2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2023
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Lisa's Reading List - 2023
Ah yes, here we are yet again. *sings* "It's the most wonderful time of the year".
The year that has been 2022 is rapidly drawing to a close, and so it is time to start making plans of books to read, set up a personal challenge, a new member's corner, join all the challenges, and all that fun sorta stuff.
But first, let's talk a bit about 2022 in hindsight, shall we?
To start with the obvious - I sort of went on hiatus from Goodreads (again, again). It wasn't really planned, and it was most definitely a sporadic occurrence. But yeah, I wasn't as present or consistent as I've been in previous years.
In terms of my personal reading challenges it could be deemed a "fail", due to the fact that I was occupied reading a lot of newer releases and e-ARCs, instead of backlists, non-fiction or classics. And I didn't keep up with anything group related either.
Regardless, 2022 was a pretty good reading year - with a total of: XX books and YY pages.
Bring on 2023!
2022 STATS BREAKDOWN
............
*sigh*
I mean.... 7th time's the charm, right?! No wait... Is that not how the saying goes? My bad! And yet, that's where we're at: seven years of all the intentions - seven years of starting out strong - seven years of neglecting Goodreads.... You get the drift.
That being said, I've still read what I wanted to read and made a decent dent in personal goals, so there's always that. It's just the keeping track throughout the year that is lacking.
But there's something about 2023 - I don't know.... it feels like a good year for a comeback.
So I guess, "New Year - New *insert inspirational New Year's quote here*"
ANYWAYS!
The plan for 2023 is as follows:
First, I have a variety of personal challenges which will be my main focus this year.
Secondly, my official Goodreads challenge will remain at one book.
While I still don't feel a need to numericize my goal, I hope and expect it (as in previous years) to come closer to the 50-book mark.
Thirdly, one of my big goals is to continue reading more of the classics that I've been meaning to get to. With that comes a secondary objective to balance older books vs. recent/upcoming releases.
Penultimately, I intend to sign up to several group challenges, and join some Group Reads/Buddy Reads, as the year progresses.
This will not only help me get out of my comfort zone and expand my literary horizons, but also compel me to once again be more active on Goodreads.
Finally, I aim to catch up on unread ARCs and will attempt to stay on top of the reviewing aspect throughout the year.
Additionally, my more abstract intentions remain mainly the same as in previous years:
- To read globally and linguistically diversely
- To read more non-fiction
- To read more broadly in general
Wish me luck!
Looking for my thoughts on something specific? Linked below are all the books I read in 2023. Click on the numbers to be redirected to a particular review you're interested in :) 
1. The Monsters in our Shadows (Edward J. Cembal)
2. The Many Daughters of Afong Moy (Jamie Ford)
3. Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories (Isaac Bashevis Singer)
4. The One (John Marrs)
5. The Marriage Act (John Marrs)
6. Kindred (Octavia E. Butler)
7. Recitatif (Toni Morrison)
8. Lovely Girls (Margot Hunt)
9. The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
10. Suburban Monsters (Christopher Hawkins)
11. The Love Hypothesis (Ali Hazelwood)
12. Stay with Me (Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀)
13. A Spell of Good Things (Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀)
14. A True Story (Lucian of Samosata)
15. 1984 (George Orwell)
16. Sea Prayer (Khaled Hosseini)
17. Worlds Without End: Exoplanets, Habitability, and the Future of Humanity (Chris Impey)
18. Just a Fling (Katherine Grace)
Thanks for visiting my page :) I wish you a lot of good reading in 2023!
I look forward to seeing how this page develops. Thanks for dropping a note on mine1
D.L. wrote: "Thanks for visiting my page :) I wish you a lot of good reading in 2023!"Thanks so much, and ty for stopping by :)
Martha☀ wrote: "I look forward to seeing how this page develops. Thanks for dropping a note on mine1"I'm missing some stats from this year but otherwise I think it's ready to go! Thanks for stopping by :)
Lisa, thank you for the good wishes you left on my challenge thread. Encouraging words are always welcome! 😊I saw above that you plan to do more group reads/buddy reads. Those activities will satisfy some of the Community Chest prompts in the Bibliopoly challenge, too. I'm glad you signed up for that one!
Hope 2023 brings you satisfying time between the covers of terrific books.
There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.
--C.S. Lewis
TerryJane wrote: "Lisa, thank you for the good wishes you left on my challenge thread. Encouraging words are always welcome! 😊I saw above that you plan to do more group reads/buddy reads. Those activities will sat..."
I noticed that :) I might've even purposely counted it when I was calculating a goal.
Sounds like a really fun challenge. I'm looking forward to it!
Buddy and Group reads are always what incite me to pick up books I wouldn't normally consider. Like for instance, I'm planning to read North and South in January, and while I've added it to my own list, I'm terrified of making it official by declaring I''' be joining, because then I "have to" commit. :D
Good luck with all your reading goals for 2023! :) Looking forward to seeing what you end up reading...and what ends up making it's way to my TBR :D
Hannah wrote: "Good luck with all your reading goals for 2023! :) Looking forward to seeing what you end up reading...and what ends up making it's way to my TBR :D"Hannah! I was just on my way to intrude at your space! lol Thanks so much :)
I'm 150% a mood reader! There's no question about that. It is the reason, I don't always know what a particular month will look like, or what I'll be reading, until I'm in the midst of it.
That being said, sometimes work obligations (I work in publishing) and ARCs, will shape (part of) what I read in a month.
For instance, at the moment of writing this, I have one manuscript I have to get to by the end of the month, and two ARCs to read and review by March.
But once these factors have been taken into consideration, two questions arise:
- "what do I feel like reading this month?"
- "how many books can I commit to?"
This month, I've joined two Buddy Reads ("Kindred" & "The Many Daughters of Afong Moy"), yet, I'm still undecided on the Group Read for "North and South".
Already this amounts to 4-6 commitments in January.
Add then to that, the aspect of personal projects, and/or in-group challenges that, while not obligatory, in a way also "demand" to be fulfilled.
In this particular case, both the yearly challenge "United in Reading", and the ATY Winter Challenge have January-specific prompts that I would like to complete.
And lastly, there's a matter of non-fiction.
I would really like to do a deep-dive into epigenetics, and also get my hands on "Bloodbath Nation", once it's released on the 10th.
And there you have it.
All this brings me to a grand total of 6-10 books to start off the new year.
In the end, there might be some cross-over, which might work in my favor in terms of ticking off tasks, but considering I can usually read between 4-8 books in a month, I expect it to be a pretty packed month, regardless!
Good luck for your 2023 challenge, Lisa!
Niharika✩ wrote: "Good luck for your 2023 challenge, Lisa!"Thank you! I greatly appreciate the encouragement :)
Good luck and happy reading in 2023 Lisa! I hope you get to Catch-22 and some Calvino this year. Enjoy Kindred - I read it a couple years ago and liked it.
RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Good luck and happy reading in 2023 Lisa! I hope you get to Catch-22 and some Calvino this year. Enjoy Kindred - I read it a couple years ago and liked it."Thank you kindly for the well-wishing RJ!
I hope so too. Heller and Calvino are part of my classics project so I "have to" get to them this year. And I've yet not heard anyone I trust speak badly of Kindred, so I'm expecting it to like it aswell :)
The Monsters in our Shadows by Edward J CembalJanuary 2nd - January 8th
Edward Cembal's debul novel, The Monsters in our Shadows, is due to be published on February 28th, 2023.
Rating: ★★★★✩ Review
Applicable Challenges: ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Clear the Shelves, Genre Bingo, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, TBR Jar, To Boldly Go, ATY-Winter
RESERVED
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie FordJanuary 1st - January 10th
Jamie Ford - image from Wikipedia
Rating: ★★★✩✩
Applicable Challenges: January Buddy Read, ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Clear the Shelves, Genre Bingo, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, TBR Jar, To Boldly Go, ATY-Winter
reserved
Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis SingerJanuary 12th - January 15th
Isaac Bashevis Singer - image from The New Yorker
[Photo credit: Walter Daran]
Rating: ★★★✩✩ (3,5)
Applicable Challenges: ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Genre Bingo, Let's Turn Pages, To Boldly Go, United in Reading, ATY-Winter
RESERVED
Storytime
I wanted to re-read The One by John Marrs this month for two main reasons:
1. I still haven't watched the Netflix show.
2. I was granted an ARC of Marrs' new novel, The Marriage Act (release date: 19th January 2023) and wanted to return to this world where both novels (as well as, The Passengers (2019) & The Minders (2020)) take place.
Want to
I don't own this book and, by all means of evidence, never have. Not in physical form, as an e-book, or audio.
… Huh? How is that even possible? What witchery is this?!
I did not borrow it from my library. As far as I can tell, they've never had it available. And even if that had been the case, surely there should be some sort of borrow/return history data. Right?
The same applies to Amazon.
Imagine my further confusion when I realized I also seem to have misplaced or deleted any documentation of my 2019 reading. Why? No clue.
I do know I read it in 2019 because the Goodreads reading updates tell me so, but as to how this book came into my possession? I've got no freaking clue!
To reiterate my previous question: what witchery is this?!
Anyways!
Check out the review down below ;)
The One by John MarrsJanuary 15th - January 20th
Impressions of the book
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4,5)
Applicable Challenges: ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Clear the Shelves, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, To Boldly Go, ATY-Winter
Thoughts on the tv-show
Rating (on IMDb):
The Marriage Act by John MarrsJanuary 20th - January 23th
John Marrs' 10th novel, The Marriage Act, is due to be published on January 19th, 2023.
--------------------------------------
RESERVED - RTC
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4,5)
Applicable Challenges: ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Clear the Shelves, Let's Turn Pages, To Boldly Go, ATY-Winter
....................... JOHN MARRS
John Marrs - image from Penguin Books
Kindred by Octavia E. ButlerJanuary 24th - January 27th
Octavia E. Butler - image from The New York Times
[Photo credit: Joshua Trujillo]
Rating: ★★★★✩
Applicable Challenges: January Buddy Read, ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Clear the Shelves, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, TBR Jar, To Boldly Go, Q1: For all Humankind
..............
JANUARY SUMMARY
You know the expression: "To have eyes bigger than one's stomach"? That idiom applies to me at the beginning of Every.Single.Year.
I started 2023 out with reasonable/conceivable plans that quickly morphed into somewhat overly ambitious.
Mostly my own fault, of course. I might've neglected to leave room for unforeseen aspects, like being commissioned for an extra review, or (unnecessarily) deciding to re-read a book before picking up a new release that is set in the same world, or a last-minute addition thanks to Booktube. That sort of thing.
The real question is: Had I had a time-machine, would I still make the same decisions?
Yes. Yes, I would. Because apparently, I don't ever learn :D lol
So how did I do?
In general, January was everything I expected it to be, so I'm quite pleased with how the month worked out.
As the figure at the top of this post shows, I've read 6 books, reaching a total of 2,149 pages, and I managed to make my way around the prompts I was hoping to read for.
I also "participated" in both buddy reads, albeit not particularly actively. And although I didn't join the group read, I still have every intention of reading "North and South" in 2023. At some point...
In the end, I've had to push back a few things, and as usual, it'll be non-fiction that suffers, but that's okay. There's always room for improvement.
I'm still interested in reading more about epigenetics, and I will still pick up "Bloodbath Nation" - it was just not meant to be this month.
Some of the stats for the month break down as follows:
The graphs speak for themselves, so I don't have much to say about any of it this month.
Everything is distributed as I'd expect it to be.
If I keep the momentum going in terms of the group challenges, I'll surely need to update my goals by mid-year.
In contrast, I'll need to work on making a similar dent on my personal challenges, which went mostly ignored this month.
Lisa wrote: "JANUARY SUMMARY
You know the expression: "To have eyes bigger than one's stomach"? That idiom applies to me at the beginning of Every.Single.Year.
I started 2023 out with reasonable/conceiva..."
Amazing! 👍🏻
Carmen wrote: "Amazing! 👍🏻"Thanks Carmen :)
In my ramblings, in the post I made at the beginning of January, I mentioned I don't usually make TBRs ahead of time.
But I thought it could be interesting if I were to display what my month might look like, and then compare at the end of the month.
As I mentioned in that post, certain aspects will always be set in stone, but then on top of that come all the other plans and possibilities that I try to work in, throughout the month.
Hereunder, a visualization of the PoP (=Pile of Possibilities):
The biggest plan this month though, is to take it easy. Supposedly. We'll see how that goes!
To switch things up a tiny bit this month, and make sure I actually get around to the group read, I'll start February off with "The Color Purple", followed by a re-watch of the movie.
Also, I think it would only be appropriate, if I read some romance, in relation to Valentine's Day.
In terms of in-group matters, I hope to tick off some prompts for one of the February challenges.
Otherwise: one manuscript + three ARCs
All in all, not quite as overly-commited as last month *fingers crossed*
Stay tuned for (at least) four reviews coming up in February :)
Recitatif by Toni MorrisonFebruary 1st - February 2nd
I must admit, while doing research for this post, I went down the rabbit-hole.
In part I think it's because Morrison reminds me of that one university professor that made an impact in my own life, but mostly it's because I'm fascinated with her mind. And this is not even having read anything else by her.
On the one hand, I'm saddened that I hadn't read any Morrison earlier, on the other, I can't wait to discover her register.
Recitatif is Toni Morrison's first short-story and was originally published in "Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women", an anthology edited by Amiri Baraka and Amina Baraka, in 1983.
In February 2022, it was reissued by Knopf as a hardback edition, featuring an introduction by acclaimed British novelist, Zadie Smith.
The audio version (1hr 54min) is narrated by actor Bahni Turpin.
Recitatif takes its title from the French form of the Italian word "recitativo"; a term defined as a style of delivery that hovers between song and ordinary speech, particularly used for dialogic and narrative interludes during operas, oratorios, and cantatas.
❖ Summary:
Toni Morrison's short story Recitatif follows the lives of two women, one Black and one white, from childhood and into adulthood.
❖ Further Discussion:
❖ About the Author:
Toni Morrison (February 18, 1931- August 5, 2019) was an American novelist, essayist, editor, and Princeton University professor.
Toni Morrison - image from
Department of African American Studies (AAS), Princeton University
In 1993, she became the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. In 2012, President Obama awarded Morrison the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And in 2015, she won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Critics Circle.
Morrison is the author of 11 acclaimed novels, numerous essays, as well as, non-fiction and children's books.
Amongst her most notable works are The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1973), and Song of Solomon (1977), which won the NBCC Award for Fiction.
In her works, Morrison focuses on the experiences of Black Americans, and explores themes of race, class, identity, gender, and the family, and it often features the perspectives of children.
Toni Morrison died in 2019, at the age of 88, of complications from pneumonia.
❖Related Stuff:
➾ Interviews
----- NPR's Fresh Air, with Terry Gross
(www.npr.org/2015/04/20/400394947/i-re...)
➾ Items of Interest
----- Zadie Smith's introductory essay, Somebody In There After All
(www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/t...)
----- 2019 documentary film, "Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am"
(www.imdb.com/title/tt9358206/?ref_=vp...)
➾ Youtube
----- “Toni Morrison: Uncensored” (1998) - An interview with Australian journalist Jana Wendt (27:28 min)
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoTELoC8Q0M)
----- Morrison addresses question on "writing about race" - Clip from an interview on the talk show Charlie Rose (1998) (7:20 min)
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kgq3F8wbYA)
-----
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4/4,5)
Applicable Challenges: ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, TBR Jar, To Boldly Go, ATY-Winter, Q1: For All Humankind, Flying Purple People Reader.
❖ Further Discussion:
Lovely Girls by Margot HuntFebruary 4th - February 7th
(Publication date: March 1st, 2023)
Margot Hunt's 7th novel, Lovely Girls,
Margot Hunt - image from her website
www.margothunt.com
Rating: ★★✩✩✩ (2,5)
Applicable Challenges: ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Clear the Shelves, Genre Bingo, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, To Boldly Go, ATY-Winter
The Color Purple by Alice WalkerFebruary 1st - February 10th
Rating: ★★★★✩
Applicable Challenges: February Group Read, 1001, Bibliopoly, Clear the Shelves, Genre Bingo, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, TBR Jar, To Boldly Go, United in Reading , ATY-Winter, For All Humankind
Lisa, thanks for commenting on my page and for the good wishes you left :) I also wish you all the best for your reading in 2023 and all the challenges you set out to do! Looking forward to seeing what you read! I had a hard time designing my challenge corner so yours helped a lot! (Thanks for that, too!)
'Happy whenever' to you.
Lina wrote: "Lisa, thanks for commenting on my page and for the good wishes you left :) I also wish you all the best for your reading in 2023 and all the challenges you set out to do! Looking forward to seeing ..."Thank you, Lina!
The setup on both my corner and my personal challenge thread are definitely the result of years of trial and error, as well as lots of inspiration from other members.
I'm glad you could draw inspiration that worked for you :)
Suburban Monsters by Christopher HawkinsFebruary 9th - February 17th
Suburban Monsters is a collection of short horror stories written by American author Christopher Hawkins. Release date is set to March 15th, 2023.
Hawkins is also a former editor of the critically-acclaimed anthology series, One Buck Horror, Vol. 1-6.
His works of short fiction have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, amongst Cosmic Horror Monthly, Fusion Fragment, Underland Arcana and The Big Book of New Short Horror.
Christopher Hawkins - image from his website
www.christopher-hawkins.com
Green Eyes (★★✩✩✩) takes on maternal protectiveness with a smidgen of magical herbalism.
"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." (Agatha Christie)It took me two readings to really absorb this story, but I specially enjoyed the symbolism and the imagery of sentences such as:
"I hear a crunch, all wet like breaking celery, and then no one's screaming anymore."
Doesn't that just create the most vivid image in your mind's eye? Even without any context.
The second story, Moonrise Over Water with Sargassum, 2022. Oil on Canvas (★★★✩✩), follows a woman in an abusive marriage and how happenstance can sometimes be a blessing in disguise.
"It was the painting that had brought them together, that had made her stand out to him as a thing to be purchased and possessed. Maybe that's why she'd stopped."
"She'd stopped painting altogether. The brushes were his now, things that he controlled, hateful things that she did not want to touch anymore than she wanted to touch him."
The poetic writing is my favorite aspect of this story.
In Storms of the Present (★★★✩✩), the protagonist takes their weight-loss journey to a whole new extreme.
Origin Story (★★★✩✩) raises the popular question: "If you had a super power, what would it be?"
Poppy (★★✩✩✩)
The shortest of the stories in this collection is Interlude (★★✩✩✩), a tale about a father who watches as his child begins a transformation that he doesn't understand.
From Matt Hoyle's photographic series, Barnumville (2009)
"She wondered what the show was doing to her daughter. She wondered what it was doing to both of them."Anyone familiar with the history of Teletubbies will catch some similarities in the novelette of this collection.
If Teletubbies were in Black & White - image from Bored Panda
"There was something in the Stumblybums' halting, jerking dance that felt like a promise, like something new just waiting to be born, and it terrified her."
Shadowman (★★★✩✩),
"Be careful who you choose as your enemy because that's who you become most like."
(Friedrich Nietzche)
Carpenter's Thumb (★★★✩✩),
Shallow (★★★✩✩),
Ten and Gone (★★★✩✩),
Notice (★★★✩✩),
A Candle for the Birthday Boy (★★★✩✩),
❖Related Stuff:
➾ Interviews
----- Hawkins talks Suburban Monsters on IR
(indiereader.com/2023/02/advice-from-i...)
➾ Items of Interest
----- One Buck Horror Vol. 1-6 on Goodreads
(www.goodreads.com/series/268845-one-b...)
----- "Storms of the Present" appears on The Tales to Terrify-podcast, read by Brian Rollins @00:18:56
(talestoterrify.com/episodes/469-chris...)
----- Alex Hofelich reads “Interlude" on the Cast of Wonders-podcast
(www.castofwonders.org/2022/11/cast-of...)
----- "The Stumblybum Imperative", featured on Fusion Fragment
(www.fusionfragment.com/issue-5)
----- Excerpt of "Notice"
(www.christopher-hawkins.com/read/love...)
----- Read "Ten and Gone" online at Underland Arcana website
(www.underlandarcana.com/christopher-h...)
Rating: ★★★✩✩ (3,5)
Applicable Challenges: ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Clear the Shelves, Genre Bingo, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, To Boldly Go
The Love Hypothesis by Ali HazelwoodFebruary 14th - February 17th
Ali Hazelwood - image from her website
www.alihazelwood.com
Rating: ★✩✩✩✩ (1,5)
Applicable Challenges: Bibliopoly, Genre Bingo, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, TBR Jar, To Boldly Go, United in Reading, ATY-Winter
Discussion Time
Over the weekend, I came across this article from The Guardian with the headline:
"Roald Dahl books rewritten to remove language deemed offensive"
As someone who grew up reading Roald Dahl books, I found this utterly outrageous and saddening.
Check out the discussion thread I posted on the topic here.
I would really love to read your thoughts and opinions on the topic.
Discuss the censoring of Roald Dahl with me.
Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀February 20th - February 24th
RTC
Rating: ★★★✩✩
Applicable Challenges: ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, To Boldly Go, ATY-Winter
........
A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀February 24th - February 28th
RTC
Rating: ★★★✩✩ (3,5)
Applicable Challenges: Clear the Shelves, Turn the Pages, To Boldly Go, ATY-Winter, Flying Purple People Reader
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience (other topics)The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins and the Fight for Women in Science (other topics)
Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" (other topics)
Beloved (other topics)
The Orinoco Uranium (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kate Zernike (other topics)Zora Neale Hurston (other topics)
Toni Morrison (other topics)
Stephen O. Sears (other topics)
Rob Verchick (other topics)
More...
This is purportedly (#IYKYK :D) where I'll keep track of everything I read throughout the year.
My corner will (once again) be utilized to track everything personal and in-group challenge-related, Buddy/Group Reads, and whatever else I partake in, during the course of the year.
As usual, my preliminary thoughts, and ratings, will be posted for every book upon completion. In addition, I will link to my actual Goodreads review (if and when applicable). Furthermore, I will be posting a monthly-roundup tracking my progress, as well as a year-in-review.
Please, feel free to leave a comment.
Moreover, book recommendations & suggestions are also greatly appreciated! :)
Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!