2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

RIDDLE ME THIS
Duration: January 1 – December 31, 2026

Do you love a little brain-teasing fun with your reading? In Riddle Me This, clever riddles meet books in a challenge for your mind and imagination. Throughout the year, each riddle will guide you to a book—either by its title or its cover. Will you dip your toes in, or dive in to tackle all 75? Don’t get rattled—let the riddles and the fun begin!

How many riddles will you solve? Give your challenge leader your number and get ready to put your brain to the test!

Riddles
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have nobody, but I come alive with wind.
(view spoiler)[Echo (hide spoiler)]


The more of me you take, the more you leave behind.
(view spoiler)[Footsteps (hide spoiler)]


I’m tall when I’m young, and short when I’m old.
(view spoiler)[A candle (hide spoiler)]


What has many keys but can’t open any locks?
(view spoiler)[A piano (hide spoiler)]


What has a heart that doesn’t beat?
(view spoiler)[An artichoke (hide spoiler)]


I can exist in a single moment, yet I last forever. What am I?
(view spoiler)[A memory (hide spoiler)]


I grow bigger the more you take away from me.
(view spoiler)[A crater (hide spoiler)]
I’m light as a feather, yet even the world’s strongest man couldn’t hold me for long.
(view spoiler)[Breath (hide spoiler)]


I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish.
(view spoiler)[A map (hide spoiler)]


What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?
(view spoiler)[A stamp (hide spoiler)]


I live in silence and vanish in noise.
(view spoiler)[Silence (hide spoiler)]


What has one eye, but can’t see?
(view spoiler)[A needle (hide spoiler)]


I go up and down stairs without moving.
(view spoiler)[Carpet / rug (hide spoiler)]


I am taken from a mine, shut in a wooden case, and used by almost everyone.
(view spoiler)[Pencil lead (graphite) (hide spoiler)]


What gets wet while drying?
(view spoiler)[A towel (hide spoiler)]


What time is it when an elephant sits on a fence?
(view spoiler)[Time to fix the fence (hide spoiler)]


What kind of band never plays music?
(view spoiler)[A rubber band (hide spoiler)]


What can you hold in your right hand, but never in your left hand?
(view spoiler)[Your left hand (hide spoiler)]


Poor people have it. Rich people need it. If you eat it, you die. What is it?
(view spoiler)[Nothing (hide spoiler)]


I’m full of holes, yet I can hold water.
(view spoiler)[A sponge (hide spoiler)]


I have a head, a tail, but no body.
(view spoiler)[A coin (hide spoiler)]


I’m always in motion, yet I never get tired.
(view spoiler)[The ocean (hide spoiler)]


I have hands, but cannot clap.
(view spoiler)[A clock (hide spoiler)]


I can be long or short; I can be grown or bought; I can be painted or left bare.
(view spoiler)[Fingernails (hide spoiler)]


I shrink smaller every time I take a bath.
(view spoiler)[A bar of soap (hide spoiler)]


I can fill a room but take up no space.
(view spoiler)[Light (hide spoiler)]


I am present everywhere yet can’t be touched.
(view spoiler)[A thought / idea (hide spoiler)]


I have no beginning, no end, and nothing in the middle.
(view spoiler)[A circle (hide spoiler)]


I’m sometimes white, sometimes brown, sometimes black, but never the same twice.
(view spoiler)[A fingerprint (hide spoiler)]


I can’t be touched, yet I can touch you. I can’t be seen, yet I can be heard.
(view spoiler)[Sound (hide spoiler)]


I am invisible, weigh nothing, yet if you put me in a barrel, it will become lighter.
(view spoiler)[A hole (hide spoiler)]


What question can you never say yes to?
(view spoiler)[“Are you asleep?” (hide spoiler)]


I am never seen but always counted.
(view spoiler)[Breaths (hide spoiler)]


I move without wings, I roar without a mouth.
(view spoiler)[A waterfall (hide spoiler)]


I have a bottom at the top.
(view spoiler)[Your legs (hide spoiler)]


What kind of room has no doors or windows?
(view spoiler)[A mushroom (hide spoiler)]


I go in hard, come out soft, and am never the same.
(view spoiler)[Chewing gum (hide spoiler)]


I can be held but never touched.
(view spoiler)[A conversation (hide spoiler)]


I am a path, but I never move.
(view spoiler)[A road (hide spoiler)]


I fly all day but never leave my home.
(view spoiler)[A flag (hide spoiler)]


What can you catch, but not throw?
(view spoiler)[A cold (hide spoiler)]


I am used by everyone, but no one can see me.
(view spoiler)[Time (hide spoiler)]


I can be long or short, narrow or wide.
(view spoiler)[A road / path (hide spoiler)]


I am a bridge without planks or nails.
(view spoiler)[A rainbow (hide spoiler)]


I can glow without heat.
(view spoiler)[Stars / bioluminescence (hide spoiler)]


I have rings but no fingers.
(view spoiler)[A tree (hide spoiler)]


What is red and smells like blue paint?
(view spoiler)[Red paint (hide spoiler)]


I am always moving forward but never return.
(view spoiler)[Time (hide spoiler)]


I can fly without wings, flow without water, and cry without eyes.
(view spoiler)[A cloud (hide spoiler)]


I can hide in plain sight.
(view spoiler)[Camouflage (hide spoiler)]


I am soft yet can break bones.
(view spoiler)[Water (hide spoiler)]


I can shine at night but never during the day.
(view spoiler)[The moon (hide spoiler)]


I can be cracked, opened, or thrown away.
(view spoiler)[An egg (hide spoiler)]


I have a tongue but cannot taste.
(view spoiler)[A shoe (hide spoiler)]


I have a neck but no head.
(view spoiler)[A bottle (hide spoiler)]


I have teeth but cannot bite.
(view spoiler)[A comb (hide spoiler)]


I can whisper without a mouth.
(view spoiler)[An echo (hide spoiler)]


I am seen in water but never wet.
(view spoiler)[A reflection (hide spoiler)]


I can fall but never get hurt.
(view spoiler)[Rain (hide spoiler)]


What two things can you never eat for breakfast?
(view spoiler)[Lunch and dinner (hide spoiler)]


I go up when rain comes down.
(view spoiler)[An umbrella (hide spoiler)]


What has words, but never speaks?
(view spoiler)[A book (hide spoiler)]


I am round, flat, or pointed.
(view spoiler)[A coin (hide spoiler)]


What has lots of eyes, but can’t see?
(view spoiler)[A potato (hide spoiler)]


I am sometimes cold, sometimes warm, but never wet.
(view spoiler)[Air (hide spoiler)]


What can go up a chimney down, but can’t go down a chimney up?
(view spoiler)[An umbrella (hide spoiler)]


I can move mountains but am not strong.
(view spoiler)[Erosion (hide spoiler)]


What starts with a T, ends with a T, and has T in it?
(view spoiler)[A teapot (hide spoiler)]


I can be frozen or boiling, yet remain the same.
(view spoiler)[Water (hide spoiler)]


What has many hearts but no other organs?
(view spoiler)[A deck of cards (hide spoiler)]


What belongs to you, but everyone else uses it?
(view spoiler)[Your name (hide spoiler)]


The more you take from me, the bigger I get.
(view spoiler)[A hole (hide spoiler)]


What building has the most stories?
(view spoiler)[The library (hide spoiler)]


What has to be broken before you can use it?
(view spoiler)[An egg (hide spoiler)]


I am the start of eternity, the end of time and space.
(view spoiler)[The letter “E” (hide spoiler)]

How to Participate:

1. Post here telling the challenge leader how many books you plan to read.
You may choose your books at the beginning, or add them as you go. You may join any time during the year, and may change your goal whenever needed.

2. When you finish books for the challenge, edit your original post or member’s corner thread to add them.
Instructions are in the how-to link below.

3. To have your progress updated, post a new comment here to let the challenge leader know.
Every time you post an update, be sure to include your original (sign-up) message number, the number of books you have completed, and your goal. We use your original message number to identify you, since multiple members may have the same profile name.
Example:
Update to message 32: 2/25 books read!

For more information about how our challenges work, visit this how-to thread or ask your challenge leader.

P.S. Please do not delete posts! It changes the message numbers, complicating the update process for both leaders and participants. If you wish to leave the challenge, simply post a comment here to let us know. You may edit your original post to say {deleted}. Thank you!

Participants:

Reserved by backup moderator

RIDDLE ME THIS
Duration: January 1 – December 31, 2026

I'd like to join for all 40.

[redacted]

For now, I'll join with a goal of 30. Thank you!

RIDDLE ME THIS
January 1 - December 31, 2026
Progress: 0/30

Sign me up for 30!

Member Corner Tracking Post

I will sign up for 24

RIDDLE ME THIS
January 1 - December 31, 2026

Progress: 0 / 24

Hi, I am in for 20, thanks !

In for all!

I'm in for 25

RIDDLE ME THIS
Duration: January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026

Completed: 0/25

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I'll try for 30!

RIDDLE ME THIS
Duration: January 1 – December 31, 2026
I am in for all 50
Title or Cover

I'll go for 10!

Progress: 0/10
Last Updated: ?

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I'm in for 40

RIDDLE ME THIS
Duration: January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026
Completed: 0/40

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