The Reading Challenge Group discussion

Need a break from those long books? This challenge is for books 280 or fewer pages, so relax with some easy to lift books! We also have Chunkster and Doorstopper length challenges
This runs all year. Feel free to do multiple rounds as well!

Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
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5
Level 2 Flapping Wings
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7
8
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10

Level 3 Taking Flight
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14
15

Finished: 2026/08/26

Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
1 Maman by Sylvie Schenk (177) ✓ 01/21
2 Bambino by Marco Balzano (234) ✓ 02/02
3 Einstein im Bade by Daniel Mellem (272) ✓ 02/07
4 24 Sekunden ab jetzt: Eine ganz normale Liebesgeschichte by Jason Reynolds (192) ✓ 02/09
5 Verwirrung der Gefühle by Stefan Zweig (140) ✓ 02/18

Level 2 Flapping Wings
6 Victoria. by Jürgen Lotz (158) ✓ 02/26
7 A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (237) ✓ 02/28
8 Sula by Toni Morrison (240) ✓ 03/09
9 Brief an den Vater by Franz Kafka (112) ✓ 04/01
10 Schachnovelle by Stefan Zweig (112) ✓ 05/05

Level 3 Taking Flight
11 We Burned So Bright by T.J. Klune (163) ✓ 05/17
12 Richtig gutes Essen by Takase Junko (160) ✓ 06/16
13 Seide by Alessandro Baricco (131) ✓ 07/14
14 Weißer Sommer by Eva Pramschüfer (272) ✓ 08/09
15 Murdoku: 80 Logikrätsel rund um mysteriöse Mordfälle by Manuel Garand (208) ✓ 08/26

2026 Maxi Challenges > Featherweight 2026

Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
1. Before You Wake: Three Horrors by Adam L.G. Nevill 1/6/26
2. Dover Two by Joyce Porter 1/10/26
3. Man, F--- This House by Brian Asman 1/11/26
4. Stranger Danger by Maren Stoffels 1/17/26
5. The Affair at the Victory Ball by Agatha Christie 1/17/26

Level 2 Flapping Wings
6. Out of the Mirror, Darkness by Garth Nix 1/23/26
7. Wyrd and Other Derelictions by Adam L.G. Nevill 1/29/26
8. The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani 2/5/26
9. Unmissing by Minka Kent 2/6/26
10. Before Her by Jacqueline Woodson 2/7/26

Level 3 Taking Flight
11. Witching Hour Theatre by Jonathan Janz 2/7/26
12. Vlad by Carlos Fuentes 2/8/26
13. The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs 2/12/26
14. The Mezzotint by M.R. James 2/13/26
15. Strange Houses by Uketsu 2/16/26

ROUND TWO

Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
1. Old Order by Jonathan Janz 2/16/26
2. There's a Giant Trapdoor Spider Under Your Bed by Edgar Cantero 2/17/26
3. small hours by Lucy Kirkwood 2/17/26
4. When the Zombies Win by Karina Sumner-Smith 2/24/26
5. Midnight Caller by Stephen Graham Jones 2/24/26

Level 2 Flapping Wings
6. Beware Of Owner by Chuck Wendig 2/24/26
7. Stemming the Tide by Simon Strantzas 2/25/26
8. It Washed Up by Joe R. Lansdale 2/25/26
9. The Girls from the Horror Movie by Gwendolyn Kiste 2/25/26
10. The Anatomist’s Mnemonic by Priya Sharma 2/26/26

Level 3 Taking Flight
11. The Deadliest Lead by Hanna Wren 2/28/26
12. Miss Pinkerton by Mary Roberts Rinehart 3/16/26
13. Barefoot in the Park: A Comedy in Three Acts by Neil Simon 3/21/26
14. The Family Across the Street by Nicole Trope 3/23/26
15. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney 3/26/26

ROUND THREE

Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
1. Just a Girl by Alyssa Cole 3/28/26
2. Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn 3/28/26
3. Little Women the Broadway Musical: Libretto Vocal Book by Allan Knee 3/29/26
4. Slot Machine Fever Dreams by Chris Bohjalian 3/30/26
5. The Shark is Broken by Ian Shaw 4/1/26

Level 2 Flapping Wings
6. The Rats by James Herbert 4/2/26
7. The Pretty Onesby Ania Ahlborn 4/5/26
8. Palmetto by Ania Ahlborn 4/7/26
9. Tape by Stephen Belber 4/8/26
10. Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke 4/14/26

Level 3 Taking Flight
11. The Witness for the Prosecution: an Agatha Christie Short Story by Agatha Christie 4/19/26
12. Tantrum by Rachel Eve Moulton 4/26/26
13. Girls’ Night Out by Wendy Dalrymple 5/3/26
14. EMMA! A Pop Musical by Eric Price 5/22/26
15. Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story Graphic Novel by Scott E. Peterson 5/23/26

Featherweights:
Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
📚1: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Washington Irving 16 Jan
📚2: The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath 18 Jan
📚3: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Alison Bechdel 24 Jan
📚4: The Secret Garden: The Original 1911 Unabridged and Complete Edition Frances Hodgson Burnett 14 Feb
📚5: True to Form Elizabeth Berg 25 Feb
Level 2 Flapping Wings
📚6: The Ice Palace Tarjei Vesaas 1Mar
📚7: The Door-to-Door Bookstore Carsten Henn 5 Mar
📚8: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson 13 March
📚9: The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway 30 Mar
📚10: Six Feet of the Country Nadine Gordimer 30 Mar

Level 3 Taking Flight
📚11: A Month in the Country J.L. Carr 31 Mar
📚12: Small Things Like These Claire Keegan 24 Apr
📚13: The Book of Sleep: 75 Strategies to Relieve Insomnia Nicole Moshfegh 3 May
📚14: Passing Nella Larsen 12 May
📚15: Quintana & Friends John Gregory Dunne 18 May

Featherweight 2026

Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
1 Silk
2 The Wilderness
3 A Pocket Full of Rye
4 2BR02B
5 At Night All Blood is Black

Level 2 Flapping Wings
6 On Earth As It Is Beneath
7 Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments
8. A Long Winter
9. Sultana's Dream
10 Götz and Meyer

Level 3 Taking Flight

11The Long Rain
12 Ada
13 Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles
14 The Passenger
15An Arrow in a Sunbeam and Other Tales

Round 2:
Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
📚1: Earthlings Sayaka Murata 21 May
📚2: The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen Yuta Takahashi 7 Jul
📚3: Once Were Warriors Alan Duff 12 Jul
📚4: Anne of the Island L.M. Montgomery 19 Jul
📚5: A Year in Provence Peter Mayle 26 Jul
Level 2 Flapping Wings
📚6: Death on the Beach: Essays from a Marginal World Per Högselius 31 Jul
📚7: One Italian Summer Rebecca Serle 3 Aug
📚8: Expiration Dates Rebecca Serle 8 Aug
📚9: Antigone Sophocles 14 Aug
📚10: Slouching Towards Bethlehem Joan Didion 15 Aug

Level 3 Taking Flight
📚11: These Alien Skies C.T. Rwizi 21 Aug
📚12: 2043... a Merman I Should Turn to Be Nisi Shawl 22 Aug
📚13: The Secret to Superhuman Strength Alison Bechdel 29 Aug
📚14: Anne of Windy Poplars L.M. Montgomery 5 Sep
📚15: 84, Charing Cross Road Helene Hanff 19 Sep

Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
1. The Patchwork Girl of Oz - 1/11
2. Galatea - 1/14
3. Night of Cake & Puppets - 1/16
4. Tik-Tok of Oz - 2/21
5. Finding Acceptance - 2/28

Level 2 Flapping Wings
6. The Scarecrow of Oz - 3/21
7. Me Talk Pretty One Day - 4/7
8. The Wailing Wind - 4/11
9. The Sinister Pig - 4/25
10. Finding Redemption - 5/3

Level 3 Taking Flight
11. Skeleton Man - 5/9
12. Rinkitink in Oz - 6/7
13. The Shape Shifter - 7/3
14. A Killer in the Low Country - 7/4
15. Death of a Gossip - 7/5

Round 3:
Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
📚1: The War of the Worlds: H. G. Wells' Sci-Fi Invasion Classic H.G. Wells 20 Sep
📚2: Castle Rackrent Maria Edgeworth 20 Sep
📚3: Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game John Sexton 3 Oct
📚4: Foundation Isaac Asimov 5 Oct
📚5: Life, Loss, and Puffins Catherine Ryan Hyde 11 Oct
Level 2 Flapping Wings
📚6: The Overcoat and Other Short Stories Nikolai Gogol 10/11/26
📚7: Benediction Kent Haruf 10/13/26
📚8: The In-Between Bookstore Edward Underhill 10/17/26
9
10

Level 3 Taking Flight
11
12
13
14
15

Three rounds complete! Calling this one done!

Round Two:
Level 1 Ruffled Feathers
1. Finding Refuge - 7/11
2. Death of a Cad - 8/2
3. A Cold Day for Murder - 8/15
4. Death of an Outsider - 8/18
5. SPLBERG - 8/25

Level 2 Flapping Wings
6. Finding Comfort - 8/30
7. The Case of the Missing Marquess - 9/1
8. Death of a Perfect Wife - 9/3
9. Song of the Lion - 9/8
10. Artificial Condition - 9/10

Level 3 Taking Flight
11. Rogue Protocol - 9/16
12. Death of a Hussy - 9/18
13. Finding Truth - 10/9
14. Death of a Snob - 10/20
15. Arsenic and Old Lace - 10/24