis
2. This Light Between Us
3. The Memory Police
4. Stealing Home
5. The Wanderer

1. Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuistion
2. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
3. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
4. Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

Undercover princess by Connie Glynn was an amzing start to a series.

I've read 57 books this year and they all were really good but if I had to pick one it would be Oasis by Katya de Becerra.

Uprooted ( )!!! By far my favorite this far!! Uprooted (or as my little sister thought it read, U Pooted) was exactly the kind of story I love to read!

I also really enjoyed .

I've read 44 books, so far, this year. I read three that were my favorite five-star rating!
1. The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
2. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
3. The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

Keri wrote: "Uprooted ()!!! By far my favorite this far!! Uprooted (or as my little sister thought it read, U Pooted) was exactly the kind of story I love to read!

I loved it too, I lent it to my mother and sister, who both enjoyed it (it even was the first time my mother read a fantasy novel).

2020 has been really good so far, I'm very thankful that I listened to reviews on here and tried some new books. An approximate top 5 could be:

1. "Temeraire" by Naomi Novik
2. "Lanny" by Max Porter
3. "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
4. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
5. "Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen

And like, honourable mention to The Picture of Dorian Grey. Dammit I'm indecisive!

La_mariane wrote: "Keri wrote: "Uprooted ()!!! By far my favorite this far!! Uprooted (or as my little sister thought it read, U Pooted) was exactly the kind of story I love to read!

I l..."

I would say then that it was one if the best first fantasy novels someone could read! Have you read any of her other books? Are they just as good as Uprooted?

My 5-star reads for the year so far:







the first 3: adult literary fiction is my favourite genre, I like slower paced books with some hefty social / psychological themes and commentary - they are just my sweet spot.
Missing Pieces: a nice thriller that has a lot of qualities that is reminiscent of adult literary fiction - but it is a good thriller, too.
Between Shades of Grey: an amazing YA (historical) novel - it is really rare I find a YA novel that I enjoy and admire. It is a beautiful, complex story.

Keri wrote: "La_mariane wrote: "Keri wrote: "Uprooted ()!!! By far my favorite this far!! Uprooted (or as my little sister thought it read, U Pooted) was exactly the kind of story I..."

I love the Temeraire series! Talking dragons and alternative history!