2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

A central place for me to monitor and edit my books and challenges for 2026 :)

RC:THIS OR THAT
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2026

MESSAGE 10

Please put me in for 10 to start
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1. Playlists or podcasts?
2. Shoes or slippers?
3. Pork or beef?
4. Swimming pool or beach?
5. Fruits or vegetables?
6. Cats or dogs?
7. Summer or winter?
8. Salt or pepper?
9. Cash or credit cards?
10. Cookies or chips?
11. Soda or juice?
12. Country or city?
13. Text or call?
14. Coffee or tea?
15. Black or white?
16. Driver or passenger?
17. Laptop or tablet?
18. Comedy or Horror?
19. Beer or wine?
20. Dine in or dine out?
21. Movies or TV shows?
22. iOS or Android?
23. Waffles or pancakes?
24. Early bird or night owl?
25. Football or baseball?
26. Trucks or cars?
27. Lunch or dinner?
28. Weekends or weekdays?
29. Pizza or pasta?
30. Friends or family?
31. Boys or girls?
32. Fiction or non-fiction?
33. Skiing or snowboarding?
34. Red wine or white wine?
35. Singing in the shower or singing in the car?
36. Organized or messy?
37. Costume party or pool party?
38. Music festival or art festival?
39. Mountains or ocean?
40. Ghost tour or historical tour?
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COMPLETE
(view spoiler)[TBA (hide spoiler)]

RC: BOOKWORMS TAKE SHELFIES
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2026

MESSAGE 24

An Author
Favorites to Re-read
Formats & Styles (audiobook, graphic novel, epistolary, etc.)
Seasons & Holidays
Title (starting with the same letter)
Your Backlist (books added to your TBR prior to 2026)

RC: FINDERS READERS 2026
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2026

MESSAGE 22

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In this challenge, you’ll be searching for words within the text of the books you read throughout the year. You can choose from three themed groups: Turning Points (a nod to our yearly theme third-place runner-up), Holidays, and Monthly Themes.

If you’re up for a big challenge, try to find all 100 words!
You are not limited to one word per book, but a maximum of three words per book may count toward your total list. You must find the exact word (singular or plural forms are both acceptable).

When you find a word, please post:
* The book title
* The date finished
* The sentence containing the word(s)
* The location (page number, percentage, or LOC — depending on print, ebook, or audiobook)

If listening to an audiobook, you may use Google Books’ “Preview” or Amazon’s “Look Inside” to find a page number.

Please read the entire book before posting that you’ve found the word.

Example library - Pride and Prejudice - 8/23 - p288 “...went to the library…”
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Wordlist
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Turning Points
accident
adopt
birth
career
change
choice
college
crisis
death
decision
divorce
engaged
father
first
foster
graduate
grief
growth
high school
last
marry
mature
memories
menopause
mother
moving
new
nostalgia
puberty
redemption
reflect
school
second chance
separate
transition

Holidays
apples
ballot
barbecue
basket
bells
candles
celebrate
costume
dream
earth
environment
feast
fireworks
freedom
gathering
gratitude
harvest
heart
honey
jubilee
love
luck
lunar
merry
nature
parade
pass
peace
rainbow
showers
speech
stocking
sundown
sweets
treat

Monthly Themes
birds
character
corrode
daisy
decay
design
door
ethereal
feather
firefighter
forest
gold
hero
identity
innocence
magical
medal
motif
name
pattern
portal
rescue
rust
self
soul
supernatural
threshold
timber
trees
wings
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COMPLETE
(view spoiler)[TBC (hide spoiler)]

RC: MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2026

MESSAGE 21

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Who: 0/7
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Solve cases featuring a main character (sleuth, perp, victim, or suspect) in one of the below fields.
1. Law (attorney, police, etc.)
2. Domestic (nanny, maid, etc.)
3. Performing Arts (theater, dance, etc.)
4. Religion (priest, rabbi, etc.)
5. Education (principal, teacher, etc.)
6. Visual Arts (painting, photography, etc.)
7. Finance (banking, accounting, etc.)
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What: 0/7
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What makes your case distinctive?
1. Gold in the cover art
2. A name in the title
3. A paranormal element
4. A tree or forest on the cover
5. A bird on the cover
6. Has a punny title
7. Written under a pseudonym
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When: 0/7
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When did the dastardly deed take place or get reported (published)?
1. In autumn
2. In the daytime
3. In the 1900s
4. In the 2000s
5. Published in the decade you were born
6. During a business event
7. During a festival or holiday celebration
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Where: 0/7
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Where did the dastardly deed take place?
1. In or near a body of water
2. A school campus
3. In a forest
4. On the road
5. In a small town
6. On a train, plane, or boat
7. At a workplace
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How: 0/7
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For this category, each means of murder must be distinctly different.
For example, pistols and rifles are both firearms; knives and daggers are too similar.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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Why: 0/7
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What motivated you to choose a particular case?
1. A favorite mystery author or series
2. A favorite mystery subgenre
3. On a Goodreads listopia (Which one?)
4. Won a literary prize for crime fiction (Which one?)
5. A challenged or banned crime book
6. A cold case (among your TBRs for over a year)
7. Average Goodreads rating of 4 stars or above
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Bonus Cases: 0/8
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After completing all 42 standard cases, you may become an Interpol Fugitive Investigator by solving a crime in each of the eight inhabited regions of the world.
1. Africa
2. Asia
3. Europe
4. Oceania
5. Caribbean
6. North America
7. Central America
8. South America
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RC: LET’S TURN PAGES
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2026

MESSAGE 25

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Challenge Tiers
🎗️ Commended Reader: 1,000 pages
🎖️ Honored Reader: 5,000 pages
🏅 Reader of Merit: 10,000 pages
🥇 Reader of Distinction: 20,000 pages
🏆 Literary Laureate: 30,000 pages
👑 Reader Emeritus: 40,000 pages
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/1,000

RC: A–Z: AWARD WINNERS
Duration: January 1 – December 31, 2026

MESSAGE 14

A
B
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RC: I SPY
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2026

MESSAGE 26

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Read a book with a title word or cover image to fit each category. This is YOUR challenge, so you can interpret the categories in ways that work best for you.
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1. In the awards - winner, Oscar, best
2. In winter - snow, Christmas, ice
3. In the forest - tree, bird, stream
4. In the kitchen - table, lemon, cup
5. At work - fisherman, housekeeper, driver
6. On the number line - one, two, three
7. In description - beautiful, dark, strange
8. In a group - order, herd, court
9. At night - sleep, moon, owl
10. In role call - Harry, Eleanor, Alex
11. In honorifics - miss, captain, master
12. In the ear - howl, scream, sound
13. In the eye - beauty, sky, sight
14. On the tongue - sweet, sour, taste
15. In the nose - floral, burnt, scent
16. On your skin - cold, rough, touch
17. In death - ghost, grief, inheritance
18. In geometry - circle, angle, diamond
19. In preposition - across, in, under
20. In geography - swamp, forest, desert
21. In your head - idea, madness, anxiety
22. In physics - gravity, energy, force
23. At the pet store - cat, cage, fish
24. On the screen - Batman, Lost, Severance
25. In a marriage - wife, love, home
26. In the ground - root, water, stone
27. In meteorology - storm, wind, sunshine
28. In chemistry - oxygen, element, acid
29. In a book - word, story, escape
30. On the go - train, ship, flight
31. At the apothecary - opium, poison, cure
32. In art - paper, color, stone
33. In the desert - sand, camel, bloom
34. In games - card, pieces, friend
35. In mystery - detective, murder, knife
36. In technology - phone, spaceship, mouse

COMPLETE
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CF: A Million Pages_2026

MESSAGE 500

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START DATE 01.01.2026
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JANUARY 2026
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TOTAL
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/1,000,000

LARA'S A - Z TITLES

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LARA'S A-Z AUTHORS

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BIBLIOPOLY
Duration: January 1 - December 31, 2026

MESSAGE 26

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Below is the same prompt list, but grouped, and with four houses and one hotel added for the property groups. Use whichever arrangement you prefer.
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Corners
🗺️ 1. Go: Read a book set on two or more continents.
🔒 11. In Jail: Read a banned or challenged book.
🚘 21. Free Parking: Read a book of your choice. Anything goes!
👮‍♂️ 31. Go to Jail: Read a crime fiction or true crime book.

Utilities
💡 13. Electric Company: Read a book with a light source on the cover.
🚿 29. Water Works: Read a book with any form of water on the cover.

Taxes
💲 5. Tax: Read a book with money on the cover or in the title.
💍 39. Luxury Tax: Read a book with a gemstone or precious metal on the cover or in the title.

Community Chest
🎁 3. Community Chest: Participate in one of our Group Reads. (Which month and book?)
🎁 18. Community Chest: Participate in one of our Readathons. (Which readathon? List one book you read for it.)
🎁 34. Community Chest: Participate in one of our Buddy Reads or TBR Twins. (Which activity? What book did you and your twin/buddies read?)

Chance
❓ 8. Chance: Read a book from your TBR shelf within the ten highest or lowest number of ratings.
❓ 23. Chance: Read a book from your TBR shelf among the ten oldest or newest additions.
❓ 37. Chance: Read a book from your TBR shelf within the ten highest or lowest average star rating.

Railroads
🚂 6. Reading Railroad: Read a book from a celebrity book club list, such as Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, etc.
🚂 16. Pennsylvania Railroad: Read a book published under an author’s pen name.
🚂 26. B&O Railroad: Read a book with an author or title beginning with B or O. (Author’s first or last name; title’s first main word. Omit the, and, of, etc.)
🚂 36. Shortline Railroad: Read a book under 200 pages long.

Purple Properties
🟪 2. Purple: Read a book with a wheelbarrow, garden tool or plant on the cover or in the title.
🟪 4. Purple: Read a translated book originally written in a language other than your native tongue.
🏠
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Blue Properties
🟦 7. Blue: Read a book with any type of hat or head wear on the cover or in the title.
🟦 9. Blue: Read a book with an author or character whose sexual orientation is different from your own.
🟦 10. Blue: Read a book with any shade of blue on the cover or in the title.
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Pink Properties
🌸 12. Pink: Read a book with any type of dog on the cover or in the title.
🌸 14. Pink: Read a book with an author or character whose nationality or birth country is different from your own.
🌸 15. Pink: Read a book with any shade of pink on the cover or in the title.
🏠
🏠
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Orange Properties
🟠 17. Orange: Read a book with a ship or boat on the cover, or involving water travel.
🟠 19. Orange: Read a book with an author or character whose religious or spiritual beliefs are different from your own.
🟠 20. Orange: Read a book with any shade of orange on the cover or in the title.
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🏠
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Red Properties
🟥 22. Red: Read a book with a car, truck or bus on the cover, or involving a road trip.
🟥 24. Red: Read a book with an author or character whose race or ethnicity is different from your own.
🟥 25. Red: Read a book with any shade of red on the cover or in the title.
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🏠
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Yellow Properties
🟨 27. Yellow: Read a book with a boot or shoe on the cover, or involving foot travel.
🟨 28. Yellow: Read a book with an author or character who has a physical disability or impairment, an emotional or mental disorder, or a neurodivergent condition.
🟨 30. Yellow: Read a book with any shade of yellow on the cover or in the title.
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Green Properties
🟩 32. Green: Read a book with a thimble, sewing or craft implement on the cover or in the title.
🟩 33. Green: Read a book with an author or character whose gender is different from your own.
🟩 35. Green: Read a book with any shade of green on the cover or in the title.
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Dark Blue Properties
🧿 38. Dark Blue: Read a book with any type of cat on the cover or in the title.
🧿 40. Dark Blue: Read a book that won an award. (Which one?)
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