2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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SilverRaindrops' Challenge - Updated from 120 to 150
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You could do less books if you want; I don't think everybody reads 52 books there. There's a new challenge feature where you enter the number you want, so you could just, say, challenge yourself to read 25 books.
52 sure is a lot of countries, I couldn't think of places anymore after I got to 40 ;).




1) Brandon Sanderson - The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, #1). Brilliant book, just as I expected. Find my 5-star-review here.
2) Colette Rossant - Apricots on the Nile. A Memoir with Recipes. 3-star-review here.
3) Jostein Gaarder - The Castle in the Pyrenees. Sad 2-star-review here.
4) Mark Hodder - The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne, #1). 3-star-review here.
5) Philip Pullman - The Golden Compass(His Dark Materials, #1). Listened to the audiobook. Not happy with my review, therefore no link ;). But I've given the thing three stars. Well, two-and-a-half.
6) Gail Carriger - Changeless (Parasol Protectorate, #2). Happy 4-star-review here. I seem to be in a minority with this.
7) Ox-Tales: Earth. Short story collection for Oxfam, technically on agricultural development. 4-star-review despite missed theme here.
8) Günter Grass - Mein Jahrhundert (engl.: My Century). Annoyed 2-star-review here
9) Kathryn Stockett - The Help. Surprised 4-star-review here
10) Alison Sinclair - Nachtgeboren (engl.: Darkborn)(Darkborn, #1). Lovely book. 4-star-review here
11) Alan Garner - The Owl Service. Have a weird feeling about this. 3-star-review here
12) N.D. Wilson - 100 Cupboards (100 Cupboards, #1). 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Review here.
13) Claudia Kern - Verrat (Der verwaiste Thron, #2) (not published in English). Entertaining read. Happy that I chose it. Not perfect though, so 4.5 stars rounded down to 4. Review here.













End of January count:
13/120 -> +3 :)

Hey, I was wandering how you are able to cross the books off? I would like to cross through my books after I read them also?

You can bold (b), italicize (i) or underline (u) using the same steps but changing the letter.

You can bold (b), italicize (i) or underline (u) using the same steps but chang..."
Thanks!

You can bold (b), italicize (i) or underline (u) using the same..."
Sharon, that (some html is ok) thingy on the top of you commentary box tells you how to this stuff and all the other things.
Tatum, thanks for explaining ;).


Tatum, I know what you mean.
Although I was hoping for a few historical facts in the book and I'd gotten a bit disappointed when (view spoiler) .
Thank you btw ;).

(Read until 1st of Feb: 13 books.)
1) Michael J. Sullivan - Percepliquis (Riyria Revelations, #6). Great finish to a great series. 5-star-review here.
2) Ben Aaronovitch - Die Flüsse von London (engl.: Rivers of London / Midnight Riot)(Peter Grant, #1). Originally 3.5 stars. Down to three for dirty language and ... hormonal scenes. Review here.
3) Tove Jansson - The Summer Book. Solid, happy 4-star-review here.
4) Kashmira Sheth - Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Review here.
5) Laura Anne Gilman - Flesh and Fire (Vineart War, #1). Jumped into my list of favorites immediately. 5-star-review here.





End of February count:
18/120 -> -2 :(

Hi Sara,
I hit a bad phase, and read barely two pages of my favourite books, let alone started a new one.
But I'm back on track and will update my list later today or early tomorrow :).
Thanks for cheerleading, cheerleading queen :).
-edit-
Books that stood out for me were The Way of Kings and Flesh and Fire - I think I'll make a post in the thread about that later on as well :).

(Read until 1st of March: 18 books.)
1) Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, #1).
4 stars, review to follow.
2) Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - Le Petit prince.
French audiobook. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5, review to follow.


End of March count:
20/120 -> -10 :( :( :(

(Read until 1st of April: 20 books.)
1) George R.R. Martin - Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1). Solid four stars. Review to follow.
2) Rafik Schami - Murmeln meiner Kindheit. German Audiobook. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 :). Review to follow.
I-VII) I have been infected with the Pottermore-Virus (GO SLYTHERIN!!!). As such, I have re-read the Harry Potter books. I will list them here, but will not count them in my official challenge.
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter I,III,V,VI,VII (5/5), Harry Potter II,IV (4/5)
3) M.K. Hobson - The Native Star. Interesting story, but not written perfectly. Review to follow. 3.5/5
4) Graham Moore - The Sherlockian. Hard to get into, but otherwise quite enjoyable. Review to follow. 4/5
5) Ox-Tales: Air. Not as good as the previous one, Earth (see January). Therefore only 2.5/5 stars. Review here.
6) صادق هدایت - The Blind Owl. A classic of modern Iranian literature that drives you mad. Nonetheless, 4-star-review here.













End of April count:
26/120 -> -14. But I've also read the seven HP books, which means I got my reading back on track, so :).

(Read until 1st of May: 26 books.)
1) Kerim Pamuk - Allah Verzeiht, Der Hausmeister Nicht. Listened to the audiobook. Sadly only average, not as good as I expected. 3-star-review here.
2) Rose Tremain - The Colour. My 4.5-star-review is here.
3) Kashmira Sheth - Keeping Corner. Yes, Kashmira Sheth again; I love her books. 4.5-star-review here.
4) Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist. Not as good as I thought, and actually I'm happy that I didn't pay any money for that. 2.5-star-review here.
5) Yoko Ogawa - The Housekeeper + The Professor. Lovely book about numbers, baseball and human relationships. Great read. 4.5-star-review here.
6) David Gilmour - The Film Club: A true story of a Father and Son. Awful, awful main character (narrator). Just ... awful. Not well-written either. 1-star-review here.
7) Georgette Heyer - The Convenient Marriage. Read by the wonderful Richard Armitage. 4-star-review here.
8) Stephen Fry - Moab is my washpot. An autobiography. Funny and revealing. And I love Stephen Fry. 4-star-review here.
9) George Mackay Brown - Travellers. Subdued, but beautiful collection of poetry. 4-star-review here.
10) Tracy Chevalier - Girl with a Pearl Earring. Good characters, but wonderful descriptions of life and art - see my 5-star-review here.
11) Rowena Cory Daniells - The Uncrowned King (King Rolen's Kin, #2). A bit annoying to be honest. 3-star-review to follow.
12) Rowena Cory Daniells - The Usurper (King Rolen's Kin, #3). Even less brilliant, but finished all the same. 2-star-review to follow.
13) Nadeem Aslam - Season of the Rainbirds. Nice cover, nice book. Felt longer than it was. 4-star-review to follow.
14) Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin. Well to be honest, I didn't finish it. I was bored out of my mind because I felt no emotional connection at all. Since I can't explain that, I'll spare you from reading my 1-star-review.













End of May count:
40/120 -> only -10. Good month :).

It's June!
(Read until 1st of June: 40 books.)
1) Katherine Milhous - The Egg Tree. For small children. Could have been written better. Still, 4-star-review here.
2) Gail Carriger - Blameless (Parasol Protectorate, #3). Lovely, but not perfect. 4.5-star-review here.
3) Kimberly Willis Holt - My Louisiana Sky. Good YA book showing rural life. Solid 4-star-review here.
4) Gail Carriger - Heartless (Parasol Protectorate, #4). AWESOME. Best book in the series so far. 5-star-review here.
5) Katherine Paterson - Bridge to Terabithia. Emotional childrens fiction about friendship, imagination, and loss. 5-star-review here.
6) Jane Austen - Persuasion. Great classic. 5-star-review here.
7) Cameron Crowe - Elizabethtown. Reading the script doesn't work as well as watching the movie. 3-star-review here.
8) Michael Morpurgo - An Elephant in the Garden. Good book, awful design choice. 4-star-review here.
9) Gail Carriger - Timeless (Parasol Protectorate #5). Great finish to a great series. 4-star-review here.
10) Erich Maria Remarque - Im Westen nichts Neues (All Quiet on the Western Front). Somehow not as brilliant if you are familiar with the rest of his work. 4 stars.
11) Nicolas Barreau - Die Frau meines Lebens. Short and sweet. 5-star-review (in German) here.
12) Paul Torday - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Weird me enjoyed the science articles and memos more than the rest of it. 4 stars.
13) Ferenc Máté - Ein Weinberg in der Toskana (A Vineyard in Tuscany). Fact 1: Awesome book. Fact 2: Me having a crush on the author. Facts are not related. At all. 5 stars ;).
14) Vendela Vida - Liebende (The Lovers). Understandably melancholy start, less helpful depressing ending. 3 hopeless stars.
15) David Nicholls - One Day. Would rather watch the film again. 3 stars.
16) Sarah Prineas - Stolen (Magic Thief, #1). Lovely adventure. Nice, easy read :). 4-star-review here.
17) Sarah Prineas - Lost (Magic Thief, #2). Getting deeper into world and magic. Very emotional. 4-star-review here.
18) Sarah Prineas - Found (Magic Thief, #3). Getting a bit lost in creating a huge ending. Still good series though. 4-star-review here.
19) Ferenc Máté - Die Hügel der Toskana (The Hills of Tuscany). Not as awesome as book two. Still, 4-star-review here.
20) G.A. Aiken - Dragon Actually. Erotic Fantasy. Needed something different, got it from a friend. Won't read the others, but 3 stars for fulfilling its purposes.
21) Maria V. Snyder - Yelena und die Magierin des Südens (Poison Study). 4 stars for my favourite in the series. No poison and little politics after that, so dropping this series as well.
22) Sarah Addison Allen - The Peach Keeper. Glad I have another two of her books waiting. 4 stars.
23) Claudia Kern - Rache (Der verwaiste Thron, #2). Series finished. Not as great as I thought it could be due to weird characters. Still, 4-star-review here.
24) Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist. Love David Copperfield more, but still, it is Dickens. How bad can it possibly be? ;). 5 stars.
25) Sterling North - Rascal. Great book for young people, and a great ad for Wisconsin :). 5-star-review here.

























End of June count:
65/120 -> +5. Whew. Awesome month :).

July!
(Read until 1st of July: 65 books.)
1) Virginia Woolf - Mrs. Dalloway. Weird book about a weird time. 3-star-review here.
2) Ox-Tales: Fire. Better than "Air", almost as good as "Earth". 4-star-review here.
3) Angie Sage - Magyk (Septimus Heap, #1). Good start to the series. 4-star-review here.
4) Angie Sage - Flyte (Septimus Heap, #2). Nice continuation. 4-star-review here.
5) Marlo Morgan - Traumfänger (Mutant Message Down Under). Awful. How did this get published??? 1-star-review here.
6) Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes Collection, Volume 1. No review needed, 5 stars.
7) Arthur Conan Doyle - Volume II. See above for details.
8) Ox-Tales: Water. Not as good as Earth (see January), but still good. 4-star-review here.
9) Pat Walsh - The Crowfield Curse (Crowfield Abbey, #1). I felt that it could have been better, but I also felt I was being harsh on it. Thus a 5-star-review here.
10) Sarah Addison Allen - The Girl Who Chased The Moon. 5 magical stars, not yet review.
11) Sarah Addison Allen - Garden Spells. 5 magical stars again, not reviewed either.
12) Sarah Addison Allen - Sugar Queen. Not as superb, but still magical. 4 stars, review to follow.
13) Leanna Renee Hieber - The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Strangely Beautiful, #1). Not all that perfect, but still 4 stars. Review to follow.
14) Sylvain Reynard - Gabriel's Inferno (Gabriel's Inferno, #1). Who the hell is reading "50 Shades"? Read this!!! 5 Stars, review to follow when I've stopped my fangirlish squealing.
15) Daniel Kehlmann - Die Vermessugn der Welt (engl: Measuring the World). Not worth reading. 2-star-review here.
16) Inka-Gabriela Schmidt - Elfenkind. Uff. Pretty cover though. 2 stars.
17) Markus Zusak - Die Bücherdiebin (The Book Thief). Interesting, but annoying as well. Still, worth a read. 3 stars.
18) Klaus Günzel - Der Künig und die Kaiserin. Friedrich II und Maria Theresia. Für ein Doppelporträt zu kurz geraten, für eine interessante Nachtlektüre zu sehr mit unbelegten Fakten vollgestopft. Trotzdem 3 Sterne.
19) Hannah Tinti - The Good Thief. The Oliver Twist of New England, with an annoying twist. 3-star-review here.
20) Kristin Hannah - On Mystic Lake. Wrong book to start with. No rating until re-read.



















End of July count:
85/120 -> +15. Yay :).

August!
(Read until 1st of August: 85 books)
1) Sylvain Reynard - Gabriel's Rapture (Gabriel's Inferno, #2). As awesome as the first book. Still gushing, so no review. 5 stars though.
2) Nancy Madore - Enchanted. Erotic Bedtime Stories for Women. Well. It is erotic, but not overwhelmingly so. 3-star-review here.
3) Nancy Madore - Enchanted Again. Well, no. 2-star-review here.
4) Diana Peterfreund - For Darkness Shows The Stars. Post-apocalyptic version of Persuasion. Intrigued? 5-star-review here.
5) Nancy Madore - Enchanted Dreams. No! No, no, no, no, no. 1-star-review here.
6) Christoph Marzi - Lyra. German 5-star-review for my favourite author ever here.
7) Oscar Wilde / Stephen Fry - Oscar Wilde's Stories for all Ages. Good book, with some stupid publishing decisions. 4-star-review here.
8) Heather Hepler - The Cupcake Queen. Sweet, realistic YA romance. 4-star-review here.
9) Eva Menasse - Vienna. Narcisstic family biography. Don't read. 2-star-review here.
10) Victoria Coren - For Richer, For Poorer. Love, love, love Victoria. Naturally, 5-star-review here.
11) Alison Sinclair - Lichtgeboren (Lightborn) (Darkborn, #2). Good middle part. 4-star-review to follow.











End of August count:
96/120 -> +16 :).

September!
(Read until 1st of September: 96 books)
1) Erin Morgenstern - The Night Circus. Great book. 5-star-review here.
2) Halldór Laxness - Iceland's Bell. Err... not interesting enough to compensate for the odd writing. 2-star-review here.
3) Benjamin Mee - We Bought A Zoo. Not quite as well-written as I'd expected from a journalist, but a great story. 4-star-review here.
4) N.K. Jemisin - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance Trilogy, #1). Some odd bits here and there, but all in all a great first novel. 4-star-review here.
5) Sebastian Faulks - Birdsong. Just not my cup of tea, despite Peter Firth's excellent narration of the audiobook (which has to say something because I adore Peter Firth!). 3-star-review here.
6) Gita Mehta - A River Sutra. One of my highlights this year. 5-star-review here.
7) Vicki Myron - Dewey. The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World.
Ugh. Just ... no. I love cats, but this person is creepy. 2-star-review here.
8) Peter Mayle - A Year in Provence. Lovely trip into rural France. 4 stars. Review to follow.
9) Tahir Shah - The Caliph's House. Great story despite the unlikeable narrator. 4 stars. Review to follow.
10) David Baldacci - One Summer. Predictable, wooden Chick-Lit that highlights everything that people think is bad about the genre. 2-star-review here.
11) Gloria Whelan - The Disappeared.
Deeply moving. 5-star-review here.
12) Carol K. Carr - India Black (Madam of Espionage, #1). Interesting premise, though not all that well executed (too much rambling). 3-star-review here.
13) Yasmina Khadra - Die Sirenen von Bagdad (engl.: The Sirens of Baghdad). Bit slow, but with an important message. 4-star-review here.
14) Amos Oz - A Tale of Love and Darkness. Probably good, but not for me. 3-star-review here.
15) Jo Walton - Among Others. Not quite as good as I would have thought. 3-star-review here.
16) Erik Larson - The Devil in the White City. Extremely well-written nonfiction about Chicago's 1893 World Fair. 4-star-review here.
17) John Steinbeck - The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Not as good as I would have thought. 3-star-review here.
18) Téa Obreht - The Tiger's Wife. A book written to be loved by me! 5-star-review here.


















End of September count:
114/120

Will be done in two weeks or so, I think. I want Amelia to finish it first, because my review sometimes changes when I discuss a book with other people who've read it. Not necessarily the rating, but the things I think are worth mentioning in the review. :)

October
I will update my challenge to 150. Else, I would be done after just six books.
(Read until Oct 1st: 114 books.)
1) Ali Shaw - The Girl with the Glass Feet. Great writing, odd story. 4-star-review here.
2) Lisa Tuttle - The Silver Bough. Sarah Addison Allen in Scotland. With a nearly all-American cast. 3-star-review here.
3) Laura Anne Gilman - Weight of Stone (Vineart War, #2). Great continuation. 5-star-review to follow.
4) Laura Anne Gilman - Wright of Stone (Vineart War, #2). And the finale. 5-star-review to follow.
5) Rachel Joyce - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Odd, but emotional read. 4-star-review here.
6) Christine Brodien-Jones - The Owl Keeper. Such a great premise, but lack in execution. So sad to see ;(. 3-star-review here.
7) David Mitchell - Back Story. A Memoir. ... I actually managed to produce a more or less decent 5-star-review after I'd stopped fangirling. Though this has not helped me decide whether I like David or Victoria (see book 10 in August) best.
8) The other David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas. Still don't like his writing style, although it's a great story idea. 3-star-review here.
9) S.L. Farrell - Magic of Twilight (Nessantico Cycle, #1). Good idea, not so well executed. 3-star-review here.
10) Beverley Naidoo - Burn My Heart. Great for children, not quite so suitable for adults, I think. 3-star-review here.












Even with going down, you'll still read more than I will :).
I agree. Night Circus is magical. One of my favourite reads this year. There are people who don't enjoy magical stories and question everything however. (There are apparently also people who gave five stars to my one-star-reads...)


I find that as time goes by, I get broader in my choice of genres, but more selective in what I actually pick. Maybe you haven't found the right nonfiction for you yet :).
Books mentioned in this topic
A Magic of Twilight (other topics)Burn My Heart (other topics)
Burn My Heart (other topics)
A Magic of Twilight (other topics)
Cloud Atlas (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
S.L. Farrell (other topics)Beverley Naidoo (other topics)
David Mitchell (other topics)
Rachel Joyce (other topics)
David Mitchell (other topics)
More...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Progress: 124 / 120+30
January 13
February 5
March 2
April 6
May 14
June 25
July 20
August 11
September 18
October
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Please note: This list does not include books I've borrowed. Therefore the total won't add up. See specific months for details.
* This list also doesn't include additional books that I've read. See specific months for details.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 52 BOOKS
1) Collette Rossant - Apricots on the Nile: A Memoir with Recipes (Egypt) Jan 6
2) Jostein Gaarder - The Castle in the Pyrenees (Norway) Jan 7
3) Günter Grass - My Century (Germany) Jan 18
4) Kathryn Stockett - The Help (USA) Jan 19
5) Tove Jansson - The Summer Book (Finland) Feb 7
6) Rafik Schami Murmeln Meiner Kindheit (Syria) Audio April 9
7) Sadegh Hedayat The Blind Owl (Iran) April 30
8) Rose Tremain The Colour (New Zealand) May 4
9) Kashmira Sheth - Keeping Corner (India) May 6
10) Paulo Coelho - Der Alchimist (Brazil) May 7
11) Yoko Ogawa - The Housekeeper and The Professor (Japan) May 9
12) George Mackay Brown - Travellers: Poems (Scotland) May 19
13) Tracy Chevalier - Girl With a Pearl Earring (Netherlands) May 21
14) Nadeem Aslam - Season of the Rainbirds (Pakistan) May 30
15) Nicolas Barreau - Die Frau meines Lebens (France) June 16
16) Paul Torday - Salmon Fishing In The Yemen, Film Tie-In (Yemen) June 16
17) Ferenc Máté - Ein Weinberg in der Toskana - Wie mein Traum wahr wurde (Italy) June 16
18) Vendela Vida - Liebende (Turkey) June 17
19) Marlo Morgan - Traumfänger (Australia), July 08
20) Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I (England), July 13
21) Eva Menasse - Vienna (Austria), Aug 29
22) Halldór Laxness - Iceland's Bell (Iceland), Sep 07
23) Tahir Shah - The Caliph's House (Morocco), Sep 21
24) Gloria Whelan - The Disappeared (Argentina), Sep 23
25) Yasmina Khadra - The Sirens of Baghdad (Iraq), Sep 28
26) Amos Oz - A Tale of Love and Darkness (Israel), Sep 28
27) Téa Obreht - The Tiger's Wife (Serbia), Sep 30
28) Beverly Naidoo - Burn My Heart (Kenya), Oct 16
FANTASY-SUB
1) Brandon Sanderson - The Way of Kings Jan 3
2) Mark Hodder - The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack Jan 10
3) Philip Pullman - The Golden Compass Audio Jan 10
4) Gail Carriger - Changeless Jan 11
5) Alison Sinclair - Darkborn Jan 21
6) N.D. Wilson - 100 Cupboards Jan 29
7) Claudia Kern - Verrat Jan 31
8) Michael J Sullivan - Percepliquis Feb 5
9) Ben Aaronovitch - Die Flüsse von London Feb 8
10) Laura Anne Gilman - Flesh and Fire Feb 19
11) George R.R. Martin - A Game of Thrones April 7
Harry Potter - re-read April 11 - April 22
12) Rowena Cory Daniells - The Uncrowned King May 22
13) Rowena Cory Daniells - The Usurper May 23
14) Gail Carriger - Blameless June 3
15) Gail Carriger - Heartless June 5
16) Gail Carriger - Timeless June 11
17) Sarah Prineas - Stolen June 19
18) Sarah Prineas - The Magic Thief: Lost June 20
19) Sarah Prineas - The Magic Thief: Found June 20
20) Claudia Kern - Rache June 26
21) Angie Sage - Magyk July 3
22) Angie Sage - Flyte July 5
23) Pat Walsh - The Crowfield Curse July 19
24) Leanna Renee Hieber - The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker July 26
25) Diana Peterfreund - For Darkness Shows the Stars Aug 21
26) Christoph Marzi - Lyra Aug 26
27) N.K. Jemisin - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms Sep 11
28) S.L. Farrell - A Magic of Twilight, Oct 15
Travel the United States
Kathryn Stockett - The Help (Mississippi) re-read June 1st
1) Katherine Milhous - The Egg Tree (Pennsylvania) June 2
2) Kimberly Willis Holt - My Louisiana Sky (Louisiana) June 4
3) Katherine Paterson - Bridge To Teribithia (Virginia) June 6
4) Cameron Crowe - Elizabethtown (Kentucky) June 9
5) Sarah Addison Allen - The Peach Keeper: A Novel (North Carolina) June 25
6) Sterling North - Rascal (Wisconsin) June 27