2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This is a STRETCH goal for me but I think I can do it. It's my first year fully out of graduate school and I'll be finishing some books at the beginning of the year. Best wishes to us all!

This year I'd like to push myself to read 75 books. It's going to take effort and more honestly, a willingness to read a mixture of books. Looking forward to it.

Challenges
1. 51-75 Book Reading Challenge
2. Popsugar Reading Challenge
3. I Spy Challenge
4. The Free Black Women's Library's Reading Challenge Check out their website! https://www.thefreeblackwomenslibrary...


Tops: Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics, The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family, An Unkindness of Ghosts, Bastard Out of Carolina, Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice
Of Note: Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics, The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family, An Unkindness of Ghosts, Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood, It's Not Hysteria: Everything You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Health, Love in a F*cked-Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up, and Raise Hell Together, Black, Queer, and Untold: A New Archive of Designers, Artists, and Trailblazers

51-75 Reading Challenge

Update Date: 11/25/2025
Progress: 66/75

1. The Cliffs
2. The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America
3.Intermezzo
4. Still Lives
5. Wandering Stars
6. The Rich People Have Gone Away
7. Song of Solomon
8. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
9. Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics
10. Like Happiness
11. Funny Boy: A Novel
12. James
13. Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love
14. Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age
15. The Margot Affair
16. The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family
17. Flight Behavior
18. Kingdom of No Tomorrow
19. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
20. Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
21. The One
22. Taiwan Travelogue
23. Tangleroot
24. Negative Money
25. T-Shirt Swim Club: Stories from Being Fat in a World of Thin People
26. The Marriage Act
27. The Gunrunner and Her Hound
28. Unaccustomed Earth
29. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
30. Yellowface
31. The Family Experiment
32. We Can Save Us All
33. This Book Is Gay
34. On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good
35. When the Reckoning Comes
36.Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood
37. It's Not Hysteria: Everything You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Health
38. An Unkindness of Ghosts
39. Natural Beauty
40. Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America
41.Anxiously Attached: Becoming More Secure in Life and Love
42. Tastes Like War
43. The Deep
44.The Priory of the Orange Tree
45. Monticello in Mind: Fifty Contemporary Poems on Jefferson
46. The Street
47. Orbital
48. Love in a F*cked-Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up, and Raise Hell Together
49. I Want You More
50. Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape
51. Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore
52. Model Home
53. A Piece of Mine: Stories
54. Black, Queer, and Untold: A New Archive of Designers, Artists, and Trailblazers
55. Allow Me to Introduce Myself
56. How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster
57. The Dream Hotel
58. Monstrilio
59. These Heathens
60. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
61. Rejection
62. Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity
63. Bastard Out of Carolina
64. Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice *
65. Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI*
66. History Lessons
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.

Popsugar Reading Challenge

Update Date: 11/6/2025
Progress: 18/40
Post: 43 380
Post Date 1/6/2025

In for 40 of 50, so I'm going to list them all. Looking forward to reading with you all


14/40

1. A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma
2. A book you want to read based on the last sentence
3. A book about space tourism
4. A book with two or more books on the cover or "book" in the title: This Book Is Gay
5. A book with a snake on the cover or in the title
6. A book that fills your favorite prompt from the 2015 PS Reading Challenge [A book that scares you]: The Dream Hotel
7. A book about a cult
8. A book under 250 pages: Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics This book was 121 pages and each one was meaningful. Highly recommend.
9. A book that features a character going through menopause
10. A book you got for free
11. A book mentioned in another book
12. A book about a road trip
13. A book rated less than three stars on Goodreads
14. A book about a nontraditional education: These Heathens Doris learns a lot through a weekend in Atlanta filled with parties, queerness, and organizing.
15. A book that an AI chatbot recommends based on your favorite book
16. A book set in or around a body of water: The Deep Set in and around the ocean.
17. A book about a run club
18. A book containing magical creatures that aren't dragons: The Priory of the Orange Tree There were a host of magical creatures, such as Aralaq the ichneumon! And wyrms and wyve
19. A highly anticipated read of 2025: Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
20. A book that fills a 2024 prompt you'd like to do over (or try out): The Cliffs This book fits one of last year's prompts, a book with at least three POVs, quite well - there are many stories that are weaved in and out of the novel.
21. A book where the main character is a politician
22. A book about soccer
23. A book that is considered healing fiction: Allow Me to Introduce Myself
24. A book with a happily single woman protagonist
25. A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee
26. A book where an adult character changes careers: Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore
27. A book set at a luxury resort
28. A book that features an unlikely friendship: Like Happiness
29. A book about a food truck
30. A book that reminds you of your childhood
31. A book where music plays an integral part of the storyline: Bastard Out of Carolina Music feels integral to BOne who is the heart of the story.
32. A book about an overlooked woman in history
33. A book featuring an activity on your bucket list
34. A book written by an author who is neurodivergent: An Unkindness of Ghosts Rivers Solomon is AuDHD (autistic w/ ADHD) and writes neurodivergent characters with depth.
35. A book centering LGBTQ+ characters that isn't about coming out: ]Funny Boy: A Novel This book discusses Arjie's sexuality and attraction to another boy, but it is primarily a coming of age story of a Sri Lankan Tamil boy whose world changes significantly - irrespective of his sexuality.
36. A book with silver on the cover or in the title
37. Two books with the same title (1)
38. Two books with the same title (2)
39. A classic you've never read
40. A book about chosen family


Advanced Prompts (4/10)

Easy (1/4)
41. A book by the oldest author in your TBR pile
42. A book with a title that starts with the letter Y: Yellowface
43. A book that includes a nonverbal character
44. A book you have always avoided reading

Medium (1/3)
45. A book with a left-handed character
46. A book where nature is the antagonist:How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster It's the acid rain's show, and everyone just happens to be in it.
47. A book of interconnected short stories

Hard (2/3)
48. A book that features a married couple who don't live together: Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age Darrel's mother and stepfather didn't live together for years and I would not be surprised if they remained married despite the ups and downs.
49. A dystopian book with a happy ending
50. A book that features a character with chronic pain: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Sam, one of the main characters, has chronic pain in his foot that progresses throughout the book and evolves into needing surgery and more assistance.

I Spy Challenge

Update Date: 10/9/2025
Progress: 15/18 | 15/36
Post: 81 | 730

1. In your heart - happy, love, shame
2. In the color wheel - crimson, green, sunshine: Rainbow representation!
3. In the living room - sofa, television, laptop: These Heathens Records!
4. In autumn - leaf, pumpkin, Halloween
5. In a cave - crystal, bat, spider
6. Of the body - arm, heart, eye: Eyes!
7. At the amusement park - rollercoaster, balloons, clown
8. On the table - napkin, hamburger, lamp:
9. On the farm - hay, tractor, sheep
10. In the church - angel, pew, candle
11. In communication - phone, typewriter, letter
12. In the toy box - jacks, blocks, stuffed animal
13. On the beach - sea, umbrella, towel:
14. In the library - book, video game, record
15. In celebration - balloons, fireworks, cake
16. At the zoo - bear, snake, elephant
17. In the garden - vine, rose, tree: Flowers from the garden frame Noni's face on the cover.
18. In a glass - wine, milk, water
19. At the ballpark - ball, hot dog, hat
20. In the castle - throne, princess, crown
21. In the hospital - doctor, needle, patient
22. In fiction - dragon, satyr, fairy
23. In your free time - puzzle, sewing machine, stamps
24. In school - book, locker, pencil
25. At the museum - art, statue, dinosaur I was torn about whether to do museum or church, but museum felt slightly more accurate.
26. In the closet - jacket, scarf, vacuum: The cover features high heels and French ~fashion~.
27. At the police station - detective, case, cell: Fingerprints!
28. In the family - brother, dad, aunt: : A cover featuring a wife/mother, husband/father/son, and son. I like the way it's designed!
29. In the city - people, street light, school: High rises and city streets all over.
30. In time - hour, year, later
31. Under the sea - fish, seaweed, coral: It's a very minimalist take on a shark, likely because the author was bitten by one and worked with many.
32. In the sky - bird, kite, cloud:
33. In the armory - gun, sword, helmet
34. In space - star, asteroid, alien: Wandering Stars While the book speaks of stars, I'd say Orange's book about them strikes me as not about space but more about the stars we see at night...which I KNOW are in space but feel different somehow.
35. In the world - Canada, Asia, Atlanta
36. In music - cello, notes, melody: I learned what an intermezzo is through this title - and am curious about hearing one/if I have ever!

The Free Black Women's Library's Reading Challenge

Update Date: 11/25/2025
Progress: 9/25 | 9/40
Post: |
Post Date
https://www.thefreeblackwomenslibrary...

1. A vintage Black Feminist/Womanist text (published before 2000)
2. A contemporary Black Feminist/Womanist text (published between 2000 & now)
3. LGBTQ author and/or content - fiction: These Heathens
4. LGBTQ author and/or content - nonfiction
5. A book by a revolutionary, community activist, political organizer, or abolitionist
6. A book that uses nature or the environment as theme or topic
7. A romance or erotica novel
8. A young adult or middle schooler’s novel: Tangleroot
9. A book by an African author
10. A history, historical fiction, or slave narrative: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
11. A book that features a world you want to live in or characters you want to hang out with: Allow Me to Introduce Myself
12. A book with a one word title
13. A book that classifies as Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Afro-Futurism or Fantasy
14. A book that centers art, art making, a specific craft, art practice or artist
15. A book on health/healing (fiction or non fiction)
16. A book by a Caribbean author
17. A banned book
18. A book on Spirituality, Religion, Faith, or Ritual
19. A memoir or autobiography
20. A cookbook or book with food as the central theme or topic
21. A graphic novel or comic book series
22. A book that offers strategies or insight on gathering, collective care or community builidng
23. An anthology or book that features a collection of short stories, poetry, letters or prose
24. A hybrid or genre blending text
25. A book of satire, humor, or exploration of fashion, music, media, or culture
26. A debut or famous author’s first: The Street
27. A book with more than one POV or perspective
28. A book on Migration, Travel, Location, or Place - fiction or non-fiction
29. A book with a name in the title
30. A book with a gorgeous cover
31. A book published within the past year: The Rich People Have Gone Away Published in August 2024.
32. A book on Body Politics, Trauma, Liberation, Autonomy, or Acceptance
33. A book on disability or neurodivergence, character, topic or theme - fiction or non-fiction
34. A book where characters speak Patois, Creole, Geechee, or AAVE
35. A play or book that has been made into a film or TV series
36. A book of horror, mystery, or psychological thriller: History Lessons
66. History Lessons
37. A book self-care, health, lifestyle strategy, or personal development
38. A book that centers on relationships between women: A Piece of Mine: Stories
39. A re-read of a personal favorite: Song of Solomon
40. A book from TFBWL canon

Hi Ariana! Looks like you've been making good progress on your goal. It may be a stretch goal but I'm here to cheer you on! Congrats on getting your Masters! This will be a piece of cake in comparison. At minimum, you'll have fun trying and reading some great books! 😉

JennH wrote: "Hi Ariana! Looks like you've been making good progress on your goal. It may be a stretch goal but I'm here to cheer you on! Congrats on getting your Masters! This will be a piece of cake in compari..."

Thank you for the kind words, Jenn! I am definitely making more progress than I thought I would and I would choose reading 100 books over going back to graduate school.

AJ wrote: "JennH wrote: "Hi Ariana! Looks like you've been making good progress on your goal. It may be a stretch goal but I'm here to cheer you on! Congrats on getting your Masters! This will be a piece of c..."

Haha, I hear you on that. Reading is way more fun than grad school was.

Ariana, hope you're getting closer to your goal and enjoying lots of fantastic books along the way!

JennH wrote: "Ariana, hope you're getting closer to your goal and enjoying lots of fantastic books along the way!"

Thank you, Jen! I'm chugging along and enjoying it so much! <3