2026 Reading Challenge discussion
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January - Cozy Escapes
☕ Cozy Escapes - Monthly Challenge ☕Duration: Jan 1 - Jan 31, 2024
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Cozy Escapes Challenge!
I am excited to be leading it and hope you will all find many cozy books to read to warm up and brighten this cold time of the year.
📚 To sign up, please post a comment below and include the number of books you plan to read for this challenge! 📚
In the winter she curls up around a good book and dreams away the cold.
~ Ben Aaronovitch
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Updating your progress:
When updating your progress, please include your sign-up message number plus the current progress using this format:
Update to Message # xx: books read/ books pledged
If you decide to drop out of the challenge, please don’t delete your original sign-up post. Just update and let me know. Thanks! :)
If at any point you have questions, please feel free to ask!
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☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕Challenge Tiers:
As you update your challenge, I will update your corresponding challenge tier.
🪑 Settling down: 0-1 books
📵 Disconnecting from distractions: 2-3 books
🚪 Escaping: 4-6 books
🌈 Bliss: 7-9+ books
✨ Additional Bonus: Challenge Completed!
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Escapees :
🪑 Settling down:
Anna: 0/3
Anshika: 0/3
Ashley: 1/5
Brianna: 0/5
Chrissy: 1/1 - COMPLETED!✨
Christina: 0/2
Debbie: 0/?
Erica: 0/3
Heather: 0/?
Jill: 0/3
Jordan: 1/1 - COMPLETED!✨
Kate: 0/8
Kayenne: 0/7
Lauren: 0/3
Lea Ann: 1/2
Lina: 1/3
Michelle: 0/10
RaeRae: 0/2
Ramya: 0/2
Rona: 0/3
Sarah: 0/10
Sharon: 0/5
📵 Disconnecting from distractions:
Afrodita: 3/6
Bex: 3/4
Janine: 3/3 - COMPLETED!✨
Jessica: 3/3 - COMPLETED!✨
Marleen: 2/4
Rachael: 2/2 - COMPLETED!✨
Rachel: 2/6
Samantha: 2/3
Susan (#18): 4/4 - COMPLETED!✨
Sydney: 2/3
Temitayomiyoshiseun: 2/2 - COMPLETED!✨
Theresa 2/2 - COMPLETED!✨
🚪 Escaping:
Carrie: 4/6
Catsalive: 6/3 - COMPLETED!✨
Ciara: 5/5 - COMPLETED!✨
Inkeri: 4/4 - COMPLETED!✨
JennH: 4/10
Juls: 4/7
Susan (#77): 6/6 - COMPLETED!✨
🌈 Bliss:
Anna Rachel: 10/10 - COMPLETED!✨
Beth: 10/10 - COMPLETED!✨
Brianna Raquel: 10/10 - COMPLETED!✨
Caraina: 10/10 - COMPLETED!✨
Carmen: 8/5 - COMPLETED!✨
Carri Carey: 10/10 - COMPLETED!✨
Cheryl: 9/6 - COMPLETED!✨
Chrissie: 9/3 - COMPLETED!✨
Kristina: 10/10 - COMPLETED!✨
Sheila: 10/8 - COMPLETED!✨
TerryJane: 15/12 - COMPLETED!✨
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General Stats
53 Readers Signed Up
📚 179 / 258 books read (69.4 %) 📚
Completed: 23
🪑 Settling down - 0-1 books: 22
📵 Disconnecting from distractions - 2-3 books: 12
🚪 Escaping - 4-6 books: 7
🌈 Bliss - 7-9+ books: 11
Updated up to Message#132
Happy Reading to all of you!
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My own post: 🧸 Cozy Escapes - Monthly Challenge 🧸
Duration: January 1 - January 31, 2025
🧸 Progress: xx/3 🧸 -
Feel like escaping into the coziest corners of your imagination? This open-ended challenge is all about embracing what cozy means to you! There are no set prompts—just pick books that give you that warm and comforting feeling. Whether it’s curling up with a classic, diving into a heartwarming romance, or exploring magical lands filled with wonder, the choice is yours.
“Wherever your cozy escape leads, make it yours!”
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Finished: 2025/01/29There are no set prompts—just pick books that give you that warm and comforting feeling.
Progress: 7/3
cozy reads:
other:
I'm going to read two Cozy MysteriesCOMPLETED: 2/2
1. A Morbid Taste for Bones finished 2 January, ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
2. Whose Body? finished 6 January, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I’m joining with The Spellshop (Read) had me at cottagecore! It's fantasy, romance, magical, just a lot of cozy vibes.
Death of a Kitchen Diva (Read) is the first in the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery series. Over my Christmas vacation I enjoyed Death by Eggnog as my first read in the series so I decided to start at the beginning! Nothing says cozy like a dated cozy mystery.
Boiled Over (Read) The second book in the Maine Clambake Mystery series that I decided to start. I also read a book in the series over my Christmas vacation so I decided to start at the beginning with this one too! Of course, a low stakes mystery in a series where you really get to know all of the characters feels really cozy.
Death of a Country Fried Redneck (Read) Now the second in the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery series. I’ve enjoyed that I’ve read of this series so far and I’m eager to continue it!
Twilight (Read) I've had it on hold for almost 2 months & it's finally my turn. It feels cozy to me because I've watched the movie a billion times, read the book as a tween, for the vibes & it's reminiscent of a cozy
time in my life.
Tales from the Café (Read) because it's the second in a series & I absolutely adored the first book. It feels cozy because it's about a time traveling coffee shop, has sentimental stories (book #1 made me cry multiple times), and something about a book that is set in only one room (a coffee shop) feels cozy.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires (Read) Any book that takes place in The South automatically feels cozy to me because it feels like home. It’s not necessarily a cozy mystery, but it takes place in the past and the MCs are all southern moms in a book club together, that feels cozy enough.
In Five Years (Read)
Honestly anything involving time travel and romance automatically gives cozy vibes. I think the cover is beautiful and overall, it just seems like it would be a cozy read.
Black Cake (Read)
I think the family theme & the fact that it follows a mixed race family of Caribbean descent are what makes this cozy for me, there’s so much I can personally relate to. It’s not time travel but having to learn about the past gives me cozy vibes too.
The Last Thing He Told Me (Read)
A low-stakes mystery/thriller with heavy family themes, and some romance. As always, anything mystery is going to feel cozy to me.
Progress: 10/10 COMPLETED
Cozy EscapesGoal: 10 books
Complete: 10 books
✅ 1. The Marvellous Land of Oz (Oz, #2) by L. Frank Baum
This feels like a cozy read because of how much I love the Wizard of Oz, the Wiz, Wicked, and all things Oz. This is my first time tackling the rest of the Oz books.
✅ 2. An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo
A young girl and her family become attached to a zoo elephant and work to save her during WWII. Feels like it will be a cozy, sentimental story. - It was!
✅ 3. Hello, Habits: A Minimalist's Guide to a Better Life by Fumio Sasaki
I'm looking to learn strategies that will help my life become calmer and cozier through elimination of some stress.
✅ 4. Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport
Same as for "Hello, Habits"
✅ 5. Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe
I'm going to be friends with Rob Lowe! So cozy!
✅ 6. The Un-Life of William Moore by Dana Lockhart
Kayla meets a shy, awkward vampire and they start becoming friends. Another one that will make cozy winter reading wrapped up in blankets by the (fake) fireplace.
✅ 7. The Necklace: Thirteen Women and the Experiment That Transformed Their Lives by Cheryl Jarvis
Thirteen women pool their resources to buy an expensive diamond necklace and develop their friendship in sharing it. Women banding together gives me warm cozy feelings of joy.
✅ 8. Heartstone (Matthew Shardlake, #5) by C.J. Sansom
Another planned Buddy Read, and another series continuation. I've become attached to these characters, and reading the next part of their journeys will be a lovely time.
✅ 9. Before the Coffee Gets Cold (Before the Coffee Gets Cold, #1) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Coffee is cozy. Cafes are cozy. The chance to journey to the past to regain a lost opportunity sounds very cozy (if you do it right!).
✅ 10. The Venetian Betrayal (Cotton Malone #3) by Steve Berry
This is a planned Buddy Read and continuation of a series I've been reading. I'm looking forward to some cozy hours cuddled up quietly reading this one.
Joining cozy escapes with two books Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke and Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawoguchi. This is my first cozy challenge.
Temitayomiyoshiseun wrote: "Joining cozy escapes with two books Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke and Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawoguchi. This is my first cozy challenge."Ohh for this challenge I'm reading the 2nd book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. If it's your first time reading I hope you enjoy it just as much as I did! I also love Joanne Fluke <3
COZY ESCAPES - COMPLETEDDuration: January 1, 2025 - January 31, 2025
Feel like escaping into the coziest corners of your imagination? This open-ended challenge is all about embracing what cozy means to you! There are no set prompts—just pick books that give you that warm and comforting feeling. Whether it’s curling up with a classic, diving into a heartwarming romance, or exploring magical lands filled with wonder, the choice is yours.
Completed: 10/10
1. Forever Magic - T.M. Cromer 1/1/25
2. The Naughty, The Nice and The Nanny - Willa Nash 1/3/25
3. Beautifully Broken Pieces - Catherine Cowles 1/3/25
4. Emma - Jane Austen 1/7/25
5. The Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick 1/11/25
6. Home to Big Stone Gap - Adriana Trigiani 1/14/25
7. The Promise of Dawn - Lauraine Snelling 1/18/25
8. Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks 1/19/25
9. One Weekend in Aspen - Jaime Clevenger 1/21/25
10. The Year We Fell Down - Sarina Bowen 1/22/25
Anna Rachel I look forward to reading both I’ll let you know what I think
🧣 COZY ESCAPES - Monthly ChallengeDuration: January 1 - January 31, 2025
Progress: 15/12
I plan to cozy up with a few mysteries, a few classics, and a couple of romances, one of which is shelved as a cozy fantasy.
Mystery
🧣 The Vacation
🧣 Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
🧣 Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect
🧣 Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret
🧣 The Minders
🧣 Defending Jacob
🧣 Murder at King’s Crossing
🧣 Five Total Strangers
Classics
🧣 I Am the Messenger
🧣 The Crying of Lot 49
🧣 Excellent Women
Romance
🧣 Heir
🧣 The Dead Romantics
🧣 The Spellshop
🧣 Enduring Love
Cozy, to me, means my beloved Lads From Liverpool. There’s nothing more comforting than immersing myself in John, Paul, George and Ringo’s lives and music. I’m going with three from the list of books I’ve been meaning to read:1. Fashioning the Beatles: The Looks that Shook the World
2. The Beatles on the Roof
3. Tune In
COZY ESCAPESJanuary 01, 2025 - January 31, 2025
Progress: 10/10
Sign me up for 10!
✅ 1. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
✅ 2. Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
✅ 3. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
✅ 4. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
✅ 5. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
✅ 6. Lacrimore by S.J. Costello
✅ 7. The Maid by Nita Prose
✅ 8. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
✅ 9. Husband Material by Alexis Hall
✅ 10. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Cozy to me means comfort reads. With buying a new home next month, my stress level is through the roof and I really need some comfort reads to settle in to the new home.
I will be reading The Mitford series by Jan Karon and see how many books I can squeeze in for the month. Planning on one to start.
1. At Home in Mitford
I will be reading The Mitford series by Jan Karon and see how many books I can squeeze in for the month. Planning on one to start.
1. At Home in Mitford
I'd like to sign up to read something I wouldn't typically read. I came across Joanne Fluke and her Cozy Mystery books.Progress 4/4
I'd like to read three of these books including the January pick of The Spellshop - Finished 1/5/25
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder - Finished 1/16/25
Strawberry Shortcake Murder - Finished 1/21/25
Blueberry Muffin Murder - Finished 1/22/25
COZY ESCAPESDuration: January 1 - January 31, 2025
Feel like escaping into the coziest corners of your imagination? This open-ended challenge is all about embracing what cozy means to you! There are no set prompts—just pick books that give you that warm and comforting feeling. Whether it’s curling up with a classic, diving into a heartwarming romance, or exploring magical lands filled with wonder, the choice is yours.
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3/3 - COMPLETED
Please sign me up for 6!🫖COZY ESCAPES🫖
Duration: January 1 - January 31, 2025
🥳Completed: 9/6🥳
I will choose a book from each one of these cozy shelves.
✔️1. Cozy Romance list
---a.
Part of Your World---b.
Icebreaker✔️2. Cozy Fantasy list
---a.
The House in the Cerulean Sea---b.
The Spellshop✔️3.Cozy Magical list
---a.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue✔️4. Cozy Horror list
---a.
The Only One Left✔️5. Cozy Mystery list
---a.
The Secret, Book & Scone Society---b.
We Solve Murders✔️6.Cozy Chick list
---a.
Summer Island
I'll sign up for 10! I am planning to read middle grade books, as those feel cozy to me.Progress 10/10
✅ 1.
Blubber - Read 1/14/25✅ 2.
Bridge of Souls - Read 1/6/25✅ 3.
Bridge to Terabithia - Read 1/12/25✅ 4.
The Explorer - Read 1/12/25✅ 5.
Melissa - Read 1/13/25✅ 6.
Pony - Read 1/2/25✅ 7.
Restart - Read 1/8/25✅ 8.
The School for Good and Evil - Read 1/11/25✅ 9.
Superfudge - Read 1/15/25✅ 10.
Tunnel of Bones - Read 1/5/24
COZY ESCAPESDuration: January 1 - January 31, 2025
I will take part in this challenge by reading romance books. I'll go with 4 books for now.
Progress: 4/4
Challenge completed
✔️1. Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
✔️2. One Day in December by Josie Silver
✔️3. Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan
✔️4. Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
Cozy Escapes10/10
1. What the Hex🌱
2. The Breakup Tour🌱
3. Red Dancing Shoes🌱
4. The Partner Plot🌱
5. The Reappearance of Rachel Price🌱
6. Courage to Love Again🌱
7. A Winter in New York🌱
8. Same Time Next Summer🌱
9. Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating🌱
10. Is She Really Going Out with Him?🌱
I'm going for 10 books.COZY ESCAPES
Duration: January 1 - January 31, 2025
7/10
1. Murder at Wedgefield Manor by Erica Ruth Neubauer 1/3/25
2. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto 1/5/25
3. Wedding Cake Killer by Livia J. Washburn 1/7/25
4. Ill-Fated Fortune by Jennifer J. Chow 1/12/25
5. Partners in Lime by Bree Baker 1/14/25
6. Pleading the Fish by Bree Baker 1/24/25
7. Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge by Ovidia Yu 1/27/25
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Cozy EscapesJanuary
3/3
1. Two Weeks 'til Christmas by Laura Greaves 1/1 3★ - all the animals made me feel cosy
2. Emergency Exit Only by Michelle Upton 5/1 3.5★ - a nice, cosy romance
3. Irish Thoroughbred by Nora Roberts 6/1 2★ - romance with horses, cosy!
4. Miss Silver Intervenes by Patricia Wentworth 13/1 4★ - cosy mystery
5. A Girls' Guide to Winning the War by Annie Lyons 16/1 4★ - a comfy read
6. Take Two by Danielle Hawkins 23/1 4★ - definitely cosy
Hi there - first time taking part in this after watching from the side lines for long enough xI will aim for 8-10 books a month and January I’ll try 8 to ease in.
✌️Kate x
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I’m new to the group so I’m joining a bunch of things lol, so I’ll join this too! I‘ll join for 3 books 💛
1. The Spellshop (January’s book)
2. The Hobbit (I’m starting the LOTR series)
3. Caraval (I’m currently about 20% of the way through this book)
I’m also reading Iron Flame on my Kindle, but that’s not really cozy lol
Hola!Count me in, please 😉
PROGRESS: 8/5
1. Sentido y sensibilidad
2. La camarera
3. Tal vez tú
4. Cranford
5. La intrusa
6. The Spellshop
7. Una vida
8. El cementerio de los cuentos sin contar
I think I'm going to start small. I will do 2, is it ok they are in the same series? Cerulean Chronicles Book 1 and 2
House in the Cerulean Sea
Somewhere Beyond the Sea
Hello. I got a late start in 2024 so I'm going to keep moving with my current TBR. Of course Onyx Flame the moment it's released! Until then I'm still trying to decide on my New Year's book to start.
I figured out my January plan and added titles to
Message #14
. My goal has increased from 8 to 12. Thank you!
Put me down for 5 books! 1. The Spellshop (January's book)
2. Happy Place
3. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
4. Dont Forget to Write
5. Neon Gods (because it was my Blind Date with a Book Christmas gift)
So nice here! I'm in for 6 :D✨3/6
✅ 1. The Moon Is Down - J. Steinbeck
✅ 2. Cup of Gold - J. Steinbeck
✅3. The Pastures of Heaven - J. Steinbeck
I will read 5 books. 1/5
1. The Cove - this was a good investigation book that I wanted to just keep reading. Especially on a cold rainy day.
message 42:
by
Bex's Bookshelves | Bookstagram | Book Reviewer
(last edited Jan 22, 2025 01:18PM)
(new)
January - Cosy Escapes
Sign me up for 4 please
3/4
Will read off the Cozy Romance
1. Collide by Bal Kahbra Read: 02/01/25
Page 10
2. Heartless by Elsie Silver Read: 18/01/25
Page 3
3. Wild Love by Elsie Silver - Read: 21/01/25
Page 1
Cozy for me is usually books I can jump into that take me far away from the dark nights of Maine. This year January I am in Florida, the sunshine state.
I am reading about hockey: 99 Stories of the Game, Wayne Gretzky.
I finished Government Gangsters, by Kash Pramod Patel.
Fiction: Five Tuesdays in Winter, Lily King.
I add more as I go, I have a bunch of downtime, and disappearing in a book is fun for me.
Sign me in for 6 books2/6
✔ 1.Kingdom of the Wicked By Kerri Maniscalco 1/2 5 stars
✔ 2.Little Women By Louisa May Alcott 1/20 4 stars
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First off: Happy New Year 2025 to all of you! Welcome to this Cozy Escapes challenge - I hope you will all have fun snuggling in under a blanket and reading cozy books - whatever that means for you personally (I am having a lot of fun reading through what cozy means for each of you!).
38 people have decided to join so far, many people I already know, but also multiple new 'faces', so welcome! :) I hope you will all have fun.
@Christina: Yes, multiple books in the same series is fine, I hope you'll enjoy the Cerulean Chronicles!
@Debbie and @Heather: Let me know your book goal at some point, so I can change it from '?' to a number - but no hurry.
Happy & cozy reading everyone!
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General Stats
38 Readers Signed Up
📚 4 / 182 books read (2.2 %) 📚
Completed: 0
🪑 Settling down - 0-1 books: 38
📵 Disconnecting from distractions - 2-3 books:
🚪 Escaping - 4-6 books:
🌈 Bliss - 7-9+ books:
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... this allowed her two glorious hours sitting quietly by herself in a cosy corner devouring one book after another. - Roald Dahl, Mathilda
Message 39 update: Finished Neon Gods
Progress 1/5
Sign me up for 3 books please!1.
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Happy reading everyone! Cozy for me is a book, comfy chair and a blanket cocoon all day.
☕️🫖🍵 Cozy Escape Challenge 🍵🫖☕️I am joining with 5 books
1) Year Of The Witch: Connecting with Nature’s Seasons through Intuitive Magick by Temperance Alden
I’m starting the year with a non-fiction guide to a reimagined and intuitive Wheel Of The Year based on our personal relationship with the land and season of where we live.
For me, goal-setting with warm socks and a pot of tea while planning the year ahead based on seasonal earth cycles and local traditions is both empowering and cozy, and a perfect way to begin 2025.
2) Wisteria Wyverns by Angela Pepper (book 5 of series)
3) Wolves of Wisteria by Angela Pepper (book 6 of series)
4) Wisteria Wrinkle by Angela Pepper (book 7 of series)
5) Wardens of Wisteria by Angela Pepper (book 8 of series)
I’m already four books into Angela Pepper’s Wisteria Witches series and I’m fully invested in these Cozy Mysteries about a family of female witches. The books are the quintessential highly readable escapist fiction. Her protagonist is extremely funny, the family dynamics are inspirational and occasionally aspirational, and the misadventures in their little town are light-hearted and entertaining.
COZY ESCAPES - Monthly ChallengeDuration: January 1 - January 31, 2025
Progress: 1/7
1.Lovelight. L'amore al primo posto ✔️
2.La ballata delle falene: l'esilio dal mondo
3.A study in drowning: La storia sommersa
4.The Spellshop
5.Caraval
6.Collide
7.Quel che nasconde il fiume
2026 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
In a Holidaze (other topics)The Spellshop (other topics)
The Christmas Guest (other topics)
One More for Christmas (other topics)
A Winter Beneath the Stars (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Ovidia Yu (other topics)Rob Lowe (other topics)
C.J. Sansom (other topics)
Danielle Hawkins (other topics)
Dana Lockhart (other topics)
More...
Duration: January 1 - January 31, 2025
Feel like escaping into the coziest corners of your imagination? This open-ended challenge is all about embracing what cozy means to you! There are no set prompts—just pick books that give you that warm and comforting feeling. Whether it’s curling up with a classic, diving into a heartwarming romance, or exploring magical lands filled with wonder, the choice is yours.
“Wherever your cozy escape leads, make it yours!”
To join, post a message telling the challenge leader how many books you plan to read and what makes your picks cozy to you. If you are new to our group and/or our group challenges, take a moment to check out the Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly Challenges - Start Here thread for more information on how our challenges are run.
Thank you Lina for agreeing to lead this challenge.