2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

So after finishing my English degree in 2012 for the first time in my life... I lost the love of reading. I couldn't pick up a book, when I did I couldn't concentrate and I could rarely finish one. I know. Horror. I was absolutely devastated by it, I've ALWAYS been a reader. As a child I would stay up all night under my duvet with a torch desperate to finish whatever book I was in. I shunned TV and cartoons, instead choosing to sit in a quiet chair and pose myself in an adventure world inside the pages of a book.
Almost 8 years have passed and I don't know what's triggered it, but at the end of 2019...my love of reading came back. I was able to pick up a book and actually finish it. I wanted more. I read another one. Boom, before I knew it I was back to reading every night, staying up till wayyy too late just to read 'the next chapter'. 2020 I've found Goodreads, and I'm determined to carry this on. I've set myself a relatively small target compared to most on here.. But 20 books for 2020 just sounded right and I want to start off not overwhelming myself with pressure to read for the sake of it (as I'm pretty sure that's what killed the love off in uni). So here goes... 20 books for 2020..and if I finish more, great! If I don't, I'm just happy to be reading again.

Books finished in January :

Operation XX And Me: Did I Have A Choice?


Die Trying



Tripwire


Running count against goal: 3/20


Books finished in February :


Darkness on the Edge of Town


Night Train


Finders Keepers


Operation Mincemeat: The True Spy Story That Changed the Course of World War II


Running count against total: 7/20


Books finished in March:

The Tattooist of Auschwitz


Story of a Secret State: My Report to the World


The Secrets We Kept


Hinch Yourself Happy: All The Best Cleaning Tips To Shine Your Sink And Soothe Your Soul


1984


Running count against goal: 12/20


Books finished in April:

The Cyprus Problem: What Everyone Needs to Know

by James Ker-Lindsay

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West

by Blaine Harden

Sleeping Murder

by Agatha Christie

The Prison Doctor

by Amanda Brown

Peril at End House

by Agatha Christie

Clouded Vision

by Linwood Barclay

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

by Mark Haddon

The Drowner

by John D. MacDonald

The Red House Mystery

by A.A. Milne

Malice Aforethought

by Francis Iles

Running count against goal: 22/20!! (I GOT THERE!) I now have to work out what my next goal will be.. I didn't expect to get here so soon....


Books finished in May:

The A.B.C. Murders

by Agatha Christie

Strangeways: A Prison Officer's Story

by Neil Samworth

The Help

by Kathryn Stockett

Night

by Elie Wiesel

The Secret History

by Donna Tartt

Double Indemnity

by James M. Cain

Strangers on a Train

by Patricia Highsmith


Running count against goal: 29/20


Books finished in June:


Deathtrap

by Ira Levin

The Milk Wagon

by Michael Hewes

The Main Line Is Murder: A Ginger Barnes Cozy Mystery

by Donna Huston Murray

Unsolved London Murders: The 1920s and 1930s

by Jonathan Oates

It's great that you rediscovered your love for reading! :) best of luck this year!

It's wonderful that you're enjoying reading once again! I know first hand that reading for pleasure might turn into a difficult task when you have a lot to read for university. Good luck this year!
Also I was wondering how did you find the Tattooist of Auschwitz and 1984? I've been meaning to read both of them for some time but haven't gotten to it yet.

Ilona - thank you so much! I’m so pleased too, I’m just really keeping my fingers crossed it doesn’t disappear again! I’m going to try and keep it steady and not force myself to finish anything I’m not enjoying in case it disappears again!

Niya - thank you 😊 yes Uni, a love hate situation there! Hopefully you don’t lose your love of reading, keep at it!

The Tattooist of Auschwitz was a surprise for me as it was never really on my list to read as such. I gave it a go and I couldn’t put it down. It reads more as a fiction novel in terms of story telling, and its both emotional and moving but without some of real shock and grit of other WW2 memoirs. I’d recommend it , it’s both a testament to friendship and romance as well as to war history.

I also enjoyed 1984. For me it goes up there with best books ever read! I think it depends what you’re into on this one, for me I enjoyed the undercurrent of political mockery which is right up my street and it’s still as relevant now as it clearly was then, which I enjoyed. I was surprised at the storyline a bit, I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t really it?! I can’t really tell you why, but it didn’t make a difference I still enjoyed it if that makes sense?

If you do read them I’d be really interested to see what you think!

My reviews are on my profile if you fancy reading them, there’s no spoilers 😊

Thank you, Thea! I try to find time for reading no matter how busy I am. There's still room for improvement, but I'm slowly getting better at it, especially now when we are under quarantine.

I read your reviews and got very excited about reading both books! I'm planning to read the Tattooist of Auschwitz soon (maybe even this month) and will get back to you to let you know how I found it :)

Niya wrote: "Thank you, Thea! I try to find time for reading no matter how busy I am. There's still room for improvement, but I'm slowly getting better at it, especially now when we are under quarantine.

I re..."

Niva that would be great! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I know how you feel. I felt the same way when I completed my graduate program. I, too, am happy to be reading.

So I've reached my goal of 20 and its only June... I now need to decide what to set my goal as next! I think I'm going to leave my challenge set at 20 so I can see how far I've come in terms of determination and expectations since January - although in my head I'm now trying to decide if I want to try for 100.... 50 seems too easy now I've hit 30, but 100 seems a step too far....what to do...