Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

~ Monthly Audiobook Challenge ~

Each month we will have a different theme of audiobook for you to listen to.
Read one, two, three, or thirty. Up to you! Just post at the start of the month which books you will read in the category, update through the month and post a link to your Goodreads review (no links to external sites).

Let's find some great audiobooks together!

Duration: Monthly


June 2025 Theme:

◈New to me
Audiobooks you are only reading because a reading challenge requires it

How to Participate:

The Audiobook Challenge is designed to not only help you to read your audiobooks, but to also find out about other great audiobooks from other challenge participants!

Though you may pop in/out at any time, the Audiobook Challenge will run on a monthly basis so you are able to see progress being made.

There are no minimum page requirements, and you can read abridged or unabridged audiobooks!


1. At the beginning of the month, post :
a: How many audiobooks in total you want to read for the month
b: How many audiobooks in the monthly category you want to read
c: Post the audiobooks (as you decide on them) by linking them to Goodreads in your post

2. During the month, read the audiobooks that you can AND update your post with your reviews. (You can do this after each book or wait until the end of the month.)

3. At the end of the month, update your post and with:
a: What books you read
b: Link(s) to your review(s) - note: can only be linked to Goodreads and not an external site
c: How many audiobooks you have read for this challenge this year


Then start a new post for the next month!


FORMAT YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE:


Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read:
Audiobooks in monthly category to read:

Books in category:

FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year:
Audiobooks in monthly category read:

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

===============

EXAMPLE : (under spoiler)(view spoiler)[

Start of Month

Total audiobooks to read: 6
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 2

Books in category:


FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 9
Audiobooks in monthly category read: 1

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

Great story about women, culture and love set in Nigeria. I loved the characters and the setting, and the audio narrator was great with the different voices and bringing the story to life (hide spoiler)]

r

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 4
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 2

Books in category:


FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 25 (end of May was 18)
Audiobooks in monthly category read: 3

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

None of those, actually! haha I would recommend anything narrated by Julian Whelan. This month I read

LOL

What a coincidence!

I'm in, because as chance would have it, I am participating in a challenge. 😆😍

Total audiobooks read this year so far: 52 (at the end of May)

Audiobooks in monthly category read: 1
(4 stars upped from 3,5)

Audiobooks NOT in category read: 5
, 5 stars
, 4 stars
, no ratings
, 3 stars
, 5 stars

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

Perfect topic. 😅

2025 Audiobook Challenge

Start of June
Total audiobooks read YTD: 55
Audiobooks in monthly category read YTD: 34
Total audio books to read in June: 10
Audiobooks in June category: 5

Books in category
1. It by Stephen King I would never have chosen to read this on my own!
2. Dark Hollow (Charlie Parker, #2) by John Connolly I started this series last month as part of a challenge and am continuing it as that challenge continues
3. The Suspect (Kate Waters, #3) by Fiona Barton another series I picked up due to a reading challenge
4. Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger to fulfill challenge "time in title"
5. Somewhere In Time by Richard Matheson fulfill challenge "MPG Time Travel"
6. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois fulfill challenge "read a book with the number 1, 9, 7, 4 in the publication date"
7. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters a BOTM group read
8. To Hate Adam Connor by Ella Maise fulfill challenge "tagged enemies to lovers"
9. The Mummy Case (Amelia Peabody, #3) by Elizabeth Peters fulfill challenge "MPG historical fiction"
10. Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty been on my TBR for a while but prioritized this month to fulfill a challenge prompt MPG Historical Fiction
11. The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life by Bruce H. Wilkinson fulfill challenge "read a book between 90 and 100 pages
12. Empty Smiles (Small Spaces, #4) by Katherine Arden - fulfill challenge "set in Vermont"
13. Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt fulfill challenge "rain on the cover"
14. How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury (How To Train Your Dragon, #12) by Cressida Cowell fulfill challenge "yellow cover"
15. Lion in the Valley (Amelia Peabody, #4) by Elizabeth Peters fulfill challenge "MPG HIstorical Fiction"

Other books
1. The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson on my TBR for over 2 years.
2. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff on my TBR for a little over a year
3. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore on my TBR for about 6 months
4. The Butcher and the Wren (Dr. Wren Muller, #1) by Alaina Urquhart on my TBR since Apr 2023
5. The Jefferson Key (Cotton Malone, #7) by Steve Berry I've been reading this series regularly for about 6 month.
6. One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid had this on my TBR since January
7. The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall on my TBR since 2023
8. Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones on my TBR since 2023
9. Still Life by Sarah Winman on my TBR since 2023
10. 1916: A Novel of the Irish Rebellion (Irish Century Book, #1) by Morgan Llywelyn on my TBR since 2023
11.The Deeds of the Disturber (Amelia Peabody, #5) by Elizabeth Peters I've been working my way through this series in 2025

End of June recap
Total audiobooks read this year: 81
Audiobooks in monthly categories read: 49

My June Recommendation (and why): Wow, I'm having a tough time choosing between a few books that I gave 5 stars to this month.
1. Jim Henson - The subject matter, the research, the audio narrator, the memories evoked... everything came together beautifully in this book. I'm still grieving the death of this entertainment giant, and I cried like a fool at the end.
2. The Berry Pickers - stunning, fascinating novel of the disappearance of a young indigenous girl in New England and how her and her family's lives were impacted over the years. It also touched on themes of racism, forgiveness, and self-image. All this, beautifully told.
3. How to Fight a Dragon's Fury - pure, unadulterated fun. This is the final book in the How to Train Your Dragon series, where Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III faces his greatest challenge in the fight between good and evil. Fishlegs learns who his father is, which is a great shocker. So much fun, and listening to David Tennant narrating the audiobook is the icing on this delicious cake of a story that's a delight for all ages.

Lol! This one would come during the challenge I'm sitting out 😂


Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 30
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 10

FINISHED

In category:

- re-read I needed for Book Quest - 4 stars
- re-read because I needed a Q for spell-out! - 4 stars
- Read for Book Quest (also a Uganda book for TT-ers) - 4 stars
- read for Monster hunt - 3 stars
- also read for monster hunt - 3 stars
- read for Book Quest - 2 stars
- found it while searching for a monster hunt book. happy because I like L'Amour. - 3 stars
- read for monster hunt - 3 stars
- another disappointing challenge read... - 2 stars
- challenge re-read - 3 stars
- read for monster hunt - 2.5 stars
- needed a U! - 3 stars
- read for monster hunt - 3 stars
- hadn't planned to re-read yet, but my maze made me! - 4 stars
- in my audible wish-list for years. grabbed it finally because it fit a few challenges - 3.5 stars
- read for maze - 2 stars


Not in category:

- Not my favourite book this year...
- Courtenay never disappoints! - 4 stars
- surprisingly charming - 4 stars
- I needed the LOL! - 4 stars
- re-read - 4 stars
- re-read - 5 stars
- very good - 4 stars
- disappointing - 2 stars
- gorgeous writing - 4 stars
- added to TBR because of narrator, only finished because of challenge! - 1 star
- ok, but so predictable - 3 stars
- meh - 2.5 stars
- enjoy this series! - 4 stars
- fun! - 4 stars
- first half great, second half less so - 3 stars
- it's ok - 3 stars
- getting the rest of the aiden Snow narrations out of the way... - 3 stars
- not as good as the stuff he's known for - 2 stars
- another Aiden Snow - 2 stars
- prefer the ones narrated by Richard A! - 3 stars
- last Aiden Snow for now - 2 stars
- surprisingly good - 4 stars
- not great - 2 stars
- much darker than expected - 3 stars
- pretty compelling read - 4 stars
- still not a Pynchon fan - 2 stars
- shows promise as a series - 3.5 stars
- heartbreaking - 4 stars
- disappointing - 2 stars
- ok, but lacking in story - 3 stars
- not read specifically for a challenge, but read now because it fit my maze task - 3.5 stars
- having much fun with this series! - 4 stars
- average - 3 stars
- love the magic system here! - 4 stars


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: (141 read jan-may) + 50
Audiobooks in monthly category read: (40 read jan-may) + 16

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

June Audiobook Challenge
June 2025 Theme:

◈New to me
Audiobooks you are only reading because a reading challenge requires it

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 3
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 2

Books in category:

FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year:
Audiobooks in monthly category read:

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

Sammy wrote: "Lol! This one would come during the challenge I'm sitting out 😂"

lol!

This one should be easier for me. I failed to read any that fit the challenge last month. lol

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 6
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 4

Books in category:


FINISHED
In category: 5


Not in category: 3


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 46
Audiobooks in monthly category read: 5 this month

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

So many good ones this month.

Sammy wrote: "Lol! This one would come during the challenge I'm sitting out 😂


Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 30
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 10

LOL, right. I feel like this is the month of mid month ending of a lot of challenges
FINISHED

In category:

[bookcover:Illumina..."

June Audiobook Challenge
June 2025 Theme:

◈New to me
Audiobooks you are only reading because a reading challenge requires it

Books in category and only chose for the challenge:
by Christy Lefteri ⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Isabel Ibañez ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Axie Oh⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Nalini Singh ⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Maisey Yates⭐⭐⭐
by Davey Davis ⭐⭐⭐
by Donna Tartt⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Nicole Zoltack ⭐⭐⭐
by Amanda Peters ⭐⭐⭐⭐
by E.L. James ⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Sophie Kinsella ⭐⭐⭐
by Axie Oh⭐⭐⭐
by Graeme Simsion⭐⭐⭐
by Matthew Quirk⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Emily Itami⭐⭐⭐⭐


Not in Category (Challenge but also wanted to)
by Andrea Max ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Susan Lee ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Emily Henry ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Cara Bastone ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Kelley Armstrong ⭐⭐⭐⭐
byAnna Stuart ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Colleen Coble⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Kelley Armstrong ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Liz Armstrong ⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Kelley Armstrong ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
and by Melissa Albert ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐




End of Month
Total audiobooks read in Jan: 27
Total audioboks read in Feb: 20
Total audiobooks read in Mar: 30
Total audiobooks read in Apr: 34
Total audiobooks read in May: 25
Total audiobooks read in June: 26

Audiobooks in Jan category: 3
Audiobooks in Feb Category: 12 (Probably a few stretching but can't be bothered to move)
Audiobooks in Mar Category: 18
Audiobooks in Apr Category: 23
Audiobooks in May Category: 11
Audiobooks in June Category: 15

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):
by Christy Lefteri it is a great Literary fiction about loss and war
by Matthew Quirk was an unexpected fun political/espionage thriller.

And absolutely every book I read because I wanted to because the whole list was very good.

Any guess as to who the famous person is the AI image was inspired by this month?
I'll give you a hint that he is a comedian (and actor)

My brain is refusing to move past John Harlan Kim.

Obviously it's telling me I need to re-watch The Librarians (while impatiently waiting for the new spin-off!)

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 10
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 1
Audiobooks you are only reading because a reading challenge requires it

Books in category:
★ ★ ★

FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 134
Audiobooks in monthly category read total: 18

Sammy wrote: "My brain is refusing to move past John Harlan Kim.

Obviously it's telling me I need to re-watch The Librarians (while impatiently waiting for the new spin-off!)"

Haha no but fair guess with the Australian connection.

It is someone who went to uni here but is actually based in the US now (and was born in Malaysia)

Is it Ronny Chieng?

Kristie wrote: "Is it Ronny Chieng?"

bingo 🎉⭐

I didn't think it was at first, but your hints helped . :)

The AI has made him much younger - and with a thinner face I think!

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Kristie wrote: "Is it Ronny Chieng?"

bingo 🎉⭐"

Oh, nice! I like him. 😊

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 7
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 4

Books in category:

FINISHED


End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 39
Audiobooks in monthly category read: 4

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):

I've never heard of Jeff Hiller before I read this book, but I truly enjoyed reading all about his journey. I especially loved listening to him read it. He brought a real authenticity to his story. And it's really funny!

June Audiobook Challenge
June 2025 Theme:

◈New to me
Audiobooks you are only reading because a reading challenge requires it

Start of Month
Total audiobooks to read: 9 (I'm at 7 now so 9 is reasonable)
Audiobooks in monthly category to read: 4

Books in category:

FINISHED in Category



End of Month
Total audiobooks read this year: 52
Audiobooks in June: 14 - 5 of these were only 2 stars including Vanishing World. 6 were 4 stars (my highest rating for audiobooks this month) and 3 werr 3 stars. I felt like i had a really bad reading month but looking at actual ratings it wasn't too bad.
Audiobooks in monthly category read:4

MY MONTHLY RECOMMENDATION (and why):
Definitely Once More With Feeling! It's a very fun romance with fame and dancing/singing added in. Also second chance romance which is always fun. I also really enjoyed The Berry Pickers which i probably wouldn't have chosen on my own since I'd nevee heard of it until this month/i don't read a lot of newer stuff since i always prioritize older tbr books.