2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

2023 Challenges

Annual Challenges
2023 Clear The Shelves Message 56 39/150
MM Yahtzee Challenge Message 7 0/13
2023 Serial Reader Message 61 2/56
2023 Bibliopoly Message 101 0/10
2023 Pushing Boundaries Message 7 0/12
MM Romance 2022 Members' Choice Award Winners Message 23 6/14
MM Romance 2023 New Release Challenge Message 34 1/48

Bi-Annual Challenges
2023 Whips & Kisses Message 8 0/144

Quarterly Challenges

Monthly Challenges
2023 January Fave Five

Other Challenges
The Yahtzee Challenge Message 13 7/13
Anti-Stress Holiday Challenge Message 67 20/20 COMPLETED

Buddy Reads
January:
The Seagull by Ann Cleeves 1/16/23 ★★★★
Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves
February:
Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves
The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves
March:
The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves
April:
Sandstorm by James Rollins
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October :
November:
December:

Thousand Oaks Book Club
January: A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham 1/7/22 ★★★★★
February: A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong 7/21/22 ★★★★★
March: The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn 3/14/23 ★★★
April: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt 8/26/22 ★★★
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October :
November:
December:

Group Reads

January
Thousand Oaks: A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham 1/7/22 ★★★★★
2022RC: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
AAA: Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes 5/2/22 ★★★★
BB: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill 8/6/22 ★★★★
BB BOTQ: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
MCML: Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella 1/17/23 ★★★
CMT: Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

February
Thousand Oaks: A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong REREAD 2/17/23 ★★★★★
2022RC: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
AAA: True Fiction by Lee Goldberg
BB: Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister 9/20/22 ★★★★
BB BOTQ: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 3/3/23 DNF
MCML: We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Anti-Stress Holiday Challenge
November 15, 2022 - January 14, 2023

Anti-Stress Holiday Challenge
November 15, 2022 - January 14, 2023

Completed: 20/20

🎄1. Felix Navidad by 'Nathan Burgoine 12/8/22 ★★★★
🎄2. Flirting with the Beast by Jane Porter 12/8/22 ★★★★
🎄3. The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Andi James Reread 12/9/22 ★★★★★
🎄4. A Gift-Wrapped Holiday by Amy Aislin 12/11/22 ★★★★
🎄5. Pinewood Lodge by Odessa Hywell 12/12/22 ★★★★
🎄6. The Match Before Christmas by Eden Winters 12/12/22 ★★★
🎄7. The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict 12/14/22 ★★★★
🎄DNF Once Upon a Sexy Scrooge by Ella Frank 12/16/22 DNF
🎄8. One Last Gift by Emily Stone 12/17/22 ★★
🎄9. Santa's Secrets by K.C. Wells 12/20/22 ★★★★
🎄DNF Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle 12/20/22 DNF
🎄10. Dashing & Daddy by Gianni Holmes 12/20/22 ★★★★
🎄11. So This Is Christmas by Jenny Holiday 12/23/22 ★★★★
🎄12. The Christmas Leap by Keira Andrews 12/24/22 ★★★★
🎄13. Home for Christmas by Courtney Cole 12/26/22 ★★★★
🎄14. Merry Christmas Cupid by N.R. Walker 12/27/22 ★★★
🎄15. Single and Ready to Jingle by Piper Rayne 12/29/22 ★★★★
🎄16. A Case of Christmas by Josh Lanyon 12/29/22 ★★★★
🎄17. Stop the Wedding by R.J. Scott 12/30/22 ★★★
DNF The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch 12/31/22 DNF
🎄18. A Changeling Christmas by Eli Easton 12/31/22 ★★★
🎄19. A Distant Drum by Amy Rae Durreson 1/2/23 ★★★★
🎄20. Breakfast Included by L.C. Chase 1/3/23 ★★★





COMPLETED

The Yahtzee Challenge
Duration: March 1,2022- March 31, 2023
Challenge: Roll 5 dice once per month. You can re-roll any number of dice until you reach three rolls. Fit your roll to a task. If your roll does not fit a task, complete the alternate task. Minimum page count 90 pages. You need 3 of the same number to complete a numbers task. Roll between the 25th and the 5th of the next month. No rolling ahead. No repeating tasks.

Dice roller: https://www.random.org/dice/

Message 13

Rolls:
March: Chance
April: Four of a Kind
May: Fours
June: Full House
July: Ones
August: Fives
September: Alternate Task
October: Sixes
November: Small Straight
December: Alternate Task
January: Alternate Task
February:
March:

Tasks:
Ones: JULY Maxwell by Nicole James
Twos: DECEMBER One Last Gift by Emily Stone 12/17/22 ★★
Threes:
Fours: MAY Save a Horse, Ride a Viscount by Valerie Bowman
Fives: AUGUST Earl Lessons by Valerie Bowman
Sixes: OCTOBER The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings by Lily Morton 11/21/22 ★★★
3 of a kind: JANUARY The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams
4 of a kind: APRIL The Suite Spot by Trish Doller 4/7/22 ★★★
Full house: JUNE Wait for It by Jenn McKinlay 6/21/22 ★★
Small straight: NOVEMBER A Cosmic Kind of Love by Samantha Young 11/18/22 ★★★★
Large straight: SEPTEMBER Strings Attached by Riley Hart 9/27/22 ★★★★
Yahtzee:
Chance: MARCH Never Fall for Your Fiancée by Virginia Heath 4/2/22 ★★★

2023 Clear the Shelves Challenge
Duration: January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023

Only books purchased prior to December 31, 2022 count. Must read 5 books already owned before reading anything else for the year.

I didn't come close to making it in 2022 so I don't want to up my goal to keep it at 10% for the new year, but I don't want to lower it either since it should be 170 now. 😂

Message 56

39/150

1. All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham 1/2/23 ★★★★
2. A Distant Drum by Amy Rae Durreson 1/2/23 ★★★★
3. Briardark by S.A. Harian 1/4/23 ★★★★
4. A Shattered Silver Crown by Kai Butler 1/6/23 ★★★★
5. A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan 1/8/23 ★★★
6. And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling 1/9/23 ★★★★★
7. Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston 1/10/23 ★★★
8. Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon 1/11/23 ★★★★
9. Exiles by Jane Harper 1/14/23 ★★★★
10. The Seagull by Ann Cleeves 1/16/23 ★★★★
11. How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams
12. Critical Mass by Daniel Suarez 1/27/23 ★★★★
13. Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano 1/28/23 ★★★★
14. Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves 1/30/23 ★★★★
15. The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman 1/31/23 ★★
16. The Gentleman and the Rogue by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon 2/1/23 ★★
17. The Heart's Blood Arrow by Kai Butler 2/3/23 ★★★★
18. Curled Up with an Earl by Amy Rose Bennett 2/4/23 ★★★
19. The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks by Josh Lanyon 2/5/23 ★★★★
20. The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out by Josh Lanyon 2/6/23 ★★★
21. All Hallows by Christopher Golden 2/6/23 ★★★
22. The Counterfeit Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath 2/8/23 ★★★★
23. Unstable Connections by Nicky James 2/10/23 ★★★★★
24. Inevitable Disclosure by Nicky James 2/11/23 ★★★★★
25. Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall 2/12/23 ★★★★
26. Chaos Station by Jenn Burke 2/13/23 ★★★
27. The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz 2/14/23 ★★★
28. The Angel Maker by Alex North 2/18/23 ★★
29. The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong 2/19/23 ★★★★★
30. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden 2/20/23 ★★★★
31. Off the Map by Trish Doller 2/22/23 ★★★★
32. What Have We Done by Alex Finlay 2/22/23 ★★★
33. Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves 2/26/23 ★★★★
34. A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak 2/28/23 ★★★
35. Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca 3/4/23 ★★★
36. Spencer Cohen, Book One by N.R. Walker 3/6/23 ★★★★
37. Prince's Master by Alessandra Hazard 3/11/23 ★★★★
38. The Weight of It All by N.R. Walker 3/12/23 ★★★★
39. The WAG and The Scoundrel by Debbie McGowan 3/12/23 DNF

Let’s Play Yahtzee! Challenge
Duration: January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023
Challenge: Roll 5 dice once per month (except 1 month, double up to make 13 Tasks). You can re-roll any number of dice until you reach three rolls. Fit your roll to a task. If your roll does not fit a task, complete the alternate task and assign it to a task. You need 3 of the same number to complete a numbers task. No repeating books/tasks. No page minimums unless stated in task.

Dice Roller: https://www.random.org/dice/
Message 7

Rolls:
January: Fives The Heart's Blood Arrow by Kai Butler 2/3/23 ★★★★
February: Large Straight Just One Night by Felice Stevens 2/7/23 ★★★★
March: Yahtzee
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

Tasks:
Ones:
Twos:
Threes:
Fours:
Fives: January
Sixes:
3 of a kind:
4 of a kind:
Full house:
Small straight:
Large straight: February
Yahtzee: March
Chance:

2023 Serial Reader Challenge
Duration: January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023

Message 61

5/56

Shetland
7. Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves 1/30/23 ★★★★
8. Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves 2/26/23 ★★★★

Vera Stanhope
8. The Seagull by Ann Cleeves 1/16/23 ★★★★
10.

Sigma Force
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Kate Daniels
7.
8.
9.
10.

Anita Blake
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29

Masters and Mercenaries
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

San Amaro Investigations
4. A Shattered Silver Crown by Kai Butler 1/6/23 ★★★★
5. The Heart's Blood Arrow by Kai Butler 2/3/23 ★★★★
6.

Big Bad Wolf
2.
3.
4.
5.

Monster Hunt
1.

Sam Quinn
2.
3.
4.
5.

The Loop
2.
3.

The First Sister
2.
3.

Hell's Library
2.
3.

Stillhouse Lake
3.
4.
5.
6.

Bibliopoly 2023
Duration: January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023

Message 101

Gameboard

Goal: Average 6-10

Dice Roller: https://www.random.org/dice/?num=1

1. Roll 2 Community Chest: Participate in Group Read
2. Roll 3 Reading Railroad: Celebrity Book Club Choice: The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn 3/14/23 ★★★
3. Roll 1 Blue: Read a book with any type of hat or headwear on the cover or in the title: The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper

Pushing Boundaries 2023
Duration: January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023
Challenge: Spin the Wheel to determine deck. Draw a card from the respective deck. Read a book from that category. You may re-draw one card from the same deck if you are uncomfortable with that list.

Goal: Give me a push! 12 books

2/12

Message 7

1. Spin Deck 1 - BDSM: Best MM BDSM Books of 2016 Upending Tad by Kora Knight 1/31/23 ★★★★
2. Spin Deck 1 - Dystopia: Best MM Science Fiction/Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic Books of 2015: Chaos Station by Jenn Burke 2/13/23 ★★★
3. Spin Deck 2 - Humiliation: Dearly Despised by Alessandra Hazard

MM Romance Biannual Whips and Kisses
Duration: January 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023
Challenge: Make it to square 144 on the "Chutes & Ladders" style game board by June 30, 2023. Play by rolling the die and completing a task on the space landed upon.

Game Board Google Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p...
Roll a die: https://www.random.org/dice/

Message 8

1) Rolled 1 Sq 1 First Time MM Readers List: The Gentleman and the Rogue by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon 2/1/23 ★★
2) Rolled 4 Sq 5 M/M Books that Made You a Fan of this Genre: The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks by Josh Lanyon 2/5/23 ★★★★
3) Rolled 1 Sq 6 Free Read: Unstable Connections by Nicky James 2/10/23 ★★★★★
4) Rolled 4 Sq 10 Long MM Series more than three books with the same protagonists: Inevitable Disclosure by Nicky James 2/11/23 ★★★★★
5) Rolled 3 Sq 13 Whips: Move to 8: MM Romance with Musician MC: Love You So Special by Tara Lain 3/4/23 ★★★★
6) Rolled 3 Sq 11 Task 2 Read a book written by one of the current authors of the month: How I Stole the Princess's White Knight and Turned Him to Villainy: Miracle 1 by A.J. Sherwood 3/5/23 ★★★
7) Rolled 6 Sq 17 Favorite Sweet MM Romances: Spencer Cohen, Book One by N.R. Walker 3/6/23 ★★★★
8) Rolled 2 Sq 19 Kisses: Move to 77 Free Read: Spencer Cohen, Book Two by N.R. Walker 3/7/23 ★★★★
9) Rolled 2 Sq 79 Task 13 Read a book that has been on your TBR for at least 6 months: Prince's Master by Alessandra Hazard 3/11/23 ★★★★
10) Rolled 3 Sq 82 MM Romances with dogs: The WAG and The Scoundrel by Debbie McGowan 3/12/23 DNF, Passions of a Papillon by Tara Lain 3/13/23 ★★★
11. Rolled 1 Sq 83 Best Gay Established Relationships Romance: Married Ones by Matthew J. Metzger 3/15/23 ★★★★
12. Rolled 2 Sq 85 Best Gay Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Steampunk Cops and PIs: Jon's Downright Ridiculous Shooting Case by A.J. Sherwood 3/16/23 ★★★★
13. Rolled 4 Sq 89 Married MM

MM Romance January Fave Five Challenge

Fave Five: Books I read in 2022



Books chosen:
1. A Shattered Silver Crown by Kai Butler 1/6/23 ★★★★

January

Task Reads
The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams 1/19/23 ★★★★
Upending Tad by Kora Knight 1/31/23 ★★★★

Group and Book Club Reads
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham 1/7/22 ★★★★★
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes 5/2/22 ★★★★
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill 8/6/22 ★★★★
Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella 1/17/23 ★★★
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

ARC Reads
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham 1/2/23 ★★★★
Briardark by S.A. Harian 1/4/23 ★★★★
A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan 1/8/23 ★★★
Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston 1/10/23 ★★★
Locust Lane by Stephen Amidon 1/11/23 ★★★★
Exiles by Jane Harper 1/14/23 ★★★★
Critical Mass by Daniel Suarez 1/27/23 ★★★★
Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano 1/28/23 ★★★★

Buddy Reads
The Seagull by Ann Cleeves 1/16/23 ★★★★
Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves 1/30/23 ★★★★

New Releases (last 6 months)
Breakfast Included by L.C. Chase 1/3/23 ★★★
In the Pines by Kendra Elliot 1/6/23 ★★★
And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling 1/9/23 ★★★★★
Foxed by Jay Hogan 1/17/23 ★★★★★
City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita 1/31/23 ★★★★
The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman 1/31/23 ★★

Series Reads
A Shattered Silver Crown by Kai Butler 1/6/23 ★★★★
Delta-V by Daniel Suarez 1/21/23 ★★★★

Free Reads
A Distant Drum by Amy Rae Durreson 1/2/23 ★★★★
How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams 1/18/23 ★★★★
The Change by Kirsten Miller 1/22/23 ★★★

MM Romance 2023 New Release Challenge
Goal: Til Death Do Us Part: 4 books/month (48 total)

3/48

January:
1. Foxed by Jay Hogan 1/17/23 ★★★★★
2. Inevitable Disclosure by Nicky James 2/11/23 ★★★★★
Moving On by Felice Stevens 3/10/23 DNF
3. Jon and Mack's Terrifying Tree Troubles by A.J. Sherwood

February:
1.

March:
1. The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles 2/21/23 ★★★★★

April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October :
November:
December:

MM Romance 2022 Members' Choice Awards Winners

Goal: Level 1 - Read 15% of winners or 14 books

6/14

Previously Read

1. The Hitman's Guide to Righting Wrongs While Causing Mayhem by Alice Winters 4/20/22 ★★★★
2. You & Me by Tal Bauer 6/19/22 ★★★★★
3. The Kite by N.R. Walker 7/2/22 ★★
4. The Long Game by Rachel Reid 9/25/22 ★★★★
5. The Spooky Life by S.E. Harmon 10/5/22 ★★★★
6. Subtle Bodies by Jordan Castillo Price 11/24/22 ★★★★

To Read

February

Task Reads
The Gentleman and the Rogue by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon 2/1/23 ★★
Chaos Station by Jenn Burke 2/13/23 ★★★
Cold Fingers by Amy Spector 2/27/23 ★★★

Group and Book Club Reads
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister 9/20/22 ★★★★
A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong REREAD 2/17/23 ★★★★★
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 3/3/23 DNF
We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
True Fiction by Lee Goldberg

ARC Reads
Curled Up with an Earl by Amy Rose Bennett 2/4/23 ★★★
All Hallows by Christopher Golden 2/6/23 ★★★
The Counterfeit Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath 2/8/23 ★★★★
Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall 2/12/23 ★★★★
The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz 2/14/23 ★★★
The Angel Maker by Alex North 2/18/23 ★★
The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong 2/19/23 ★★★★★
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden 2/20/23 ★★★★
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles 2/21/23 ★★★★★
Off the Map by Trish Doller 2/22/23 ★★★★
What Have We Done by Alex Finlay 2/22/23 ★★★
A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak 2/28/23 ★★★
I Will Find You by Harlan Coben 2/28/23 ★★★★

Buddy Reads
The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves REREAD 2/25/23 ★★★★
Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves 2/26/23 ★★★★

New Releases (last 6 months)
The Heart's Blood Arrow by Kai Butler 2/3/23 ★★★★
Just One Night by Felice Stevens 2/7/23 ★★★★
Unstable Connections by Nicky James 2/10/23 ★★★★★
Inevitable Disclosure by Nicky James 2/11/23 ★★★★★
Exes and O's by Amy Lea 2/15/23 DNF
Murder on Milverton Square by G.B. Ralph 2/24/23 ★★★

Free Reads
The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks by Josh Lanyon 2/5/23 ★★★★
The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out by Josh Lanyon 2/6/23 ★★★
Burn You Twice by Mary Burton 2/18/23 ★★
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 2/23/23 ★★★★★

March

Task Reads

Group and Book Club Reads

ARC Reads

Buddy Reads

New Releases (last 6 months)

Series Reads

Free Reads