2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

I have read 65ish books consistently for the past few years so I have found my happy place. I try to review every book I read and will place those links here.
I am planning to keep more in-depth stats on my member's page. Join me, won't you?
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Besides the challenge of number of books, I also set other personal goals for the year:
✅️ 1. 60+ books [actual = 73!]
✅️ 2. 20% non-fiction=12 [actual = 43% (31/73) ]
✅️ 3. Review every book read
✅️ 4. Join 1 yearly challenge (3) [TBR Jar, I Spy, Bookworms]
❌️ 5. Join 1 quarterly challenge
❌️ 6. Join 1 buddy read/TBR Twin challenge

JANUARY
8/66

1) 03 Jan Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land
3⭐ My Review tags- non-fiction, Indigenous, debut, athletes, biography, running

2) 14 Jan The Reading List
3⭐ My Review tags- general

3) 17 Jan The Plot
5⭐ My Review tags - general

4) 19 Jan Why Birds Sing
4⭐ My Review tags - canadian, general

5) 21 Jan When Stars Are Scattered
4⭐ My Review tags - biography, cultural, current events, young adult

6)22 Jan I Hate Running and You Can Too
4⭐ My Review tags - non-fiction, athletes, running, humour,

7)27 Jan Outlander
3⭐ My Review tags - series, historical, supernatural, abandoned

8) 31 Jan Apples Never Fall
3⭐ My Review tags - general

Martha, I hope that your 60 books are a blast,59 more books to go you are doing great.

8/66 already. I may have to readjust my goal

FEBRUARY
14/66

1) 09 Feb The Story of the Lost Child
3⭐My Review tags: cultural, general, sequel, translated

2) 09 Feb The Neapolitan Novels
4⭐My Review of the Series tags - series, translated, cultural, general

3) 13 Feb Greenlights
2⭐My Review tags: non-fiction, biography

4) 18 Feb The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life: Before 8AM
2⭐My Review tags: non-fiction, self-help

5) 20 Feb No One Is Talking About This
1⭐ My Review tags: current events, crap

6) 22 Feb The Cat's Table
4⭐ My Review tags: Canadian

MARCH
20/66

1) 01 Mar Malibu Rising
2⭐ My Review tags: general

2) 03 Mar The Ruins
4⭐ My Review tags: general, thiller

3) 09 Mar The House of Silk
5⭐ My Review
tags: historical, mystery

4) 17 Mar Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19
4⭐ My Review
tags: short stories, historical

5) 24 Mar The Four Winds
3⭐ My Review
tags: general fiction, historical

6) 25 Mar Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
5⭐ My Review
tags: non-fiction, short stories, professional

APRIL
24/66

1) 12 Apr The Climb: The Autobiography
4⭐ My Review
tags: non-fiction, biography, athletes

2) 17 Apr Eyes Wide Open
3⭐My Review
tags: general, thriller

3) 19 Apr The Guest List
5⭐My Review
tags: general, thriller, audiobook

4) 19 Apr The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone's Mind
3⭐My Review
tags: professional, non-fiction

MAY
31/66

1) 01 May The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
2⭐My Review
tags: non-fiction, professional

2) 03 May November 9
3⭐ My Review
tags: general

3) 04 May Hell of a Book
4⭐ My Review
tags: general, cultural, supernatural

4) 10 May Naked
3⭐ My Review
tags: non-fiction, biography, humour

5) 14 May The Word Is Murder
5⭐ My Review
tags: mystery, series

6) 12 May Who Stole My Cheese?!!
2⭐My Review
tags: non-fiction, professional, self-help

7) 27 May This Is Your Mind on Plants
3⭐My Review
tags: non-fiction, audiobook, library, biography

JUNE
36/66

1) 04 June Bel Canto
4⭐My Review
tags: general

2) 05 June How to Win Friends and Influence People
2⭐My Review
tags: non-fiction, professional, audiobook

3) 11 June To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others
3⭐My Review
tags: non-fiction, professional, audiobook

4) 20 June Everything is Figureoutable
4⭐My Review
tags: non-fiction, professional, audiobook

5) 28 June The Mongolian Chronicles
3⭐My Review
tags: biography, adventure, travel

JULY
38/66

1) 14 July No Hiding in Boise
3⭐My Review
tags: general

2) 18 July One True Loves
2⭐My Review
tags: general

AUGUST
42/66

1) 10 August Becoming
4⭐My Review
tags: biography, audiobook

2) 11 August Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language
5⭐My Review
tags: language, professional, library, audiobook

3) 28 August Greenwood
5⭐My Review
tags: canadian, dystopian, environment

4) 29 August The Nickel Boys
5⭐My Review
tags: cultural, general, audiobook

SEPTEMBER
45/66

1) 17 September Greenwich Park
4⭐ My Review
tags: mystery, general

2) 21 September The Queen's Gambit
3⭐ My Review
tags: movie, general

3)28 September Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
3⭐ My Review
tags: non-fiction, professional

OCTOBER
52/66

1) 04 October Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life
3⭐My Review
tags:

2) 11 October The Younger Wife
4⭐ My Review
tags: general

3) 14 October The Sentence Is Death
5⭐ My Review
tags: mystery, non-fiction?

4) 14 October The Body: A Guide for Occupants
4⭐ My Review
tags: non-fiction, science, humour

5) 26 October The Five Thieves of Happiness
4⭐ My Review
tags: self-help, non-fiction

6) 26 October Norwegian by Night
1⭐
tags: abandoned, religious,

7) 28 October Sea of Tranquility
3⭐ My Review
tags: dystopian, canadian

NOVEMBER
60/66

1) 02 November The Dinner
4⭐ My Review
tags: mystery, audiobook

2) 08 November The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
4⭐ My Review
tags: historical, audiobook

3) 21 November The Man Who Died Twice
5⭐ My Review
tags: mystery, audiobook

4) 21 November Olive Kitteridge
4⭐ My Review
tags: short stories, general

5) 21 November The Dutch House
5⭐ My Review
tags: 5 stars, general

6) 29 November How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question
1⭐ My Review
tags: mystery, audiobook

DECEMBER
73/66

1) 02 December When the Stars Go Dark
4⭐ My Review
tags: mystery, audio, historical

2) 02 December In a Country Garden: Life at Ravenhill Farm
3⭐ My Review
tags: food, farming, canadian

3) 06 December Tour de Force: My history-making Tour de France
3⭐ My Review
tags: athletes, biography

4) 06 December Running Home
2⭐ My Review
tags: athletes, biography

5) 09 December Wrong Place Wrong Time
5⭐ My Review
tags: mystery, supernatural

6) 15 December This Tender Land
2⭐ My Review
tags: historical, young adult

7) 20 December The Fellowship of the Ring
4⭐ My Review
tags: re-read, classic, fantasy, series, audio

8)27 December What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
3⭐ My Review
tags: running, athletes, professional, translated, biography, classic

9)24 December On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
5⭐ My Review
tags: language-writing, biography

10)23 December Carrie
5⭐ My Review
tags: classic, thriller (horror), audio

11) December Small Game: A Novel
4⭐ My Review
tags: adventure, general

12) 27 December The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
⭐ My Review
tags: self-help

13) 31 December Five Little Indians
5⭐ My Review
tags: historical, indigenous, canadian, cultural

I did it! I surpassed my goal of 66 books and will make it to at least 70 by year's end.
I have completed 66 and I have 5 on the go that will be done soon. There are still 15 days to go!
I had an incredibly difficult reading slump this summer/autumn and I am so pleased to see that I overcame it. The journey has built resilience in me. It has made me recognize both my love of reading and the importance of prioritizing it in my life.

My Year In Books Graphic for 2022

2022 has been a year like no other. Unexpectedly being off work and doing a whole lot of soul-searching gave me more time to read and a more adventuresome reading list.

I read 73 books which is a new high record for me. Each year this bar gets raised and I meet it.

43% of my books were non-fiction where usually I hover around 12%. I have always wanted to increase that genre but unfortunately I didn't enjoy many of the books I chose.

I entered countless challenges in both Bound Together and in Reading Challenges 2022 book groups. I love challenges that push me towards unfamiliar genres as well as searching for books that will satisfy a challenge prompt.

I went through a true reading slump in the summer, possibly due to my month-long trip to Mongolia, my unemployment situation, my new-found ADD or a combination of all three. Luckily I had a resurgence in November and December which has been like learning to breathe again.

I appreciate all the readers who have inspired me with their reviews and recommendations. I love that my TBR grows and grows just be being part of this community. I am especially thankful to all the amazing readers and their support in the Bound Together group.

Click here for my 2022 Year in Books Graphic.

Click here to visit my Member's Corner and see how I kept track of all my challenges and books. Martha's Shelf Noise

Click here to visit all the links to my reviews. All My Reviews

Bound Together Best Book of 2022

Monthly Fiction Favourites
1. Jan. The Plot 5⭐
2. Feb. The Cat's Table 4⭐
3. Mar. The House of Silk 5⭐
4. Apr. The Guest List 4⭐
5. May The Word Is Murder 5⭐
6. June Bel Canto 4⭐
7. July No Hiding in Boise 4⭐
8. Aug. Greenwood 5⭐
9. Sept. The Younger Wife 4⭐
10. Oct. The Sentence Is Death 5⭐
11. Nov. The Dutch House 5⭐
12. Dec. Five Little Indians 5⭐

My favourite fiction of 2022 is ~~~ The Plot

Monthly Non-Fiction Favourites:
1. Jan. I Hate Running and You Can Too: How to... 4⭐
2. Feb. Greenlights 2⭐
3. Mar. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life 5⭐
4. Apr. The Climb: The Autobiography 4⭐
5. May This Is Your Mind on Plants 3⭐
6. June Everything is Figureoutable 4⭐
7. July The Mongolian Chronicles 3⭐
8. Aug. Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language 5⭐
9. Sept. The Five Thieves of Happiness 4⭐
10. Oct. The Body: A Guide for Occupants 4⭐
11. Nov. Tour de Force: My history-making Tour de France 3⭐
12. Dec. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft 5⭐

My favourite non-fiction of 2022 is ~~~ Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language