2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2023
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Lisa's Reading List - 2023
I'm slowing down this month. There, I said it, and so it shall be!
Then again, that's pretty much what past me wrote about my plans for February:
"The biggest plan this month though, is to take it easy. Supposedly. We'll see how that goes!"If you want to know how that panned out, check out this previous post :D
Nevertheless, March will be a busy-ish month for me, on a personal level, since I will be traveling a bit on business and have a time-critical project to complete. This means there won't be as much time for reading.
Naturally, everything is subject to change, so stick around to see what the month brings.
Apart from three ARCs for April, and the one Buddy Read, I've got no thoughts on plans, whatsoever.
Since March is Women's History Month, I might lean into that as inspiration for what I pick this month. On the other hand, if challenge prompts are anything to go by, I might be inclined to reach for non-fiction and science-related books. Or I might take advantage of the extra time and work through my Netgalley backlog. Or I might just relax and update the reviews, links, and whatnot I've got up so far.
I simply do not know - yet.
Happy Reading! :)
Lisa wrote: "FEBRUARY SUMMARY
Did I initially forget that February equivalates it being the shortest month of the year? Abso-freakin-lutely! Of course, I did! :D
Looking past that little detail, plus the ..."
Wow! Congrats on a good short month! Here I thought my reading journal was great but I think your spread sheet surpasses it! I love the visuals. Good luck with taking it easy in March! It is something I have a very hard time doing.
Melissa wrote: "Wow! Congrats on a good short month! Here I thought my reading journal was great but I think your spread sheet surpasses it! I love the visuals..."Aw, thanks for the kind words, Melissa! I appreciate it.
I do too, at times! Specially when I'm enjoying what I'm reading. Plus, I have a bad habit of overcommitting 😅
The visuals are definitely a hassle sometimes, but it keeps me somewhat organized, and motivates me to continue tracking my progress on Goodreads :)
Berengaria wrote: "Hi Lisa, I have one question for you regarding reading in other languages. (You left a comment on my page)Your profile page says you are in Denmark, but I don't see any Danish titles here. I'm cu..."
Hi Berengaria,
Thanks for stopping by :)
My native language Spanish. I was born in Venezuela, but spend my childhood moving around the world, which is why I'm also fluent in French, English, Portuguese, Italian, and Danish (been living in DK for the last 25 years).
Hmm... the shortest answer to that question is because I haven't read any Danish literature yet :)
I focus on reading in the original language whenever possible. So for instance, I read Le Petit Prince in French, Eva Luna in Spanish, etc. and I'll read whatever Danish book I get to this year, in Danish.
I do the same thing with movies. I'm preferably not going to watch a French movie like Amélie or Taxi in Danish, or with Spanish subtitles. I'm going to watch it in French, because why would I do otherwise?
Funnily enough though, even though Spanish is my native language, if I pick up a Russian book, I'll probably go for the English translation over the Spanish or Danish. And I guess there's two reasons for that, one is availability, and the other is that English is always my default language :D
Berengaria wrote: "Lisa wrote: "My native language Spanish. I was born in Venezuela, but spend my childhood moving around the world, which is why I'm also fluent in French, English, Portuguese, Italian, and Danish (b..."I get where you were coming from, and I appreciate it. It really is a great suggestion :) And I guess, in a way I do lack some motivation to not simply succumb to the ease of English :D
Ofcourse. Will do.
You don't have to delete your comments here though :) I enjoy the conversation.
Have a great weekend!
Lucian's A True Story by Lucian of SamosataMarch 3rd - March 5th
RTC
❖Related Stuff:
➾ Items of Interest
----- A True Story available on The Project Gutenberg
(www.gutenberg.org/files/45858/45858-h...)
----- LibriVox audiobook, read by Terry Kroenung
(https://librivox.org/lucians-true-his...)
Rating: ★★✩✩✩ (2,5)
Applicable Challenges: Bibliopoly, Let's Turn Pages, To Boldly Go, Q1: For All Humankind
1984 by George OrwellMarch 4th - March 10th
RTC
Rating: ★★★★✩
Applicable Challenges: March Buddy Read, 1001, Bibliopoly, Clear the Shelves, Genre Bingo, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, TBR Jar, To Boldly Go
Sea Prayer by Khaled HosseiniMarch 10th
RTC
Rating:
Applicable Challenges:
ATY, biblio
pages
to boldly go
Worlds Without End: Exoplanets, Habitability, and the Future of Humanity by Chris ImpeyMarch 2nd - March 12th
RTC
Rating:
Applicable Challenges:
Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel IgnotofskyMarch 13th - March 15th
RTC
Rating:
Applicable Challenges:
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. ButlerMarch 13th - March 18th
RTC
Rating:
Applicable Challenges:
The Octopus in the Parking Garage: A Call for Climate Resilience by Rob VerchickMarch 15th - March 19th
RTC
Rating:
Applicable Challenges:
reserved
The Orinoco Uranium by Stephen O. SearsMarch 20th - March 25th
RTC
Rating:
Applicable Challenges: ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Let's Turn Pages, To Boldly Go, Q1: For All Humankind, To Infinity and Beyond
Beloved by Toni MorrisonMarch 20th - March 25th
Rating:
Applicable Challenges: 1001, ATY Reading Challenge, Bibliopoly, Let's Turn Pages, Popsugar, TBR Jar, To Boldly Go, Q1: For All Humankind
Barracoon: The Story of the Last Slave by Zora Neale HurstonMarch - March 30th
Rating:
Applicable Challenges: Let's Turn Pages, To Boldly Go, United in Reading
The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science by Kate ZernikeMarch - March 31st
Rating:
Applicable Challenges: Let's Turn Pages, To Boldly Go
MARCH SUMMARY
The plan for April is that there is no plan for April!
Okay, yes, that may have been a tad hyperbolic, but my point is that I'm going back to my roots of mood reading.
While March was wonderful and all that, I realized yesterday that I might've inadvertently burned myself a tiny bit out. Therefore, I'm taking Easter break as the perfect opportunity for an earnest approach to relaxing. And so I'll be "off" for the first week (or so) of April.
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - SO RESERVED FRO APRIL BOOKS I READ
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - RESERVED FOR MAY BOOKS
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - RESERVED FOR MAY BOOKS
I'M WAY BEHIND ON UPDATING ON GOODREADS - RESERVED FOR MAY BOOKS
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...
Did I initially forget that February equivalates it being the shortest month of the year? Abso-freakin-lutely! Of course, I did! :D
Looking past that little detail, plus the fact that, for the better part of the month, I was in this weird mood where I wanted to read everything, yet nothing at all, I'd say February was a rather decent month.
I read 7 books after all, which while not unheard of for me, is surprising considering the fact that I suffered from a bout of scatterbrain, and attempted to pick up a gazillion-and-one things all at once.
Author gender is not something I actively give much thought to, but I am pleased to see that in contrast to January, when I read a majority of male authors, February was more female-dominant.
I would've loved to read longer books, but, naturally, it makes sense in terms of time limitations. It's nice I've been utilizing my library more than simply reaching for my wallet. I just wish they would change their damn 2 holds - 2 loans limit!
Also, a good division in terms of the publication date and genre distribution.
Ratings-wise, this was a tough month for me though.
Sure my rating system already differs from how star ratings work on Goodreads, but even knowing that, I had a difficult time determining what I wanted to rate each book.
I don't know why I can't land on a definitive rating for "Recitatif". Ask me today and again tomorrow, and my answer will undoubtedly fluctuate between 4 and 4,5 stars. I don't have an answer to why for all the praise I have given "Recitatif", it didn't quite reach the "favorites-of-all-time"-category, even though it's a story I continually think about, and will probably do so for years to come.
I can't explain why I rated Adébáyọ̀'s novels differently when I am certain I enjoyed them the same, albeit differently. And I can't explain why "Suburban Monsters", a collection of short stories, that from a mathematical standpoint should've been a 2,5-star rating, ended up being a 3,5 on my graph.
Maybe that's just the fickle nature of subjective rating.
At the beginning of the month, I expressed an intention to illustrate a "before vs. after" of sorts, therefore here's a little visual walkthrough of my thought process when outlining a PoP (=Pile of Possibilities).
If we're to break down the original image I posted, this image below is really what I started with; the commitments for February, plus some wiggle room for a little sumthin' sumthin' extra.
Pretty straightforward, right?
But because I'm not one to make things easy for myself, there's more.
I knew I wanted to fit a romance-genre book and I knew that I wanted to read something connected to Black History Month. Could I just have counted "The Color Purple" or "A Spell of Good things" for that? Why of course, but I don't make things easy for myself, remember?
I also knew I had some specific prompts I could look at for inspiration/consideration, which is what led to the final product of the actual PoP looking something like this:
Then the closer we got to February 14th, the more I knew I "had to" pick a romance. The problem was I couldn't decide which one from the handful on my Kindle. And then it occurred to me that not only did I have a short-list in the form of the GCA Romance nominees, but I also had prompt options in both the "United in Reading"-challenge, and the "ATY-Winter Reading Challenge".
By the end of it all, I had 12 options to choose from, and from those, I read 4 books.
I read 5 books from the original list and switched some other stuff around, so it all worked out in the end.
That being said, the objective of a PoP is never to read all the books, or even as many as possible. It's simply a "Pile of Possibilities" to pick and choose from - books I might just be inspired and interested to pick up for whatever reason in connection with the initial "plan".
In terms of challenges, I made significant progress on all my group challenges, roughly doubling the completion percentages overall.
I reached my goals for the quarterly challenge, "For all Humankind", as well as for the February challenge, "Flying Purple People Reader", and I surpassed my initial goal for "TBR Jar"
Overall, I would say I did fairly well in February.
Sadly, my Valentine's-related romance pick was a bust, but at least I learned that I'm no longer interested in certain GCA nominees. On the flip side, I did finish and enjoyed "The Color Purple". And I'm now happy I can tick off one more classic from my "1001-list."