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2026 Mount TBR Challenge
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Signing up with 12 books this time around! (I'm actually still one book away from finishing the '25 challenge, but I should be getting into that last one next week, so, no problem.)For this year I'll do it 50-50, so, one half will be themed (non-fiction) and the other will be books that I had planned to read the prior couple of years but didn't for one reason or another.
04 / 12
Non-fiction
1. Mitologías amerindias
5. Calibán y la bruja: Mujeres, cuerpo y acumulación originaria
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Leftovers
2. Donde los árboles cantan
3. Las bestias olvidadas de Eld
4. La rueda celeste
5. El mar de la tranquilidad
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Sweet! This is always a fun challenge!2026 Horror Aficionados Mount TBR Challenge
I'm pledging 40 books again, that must have been sitting on my TBR pile for at least a year. No books published in 2026.
Books Read: 15/40
1. The Gunslinger by Stephen King - 01.02.2026 [since 2009]
2. The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson - 01.04.2026 [since 2022]
3. Road of Bones by Christopher Golden - 01.08.2026 [since 2022]
4. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer - 01.15.2026 [since 2025]
5. Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin - 01.26.2026 [since 2025]
6. The House of Small Shadows by Adam L.G. Nevill - 01.18.2026 [since 2023]
7. Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud - 01.19.2026 [since 2025]
8. Blindsight by Peter Watts - 02.02.2026 [since 2012]
9. Otared by Mohammed Rabie - 02.15.2026
10. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo - 03.09.2026
11. The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall - 03.19.2026
12. In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan - 03.27.2026
13. The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa - 04.01.2026
14. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón - 04.09.2026 [since 2018]
15. Solaris by Stanisław Lem - 04.11.2026
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My spot. I am going for 20 in 2026 so I am hoping to shake some dust off my kindle books! lol 1) Maynard's House (read 1/7/2026) (owned since 2016)
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Grabbing my spot! I’m going to go for 12. Although I enjoy horror, I don’t own much, so this will be a mixed bag.
Start Date: December 12, 2025
End Date: December 31, 2026
Books read: 14/12
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.𖥔 ݁ ˖🕸️🕷.𖥔 ݁ ˖.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳. .𖥔 ݁ ˖🕸️🕷.𖥔 ݁ ˖ .˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳. .𖥔 ݁ ˖🕸️🕷.𖥔 ݁ ˖ .˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳. .𖥔
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End of 2025
_) Lost & Found 12/21/25
_) Weyward 12/23/25
2026
1) Book Title:Then She Was Gone
Date Added: 12/22/2025
Date Read: 01/04/26
2) Book Title: The Girl on the Train
Date Added: 01/20/2023
Date Read: 01/10/26
3) Book Title: Rebecca
Date Added: 08/09/2010
Date Read: 01/19/2026
4) Book Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Date Added: 03/22/2023
Date Read: 01/22/2026
5) Book Title: A Monster Calls
Date Added: 03/04/2023
Date Read: 01/27/2026
6) Book Title: Burnt Offerings
Date Added: 01/28/2026
Date Read: 02/12/2026
7) Book Title: Hell House
Date Added: 06/15/2021
Date Read:2/27/2026
8) Book Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Date Added: 04/07/2023
Date Read: 03/15/2026
9) Book Title: The Handmaid's Tale
Date Added: 08/01/2011
Date Read: 03/31/2026
10) Book Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Date Added: 04/15/2023
Date Read: 04/06/2026
11) Book Title: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Date Added: 06/11/2021
Date Read: 04/11/2026
12) Book Title: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Date Added: 03/01/2023
Date Read: 04/14/2026
13) Book Title: In Cold Blood
Date Added: 06/12/2021
Date Read: 04/15/2026
14) Book Title: The Crucible
Date Added: 04/24/2023
Date Read: 04/17/2026
15) Book Title: The Haunting of Maddy Clare 📖
Date Added: 03/01/2023
Date Read: 04/00/2026
16) Book Title:
Date Added:
Date Read:
(view spoiler)
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.𖥔 ݁ ˖🕸️🕷.𖥔 ݁ ˖.˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳. .𖥔 ݁ ˖🕸️🕷.𖥔 ݁ ˖ .˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳. .𖥔 ݁ ˖🕸️🕷.𖥔 ݁ ˖ .˳·˖✶𓆩𓁺𓆪✶˖·˳. .𖥔
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I am dropping mine from my usual 45 to 30 for 2026.11/30
1. King Sorrow
2. Detour
3. The Exes: A Novel
4. Imposter
5. Wolf Hour
6. Empire of the Dawn
7. The Fox and the Devil
8. Shroud
9. Sorry for Your Loss
10. Followed by Frost
11. The Lost Man
My spot! I'll do 10 for 26 .#1
- *****
I'm in with 12 books, one for each month. I'll only read physical copies for this one.✅1. Isolation: The Horror Anthology
✅2.What Is Property?
✅3. Die Wuppertaler Gewerkschaftsprozesse - The Wuppertal Union Processes: Trade Union Resistance and International Solidarity
✅4.The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, Volume 1
✅5. Clay's Ark by Octavia E. Butler
✅6. Aşk, Delilik ve Ölüm Öyküleri by Horacio Quiroga
✅7.Men, Women and Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover
✅8.The Weird and the Eerie by Mark Fisher
✅9. The Very Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan by Caitlín R. Kiernan
✅10. Ganz unten: Mit einer Dokumentation der Folgen by Günter Wallraff
11. The Pendragon Legend by Antal Szerb
✅12. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
Mod
I've had such amazing success with this challenge 🙄, I'll try for only 20 this year.
Table for Two
Anxious People
Three
Terminus
Rise of the Undead
I'm going to go for 20. French and English books. Audiobooks or physical copies or Kindle books.
I'm increasing my # for 2026 by 10 more.Hope to read at least 60 books from books already shelved across all my bookcases.
Time to work that down. If I obtain a library copy, it doesn't count even if I had it marked as Want To Read.
This will be my spot. 27 of 60 completed
1. THE VERY NAUGHTY LIST by Michael D.A. Clarke (January 02)
2, BATMAN: DETECTIVE COMICS, VOLUME 2; GOTHAM NOCTURNE, PART 1 graphic novel by Ram V and various artists (January 03)
3. ASSORTED CRISIS EVENTS, VOLUME ONE graphic novel by Deniz Camp and Eric Zadawazki (January 05)
4. HAWKMAN, VOLUME ONE: AWAKENING graphic novel by Robert Vendetti and Bryan Hitch (January 06)
5. STAR WARS; INQUISITORS graphic novel by Rodney Barnes and Ramon Rosanas (January 09)
6. JENNY SPARKS graphic novel by Tom King and Jeff Spokes (January 10)
7. PUNISHER VS BULLSEYE graphic novel by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon (January 12)
8. HOTEL MACABRE, VOLUME TWO anthology edited by Joe Mynhart (January 14)
9. COSMIC HORROR MONTHLY magazine #66 December 2025 (January 18)
10. DR. WERTHLESS graphic novel by Harold Schechter and Eric Powell (January 25)
11. EXQUISITE CORPSES VOLUME ONE graphic novel by James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh (January 29)
12. CRYPT OF THE MOON SPIDER by Nathan Balingrud (January 30)
13. BONES OF OUR STARS, BLOOD OF OUR WORLD by Cullen Bunn (February 04)
14. GODZILLA: HERE THERE BE ALIENS graphic novel by Frank Tieri and Angel Hernandez (February 11)
15. REDCOAT, VOLUME ONE: EINSTEIN AND THE IMMORTAL graphic novel by Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch (February 17)
16. THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS by Chuck Wendig (February 20)
17. BUG WARS, BOOK ONE: LOST IN THE YARD graphic novel by Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar (February 22)
18. REDCOAT, VOLUME TWO: AMERICAN ICONS graphic novel by Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch (February 23)
19. WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS by Grady Hendrix (March 6)
20. HELLBLAZER: RISE AND FALL graphic novel by Tom Taylor and Darick Robertson (March 08)
21. I WAS A FASHION SCHOOL SERIAL KILLER graphic novel by Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard (March 22)
22. SWEETNESS & LIGHTNING, VOLUME ONE manga by Gido Amagakute (March 25)
23. SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING graphic novel by Patrick Zircher (March 31)
23. WONDER WOMAN: HISTORIA, BOOK ONE graphic novelette by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Jimenez (April 02)
25. HYDE STREET, VOLUME ONE graphic novel by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis (April 03)
26. WONDER WOMAN: HISTORIA, BOOK TWO graphic novelette by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Gene Ha (April 03)
27. WONDER WOMAN: HISTORIA, BOOK THREE graphic novelette by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Nicola Scott (April 04)
Mod
Here I lie? Goal of another 25!1. Usher's Passing by Robert McCammon
2. High Cotton: Selected Stories of Joe R. Lansdale by Joe R. Lansdale
3. The Auctioneer by Joan Samson
4. Children of Albion Rovers: An Anthology of New Scottish Writing
My Spot. I'm aiming for at least 15, and my books will have to be labelled Horror as a genre.6/15
1. Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher
2. Dark Hollows by Steve Frech
3. Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
4. Little Heaven by Nick Cutter
5. The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig
6. Ghost Story by Peter Straub
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Stephanie wrote: "Here I lie? Goal of another 25!"I start off modest then increase so I can to myself you crushed it lol. I think I read 25 books by like April or May 2025.
I'm aiming for 50 for the yearCompleted: 0/50
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I'm going for 26 in '26-Reading My Bookshelf-20261-After The People Lights Have Gone Off-Stephen Graham Jones-1/8/26
2-Needful Things-Stephen King-1/19/26
3-Mothered-Zoje Stage-1/10/26
4-The Outsider-Stephen King-2/22/2026
5-We Live Here Now-Sarah Pinborough-2/23/26
6-When the Wolf Comes Home-Nat Cassidy-2/25/26
7-The Strain-Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan-3/14/26
8-Beathe In, Bleed Out-Brian McAuley-4/11/26
9-The Fall: The Strain #2-Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan-
10-
Completed 24/42 Physical TBR books I own.1. The Sword of Kaigen
2. A Time for Blood
3. The Light at the End
4. The Maleficent Seven
5. Cibola Burn
6. Full Throttle
7. The Rage of Dragons
8. A Time of Courage
9. Nemesis Games
10. The Last House on Needless Street
11. Seven Forges
12. Big Damn Hero
13. Among the Living
14. Slow Horses
15. The Black Hawks
16. Small Town Horror
17. The Light of All That Falls
18. Six of Crows
19. A Brightness Long Ago
20. Breathe In, Breathe Out
21. Dead Lions
22. The Forgetting Moon
23. Alien: Perfect Organisms
24. Old Man's War
Yesssss! Let's Gooo! :D __________________________________
0 out of 50:
I smashed my 2025 goal so I'm going for 30 in 2026.
2026 Mount TBR ChallengeAiming for at least 15 from my literary-horror TBR!
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12 will be easy with another monthly challenge, so I round it up to 20:1. Führers Vermächtnis
2. Tödlicher Winter
3. Agency for Scandal
4. Tütensuppenglück
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2read (LB SUB Challenge):
Westlake Soul
Das Meer von Mississippi
Canavan’s 2026 Horror Aficionados Mount TBR Challenge
My goal is to read 10 horror-related books from my personal TBR pile during 2026. Further information about the challenge is provided by WendyB and can be found here.
Legend
💝 = entries rated 4 stars or above
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Lady Ferry
, Sarah Orne Jewett (Author) & Gregory Gallant (as by Seth) (Illustrator) (1879/2025 ed.) ✭✭✭✭✭ 💝2.
The Open Door
, Margaret Oliphant (as by Mrs. Oliphant) (Author) & Gregory Gallant (as by Seth) (Illustrator) (1882/2020 ed.) ✭✭✭½3.
Wandering Ghosts
(variant title: Uncanny Tales), F. Marion Crawford (1911) ✭✭✭✭ 💝4.
Tedious Brief Tales of Granta and Gramarye
, Arthur Gray (as by Ingulphus) (1919/1993 ed.) ✭✭½ 5.
Mr. Jones
, Edith Wharton (Author) & Gregory Gallant (as by Seth) (Illustrator) (1928/2021 ed.) ✭✭✭½6.
Lucky’s Grove
, H. R. Wakefield (Author) & Gregory Gallant (as by Seth) (Illustrator) (1940/2025 ed.) ✭✭✭✭ 💝7.
Podolo
, L. P. Hartley (Author) & Gregory Gallant (as by Seth) (Illustrator) (1948/2024 ed.) ✭✭✭✭½ 💝8.
The Amethyst Cross
, Kathleen Freeman (as by Mary Fitt) (Author) & Gregory Gallant (as by Seth) (Illustrator) (1952/2024 ed.) ✭✭✭✭ 💝9.
Captain Dalgety Returns
, Laurence Whistler (Author) & Gregory Gallant (as by Seth) (Illustrator) (1952/2024 ed.) ✭✭✭½10.
The October Country
, Ray Bradbury (1955) ✭✭✭✭ 💝11.
The Apple Tree, Daphne du Maurier (Author) & Gregory Gallant (as by Seth) (Illustrator) (1962/2019 ed.) ✭✭✭✭½ 💝12.
The Mistress in Black
, Rosemary Timperley (Author) & Gregory Gallant (as by Seth) (Illustrator) (1969/2025 ed.) ✭✭✭✭½ 💝13.
The House by the Poppy Field
, Marjorie Bowen (Author) & Gregory Gallant (as by Seth) (Illustrator) (1976/2023 ed.) ✭✭½14.
Whispers
, Stuart David Schiff (Ed.) (1977) ✭✭✭½15.
The Year’s Best Horror Stories: Series VII
, Gerald W. Page (Ed.) (1979) ✭✭✭16.
Sea Mist
, E.F. Benson (2005) ✭✭✭17.
Out of His Mind
, Stephen Gallagher (2004) ✭✭✭18.
Hellbound Hearts
, Paul Kane & Marie O’Regan (Eds.) (2009) ✭✭✭16.
The Devil and the Deep
, Ellen Datlow (Ed.) (2018) ✭✭✭
Hello, I’m in. Going for 12 and they have to be horror. ☺️
Hello. I am going for 10. I wanted to tackle my physical books this year and this gives me a good reason to!1. Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate-February
My spot!Challenge Status: 8/30
1) Appalachian Horror✅
2) Before You Sleep: Three Horrors✅
3) Churn the Soil ✅
4) Disturb Not the Dream ✅
5) Psycho ✅
6) The Elder Ice ✅
7) Cursed City ✅
8) Itch! ✅
9) Songs of a Dead Dreamer
10) The Fisherman
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Status: 0/20Last Updated: 2/3/2026
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How is everybody doing on their challenges?My ticker says I’ve completed mine, but not really—2 of my books were on the tail end of 2025, so I consider myself needing to read 2 more to complete it for 2026.
I am doing a few things differently this year:
•planning what I’m going to read for the year
•reading more than one book at a time
•participating in challenges to help clear my TBR and
•allowing myself to supplement some of my reading with audio if my eyes are fatigued or I start to lose focus.
Since making these changes, I’m reading a LOT more than what is typical for me. Although I’m glad to be reading more… I’ve noticed that I’m becoming impatient with certain books, skimming more, quicker to judge, harder to please. So I may have to slow it down just to protect my “reading joy” and not burn out.
Do any of you face this? Especially those of you that do reviews for a blogs?
(I’m on msg #5).
Mod
My ticker says I’ve completed mine, but not really—2 of my books were on the tail end of 2025, so I consider myself needing to read 2 more to complete i..."
I do plan my reading a little bit but I stay flexible and change books on my reading list to meet my current needs. I don't try to plan too far ahead but I have some general ideas of the books I'd like to read at certain times of the year.
I always read more than one book at a time. It keeps all the books fresh because if one book isn't quite working for me I can set it aside briefly and focus on a book that I like better. I don't get bogged down trying to finish a book before I can read something else.
The challenges often get me to read books that I've had sitting around for far too long. And I've found some really great reads that way.
I don't do reviews for blogs or such. I'm not good at reviews. I'll put up a few words about a book if something strikes me as worth mentioning but those reviews that are almost as long as the book itself... I never read them. I don't want to know that much about someone else's thoughts and feelings on a book.
So all that being said about my own reading habits, I also try not to let any challenge or pile of books become a chore. It's good to take a break once in a while from reading so it stays a pleasure, something you look forward to. The books will still be there. They're incredibly patient. :)
WendyB wrote: "I do plan my reading a little bit but I stay flexible and change books on my reading list to meet my current needs. I don't try to plan too far ahead…"Good tips! I think maybe I did plan too far ahead. A couple of the challenges are themed (like our HA Horror BOTM). I love horror, but I don’t own that many, so pretty much all of those are library books. I put them all on suspended holds as well as some others for a BINGO challenge. They fill the year (plus the things I own that I want to get off my TBR).
The library books are making me feel like I’m on a time frame and like I have to get through them. I have about 3-4 a month coming all year, plus the ones here at home. Typically I read one book a month sometimes two, so I’m spinning a little bit. 😵💫
I don’t think I’ll do that again. LoL
Michael wrote: "I'm increasing my # for 2026 by 10 more.Hope to read at least 60 books from books already shelved across all my bookcases.
Time to work that down. If I obtain a library copy, it doesn't count even..."
14/60… you’re doing great!
Hi Diane, I love your self care ideas for reading. I especially have been known to read without breaks and end up with eye strain. I switch from visual to audio all the time and it helps a lot! There have been a few challenges that I needed to prefill the slots but overall I am reading and filling the challenges as I go!
Unapologetic_Bookaholic wrote: "Hi Diane, There have been a few challenges that I needed to prefill the slots but overall I am reading and filling the challenges as I go!"
Hi Bookaholic,
Me too. For the challenges where I had to pre-select books, I tried to sort of share them across multiple challenges to kind of give myself a break. The “fill-in-as-I-go” challenges I am trying to read books that I own as much as I can (but so far I don’t feel that I’ve made that big of a dent… we’ll see how that goes further into the year).
Just looked at your spot (all bright and cheery with pretty book covers)… you’re doing good too! Half-way to goal!
My spot0/27
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Horror Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
The Lost Man (other topics)The Crucible (other topics)
Ghost Story (other topics)
Shatter Me (other topics)
In Cold Blood (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Peter Straub (other topics)Mrs. Oliphant (other topics)
F. Marion Crawford (other topics)
Edith Wharton (other topics)
Arthur Gray (other topics)
More...
Let's make it an exciting, horrifying time to share some good stories with our fellow Horror Aficionados.
This will be the place to keep track of what you're reading and to see what other HA members are happily working their way through.
Sign up for the challenge here: https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/...
Name your shelf on the challenge page and when you tag books to that shelf they'll count towards the challenge