2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

Table of Contents
Yearly Theme: Emotional Rollercoaster
Personal Challenge Folder

Book Lists
Book List Part 1
Book List Part 2

Yearly Challenges
Popsugar
TBR Jar
20 Questions
I Spy
A-Z: Women Authors
Wheel of Feels
Opposites Attract
Bookworms Take Shelfies
Magical Mystery Tour
Shelf Awareness
Serial Reader

Quarterly Challenges
Q1: Embracing the Blues
Q2: Pop of Joy
Q3: Rage on the Page

Monthly Challenges
January: Let's Get Cozy
February: Racing Through Time
March: Reading Picnic
April: Book Scrabble
May: Mothers & Others
June: Sisterhood of the Traveling Books
July: How Are You Getting There?
August: Here Comes the Sun
September: Down the Rabbit Hole
October Game: Spooky Word Search
October: Very Superstitious
November: Fur, Fins, and Feathers

Personal Challenges
To Boldly Go (Ongoing)

Previous Member Corners (view spoiler)[
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018 (hide spoiler)]

Book List
(view spoiler)[
January
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey
The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers
The Pursuit by R.L. Toalson
Wormwood, Gentleman Corpse Omnibus by Ben Templesmith
The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip G. Zimbardo
Innate Magic by Shannon Fay
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

February
When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer
The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker
A Girl Called Eel by Ali Zamir
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Dreamsongs, Volume I by George R.R. Martin
A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson
The Tiger Came to the Mountains by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

March
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
Poison in the Pastries by Susan Harper
Carrots by Colleen Helme
Gaslight by Femi Kayode
Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler
Appleseed by Matt Bell

April
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from C. S. Lewis by C.S. Lewis
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
Rabbits by Terry Miles
Churchill: A Biography by Roy Jenkins
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
Euphoria by Lily King
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan
On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu
The Garden by Tomi Adeyemi

May
Wayward by Blake Crouch
Star Mother by Charlie N. Holmberg
Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson
The Widow by Fiona Barton
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
The Child by Fiona Barton
The Suspect by Fiona Barton
#Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil
The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky

June
Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia by Orlando Figes
All Ears by Stuart Gibbs
The Life She Was Given by Ellen Marie Wiseman
The Will of the Many by James Islington
Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris
The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett (hide spoiler)]

Book List Part 2

July
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
The Approach by Jeremy Haun
Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas
Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945
Cursed by Thomas Wheeler
Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

August
The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose
Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Living Fearless: Exchanging the Lies of the World for the Liberating Truth of God
A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair
Last Dance Before Dawn by Katharine Schellman
Tales of Mystery and Madness by Edgar Allan Poe
Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon

September
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
The Complete Poetry of John Donne by John Donne
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
The Warehouse by Rob Hart
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie
Invisible Country by Annamaria Alfieri

October
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
The Late-Night Witches by Auralee Wallace
Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl González
Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz
We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Batman, Vol. 4: The Cowardly Lot by James Tynion IV

November
The Sun and Other Stars by Brigid Pasulka
The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Toll by Neal Shusterman
The Turnout by Megan Abbott
Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
Batman, Vol. 5: Fear State by James Tynion IV
Batman, Vol. 6: Abyss by Joshua Williamson
Batman: Gates of Gotham by Scott Snyder
Batman/Spawn Trilogy by Frank Miller Todd McFarlane
Intoxicated with Babylon: The Seduction of God's People in the Last Days by Steve Gallagher
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
Feather by Olivia Wildenstein
Batman: Curse of the White Knight by Sean Gordon Murphy
Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz

December
Cursed by Marie O'Regan
Gleanings by Neal Shusterman
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn by Katana Collins
White Oleander by Janet Fitch

Working on:
The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan

Popsugar

Message 24

50/50 (view spoiler)[

1. A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb
2. A book you want to read based on the last sentence
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout (view spoiler)[Bow before your new Queen." (hide spoiler)]
3. A book about space tourism
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
4. A book with two or more books on the cover or "book" in the title
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
5. A book with a snake on the cover or in the title
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
6. A book that fills your favorite prompt from the 2015 PS Reading Challenge
The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers Book by a female author
7. A book about a cult
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
8. A book under 250 pages
The Pursuit by R.L. Toalson
9. A book that features a character going through menopause
The Child by Fiona Barton
10. A book you got for free
The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins
11. A book mentioned in another book
The Stranger by Albert Camus (Mentioned in Upgrade)
12. A book about a road trip
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
13. A book rated less than three stars on Goodreads
The Garden by Tomi Adeyemi
14. A book about a nontraditional education
The Will of the Many by James Islington
15. A book that an AI chatbot recommends based on your favorite book
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (Name of the Wind)
16. A book set in or around a body of water
A Girl Called Eel by Ali Zamir
17. A book about a run club
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption (Olympic runner)
18. A book containing magical creatures that aren't dragons
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
19. A highly anticipated read of 2025
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
20. A book that fills a 2024 prompt you'd like to do over (or try out)
When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer (Magical Realism)
21. A book where the main character is a politician
Churchill: A Biography by Roy Jenkins
22. A book about soccer
The Sun and Other Stars by Brigid Pasulka
23. A book that is considered healing fiction
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
24. A book with a happily single woman protagonist
Weyward by Emilia Hart (Violet)
25. A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee
On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu
26. A book where an adult character changes careers
The Life She Was Given by Ellen Marie Wiseman
27. A book set at a luxury resort
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
28. A book that features an unlikely friendship
Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer
29. A book about a food truck
Poison in the Pastries by Susan Harper
30. A book that reminds you of your childhood
Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey
31. A book where music plays an integral part of the storyline
Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon
32. A book about an overlooked woman in history
An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/zoo/co...
33. A book featuring an activity on your bucket list
All Ears by Stuart Gibbs (Elephant Sanctuary)
34. A book written by an author who is neurodivergent
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
35. A book centering LGBTQ+ characters that isn't about coming out
Innate Magic by Shannon Fay
36. A book with silver on the cover or in the title
Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer
37. Two books with the same title (1)
Cursed by Thomas Wheeler
38. Two books with the same title (2)
Cursed by Marie O'Regan
39. A classic you've never read
The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky
40. A book about chosen family
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
41. A book by the oldest author in your TBR pile
Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
42. A book with a title that starts with the letter Y
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
43. A book that includes a nonverbal character
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
44. A book you have always avoided reading
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
45. A book with a left-handed character
Appleseed by Matt Bell (also 49)
46. A book where nature is the antagonist
Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
47. A book of interconnected short stories
Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
48. A book that features a married couple who don't live together
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
49. A dystopian book with a happy ending
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
50. A book that features a character with chronic pain
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (hide spoiler)]

TBR Jar

Message 28

32/32 (view spoiler)[

Prompts
1. Read the book that has been on your TBR list the longest.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
2. Read a book you added to your TBR within the last year
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout
3. Read the book with the most pages on your TBR or one that is over 500 pages.
Churchill: A Biography
4. Read the book with the least number of pages on your TBR or one that is under 100 pages.
The Tiger Came to the Mountains by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
5. Read the earliest published book on your TBR
The Complete Poetry of John Donne
6. Read the most recently published book that’s available on your TBR
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
7. Read a book with the highest average rating on your TBR, or over 3.8
The Will of the Many by James Islington
8. Read a book with the lowest average rating on your TBR, or under 3.0
The Garden by Tomi Adeyemi
9. Read the book with the most number of ratings (i.e., not the actual average rating, but the number of people who have rated it).
The Last Thing He Told Me
10. Read the book with the least number of ratings.
The Pursuit by R.L. Toalson
11. Sort your TBR by title. Read a book from the first page
#Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil
12. Sort your TBR by title. Read a book from the last page
The Years of Rice and Salt
13. Sort your TBR by cover. Read the first or last book.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
14. Sort your TBR by author. Read a book from the first page.
The Turnout by Megan Abbott
15. Sort your TBR by author. Read a book from the last page.
The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip G. Zimbardo
16. Randomize your TBR and read the first book.
When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer

Randomizer
1. Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey
2. Dreamsongs, Volume I
3. Upgrade
4. Innate Magic
5. The Warehouse
6. A Street Cat Named Bob: How One Man and His Cat Found Hope on the Streets
7. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
8. Cursed
9. Feather
10. Hex
11. Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945
12. Shadow of the Fox
13. Tales of Mystery and Madness
14. The Midnight Feast
15. The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia
16. Wormwood, Gentleman Corpse Omnibus (hide spoiler)]

20 Questions

Message 12

12/12 (view spoiler)[

Animal
✔Clue 1: Set in Africa
- The Stranger
✔Clue 2: Gray
- The Gray House
✔Clue 3: Big (book-length)
- Churchill: A Biography
✔Answer: (view spoiler)[Elephant - An Elephant in the Garden (hide spoiler)]

Animal
✔Clue 1: Eats (but not really)
Carrots by Colleen Helme
✔Clue 2: Ears
All Ears by Stuart Gibbs
✔Clue 3: Easter
Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from C. S. Lewis by C.S. Lewis
✔Answer: (view spoiler)[Rabbits (hide spoiler)]

Performing Artist
✔Clue 1: "Pink" Cover
Cascade Failure
✔Clue 2: Music
Symphony of Secrets
✔Clue 3: Person's last name
The Widow from the Kate Waters series
✔Answer: (view spoiler)[Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

I Spy

Message 24

36/36 - (view spoiler)[

1. In your heart - happy, love, shame
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
2. In the color wheel - crimson, green, sunshine
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
3. In the living room - sofa, television, laptop
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
4. In autumn - leaf, pumpkin, Halloween
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
5. In a cave - crystal, bat, spider
A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair
6. Of the body - arm, heart, eye
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout
7. At the amusement park - rollercoaster, balloons, clown
The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers
8. On the table - napkin, hamburger, lamp
Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey
9. On the farm - hay, tractor, sheep
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
10. In the church - angel, pew, candle
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
11. In communication - phone, typewriter, letter
Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger
12. In the toy box - jacks, blocks, stuffed animal
The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip G. Zimbardo (puzzle pieces)
13. On the beach - sea, umbrella, towel
On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu
14. In the library - book, video game, record
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
15. In celebration - balloons, fireworks, cake
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
16. At the zoo - bear, snake, elephant
An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo
17. In the garden - vine, rose, tree
Carrots by Colleen Helme
18. In a glass - wine, milk, water
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
19. At the ballpark - ball, hot dog, hat
The Stranger by Albert Camus
20. In the castle - throne, princess, crown
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
21. In the hospital - doctor, needle, patient
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
22. In fiction - dragon, satyr, fairy
Fairy Tale
23. In your free time - puzzle, sewing machine, stamps
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
24. In school - book, locker, pencil
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
25. At the museum - art, statue, dinosaur
Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
26. In the closet - jacket, scarf, vacuum
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
27. At the police station - detective, case, cell
The Suspect by Fiona Barton
28. In the family - brother, dad, aunt
Star Mother by Charlie N. Holmberg
29. In the city - people, street light, school
The Warehouse by Rob Hart
30. In time - hour, year, later
When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer
31. Under the sea - fish, seaweed, coral
A Girl Called Eel by Ali Zamir
32. In the sky - bird, kite, cloud
Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan
33. In the armory - gun, sword, helmet
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
34. In space - star, asteroid, alien
Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer
35. In the world - Canada, Asia, Atlanta
The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue
36. In music - cello, notes, melody
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb (hide spoiler)]

A-Z: Women Authors

Message 36

26/26

A: A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson
B: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
C: The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers
D: The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
E: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
F: Innate Magic by Shannon Fay
G: #Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil
H: The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
I: Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
J: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout
K: Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer
L: The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
M: When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer
N: The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker
O: Feather by Olivia Wildenstein
P: The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins
Q: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
R: Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
S: Poison in the Pastries by Susan Harper
T: The Pursuit by R.L. Toalson
U: Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger
V: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
W: Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler
X: Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl González
Y: Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Z: Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris

Wheel of Feels

Message 18

30/30 -

🔠 Emotional Spelling - Choose an emotion from the wheel, and spell it out using the first main word of your book titles (omitting articles such as a, an, or the).

8/8

S: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
E: An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo
R: Rabbits by Terry Miles
E: Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
N: The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
I: Innate Magic by Shannon Fay
T: This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Y: The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

🔎 Emotional Titles - Find up to 32 named emotions from the wheel in the titles of your books.

6/6

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
Euphoria by Lily King
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
Batman, Vol. 4: The Cowardly Lot by James Tynion IV
Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado


🌈 Emotional Colors - Read books whose cover colors match the emotions on the wheel.

16/16

🟡
🟢 (light)
🟩(dark)
🔵
🟣
💟 (pink)
🔴
🟠
🟠🟡
🟡🟢 (light)
🟢 (light)🟩(dark)
🟩(dark)🔵
🔵🟣
🟣🩷
🩷 🔴
🔴🟠

Opposites Attract

Message 8

12/12 (view spoiler)[

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 (hide spoiler)]

Bookworms Take Shelfies

Message 36

38/40 -

Christian
1. Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from C. S. Lewis by C.S. Lewis
2. Living Fearless: Exchanging the Lies of the World for the Liberating Truth of God
3. Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion
4. Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado
5. Intoxicated with Babylon: The Seduction of God's People in the Last Days by Steve Gallagher

Graphic Novels
1. Wormwood, Gentleman Corpse Omnibus by Ben Templesmith
2. The Approach by Jeremy Haun
3. Tales of Mystery and Madness by Edgar Allan Poe
4. Batman, Vol. 4: The Cowardly Lot by James Tynion IV
5. Batman, Vol. 5: Fear State by James Tynion IV
6. Batman, Vol. 6: Abyss by Joshua Williamson
7. Batman: Gates of Gotham by Scott Snyder
8. Batman/Spawn Trilogy by Frank Miller Todd McFarlane
9. Batman: Curse of the White Knight by Sean Gordon Murphy
10. Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn by Katana Collins
11.
12.

Fantasy
1. A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout
2. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
3. The Pursuit by R.L. Toalson
4. Innate Magic by Shannon Fay
5. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
6. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
7. Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer
8. Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
9. Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan
10. Star Mother by Charlie N. Holmberg
11. Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer
12. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
13. The Will of the Many by James Islington
14. Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
15. Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
16. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
17. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
18. Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
19. Scythe by Neal Shusterman
20. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
21. Fairy Tale by Stephen King
22. Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
23. The Toll by Neal Shusterman

Magical Mystery Tour

Message 18

30/30 -

Who: 5/7
1. Music (singer, drummer, etc.)
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb
2. Driving (courier, taxi driver, etc.)
3. Food service (chef, barista, etc.)
Poison in the Pastries by Susan Harper
4. Healthcare (psychiatrist, midwife, etc.)
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
5. Games (athlete, game programmer, etc.)
6. Books (editor, librarian, etc.)
Marble Hall Murders
7. Events (wedding planner, photographer, etc.)
The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose

What: 6/7
1. A middle grade or young adult sleuth
All Ears by Stuart Gibbs
2. An emotion in the title
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
3. A time in the title
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley (who3, where5)
4. A color in the title
The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins (or Island)
5. An animal companion or narrator
6. A food on the cover
Carrots by Colleen Helme
7. A mostly white cover
The Widow by Fiona Barton

When: 6/7
1. In the 1920s
Last Dance Before Dawn by Katharine Schellman
2. In the last 25 years
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
3. Around a holiday
The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose
4. During a vacation
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
5. In your birth month
6. Between dusk and dawn
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
7. In summer
We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

Where: 5/7
1. At an orchard or farm
2. On an island
A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz
3. In a capital city
The Suspect by Fiona Barton - Bangkok (would also work for vacation)
4. At a restaurant or bar
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
5. At a hotel or lodge
A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson
6. At a park or campground
7. In someone’s home
Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz

How: 5/7
1. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (view spoiler)[Dappleglass (copse of trees to the chest) (hide spoiler)]
2. Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris (view spoiler)[Drowning (hide spoiler)]
3. The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz (view spoiler)[Bottle to the head (hide spoiler)]
4. Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby (view spoiler)[shot (hide spoiler)]
5. The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz (view spoiler)[stabbed (hide spoiler)]
6.
7.

Why: 6/7
1. A favorite mystery author or series
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
2. A favorite mystery subgenre
Magical realism: The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers
3. On a Goodreads listopia (Which one?)
Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson Recommended by Reading Challengers
4. Won a literary prize for crime fiction (Which one?)
Murder in G Major (Lefty Award)
5. A challenged or banned crime book
6. A cold case (among your TBRs for over a year)
The Child by Fiona Barton
7. Average Goodreads rating of 4 stars or above
Gaslight by Femi Kayode

Bonus Cases: 0/8
1. Africa
2. Asia
3. Europe
4. Oceania
5. Caribbean
6. North America
7. Central America
8. South America
Invisible Country by Annamaria Alfieri

Shelf Awareness

Message 16

12/12 -

January & February
Focus your reading on African authors and/ or settings.
📗1. The Stranger (Algeria)
📗2. A Girl Called Eel (Comoros)

March & April
Focus your reading on Oceanian authors and/ or settings.
📗1. Euphoria by Lily King (PNG)
📗2. On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu (Nauru)

May & June
Focus your reading on Asian authors and/ or settings.
📗1. The Suspect by Fiona Barton (Thailand)
📗2. Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris (Saudi Arabia)

July & August
Focus your reading on European authors and/ or settings.
📗1. The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue (France)
📗2. Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945 (Russia)

September & October
Focus your reading on South American authors and/ or settings.
📗1. Invisible Country by Annamaria Alfieri (Paraguay)
📗2. We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz (Chile)

November & December
Focus your reading on North American authors and/ or settings.
📗1. The Toll by Neal Shusterman
📗2. The Turnout by Megan Abbott

Serial Reader

Message 22

30/30 -

read previously
✔ Read 2025

Alex Carter by Alice Henderson
✔A Solitude of Wolverines
A Blizzard of Polar Bears
A Ghost of Caribou
The Vanishing Kind

Alex Stern by Leigh Bardugo
Ninth House
Hell Bent
Book 3

Ambit's Run by L.M. Sagas
✔Cascade Failure
Gravity Lost

Angels of Elysium by Olivia Wildenstein
✔️Feather
Celestial
Starlight

Arc of the Scythe by Neal Shusterman
✔Scythe
✔Thunderhead
✔️The Toll

The Atlas by Olivie Blake
The Atlas Six
The Atlas Paradox
The Atlas Complex

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Tales from the Café
Before Your Memory Fades
✔Before We Say Goodbye
✔Before We Forget Kindness

Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
From Blood and Ash
✔A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
The ​Crown of Gilded Bones
The War of Two Queens
A Soul of Ash and Blood
The Primal of Blood and Bone

Cadfael by Ellis Peters
A Morbid Taste for Bones
One Corpse Too Many
Monk's Hood
Saint Peter's Fair
The Leper of Saint Giles
The Virgin in the Ice
The Sanctuary Sparrow
The Devil's Novice
Dead Man's Ransom
The Pilgrim of Hate
An Excellent Mystery
The Raven in the Foregate
The Rose Rent
The Hermit of Eyton Forest
The Confession of Brother Haluin
The Heretic's Apprentice
The Potter's Field
The Summer of the Danes
The Holy Thief
Brother Cadfael's Penance

The Celestial Kingdom by Sue Lynn Tan
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
✔ Heart of the Sun Warrior

Crowns of Nyaxia by Carissa Broadbent
✔️The Serpent and the Wings of Night
The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King
The Songbird & the Heart of Stone
The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk
The Lion and the Deathless Dark

Emily Wilde by Heather Fawcett
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands
✔Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales

The Empyrean by Rebecca Yarros
Fourth Wing
Iron Flame
✔Onyx Storm

Fairendale by R.L. Toalson
The Secret
✔The Pursuit
The Crossing
The Dragons
The Aftermath
The Separation
The Boy Who Spun Gold
The Boy Who Robbed the Rich

Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente
✔ The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland
The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home

Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer
✔Forging Silver into Stars
✔Carving Shadows into Gold
Sparking Fire Out of Fate 2026

Funjungle by Stuart Gibbs
Bear Bottom
Whale Done
✔All Ears

Gethsemane Brown by Alexia Gordon
✔Murder in G Major
Death in D Minor
Killing in C Sharp
Fatality in F
Execution in E

Hawthorne & Horowitz by Anthony Horowitz
The Word is Murder
✔The Sentence is Death
✔️A Line to Kill
✔️The Twist of a Knife
✔️Close to Death

Hierarchy by James Islington
✔The Will of the Many
The Strength of the Few 11/11/25

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
✔Sunrise on the Reaping

Infinite Worlds by J.T. Wright
The Land of the Undying Lord
A Bond Broken
Moonlight Banishes Shadows
Brambles and Thorns

Kate Waters by Fiona Barton
✔ The Widow
✔The Child
✔The Suspect

Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
The Name of the Wind
The Wise Man's Fear
The Slow Regard of Silent Things
The Narrow Road Between Desires

Gentleman Bastard by Scott Lynch
The Lies of Locke Lamora
✔Red Seas Under Red Skies
The Republic of Thieves
The Thorn of Emberlain

Marrowbone Spells by Shannon Fay
✔Innate Magic
External Forces

Molly the Maid by Nita Prose
The Maid
The Mystery Guest
✔The Mistletoe Mystery
✔The Maid's Secret

Nightingale Mysteries by Katharine Schellman
Last Call at the Nightingale
The Last Drop of Hemlock
The Last Note of Warning
✔Last Dance Before Dawn: A Mystery

Philip Taiwo by Femi Kayode
Lightseekers
✔Gaslight

Rabbits by Terry Miles
✔Rabbits
The Quiet Room

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Red Rising
Golden Son

Shadow of the Leviathan by Robert Jackson Bennett
✔The Tainted Cup
✔️A Drop of Corruption

Shelby Nichols by Colleen Helme
✔Carrots by Colleen Helme

Shepherd King by Rachel Gillig
✔One Dark Window
✔️Two Twisted Crowns

Sisters of the Salt by Erin A. Craig
✔House of Salt and Sorrows
House of Roots and Ruin

Star Mother by Charlie N. Holmberg
✔Star Mother
Star Father

Susan Ryeland by Anthony Horowitz
Magpie Murders
Moonflower Murders
✔Marble Hall Murders 3/13/25

Timeless by Gabrielle Meyer
✔When the Day Comes
In This Moment
For a Lifetime
Across the Ages
Every Hour Until Then

Wayward Pines by Blake Crouch
Pines
✔Wayward
The Last Town

Options...
(view spoiler)[

The Cat Who... by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern

Disney Villains by Serena Valentino
Fairest of All
The Beast Within
Poor Unfortunate Soul
Mistress of All Evil
Mother Knows Best
The Odd Sisters
Evil Thing
Cold Hearted
Never, Never
Fire & Fate
Kill the Beast 7/2024

The Carls by Hank Green
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

Matthew Corbett by Robert McCammon
Speaks the Nightbird
The Queen of Bedlam
Mister Slaughter
The Providence Rider
The River of Souls
Freedom of the Mask
Cardinal Black
The King of Shadows

Ouroboros Cycle by G.D. Falksen
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book One: A Monster's Coming of Age Story
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book Two: A Cautionary Tale for Young Vampires
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book Three: A Long-Awaited Treachery
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book Four: A Sojourn in Bohemia
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book 5: House of the Far Earth

Tempting Monsters by Kathryn Moon
A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor
The Company of Fiends
Sanctuary with Kings 6/20/23

Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Storm Front
Fool Moon
Grave Peril
Summer Knight
Death Masks
Blood Rites
Dead Beat
Proven Guilty
White Night
Small Favor
Turn Coat
Changes
Ghost Story
Cold Days
Skin Game
Peace Talks
Battle Ground
Twelve Months
Mirror Mirror (hide spoiler)]

Q1: Embracing the Blues
Duration: January 1, 2025 - March 31, 2025

Choose books with blue covers, titles containing sadness-related words, or ones that evoke powerful emotions. You can even spell out sadness synonyms using book titles!

Message 9

13/9
(view spoiler)[

(hide spoiler)]

January: LET'S GET COZY
Duration: January 1 - January 31, 2025

Message 36

(view spoiler)[

8/8

1. Cozy Books: These sub-genres embody a sense of warmth, comfort and relaxation.
Read a book from the Cozy Mystery, Cozy Fantasy, or Cozy Horror bookshelf.
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

2. Cozy Arrangement: A secret or informal agreement, often implying a sense of mutual benefit.
Read a book involving a secret arrangement, or with the word "secret" in the title.
The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers

3. Tea Cozy: A knit or cloth covering for a teapot used to keep the water inside warm.
Read a book with a tea cup or tea pot on the cover, or where characters serve or consume tea.
Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey

4. Cozy Fireplace: A crackling fire provides warmth and comfort, and is associated with relaxation and intimacy.
Read a book with fire on the cover or in the title, or a self-help book.
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout

5. Cozy Up: To snuggle up to someone, implying physical comfort and closeness.
Read a book where people are physically close to one another, including, but not limited to, a romance.
The Stranger by Albert Camus (in the first half at least)

6. Cozy Winter Scene: A depiction of a serene winter environment, often featuring snow-covered landscapes.
Read a featuring a snowy image on the cover, or set in a cold place.
An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo

7. Cozy Cabin: A rustic and intimate space, often featuring natural materials and warm lighting.
Read a book set at a cabin or lodge in the wilderness, or with natural materials (pine cones, feathers, etc.) in the cover art.
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

8. Cozy Evening: A enjoyable evening spent in a comfortable setting, often featuring activities like reading or chatting.
Read a book where one or more people enjoy leisure time at home with books, games, movies, etc., or a book with leisure activity items on the cover.
(hide spoiler)]

February: RACING THROUGH TIME
Duration: February 1 - February 28, 2025

Message 14
(view spoiler)[
5/5

⏳When the Day Comes
⏳The Blue Hour
⏳The Year of the Witching
⏳The Midnight Feast
⏳The First Day of Spring (hide spoiler)]

March: READING PICNIC
Duration: March 1 - March 31, 2025

Message 8

5/5
(view spoiler)[

🍚The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
🥕Carrots by Colleen Helme
🥐Poison in the Pastries by Susan Harper
🍎Appleseed by Matt Bell
🧂House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig (hide spoiler)]

12 Recommendations

1. Night Film
2. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
3. A Solitude of Wolverines
4. White Oleander
5. Fairy Tale
6. Spellbook of the Lost and Found
7. Dead Silence
8. Intoxicated with Babylon: The Seduction of God's People in the Last Days
9. The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
10. Carrots by Colleen Helme
11. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
12. Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas

Q2: A POP OF JOY
Duration: April 1 - June 30, 2025

Message 14

11/11 (view spoiler)[

Spark Joy - A popular decluttering and organizing book written by Marie Kondō.
- Read a book that has been on your TBR for over 2 years
Rabbits by Terry Miles
- Read a self-help book

Joy - The embodiment of the first emotion created in the Disney/Pixar's movie Inside Out.
- Read a book with 'yellow' in the title or with a yellow cover
Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan
- Read the first book in a series

Ode to Joy - In 1824, Ludwig van Beethoven used Friedrich Schiller's 1785 poem in his Symphony No. 9.
- Read a book first published in 18th or 19th centuries
The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky (either)
- Read a translated book originally written by a European author

Joy of Cooking - First published in 1931, over 20 million copies are in print.
- Read a book that has been on a 'bestseller' list
- Read a book about food and food culture, or where the main character works in a food-related industry
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay (a stretch, but the murder happens in an ice cream shop)

Joy to the World - While not initially associated with Christmas, this hymn is now the most published Christmas carol in North America.
- Read a book that you have been gifted, or have gifted, in a holiday or gift exchange
- Read a book by an author from a different religion or belief system (or lack thereof) than yours
Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris

Tears of Joy 😂 - Widespread in digital communication, this emoji conveys the feeling of laughing so hard that tears are shed.
- Read a graphic novel or a book from the humor and comedy genres
- Read a book that includes new technology or a science fiction book
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

The Joy Luck Club - A popular novel by Amy Tan that explores relationships between four Chinese immigrant mothers, their daughters, and families.
- Read a book about immigrants or immigration
On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu
- Read a book that has been adapted for film, television, or the stage

Joy Ride - A ride taken for pleasure, often involving reckless driving in a stolen vehicle.
- Read a thriller, or a book where the main character goes on an adventure
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
- Read a book with less than 120 pages, so you can zip through it

Joy by Jean Patou - An expensive, luxury perfume introduced in 1930, and voted Scent of the Century in 2000.
- Read a book where one of the main character is wealthy, or pretends to be
- Read an award winning book (any award of your choice!)
Euphoria by Lily King (Audie)

Nurse Joy - A patient and caring recurring character from the Pokémon series.
- Read a book about healthcare or medicine, or about a character who works in these fields
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
- Read a book written by an East Asian woman

Joy of Missing Out - JOMO embraces finding joy and contentment, focusing on what you want to do, rather than what you feel pressured to do.
- Read a book with less than 500 reviews on Goodreads
All Ears by Stuart Gibbs
- Re-read and re-visit a book that you love (hide spoiler)]

April: BOOK SCRABBLE

Message 14
(view spoiler)[

8/8

🔴R: Rabbits
🔴E: Euphoria
🔴D: Dead Silence

🔴R: The Frozen River
🔴O: On Fragile Waves
🔴V: The Other Valley
🔴E: From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
🔴R: Sunrise on the Reaping (hide spoiler)]

May: MOTHERS & OTHERS

1. Find Mother's Day gifts in the cover art of your May reads.
2. Write a note or poem for your mother using book titles. Extra words are acceptable where needed.

Message 23

7/7
(view spoiler)[

🌷Mother May I thank you for being a 🌷Star Mother from when I was 🌷The Child, to a 🌷Wayward 🌷The Adolescent, to a grieving 🌷The Widow, and now with my own 🌷Meddling Kids. (hide spoiler)]

June: SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING BOOKS

Message 28
(view spoiler)[

4/4

About Sisters: Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer

1. Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
2. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
3. The Will of the Many by James Islington (hide spoiler)]

Extra

Quarter 3: RAGE ON THE PAGE
Duration: July 1 - September 30, 2025

Message 22

15/15 (view spoiler)[

The Fury by Alex Michaelides
(hide spoiler)]

July: HOW ARE YOU GETTING THERE?
Duration: July 1 - July 31, 2025

Message 20

7/5 (view spoiler)[

🚂The Paris Express
🚢Red Seas Under Red Skies
⛵ The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
🛫The Approach
🚂Confessions on the 7:45
🚶‍♂️A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
🚀Cascade Failure (hide spoiler)]

August

HERE COMES THE SUN
Duration: August 1 – August 31, 2025

(view spoiler)[
This August let’s bloom where we’re planted. This challenge invites you to explore books that feel like sunshine, encourage growth, or simply make you happy. Whether it’s a story that warms your soul, a character who grows against all odds, or a plot that just makes you smile—if it feels like summer and sunshine, it belongs here. Want to judge a book by its happy cover? Read any book featuring a yellow cover, sunflower, or yellow flowers—those count too!🌻

5/5

🌻The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
🌻The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose
🌻A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen
🌻Living Fearless: Exchanging the Lies of the World for the Liberating Truth of God
🌻Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (hide spoiler)]

September: DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Duration: September 1 - September 30, 2025

Message 29

10/10 (view spoiler)[

🐇 A book that starts a series or sends you on a journey
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
🌹 A book with red on the cover or in the title
The Sentence is Death
🍔A book where characters gather, dine, or drink
Before We Forget Kindness
🔍 A book that’s a mystery or made you say “what is going on?!”
Night Film
🐛 A book with a wise, strange, or philosophical character
Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion
👭 A book with a mirror, reflection, or doppelgänger theme
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
👑 A book featuring royalty, powerful leaders, or fierce femmes
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
🎩 A book you chose for no logical reason at all
The Warehouse by Rob Hart
📖 A book that’s fantasy, surreal, or speculative fiction
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
⏱️ A book that’s been on your TBR for far too long
We Need to Talk About Kevin (hide spoiler)]

October Game: SPOOKY WORD SEARCH

Message 10
(view spoiler)[
• Ghost: Thunderhead pg. 153 "So then am I in the presence of a ghost?"
• Witch: The Late-Night Witches Ch. 44 (and a million other places) "Admit that you want to go; that you like being a witch."
• Vampire: The Late-Night Witches Ch. 5 "Once upon a time there was a hideous vampire."
• Zombie: The Late-Night Witches Ch. 4 "Your cheating boyfriend was attacked by a drug-dealing zombie?"
• Werewolf: The Late-Night Witches Ch. 44 "I'm sorry I must have misheard you. Did you say werewolves?"
• Skeleton: Thunderhead pg. 42 "A skeleton crew staffed the twenty-four-hour food concessions and recharging stations."
• Monster: Thunderhead pg. 213 "I would be the very monster that mortal man feared..."
• Demon: Thunderhead pg. 240 "...her appetite returning with the freeing of her demons."
• Curse: Thunderhead pg. 226 "Rowan tried to curse at him."
• Coffin: Fairy Tale pg 150 "... a howl as the coffin was lowered into the ground."
• Tomb: Thunderhead pg. 452 "... taken from the Tomb of Rameses II..."
• Spirit: Thunderhead pg 9 "Brahms felt his spirit crumble."
• Shadow: Thunderhead pg 49 "I guess whoever holds the torch casts the darkest shadow."
• Creepy: Fairy Tale pg. 59 "Is it creepy inside?"
• Haunted: Thunderhead pg. 44 "Every mansion was a haunted one."
• Possessed: Fairy Tale pg. 553 "It was clear what he couldn't do: stop the part of him that had been possessed by the thing below."
• Spell: Thunderhead pg. 355 "... any of them who had been caught by Goddard's spell..."
• Potion: The Late-Night Witches ch 20 "I'll make a potion to help it fire true."
• Scream: Thunderhead pg 301 "If I had a mouth, I might open it to scream."
• Blood: Thunderhead pg. 226 "His blood is getting all over my white carpet!"
• Web: Thunderhead pg 401 "The scythedom's seat of power was a web of bureaucracy"
• Bat: Thunderhead pg. 150 "A fluttering bat in the eaves above could sound like a dragon taking wing."
• Black Cat
• Cauldron: The Late-Night Witches ch 18 "She probably video-chatted through the steam of her cauldron."
• Graveyard: Thunderhead pg 148 "While on her graveyard shift, she'd be lucky if one or two people showed up." (hide spoiler)]

October: VERY SUPERSTITIOUS
Duration: October 1 - October 31, 2025

Message 16

10/10 (view spoiler)[

1. (Un)Lucky Numbers: Read a book with 3, 4, 7, 8, or 13 in its title or series number. Each of these numbers is considered lucky in one culture while unlucky in another.
A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz (series #)
2. Don't Walk Under a Ladder: Read a book in which someone purposefully walks, hikes, or climbs.
We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz
3. Find a Four-Leaf Clover: Read a book set in Ireland or a book with a green cover.
Weyward by Emilia Hart
4. Find a Horseshoe: Read a book that includes horses, or a book with a door on the cover.
Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl González (door on cover... possibly a window, but I thought it was a door when I looked at it so I'm counting it)
5. Have a Lucky Wedding: Read a book featuring something old, something new, something borrowed, or something blue.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King - borrowed from the library and blue cover
6. Don't Break the Mirror: Read a book where a mirror is used as a plot device, or with something broken on the cover.
Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
7. Knock on Wood: Read a book with a tree on the cover, or a book including a carpenter or builder.
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
8. Don't Let a Black Cat Cross Your Path: Read a book with a cat on the cover, or involving witchcraft.
The Late-Night Witches by Auralee Wallace - both!
9. Lucky Penny: Read a book about making money, or with a unit of currency in the title.
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
10. Don't Spill the Salt: Read a book featuring a cook, or with the letters S-A-L-T in the title.
Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

BONUS: Don't Swim After You Eat: After reading all 10 regular prompts, read a book about swimming or one that is set on the water. (hide spoiler)]

November: Fur, Fins, and Feathers
Duration: November 1, 2025 - November 30, 2025

Message 20

3/3

S: The Sun and Other Stars by Brigid Pasulka
I: Intoxicated with Babylon: The Seduction of God's People in the Last Days by Steve Gallagher
F: Feather by Olivia Wildenstein

December: Shades of White

Message 12

4/5

Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn
White Oleander by Janet Fitch

Serial Reader 2026

read previously
✔️ Read 2026

Alex Carter by Alice Henderson
A Solitude of Wolverines
A Blizzard of Polar Bears
A Ghost of Caribou
The Vanishing Kind

Alex Stern by Leigh Bardugo
Ninth House
Hell Bent
Dead Beat Sept 2026

Ambit's Run by L.M. Sagas
Cascade Failure
Gravity Lost

Angels of Elysium by Olivia Wildenstein
Feather
Celestial
Starlight

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Tales from the Café
Before Your Memory Fades
Before We Say Goodbye
Before We Forget Kindness
Before I Knew I Loved You 5/21/26

Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
From Blood and Ash
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
The ​Crown of Gilded Bones
The War of Two Queens
A Soul of Ash and Blood
The Primal of Blood and Bone

Cadfael by Ellis Peters
A Morbid Taste for Bones
One Corpse Too Many
Monk's Hood
Saint Peter's Fair
The Leper of Saint Giles
The Virgin in the Ice
The Sanctuary Sparrow
The Devil's Novice
Dead Man's Ransom
The Pilgrim of Hate
An Excellent Mystery
The Raven in the Foregate
The Rose Rent
The Hermit of Eyton Forest
The Confession of Brother Haluin
The Heretic's Apprentice
The Potter's Field
The Summer of the Danes
The Holy Thief
Brother Cadfael's Penance

Cal Hooper by Tana French
The Searcher
The Hunter
The Keeper 3/31/26

Crowns of Nyaxia by Carissa Broadbent
The Serpent and the Wings of Night
The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King
The Songbird & the Heart of Stone
The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk
The Lion and the Deathless Dark

Fairendale by R.L. Toalson
The Secret
The Pursuit
The Crossing
The Dragons
The Aftermath
The Separation
The Boy Who Spun Gold
The Boy Who Robbed the Rich

Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer
Forging Silver into Stars
Carving Shadows into Gold
Sparking Fire Out of Fate 1/27/26

Gethsemane Brown by Alexia Gordon
Murder in G Major
Death in D Minor
Killing in C Sharp
Fatality in F
Execution in E

Hawthorne & Horowitz by Anthony Horowitz
The Word is Murder
The Sentence is Death
A Line to Kill
The Twist of a Knife
Close to Death
A Deadly Episode 4/28/26

Hierarchy by James Islington
The Will of the Many
The Strength of the Few

Infinite Worlds by J.T. Wright
The Land of the Undying Lord
A Bond Broken
Moonlight Banishes Shadows
Brambles and Thorns

Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
The Name of the Wind
The Wise Man's Fear
The Slow Regard of Silent Things
The Narrow Road Between Desires

Gentleman Bastard by Scott Lynch
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Red Seas Under Red Skies
The Republic of Thieves
The Thorn of Emberlain

Marrowbone Spells by Shannon Fay
Innate Magic
External Forces

Rabbits by Terry Miles
Rabbits
The Quiet Room

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Red Rising
Golden Son

Shadow of the Leviathan by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Tainted Cup
A Drop of Corruption
A Trade of Blood 6/9/26

Shelby Nichols by Colleen Helme
Carrots by Colleen Helme
Fast Money

Sisters of the Salt by Erin A. Craig
House of Salt and Sorrows
House of Roots and Ruin

Star Mother by Charlie N. Holmberg
Star Mother
Star Father

The Stonewater Kingdom by Rachel Gillig
The Knight and the Moth
The Knave and the Moon 9/1/26

Timeless by Gabrielle Meyer
When the Day Comes
In This Moment
For a Lifetime
Across the Ages
Every Hour Until Then
Through Each Tomorrow

Wayward Pines by Blake Crouch
Pines
Wayward
The Last Town

Options...
(view spoiler)[

The Atlas by Olivie Blake
The Atlas Six
The Atlas Paradox
The Atlas Complex

The Cat Who... by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern

Disney Villains by Serena Valentino
Fairest of All
The Beast Within
Poor Unfortunate Soul
Mistress of All Evil
Mother Knows Best
The Odd Sisters
Evil Thing
Cold Hearted
Never, Never
Fire & Fate
Kill the Beast 7/2024

The Carls by Hank Green
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

The Empyrean by Rebecca Yarros
Fourth Wing
Iron Flame
Onyx Storm
Book 4

Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland
The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home

Matthew Corbett by Robert McCammon
Speaks the Nightbird
The Queen of Bedlam
Mister Slaughter
The Providence Rider
The River of Souls
Freedom of the Mask
Cardinal Black
The King of Shadows

Ouroboros Cycle by G.D. Falksen
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book One: A Monster's Coming of Age Story
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book Two: A Cautionary Tale for Young Vampires
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book Three: A Long-Awaited Treachery
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book Four: A Sojourn in Bohemia
The Ouroboros Cycle, Book 5: House of the Far Earth

Tempting Monsters by Kathryn Moon
A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor
The Company of Fiends
Sanctuary with Kings 6/20/23

Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Storm Front
Fool Moon
Grave Peril
Summer Knight
Death Masks
Blood Rites
Dead Beat
Proven Guilty
White Night
Small Favor
Turn Coat
Changes
Ghost Story
Cold Days
Skin Game
Peace Talks
Battle Ground
Twelve Months
Mirror Mirror (hide spoiler)]

To Boldly Go
Personal Ongoing Challenge

Africa 13/54
(view spoiler)[
✔Algeria: The Stranger by Albert Camus
✔Angola: The Book of Chameleons
Benin
✔Botswana: Leaving Time
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde/Cape Verde
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
✔Comoros: A Girl Called Eel
✔Congo/Republic of the Congo: The Poisonwood Bible
✔Democratic Republic of the Congo: Heart of Darkness
Djibouti
✔Egypt: Ink and Bone
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia, The
✔Ghana: Transcendent Kingdom
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast/Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali: Masquerade (Sangoyomi)
Mauritania
✔Mauritius: Last Chance to See
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
✔Nigeria: Ikenga
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
✔South Africa: Empire of Ivory
✔South Sudan: The Good Braider
✔Sudan: Who Fears Death
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
(hide spoiler)]

Asia: 15/51
(view spoiler)[
✔Afghanistan: The Kite Runner
✔Armenia The Gray House
✔Azerbaijan: The Orphan Sky
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
British Indian Ocean Territory (UK territory)
Brunei
Cambodia
China
Georgia
Hong Kong (China - Special Administrative Region)
✔India: Siddhartha
✔Indonesia: The Night Ship
Iran
Iraq
✔Israel: The Book of Longings
✔Japan: Shōgun
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
✔Macau: Throne of Jade
✔Malaysia: The Night Tiger
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
North Korea
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
✔Philippines: When the Elephants Dance
Qatar
✔Saudi Arabia: Finding Nouf
Singapore
✔South Korea: The Hole
Sri Lanka
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
✔Thailand: The Suspect by Fiona Barton
Timor-Leste/East Timor
✔Turkey: Black Powder War
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
✔Vietnam: The Women
Yemen
(hide spoiler)]

Europe: 29/45
(view spoiler)[
Albania
Andorra
✔Austria: The Mysterious Stranger
✔Belarus: Gingerbread
✔Belgium: Slaughterhouse-Five
✔Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Cellist of Sarajevo
✔Bulgaria: The Historian
✔Croatia: Girl at War
Cyprus
Czech Republic
✔Denmark: Hamlet
Estonia
✔Finland: The Year of the Hare
✔France: Les Miserables
✔Germany: Night
✔Greece: Ariadne
✔Greenland: Migrations
✔Hungary: The Historian
✔Iceland: The Sea Road
✔Ireland: Faithful Place
✔Italy: Inferno
Kosovo
Latvia
Lichtenstein
✔Lithuania: The Boy in the Suitcase
Luxembourg
Malta
✔Moldova: The Power
Monaco
Montenegro
✔Netherlands: The Black Tulip
North Macedonia
✔Norway: The Golden Compass
✔Poland: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
Portugal
✔Romania: Dracula
✔Russia: The Bear and the Nightingale
San Marino
Serbia
✔Slovakia: The Tiger's Wife
Slovenia
✔Spain: The Cello Suites
✔Sweden: Anxious People
Switzerland
✔Ukraine: Death of a Nightingale
✔UK: The Pillars of the Earth
✔Vatican: Angels & Demons
(hide spoiler)]

North America: 7/24
(view spoiler)[
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
✔Canada: Station Eleven
Costa Rica
✔Cuba: The Old Man and the Sea
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
✔Haiti: The Serpent and the Rainbow: A Harvard Scientist's Astonishing Journey into the Secret Societies of Haitian Voodoo, Zombis, and Magic
Honduras
Jamaica
✔Mexico: Gods of Jade and Shadow
Nicaragua
Panama
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
✔Saint Martin: Gone Bamboo by Anthony Bourdain
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
✔Trinidad and Tobago: The Jumbies
✔United States of America: Deathless Divide
(hide spoiler)]

Oceania: 9/15
(view spoiler)[
✔Antarctica: Where'd You Go, Bernadette
✔Australia: Nine Perfect Strangers
Fiji
✔Kiribati: Headhunters on My Doorstep: A True Treasure Island Ghost Story by J. Maarten Troost
Marshall Islands
✔Micronesia (The Federated States of): The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
✔Nauru: On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu
✔New Zealand: A Madness of Sunshine
✔Palau: Vanished: The Sixty-Year Search for the Missing Men of World War II
✔Papua New Guinea: Euphoria
✔Samoa: Vā: Stories by Women of the Moana (also: Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, Guam, New Zealand)
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
(hide spoiler)]

South America: 7/12
(view spoiler)[
✔Argentina: Eartheater
✔Bolivia: Into the Jungle
✔Brazil: The Explorer
✔Chile: We Were Never Here
✔Colombia: One Hundred Years of Solitude
✔Ecuador: Wish You Were Here
Guyana
✔Paraguay: Invisible Country
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
(hide spoiler)]

US States 42/50
(view spoiler)[
Alabama- The Almost Sisters
Alaska- The Snow Child
Arizona- The Andromeda Strain
Arkansas
California- Malibu Rising
Colorado – No Exit
Connecticut- The Last Mrs. Parrish
Delaware
Florida- Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Georgia- Pretty Girls
Hawaii - Reckless Girls
Idaho - Pines
Illinois- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Indiana- Turtles All the Way Down
Iowa
Kansas- Bitter Harvest
Kentucky- The Giver of Stars
Louisiana- The Green Mile
Maine- 11/22/63
Maryland- The Shape of Water
Massachusetts- Practical Magic
Michigan- Middlesex
Minnesota- This Tender Land
Mississippi- A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty
Missouri- Gone Girl
Montana- Fools Crow
Nebraska- Eleanor & Park
Nevada
✔New Hampshire- Lone Wolf
New Jersey- The Woods
New Mexico
New York- A Day Like This
North Carolina- All the Missing Girls
North Dakota
Ohio- The Rust Maidens
Oklahoma- The Grapes of Wrath
Oregon- The Sisters Brothers
Pennsylvania- Long Bright River
Rhode Island
South Carolina- The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
South Dakota
Tennessee- Before We Were Yours
Texas- The Four Winds
Utah - The Fire and the Ore
Vermont- Small Spaces
Virginia- Gray Mountain
Washington- Midnight Sun
West Virginia- The Devil All the Time
Wisconsin- The Westing Game
✔Wyoming- Desert Places (hide spoiler)]