2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE: Quarterly Challenges
>
Q1 - Best in Show
BEST IN SHOW: Group ReportDuration: January 1 to 13, 2021
Boks pledged 389
Books read 25 (6.4% of books pledged)
Total sign-ups 42
Challenges started 12 active participants (28.6% of sign-ups)
We're not doing badly for the first 13 days!
Best wishes for finding some excellent books to enjoy!
Books pledged:
Books read
Challenges started:
Challenges done: None yet
Update to message 28Progress 3/5
The Haunting of Tram Car 015
by P. Djeli Clark
Update to message #56:Progress: 2/5 Tournament of Books 2021
Luster - This stood out for me from the many recent novels about young adults finding their way. I loved the sharp writing and observations about race, class and relationship power dynamics and was surprised by how Leilani pulled me into a highly improbable storyline.
Leave the World Behind - This was a mixed read for me. I liked the style, the subtle commentary about class and race and the overall unsettling feel of the novel (which has stuck with me) but overall I just wanted more.
Update to message #4 - 2/9 books read. I read Dearly: New Poems, which was the winner of Goodreads Awards 2020/Best Poetry. Great book and an outstanding voice!
Update to message #831/8 complete
Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan finished 1/17/2021 (won Hugo award for best graphic story 2013)
Sign me up for 5 books!Pulizter Prize/Historical Fiction
The Nickel Boys
All the Light We Cannot See
Booker Award
Shuggie Bain
GoodReads Choice Awards/Fiction
The Midnight Library
GoodReads Choice Awards/Historical Fiction
The Vanishing Half
I think I did that correctly!
Zeejane (Sara) wrote: "#9 is updated.I've completed the challenge :)
Progress: 4/4"
Congrats on completing Best in Show so early.
You do realize this is a quarterly challenge, right? (jk)
Wendy wrote: "Sign me up for 5 books!. . .
I think I did that correctly!."
Wendy
Welcome to the group and to the Best in Show quarterly challenge.
And, yes, your sign-up post was perfect! Thank you! :)
I'll add you to Ze List in a sec.
2021 Reading ChallengeQ1 - Best in Show
Duration: January 1 to March 31, 2021
Progress: 3 out of 12
This quarterly challenge honors the Literary Awards nomination, which came in third in our 2021 Yearly Themes poll.
One path to our quarterly theme, "Be the Change," might be to read the shortlisted books in your preferred award categories of the literary awards or book tournaments that you most enjoy.
For this challenge, choose a literary award or book tournament and read any of its shortlisted books (including yearly winners) from your chosen category for any year (multiple years is fine).
You may choose a maximum combined total of four literary awards and book tournaments, so choose your lists carefully.
Q: What if a prize has multiple categories?
A: Just choose one category to start reading from. Once you've read three books from your first category, feel free to continue reading in the same category or, as an option, start reading from a second category of the same literary award.
Q: Which books make up the "shortlist" for a Goodreads Choice Category?
A: When you click on a Goodreads Choice Awards category for a specific year, what you see are the 20 semifinalists. The shortlist refers only to the top 10 nominees that made it into the final round of voting, that is, the 10 books with the highest number of votes in that category.
How to Participate
Let the challenge leader know the following:
*Total number of books you plan to read
*The Award or Tournament (Name (up to four)
*The Award Category in each of your lists
Goodreads Choice Awards 2009
1. Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk - ** - 3/8/2021 - 255 Pages
2.
3.
Goodreads Choice Awards 2010
1. Changeless by Gail Carriger - ***** - 3/6/2021 - 389 Pages
2.
3.
Goodreads Choice Awards 2011
1.
2.
3.
Goodreads Choice Awards 2012
1. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - ***** - 3/13/2021 - 386 Pages
2.
3.
Suzanne wrote: "2021 Reading ChallengeQ1 - Best in Show
Duration: January 1 to March 31, 2021
Progress: 0 out of 9."
Suzanne,
Welcome to Best in Show!
Update to msg 11: 9/21(1) Booker International/Fiction: 2/4
*The Pine Islands (2019 shortlist), 2 stars
(2a) CWA Dagger Awards/International: 3/4
*Newcomer (2019 shortlist), 5 stars
(I'm qualified now to add CWA Gold Dagger books)
(4a) Hugo Awards/Best Novel: 3/5
*A Closed and Common Orbit (2017 shortlist), 4.5 stars
(I'm qualified now to add Hugo Best Novella books)
Update to message # 12PROGRESS: 15/45
I've just finished my books for January, I think I didn't read so many 5 stars books in a row in a long time!
Carmen wrote: "Update to message # 12PROGRESS: 15/45
I've just finished my books for January, I think I didn't read so many 5 stars books in a row in a long time!"
That's awesome progress as well as fantastic news about reading so many five-star books in one month.
What a great way to start a new year! :)
Also I love how your pacing yourself for the entire quarter. 💔
Alyana Pearl wrote: "Progress: 4/8Update to message #6 and the details here. "
Hi Alyana,
I'd already updated my spreadsheet to this progress based on your Jan 13th comment.
oshizu wrote: "Alyana Pearl wrote: "Progress: 4/8Update to message #6 and the details here. "
Hi Alyana,
I'd already updated my spreadsheet to this progress based on your Jan 13th comment."
Oh sorry, my mind is everywhere the past few days.
BEST IN SHOW: Jan 21st SummaryDuration: Jan 1 to Jan 20, 2021
The Lists now show the latest progress of everyone who has posted an update comment since Jan 1st.
Our group is off to a great start.
Zeejane has already completed her challenge! Congratulations!
I know some of you might be waiting until the end of the month to post your progress in one update.
To be included in the next full update, please be sure to post before noon of Feb 1st (US time).
Boks pledged: 401
Books read: 55 (13.7% of books pledged)
Challenges started: 16 active participants (out off 44 total sign-ups)
Challenges done: 1 (6.3% of 16 challenges started)
I've read several fabulous books for this challenge already.
Hoping you've run across some 5-star reads, too!
Update to Message 8: 4/94/9
Goodreads Choice 2020/Fantasy
1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
2. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Goodreads Choice 2020/Mystery&Thriller
none yet
Goodreads Choice 2020/Fiction
1. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Update to message #6 Finishing this month with 6/8 books.
1. Goodreads Choice/Young Adult Fiction
✔ 1.1 History Is All You Left Me (2017 nominee) - read on 01/02/21
2. Goodreads Choice/Romance
✔ 2.1 The Hating Game (2016 nominee) - read on 01/02/21
✔ 2.2 Verity (2019 nominee) - read on 01/04/21
✔ 2.3 Entwined with You (2013 nominee) - read on 01/25/21
3. Goodreads Choice/Mystery-Thriller
✔ 3.1 Into the Water (2017 winner) - read on 01/02/21
✔ 3.2 The Family Upstairs (2019 nominee) - read on 01/09/21
Update to Message #4, 3/9 books read Read Flights as my first read from Booker International shortlist. An absolutely fantastic book!
Update to message 3: progress 1/5Hugo Awards/Best Novel:
✅ Redshirts winner 2013
Finally off the mark! I stumbled across this book while I was looking through past winners and shortlists for this challenge, and as a big Star Trek fan I couldn’t let this book pass me by. A very funny book, glad I read it.
I'm happy to note that some of you are enjoying the books you've chosen!Except for one, mine have all been great!
Message 15
oshizu, please raise my goal to 10 books. Thank you.
Progress 4/10
oshizu, please raise my goal to 10 books. Thank you.
Progress 4/10
Regina wrote: "Message 15oshizu, please raise my goal to 10 books. Thank you.
Progress 4/10"
Duly noted, Regina.
How great that you've found some more qualifying books!
Update to message 58, 4/6 books1. Goodreads Choice - YA Fantasy & Science Fiction
✔ An Ember in the Ashes (2015)
✔ Cinderella Is Dead (2020)
✔ The Raven King (2016)
2. Hugo Award - Best Novel
The Three-Body Problem (2015)
✔ Spinning Silver (2019)
The City & the City (2010)
Update Msg #7Finishing up this month's reading plans...
I read Do Unto Others.
This cozy mystery, set in a small town in Texas, features Jordan Poteet, who has moved back home to help with the care of his aging mother, suffering from Alzheimer's. He finds himself unexpectedly involved in a murder that takes place at the library where he works. Filled with believable small-town folks, this was a fun -- at times moving -- book that won a well-deserved Agatha Christie Award for Best First Novel of 1994 for Jeff Abott. I would have given it 5 stars back 30 or so years ago when I first read it in my 20s. Now I'm a bit more mellow and give it 4 stars.
I also read: Fool's Puzzle.
This one was on the short-list of the 1994 Agatha Christie Award for Best First Novel. Frankly, I'm glad I wasn't the one having to choose the winner! This is another well-written small-town cozy filled with interesting, well-developed characters. The title of the book is the name of a quilt pattern -- as are all the titles in this series -- and I think that's really neat. I gave it 4 stars and will eventually be getting around to reading some of the others in the series.
Progress: 3/8
Since I am updating everything else today...
Message 15
5/10 completed
Message 15
5/10 completed
Updated msg 5Just completed another nominee for GR Choice Historical - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. This was not the best timing for me to read this book. I didn’t have the patience for slow plot and beautiful prose. But this book slowly grew on me. I began to love the characters and delight in this captured world the author created in within the chaos of history. And I ended up loving this book entirely! “By their very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our consideration, but our reconsideration - our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in every possible setting at every possible hour.” “[T]he tenure of friendships have never been governed by the passage of time.” Definitely worth reading! 5 stars
3/5
Update to #21. 5/12 read.
Update to message 18Progress 3/5
Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction
> Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng(2017 - Winner)
> Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (2017 - Nominee)
Hello Oshizu. I am loving this challenge! I updated msg #41 - 4/12 books read. Thank you.
Update message 28Progress 4/5
Completed Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson
Update to message 56:Progress: 3/5
Completed The Down Days - It was great to read speculative fiction set in South Africa and the pandemic storyline was extremely prescient. The constant switching between many storylines made it difficult for me to settle into the story and I thought there were a few too many things going on without enough payoff to make this completely work for me. 3 stars.
BEST IN SHOW: January ReportHow was everyone's first month is 2021?
Personally, I got off to a rip roaring start, then lost momentum during the final week, lol!
The progress of all Prancing participants has been updated on The List. Here's a look at our challenge progress as a group.
Incidentally, the numbers only include the progress of active and finished participants.
Boks pledged: 251
Books read: 98 (39% of books pledged)
Challenges started: 24 active/finished participants (55% of sign-ups)
Challenges done: 1 (4.2% of challenges started)
Sadly, half of those of you who signed up have yet to report any progress. On the plus side, however, active participants have finished reading practically 40% of the books they pledged!
May February be a better month for us all!
I'm a bit late but I'd love to participate with 3 books at first. Maybe will up the goal later.1/3 books completed.
Goodreads Choice/Fantasy
1. Piranesi
2.
3.
Update Message #19I've been slow to start this challenge, and I'm hoping to get more award nominees and winners read in February.
Progress: 3/20
Goodreads Choice Awards
fiction
2. Every Note Played (2018)
National Book Award
Fiction
3. The Women of Brewster Place (1983)
Update to message #79:1/5 completed
National Book Critics Circle Award
1. Americanah- 2013, winner
2. The Goldfinch- 2013, finalist
Goodreads Choice Awards/Romance
1. One to Watch- 2020, finalist
Goodreads Choice Awards/Historical Fiction
1. Daisy Jones & The Six- 2019, winner- finished 1/30/21
2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo- 2017, finalist
Kiawi wrote: "I'm a bit late but I'd love to participate with 3 books at first. Maybe will up the goal later.1/3 books completed.
Goodreads Choice/Fantasy
1. Piranesi
2.
3."
@Kiawi
Welcome to the Best in Show quarterly challenge and congrats on finishing your first book already!
You've been added to the Prancing list on page 1. :D
Hi oshizu, update to message #6Progress: 8/8 and the details here.
Please raise my goal to 12 books. Thank you! :)
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Death Dances to a Reggae Beat (other topics)Daisy Jones & The Six (other topics)
The Goldfinch (other topics)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (other topics)
One to Watch (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kate Grilley (other topics)Jokha Alharthi (other topics)
Annie Proulx (other topics)
Caroline B. Cooney (other topics)
Mary Robinette Kowal (other topics)
More...
The progress of all who have posted an update comment so far has been noted on Ze Lists.
I've decided I don't want to update this quarterly challenge on the same days as the two yearlies I lead (Magical Mystery Tour and Serial Reader), which I update on the 16th and 1st of each month.
For Best in Show, I'll be updating as follows:
Day 11 (for Days 1-10)
Day 21 (for Days 11-20)
Day 1 (for Day 21 to month end)
And for our new members, a gentle reminder on how to update:
Example:
Update to msg xx: books read/challenge goal
Thanks for reading!