The 52 Book Club: 2025 / 2026 Challenge discussion

WEEKLY CHECK-IN
Oct 22, 2025 -- Week 43

Sorry for the lack of proper weekly check-ins lately, personally and professionally we've all had a lot going on.

So how is everyone doing? Any new favorites?

What are your thoughts on the winners of the four 2026 prompts? I promise the full 2026 list will be out in November so you won't have too much longer to wait!

If you missed our reveal video, we have it up on Instagram and YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@the52bookclu...

I’m currently on vacation, very busy sightseeing & not reading as much as normal, although I did finish one book while sitting in airports & while flying.

I didn’t have strong feeling about any of the prompt ideas, so I was neither excited nor disappointed with the options that won.

It's only available through Audible, but I'm loving The Twisted Women's Book Club. It's a round robin novel of interconnected stories.

Occasionally the right book finds you at just the right time in your life; this recently happened with The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese. It is a 700+ page read (31-hour audio book), not something I would normally choose, but it had been selected by my book club, and it was wonderful. If you have the time, and at least a minor interest in medicine/science, I recommend it.

I'm looking forward to the unveiling of the rest of the prompts for 2026!

Someone else recommended the Covenant of Water and The Twisted Woman’s Book Club sounds intriguing. I finally got around to currently reading Underground Railroad and the Four Agreements. No feelings on the prompts yet but I’m starting to plan. :)

I'm a bit behind on the main challenge, but hoping to catch up by the end of the year. As for the prompts that were picked, I'm a little bummed. They all feel a little too generic to me, but I guess I'll just have to do my best with what was picked.

I'm split on the 4 prompts chosen. I like the map and like others will probably read The Covenant of Water, and I like the Dewey 800 prompt. I am not excited by nemesis but I supposed I can read Nemesis from the 1001 books list, and I'm not excited about castle but maybe We Have Always Lived in the Castle

I don't try too finish the challenge before the end of the year and am happy with my progress. I like the connections challenge but am taking my time with it, I'm on book 3!

Four prompts left!
I found a new author this month - Jackie Lau.
I’m fine with the prompts selected, although the card catalog in the 800s seems like a freebie. I voted for Nemesis which is kind of cool. First time that’s happened.

Michele wrote: "It's only available through Audible, but I'm loving The Twisted Women's Book Club. It's a round robin novel of interconnected stories."

I read this one, too. Not too bad once you can see what is happening.