Hooked on Books discussion

Joined this group half way into 2025. I've already read 101 books. Will start counting all new reads here.

My Badge Collection

HOB Campfire Cookout

✹When: July 1 to August 31, 2025

(view spoiler)[🔥Campfire (2-4 books total)
First, you need to build your fire. To do so, choose two-to-four of the following tasks.
1. Read a book with a mostly red or mostly orange cover

3. Read a book with fire/flames on the cover


🌭 Hot Dogs (2-5 books total)
Roast some wienies by choosing two-to-five of the following tasks.

3. Read a book that has a three-letter word AND a four-letter word in the title (can have any number of words in total).

4. Read a book with a 7 in the number of pages or in the publication date
(478pgs)

🍫S'mores (minimum 3 books total)
Put together your ingredients for S'mores. Choose at least one task per ingredient:
1. Graham Crackers (choose one or more)
✶Read a book that starts with a "G" or a "C"

✶Read a book with a two-word title

✶Read two books that are more than 70 pages, each but less than 140 pages, each. Note: For THIS task ONLY, you may ignore the standard rules for page count, but it must be adult or YA; novellas and plays are allowed if they fit page requirements!

2. Marshmallow (choose one or more)
✶Read a book with a mostly white cover

✶Read something "fluffy", as represented by one of the following genres on a book's main page:
a. Chick-Lit -
OR
b. Humor
✶Read a book where the main character's name starts with an M

3. Chocolate (choose one or more)
✶Read a book you consider to be "sweet"
✶Read a book with a mostly brown cover
✶Read a book with chocolate on the cover or in the title
✶Read a book with a one-word title -

🍳Mountain Breakfast Skillet (1-4 books total)
Sauté potatoes, onions, and peppers in a cast iron skillet, then crack in some eggs and toss in sausage or bacon by choosing one-to-four of the following tasks.
1. Read a book from one of these listopias:
✹Favorite American West Novels
✹Best Gay Cowboys
✹Favorite Western/Cowboy Romance Novels
2. Read a book with mountain(s) on the cover
3. Read a cowboy/western themed book
4. Read a book that takes place in one of these mountainous provinces or states:
✶British Columbia, Canada
✶Alberta, Canada
✶Washington state
✶Idaho - The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy
✶Montana
✶Wyoming
✶Utah
✶Colorado
✶New Mexico
✶Nevada
✶California - Carrie Soto Is Back
✶Oregon (hide spoiler)]

Summer Seasonal Readathon 2025

Runs 6/21/25-9/22/25

(view spoiler)[B - Behind Her Eyes (307p) - 6/25
E - Eye of the Needle (368p) - 7/26/25
A - A Wrinkle in Time (218p) - 7/20
C - Cornwell, Patricia - Black Notice (441p) - 8/2
H - The House of Eve (384p) - 7/7

L - The Light Between Oceans (384p) - 7/22
A - The Alice Network (503p) - 8/21
B - Beauty Queens (396p) - 7/30
O - One Last Stop (418p) - 7/10
R - Raven Black (384p) - 7/19
D - Donoghue, Emma - The Pull of the Stars (294p) - 8/14
A - Andrew Shaffer - Feel the Bern (256p) 8/23
Y - You (464p) - 8/9

🏖️ June Books Read: 1
🏖️ July Books Read: 7
🏖️ August Books Read: 5
🏖️ September Books Read:

🏖️ Total Pages Read: 4,817
🏖️ Total Books Read: 13 (hide spoiler)]

July TBR Busters

(view spoiler)[Track Points based on page number of read books in July.

Theme Bonus
Theme: Fireworks
Read books that fit the bonus theme and earn 2 bonus pts for each book that fits.

Total Points: 47
1. Point of Origin, 440pgs, 7/3/25, 3pts
2. The Paris Express, 288pgs, 7/4/25, 1pt
3. The House of Eve, 384pgs, 7/7/25, 3pts
4. The God of the Woods, 478pgs, 7/9/25, 3pts
5. One Last Stop, 418pgs, 7/10/25, 3pts
6. One Plus One, 368pgs, 7/13/25, 3pts
7. Project Hail Mary, 476pgs, 7/17/25, 3pts
8. Of Mice and Men, 107pgs , 7/17/25, 1pt
9. Peter Pan, 155pgs, 7/18/25, 1pt
10. Raven Black, 384pgs, 7/19/25, 3pts
11. A Wrinkle in Time, 218pgs, 7/20/25, 1pt
12. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 154pgs, 7/21/25, 1pt
13. The Light Between Oceans, 362, 7/22/25, 3pts
14. Fahrenheit 451, 237pgs, 7/23/25, 1pt
15. 1984, 368pgs, 7/24/25, 3pts
16. The Joy Luck Club, 288pgs, 7/25/25, 1pt
17. Hope Rides Again, 288pgs, 7/25/25, 1pt
18. Eye of the Needle, 368pgs, 7/26/25, 3pts
19. The Guest List. 330pgs. 7/28/25, 3pts
20. Beauty Queens, 396pgs, 7/30/25, 3pts
21. The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy, 448pgs, 7/31/25, 3pts (hide spoiler)]

August 2025 RAT

August 2025 Listopia

Reading Run Aug 14-17

Goal: 600
Read: 1467

Thursday: Finished reading The Pull of the Stars (196pgs), Watching You (25pgs), Fractured
Friday: Finished reading Watching You (200pgs), The Hunting Wives, Carrie Soto Is Back
Saturday: Finished reading The Hunting Wives (356), Carrie Soto Is Back (75pgs)
Sunday: Finished reading Fractured (388)

August TBR Busters
(view spoiler)[Theme Bonus
Theme: Dogs
Read books that fit the bonus theme and earn 2 bonus pts for each book that fits

Points:
100-300 - 1
301-500 - 3
501-700 - 5
701-900 - 7
901+ - 10

Total Points: 76
1. Great Big Beautiful Life, 416pgs, 8/1/25, 3pts
2. Black Notice, 441pgs, 8/2/25, 3pts
3. The Word is Murder, 400pgs, 8/4/25, 3pts
4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, 218pgs, 8/5/25, 1pt
5. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, 339pgs, 8/7/25, 3pts
6. The House in the Cerulean Sea, 398pgs, 8/8/25, 3pts
7. You, 464pgs, 8/9/25, 3pts
8. The Poppy Fields, 304pgs, 8/10/25, 3pts
9. Intermezzo, 454pgs, 8/12/25, 3pts
10. The Pull of the Stars, The Dragonian's Witch294pgs, 8/14/25, 1pt
11. Watching You, 320pgs, 8/15/25, 3pts
12. The Hunting Wives, 356pgs, 8/15/25, 3pts +2 dog pts - Dog howls from inside...sending the beagle into more frenzied bellows...
13. Fractured,388pgs, 8/17/25, 3pts +2 dog pts - "There's a three-hundred-year-old yellow Lab."
14. The Dragonian's Witch, 268pgs, 8/19/25, 1pt
15. The Maid's Secret, 336pgs, 8/19/25, 3pts
16. The Alice Network, 503pgs, 8/21/25, 5pts
17. Carrie Soto Is Back, 384pgs, 8/21/25, 3pts
18. The Long Walk, 370pgs, 8/22/25, 3pts + 2 dog pts - "dog escaped from someone's grasp and ran out into the road..."
19. Feel the Bern, 256pgs, 8/23/25, 1pt
20. Girl in the Blue Coat, 301pgs, 8/24/25, 3pts
21. What Does It Feel Like?, 133pgs, 8/25/25, 1pt
22. James, 303pgs, 8/25/25, 3pts +2 dog pts "He's got some dogs, but they're fat and lazy."
23. Homeseeking, 512pgs, 8/28/25, 5pts +2 dog pts, "...mangy dogs rooting around in the gutter for food."
24. The Surrogate Mother, 320pgs, 8/30/25, 3pts (hide spoiler)]

Bookopoly

Do Not Open This Challenge

September 2025 TBR Buster

October 2025 TBR Busters

November 2025 TBR Busters

December 2025 TBR Busters

September listopia Madness

Sept RAT

Sept 18-21 Reading Run

Fall Seasonal Readathon: 2025 - Completed
Runs 9/23/25-12/20/25

Fall RAT

Oct 25 RAT

Nov 25 RAT Week RAT Nov 16-22 Nov 27-30 RAT

2025 Wrapping up the Year Reading Challenge - Completed

Dec 25 RAT Weeklong RAT - 21 Dec - 1 Jan

❄️Winter Seasonal Readathon: 2025❄️ - Runs 12/21/25-03/19/26 Winter Readathon

Christmas Emoji Movie Guessing Game - Completed

Snowball Fight

Retro VHS Channel Surfing
Time Travelers Challenge
Baseball
Curious Patterns
Not So Berry Challenge
Warlock's Spells
Bake-Off

"Preheat the oven to 356F/320F Fan/Gas 4. Grease a 9in bundt tin with butter.
Cut the cherries into quarters. Set aside five of the quartered cherries for the decoration later. Put the rest of the quartered cherries in a sieve and rinse under running water. Drain well then dry thoroughly on kitchen paper and toss in two tablespoons of the flour.
Measure all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl and beat well for two minutes to mix thoroughly. Lightly fold in the cherries. Turn into the prepared tin.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until well risen, golden-brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
For the icing, mix the icing sugar together with the lemon juice to a thick paste. Drizzle over the cooled cake using the back of a spoon, sprinkle over the toasted almonds and reserved cherries."

2026 Yearly Challenges

A-Z Reading Challenge
I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie

2026 Read A Thons

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September

2026 Monthly Challenges

TBR Busters - Jan
TBR Busters - Feb
TBR Busters - Mar
TBR Busters - Apr
TBR Busters - May
TBR Busters - June
TBR Busters - July
TBR Busters - August
TBR Busters - September

• Read a book set in Europe. The Last Bookshop in London (set in Europe)

• Read a book where resistance, espionage, or hidden identities play a crucial role. - Code Name Verity (When a British spy's plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France, she is captured by the Gestapo. Her narrative unfolds as a thrilling puzzle of hidden identity, underground resistance, and fierce loyalty, detailing the immense psychological toll of keeping secrets.) (War)

• Read a book that uses letters, diaries, or multiple perspectives to tell the story. Fantasticland (Told through a series of vivid post-incident interviews and diaries)

• Read a book written or set between September 1, 1939, to December 31, 1949. - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (published 11/6/1939)

• Read a book dealing with the aftermath of trauma, loss, or rebuilding a life. Station Eleven (pandemic wipes out modern civilization, showing that survival alone is not enough—humanity must rebuild art and culture to truly heal)

• Read a book where a character is a refugee or displaced person. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje: Set in a ruined Italian villa at the tail end of WWII, this lyrical novel brings together a cross-section of displaced individuals (War)

• Read a book where a female character challenges postwar domestic expectations (e.g., the "happy homemaker" role). - The Hours (From the outside, she embodies the perfect post-war American dream. Internally, her internal monologue and shifting perspective reveal a crushing depression and a desperate, agonizing desire to escape her domestic prison.)

• Read a book where the "enemy" is humanized or seen from a different perspective. A Town Like Alice (The book famously humanizes the Japanese "enemy" through an unexpected, deeply moving bond formed with a young Australian soldier captured by the Japanese, and later, through the complex, non-monolithic portrayal of the local guards. ) War