Into the Forest discussion

In this thread, we can talk about what we plan to read for the 2025 challenge, ask questions, and share our progress!

Read an original tale, collection of tales, retelling, or novel set in these ecosystems:

1. Desert
2. Forest
3. Ocean
4. Freshwater
5. Tundra/Polar
6. Rainforest
7. Mountains
8. Subterranean
9. Sky & celestial space
10. City
11. Free space
12. Free space

I also set up the challenge. When I set it to not show on the home page until January 1 it occurred to me you might have done it already

Jalilah wrote: "I also set up the challenge. When I set it to not show on the home page until January 1 it occurred to me you might have done it already"

I didn't set it up!

Margaret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "I also set up the challenge. When I set it to not show on the home page until January 1 it occurred to me you might have done it already"

I didn't set it up!"

Ok! It’s set up now!

Jalilah wrote: "Margaret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "I also set up the challenge. When I set it to not show on the home page until January 1 it occurred to me you might have done it already"

I didn't set it up!"

Ok!..."

Thanks!

Katy's Placeholder 2025

Read an original tale, collection of tales, retelling, or novel set in these ecosystems:

1. Desert
2. Forest: Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip
3. Ocean
4. Freshwater
5. Tundra/Polar: The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell
6. Rainforest
7. Mountains: Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
8. Subterranean - Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
9. Sky & celestial space
10. City - Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell
11. Free space
12. Free space

Margaret's Placeholder

January: Tundra/Polar
-Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
-Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur
-Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories
-Ember and the Ice Dragons by Heather Fawcett
-North Is the Night by Emily Rath
-Lost at Windy River: A True Story of Survival by Trina Rathgeber
-When the Whales Leave by Yuri Rytkheu
-Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

February: Sky & celestial space
-Little Moons by Jen Storm
-One Little Goat: A Passover Catastrophe by Dara Horn
-The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu
-Alliana, Girl of Dragons by Julie Abe
-Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

March: Gardens/Farms
-Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
-The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes
-This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron
-Homegrown Magic by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos
-A Bit of Earth by Karuna Riazi
-Garlic and the Vampire: A Graphic Novel by Bree Paulsen

April: Freshwater
-The Secret Language of Birds by Lynne Kelly
-This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke
-A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
-Camp Twisted Pine by Ciera Burch
-Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline

May: Forest
-Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin
-Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
-After the Forest by Kell Woods
-Pilu of the Woods by Mai K. Nguyen
-The Flicker by H.E. Edgmon
-Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
-Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston
-The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

June: Desert
-Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia
-Daughters of the Lamp by Nedda Lewers
-The Truth of the Aleke by Moses Ose Utomi
-The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

July: Ocean
-A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall
-The Daughters of Ys by M.T. Anderson
-Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina
-The Tear Collector by R.M. Romero
-Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh
-Oceanic by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
-When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley

August: Rainforest/Jungle
-The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons
-Hamra and the Jungle of Memories by Hanna Alkaf
-Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa
-Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor
-How to Talk to Your Succulent by Zoe Persico
-Wildblood by Lauren Blackwood
-The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala
-Malinalli by Veronica Chapa

September: Grasslands

October: Subterranean

November: City

December: Mountains

2025 Ecosystem Challenge

Books Read: 15/12

Read an original tale, collection of tales, retelling, or novel set in these ecosystems:

Desert

Forest
✅Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear - 01.02.2025
✅Fog & Fireflies by T.H. Lehnen - 01.18.2025

Ocean
✅Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa - 04.18.2025
✅Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller - 05.14.2025
✅ The Deep by Rivers Solomon - 05.24.2025

Freshwater
✅Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris - 03.29.2-25

Tundra/Polar
✅How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu - 03.24.2025

Rainforest/Jungle
✅Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez - 02.02.2025

Mountains
✅Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell - 02.26.2025

Subterranean

Sky & celestial space
✅The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard - 02.10.2025
✅On a Red Station, Drifting by Aliette de Bodard - 02.23.2025

City
✅The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar by Indra Das - 01.15.2025 [Calcutta]
✅The City & the City by China Miéville - 05.11.2025

Free space
✅Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - 02.12.2025

Free space
✅ The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo - 03.18.2025

Read an original tale, collection of tales, retelling, or novel set in these ecosystems:

1. Desert
2. Forest
3. Ocean
4. Freshwater
5. Tundra/Polar
6. Rainforest
7. Mountains
8. Subterranean
9. Sky & celestial space
10. City
11. Free space
12. Free space

2025 Ecosystem Challenge Placeholder - Finished

1. Desert - The Haunted Mesa
2. Forest - Walk the Wild With Me
3. Ocean - A Letter to the Luminous Deep
4. Freshwater - Lakelore
5. Tundra/Polar - A Haunting in the Arctic
6. Jungle/ Rainforest - The Jungle Book
7. Mountains - When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain
8. Subterranean - Neverwhere
9. Sky & celestial space - Binti
10. City - The City We Became
11. Free space- Garden - The Secret Garden
12. Free space - House - The Tradition of Household Spirits: Ancestral Lore and Practices

Andy's placeholder:

1. Desert
2. Forest
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales ✅
Where the Dark Stands Still ✅

3. Ocean
A Letter to the Luminous Deep ✅

4. Freshwater
Greenteeth ✅

5. Tundra/Polar
The Prisoner’s Throne ✅

6. Rainforest
The Night Tiger

7. Mountains
8. Subterranean
Ordinary Monsters
Inanna
The Library of the Unwritten

9. Sky & celestial space
Defiant ✅

10. City
The Maid and the Crocodile

11. Free space
12. Free space

Read an original tale, collection of tales, retelling, or novel set in these ecosystems:

1. Desert The Four Profound Weaves
2. Forest The Butcher of the Forest
3. Ocean
4. Freshwater
5. Tundra/Polar
6. Rainforest
7. Mountains
8. Subterranean
9. Sky & celestial space
10. City: The City in Glass
11. Free space
12. Free space

Read an original tale, collection of tales, retelling, or novel set in these ecosystems:

1. Desert
2. Forest
3. Ocean
4. Freshwater
5. Tundra/Polar
6. Rainforest
7. Mountains
8. Subterranean Dealing with Dragons
9. Sky & celestial space Calypso
10. City
11. Free space
12. Free space

1. Desert She Who Knows Nnedi Okorafor
The Wood Wife Terri Windling
2. Forest The Last Unicorn Peter S Beagle The Green Man of Eshwood Hall Jacob Kerr
3. Ocean
4. Freshwater Goddess of the River Vaishnavi Patel
5. Tundra/Polar
6. Rainforest The Night Tiger Yangsze Choo
7. Mountains The Grey King Susan Cooper
8. Subterranean
9. Sky & celestial space
10. City The Changeling Victor Lavalle Maps of the Abandoned City Helen Ivory
11. Free space
12. Free space

What's everyone thinking for their free spaces? I might make one post apocalyptic. Not sure about the other.

Margaret wrote: "What's everyone thinking for their free spaces? I might make one post apocalyptic. Not sure about the other."

I'll wait to fill those with books stolen off of the other members' lists.

LOL Katy. That's one way of doing it.

Dunno Margaret. Haven't thought about it yet.

Katy wrote: "Margaret wrote: "What's everyone thinking for their free spaces? I might make one post apocalyptic. Not sure about the other."

I'll wait to fill those with books stolen off of the other members' l..."

Ha! :)

I usually add as many books as I want to each challenge item, and use the free spaces for different themes. But maybe I'll do something different this year!

I am hesitantly leaning all the way in on the ecosystem challenge for my 2025 reading and assigned each month an ecosystem (see placeholder), and plan to read multiple books a month set in that ecosystem, not just folklore-related. We'll see how that goes!

Margaret wrote: "What's everyone thinking for their free spaces? I might make one post apocalyptic. Not sure about the other."

I was thinking about gardens or farmland/orchards- The Silver Bough or In the Night Garden for example. And moor/plain/grasslands? Thursbitch

Rose wrote: "Margaret wrote: "What's everyone thinking for their free spaces? I might make one post apocalyptic. Not sure about the other."

I was thinking about gardens or farmland/orchards- [book:The Silver B..."

Those are great ideas! I decided against post apocalyptic and currently have grasslands as a free spot, and then divided freshwater into two, but I love the idea of gardens/farmland! I might do that instead!

I think we had some debate about whether rivers/lakes and bog/marshland/swamp feel like different categories so that definitely works as another free spot I think. I like gardens, feel like there will be some good recommendations for that- 80's /90's children's fairy tale-esque gardens springing to mind Tom's Midnight Garden, Moondial, !

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

I like the idea of gardens and bog, marshes for the free spots. I might have to break out my Signet Classic copy of The Secret Garden.

1. Desert
Niedokonany by Tadeusz Miciński [Poland]
[untranslated, poetry, biblical retelling, temptation of Christ from Satan's point of view]

2. Forest
Asterix the Gaul by René Goscinny [France]
[comics, humour, classics]

Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek [Canada]

[slavic-kinda, fantasy, romance, B&TB retelling, countryside]

3. Ocean

Alternative Alamat: Stories Inspired by Philippine Mythology {Philippines]

4. Freshwater

Weles. Opowieści z podziemia [Poland]
[unavailable in English, slavic mythology, short stories]

5. Tundra/Polar

Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen [Greenland/Denmark]

[fairy tale collection, Inuit storytellers, translated]

6. Rainforest
7. Mountains

8. Subterranean

Reguła zakonu by Piotr Górski [Poland]
[fantasy, Polish lit, untranslated]

9. Sky & celestial space

Spektrum każdy myśliwy pragnie wiedzieć by Sergei Lukyanenko [Russia]
[science fiction fantasy, untranslated, portal, importance of storytelling]

珍珠光
[fantranslated, inspired by chinese folklore, wuxia, kind monster emerge victorious over celestial jerk]

Against All Gods, Miles Cameron [Canada]
[fantasy, inspired by bronze age, Gods' quarrelings]


10. City
Phaedra by Jean Racine [France]
[retelling, Greek mythology inspired, classic, play, french lit]

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung [South Korea]
[short stories, translated, horror/magical realism, twisty, occasionally inspiration from Korean folklore]

Age of Witches by Marina Dyachenko & Sergei Dyachenko [Ukraine]
[witches, inquisitors, urban fantasy, dystopia, translated, butchered ENG translation, one of my faves]

폭군의 누나로 산다는 것은 3 Poggun'eui Nunaro Sandaneun Geoseun 3 [Korea]

[manhwa, transmigration, fantranslation]

후궁 스캔들 Hugung Scandal [Korea]
[manhwa, comedy, faux-historical setting]

Dinners with My Darling: How the Former Monster King Ate Her Way to Happiness Vol.1 [Japan]
[fantasy, reincarnation, monster turned into human, foodie]


11. Free space - Steppes/Plains
Tatarskie Bajanie. Złotowłosy Totambaj [Crimea/Ukraine]
[crimean tatar fairy tales, translated]

12. Free space - Academic books

1. Desert
2. Forest--Deerskin, Vasilisa the Wise and Other Tales of Brave Young Women
3. Ocean
4. Freshwater--Greenteeth
5. Tundra/Polar
6. Rainforest
7. Mountains
8. Subterranean
9. Sky & celestial space
10. City
11. Free space - swamp--Beowulf
12. Free space

Andy wrote: "Andy's placeholder:

1. Desert
2. Forest
3. Ocean
A Letter to the Luminous Deep

4. Freshwater
5. Tundra/Polar
6. Rainforest
The Night Tiger

7. Mountains
8. Subterr..."

I loved The Night Tiger. Hope you enjoy it!

Susan wrote: "Andy wrote: "Andy's placeholder:

1. Desert
2. Forest
3. Ocean
A Letter to the Luminous Deep

4. Freshwater
5. Tundra/Polar
6. Rainforest
The Night Tiger

7. Mountai..."

Thank you! :) I loved another book of hers this year! I am looking at the suggestion threads and trying to find out some good books to plan 2025! :)

I like the idea of using the free spaces for post- apocalyptic and the other for climate disaster (cli/fi)

2025 Ecosystem Challenge Placeholder

1. Desert
2. Forest
3. Ocean: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea
4. Freshwater
5. Tundra/Polar
6. Rainforest
7. Mountains: Song of Silver, Flame Like Night
8. Subterranean
9. Sky & celestial space
10. City
11. Free space
12. Free space

1. Desert
2. Forest: The Grace of Wild Things
3. Ocean: Burning Bright
4. Freshwater
5. Tundra/Polar
6. Rainforest
7. Mountains
8. Subterranean: The Inheritance
9. Sky & celestial space: Blade Witch: A Science Fiction Holiday Novella
10. City: The Maid and the Crocodile
11. Free space: The Dead Weight (river/freshwater)
12. Free space

I'm on board the post-apocalyptic and climate disaster train for the Free Spaces! Thanks for the suggestions!

I'll probably just fill in the Free Spaces with more outer space. I mean, I'm assuming I'll be able to use one of my SF reads for 9. Sky & celestial space, or am I misunderstanding?

Cheryl wrote: "I'll probably just fill in the Free Spaces with more outer space. I mean, I'm assuming I'll be able to use one of my SF reads for 9. Sky & celestial space, or am I misunderstanding?"

Nope, that's fine!

What I typically do is read more than one book for each part of the challenge, and use my free spaces for additional topics. Other people use books that would count for challenge topics there. It's up to you! No wrong way!

I just realized I have not set up a placeholder yet! I’m starting late this year!

Read an original tale, collection of tales, retelling, or novel set in these ecosystems:

1. Desert
Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Babylonia by Costanza Casati
2. Forest
The Thorns Remain by J.J.A. Harwood
In the Forests of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip
3. Ocean
Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
4. Freshwater
Gilgamesh by Emily H. Wilson
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
5. Tundra/Polar When the Whales Leave by Yuri Rytkheu
6. Rainforest Jungle
Malinalli by Veronica Chapa
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
7. Mountains
Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
8. Subterranean
Inanna
Gilgamesh: A New English Version translated by Stephen Mitchell
9. Sky & celestial space
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan
10. City
The Great Night by Chris Adrian
The Changeling by Victor LaValle
11. Free space Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett Forests
12. Free space

1. Desert
✓ The Ashfire King, Chelsea Abdullah

2. Forest
✓ The Wild Huntress, Emily Lloyd-Jones

3. Ocean
✓ Tideborn, Eliza Chan
✓ Feathertide, Beth Cartwright
A Forgery of Fate, Elizabeth Lim

4. Freshwater
Mother of Rome, Lauren JA Bear ?

5. Tundra/Polar
✓ North is the Night, Emily Rath

6. Rainforest
The River and the Star, Gabriela Romero Lacruz

7. Mountains

8. Subterranean
Wild Reverence, Rebecca Ross

9. Sky & celestial space
✓ The Floating World, Axie Oh

10. City
✓ Mother of Rome, Lauren JA Bear ?
✓ What Wakes the Bells, Elle Tesch

11. Free space
✓ Skysong, CA Wright

12. Free space
✓ The Winter Goddess, Megan Barnard

Let's see if some of the books I read this year fit this challenge. Of course, most books take place in more than one ecosystem, but you can't be precise about everything!

4. Freshwater - Six Crimson Cranes - I just started reading this book and already found a lake with a cute dragon in it and also Stepmother's pond with deadly colorful snakes. So far I like it, engaging and visual!

5. Tundra/Polar - Six of Crows - the book has flashbacks of Nina and Matthias' perilous journey through the Fjerden wilderness, and Nina even falls into an ice crevasse. The entire team also travels to Fjerda and breaks into the Ice Court to do their heist.
Mireya: The Usurper in the last chapter of the book, Yunier and Dilidin travel to The Land of Eternal Ice. People who live there can shapeshift into falcons and white wolves.


10. City - Crooked Kingdom - the entire book takes place in Ketterdam, a hub for international trade and a home to many criminal organizations.
The Familiar - 16th century Madrid, Spain.

To be continued :)

Kristina wrote: "Let's see if some of the books I read this year fit this challenge. Of course, most books take place in more than one ecosystem, but you can't be precise about everything!

4. Freshwater - [book:Si..."

Some great reads!

Now that the year is halfway over, how's everyone doing on the challenge? Any challenge especially difficult, or especially fun? What's been your favorite books read for it so far?

Alas, I'm lagging on this challenge because I'm writing and editing, and my recreational reading needs to be palate-cleansing (which means galloping through a lot of cozy detective stories).
But I did enjoy Greenteeth, my freshwater fantasy, and if I ever get to finish The Fox Wife, that will be my city challenge (I presume).

My favorite so far this year is the audiobook version of Vasilisa the Wise and Other Tales of Brave Young Women, read aloud by author Kate Forsyth--many of the tales are set in the forest.

Susan wrote: "Alas, I'm lagging on this challenge because I'm writing and editing, and my recreational reading needs to be palate-cleansing (which means galloping through a lot of cozy detective stories).
But I..."

Writing and editing are good reasons to lag! All three of the books you mention are on my TBR.

So far I've read for 6 of the challenges, divided between months. My favorite month has been Antarctic/Artic/Polar. The setting really becomes a main character in that ecosystem.

The highest rated books I've read for the challenge so far has been Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, which was one of my garden books but would probably fit better for forest.

But I've given lots 4/5 stars.

Margaret wrote: "Now that the year is halfway over, how's everyone doing on the challenge? Any challenge especially difficult, or especially fun? What's been your favorite books read for it so far .."

I decided to read 2 books for each prompt this year. I’m on schedule and have been able to find something to read for every prompt except mountains.

I'm a little behind, but I'm not worried. My favorite book so far is The Maid and the Crocodile that I read for City.

I've enjoyed it so far- favourite book has been The Wood Wife by Terri Windling, for the desert challenge. Its been on my tbr for a while, glad I got round to it- really evocative of the area (Rincon mountains and Saguaro National Park) and made me want to visit!

Rose wrote: "I've enjoyed it so far- favourite book has been The Wood Wife by Terri Windling, for the desert challenge. Its been on my tbr for a while, glad I got round to it- really evocative of ..."

I enjoyed that one!

Rose wrote: "I've enjoyed it so far- favourite book has been The Wood Wife by Terri Windling, for the desert challenge. Its been on my tbr for a while, glad I got round to it- really evocative of ..."

I also very much enjoyed that one!