Introduce Yourself to the Group - 2024

[Lisa]

Riley wrote: "Where are you from?
- What kinds of books do you like to read?
- How did you find our group?
- What's your reading goal?

Hey everyone!
I am from Wisconsin in the United States.
Romance novels have..."

Welcome to the group, Riley! 👋
Sounds like you're planning a manageable goal for 2025 (depending of course on how many books are on your desk).
Wishing you all the best on your reading journey in the new year!

And speaking of romantasy, have you seen that we're going to read The Spellshop in January? Perhaps you could be tempted to join the discussion for it!

I hope you have a fantastic 2025. Happy reading!

[[deleted user]]

Hi everyone, I’m Kate and recently joined the group.

I am a mood reader and tend to have one dark book and one light going at the same time just so I don’t get bogged down in the darkness.

Looking forward to finding new authors to listen to and read. I think 2025 is the year I finally read some Stephen King so any suggestions on where to start is appreciated.

[Darcy]

Hi all. I’m Darcy from North Carolina.
My favorite genres are fantasy and historical fiction. I also enjoy classics and the occasional biography or cozy mystery story, though. As a teacher, I read children’s books more than I read for myself. But I am hoping to change that and joined this group wanting to focus more on my own reading. I like having the book of the month suggestions as well as the fun challenges.

[Lisa]

Audio Kate wrote: "Hi everyone, I’m Kate and recently joined the group.

I am a mood reader and tend to have one dark book and one light going at the same time just so I don’t get bogged down in the darkness.

Look..."

Welcome Kate! 👋
In regards to Stephen King, it depends on what you're looking for, but here are some suggestions you might want to take into consideration:

To get acquainted with his writing style, I'd either recommend going for a short story collection like Night Shift, or a novella collection with no-monsters, like Different Seasons.

If you instead want to dive in head first into full-length novels, go for one of his classic works since it's likely that you'll have watched the movies or are already familiar with how those stories go. I'd recommend Carrie, because it's not super scary or very long. It's a coming-of-age story and showcases some of the supernatural elements that King likes to tell. Plus, it's better than the movie, in my opinion.

For a more quintessential "chilling" entry: ’Salem’s Lot is a great one to break the ice, since it's the most representative of his earlier work without being too... well, much. It's important to note, though, that it's on the longer side (~ 500 pages), and introduces a rather large cast of characters.

And lastly: the Castlerock books, which follows a cast in the town of Castlerock in Maine - starting either with The Dead Zone or Cujo.

I hope this helps and that you enjoy whichever you decide to go for . 😊
Good luck with your reading goals in 2025. I hope you have a fantastic year and get to read lots of amazing books! 📚

[Lisa]

Darcy wrote: "Hi all. I’m Darcy from North Carolina.
My favorite genres are fantasy and historical fiction. I also enjoy classics and the occasional biography or cozy mystery story, though. As a teacher, I read ..."

Hi Darcy 👋i
We're thrilled to have you join our group!

Wishing you all the best with your goals in 2025. I hope you manage to carve out some time to read for yourself, and that you discover lots of new favorites 😊. Have a look around, and don't hesitate to reach out should you need help with anything, or have questions.
Looking forward to seeing you in future group reads that might pique your interest.

Good luck on your reading journey, and happy reading! 📚

[Lea Ann]

Hello! Lea Ann here from the Missouri Ozarks. I am currently a high-school history teacher with retirement in view.

My absolute favorite genre is historical fiction and/or historical romance ("bodice rippers"). I also like women's lit, YA, and I occasionally challenge myself by reading classic literature.

The last few years I have been trying to read books on my bookshelf and pass them on. I still have a ways to go with that. It doesn't help that I love thrifting and there are always books that call to me.

I am involved in an in-person book club as well, but it's mostly a wine club with a few books sprinkled in.

[Theresa]

Hi! So, I’m just coming out of a reading slump and am ready to chip away at my TBR pile (mountain). Usually I have several books on the go of various genres (classics, translations, cozy…) and am looking forward to the group’s suggestions. I’m from the UK and am setting a goal of 25 books for 2025.

[KAREN]

Hello everyone! I'm Karen from Philadelphia.

My favorite genres christian, historical fiction, cozy mystery, fiction and memoir. My goal is 25 books for 2025.

Looking forward to discover new women authors in 2025.

Wishing everyone happy reading in 2025.

[Makayla]

Hi everyone!
I'm Makayla, and I'm from Tennessee!
I will read just about anything that sounds good, but I tend to favor Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance, and Non-Fiction.
I'm excited for a challenge. Last year was the first time I smashed my reading goal, so I hope to do the same this upcoming year. I like to set my reading goal to equal the last two digits of the year we're in so my goal for 2025 year is 25 books, but I'm hoping to exceed that.

[Beth]

Hi, I'm Beth from the Rochester New York area.
I found this group because I was looking for the Goodreads yearly challenge but couldn't find it - does anyone have a link? I just barely managed by 2024 goal, 60 books; I'll probably set the same goal for 2025.

I love virtually all types of fiction. I'm a big fan of Stephen King and re-read 2 of his books in 2024; my favorite book of this past year was Remarkably Bright Creatures. I'm both a psychologist and a yoga teacher, so I also read non-fiction on yoga, mindfulness, and related topics.

[Lisa]

Lea Ann wrote: "Hello! Lea Ann here from the Missouri Ozarks. I am currently a high-school history teacher with retirement in view.

My absolute favorite genre is historical fiction and/or historical romance ("bo..."

Welcome to the group, Lea Ann! 👋
Congratulations on your impending retirement. I'm certain it'll mean more time to clear your shelves, or perhaps it'll just allow for more time to thrift 😅. Regardless, I wish you the best on that project in the new year. And speaking of, in case you enjoy challenges, we have a Clear the Shelves challenge that would pair perfectly with it, should you be interested.

The in-person book-club sounds like lots of fun. Are you theme or genre based, or do you simply pick books that sound interesting? A friend of mine used to attend a local book club that was food based. It was a really interesting concept.

I hope you have a phenomenal 2025. Good luck with your reading goals!

[Lisa]

Theresa wrote: "Hi! So, I’m just coming out of a reading slump and am ready to chip away at my TBR pile (mountain). Usually I have several books on the go of various genres (classics, translations, cozy…) and am l..."

Hi Theresa, 👋
You're certainly in good company with your mountain of books, so welcome! 😁

I'm sorry to hear about your reading slump. I know the feeling all too well, and I'm sure we're not alone. Hopefully 2025 will be a better year, though. 🤞
Perhaps the best way to start the year off might be to join some buddy reads, or the January group read. We're going to be reading The Spellshop which sounds like a fun, cozy, laid-back time.
Those options usually help me when I'm in slump territory.

Wishing you all the best on your reading journey in 2025. I hope you manage to steer clear of more slumps.
Have fun and happy reading!

[Lisa]

KAREN wrote: "Hello everyone! I'm Karen from Philadelphia.

My favorite genres christian, historical fiction, cozy mystery, fiction and memoir. My goal is 25 books for 2025.

Looking forward to discover new wome..."

Welcome Karen! 👋
Have we got the challenge just for you! In case you haven't seen it, we're hosting an A-Z: Women Authors in 2025, which certainly sounds right up you alley. Personally, I'm so excited for it because, for whatever reason, I can name more favorite male authors than women authors, which is fine, but still, I'm always on the lookout for ways to expand on it.

I don't know if you're familiar with her, but Britta Böhler has this amazing 1001-books-to-read-list, which is her take on the Boxall's 1001, but focusing solely on women. Definitely recommend checking it out.

Have an amazing 2025!
Happy reading.

[Lisa]

Makayla wrote: "Hi everyone!
I'm Makayla, and I'm from Tennessee!
I will read just about anything that sounds good, but I tend to favor Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance, and Non-Fiction.
I'm excit..."

A belated welcome to you, Makayla, 👋
First off, congratulations on reaching your goals this year. That's awesome! I'm sure you'll succeed in 2025 as well.
Are there any books you're really looking forward to getting your hands on in the new year?

I hope you have a fantastic reading journey and discover lots of amazing books. Here's to a great 2025 🥂
Happy reading!

[Lisa]

Beth wrote: "Hi, I'm Beth from the Rochester New York area.
I found this group because I was looking for the Goodreads yearly challenge but couldn't find it - does anyone have a link? I just barely managed by 2..."

Hi Beth! 👋
The Goodreads yearly challenge hasn't been posted, so there's no link for 2025, yet. It'll replace the "Year-in-hindsight" banner on the homepage as soon as it goes up, though.
I'm pretty sure it doesn't go up until the 31st, though, so we need to be patient just a tiny bit longer. 🤏 I get it though, I'm so excited to get 2025 going!

Wishing you all the best on your reading goal in the upcoming year! Do you have any books planned already?
I hope you have an amazing year. Have fun, and happy reading!

[Tametria]

Hi! My name is Tametria, from South Carolina. I love to read a lot of different genres. But a few of my favorites are street lit, crime novels, thriller, and urban fantasy. I found this group looking for reading challenges. My goal is to read 120 books in 2025. That will double my 2024 goal. I’m really excited!!!!

[Lisa]

Tametria wrote: "Hi! My name is Tametria, from South Carolina. I love to read a lot of different genres. But a few of my favorites are street lit, crime novels, thriller, and urban fantasy. I found this group looki..."

Welcome Tametria! 👋
Street lit? As in urban fiction? 🤔 First time I've heard it referred to it as that.

Amazing plan to double your 2024 goals. Wishing you lots of luck!
May 2025 be an incredible year filled with lots of fantastic books.

Good luck!

[Terry]

Hi everyone! My name is Therese and I am from Maryland. I love various genres but most often gravitate toward fantasy, adventure, and crime. To be truthful I kinda just stumbled upon this group while exploring Goodreads and thought it would help me to get out of my current book slump so any book recommendations to help me would be very much appreciated. Lastly, my goal again this year is to complete 40 books.

[Lisa]

Hello, I'm Lisa from New Hampshire. I like to read mystery, thrillers, fantasy and science fiction.

I am a slow reader so my goal is to read 25 books this year. I also listen to books on audio in the car and sometimes at work.

I found this group by accident lol.

I am currently sucked into the world of Sarah J. Maas, hopefully I can get through them all this year, lol.

[Rebecca]

Hi I’m Becky from Northampton, UK!

I love lots of genres but particularly loving my journey in fantasy at the moment! I found this group by chance and I have a goal of reading 40 books in 2025!

[Theresa]

Lisa wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Hi! So, I’m just coming out of a reading slump and am ready to chip away at my TBR pile (mountain). Usually I have several books on the go of various genres (classics, translations,..."

Thank you!

[Suzanne]

Hi I am Suzanne
I am from Maryland. I enjoy reading fantasy and romance books. My reading goal for 2025 is to read more than one book per month so at least 24 ish books in 2025

[Maddie]

Hello! I am Maddie, from New Zealand! I think my goal for 2025 will be 30 books, but i am hoping to read more!

[Lisa]

Happy New Year, and welcome to the group, everyone! 👋
May the new year bring you all many bookish discoveries and new friends.

Here's to an amazing 2025 - Happy reading! 😊

[Erica]

Hi I'm Erica I'm in the western US. my goal will be 55 books this year! looking forward to being part of the group and pushing to my goal!

[Sara]

helloo, m Sara from India, plan to read a 100 books this year because of how huge of a part reading plays in my life, I am really hoping that this won't be as inconvenient as it sounds but challenging instead.

[Tennille - Aussie Chick Knows Books]

hello, I am Tennille from Australia. my goal will be 50 books again this year. my favourite genres are Romantasy, historical romance and romance

[Lisa]

Welcome in advance to any newcomers to the group. Please take a minute to introduce yourselves in the new thread for 2025!
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Happy reading 😊