2025 Reading Challenge

message 1: by Martha☀ (last edited Dec 13, 2022 03:12PM) (new)

Dec 02, 2022 02:49PM

Usually I read 65+ but this year I'll attempt a few more. Seventy ... here I come!
I'll keep tally of the book covers for each month here.
Other stuff, like challenges, annual stats, I keep on my Member's Corner page here =>
Martha's Shelf Noise
Drop a note if you've stopped by! I'll come and visit you too

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message 2: by Martha☀ (last edited Mar 03, 2023 01:25PM) (new)

Dec 02, 2022 04:08PM

JANUARY
7/70

1) 05 Jan

Rock Paper Scissors
3⭐ My Review
Tags - mystery

2) 10 Jan

Watch Me Disappear
3⭐ My Review
Tags - mystery

3) 12 Jan

Screaming on the Inside The Unsustainability of American Motherhood by Jessica Grose

Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood
4⭐ My Review
Tags - non-fiction, current events

4) 17 Jan

Snow (St. John Strafford, #2) by John Banville

Snow
4⭐ My Review
Tags - mystery

5) 18 Jan

Winterland
5⭐ My Review
Tags - historical, cultural

6)23 Jan

11/22/63
3⭐ My Review
Tags - historical, cultural, supernatural, sci-fi, romance

7) 30 Jan

A Line To Kill (Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery, #3) by Anthony Horowitz

A Line To Kill
5⭐ My Review
Tags - mystery, 5 star,

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message 3: by Martha☀ (last edited Mar 02, 2023 09:27AM) (new)

Dec 02, 2022 04:08PM

FEBRUARY
15/70

1) 04 Feb

Demon Copperhead
5⭐ My Review
Tags - 5 star, cultural, current events

2) 10 Feb

Adventures in Opting Out A Field Guide to Leading an Intentional Life by Cait Flanders

Adventures in Opting Out: A Field Guide to Leading an Intentional Life
2⭐ My Review
Tags - self-help, non-fiction

3012 Feb

Why We Sleep Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
4⭐ My Review
Tags - science, non-fiction

4)17 Feb

Maureen A Harold Fry Novel by Rachel Joyce

Maureen: A Harold Fry Novel
5⭐ My Review
Tags - 5-star, series

5) 18 Feb

Three Women
2.5⭐ My Review
Tags - general fiction, audiobook

6) 17 Feb

The Tiger's Wife
3⭐
Tags - historical, cultural, supernatural

7) 25 Feb

Reproduction
DNF⭐ My Review
Tags - award, canadian, abandoned

8) 28 Feb

Ms. Demeanor
4⭐ My Review
Tags - general, romance

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message 4: by SarahKat, Buddy Reads (new)

Dec 06, 2022 02:35PM

Looks great Martha! Good luck this year!

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message 5: by Lisa (new)

Dec 14, 2022 03:25AM

*dropping a note*
Best of luck, Martha :)

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message 6: by Nikki (new)

Jan 27, 2023 07:20PM

Good luck Martha! I've been wanting to start reading King for some time now and I thought that 11/22/63 was a good place to start but perhaps another might be more fitting now oops. Looking forward to seeing more of what you read!

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message 7: by Martha☀ (last edited Sep 11, 2023 05:23PM) (new)

Feb 27, 2023 12:25PM

March
23/70

1) 01 Mar

This is Going to Hurt Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor
5⭐ My Review
Tags - non-fiction, biography, medical, humour

2) 11 Mar

The Hunting Party
2⭐ My Review
Tags - audio, mystery

3) 12 Mar

Building a StoryBrand Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
4⭐ My Review
Tags - professional

4)14 Mar

In Defense of Food An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
3⭐ My Review
Tags - food, non-fiction

5) 15 Mar

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

Things We Do in the Dark
3⭐ My Review
Tags - general, audio

6) 19 Mar

Starlight
5⭐ My Review
Tags - indigenous, Canadian, audio

7) 23 Mar

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Carrie Soto Is Back
5⭐ My Review
Tags - general, athletes, audio

8) 25 Mar

The Vanishing Half
3⭐ My Review
Tags - general, cultural

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message 8: by Lisa (last edited Feb 28, 2023 09:22AM) (new)

Feb 28, 2023 02:20AM

I hope you enjoy "Songs in Ursa Major" It's a really good book. And not enough people know about it. Looking forward to seeing what you think whenever you get to it :)

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message 9: by Lisa (last edited Feb 28, 2023 03:34AM) (new)

Feb 28, 2023 03:28AM

Nikki wrote: "Good luck Martha! I've been wanting to start reading King for some time now and I thought that 11/22/63 was a good place to start but perhaps another might be more fitting now oops. Looking forward..."

Nikki, if you've never read King before I personally would not recommend starting with one of his doorstoppers!
When it comes to Stephen King it really depends on what you're looking for but I'd either recommend going for a short story collection like Night Shift, or a novella collection with no-monsters Different Seasons (in particular The Body)

If you're more interested in full novels, maybe choose one of
his classic works, like Carrie or maybe Misery, especially because chances are likely that you are already familiar with how the story goes.

For more "scary" easy entry: 'Salem's Lot

Another way of entry is through the Castlerock books, which follows a cast in the town of Castlerock in Maine - starting either with The Dead Zone or Cujo

I hope that helps.
Enjoy :)

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message 10: by Nikki (new)

Feb 28, 2023 03:36AM

Lisa wrote: "Nikki wrote: "Good luck Martha! I've been wanting to start reading King for some time now and I thought that 11/22/63 was a good place to start but perhaps another might be more fitting now oops. L..."

I'll have to confess, the only thing I know about King's works is that the movie IT has a creepy looking clown and a balloon (and something about the clown creeping on people through the drain) and some mentions of Carrie in one of the Fear Street Netflix movies. No idea how I've avoided so much spoilers but I guess it's good so I can essentially choose any and wouldn't be influenced by anything haha. Pet Semetary and Carrie from all your recommendations sound the most interesting, thank you for all of those though! I'll definitely attempt King at least once this year :)

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message 11: by Lisa (new)

Feb 28, 2023 03:47AM

Nikki wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Nikki wrote: "Good luck Martha! I've been wanting to start reading King for some time now and I thought that 11/22/63 was a good place to start but perhaps another might be more fittin..."

Haha, that's amazing.
I actually removed Pet Semetary from the list :D not because it's not still a fantastic book, I just remembered that it might just be... a lot :D it's very grief oriented, and therefore could be too emotionally heavy for first time readers.

Good luck :)

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message 12: by Martha☀ (new)

Feb 28, 2023 09:08AM

Nikki wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Nikki wrote: "Good luck Martha! I've been wanting to start reading King for some time now and I thought that 11/22/63 was a good place to start but perhaps another might be more fittin..."

Thank you both for stopping by!
So funny! I also knew almost nothing of King's work until recently (purposely putting head in sand because of nightmares from Pet Sematary 😩)
In Dec, I learned that he wrote non-fiction - On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft which I loved. Then I tried Carrie which I also really enjoyed, despite it being a horror. Then I learned that he writes non-horror fiction so I listened to 11/22/63. It was 30 CD discs long!! but very engaging.

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message 13: by Lisa (new)

Feb 28, 2023 09:37AM

Haha, yeah that's why I thought it best to remove Pet Sematary as a beginner's recommendation. Wouldn't want traumatizing someone be my fault :D

He does non-horror really well! That's why I think his short story collections are a great starting place, specially Night Shift. It really showcases a little bit of everything, imo, in terms of the genres he delves into.
I'm really interested in On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft- just haven't gotten to it yet. Ain't that always the lay of the land :D

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message 14: by Martha☀ (last edited Sep 28, 2023 05:15PM) (new)

Apr 02, 2023 03:00PM

April
28/70

1) 7 April

The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3) by Richard Osman

The Bullet That Missed
3.5⭐ My Review
Tags - mystery, series

2) 10 April

The Trees
4⭐ My Review
Tags - mystery, cultural

3) 13 Apr

] The Echo Chamber
3⭐ My Review
Tags - general, young adult

4) 29 Apr

The Light Pirate
4⭐ My Review
Tags - dystopian, supernatural

5) 27 Apr

On Animals
4⭐ My Review
Tags - short stories, farming, non-fiction

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message 15: by Martha☀ (last edited Sep 11, 2023 05:25PM) (new)

Jul 02, 2023 04:54PM

May
33/70

1) 12 May

A Gentleman in Moscow
5⭐ My Review
Tags - cultural, historical, audio

2) 15 May

Empire of Pain The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
5⭐ My Review
Tags - non-fiction, biography, horror, audio

3) 18 May

Where I Belong
5⭐ My Review
Tags - biography

4) 29 May

Spare
4⭐ My Review
Tags - biography, non-fiction, audio

5) 29 May

Notes on an Execution
3⭐ My Review
Tags - general

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message 16: by Martha☀ (last edited Sep 11, 2023 05:26PM) (new)

Jul 02, 2023 04:55PM

June
37/70

1) 12 June

Lessons in Chemistry
5⭐ My Review
Tags - historical, audio

2) 20 June

The Last Flight
3⭐ My Review
Tags - mystery

3) 30 June

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
4⭐ My Review
Tags - general, audio

4) 30 June

The Sentence
3.5⭐ My Review
Tags - indigenous, current events

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message 17: by Martha☀ (last edited Sep 11, 2023 05:44PM) (new)

Jul 02, 2023 05:21PM

July
43/70

1) 3 July

Local Woman Missing
3⭐ My Review
Tags - mystery, audio

2) 13 July

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
3⭐ My Review
Tags - young adult, indigenous,

3) 17 July

The Alice Network
4⭐ My Review
Tags - historical, audio

4) 19 July

84, Charing Cross Road
3.5⭐ My Review
Tags - non-fiction, historical, cultural

5) 24 July

Brooklyn
3⭐ My Review
Tags - historical

6) 30 July

Rebecca
5⭐My Review
Tags - classic, historical, audio

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message 18: by Blagica , Challenges (new)

Jul 02, 2023 05:23PM

Congratulations on reaching the halfway mark of the year! May the remaining months be filled with captivating stories, enlightening knowledge, and unforgettable literary adventures. Good luck.

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message 19: by Martha☀ (last edited Sep 11, 2023 06:50PM) (new)

Sep 05, 2023 10:05AM

August
47/70

1. 2 August