2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Duration January 1 - December 31, 2025

This year-long reading adventure invites you to explore dualities, contrasts, and contradictions through the power of opposites. Sometimes the best way to understand something is to read its opposite! Whether they’re found in titles, characters, genres, or even authors’ styles, select pairs of books across any themes or genres that inspire you, and let the contrasts deepen your understanding of different worlds, mindsets, and values.

Sample Pairings
Opposite Titles
Life of Pi and The Death of Mrs. Westaway
I Found You and The Lost Man

Opposite Character Traits in Books
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen vs. Wuthering Heightsby Emily Brontë
Elizabeth Bennet (rational, witty, independent) vs. Heathcliff (passionate, brooding, vengeful)

Opposite Colors on the Color Wheel
Orange vs. Blue
by JD Salinger (Orange cover) vs. by Erin Morgenstern (Blue cover)

How to Participate:

1. Post here telling the challenge leader how many books you plan to read.
You may choose your books at the beginning, or add them as you go. You may join any time during the year, and may change your goal whenever needed.

2. When you finish books for the challenge, edit your original post or member’s corner thread to add them.
Instructions are in the how-to link below.

3. To have your progress updated, post a new comment here to let the challenge leader know.
Every time you post an update, be sure to include your original (sign-up) message number, the number of books you have completed, and your goal. We use your original message number to identify you, since multiple members may have the same profile name.
Example:
Update to message 32: 2/25 books read!

For more information about how our challenges work, visit this how-to thread or ask your challenge leader.

P.S. Please do not delete posts! It changes the message numbers, complicating the update process for both leaders and participants. If you wish to leave the challenge, simply post a comment here to let us know. You may edit your original post to say {deleted}. Thank you!

Participants:
Amy - #41 - 18/20 Books | 0/10 Pairs
Amy (Other Amy) - #10 - 0/24 Books | 0/12 Pairs
Beth - #11 - 44/50 Books | 21/25 Pairs
Blagica - #7 - 0/10 Books | 0/5 Pairs
Carmen - #21 - 0/50 Books | / Pairs
Carri Carey - #9 - 18/20 Books | 9/10 Pairs
Carrie - #31 - 6/12 Books | 3/6 Pairs
Catsalive - #25 - 102/80 Books | 52/41 Pairs - Completed!
Charlston - #60 - 2/12 Books | 1/6 Pairs
Chrissie - #19 - 16/16 Books | 8/8 Pairs - Completed!
Colin - #13 - 0/75 Books | / Pairs
D.L - #18 - 10/10 Books | 1/5 Pairs
Darinda - #29 - 6/10 Books | 0/5 Pairs
Debra Diggs - #6 - 24/24 Books | 12/12 Pairs - Completed!
Jenn - #43 - 0/50 Books | 0/25 Pairs
JennH - #22 - 14/40 Books | 7/20 Pairs
Jessica - #34 - 8/10 Books | 3/5 Pairs
Julie - #27 - 0/20 Books | 0/10 Pairs
Kalyn - #24 - 4/10 Books | 2/5 Pairs
Karin - #16 - 26/30 Books | 13/15 Pairs
Krisina - #15 - 29/30 Books | 12/15 Pairs
Kylie - #23 - 0/40 Books | 0/20 Pairs
Laureen - #36 - 20/30 Books | 15/15 Pairs
Laurie - #37 - 15/20 Books | 5/10 Pairs
Marissa - #38 - 9/20 Books | 6/10 Pairs
Pippin18 - #51 - 0/12 Books | 0/6 Pairs
Priya - #45 - 0/10 Books | 0/5 Pairs
Rachael - (message #5) - 17/20 books - 7/10 pairs
Sarah - #56 - 16/16 Books | 8/8 Pairs - Completed!
SarahKat - #8 - 12/12 Books | 0/6 Pairs
Shari - #33 - 2/20 Books | / Pairs
Sherri - #14 - 0/10 Books | 0/5 Pairs
Sunny - #20 - 0/10 Books | 0/5 Pairs
TerryJane - #12 - 109/40 Books | / Pairs - Completed!
Theresa - #17 - 6/12 Books | 1/6 Pairs
Vicki - #39 - 0/20 Books | 0/10 Pairs
Ziggy - #30 - 0/12 Books | 0/6 Pairs
________________________________________________________
STATS
Participants: 37
Books Read: 533
Book Goal: 907
Pairs Done: 186
Pairs Goal: 362
Completed: 5

Updated through Message #166 on Nov 10, 2025.

Reserved

Please sign me up for 10 pairs, 20 books.

COMPLETED: 20/20 books (10/10 pairs)

*Tea vs Coffee(s) (Lattes):
✔️ A Tempest of Tea
✔️ Legends & Lattes

*Body vs Soul(s)
✔️ Whose Body?
✔️ Princess of Souls

*Touch vs Taste
✔️ A Touch of Darkness
✔️ A Morbid Taste for Bones

*Strange vs Normal
✔️ Strange the Dreamer
✔️ Am I Normal Yet?

*Movies vs Opera
✔️ Movies Showing Nowhere
✔️ The Phantom of the Opera

*Dreams vs Nightmares
✔️ Dreams of Gods & Monsters
✔️ Muse of Nightmares

*Life vs Death
✔️ Time Of My Life
✔️ Masters of Death

*Always vs Never
✔️ The Next Always
✔️ The Other Side of Never: Dark Tales from the World of Peter & Wendy

*Quiet vs Noise
✔️ Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
✔️ Fractal Noise

*Day(s) vs Night
✔️ Days of Blood & Starlight
✔️ Daughters of the Night Sky

.
.
Opposites
12/12 Pairs
Completed

Titles
✔ Boy - The Boy in the Iron Box: The Complete Serialized Novel by Guillermo del Toro
✔ Girl - Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

✔ First - The Very First Damned Thing by Jodi Taylor
✔ Last - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade by Rob MacGregor

✔ Night - Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long
✔ Day - One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky

✔ Lend - The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository by John Connolly
✔ Borrow - The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

✔ Vengeance - Tail of Vengeance by Spencer Quinn
✔ Mercy - Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger

Character Traits
✔ Outgoing - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (Madeline)
✔ Shy - The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (Kiela)

Colors
Red - Green
✔ ✔

Blue - Orange
✔ ✔

Black - White
✔ ✔

Genre
✔ Historical - The Queen of Bedlam by Robert McCammon
✔ Futuristic - The Way by Cary Groner

✔ Short Story - The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose
✔ Epic Story - Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

✔ Western - Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas
✔ Urban Fiction - Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley


...

My favorite of the New Challenges. signing up for 5 pairs, 10 books.

12/12

First and Last
📘The Last Thing He Told Me
📘The First Day of Spring

Mountains and Valley
📘The Tiger Came to the Mountains
📘The Other Valley

Sorrows and Euphoria
📘House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
📘 Euphoria by Lily King

Day and Night
📘When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer
📘 The Night Shift by Alex Finlay

Secrets and Confessions
📘Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb
📘Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

Black and White
📘Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

Lucifer and God
📘The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip G. Zimbardo

Girl and Boy
📘A Girl Called Eel by Ali Zamir

Sun and Moon
📘Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
📘Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan

Dead and Alive
📘 Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

I'll sign up for 10 pairs, please (20 books)

Day/Night
One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel - Read 2/18/25
The Midnight Game - Read 1/27/25

Good/Bad
The School for Good and Evil - Read 1/11/25
All the Bad Apples - Read 3/7/25

Boy/Girl
The Boyfriend - Read 3/11/25
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon - Read 1/16/25

Light/Dark
All the Light We Cannot See - Read 4/16/25
Midnight Is the Darkest Hour - Read2/6/25

Big/Little
Great Big Beautiful Life - Read 7/11/25
Little Women - Read 6/5/25

Husband/Wife
The Husband's Secret - Read 5/8/25
The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story - Read 8/13/25

Pretty/Ugly
Pretty Girls - Read 8/30/25
Beautiful Ugly - 7/22/25

First/Last
First Lie Wins - Read 8/26/25
Last Dance Before Dawn - Read 7/31/25

Begin/End
Where the Sky Begins - Read 9/26/25
The Five-Star Weekend - Read 2/12/25

In/Out
With Love from the Inside - Read 8/3/25
The Holdout - Read 11/24/25

OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Duration January 1 - December 31, 2025

I absolutely love this. In for 12 pairs (24 books).

Title

Cover

0/24

Opposites Attract

50/50 books
25/25 pairs

Completed Nov 19

Updates: Jan 16, Feb 13, Apr 6, Jun 25

Words in Title
I. Death / Life
(view spoiler)[1. On the Horns of Death (Ancient Crete Mystery, #2) by Eleanor Kuhns
2. If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries What Am I Doing in the Pits? by Erma Bombeck (hide spoiler)]
II. Death / Life
(view spoiler)[3. Death of an Englishman (Marshal Guarnaccia Mystery, #1) by Magdalen Nabb
4. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni (hide spoiler)]
III. Moon / Sun
(view spoiler)[5. Banyan Moon by Thao Thai
6. Empire of the Sun (Empire of the Sun, #1) by J.G. Ballard (hide spoiler)]
IV. Dead / Living
(view spoiler)[7. Every Dead Thing (Charlie Parker, #1) by John Connolly
8. Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty (hide spoiler)]
V. Devil / Angel
(view spoiler)[9. Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins, #1) by Walter Mosley
10. Death's Bright Angel (Wilson & McLeish, #1) by Janet Neel (hide spoiler)]
VI. Boys / Girls
(view spoiler)[11. The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice by Alex Kershaw
12. Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross, #2) by James Patterson (hide spoiler)]
VII. Dark / Light
(view spoiler)[13. In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
14. Gaslight (Philip Taiwo, #2) by Femi Kayode (hide spoiler)]
VIII. Prayer / Curse
(view spoiler)[15. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
16. The Curse of the Pharaohs (Amelia Peabody, #2) by Elizabeth Peters (hide spoiler)]
IX. First / Last
(view spoiler)[17. The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power by Terry J. Benton-Walker
18. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (hide spoiler)]
X. Fast / Slow
(view spoiler)[19. Fast Girls: A Novel of the 1936 Women's Olympic Team by Elise Hooper
20. Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport (hide spoiler)]

Genre
XI. Crime Fiction / True Crime
(view spoiler)[21. All That Remains (Kay Scarpetta, #3) by Patricia Cornwell
22. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard (hide spoiler)]
XII. Historical Fiction / History
(view spoiler)[23. The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane
24. The Ghost Map, The: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson (hide spoiler)]
XIII. Cozy Mystery / Detective Fiction
(view spoiler)[25. Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody, #1) by Elizabeth Peters
26. Cause of Death (Kay Scarpetta, #7) by Patricia Cornwell (hide spoiler)]
XIV. Contemporary / Classic
(view spoiler)[27. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
28. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (hide spoiler)]
XV. Legal Thriller / Medical Thriller
(view spoiler)[29. Saving Emma (Boady Sanden, #2) by Allen Eskens
30. The Body Farm (Kay Scarpetta, #5) by Patricia Cornwell (hide spoiler)]
XVI. Autobiography / Biography
(view spoiler)[31. Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe
32. The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore (hide spoiler)]
XVII. Horror / Humor
(view spoiler)[33. Horror - In the Darkness, Eyes and Teeth by Felix I.D. Dimaro
34. Humor - Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (hide spoiler)]
XVIII. Erotica / Middle Grade
(view spoiler)[35. Darling Discovered: A True Story of Submission by Mrs. Darling
36. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher (hide spoiler)]
XIX. Medical Thriller / Legal Thriller
(view spoiler)[37. Unnatural Exposure (Kay Scarpetta, #8) by Patricia Cornwell
38. Defending Jacob by William Landay (hide spoiler)]

Colors on Cover
XX. Orange / Blue
(view spoiler)[39. The Charlemagne Pursuit (Cotton Malone, #4) by Steve Berry
40. The Grey Wolf (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #19) by Louise Penny (hide spoiler)]
XXI. Red / Green
(view spoiler)[41. Roses Are Red (Alex Cross, #6) by James Patterson
42. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (hide spoiler)]
XXII. Yellow / Purple
(view spoiler)[43. Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black
44. To Hate Adam Connor by Ella Maise (hide spoiler)]
XXIII. Black / White
(view spoiler)[45. The Apollo Murders (Apollo Murders, #1) by Chris Hadfield
46. It by Stephen King (hide spoiler)]
XXIV. Black / White
(view spoiler)[47. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
48. The Stranger by Albert Camus (hide spoiler)]

Content of Cover
XV. Person's Back / Person's Front
(view spoiler)[49. Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross, #1) by James Patterson
50. The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris (hide spoiler)]

🔄 OPPOSITES ATTRACT - Yearly Challenge
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2025
Progress: 109/40

Half & Total
🔄 A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing
🔄 Five Total Strangers

King & Queen
🔄 Murder at King’s Crossing
🔄 The Queens of Crime

Secret & Common
🔄 Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret
🔄 The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus

Happy & Sad
🔄 Happy for You
🔄 The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Sun & Moon
🔄 Heart of the Sun Warrior
🔄 Water Moon

Light & Dark
🔄 The Light Pirate
🔄 Wild Dark Shore

Someone & No One
🔄 Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
🔄 Trust No One by Debra Webb

Suspect & Trust
🔄 Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect
🔄 Trust No One by Jayne Ann Krentz

You & I
🔄 You Deserve to Know
🔄 I Am the Messenger

Daughter & Son
🔄 Call Your Daughter Home
🔄 Dark Sons

Love & Hate
🔄 Enduring Love
🔄 All the Other Mothers Hate Me

Truth & Lie
🔄 Raised by a Serial Killer: Discovering the Truth About My Father
🔄 Count My Lies

This & That
🔄 There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension
🔄 All That Is Mine I Carry With Me

Him & Her
🔄 Don't Let Him In
🔄 I Did Warn Her

Heir & Heiress
🔄 Heir
🔄 Heiress Takes All

Summer & Winter
🔄 Summer
🔄 The Winter Sisters

Start & End
🔄 Starter Villain
🔄 The End of the Affair

Day & Night
🔄 Three Days in June
🔄 Wink Poppy Midnight

Day & Night
🔄 Our Last Wild Days
🔄 In the Night Room

Letter & Tenant
🔄 A Letter to the Luminous Deep
🔄 The Tenant

Morning & Midnight
🔄 When Morning Comes
🔄 Midnight Rainbow

Polar & Burning
🔄 Memoirs of a Polar Bear
🔄 Idol, Burning

Scream & Whisper
🔄 Peaches and Scream
🔄 Whispers of Dead Girls

Leave & Return
🔄 What You Leave Behind
🔄 The Return of Ellie Black

Preceding & Next
🔄 Signs Preceding the End of the World
🔄 My Next Breath

Excellent & Troublesome
🔄 Excellent Women
🔄 The Book Club for Troublesome Women

Good & Wayward
🔄 Good Morning, Midnight
🔄 Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

Atmosphere & Dirt
🔄 Atmosphere
🔄 Good Dirt

Sunrise & Twilight
🔄 Sunrise on the Reaping
🔄 The Twilight Wife

In & Out
🔄 A Raisin in the Sun
🔄 Oona Out of Order

Here & There
🔄 We Live Here Now
🔄 Once There Were Wolves

Bright & Dark
🔄 The Bright Years
🔄 Daisy Darker

Poison & Antidote
🔄 Poison for Breakfast
🔄 The Antidote

Famous & Unknown
🔄 Famous Last Words
🔄 From Here to the Great Unknown

Work & Vacation
🔄 Love's Work: A Reckoning with Life
🔄 The Vacation

Prayer & Curse
🔄 A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
🔄 Chili Cauldron Curse

Laughing & Crying
🔄 Laughing Boy: A Navajo Love Story
🔄 The Crying of Lot 49

God & Devil
🔄 The God of the Woods
🔄 The Devils

Search & Find
🔄 In Search of April Raintree
🔄 Finding Grace

Plain & Enchanted
🔄 Plain Target
🔄 The Enchanted Greenhouse

Upon & Under
🔄 Once Upon a Time in Dollywood
🔄 Under the Same Stars

Minute & Hour
🔄 An Ocean of Minutes
🔄 The Blue Hour

Beautiful & Ugly
🔄 Great Big Beautiful Life
🔄 Beautiful Ugly

Perfect & Broken
🔄 The Perfect Home
🔄 Broken Country

Stand & Fall
🔄 She Didn't Stand a Chance
🔄 Idaho Fall

Bodies & Souls
🔄 Home Is Where the Bodies Are
🔄 We Sold Our Souls

Prince & Princess
🔄 The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
🔄 The Princess of Las Vegas

Tales & Chronicles
🔄 Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales
🔄 The Backyard Bird Chronicles

Big & Small
🔄 So Big
All Creatures Great and Small

Dead & Alive
🔄 The Dead Romantics
We Thought You Would Be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive

Minder & Ward
🔄 The Minders
Ward D

Before & After
Before She Knew Him
🔄 After the Quake

Push & Pull
The Push
🔄 The Pull of the Stars

Distant & Close
🔄 Distant Star
Close to Death

Child & Adult
🔄 God Help the Child
All Adults Here

Make & Break
What Makes Us
🔄 Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank

Absolutely & Maybe
🔄 Absolutely Almost
Someday, Maybe

Normal & Rare
🔄 Normal People
The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

Husbands & Wives
The Summer Wives
🔄 The Husbands

Always & Never
🔄 This Is How It Always Is
Never Lie

Man & Woman
🔄 The Man Made of Smoke
The Old Woman with the Knife

I'll start with 75 please.

I'll sign up for 5 pairs, ten books.

OPPOSITES ATTRACT
January 01, 2025 - December 31, 2025
Progress: 15/15 pairs, 30/30 books

Sign me up for 15 pairs and 30 books.

Member Corner Tracking Post

OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Duration January 1 - December 31, 2025

15 pairs

read 26/30
finished 13/15 pairs

This year-long reading adventure invites you to explore dualities, contrasts, and contradictions through the power of opposites. Sometimes the best way to understand something is to read its opposite! Whether they’re found in titles, characters, genres, or even authors’ styles, select pairs of books across any themes or genres that inspire you, and let the contrasts deepen your understanding of different worlds, mindsets, and values.

Sample Pairings
Opposite Titles
Life of Pi and The Death of Mrs. Westaway
I Found You and The Lost Man

Opposite Character Traits in Books
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen vs. Wuthering Heightsby Emily Brontë
Elizabeth Bennet (rational, witty, independent) vs. Heathcliff (passionate, brooding, vengeful)

Opposite Colors on the Color Wheel

✔Pair 1 land vs sea on cover
The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge
by L.R. Wright
✔Pair 2 cool colour vs warm colour
The Walk by Richard Paul Evans
by Richard Paul Evans
✔Pair 3 drama vs humour
Walking on Water by Richard Paul Evans - drama
Home to Woefield by Susan Juby - humour
✔Pair 4 - fiction vs nonfiction
The Cougar Lady: Legendary Trapper of Sechelt Inlet by Rosella M. Leslie nonfiction
Fallen Angels by Patricia Hickman fiction
✔Pair 5 classic vs contemporary
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
The Love Script by Toni Shiloh
✔Pair 6 young protagonist vs old protagonists
Heart and Seoul by Jen Frederick
Mrs. Pollifax Pursued
✔Pair 7 1star vs 5 star
1 star - How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
5 stars - Double Take by Lynette Eason
✔Pair 8 Opposite word in titles
A Single Light
Double Take
✔Pair 9
Travel through book The Redemption by MaryLu Tyndall
No travel at all The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart
✔ Pair 10 opposite situations
Left Behind
Desert Rescue
✔ Pair 11 alphabet author names - A first name, Z last name (so double ;) )
Amanda Dykes - All the Lost Places
Sheri Zeck - The Difference Between Us

✔Pair 12 Title starts with A and Title starts with Z
Appleby's Answer
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

✔Pair 13 opposite in temps
The Burning of Rosemont Abbey
Abduction Cold Case
Pair 14
Pair 15

Signing up for 6 pairs - 12 books
Progress: 6/12 books, 1/6 pairs
(Changing goal Nov. 17)

Opposite Titles
-Take It from Me & ✔When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie -hoopla audio-
-✔️Catch of the Day & The Night Circus
-✔The Invisible Husband of Frick Island & The Wife Upstairs

Color Wheel Opposites
-✔Earls Trip & ✔The Book Swap
-✔️Weather Girl & Asking For a Friend

COMPLETED: Books: 10/8 | Pairs: 5/4 -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED

Tracking: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Finished: 2025/04/18

Not sure what I'll read yet, but I'll try 4 pairs (8 books) for a start.

books: 16/16 | pairs: 8/8

Pairs
(set in summer) ✓ 01/02 (set in winter) ✓ 01/06

(stand alone) ✓ 01/06 (part of a series) ✓ 01/10

(mother tongue: german) ✓ 01/09 (translated from japanese) ✓ 01/14

(novel) ✓ 01/13 (audio play) ✓ 01/14

(asian author) ✓ 01/18 (european author) ✓ 01/27

(2 people) ✓ 02/03 (1 person) ✓ 02/07

(death) ✓ 02/11 (life) ✓ 02/11

(blue) ✓ 02/17 (orange) ✓ 04/18

Please sign me up for 5 pairs, 10 books.

Hola!
Count me in, please 😉

I'm going to start with colors

PROGRESS: 0/50

Ooh, this sounds interesting! I will go for 20 pairs - 40 books.

20 pairs/ 40 books

OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Duration January 1 - December 31, 2025

Opposite Titles
All/Nothing
1 All the Colors of the Dark
and
2 The Lost Art of Doing Nothing: How the Dutch Unwind with Niksen

In/Out
3 Naughty in Nice
and
4 Out of My Mind

Boy/Girl
5 The Boy in the Suitcase
and
6 Third Girl

After/Before
7 The Astonishing Color of After
and
8 Before We Say Goodbye

Off/On
9 Sealed Off
and
10 Confessions on the 7:45

White/Black
11 The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943
and
12 Black Butterflies

After/Before
13 Echo After Echo
and
14 Before We Forget Kindness

Sisters/Brothers
15 Sisters
and
16 The Sisters Brothers

Sour/Sweet
17 Hot and Sour Suspects
and
18 Sweet Bean Paste

I/You
19 I am a Cat Volume 1
and
20 The Cure for What Ales You

King/Queen
21 King of Scars
and
22 Queen of Hearts

Water/Fire
23 The Shape of Water
and
24 Heir of Fire

Hill/Valley
25 The Brides of High Hill
and
26 The Valley of Fear

In/Out
27 Death in the Clouds
and
28 Out Stealing Horses

Your/My
29 Close Your Eyes and Count to 10
and
30 My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix

I/You
31 I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death
and
32 The Cure for What Ales You

Off/On
33 Cheddar Off Dead
and
34 Blood on Snow

Fortune/Misfortune
35 Ill-Fated Fortune
and
36 Misfortune Cookie

Always/Never
37 We Have Always Lived in the Castle
and
38 Now or Never

Lock/Key
39 The Midnight Lock
and
40 The Key Lime Crime

I'm up for 20 pairs, 40 books, as well.

Progress: Pairs: Books:

Pair #1:

Sign me up for 5 pairs and 10 books please!

Progress: 4/5 pairs & 9/10 books

1. Color Wheel Opposites (Mint Greenish & Pink)
-- A Court of Mist and Fury ✔️
-- A Court of Wings and Ruin ✔️

2. Color Wheel Opposites (Purple & Yellow)
-- 8th Confession ✔️
-- Chain of Iron ✔️

3. Opposite Titles
-- Daughter of the Pirate King ✔️
-- Queen of Air and Darkness ✔️

4. Opposite Titles
-- The Red Scrolls of Magic ✔️
-- The Lost Book of the White

5. Opposite Character Traits
-- Caraval (Hesitant, Fearful, Protective) ✔️
-- A Court of Frost and Starlight (Prideful, Brave, Stubborn) ✔️

OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Duration January 1 - December 31, 2025
52 pairs, 104 books

1. Male/Female author
male: Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree 27/1 4★
female: Ritual in Death by J.D. Robb 6/4 3.5★

2. Stand alone/series
alone: One Day by David Nicholls 1/3 3★
series: Promises in Death by J.D. Robb 8/2 4★

3. Historical/contemporary fiction
historical: A Girls' Guide to Winning the War by Annie Lyons 16/1 4★
contemporary: Just the Two of Us by Jo Wilde 29/1 4★

4. Set in country/city
country: Two Weeks 'til Christmas by Laura Greaves 1/1 3★
city: Missing in Death by J.D. Robb 7/4 3★

5. Set in Australia/elsewhere
Australia: Emergency Exit Only by Michelle Upton 5/1 3.5★
NZ: Take Two by Danielle Hawkins 23/1 4★

6. Set in NSW/set in another state
NSW: A Town Called Treachery by Mitch Jennings 7/3 4★
SA: The Rivertown Vet by Jennifer Scoullar 24/2 3★

7. Young/mature age characters
young: The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett 23/3 5★
mature: Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie 15/3 4★

8. New(2024+)/older (pre-2000) release
new (2024): A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont 29/1 4★
old (1987): Guardians of the West by David Eddings 4/3 3.5★

9. male/female MC
male: Drop Dead by Margot Neville 12/4 3.5★
female: Knave's Gambit by Margaret Summerville 11/4 2★

10. historical/contemporary romance
hist: Rake's Honour by Beverley Oakley 23/3 2★
cont: As the River Rises by Fiona McArthur 22/3 5★

11. This century/last century release
20xx: Mr. Jeffries and the Jilt by Joy Reed 9/4 3★
19xx: Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings 30/1 4★

12. Fiction/non-fiction
fic: In Bloom by Eva Verde 22/2 3★
non: The Miracle of Language by Richard Lederer 3/1 4★

13. Short/long
short: The Rynox Murder by Philip MacDonald 9/2 3★ - 143p
long: Along Came a Spider by James Patterson 19/1 3★ - 502p

14. Bought/borrowed
bought: The Little French Village of Book Lovers by Nina George 26/1 2★
borrowed: The Canning Town Murder by Mike Hollow 8/5 3.5★

15. Historical/contemporary mystery
hist: A Pressing Engagement by Anne Barbour 10/4 3★
cont: Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor 31/5 4★

16. Cosy/dark crime
cosy: Miss Silver Intervenes by Patricia Wentworth 13/1 4★
dark: The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill 26/3 3.5★

17. Ebook/physical book
ebook: When It All Went to Custard by Danielle Hawkins 5/2 5★
physical: Sister of the Bride by Carol Quinto 8/4 2★

18. romance/crime fiction
romance: Set to Partners by Patricia Ormsby 21/4 3★
crime: The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen 7/2 3.5★

19. fantasy/realistic fiction
fantasy: The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser 14/1 4★
realistic: Sunrise Over Mercy Court by Fiona McCallum 13/4 4★

20. set on mainland/island
main: The Primrose Path by Barbara Metzger 21/4 2★
isle: The Bookseller's Gift by Felicity Hayes-McCoy 2/2 4★

21. historical /contemporary romance
hist: Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer 25/2 5★
cont: The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews 1/4 2.5★

22. colour/number in title
colour: Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth 26/2 3★
number: Two Steps Onward by Graeme Simsion, Anne Buist 28/2 3★

23. high/low fantasy
high: Guardians of the West by David Eddings 4/3 3.5★
low: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris 5/5 4★

24. set on earth/in space
earth: Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb 20/3 4.5★
space: Interlude in Death by J.D. Robb 20/3 4★

25. hot/cold climate
hot: Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris 29/5 4★ (New Orleans)
cold: The Northern Lights Lodge by Julie Caplin 21/3 3★ (Iceland)

26. seachange/treechange
sea: The Wife's Secret by Barbara Hannay 18/7 4★
tree: The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge by Janet Gover 22/2 4★

27. man/woman in title
man: The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair 4/6 4.5★
woman: Women of a Certain Rage by Liz Byrski 27/2 3★

28. Single word/many word title
single: Killjoy by Ann Cleeves 16/2 4★
many: How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks 24/1 2★

29. life/death in title
life: Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes by Rob Wilkins 30/3 5★
death: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris 18/2 3.5★

30. water/land in title
water: Riverboat Point by Tricia Stringer 17/3 3★
land: Strata by Terry Pratchett 15/6 4★

31. Beach/bush on cover
beach: by Michael A. Singer 3/5 1★
bush: by Mia Sheridan 27/4 4★

32. Bright/dull cover
bright: by Emma Jensen 20/4 3★
dull: by Alice Holden, Kate Huntington, Laura Paquet 23/4 2.5★

33. black/white cover
black: by J.D. Robb 11/1 3★
white: by Ashley Kalagian Blunt 13/4 3.5★

34. green/red cover
by David Eddings 1/2 3★
by David Eddings 4/2 3★

35. blue/orange cover
blue: by Chris Flynn 25/4 4★
orange: by Josie Silver 13/2 3★

36. yellow/purple cover
yellow: by Max Barry 2/1 3★
purple: by David Eddings 22/2 3★

37. One person/two+ people on cover
one: by Patricia Wentworth 2/5 3★
two: by Terry Pratchett, Jacqueline Simpson 28/3 5★

38. short (<200p)/long (>400p)
short: The Duke's Dilemma by Elizabeth Chater 18/4 3★ - 171p
long: King of the Murgos by David Eddings 13/3 3★ - 448p

39. Upper case/lower case title
upper: by Elizabeth Albright 18/4 1★
lower: by Nadine Miller 17/4 2★

40. Dog/cat on cover
dog: by Leigh Perry 2/3 3★
cat: by Tad Williams 19/2 3★

41. horse/dragon on cover
horse: by Nora Roberts 6/1 2★
dragon: by David Eddings 13/7 3★

42. water/land on cover
water: by June Calvin 22/4 2.5★
land: by Dawn Lindsey 16/5 1★

43. flowers/books on cover
flowers: by Danielle Hawkins 11/2 4★
book/s: by Joan Overfield 1/5 3★

44. tree/building on cover
tree: by David Eddings 17/2 3.5★
building: by Jenna Jones 17/5 1.5★

45. set in Asia/America
Asia: The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu 5/3 4★
America: Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb 4/4 4★

46. set in Oceania/Europe
Oceania: Wings Above The Diamantina by Arthur W. Upfield 6/6 3.5★
Europe: The Blitz Detective by Mike Hollow 9/3 4★

47. road/air transport on cover
road: by Pauline McLynn 16/3 4★
air: by Celia Imrie 4/5 3.5★

48. sun/moon on cover
sun: by Sophie Overett 11/3 2★
moon: by Juliette Leigh 15/4 2.5★

49. father/mother in title
father: An Unlikely Father by Lynn Collum 14/4 2★
mother: A Match For Mother by Mona K. Gedney, Kathryn Kirkwood, Regina Scott 8/4 2.5★

50. lord/lady in title
lord: Demon Lord of Karanda by David Eddings 20/4 3★
lady: Lady Farrington's Folly by Nina Porter 16/4 2★

51. set at christmas/halloween
christmas: Once upon a Christmas by Nancy Lawrence 15/4 3★
halloween: book:Halloween Magic|3245009] by Sandra Heath 19/4 2★

52. pro-/proper noun in title
pronoun: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin 9/5 2.5★
proper: Miss Darby's Debut by Marilyn Clay 12/5 2★

overflow

I'm in for 10 pairs/20 books

Message #12
I have increased my goal from 30 to 40.

I'm in for 10 books - 5 pairs.

Completed: 10/10 books - 5/5 pairs

Bright & Dark


Remember & Forget


Good & Bad


Wife & Husband


Innocent & Guilty

Put me down for 12 books - 6 pairs.

🔁OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2025
Books: 6/12
Pairs: 3/6


Pair #1: Fire/Ice - Completed
✔️🔥 Little Fires Everywhere 1/12/25
✔️🧊 Icebreaker 1/24/25

Pair #2: Happy/Mad
✔️😊 Happy Place 2/5/25
✔️😠Mad Honey 3/2/25

Pair #3: True/Lie
✔️💯 Too Good to Be True 3/2/2025
✔️🤥 Never Lie 3/22/2025

Pair #4: tbd
🟡
🟡

Pair #5: tbd
🟡
🟡

Pair #6: tbd
🟡
🟡

Welcome Everyone I can not wait to read with all of you!

I'm signing up for 20 books

OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Duration January 1 - December 31, 2025

Progress: 18 / 20

Color wheel opposites: Blue/Orange
Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
Lies We Never See

Opposite title words: Circle/Square
Circle of Death
A Perfect Square

Person on cover: Front / Back
Princess Elizabeth's Spy
The Quiet Librarian

Men vs. women:
I Who Have Never Known Men
Women of the Silk

Color wheel opposites: Red / Green:
The Joy Luck Club
The Mistletoe Mystery

Missing / Finding:
Missing
Finding Her Way Home

Shadow / Light:
The Shadow
The Sound of Light

His / Her:
His Majesty's Hope
Her Holiday Secret

Summer / Winter:
The Winter Garden
Just for the Summer

I'd like to sign up for 5 pairs for a total of 10 books please.

Progress: 3/5

1. Evil MC vs. Good MC
Evil MC: The Wise Woman

Good MC: Mistborn: The Final Empire


2. Bird vs. Mammal
Bird:
Mammal: West with Giraffes


3. Creative Job vs. Logical Job
Creative Job (Book Trader): The Lost Bookshop

Logical Job (Lawyer): All of Us in Our Own Lives


4. Night vs. Day
Ancient (Ancient Rome): Daughters of Rome

Modern:

5. City vs. Country
City (Venice): The Instrumentalist

Country (Rural Iceland): The Blue Fox

updated! Welcome Shari and Jessica

Sounds like fun! Let's try 5 pairs. thank you!

🔁🔁Opposites Attract🔁🔁
Progress: 9/10 Pairs (19/20 Books)

🔁 1. Winter vs. Summer
✔️ Winter's Secret
✔️ The Summer Queen

🔁 2. Beautiful vs. Ugly
✔️ Into the Beautiful North
✔️ All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

🔁 3. Wedding vs. Divorce
✔️ The Sixth Wedding
✔️ The Lady in Red: An Eighteenth-Century Tale of Sex, Scandal, and Divorce

🔁 4. Day vs. Night
✔️ Cold Light of Day
✔️ The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

🔁 5. Black vs. White
✔️ Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden
✔️ Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine

6. Big vs. Small
✔️ Big Lies in a Small Town
The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement

🔁 7. Cold vs. Hot
✔️ Cold Pursuit
✔️ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

🔁 8. Truth vs. Lying
✔️ His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope
✔️ One of Us Is Lying

🔁 9. Light vs. Dark
✔️ The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times
✔️ A Flicker in the Dark

🔁 10. Heaven vs. Hell
✔️ Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
✔️ Hell of a Book

I'll try to make 10 pairs!

Opposites Attract
Progress: 1/10 Pairs (2/20 Books)

1. Remember vs. Forget
1a: I Remember You by Cathleen Davitt Bell (1/7)
1b: Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young (1/12)

Since it's a year long challenge, I'll go for making 10 pairs.

Opposites Attract
Progress: 0/10 Pairs

Life vs. Death
Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life by Helen Fisher

Updated message 5: goal updated as I have found a few more pairs. 8 pairs, 16 books. Completed: 1/16

I will start with 10 pairs, so 20 books!
18/20

1. Rise: Red Rising
2. Fall: Apples Never Fall

1. Small: Small Things Like These
2. Big: The Big Rewrite

1. Heaven: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
2.

1. Water: The Water Dancer
2. Fire: Lei and the Fire Goddess

1. Light: You Light Up My Midlife Crisis
2. Dark: Dead Until Dark

1. Life: The Facts of Midlife
2. Death: It's a Matter of Midlife and Death

1. You: If You Only Knew
2. Me: Tell Me How to Be

1. Open: The Open-Air Life: Discover the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv and Embrace Nature Every Day
2.

1. Living: Living Dead in Dallas
2. Dead: Dead and Gone

1. Good: The Only Good Indians
2. Monstrous (bad): Their Monstrous Hearts

Congrats to Rachael and Debra Diggs on completing books already. Welcome to Laureen, Laurie, Marissa ,Vicki and Amy good luck!

I would like to sign up for 50 books-/25 pairs
thanks 🙂

Updated message 41-- 1/20

I'll sign up for 5 pairs as of now please!

Update to message 16. So far I've
read 4/30 books and have finished 2 pairs

Update message #19 - books: 5/8 | pairs: 2/4

Update to Message #35

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (1/11/25) vs The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich (1/12/25)

1/5 pairs

Welcome Jenn & Priya! Awesome progress everyone!
Updated to message 48!

Update message #19 - books: 8/8 | pairs: 4/4

well, that was faster than I expected. Will do another 4 pairs, so please raise to books: 16 | pairs: 8

Hello! I would like to sign up for 12 books (6 pairs). Thanks!

1. The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mt. Everest and The Foundling (lost/found)
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