2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2024
>
Echo's trying for 65!
Finished book 1 and 2 of my reread of the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan.
I'm going through my unread list on my Kindle and decided to read over The Haunted House: A True Ghost Story since it was on the list. I am 100% sure that Hubbell embellished a LOT of it, but I do wonder how they pulled off all of the manifestations.
Read Chase Me Up Farndale Avenue, s'il vous pla�t after my SO read it and was laughing out loud over it. Would definitely be a fun play to watch.
Finished Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases, which was a gift, and I really enjoyed it. Makes me want to learn more about the history of DNA evidence.
Finished off Peter Pan which had been on my TBR list for a while. I enjoyed it, even as I disliked Peter himself.
Finished To Green Angel Tower, which is huge but oh so good. I think it's honestly my favorite of the trilogy.
Finished Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood which was so excellently written and gripping and moving. I think my favorite thing about it was how he focused it on his childhood and kept the focus there, rather than trying to tell his entire life story up to that point.
Tore through Blood Witch, which is still soooo angsty and I do not care, lol. This is the book that starts to introduce the stereotypical teenage love triangle.
Finished the first book in the Everworld series, and the 4th in the Sweep series over the weekend. Quick reads, and both re-reads from my childhood. Definitely think both are a bit too mature for my nieces just yet, but I know eventually I'll pass them on to the girls.
Tore through another of the Sweep series, which I'm re-reading.
Totally loved Gory Details: Adventures from the Dark Side of Science and would absolutely recommend it!
Got through the second Everworld book, since I'm rereading the series. :)
Listened to the incomparable Billy Porter read Unprotected: A Memoir and wow wow wow. 5/5, hands down. Heartbreaking but also brilliant and I continue to just be amazed by his tenacity and authenticity.
Read through the first 3 graphic novels as part of the Rivers of London series. They were pretty cool, neat to see the interpretation of some of the characters.
Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex was great. I really appreciated that she didn't sugar coat anything.
I finished off both The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science and Who Wants to Marry a Doctor?
Finished Nettle & Bone, which was delightful, and finally starting on A Dirty Job which has been on my TBR list for a loooong while.
Finished Giovanni's Room, which we read for our Pride Month book club at work. I enjoyed it, even though it's a really sorrowful story.
Finished A Dirty Job, which was definitely different. Not sure if I'll read any more of that series, though.
Picked up and finished Bewitching over the weekend and I'm kinda meh about it. Maybe I had too high of hopes because of how much I enjoyed Beastly?
Finished Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman, which was so well written.
Read Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story on the recommendation of my neighbor since she'd read it in her childhood and I had not.
Finished book 4 of the Everworld reread.
Highly recommend giving Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End a read or a listen to. Especially if you have some fears around death.
Four Aunties and a Wedding was pretty good, though not as enjoyable as the first in the series in my opinion.
Hey Echo, Those are some really fantastic goals you've set up!
Have you ever found that you enjoy childhood favorites less when you re-read them as an adult? I'm always nervous that there'll be a disconnect between enjoyment and nostalgia, which kind of leads me to consider whether it's worth re-reading certain books, you know?
Like, it makes sense in your case, and I would love to do something similar for my kid at some point but that thought always gives me pause.
Anyways! Wishing you a fantastic reading year.
Have fun and happy reading!
Oh it's definitely happened with at least one author that I loved as a teen, but on re-read it was just.... Meh. And certainly with the Sweep series there's been moments of "sheesh this is predictable," but nothing so as to make me regret it. Then there are a few rare books that I can read again and again and I still love it just as much.
Finished the Shadow House trilogy, which the neighbor's daughter loaned me after I recommended Coraline to her. :) It was a decent horror story for being for younger audiences, but there are definitely some major gaps... Goosebumps were definitely more of a favorite for me personally.
2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Brave the Betrayal (other topics)The Food and Feelings Workbook: A Full Course Meal on Emotional Health (other topics)
When the Emperor Was Divine (other topics)
Gateway to the Gods (other topics)
Love from A to Z (other topics)
More...
Here are my mini goals for 2024:
Read 15 non-fiction: 17/15
Read 5 biographies: 8/5
Read 25 books from my TBR pile (including childhood re-reads): 22/25
Read 30 books by female authors: 40/30
Read 20 books by authors of color: 13/20
Read 5 classics: 5/5
Total read: 70/65