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Ridiculously Random Reading Challenge
Individual, Open-Ended
April 1, 2025 - March 31, 2027
You know how most reading challenges you join have some type of theme or main idea, kind of like the books themselves? Well, this one...not so much! We'll look at Crown Jewels, Greasy Pole Climbing, Model Ts, Zorbing, and anything and everything in between. So buckle up for the ride and enjoy!
Sign up HERE!
Mod
Step right up and join the most fantastical literary event of the year! For three glorious months, we’re turning the world of books into a dazzling carnival of reading revelry. Get ready to collect Carnival Tickets by devouring the wildest, wackiest, and most wonderful books around.
✨ The Book Carnival Circuit: Team Reading Challenge ✨
📅 Duration: April 1, 2025 - June 30, 2025
Highlights of the Carnival Circuit
🎡 Reading Rides: Spell out ride names using book titles, series titles, or author names.
🍿 Food Vendors: Hunt for special words hidden in the pages of your books.
🎭 Genre Attractions: Dive into books from specific genres.
Ready to Join the Fun?
Grab your cotton candy, hop on the literary Ferris wheel, and prepare for a reading adventure like no other! Will your team be crowned the Carnival Kings and Queens? There’s only one way to find out…
SIGN UP NOW!
Important Dates
📌 Signups CLOSE on March 22, 2025 (signups after this date will be reserves).
📌 Teams will be announced by March 25, 2025.
📌 Check in with your team by March 29, 2025, or you will be removed and replaced.
Special Note
🚫 There will be no Team Requesting in this Carnival! Teams will be formed based on BPM to ensure a fair and balanced challenge.
Let the Carnival begin! 🎪📚✨
Mod
📚 HOB's 2025 "Best Book of February" Finals! 📚
Voting Schedule:
🗳️ Round 1: March 1st - 6th
🗳️ Semi-Finals: March 9th - 14th
🗳️ Final: March 20th - March 26th
Semi-Final Matchups:
🔗 Final Match True Grit vs Fresh Water for Flowers
Vote Now!
And - don't forget to nominate your favorite book for March: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Mod
Just a quick update about our upcoming June group read. Due to recent controversy surrounding author Sophie Lark, I’ve decided to replace Monarch with a different book that better aligns with our theme and the tone of Summer Sons.
Our new Kindle Unlimited selection is:
📚 "The House of Long Shadows" by Ambrose Ibsen
A Gothic horror story about a man who inherits a crumbling mansion with a terrifying secret. It’s dark, moody, and perfect for a midsummer night’s scare.
To better reflect the tone of both books, we’ve also updated our theme for June:
June | Midsummer: Shadows of the Solstice
Theme: As the sun reaches its peak, the shadows grow longer. Dive into tales of crumbling mansions, haunted pasts, and the dark secrets that surface under the midsummer moon. These stories of transformation and terror intertwine with the allure of decay and the echoes of forgotten melodies.
We hope you’re as excited as we are for this eerie, atmospheric pairing! Let us know if you have any questions, and happy reading!
Mod
The Carnival Master has assigned you to a team, and it’s time to find your place under the big top. Your first mission is to search the threads in the The Book Carnival Circuit to locate your team.
Once you’ve found your teammates, work together to come up with a creative team name! Remember, the deadline to check in is 29-Mar-2025. If you don’t check in by then, you’ll be removed and replaced by a new performer. Don’t miss your chance to shine!
Missed Sign Ups? We're taking backup players, you can sign-up here.
Mod
"Long live the readers! May your pages turn swiftly and your hearts be ever loyal to the story."
This month, we're trading crowns for bookmarks as we dive into epic tales of power, passion, and peril—just in time for King's Day!
📚 This Month's Royal Selections 📚
✨ The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (Roots of Chaos, #1)
Prepare for a breathtaking feminist fantasy where dragonriders clash, ancient magic awakens, and five centuries of peace hang by a thread.
✨ Crier's War by Nina Varela (Criers War, #1)
Enter a world of mechanical monarchs and human revolutionaries, where a rebel and an android princess discover that love might be the most dangerous weapon of all.
🌑 Series Buddy Reads: Ongoing & Upcoming! 🌑
🔮 The Grishaverse Awaits!
Our poll-winning series begins this month with Leigh Bardugo's The Shadow & Bone Trilogy as our 2nd Quarter Series Buddy Read, and we couldn't be more excited! This sweeping fantasy series takes us to Ravka, a nation divided by the monstrous Shadow Fold, where an ordinary soldier named Alina Starkov discovers a power that could change everything.
Over the next three months, we'll follow Alina's journey:
⚡ Book 1: Shadow and Bone (April)
⚡ Book 2: Siege and Storm (May)
⚡ Book 3: Ruin and Rising (June)
Join us as we explore this richly imagined world of Grisha magic, dangerous alliances, and unforgettable characters. Will Alina's light be enough to save Ravka from darkness? There's only one way to find out!
"The Grisha bow to no one—and neither will you once you start reading!"
Discussion threads will be open all quarter for you to share your thoughts at your own pace. Whether you're new to the Grishaverse or revisiting an old favorite, we can't wait to read with you!
🔮 A Witch in Wolf Wood Series Buddy Read (Extended through May!)
For those enchanted by Morgen’s magical small-town adventures, we’re finishing the series strong:
✨ Moment of Tooth (Book 4) – April
✨ Charmed and Dangerous (Book 5) – May
(New readers welcome! Catch up on Books 1-3 anytime.)
Which tale will you conquer first?
Mod
Individual Competitive ChallengeApril 2025
Let's tackle those TBRs and have some competitive fun while at it! The bonus theme this month is Law Enforcement!
sign up here
Mod
April 2024
This challenge is now being run on both sites with multiple ways to submit your books. Choose the one that works for you.
This is a cooperative challenge. It's not really a team challenge, but you kind of have to work together to reach the end goal. There are two themes: Dobby & Smaug. Which team do you want to win? Don't know anything about the two themes? The challenge description will help you and give some book ideas as well. Come join us as we throw it down!
Sign up here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/36...#
or on Goodreads
Mod
Individual
April - June 2025
This is a simple challenge centered around a buzzword. You read books centered around that word and earn points. The top 3 scorers earn a badge. This challenge will run quarterly. Come join us here.
Mod
YEEHAW, PARTNER! Saddle up, because this month’s champion is a rootin’-tootin’, revenge-fueled adventure that’ll knock your spurs off!
🔥 Why You’ll Love It:
Picture this: 1870s Wild West. A fearless 14-year-old girl (Mattie Ross, aka the ultimate badass) sets out to avenge her father’s murder. But she’s no fool—she knows she can’t take down a notorious outlaw alone. Enter Rooster Cogburn, a grizzled, one-eyed U.S. Marshal with a mean streak and a heart buried somewhere under all that whiskey. Together? Pure chaos. Pure grit. Pure brilliance.
📢 HOB’s Verdict: If you love sharp wit, unforgettable characters, and a story that gallops faster than a spooked stallion, this is your next read. Giddy up and grab a copy!
⚔️ MARCH MADNESS: BOOK BATTLE ROUND 1 IS HERE! ⚔️
The literary showdown begins! Vote now (until April 6th) and decide which books advance to glory—and which get left in the dust.
Round 1's EPIC Matchups:
📖 Match 1: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead vs James
📖 March 2: Wolf Hall vs The Subway Girls
📖 Match 3: The Jasmine Throne vs Death of the Author
📖 Match 4: The Secret of Elephants vs The Joy Luck Club
🗳️ Cast your votes, rally your favorites, and may the best books prevail!
Mod
April Readathons
Spring 3/20 - 6/20
April Readathon
Week Long RAT APR 10-17, 2025
Weekend RAT Apr 18-21, 2025 extended
24 HR RAT Apr 28, 2025
Mod
EXCLUSIVELY AT BOOKED FOR LIFE GROUP ON LIBRARY THING!
Runs: April 1 - 30, 2025
This month, we are celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month so come read-a-long with us! We have some fun-themed prompts or you can read what you want.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/36...
Mod
There was a new book recently posted in the promotions section of the Author's Corner. I hope you will all take a moment to check out our Author friends' new work.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Mod
We had a tie on 2 matches for Round 1, so those Polls have been extended until April 9th.
Go VOTE!
Match 2: Wolf Hall vs. The Subway Girls
Match 4: The Secret of Elephants vs The Joy Luck Club
Mod
Round 1 Winners:
Match 1: James
Match 2: Wolf Hall
Match 3: Death of the Author
Match 4: The Joy Luck Club
Semi-Final Matchups:
Match 1: James vs Wolf Hall
Match 2: Death of the Author vs The Joy Luck Club
Go VOTE!
Mod
HOB's 2025 "Best Book of March" Semi-Final: James vs Wolf Hall
Ends: Apr 28, 2025 11:59PM PDT
Mod
Accouncing the May Formal Buddy Reads!
📔 May | Matariki: Starlit Memories
As we embrace the glow of Matariki, we’re thrilled to announce our Formal Buddy Read for this month, inspired by celestial wonders and the power of memory!
This month, we’ll journey through starlit myths and forgotten magic, where the past whispers across time and the cosmos guides lost souls home. From fractured identities to luminous survival, these tales intertwine destiny with the light of ancient skies.
Main Book: The Bone Shard Daughter – Andrea Stewart
✨ A throne built on bone magic. A daughter reclaiming her stolen past.
In an empire where memory is power and stars watch in silence, Lin must master the art of bone shard magic to survive her father’s cruel reign. But the deeper she digs, the more the cosmos itself seems to pull at the threads of fate—and her own forgotten truth.
🔹 Perfect for lovers of intricate worldbuilding, celestial intrigue, and the fight to piece together a shattered self.
Kindle Unlimited/Low Cost Pick: The Light Pirate – Lily Brooks-Dalton
🌊 A girl born of storms. A world fading into the tides.
As Florida sinks beneath rising seas, Wanda—a child of hurricanes—learns to navigate a luminous, waterlogged future where the past lingers like starlight. Lyrical and haunting, this novel asks: What remains when everything is lost, and how do we carry the light forward?
🔹 Ideal for readers of atmospheric, emotional fiction with a touch of cosmic resonance.
Buddy Read Details:
Discussion starts: 1-May-2025
Themes to ponder: Memory as magic, the cosmos as guide, and the light we cling to in darkness.
Let the stars lead the way! 🌟📖
Mod
(Replacement Players Wanted – Save a Team!)
A few of our players have gone MIA, and we’re looking for readers to step in and keep their teams thriving! If you can commit to just 1 book/month (with options to read up to 10), we’d love to have you.
Why Join?
✨ Low Pressure: Meet the bare minimum or go all out—it’s up to you!
✨ Instant Team: Slide into an active group with built-in bookish camaraderie.
✨ Current Themes: Jump straight into April’s tasks (no catch-up needed).
Perfect For:
✔ Reliable readers who enjoy casual challenges.
✔ Anyone craving a no-guilt, no-stress book community.
Sign Up Here to claim a spot!
Just share:
Your name
Average books/month (BPM)
Dropouts happen—but with you, we’ll keep the pages turning!
Mod
Monthly Challenge: May 2025
A simple listopia challenge in which you compete against other members to score the most points by the end of the month. The top 3 scorers get to choose a list for the following month. Come join us as we read books from 6 different lists and rack up the points!
sign up here
Mod
Individual Competitive ChallengeMay 2025
Let's tackle those TBRs and have some competitive fun while at it! The bonus theme this month is Flowers!
sign up here
Mod
May 2024
This challenge is now being run on both sites with multiple ways to submit your books. Choose the one that works for you.
This is a cooperative challenge. It's not really a team challenge, but you kind of have to work together to reach the end goal. There are two themes: Ariel Vs Casper. Which team do you want to win? Don't know anything about the two themes? The challenge description will help you and give some book ideas as well. Come join us as we throw it down!
Sign up here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/37...
or on Goodreads
Mod
May Readathons
Spring 3/20 - 6/20
May Readathon
Week Long RAT May 25-31 , 2025
Weekend RAT May 3-5, 2025
24 HR RAT May 11, 2025
Mod
EXCLUSIVELY AT BOOKED FOR LIFE GROUP ON LIBRARY THING!
Runs: May 1-31, 2025
This month, we are celebrating Teacher Appreciation Month so come read-a-long with us! We have some fun-themed prompts or you can read what you want.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/37...
Mod
If you edited a previous post that I have already entered into the Wiki, your new books will NOT count. If you want them to count, you will need to enter them into a new post. You still have a little time, as I am still updating.
Unfortunately, I have no electricity right now so I have limited time to do updates as I have to make a special trip somewhere with electricity to do so. A storm hit my area, and I patiently await my electric company to repair the lines. Until then, I am at their mercy.
Mod
Hello, Bookworms!
Welcome to your monthly dose of bookish updates, challenges, and community highlights. Let’s dive in!
What’s New This Month?
🔹 Mod Search Alert! We’re looking for two mods—a regular mod and an admin mod. Apply now to help shape the community!
🔹 Lore Vault Launch! Each month, a different member will take the lead on trivia! We’ll announce the monthly host in the newsletter, and they’ll have the freedom to set their own schedule.
🔹 Winner Announcements: To streamline newsletters, challenge winners will now be announced two month's after the challenge ends (e.g., March winners in May).
🔹 Book Quest Adventure Needs You! Replacement players needed! – Save a Team!
View the full newsletter here 👉 Newsletter
Mod
Hello Book Lovers,
May is here, and with it comes a fresh chapter in our reading journey! As gardens bloom and days grow longer, it's the perfect time to get lost in a good book. Whether you’re reading ahead or savoring each page, we’re thrilled to share what’s next for our group—and hear all your thoughts along the way. Let’s turn the page together and see what stories May has in store!
Current Challenges & Competitions
📚 May’s Bookish Challenges
📘 1-Month Challenges
🏆Theme Throwdown: Ariel Vs Casper - choose your side and help your team to victory (Host: Donna)
🎯Hello May - It's all about pink & green (Host: Donna)
🌟May Flowers and Magical Pages - celebrating nature and the magic of storytelling (Host: Ashley)
View the full newsletter here 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Mod
Welcome to Hooked on Book’s Fairy-tale Retelling. No, you don't have read an actual fairy tale but read books that feature some of the things from the Fairy-tales. Have fun and Happy Reading! The standard rules for HOB apply. Please see link below.
Standard Challenge Book Requirements
Duration: May - September
Fairytale Re-tellings
Mod
We are now looking for TWO mods and an admin mod. I have updated the admin mod description to make it a bit clearer what the duties are and that we are open to it becoming a bigger role if the applicant wishes.
To look at either position:
2 regular Mods
Admin Mod
Mod
We're a bit behind, due to some tie breakers, etc. So this poll is open until May 10th!
Mod
Extended until May 10th! Which story bloomed brightest for you this April? 🌼
Mod
Don't forget to set your notifications for the Lore Vault. The 2nd poll is already up! Does anyone know the answer (without peeking)?
Lore Vault
Mod
For June and July, the theme will be the BEACH / VACATIONS.
Two Month Challenge
June 1, 2025 - July 31, 2025
Sign up here!
Mod
3-month challenge
Runs June 1, 2025 - August 31, 2025
Team
💦 Water Balloon Wars is back! 💦
Get ready for a splashy, book-filled summer showdown! Read books to launch water balloons at the opposing team—any book counts! After each book, your mod will spin the Water Balloon Wheel to determine if you score a hit, power hit, or a miss. Hits earn points, and power hits even knock points off your target’s score!
✨ Bonus points are up for grabs—check the Bonus Tasks tab!
🎯 Pick your targets just like in past battles.
📚 Book cap: 30 per person, per month.
Let the bookish water fight begin! 💣📖💦
Sign up here
Mod
Competitive/Cooperative Hybrid Challenge
Start Date: 6/1/25
This challenge will be run on both sites!
🏁 Announcing: Sprint vs. Marathon – A 2025 Reading Showdown! 📚
Do you read in bursts or settle in for the long haul? In Sprint vs. Marathon, your reading style becomes your superpower.
📖 The challenge:
Choose your team —
⚡ Sprinters focus on short, fast-paced reads
🐢 Marathoners take on longer, more epic books
Each team has its own unique task list, plus a few shared bonus challenges. Your goal: complete every task on your team’s list and the bonus challenges — before the other team does!
✔ Pick a side
✔ Read only for your team + the bonus prompts
✔ Be the first team to finish and claim victory!
📚 Hosted on LibraryThing and Goodreads
📆 Starts June 1, 2025
It’s not just what you read — it’s how you read. Choose your pace, commit to your path, and let the race begin!
Goodreads
LT: https://www.librarything.com/topic/36...#
Mod
Cooperative Challenge
Start Date: 6/1/25
This challenge will be run on both sites!
📚 Checkpoint Marathon – A Cooperative Reading Challenge 🏞️
📅 Starts June 1, 2025
📍 Hosted on LibraryThing and Goodreads
Inspired by the twists and trials of a long-distance journey, Checkpoint Marathon leads readers through a series of themed checkpoints — each representing a unique reading challenge.
✅ The mission: as a group, read books that meet each checkpoint’s prompt
🤝 The goal: collectively complete the entire course
🌟 The reward: camaraderie, creativity, and a trail of great reads
This is not a competition — it’s a cooperative literary adventure. Every book read brings us one step closer to the finish line!
Goodreads
LT: https://www.librarything.com/topic/36...#
Mod
📚 Announcing: TBR Busters – June 2025 Challenge! 🎯
📅 June 1–30 (with a 1-day grace period)
📍 Hosted on LibraryThing and Goodreads
Bust through your TBR this June — and compete while you’re at it! TBR Busters is a fast-paced, points-based challenge where every book you finish helps you climb the leaderboard.
🏆 How it works:
Read books from your TBR
Earn points based on page count
Compete against other members
Top 3 scorers win badges at the end of the month!
Update your scores regularly — final updates due by July 1
💥 June Theme Bonus: Brides
Earn +2 bonus points for every book that fits the theme!
Grab your TBR, track your reads, and get ready to rise through the ranks. Let the book-busting begin!
sign up here
Mod
I Spy! Reading Challenge
A Create-Your-Own, Individual Game
Grab Your Spy Glass on June 1, 2025
Come play HOB's version of I Spy! You will have two years to complete the challenge. The best part? You'll be creating your own tasks to go along with the items in the images! There are SO MANY ways to make your books fit. You are only limited by your own creativity.
Find out more details and sign up HERE!
Mod
🏳️🌈🔎 The Fairy Tale Detective Agency: PRIDE Files
🌟 One Month Challenge - June 1 - 30🌟
Goal: Solve the fairy tale case and earn your sidekick!
📍 Hosted on Goodreads
Your job: solve the eight core prompts and unlock your Sidekick Files, where chaotic magical creatures are waiting to join your case. Are they helpful? Debatable. Are they fabulous? Always.
Sign Up Here
Mod
Based on the TV Show, The Amazing Race, you will race against only yourself and the month of June to see if you can reach the Pit Stop (and a chance to see Phil Keoghan! Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll give you the 'eyebrow'!)
One Month: June 1 - 30
Individual
Goal: Read fast or slow, just have fun!
Hosted on: Goodreads
Sign up here!
Mod
📣 June Challenge: Theme Throwdown — Cruella VS Giselle! 🖤✨
Get ready for a dramatic duel of opposites in June 2025 with our next cooperative challenge: Theme Throwdown: Cruella vs Giselle! This isn't a team challenge in the traditional sense, but everyone works together to help their favorite theme come out on top.
🎭 Choose your side:
Will you side with Cruella—bold, stylish, a little bit wicked? Or are you drawn to Giselle—sweet, dreamy, and full of fairy tale wonder?
📚 How it works:
Pick your favorite theme and read books that match it.
Need ideas? Think:
Cruella: Fashion designer characters, heiresses, London settings
Giselle: Naive or idealistic characters, animal lovers, New York settings
You decide how a book fits—just be ready to explain your connection!
📊 How we’ll pick the winner:
At the end of the month, we’ll tally all the books submitted under each theme. The theme with the most books read wins!
Which theme will triumph in this storybook showdown? 💅🕊 Let the reading begin!
Goodreads
LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/topic/37...#
Mod
📚 June Challenge: Listopia Madness! 🔥
Welcome to Listopia Madness, our monthly challenge where your TBR meets the wild world of Goodreads Listopia!
🌀 How It Works:
Each month, you’ll get 6 Listopia lists — 3 chosen by the host, and 3 picked by last month’s top scorers.
Read any book from any of the lists—as many as you like!
Track your progress and score points based on the point system provided (see challenge thread).
Keep all your books and running total in one post for easy tracking.
🏆 At the end of the month, the top 3 scorers will each choose a Listopia list to feature in next month’s challenge!
📌 Rules:
No poetry or cookbooks
Standard challenge rules apply
Get ready to dive into the chaos of Listopia and rack up those points!
sign up here
Mod
June Readathons
Spring 3/20 - 6/20
Summer 6/21 - 9/22
June Readathon
Week Long RAT Jun 22-28, 2025
Weekend RAT Jun13-15, 2025
24 HR RAT Jun 6, 2025
Mod
EXCLUSIVELY AT BOOKED FOR LIFE GROUP ON LIBRARY THING!
Runs: June 1-30, 2025
This month, we are celebrating the sweetness of candy, so come read-a-long with us! We have some fun-themed prompts, or you can read what you want.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/37...
Hooked on Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Europea Halls (other topics)When the Stars Go Dark (other topics)
Luck of the Devil (other topics)
The Dragonian's Witch (other topics)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Terry Pratchett (other topics)Jane Austen (other topics)
Octavia Butler (other topics)
Charles Portis (other topics)
Charles Portis (other topics)
More...
📢📢📢 Don't forget!
Our 2nd Quarter 2025 Series Buddy Read Nominations are now open! 🎉
Head over to the nomination thread to suggest your favorite unread series. Remember, we're looking for a series we haven't read as a group before.
Nominations close on March 15th, so don't delay!
👉 Find the nomination thread here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Happy nominating, and may the best series win! 📖✨