2025 Reading Challenge discussion

⭐ Diane's 2020 Reading Corner ⭐

TOC

1. 2019 Member Corner
2. 2020 Goodreads Year in Books
3. 2020 Goodreads Challenge
4. 2020 Reading Summary
5. 2020 Challenge Tracker
6. 2020 Book Tracker

⭐ 2020 Reading Summary ⭐

Reading Resolutions
1. Don't finish books that I hate, or are a waste of time.
2. Plan my reading to meet challenges, rather than trying to fit what I've read into a challenge.
3. Finish more challenges.
4. Limit audiobooks to the car.

Stats
Books read: 97
Pages read: 33,294
Average Rating: 3.4
Average Length: 343
Average Days to Read: 3.02



Ratings

Rating System
★★★★★ - LOVED IT! It's a Desert Island book
★★★★☆ - I really liked it, a lot.
★★★☆☆ - Good (enough)
★★☆☆☆ - It might be good, for someone else
★☆☆☆☆ - Hated it!

2020 Ratings
★★★★★ 6
★★★★☆ 28
★★★☆☆ 60
★★☆☆☆ 3
★☆☆☆☆ 0


Likes & Dislikes

Likes
➢ Favorite title: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
➢ Favorite literary fiction: A Tale for the Time Being
➢ Favorite genre fiction: How the Light Gets In
➢ Favorite non-fiction: Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots
➢ Favorite cover:


Dislikes
➢ Least favorite books:
* The Wives

Diversity
➢ Authors of color: 9 (9%) BOO!
➢ Women: 79 (81%)
➢ Author location (non US/Canada/UK): 7 (7%)
➢ LGBTQ+ (author or main character): 2 (2%)
➢ Non-fiction: 2 (2%)
➢ In translation: 1 (1%)

Notes
2020 has been dismal in so many ways, not the least of which was my reading. I kept exactly zero of my reading resolutions. Almost every book I "read" was in audio format, and to be fair... audio books saved my life so that is one resolution I was happy not to have kept. And a couple of them were so good on audio... namely On the Come Up and A Tale for the Time Being. I am sad about how badly I did on the challenges, because I think I would have gotten more out of any book I read for a challenge than I did from the many, many books I read just to take my mind off what is going on in the world. But, 2021 is around the corner and it is a new start for all the things that are wrong in the world, including my reading habits.

Challenge Tracker

Yearly Challenge - Just Read
❌ Goodreads Challenge (97/101)

Yearly Challenges - Growth Challenges
1. ❌ Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (8/24)
2. ❌ Reading Women Challenge (9/26)
3. ❌ Global Voices (7/20)
4. ❌ Genre Bingo (18/26 books, 1/13 bingos)

Yearly Challenges - Fun Challenges
1. ❌ A-Z Challenge: Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales (12/13)
2. ❌ Let's Turn Pages (33,294/40,000 pp)
3. ❌ Clear the Shelves (1/12)
4. ❌ Color Challenge (15/18)
5. ✅ Personal Challenge: Reread It (10/6)
6. ❌ Personal Challenge: Every Year (27/28)

Quarterly Challenges
1. ❌ TOB Championship

Monthly Challenges
1. ❌ January: Marathon Challenge (2,444/3,700 pp)
2. ❌ February: Black History Month (1/10)
3. ❌ March: Women's History Month (0/0)

❌ Yearly Challenge: Goodreads Challenge

Goal: 97/101+

January
1. ★★★★★ (2017) Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
2. ★★★☆☆ (2009) The Brutal Telling, Louise Penny
3. ★★★★☆ (2010) Bury Your Dead, Louise Penny
4. ★★★☆☆ (2011) A Trick of the Light, Louise Penny
5. ★★★☆☆ (2012) The Beautiful Mystery, Louise Penny
6. ★★★★☆ (2013) How the Light Gets In, Louise Penny
7. ★★★☆☆ (2013) The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman

February
8. ★★★★☆ (2013) Pardonable Lies, Jacqueline Winspear
9. ★★★★☆ (2019) Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry
10. ★★★★☆ (2003) The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau
11. ★★★☆☆ (2004) The People of Sparks, Jeanne DuPrau
12. ★★★☆☆ (2008) The Diamond of Darkhold, Jeanne DuPrau
13. ★★★☆☆ (2006) The Prophet of Yonwood, Jeanne DuPrau

March
---

April
14. ★★☆☆☆ (2019) The Wives, Tarryn Fisher
15. ★★★☆☆ (1983) The Anodyne Necklace, Martha Grimes
16. ★★★☆☆ (1984) The Dirty Duck, Martha Grimes
17. ★★★☆☆ (1984) Jerusalem Inn, Martha Grimes
18. ★★★☆☆ (1985) Help the Poor Struggler, Martha Grimes
19. ★★★☆☆ (1985) The Deer Leap, Martha Grimes
20. ★★☆☆☆ (1986) I Am the Only Running Footman, Martha Grimes

May
21. ★★★★☆ (2018) The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah
22. ★★★☆☆ (2020) The Other Mrs., Mary Kubica
23. ★★★☆☆ (2008) When Will There Be Good News?, Kate Atkinson
24. ★★★☆☆ (2010) Started Early, Took My Dog, Kate Atkinson
25. ★★★☆☆ (2019) Big Sky, Kate Atkinson
26. ★★★☆☆ (2020) Master Class, Christina Dalcher
27. ★★★☆☆ (2006) Messenger of Truth, Jacqueline Winspear
28. ★★★☆☆ (2008) An Incomplete Revenge, Jacqueline Winspear
29. ★★★☆☆ (2009) Among the Mad, Jacqueline Winspear
30. ★★★☆☆ (2010) The Mapping of Love and Death, Jacqueline Winspear
31. ★★★☆☆ (2011) A Lesson in Secrets, Jacqueline Winspear
32. ★★★☆☆ (2012) Elegy for Eddie, Jacqueline Winspear
33. ★★★☆☆ (2012) Mr. Churchill's Secretary, Susan Elia MacNeal

June
34. ★★★☆☆ (2009) A Duty to the Dead, Charles Todd
35. ★★★☆☆ (2010) An Impartial Witness, Charles Todd
36. ★★★☆☆ (2011) A Bitter Truth, Charles Todd
37. ★★★☆☆ (2012) An Unmarked Grave, Charles Todd
38. ★★★☆☆ (2013) A Question of Honor, Charles Todd
39. ★★★☆☆ (2014) An Unwilling Accomplice, Charles Todd
40. ★★★☆☆ (2015) A Pattern of Lies, Charles Todd
41. ★★★☆☆ (2016) The Shattered Tree, Charles Todd
42. ★★★☆☆ (2017) A Casualty of War, Charles Todd
43. ★★★☆☆ (2018) A Forgotten Place, Charles Todd
44. ★★★☆☆ (2019) A Cruel Deception, Charles Todd
45. ★★★★☆ (2005) Uglies, Scott Westerfeld
46. ★★★☆☆ (2005) Pretties, Scott Westerfeld
47. ★★★☆☆ (2006) Specials, Scott Westerfeld

July
48. ★★★☆☆ (2019) Wanderers, Chuck Wendig
49. ★★★★☆ (2017) Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, Balli Kaur Jaswal
50. ★★★★☆ (2019) Recursion, Blake Crouch
51. ★★★★☆ (2018) The Witch Elm, Tana French
52. ★★★★☆ (1993) The Giver, Lois Lowry
53. ★★★★☆ (2013) The Cuckoo's Calling, Robert Galbraith

August
54. ★★★☆☆ (2015) Career of Evil, Robert Galbraith
55. ★★★★☆ (2020) The Glass Hotel, Emily St. John Mandel
56. ★★★☆☆ (2014) The Silkworm, Robert Galbraith
57. ★★★☆☆ (2018) Lethal White, Robert Galbraith
58. ★★★★☆ (2008) The Likeness, Tana French
59. ★★★☆☆ (2013) Leaving Everything Most Loved, Jacqueline Winspear
60. ★★★☆☆ (2015) A Dangerous Place, Jacqueline Winspear
61. ★★★☆☆ (2016) Journey to Munich, Jacqueline Winspear

September
62. ★★★☆☆ (2017) In This Grave Hour, Jacqueline Winspear
63. ★★★☆☆ (2018) To Die But Once, Jacqueline Winspear
64. ★★★☆☆ (2019) The American Agent, Jacqueline Winspear
65. ★★★☆☆ (2018) The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris
66. ★★★★☆ (2019) A Woman Is No Man, Etaf Rum
67. ★★★★☆ (2012) Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots, Deborah Feldman
68. ★★★★☆ (2019) The Grammarians, Cathleen Schine

October
69. ★★★☆☆ (1995) The Romance Reader, Pearl Abraham
70. ★★★☆☆ (2016) Behind Closed Doors, B.A. Paris
71. ★★★☆☆ (2019) The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides
72. ★★★☆☆ (2006) Raven Black, Ann Cleeves
73. ★★★★☆ (1950) A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
74. ★★★★★ (2008) Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout
75. ★★★★☆ (2001) Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks

November
76. ★★★☆☆ (2020) Axiom's End, Lindsay Ellis
77. ★★★☆☆ (2020) Troubled Blood, Robert Galbraith
78. ★★★☆☆ (2016) Magpie Murders, Anthony Horowitz
79. ★★★☆☆ (2019) The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley
80. ★★★★☆ (2019) Nothing to See Here, Kevin Wilson

December
81. ★★☆☆☆ (2009) The Scarecrow, Michael Connelly
82. ★★★★★ (2008) The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
83. ★★★★☆ (2009) Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
84. ★★★★☆ (2010) Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
85. ★★★☆☆ (2020) The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins
86. ★★★★☆ (2006) One Good Turn, Kate Atkinson
87. ★★★★☆ (2019) On the Come Up, Angie Thomas
88. ★★★★★ (1991) Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
89. ★★★★★ (2013) A Tale for the Time Being
90. ★★★★☆ (2019) Sulwe, Lupita Nyong'o
91. ★★★★★ (1997) Brokeback Mountain, Annie Proulx
92. ★★★☆☆ (2017) The Secret, Book & Scone Society, Ellery Adams
93. ★★★★☆ (2019) The Night Diary, Veera Hiranandani
94. ★★★★☆ (2011) The Tiger's Wife, Téa Obreht
95. ★★★★☆ (2019) The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family, Ibtihaj Muhammad
96. ★★★☆☆ (2018) I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life, Anne Bogel
97. ★★★★☆ (1940) Betsy-Tacy, Maud Hart Lovelace

❌ Yearly Challenge: Book Riot Read Harder Challenge

Goal: 8/24

1. YA nonfiction book
2. Retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, or myth by an author of color
3. Mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman
✅ The Beautiful Mystery
4. Graphic memoir
5. Book about a natural disaster
6. Play by an author of color and/or queer author
7. Historical fiction novel not set in WWII
✅ A Duty to the Dead
8. Audiobook of poetry
9. LAST book in a series
✅ Mockingjay
10. Book that takes place in a rural setting
✅ Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks
11. Debut novel by a queer author
12. Memoir by someone from a religious tradition (or lack of religious tradition) that is not your own
13. Food book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before
14. Romance starring a single parent
15. Book about climate change
16. Doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950, written by a woman
✅ Troubled Blood, JK Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith
17. Read a sci-fi/fantasy novella (under 120 pages)
18. Picture book with a human main character from a marginalized community
✅ Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry
19. Book by or about a refugee
20. A middle grade book that doesn’t take place in the U.S. or the UK
✅The Night Diary, Veera Hiranandani
21. Book with a main character or protagonist with a disability (fiction or non)
✅ Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (mental illness)
22. Horror book published by an indie press
23. An edition of a literary magazine (digital or physical)
24. A book in any genre by a Native, First Nations, or Indigenous author

❌ Yearly Challenge: Reading Women Challenge

Goal: 9/26

1. Book by an author from the Caribbean or India
2. Book translated from an Asian language
3. Book about the environment
4. Picture book written/illustrated by a BIPOC author
✅ Sulwe, Lupita Nyong'o
5. Winner of the Stella Prize or the Women’s Prize for Fiction]
✅ The Tiger's Wife, Téa Obreht
6. A nonfiction title by a woman historian
7. Book featuring Afrofuturism or Africanfuturism
8. An anthology by multiple authors
9. Book inspired by folklore
✅Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
10. Book about a woman artist
11. Read and watch a book-to-movie adaptation
✅The Likeness, Tana French
12. Book about a woman who inspires you
13. Book by an Arab woman
14. Book Set in Japan or by a Japanese author
✅A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki
15. Biography
16. Book featuring a woman with a disability
17. Book over 500 pages long
✅Troubled Blood, JK Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith
18. Book under 100 pages long
✅Brokeback Mountain, Annie Proulx
19. Book that’s frequently recommended to you
20. Feel-good or happy book
✅Betsy-Tacy
21. Book about food
22. Book by either a favorite or a new-to-you publisher
23. Book by an LGBTQ+ author
✅Axiom's End, Lindsay Ellis
24. Book from the 2019 Reading Women Award Shortlists and Honorable Mentions

BONUS
25. Book by Toni Morrison
26. Book by Isabel Allende

❌ Yearly Challenge: Global Voices

Goal (50% of challenge prompts): 7/20

Voices From Around The World
1. African
2. Asian
✅ Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
3. Caribbean
4. Indigenous
5. Latin American
6. Middle Eastern
✅ A Woman Is No Man (Palestine)
7. Oceanic
8. From a Dependent Territory (e.g., Puerto Rican) or State with Limited Recognition (e.g., Palestinian)
9. Immigrant, Refugee, Migrant, or Asylum-Seeker
10. Black or Multiracial
✅ Hair Love

Diversity of Beliefs
11. Agnostic, Atheist, or Humanist
12. Buddhist or Hindu
13. Jewish
✅The Romance Reader
14. Muslim
✅The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family, Ibtihaj Muhammad
15. Practioner of a Minor Religion or Non-Religious form of Spirituality
16. Activist, Freedom Fighter, or Political Minority

Love is Love is Love
17. Asexual, Aromantic, or Celibate
18. Gay or Lesbian
19. Bisexual or Pansexual
20. Adopted, Fostered, or raised by someone other than one's biological parents

Every Body Has Value
21. Body Positive, Body Neutral, or Fat Positive person who is a size or shape outside of their society's beauty norms (Diet, Weightloss, or other Body Modification books are not allowed for this prompt.)
22. Non-binary, Genderqueer, Intersex or Transgender
23. Child (under 18) or Elder (over 75)
24. Differently-Abled (e.g., Autistic, Deaf)
25. Living with a visible or invisible Chronic Health Condition or Physical Disability
26. Living with a Mental Health Condition, Cognitive/Intellectual Disability, or Addiction
27. Currently or Previously Incarcerated or Institutionalized
28. Low-Income or Financially Insecure
29. Survivor of Abuse, Neglect, Sexual Assault, a Hate Crime, or Human Trafficking
30. Victim of State-Sponsored Violence or Institutional/Systemic Discrimination

Bonus & Advanced Prompts
31. Read a book written by people indigenous to where you live or frequently visit.
32. Read a book translated from a language other than English.
✅ Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots (Yiddish)
33. Read a book that addresses social justice or ethics or in medicine, law, fashion, food, consumerism, or environmental stewardship as it relates to race, class, sex/gender, etc.
34. Read a “classic,” award-winning, or scholarly #ownvoices book that also meets the criteria for one of the above prompts.
35. Read a book of poetry or a graphic novel that also meets the criteria for one of the above prompts.
36. Read an #ownvoices book promoted or written by a Bookstagrammer, Booktuber, Book Blogger, Goodreads Super Reviewer, or an Activist or Educator who uses social media as a tool to teach and inspire change.
37. Listen to an #ownvoices book read by the author, read the book and attend an author event about the book, or watch a recording of such an event.
38. Read a book about intersectional feminism or Black feminism.
✅ On the Come Up
39. Read a book that discusses unearned privilege, colonialism, imperialism, or white supremacy.
40. Read a book that helps you understand your own cultural heritage.

❌ Yearly Challenge: Genre Bingo

Goal: 26 Books/13 Bingos
Book Progress: 18/26 (B2 is "Trilogy")
Bingo Progress: 1/13



B
B1. Memoir
✅ book:Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots|13547241]
B2. Satire
B3. Paranormal
B4. Trilogy
✅ Uglies
✅ Pretties
✅ Specials
B5. Humor and Comedy

I
I1. Biography
✅The Tattooist of Auschwitz
I2. Horror
✅The Ocean at the End of the Lane
I3. Crime
✅The Scarecrow
I4. General NonfictionI'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
✅
I5. Science Fiction
✅Recursion

N
N1. Coming of Age
✅ On the Come Up
N2. Historical Fiction
✅ An Impartial Witness
N3. Free Space
N4. Tragedy
N5. Science Nonfiction

G
G1. Dystopian
✅Wanderers
G2. Graphic Novel
G3. Literary Fiction
✅Olive Kitteridge
G4. Magical Realism
✅Nothing to See Here
G5. Mystery or Thriller
✅ The Hunting Party

O
O1. Young Adult Fantasy
O2. Young Adult
✅ Mockingjay
O3. Suspense
✅ The Witch Elm
O4. Self-Help
O5. Adventure

❌ Yearly Challenge: A-Z Challenge: Myths, Legends, & Fairy Tales

Goal (50% of challenge prompts): 12/13

A: Alcestis or Alceste (Greek tragedy by Euripedes) The Silent Patient (plot)
B:
C: Cupid (Greek myth) Axiom's End (character, Ampersand)
D: Daphne (Greek myth) The Grammarians (character, Daphne)
E: Eos (Greek myth, Dawn) Sulwe (character, sister Day)
F:
G:
H: Hephaestus (outcast in Greek mythology) Raven Black (character, Magnus Tait)
I:
J:
K:
L: Laurel (Greek myth) The Grammarians (character, Laurel)
M: Minos (Greek myth) Catching Fire (character, Coriolanus Snow)
N:
O: Oedipus (Greek myth) Bury Your Dead (character, Old/Patrick)
P: Phoenix (Greek folklore) The Secret, Book & Scone Society (character, Nora)
Q:
R:
S: Sibyl (ancient Greek oracle) Pardonable Lies (character, Adele Nelson)
T: Theseus (Greek hero) The Hunger Games (character, Katniss Everdeen)
U: Ukobach (fire demon) Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (character, Mummy/Sharon)
V:
W:
X:
Y:
Z:

❌ Yearly Challenge: Let's Turn Pages

Goal: 33,294/40,000

January: 2,444
February: 1,581
March: 0
April: 2,166
May: 4,543
June: 4,928
July: 2,568
August: 3,250
September: 2,265
October: 2,235
November: 2,520
December: 4,794

❌ Yearly Challenge: Clear the Shelves

Goal: 1/12

Physical
1. Behind Closed Doors
2.
3.
4.
5.

Kindle
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Audible
1.
2.

❌ Yearly Challenge: Color Challenge

Goal: 15/18








White


Pink


Red


Orange


Yellow


Green


Light Blue


Dark Blue


Purple


Brown


Black


Metallic (gold)


5 colors on cover


Geometric pattern


"Ugly" cover


Two or more color words in title


The word "Color" in the title


Word describing color in the title

✅ Personal Yearly Challenge: Reread It

Goal: 10/6

1. The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau
2. The People of Sparks, Jeanne DuPrau
3. The Diamond of Darkhold, Jeanne DuPrau
4. The Prophet of Yonwood, Jeanne DuPrau
5. The Giver, Lois Lowry
6. Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks
7. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
8. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
9. Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
10. Betsy-Tacy, Maud Hart Lovelace

❌ Personal Yearly Challenge: Every Year, Half the Years

Goal: 27/28

2020: The Glass Hotel
2019: The American Agent
2018: The Ocean at the End of the Lane
2017: Magpie Murders
2016: Journey to Munich
2015: A Dangerous Place
2014: The Silkworm
2013: Leaving Everything Most Loved
2012: Mr. Churchill's Secretary
2011: A Bitter Truth
2010: Bury Your Dead
2009: The Scarecrow
2008: The Likeness
2007:
2006: One Good Turn
2005: Uglies
2004: The People of Sparks
2003: The City of Ember
2002:
2001: Year of Wonders
2000:
1999:
1998:
1997: Brokeback Mountain
1996: The Romance Reader
1995:
1994:
1993: The Giver
1992:
...
1987:
1986: I Am the Only Running Footman
1985: The Deer Leap
1984:
1983:
1982: The Anodyne Necklace
1981:
1982:
1983:
1984: The Dirty Duck
...
1964:

Bonus

1950: A Town Like Alice
1940: Betsy-Tacy

Yearly Challenge: Make Progress on ToB Rooster Finalists (started in 2019)

Goal: 11/24

1. ✅ (2005) The Plot Against America
2. (2005) *Cloud Atlas
3. (2006) Home Land
4. ✅ (2006) *The Accidental
5. (2007) Absurdistan
6. (2007) *The Road
7. ✅ (2008) Remainder
#.❌ (2008) *The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Note: I'm not reading this one because I won't support Junot Díaz. Replacing with a different TOB semi-finalist.
8. (2009) City of Refuge
9. (2009) *A Mercy
10. (2010) The Lacuna
11. (2010) *Wolf Hall
12. (2011) Freedom
13. (2011) *A Visit from the Goon Squad
14. (2012) Open City
15. ✅ (2012) * The Sisters Brothers
16. ✅ (2013) The Fault in Our Stars
17. ✅ (2013) * The Orphan Master's Son
18. ✅ (2014) Life After Life
19. (2014) *The Good Lord Bird
20. (2015) All the Light We Cannot See
21. ✅ (2015) * Station Eleven
22. (2016) The Turner House
23. (2016) *The Sellout
24. ✅ (2017) Homegoing
25. ✅ (2017) * The Underground Railroad
26. (2018) Pachinko
27. (2018) Lincoln in the Bardo
28, (2018) *Fever Dream
29. (2019) There There
30. (2019) The Mars Room
31. (2019) Warlight
32. ✅ (2019) * My Sister, the Serial Killer

❌ January Challenge: Marathon

1/12th of my annual goal, plus 10% (rounded up).

Goal: 2,444/3,700 pp

1. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (327 pp)
2. The Brutal Telling (372 pp)
3. Bury Your Dead (371 pp)
4. A Trick of the Light (339 pp)
5. The Beautiful Mystery (390 pp)
6, How the Light Gets In (405 pp)
7. The Ocean at the End of the Lane (181 pp)

❌ February Personal Challenge: Black History Month

Read only Black authors in February for Black History Month. Trying for a minimum of 10 books.

Goal: 1/10

1. Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry
2.

❌ March Personal Challenge: Women's History Month

Read only women for the month of March.

Goal: 0/10

1.