2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2023
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Lara Still Loves a Challenge - 2023 ed.
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Monthly Totals To help track my progress
Jan: 76 books
19 booksFeb: 64 books
16 graphic novels
41 picture books
14 booksMar: 85 books
10 graphic novels
40 picture books
33 booksApr: 65 books
10 graphic novels
42 picture books
34 booksMay: 74 books
14 graphic novels
17 picture books
38 booksJun: 34 books
2 graphic novels
34 picture books
22 booksJul: 67 books
2 graphic novels
10 picture books
43 booksAug: 71 books
2 graphic novels
22 picture books
41 booksSep: 53 books
4 graphic novels
26 picture books
28 booksOct: 57 books
2 graphic novels
23 picture books
17 booksNov: 40 books
0 graphic novels
40 picture books
11 booksDec: 66 books
4 graphic novels
25 picture books
49 books
5 graphic novel
12 picture books
Total Books: 348
Total Graphic Novels: 71
Total Picture Books: 332
Grand Total: 752 titles
A-Z ChallengeRead a book beginning with each letter of the alphabet. Will try to count as few picture books as possible - read way too many of those for this to be a challenge otherwise!
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Historical Romance Series ChallengeGoal: Addictive
Another personal challenge through another group. Complete the3sets! I'm not holding myself to just 2022 for this one, especially as my romance reading comes in waves when it comes to themes, tropes, subgenres, etc. This is just an ongoing one for me year to year, as I aim to finish up a few series (and probably reread a number of books in the process!)
Series: Bedwyn Saga - Mary Balogh (9 books, including side works)
Have read 2/9
0.5 One Night for Love (Bedwyn Prequel 1)
(Bedwyn Prequel 2) - read Oct 20171 Slightly Married
- read Apr 20173 Slightly Scandalous
4 Slightly Tempted
5 Slightly Sinful
6 Slightly Dangerous
6.5 Once Upon A Dream
Series: Mistress Series - Mary Balogh (4 books, including side work)
1 More Than a Mistress
2 No Man's Mistress
2.5 Now a Bride
3 The Secret Mistress
Series: Huxtable Quintet - Mary Balogh (5 books)
1 First Comes Marriage
2 Then Comes Seduction
3 At Last Comes Love
4 Seducing an Angel
5 A Secret Affair
Series: Kellingtons - Maureen Driscoll (6 books)
A reread, but a favorite family to visit
6 Never Turn Away
Series: Emersons - Maureen Driscoll (6 books)
Reread the Kellington series first, then on to its sequel series, the Emersons!
1 Always Come Home
2 Always True to Her
3 Always Have Hope
4 Always Believe in Love
5 Always Forever
6 Never and Always
Series: Secret Lives - Colleen Connally (3 books)
- read Mar 20182 Broken Legacy
3 Seductive Lies
Series: The Dukes of War - Erica Ridley (8 novellas)
- reread Jul 2018
- reread Jul 2018
- read Jul 2018
- reread Sep 20185 The Brigadier's Runaway Bride
6 The Pirate's Tempting Stowaway
7 The Duke's Accidental Wife
8 All I Want
Series: Cynfell Brothers - Samantha Holt (7 novellas)
- read Oct 2018
- read Nov 20183 Sinful Liaisons
4 Sinful Cravings
5 Sinful Possession
6 Sinful Temptations
7 Sinful Secrets
Series: Waltz with a Rogue / The Honorable Rogues - Collette Cameron (6 novellas)
- read May 20212 A Bride for a Rogue: A Historical Regency Romance
3 A Rogue's Scandalous Wish
4 To Capture a Rogue's Heart
5 The Rogue and the Wallflower
6 A Rose for a Rogue
Series: Bridgerton - Julia Quinn
Prequel 1 Because of Miss Bridgerton
Prequel 2 The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband
Prequel 3 The Other Miss Bridgerton
Prequel 4 First Comes Scandal
1 The Duke and I
2 The Viscount Who Loved Me
3 An Offer From a Gentleman
4 Romancing Mister Bridgerton
5 To Sir Phillip, With Love
6 When He Was Wicked
7 It's in His Kiss
8 On the Way to the Wedding
More series to be added as I think of them, but these should get me started!
Finish the Series ChallengeLike the challenge above, this one's about completing the sets! It's a personal challenge, to help me focus my way through all of those many, many series I'm dabbling in. Some of these have been started in previous years, and I want to reach the ending. Here goes!
Dragon Kin - G.A. Aiken
- read 2020
- read 2021
- read 2021Last Dragon Standing
The Dragon Who Loved Me
How to Drive a Dragon Crazy
Light My Fire
Feel the Burn
Bring the Heat
Honey Badger Chronicles - Shelly Laurenston
- read 2021
- read 2021
- read 2021Breaking Badger
Call of Crows - Shelly Laurenston
The Unleashing
The Undoing
The Unyielding
The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Dead Beat
Proven Guilty
White Night
Small Favor
Turn Coat
Changes
Ghost Story
Cold Days
Skin Game
Peace Talks
Battle Ground
Side Jobs
Parasol Protctorate, et al - Gail Carriger
Heartless
Timeless
Etiquette & Espionage
Curtsies & Conspiracies
Waistcoats & Weaponry
Manners & Mutiny
Prudence
Imprudence
Competence
Reticence
Daevabad Trilogy - SA Chakraborty
The City of Brass
The Kingdom of Copper
The Empire of Gold
Protection Inc - Zoe Chant
Colewood MT - Kim Fox
Shadow Walkers - Cynthia Luhrs
Court of Thorns & Roses - Sarah J Maas
A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Mist and Fury
A Court of Wings and Ruin
A Court of Frost and Starlight
A Court of Silver Flames
Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Cinder
Scarlet
Cress
Fairest
Winter
Stars Above
Wires and Nerve
Wires and Nerve, Volume 2: Gone Rogue
Librarian's Vampire Assistant - Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
The Librarian's Vampire Assistant 2
The Librarian's Vampire Assistant, Book 3
The Librarian's Vampire Assistant, Book 4
The Librarian's Vampire Assistant, Book 5
Vampire Man
Jackaby - William Ritter
The Dire King
The Map
Ember in the Ashes - Sabaa Tahir
An Ember in the Ashes
A Torch Against the Night
A Reaper at the Gates
A Sky Beyond the Storm
A Thief Among the Trees
Quasar Lineage - Pearl Tate
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles - Patricia C. Wrede
Searching for Dragons
Calling on Dragons
Talking to Dragons
World of the White Rat - T. Kingfisher
Clocktaur Wars
Clockwork Boys
The Wonder Engine
Swordheart
Swordheart
Saint of Steel
No Prisoners MC - Lilly Atlas
Riot MC - Karen Renee
Calming the Riot
Foolish Riot
Respectable Riot
Rough Riot
One of my favorite challenges over the last few years - reading based on cover colors. This appeals to my quirky sense of humor - what librarian hasn't had the "I can't remember the title but the cover was blue" sort of question?1. White (or ivory, cream, bone, etc...)
2. Pink (rose, magenta, salmon, etc...)
3. Red (maroon, brick, scarlet, etc...)
4. Orange (apricot, ginger, carrot, etc...)
5. Yellow (blond, chartreuse, canary, etc...)
6. Green (sage, lime, jade, etc...)
7. Light Blue (teal, sky, cerulean, etc...)
8. Dark Blue (indigo, denim, navy, etc...)
9. Purple (lavender, plum, orchid, etc...)
10. Brown (tan, mahogany, coffee, etc...)
11. Black (grey, slate, coal, etc...)
12. A Metallic color (gold, silver, bronze, etc...)
13. A book with at least 5 colors on the cover
14. A book with a color in the title
15. A book with a word describing colors in the title
Found this one a few years ago and loved it. Appeals to my mythology-loving heart. Worth a repeat!MYTHS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
GoodReads 2020 Challenge Group
1. Janus - Roman god of beginnings and transitions.
Read a book set in Italy, or a book with a character that starts out on a fresh beginning.
2. Fenghuang - Chinese bird, also known as the Chinese Phoenix, is a mythical bird that signifies high virtue and grace.
Read a book set in China, or a book featuring a character full of grace and virtue.
3. Brownie- Scottish mythical creature that inhabits houses and aids in tasks.
Read a book set in Scotland, or a book featuring a character that does work that is unseen.
4. Enenra - Japanese smoke creature. It inhabits bonfires and legend says can only be seen by the pure of heart.
Read a book set in Japan, or a book with a pure-hearted character.
5. Cyclops - Greek mythical one-eyed giants.
Read a book based on a Greek tragedy or a book featuring a short-sighted character.
6. Lang suir - Malaysian ghost of a woman who died in childbirth.
Read a book from Southeast Asia, or a book featuring a character who dies from a broken heart.
7. Finnish water spirit who will capture unmindful children.
Read a book set in the Nordic countries, or a book about a captured child.
8. Hippogriff - European medieval beast that is half eagle and half horse, known for being extremely fast and able to fly long distances.
Read a book about medieval Europe, or a book featuring a character who flies.
9. Wandjina - Australian aboriginal wind and cloud spirits.
Read a book set in Oceania, or a book featuring an important weather event.
10. Jumbee - Caribbean malevolent entities.
Read a book set in the Caribbean, or a book featuring a malevolent character
11. Deer Woman - a half-deer half-woman creature in Native American lore.
Read a book that features a Native American protagonist or a forest setting.
12. Anansi - trickster spider.
Read a book set in Africa or one in which one or more insects play a conspicuous (but not necessarily major) role.
13. Encantado - shapeshifting dolphin in Brazilian myth.
Read a book set in South America or about any type of metamorphosis.
14. Leprechaun
Read a book with a green cover, a book set in Ireland, or about a character who experiences very good luck.
15. Merfolk
Read a book that features a mermaid or takes place at sea.
16. Nightmare
Read a book in which dreaming or dreams play a central role, or a book which features horses.
17. Phoenix
Read a book about rebirth, or a book that features fire (because a phoenix rises from the flames).
18. Nine-tailed fox - a magical fox with nine tails that appears in East Asian legend.
Read a book about foxes or read a manga (because the epononymous Naruto manga stars a ninja who transforms into a nine-tailed fox).
19. Baba Yaga - a supernatural being in Russian fairy tales who appears as a fearsome old woman.
Read a book set in Russia or a book featuring a witch.
20. Shahbaz - a fabled bird in ancient Persian mythology.
Read a book set in Western Asia or that takes place in a desert region.
Three Books by the Same Author A-KShinobu Amano
Addy Archer
Lilly Atlas
Candace Ayers
Kat Baxter
HJ Bellus
Drea Blackery
Lindsay Buroker
Silke Campion
Eric Carle
Meg Cabot
Agatha Christie
M.E. Clayton
M.L. Collins
Jenna Cook
Lucy Darling
Anna Dewdney
Tony DiTerlizzi
Carola Dunn
Maki Enjouji
Liz Fox
AM Hargrove
Elle Harper
Kevin Henkes
Ryan T Higgins
Kiyoko Hikawa
Paru Itagaki
T.S. Joyce
Yoko Kamio
T Kingfisher
Momoko Koda
Tite Kubo
Three Books by the Same Author L-ZLynnea Lee
Cassie Mint
A.M. Myers
Garth Nix
Kousuke Oono
James Patterson
Honey Phillips
Karen Renee
May Sage
Tammi Sauer
Esther E. Schmidt
Jon Scieszka
Liza Street
Nakaba Suzuki
Sarah Taylor
Mo Willems
Karma Wilson
K.B. Winters
Lola Wright
A variation on the Round The World reading challenge from the EVERYONE Has Read This But Me group. I'm not as picky about the order that "travel" is happening; I'm just looking to see if I can read in more state and more countries than I might normally do without consciously making the effort. Not going to list every book per country/state, either - just the first one that checks it off. Here we go!US
visited 29 states (58%)
https://douwe.com/projects/visited?re...
AZ - Striker
CA - Pierre the Penguin: A True Story
CO - Gunner
DC - Along Came a Spider
FL - Starting the Riot
GA - The Last Monster
ID - Snake
IL - Blood Rites
IN - If You Could Only See
KY - Hawk
LA - Hidden Scars
ME - The Field Guide
MA - Smaller Sister
MI - Lines
MN - Two for Interference
MT - A Cowboy's Kiss
NV - Jace: Prequel
NY - Arrogant
NC - Kiss the Girls
OH - Burn Card
OK - Change the Play
PA - The Trouble with You
RI - Watch Hollow
SC - After the Blitz
TN - Until Cobi
TX - Coveted by the Bear
VT - Gravedigger
WA - Pen Pal
WI - Crossing Roman
WY - Playing For Keeps
THE WORLD
visited 9 states (4%)
https://douwe.com/projects/visited?re...
Australia - Stephan
Egypt - The Scarab's Secret
England - Limits
Finland - Knitted Socks from Finland
France - The Daughters of Ys
Greece - The First Olympic Games
Japan - SP Baby 1
India - If Tigers Disappeared
Ireland - Binding 13
New Zealand - Rock Hard
Russia - Team Leader Bear
United States (no state specified) - soooo many
ONE WORD CHALLENGEThis was one of the March Challenges for the 2021 GoodReads Challenge Group, highlighting books with one-word titles. No, I'm not counting "The" or any other article, or volume numbers in one-word manga series - truly just one word! Harder than you think!
Abhorsen
Acer
Alpha
Arrogant
Asher
Axel
Balor
Barlow
Baz
Bearplane!
Beecher
Blackout
Brewer
Broken
Brontorina
Bubbles
Bubbles (yes a different one)
Bunnies!!!
Caged
Cash
Charming
Clariel
Copper
Corban
Curly
Draco
Dreamer
Escargot
Faraad
Flint
Float
Frogkisser!
Gentry
Gravedigger
Gunner
Hampire!
Hannibal
Hawk
Hook
Hutch
Jabberwocky
Jace
Jester
Jigsaw
Kor'ven
Limits
Lines
Lirael
Lucky
Maverick
Mick
Moonlighter
Nimona
Phoenix
Pooh
Puddle
Quill
Ram
Rassan
Red
Reunion
Rocket
Roddick
Roman
Saint
Shadowland
Snake
Snapdragon
Sterling
Stina
Stone
Striker
Submit
Supertruck
Thornhedge
Torch
Unspoken
Untamed
Verkiir
Wallflowers
Woof
Xerox
Zach
NEWBERY 100The Newbery Award celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, and while I've read a good number off this list, I'm aiming to read a few more. There's quite a number that are older or younger than when I was in the "right" age for the Newbery, so there's a good reason to see what I missed!
Also, some I've read and won't be rereading, but will still count here. I've read them recently enough that I have tracked here (and reviewed), but didn't enjoy enough to bother rereading (looking at you, A Wrinkle in Time!)
JANUARY TOTALS:19 books
16 graphic novels
41 picture books
Total Titles: 76 books
Book Clubs & Challenges
none finished this month, but several underway
FEBRUARY TOTALS:14 books
10 graphic novels
40 picture books
Total Titles: 64 books
Book Clubs & Challenges
SHAPE Tween Book Club
The Lemonade War
Aru Shah and the End of Time
Reading the Detectives
Mrs. McGinty's Dead
MARCH TOTALS:33 books
10 graphic novels
42 picture books
Total Titles: 85 books
Book Clubs & Challenges
Reading the Detectives
Hallowe'en Party
The Secret of Chimneys
APRIL TOTALS:34 books
14 graphic novels
17 picture books
Total Titles: 65 books
Book Clubs & Challenges
Reading the Detectives
The Clocks
They Do It with Mirrors
SHAPE Tween Book Club
Snapdragon
Woof
MAY TOTALS:38 books
2 graphic novels
34 picture books
Total Titles: 74 books
Book Clubs & Challenges
SHAPE Tween Book Club
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
JUNE TOTALS:22 books
2 graphic novels
10 picture books
Total Titles: 34 books
Book Clubs & Challenges
SHAPE Tween Book Club
Watch Hollow
Reading the Detectives
Cat Among the Pigeons
JULY TOTALS43 books
2 graphic novels
22 picture books
Total Titles: 67 books
Book Clubs & Challenges
Reading the Detectives
Three Act Tragedy
AUGUST TOTALS41 books
4 graphic novels
26 picture books
Total Titles: 71 books
Book Clubs & Challenges
none finished this month - more to come!
SEPTEMBER TOTALS28 books
2 graphic novels
23 picture books
Total Titles: 53 books
Book Clubs & Challenges
Reading the Detectives
A Carribbean Mystery
OCTOBER TOTALS17 books
0 graphic novels
40 picture books
Total Titles 57 books
Book Cubs & Challenges
Drop Everything & Read
The Cuckoo's Calling
NOVEMBER TOTALS11 books
4 graphic novels
25 picture books
Total Titles 40 books
Book Cubs & Challenges
SHAPE Tween Book Club
Nimona
DECEMBER TOTALS49 books
5 graphic novels
12 picture books
Total Titles 66 books
Book Cubs & Challenges
SHAPE Tween Book Club
A Christmas Carol
Catch Up Book Club
A Christmas Carol
GoodReads Challenge Book of the Month
A Christmas Carol
Drop Everything & Read
A Christmas Carol
2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Bleach, Volume 27 (other topics)Wanted by the Hunter (other topics)
Pursued by the Hunter (other topics)
Frogkisser! (other topics)
Clariel (other topics)
More...
I'm a public services librarian, so I read. A lot. That pretty much sums it up.
Most of my reading is picture books and mid-grade, because of work, but I always have a Kindle book on the go, an audiobook or two for my commute and for working out, and a physical book or two to top it off. Plus two book clubs I run for work. It adds up - 600+ each of the last five years. Granted, more Mo Willems than Tad Williams, but still, a lot of pages each year.
For 2023, I'm starting out aiming to break at least 520 - 10 books per week. I'll adjust my goal again as needed (same as the last few years). My bigger goals, more than just the numbers, are to read new books (breaking out of my usual ruts), and write more reviews. I'm hoping to reach at least 2023 reviews total - I've aimed to reach a tie-in to the actual year over the past few years, but haven't quite reached it. Something to keep aiming for, though!
I always look forward to the monthly challenges, etc. here to help with achieving these goals. I use this thread as a centralized Challenge Hub, with personal challenges as well as ones from other GR groups I'm in.