2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Last year I was so confident I would keep up on my challenges and goals and then just completely lost motivation and barely made it through the year reading at all. =(

I hope to read predominantly books that have been on my GR TBR shelf for more than a year but would like to try for 5 books that have been on it for 5 years+.

☼ Progress Stats ☼
► Total Books: 68/75 (increased from 50)
♫ Books on TBR shelf more than 5 years: 7/5
♪ Pages: 6890/6000 (+soo many audio hours)


Happy Reading everyone ♥


Did Not Finish:

**Typo corrected**

Good luck with your reading challenge, Tima! :)

Also, you aren't alone in failing to achieve your reading goal in 2021. There's me and countless others who didn't and trust me, that's okay! Reading is fun and let's not feel disheartened by not reading as much as we'd like to.

May we have a satisfying reading journey this year. :D

Trisha wrote: "Good luck with your reading challenge, Tima! :)

Also, you aren't alone in failing to achieving your reading goal in 2021. There's me and countless others who didn't and trust me, that's okay! Read..."

Ahh Trisha, thank you for taking the time to say this :) It is so true! And it has reminded me that I even made this thread! I was thinking I was so far behind that I hadn't even made the goal yet XD. Now I'm reminded! :) I hope your reading journey is delightful and satisfying!

January Reads Part I

I realized I can listen to audiobooks while working and let go of my self-imposed ridiculous rule (to myself only) that I shouldn't count audiobooks. That helped me enjoy reading some books that have been on my list for awhile!

1)
by Judy Blume | Finished: Jan 4
Rating: 2 1/2 stars | On GR TBR shelf since: 12/2021 | Physical book

I can see why this was groundbreaking when it first came out, and I tried to keep that in mind while reading it but gosh it was so full unnecessary ellipsis and cringe content.

2)

by Terri Jentz | Finished: Jan 22 | Rating: 3 stars |
On GR List since: August 11, 2013 | Audiobook

I always have such a hard time rating memoirs because it’s so personal. Who am I to discount or judge someone’s lived experience? Strictly focusing on the quality of the book? It was a crusade. It was lacking facts, lacking editing, inflammatory and the narrator mispronounced many local cities

3)

by Nick Hornby | Finished: Jan 24 |Rating: 3 stars |
On GR Shelf since: July 29, 2012 | Audiobook
(Owned physical copy since around then as well oops, haha)

4)

by Kunal Nayyar | Finished: Jan 25 | Rating: 4.5 stars |
On GR Shelf since: Nov 4, 2015 | Audiobook
(Also own physical copy of this since it's release ahhh haha)

I absolutely LOVED the hearing Kunal read this himself. I think it had a much bigger impact and more fun to hear the stories with the emotions and inflections that he intended.

5) By Their Father's Hand: The True Story of the Wesson Family Massacre by Monte Francis | Finished: Jan 26
Rating: 2.75 | On GR Shelf since: August 31 2015 | Audiobook

This rating is STRICTLY about the way the audiobook was narrated and how poorly the book was written. The real life story is horrific and heartbreaking and just all around awful. The book is not well composed.

6)
by Amyra Leon | Finished: Jan 26
Rating: First 5 star of the year |
On GR Shelf since: Jan 26 2022 | Audiobook

I had read Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon not long after it was released. It introduced to me to the Pocket Change Collective series and I love it. Hearing Concrete Kids read by Amyra Leon was an EXPERIENCE. I soaked it up. I set it back and listened again. I sat in silence for a bit after I was done. It is so beautifully raw and I recommend the audio version to anyone who is able to.

January Reads Parts II

7)
by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez | Finished: Jan 26 | Audiobook
Rating: 3.5 stars | On GR Shelf since: June 15, 2020

This is another in the Pocket Change Collective series. This one I think I might've like more if I had read the physical copy. Although, I am really into listening to authors read their own work because it helps me with the feeling intended. There’s absolutely no doubt that Xiuhtezcatl is an influential, passionate, and important voice in our world. He has made so much impact and continues to do so while encouraging others to find the path that leads them to do doing the same.

That being said, this book felt so scattered and incomplete. It had no source page, a lot of info dumping, lot of context jumping, and so on. You can feel the powerfulness of his words lurking below the surface but it just didn’t come together for me.

8.
by Elisabet Velasquez | Finished: Jan 27 | 4.5 stars
On GR Shelf since: July 3, 2021 | Audiobook


9.
by Mia P. Manansala | Finished: Jan 28 | 3.75 stars
On GR shelf since: Feb 7, 2021

" 3.75 - would've been a solid low 3 if I was reading a physical copy instead of audio. The audio was great and added so much to the story.

I think the first 50% or so was really interesting and fun and then it started to get a bit much while somehow dragging on too long. The reveal was surprising which I always appreciate since it can be easy to guess in most cozy mysteries.

10. The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
Finished: Jan 30 | 4.25 stars | Graphic Novel
On GR Shelf since: November 17, 2021

11. The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
Finished: Jan 31 | 2.5 stars | Audiobook
On GR Shelf since: October 31, 2017

I have pretty conflicted feelings about this book for a number of reasons.

12.

by Bethany C. Morrow | Audiobook | Finished: Feb 2 | 4.25 stars
On GR shelf since: September 13, 2021

13.

by Amy Tan | Audiobook | Finished: Feb 11 | 3 stars
On GR shelf since: May 28, 2012

14.

by Kwana Jackson | Audiobook | Finished: Feb 13 | 3 stars
On GR shelf since: February 4, 2021

The cover pulled me in and the very general plot idea was interesting.

That’s about where it ended in terms of interest though. No character felt flushed out enough, the first half the book was pretty slow but I was hoping it would pay off in terms of character build.

I felt like the story could’ve been deeper and more connected. There was so much potential zipping under the surface.

Outside of the story itself, this edition suffered from choice of narrator as well. I felt like a book supposedly mostly about brothers and their grief/story could have been done way more justice being read by a male narrator instead of a very flat almost laughable forced low voice from the narrator. It didn’t help the story.

15)


by Chris (Simpsons Artist) | E-Book | Finished 2/20 | 5 stars
On GR shelf since: October 18th, 2020

Ridiculous. Chaos. Unhinged. Anything less and I wouldn't have wanted it.

Nearly Mid-Year Update

Remainder of February:

16)

by Akwaeke Emezi | Audiobook | Finished 2/22 | 5 stars
On GR shelf since: February 18th, 2020

17)

by Leslie Jordan | Audiobook | Finished 2/28 | 4 stars
On GR Shelf since: November 17th, 2021

March Reads:

18)

by Akwaeke Emezi | Audiobook | Finished 3/18 | 5 stars
On GR Shelf since: February 25, 2021

19)

by Alice Oseman | Graphic Novel/Comic | Finished 3/20 | 5 stars
On GR Shelf since: January 31, 2022

If I could negatively rate the Netflix series, I would. It's so terribly casted that it's affecting my enjoyment of the comic. I wish it had never been optioned for screen, it was so perfect :(

20)

by Hank Green | Audiobook | Finished 3/21 | 4 stars
On GR shelf since: October 19, 2018

21)

by Samantha Irby | Audiobook | Finished 3/24 | 3.75 stars
On GR shelf since: October 31st, 2017

22)

by John Paul Brammer | Kindle | Finished 4/06 | 4 stars
On GR shelf since: December 7, 2020

23)

by Torrey Peters | Audiobook | Finished 04/08 | 2 very disappointed stars
On GR shelf since: January 21, 2021

This book was so so so so so disappointing. I do not recommend it to my queer and trans friends, and absolutely never to a cis person who will get all the worst ideas about our lives.

24)

by T.J. Klune | Audiobook | Finished on 4/20 | 3.5 stars
On GR shelf since: September 3rd, 2021

25)

by Liane Moriarty | Audiobook | Finished on 7/28 } 2 stars
On GR shelf since: November 17, 2021

26)

by Madeline Miller | Audiobook | Finished on 05/04 | 5 stars
On GR shelf since: July 31st, 2020

My heart may never recover

27)

by John Green | Audiobook | Finished on 05/14 | 5 stars
On GR shelf since: February 13, 2022

28)

by Talia Hibbert | Audiobook | Finished on 05/15 | 3 stars
On GR shelf since: September 15, 2020
Seth Rogen
29)

by Jen Calonita | Audiobook | Finished on 5/17 | 3 stars
On GR shelf since: February 8, 2022

30)

by Seth Rogen | Audiobook | Finished on 5/17 | 4 stars
On GR shelf since: May 13, 2021

31)

by Nina Moreno | Audiobook | Finished on 05/19 | 3.75 stars
On GR shelf since: February 4, 2021

I originally tried to read this back in 2021 and couldn't bring myself to pick up the kindle version again. I tried audio this time and got through it but it wasn't my favorite.

32)

by Jay Bell | Kindle Owned | Finished on 05/20 | 4.5 stars
On GR shelf since: March 04, 2022

33)
by Ben Philippe | Audiobook | Finished on 05/20 | 3 stars | sadly forgettable, cute premise
On GR shelf since: December 18, 2020

34)

by Talia Hibbert | Audiobook | Finished on 05/21 | 4 stars
On GR shelf since: September 17, 2020

35)

by Caroline Peckham | Kindle | Finished on 05/22 | 4 stars
On GR shelf since: October 24, 2021

36)

by Meg Tilly | Audible Owned | Finished on 05/29 | Unrated
On GR shelf since: November 03, 2014

37)
by Kacen Callender | Kindle | Finished on 05/30 | 4 stars
On GR shelf since: May 07, 2020

Books 38 to 42: 82nd Street Vandals by Heather Long | 4 stars overall | Kindle Unlimited



Savage Vandal Finished on 06/03, on shelf since 02/06
Vicious Rebel Finished on 06/04, on shelf since 06/03
Ruthless Traitor Finished on 06/06 on shelf since 06/04
Dirty Devil Finished on 06/07, on shelf since 06/06
Brutal Fighter Finished on 06/12, on shelf since 06/06

43) Princess Princess Ever After by Kay O'Neill | Kindle | 3 stars | Finished on 6/12 | On GR shelf since: January 21, 2021 I think we are in such high need of diverse and inclusive children's/middle grade stories that the bar is at the bottom. This was cute, but extremely lacking in even basic storyline and used some language that my daughter found to be rude and outdated.

44) This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender | Audiobook | 4 stars | Finished on 06/15 | On GR shelf since: February 4, 2021

45) Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall | Audiobook | 4 stars | Finished on 06/17 | On GR shelf since: February 9, 2021

46) Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore | Audiobook | 4 Stars | Finished on 6/28 | On GR shelf since: April 6, 2022

47) Gallows Bridge by Caroline Peckham | ARC Kindle | 2 stars | Finished on 6/30 | On GR shelf since May 29. 2022 - Easily the most disappointing hackjob ending of a series I loved, that I've ever read. I think the authors just pandered to their FB rabid fangirl group and you can really tell in this book. So so so sad, as I had been looking forward to this one for awhile!

48) Knot My Type by Evie Mitchell | Audiobook | 1.5 stars | Finished on 07/07 | On GR shelf since: October 16, 2021 an absolute mess of a book. and a prime example of how having truly laughably bad narration and further derail an already iffy book. bummed, as there was sex-positive and disabled MC rep that had such amazing potential and it was just lost on this disaster

49) Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala | Audiobook | 3 stars | Finished on 07/15 | On GR shelf since: February 9th, 2022

50) Skin Again by bell hooks | Kindle | Unrated | Finished on 07/18 | On GR Shelf since: July 17, 2022 (doesn't seem accurate not sure what happened here)

51) Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert | Audiobook | 3 stars | Finished on 07/19 | On GR shelf since: May 21, 2022

52) The Quest for Snacks by Susie Yi | Kindle | Unrated | Both added and finished on July 23, 2022

53) The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli | Audiobook | Unrated | Finished on 07/31 | On GR shelf since July 30, 2022


*book 26 but 54 bc I forgot to add it above and not going to renumber everything hahaha:

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
5 stars | Physical Book | Finished on 04/30 | On GR shelf since January 30, 2021

55) Super Gay by Jessi Hersey | 2 stars | eARC | Finished on 08/09 | On GR shelf since August 9, 2022

56) In the Black Fantastic by Ekow Eshun | 4 stars | eARC | Finished on 8/16 | On GR shelf since August 7, 2022

57) Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega | 4.5 stars | eARC } Finished on 8/17 | On GR Shelf since August 17th, 2022

58) Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings | 4 stars | eARC audio | Finished on 8/20
59) Small Plates by A Pretentious Guy | 2 stars | eARC | Finished on 8/20
60) The Best American Poetry 2022 by Some White Dudes | 3 stars | eARC | Finished on 8/25
61) All the Women in My Brain by Betty Gilpin | 4.75 stars | eARC Audio | Finished on 8/28

62) Might Kindred by Mónica Gomery | 4 stars | eARC | Finished on 8/30
63) Glorious Fiends by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam | 3 stars | eARC | Finished on 8/30
64) What is My Plant Telling Me?: An Illustrated Guide to Houseplants and How to Keep Them Alive by Emily L. Hay Hinsdale | 3.5 stars | eARC | Finished on 9/20
65) You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi | 4.5 stars | Audiobook | Finished on 9/26 | On shelf since October 12, 2021
66) The Paper Dolls of Zelda Fitzgerald by Eleanor Lanahan | 3.5 stars } eARC } Finished on 10/8
67) Lovely Girls by Margot Hunt | 4 stars | eARC | Finished on 10/21
68) Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park | 4 stars | eARC | Finished on 11/18


Been in a bit of a slower slump the last 2 months but I think I'm still on track to possibly meet my goal by the end of the year!