2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2017
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☼ JAMIESON IS GOING FOR 100 IN 2017 !! ☼
2017 COVERS !!
Book 1:First book of the year done and dusted already, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay. I enjoyed this much more then I thought! I really liked getting to go back and analyse some of the key movie characters in a book format, because it was easier to focus on the dialogue. (Although you do miss out because facial expressions are lost in this obviously)
published by: Pottermore from J.K. Rowling
Rating: ★★★★★
Book 2: The second book I read this year was A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab. Schwab is an author I've been meaning to get into, since absolutely everyone seems to adore her and I hate to miss out on a trend
ADSOM wasn't 100% what I was expecting .. and I don't think it entirely lived up to the hype but I still really liked it. I will def be continuing the series. I liked the worldbuilding, it was just that the plot was soooo slow
published by: Tor Books
Rating: ★★★.5☆
Book 3: This one was a pleasant surprise for me! I received The Sixth Event from netgalley and finally got to reading it and I enjoyed it immensely! The plot was really fun, and I loved the incorporation of pre-history into the story
published by: Evernight Teen
Rating: ★★★★
Just gonna say it, I just stalked a little bit through your reviews and I'm liking your taste so far, so I'm definitely going to follow your challenge. Good luck!
Anja wrote: "Just gonna say it, I just stalked a little bit through your reviews and I'm liking your taste so far, so I'm definitely going to follow your challenge. Good luck!"Haha thanks so much! And thankyou I'm hoping my challenge goes well this year even though 100 is a bit of a stretch for me
Book 4: Another netgalley read, I picked up Counting to Zero by A.J Quinn. I wanted to love this book but many elements just didn't work for me. The plot was too slow, and I wasn't invested enough in some characters to care about what happened to them. I did like that it featured a f/f central romance though
published by: Bold Strokes Books
Rating: ★★.5
Book 5: I wanted to go back to my roots and read some fantasy so I picked up The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi and LOVED IT.
The book is totally surreal, but I liked that about it. The prose is absolutely stunning and full of rich imagery and life and I could not get enough of it.
It's also a super diverse read, full of Indian mythology and set completely in India.
For a debut novel I think it's something really wonderful and I can't wait to read the sequel
((also, side note. Check out this cover it's stunning
published by: St. Martin's Griffin
book 6: The Young Elites by Marie Lu was a book/series I've been meaning to start for a long time because the idea of a villains story and book full of anti-hero's was super appealing !
I LOVED this. The anti-hero characters were super interesting and I was SO INVESTED in the plot and story, plus the plot twists were so unexpected !!! loved it.
Also, my first 5 star book of 2017
(ok yes, I gave fantastic beats a 5 but thats not a proper book)
published by: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books
Rating: ★★★★★
book 7:I FINALLY, FINALLY READ Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe !!!!!!! soooo many people on tumblr kept telling me I had to read this and I finally did and I loved it aaaaahh
It's so beautiful and realistic and honest, the characters are amazing I am not gonna lie I cried all the way through this. There were so many lines in this book that just hit me, like a physical punch to the stomach.
Truly an amazing, amazing book I am PRAYING the sequel happens and soon
published by: Simon & Schuster
Rating: ★★★★★
book 8: I finally got my hands on Wayfarer the second book in Alexandra Bracken's Passenger series.
I really liked Wayfarer, much more then I liked Passenger. I love this duology, it's super fun but also covers some serious topics and makes an insightful look into how history silences some narratives
I also loved it was dedicated to all the people history has forgotten
published by: Disney-Hyperion
Rating: ★★★★
book 9:I recieved a free copy of A Kind of Justice by Renee James from netgalley but it sadly became my first dnf of the year. Couldn't get into it, it was just a bit boring for me and wasn't my thing
dnf @ 31%
rating: ★
published by: Oceanview Publishing
book 10: I am trying to finish some series since I always just leave them hanging so I picked up Let the Storm Break by Shannon Messenger, the second book in the Let the Sky Fall trilogy
I liked the sequel much more then I liked the first book, I found I cared about the characters more and the plot was much more developed then in the first one. Even thought the series isn't one of the 'best' I've ever read, the second book really improved my overall thoughts on the series and I will continue to read the last book
rating: ★★★.5
published by: Simon Pulse
book 11:YES !! WENT TO CONTINUE A FAVE SERIES WITH The Rose Society the second book in the The Young Elites trilogy by Marie Lu
LOVED LOVED LOVED IT. I adored the first book yet somehow this managed to top it, I am so in love with these characters and the plot and I am so fucking emo about Raffaele and Enzo I love them
rating: ★★★★★
published by: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books
FEBRUARY
book 12:AAAAH I FINISHED THE YOUNG ELITES TRILOGY
so book 12 The Midnight Star by Marie Lu
LOVED the entire series, honestly was such a well written, interesting series with great characters and diversity. I flew through the whole thing because I loved it that much, I wish I'd read it sooner
rating: ★★★★
published by: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books
book 13:I finally read The Secret History by Donna Tartt which I meant to read last year and never got to. I LOVED this classic, a super twisty story with great characters. I thought every character was incredibly diabolical and flawed, and yet all were endearing to me. I loved the ending, and the writing was so beautiful and quotable
rating: ★★★★★
published by: Alfred A. Knopf
book 14: I'm going to reread Cassandra Clare's book so I picked up City of Bones. Rereading it now was kind of weird. I read it the first time when I was 14. I quite liked the story still, but it's not as good as I thought it was then.
On the other hand, I know what it leads to so I don't wanna go hating on it.
rating: ★★★.5
published by: Simon & Schuster
Book 15: I decided to continue on with the adsom trilogy and read A Gathering of Shadows by V.E Schwab. I had the same problems I had with the first one - the pacing was off. Too slow at the beginning and too muvh at the end. It's still a fairly good trilogy though.
published by: Tor Books
Rating: ★★★.5
Book 16: Continued on with the Enemy Series and read The Sacrifice. It wasn't my favourite of the series, but still pretty good I'm excited to finally finish of this series especially now that things in the story are getting more serious
published by: Disney-Hyperion
Rating: ★★★.5
book 17: I finally read a book that's seemingly always being praised -- Ruta Sepetys Salt to the Sea
I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. Everyone loved this book and while I thought it was a nice story I didn't think it hit me with the same emotional impact it hit everyone else with. It was a nice story,and I enjoyed it, but it wasn't groundbreaking either
published by: Philomel Books
rating: ★★★★
book 18:this one was uni reading, Oedipus Rex for my classics unit. There isn't that much to say that hasn't been said already lbr. Super freaky but thats how it goes
( I don't like to rate books I read for school because I just find it too hard to mediate between how much I enjoyed it personally and then other shit like how influential it is and how it uses conventions to portray meaning or w/ever so I just don't)
book 19:One of my most anticipated books ever, The Song of Achilles. I put this one off for a long time because I knew it wasn't gonna be great and I didn't want to waste the first read but it did not disappoint. I LOVED the story of Achilles and Patroclus and the prose was genuinely beautiful
published by: Bloomsbury publishing
rating: ★★★★★
book 20:I DID IT. THE EPIC CONCLUSION TO THE MISTBORN TRILOGY The Hero of Ages
was incredibly good as expected, with so many unexpected twists and turns but the meticulous detail put into this series is honestly unbelievable Brandon Sanderson is a genius
published by: Gollancz
rating: ★★★★★
book 21:I started the Winners trilogy and finished The Winner's Curse which in all honesty was pretty disappointing. I expected better things from such a popular series but it really wasn't that interesting to me
published by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
rating: ★★
book 22:another uni read, The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. It's okay but not his best play I think
book 23:I decided to read Marie Lu's other series which starts with Legend. I really liked it ! Good characters and the plot was fine. The worldbuilding could have been better but overall quite enjoyed it
I really like Marie Lu's writing and books it just clicks with me
published by: Putnam Juvenile
rating: ★★★★
book 24:continuing the series I read Prodigy which I didn't like as much as Legend but was still ok. The romance was very annoying and while the plot/worldbuilding was great it couldn't save all the shit ass romance
published by: Putnam Juvenile
rating: ★★★
book 25:I read this one for uni, but A Faraway, Familiar Place: An Anthropologist Returns to Papua New Guinea. Its an Ethnography about Kragur in PNG and it's super interesting and I liked it
book 26:Finished up the legend trilogy and read Champion. Overall I think Legend is a pretty solid trilogy with some great characters and worlbuilding, and while I don't think it's anything groundbreaking or as good as Marie Lu's Young Elites, I think it's a good fun dystopian and really quick reading.
published by: Putnam Juvenile
rating: ★★★★
book 27:This one is a uni read, Wuthering Heights. I was expecting to like this much more because I really liked Jane Eyre but I couldn't get into it. I don't know why but I just found it so boring and pointless
rating: ★★
book 28:Decided to finish up another series, this time Susan Ee Angelfall series and read End of Days. I liked this one much more then the second book in the trilogy, but I still think the series is not that groundbreaking. It's fun and action packed but it's not really deep
published by: Skyscape
rating: ★★★
book 29:Finished The Fallen which means 5/7 of the books in the series have been read! I LOVE this series, it's so much fun and really clever. The writing is so intricate and the worldbuilding is amazing, I loved this one and I'm so excited to finish up the series
published by: Puffin UK
rating: ★★★★
book 30:Another uni read, Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Freakin loved this, was super weird and the MC is an unusual character but I really liked what it was putting forward and found it interesting
rating: ★★★★
book 31:My next uni read, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. This was a super weird one but I liked it. I liked the paranormal aspects and the unreliable narrative
book 32:I wanted to reread another Cassandra Clare book just because it's kind of interesting for me to reread them now I'm an adult and not 12 ahaha. So I read Clockwork Angel. I actually really liked it more then I was expecting, I love Will he's such a good character im so emo abt him
published by: Simon & Schuster
rating: ★★★★
book 33:ANOTHER one for uni, James Joyce short story The Dead. This is a super weird short story honestly and it's kind of hard to describe what it's about but it has a nice tone and pacing
34: It's a really popular book but I never read it when it came out and so I finally read Ready Player One by ernest cline. Safe to say I was very disappointed, the tone of the book infuriated me and I hated the characters so much. The worldbuilding was really good and beside that meeeehhhh
published by: Crown publishers
rating: ★★
35:Read a drama for uni, Samuel Beckett's Endgame which was really weird but I liked it. The intellectual discussions going on were good and I just really like absurdist lit.
published by: Faber and Faber
rating: ★★★★
36:This one is really disappointing to me, The Love Interest came out and I was so let down. It was probably my most anticipated book beside Lord of Shadows and I just think it wasn't executed well at all. Some parts were fun but overall I just didn't like it as much as I wanted to
BUT ON THE PLUS SIDE CALE DIETRICH IS FROM PERTH!! PERTH REPRESENT #AUSSIEPRIDE
Published by: Feiwel & Friends
rating: ★★★
37:I read my first Becky Albertalli book, The Upside of Unrequited. I liked it, the representation was amazing and I genuinely liked the characters but I had some issues with the way that themes were portrayed and with some of the ideas that were being put forth so it wasn't a flawless read for me
But overall it was a pretty solid YA contemporary, I usually don't enjoy YA contemp. because I find it annoying but I thought this was pretty good and not too cliche or cringeworthy.
Published by: Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
Rating: ★★★★
38:The last book I had to read for uni was also my favourite one I read. I've wanted to read a Toni Morrison book for aged and reading Sula has motivated me to read more sooo much. I absolutely loved Sula, the writing is absolutely beautiful, basically impeccable. The portrayal of the characters and their struggles was raw, poignant and honest and I thought that thematically it really hit the mark.
This book is complex, but I love that about it and I think it's definitely one I'll reread. I loved this one so much
published by: Alfred A. Knopf
rating: ★★★★★
39:I decided to reread Lady Midnight before Lord of Shadows came out. I really liked the reread, I honestly think LM is Cassandra Clare's best book, it's just so much more mature then her other works, with much better characters and plots.
Her books are a little dumb honestly and kind of melodramatic but I enjoy that about them. I'm 70% through Lord of Shadows so I'll see how I feel about that one soon
Published by: Simon & Schuster
rating: ★★★★★
40:I read one of the ARCs I had, Leo Loves Aries by Anyta Sunday. I thought the romance was pretty cute but the representation component of this really lacked and it would have been better if it was a little more deep. But it was a pretty quick, fun and fluffy read so that was nice
published by: self-published
rating: ★★★.5
41: IT CAME, I READ IT, I AM NOT COPING.
Of course it's Lord of Shadows
I AM NOT DOING OKAY
if you rip the last few pages out this books pretty good
but seriously love these characters sooo much I'm so into this series
I haven't stopped yelling for days
Published by: Simon & Schuster
rating: ★★★★★
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Night Owls (other topics)We Were Liars (other topics)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone (other topics)
Radio Silence (other topics)
The Hate U Give (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
James Joyce (other topics)Henry James (other topics)
Fyodor Dostoevsky (other topics)
Marie Lu (other topics)
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• Around the World in 52 Books
• TBR RANDOMISER CHALLENGE:
1: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda ✓
2: Tiger Lily
3: Breath
4: The Art of Being Normal
5: Two Lies and a Spy
• FINISH SERIES CHALLENGE
Attempt to complete (or read up to most current release) 10 series
1: Passenger Series by Alexandra Bracken ✓
2: The Young Elites Trilogy by Marie Lu ✓
3: Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson ✓
4: Penryn & The End of Days Trilogy ✓
5: Shades of Magic Trilogy ✓
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
READ BY COLOUR CHALLENGE
1. Read a book with "White" or any shade of white in the cover (ivory, cream, bone, etc...).
2. Read a book with "Pink" or any shade of pink in the cover (rose, magenta, salmon, etc...).
3. Read a book with "Red" or any shade of red in the cover (maroon, brick, scarlet, etc...).
4. Read a book with "Orange" or any shade of orange in the cover (apricot, ginger, carrot, etc...).
5. Read a book with "Yellow" or any shade of yellow in the cover (blond, chartreuse, canary, etc...).
6. Read a book with "Green" or any shade of green in the cover (sage, lime, jade, etc...).
7. Read a book with "Light Blue" or any shade of light blue in the cover (teal, sky, cerulean, etc...).
8. Read a book with "Dark Blue" or any shade of dark blue in the cover (indigo, denim, navy, etc...).
COMPLETE!:
9. Read a book with "Purple" or any shade of purple in the cover (lavender, plum, orchid, etc...).
10. Read a book with "Brown" or any shade of brown in the cover (tan, mahogany, coffee, etc...).
11. Read a book with "Black" or any shade of black in the cover (grey, slate, coal, etc...).
12. Read a book with a Metallic color in the cover (gold, silver, bronze, etc...).
13. Read a book with at least 5 colors on the cover.
14. Read a book with a color in the title of the book.
15. Read a book with a word describing colors in the title (rainbow, stripes, polka dots, ect...).
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STATS:
Genre:
Action:
Adventure:
Classics: 7
Contemporary: 8
Fantasy: 18
Science Fiction: 5
Fiction:
Historical Fiction: 3
Horror: 1
Drama: 2
Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic: 4
Romance:
Mystery:
Non-Fiction:
Paranormal:
Steampunk:
Length:
Short (<250 pages): 6
Medium (250-500 pages): 27
Long (501-800 pages): 6
Very long (800+ pages):
Authors:
Female: 23
Male: 13
Books by Month:
January: 11
February: 5
March: 8
April: 5
May: 11
June: 9
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:
Australian books:
Audiobooks: 1
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OTHER LINKS
series tracker
reading corner
DIVERSITY BINGO
Romance with a Tran MC: When the Moon Was Ours
Non-Binary MC (Own Voices): Girl Mans Up
SFF with Disabled MC: On the Edge of Gone
Practicing Jewish MC:
Indian MC (Own Voices): The Star-Touched Queen ✓
Displaced MC:
MC with an Under-Represented Body: The Upside of Unrequited ✓
Neuro-Diverse MC (Own Voices): Queens of Geek ✓
Retelling with MC belongs to LGBTIA+: The Song of Achilles ✓
Bisexual MC (Own Voices): Our Own Private Universe
MC with an Invisible Disability: History Is All You Left Me ✓
MC with an Anaphylactic Allergy:
MC of Color in SFF: The Young Elites ✓
Own Voices Latinx MC: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe ✓
Free Choice: The Love Interest ✓
Non-Western (Real World) Setting: Want
Own Voices: Not Your Sidekick
MC with Chronic Pain:
West Asian Setting:
Arab MC (Own Voices): A Thousand Splendid Suns
MC with Wheelchair:
Book by Author of Color: Legend ✓
Biracial MC (Own Voices):
Pansexual MC (Own Voices):
Black MC (Own Voices): Sula ✓
MC on the Ace Spectrum (Own Voices): Every Heart a Doorway ✓
LGBTQIA+ MC of Color: Juliet Takes a Breath ✓
Visually Impaired MC:
Book set in Central America:
Contemporary World Arranged Marriage: When Dimple Met Rishi
Indigenous MC (Own Voices): The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf
Diverse Non-Fiction: Hidden Figures
POC on the Cover: Clockwork Prince
Deaf and Hard of Hearing MC:
Immigrant or Refugee MC: The Sun Is Also a Star
Hijab MC (Own Voices):