The Reading Frenzy discussion

51 views
2025 General Challenges > 2025 Reading Chain Challenge

Comments Showing 1-10 of 10 (10 new)    post a comment »
dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Summer (new)

Summer (speaking_bookish) (speaking_bookish) | 1673 comments Mod
I am beyond excited to be bringing you all a new yearly challenge in 2024. The Reading Chain Challenge is an idea I've been playing with for a while but I hadn't considered it in this context until recently and I really think it'll be a lot of fun. The premise of this challenge is that you will choose any book you are interested in reading to begin the challenge- the first link in the chain, if you will. Once you finish that book you will select your next book by reading the blurbs on the book you just finished. Your next book must be by the author of one of the blurbs. You repeat this as many times as you possibly can until the end of the year.

Something to keep in mind is that in most cases the authors that blurb a book are often ones that write in the same genre as the one they're blurbing. When authors are looking for other author to read and provide them with a blurb they're going to ask the ones most likely to enjoy their work which will usually be other authors that write the same stuff. Obviously there are many exceptions to this rule. There are a lot of authors that write more than one genre which will be a fun way for you to mix up what you're reading but it may be more challenging to find those specific authors so my advice is to make your first book one that is in your favorite genre so that you set yourself up for success. When choosing your first book I'd pick one that has a blurb by an author I know I want to read and setting myself up for success in that way. Don't forget there is often a page or two in the beginning of a book with blurbs as well- they aren't exclusively on the front or back covers. You can do as little or as much research into this as you want the goal is just to pick a book, read it, and keep your chain complete for as long as possible.

In the event you end up at a dead end with a book that has no blurbs - which hopefully won't happen because you will try not to choose books that don't have blurbs- you will continue your chain by trying to find a book blurbed by the author you last read and beginning again. Or if the only blurbs on the book are about a different book by the author you've just read you can use those authors- this option is only to be used if you have no other choice. For example you must choose from blurbs directly about the book you just read if they're available before choosing ones about a different book or just about the author in general. If you have any questions about this challenge please feel free to ask me. If you can't continue your chain then you must stop and start a new one. Whoever has the longest uninterrupted chain by the end of the year wins.

Each of us will start a comment below and we will update that comment all year. You won't start a new comment each time, you will simply edit the original and add the books you read. Your comment should look something like this:

Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters ➡️ The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner ➡️ There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins ➡️ Sadie by Courtney Summers ➡️ The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn ➡️ The It Girl by Ruth Ware ➡️ The Guest List by Lucy Foley

if your chain breaks just go down a couple lines and start a new one. You can work on your chain as fast or slow as you'd like. You can read different books between your blurb books. That is up to you. If I made this quite simple challenge more complicated than necessary I apologize and as I said earlier if you have any questions just shoot me a message and ill help you any way I can!

Good luck and I hope you're excited for this one- I know I am!


message 2: by Manda (new)

Manda "The BookBud" (thebookbud) | 346 comments Mod
Yay! I'm totally excited for this one! I'm hype to pick my first book, it'll be fun to see where we all end up at the end of the year!


message 3: by Nat (last edited Mar 08, 2024 09:22PM) (new)

Nat (waterfallz) | 655 comments I'm going to start with
Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington ✅➡️ Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé ✅➡️ The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1) by Aiden Thomas


message 4: by Summer (new)

Summer (speaking_bookish) (speaking_bookish) | 1673 comments Mod
Vanessa wrote: "OH MY GOSH - I love this idea!!! Sign me up!"

consider yourself signed up!


message 5: by Shia (last edited May 06, 2025 10:48AM) (new)

Shia (808bookdr) | 110 comments 2025 Chain

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) by Rebecca Yarros --> Fall of Ruin and Wrath (Awakening, #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout --> Forging Silver into Stars (Forging Silver into Stars, #1) by Brigid Kemmerer


message 6: by Summer (new)

Summer (speaking_bookish) (speaking_bookish) | 1673 comments Mod
Shia wrote: "2025 Chain

Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) by Rebecca Yarros -->"


Thank you Shia- I hadn't considered reusing this thread but it makes my life a lot easier lol. Feel free to go and delete last years comment if it makes it simpler for you- I will likely delete my own and start fresh. Good luck and thanks for joining!


message 7: by Manda (last edited Apr 08, 2025 03:30PM) (new)

Manda "The BookBud" (thebookbud) | 346 comments Mod
Yeah I think I want a fresh start on this myself! I will update this post later with my first book for 2025(:
Latest Update 4/8/25 (Finally set up my chain)

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James ✅➡️ Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier ✅➡️ The Only One Left by Riley Sager


message 8: by Summer (new)

Summer (speaking_bookish) (speaking_bookish) | 1673 comments Mod
Just wanted to let everyone know ill be deleting all comments from 2024 as continuing the chain from last year is not an option anyway!


message 9: by Summer (new)

Summer (speaking_bookish) (speaking_bookish) | 1673 comments Mod
Nat wrote: "I'm going to start with
Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington ✅➡️ Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé ✅➡️ The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1) by Aiden Thomas"


I'm leaving this comment from 2024 AS AN EXAMPLE because I think this a great way to share your chain!


message 10: by Summer (last edited May 27, 2025 05:59AM) (new)

Summer (speaking_bookish) (speaking_bookish) | 1673 comments Mod
Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher ✅➡️ I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle ✅➡️


back to top