WINTER 2024/2025 READING CHALLENGE

[Rachel]

Danell wrote: "I read White Oleander, works for W-H-A-L-E. It was good"

Thanks for the update, Danell! :D
I really need to read it. I saw the movie years ago and really liked it. Great cast.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Finished my second Sally Rooney novel, (Intermezzo). I liked the first one, better, but this was okay. Her books seem heavy on relationship drama and sexuality. If someone is interested in her work, I would recommend Beautiful World, Where Are You. I most likely won't be seeking out more by this author.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Finished my second Toni Morrison novel for the challenge. Neither was a particular favorite, although I did find passages in each that I liked. I've increased my Winter Challenge Goal from 10 to 15.

[Rachel]

Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Finished my second Toni Morrison novel for the challenge. Neither was a particular favorite, although I did find passages in each that I liked. I've increased my Winter Challenge Goal from 10 to 15..."

Thanks for the updates, Dustin! Glad you gave both authors a try.
Hope your next books are more enjoyable. :)

I think I might increase my goal too. :D

[Danell]

I read Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. I liked the story.

[Rachel]

Danell wrote: "I read Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. I liked the story."

Thanks for the update, Danell! Glad you liked it. :)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

A couple of W-H-A-L-E books, both are re-reads for me.
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett


I have read one Door book, the second book in the Time Quintet
(A Wrinkle in Time is the book one).
A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L' Engle


Movie Recommendations:
The Last Showgirl and The Room Next Door
My first two favorite films of 2025

[Rachel]

Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl wrote: "A couple of W-H-A-L-E books, both are re-reads for me.
The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett


I have ..."

Thanks for the updates & movie recommendations, Dustin! :D

Both films sound good. The Last Showgirl is getting a lot of buzz. I feel like The Room Next Door might rip my heart out. Have you seen Wicked?

[Danell]

I read Jaws by Peter Benchley, it works for a book published the year I was born. I enjoyed it.

[Rachel]

Danell wrote: "I read Jaws by Peter Benchley, it works for a book published the year I was born. I enjoyed it."

Thanks for the update, Danell! :D
I’ve never read the book but I’ve seen the movie about a million times.

[Danell]

I read Beloved by Toni Morison. I didn’t care for it

[Rachel]

Thanks for the update, Danell. Glad you gave the book a try. Hope your next book is more enjoyable. :D

[Rachel]

So I tried to increase my challenge from 5 to 7. It ended up deleting my challenge and starting over. Maybe it’s because I had already reached my goal. Anyway now I set it to 3 but it should be 8. Did I mention I’m not great with computers lol.


Also I read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Tilda Swinton was in the film.

[Danell]

I have The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in my stack to read. I didn’t know about the Tilda connection.
Thanks you Rachel and thanks for the update.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Rachel wrote: "Both films sound good. The Last Showgirl is getting a lot of buzz. I feel like The Room Next Door might rip my heart out. Have you seen Wicked?"

I like The Last Showgirl because I connect with it. My younger coworkers at the movie theater who are about twenty years old, don't like it much. The music is also used very well including Total Eclipse of the Heart and an original song by Miley Cyrus called "Beautiful That Way".

The Room Next Door is rather morbid and death centric but I'm a fan of Almodovar and his use of bright colors. I think this is both his first English film and his first film not rated R or NC-17. I was surprised to see an Almodovar film rated PG-13.

I've seen Wicked twice. It's been at the movie theater for two months now and is one of my favorites of 2024. I'm really drawn to the use of music in films and the emotions that it creates. I would also recommend the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothee Chalamet, A Complete Unknown.

Nickel Boys and The Brutalist have been very popular this past week, but I haven't seen them in entirety yet.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Obviously, I'm a big fan of Tilda Swinton too :-)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Danell wrote: "I read Beloved by Toni Morison. I didn’t care for it"

My favorite Toni Morrison that I've read so far is A Mercy. I might re-read it before end of February since I haven't loved the two Toni Morrison novels I read recently. If anyone is looking for a short Toni Morrison, A Mercy is a good choice.

[Danell]

Thanks Dustin!!

[Rachel]

Danell wrote: "I have The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in my stack to read. I didn’t know about the Tilda connection.
Thanks you Rachel and thanks for the update."

You’re welcome, Danell! :D

[Rachel]

Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Both films sound good. The Last Showgirl is getting a lot of buzz. I feel like The Room Next Door might rip my heart out. Have you seen Wicked?"

I like The Last Showgirl because I c..."

Thanks for the info. :)

[Rachel]

Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Danell wrote: "I read Beloved by Toni Morison. I didn’t care for it"

My favorite Toni Morrison that I've read so far is A Mercy. I might re-read it before end of February since I haven't loved the..."

Thanks for the recommendation, Dustin! :D

[Rachel]

I would recommend Toni Morrison’s short story Recitatif.

It’s her only short story.

There is an introduction but don’t read that until AFTER you read the story as the intro talks about and analyzes the story in depth.

[Danell]

I read Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney. It was ok and I would try another book by her

[Rachel]

Danell wrote: "I read Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney. It was ok and I would try another book by her"

Thanks for the update, Danell! :)

[Danell]

I read Recitatif by Toni Morison. Thanks for the recommendation I really enjoyed it, although I am a bit confused.

[Danell]

I read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe which works for #3 Tilda Swinton movie. I love that book.

[Rachel]

Danell wrote: "I read Recitatif by Toni Morison. Thanks for the recommendation I really enjoyed it, although I am a bit confused."

You’re welcome, Danell! Glad you liked it. :D
Did you read the introduction? I thought the analysis of the story was really interesting.

[Rachel]

Danell wrote: "I read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe which works for #3 Tilda Swinton movie. I love that book."

There’s going to be a big remake of this- I think it’s coming out next year.

Thanks for the updates! :)

[Danell]

I agree with you about the introduction and the analysis. I really liked that story.

[Danell]

I listened to The Guide by Peter Heller. First time author for me and I want to read more by him.

[Rachel]

Danell wrote: "I listened to The Guide by Peter Heller. First time author for me and I want to read more by him."

Thanks for the update, Danell! :D

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I have finished reading John Green's essay collection: The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet. The title has the letters WHALE and Sports are also an important part of many of the stories he shares in the book.
This collection along with Ann Patchett's These Precious Days: Essays are two of my top ten non-fiction favorites.

[Rachel]

Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl wrote: "I have finished reading John Green's essay collection: The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet. The title has the letters WHALE and Sports are also an important..."

Thanks for the update, Dustin! :D
I really liked the John Green book too.

[Franzi]

So, here's my winter challenge update :

1) Beautiful World Where Are You by Sally Rooney - 3/5
I didn't connect with the characters and unless someone reaaaaally recommended one of her books as must read I don't think I'd bother with another.

2)  Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh - Lots of women in another book group recommended this to me. It's a YA love story / rugby drama, very easy to read and super entertaining. I'm halfway through the 800 pages and really enjoying it...

3) The Locked Door - Freida McFadden - another great page turner, I'm enjoying her thrillers.


5) WHALE - Deutschland, ein Wintermärchen by Heinrich Heine... I'm again trying to read a literary classic every month. This is one of Germanys most famous authors. I really liked his satire verses.

6) Somewhere Beyond the sea by TJ Klune
Loved the first and currently half way through this. It doesn't disappoint. Taking it very slow because I don't want it to end.

So I'm not sure I'll be able to tackle the award winner or a book of the year I was born (1985) but if there's something you can recommend that'd be great. Either way... I'm loving the challenge. Thank you :)

[Rachel]

Franzi wrote: "So, here's my winter challenge update :

1) Beautiful World Where Are You by Sally Rooney - 3/5
I didn't connect with the characters and unless someone reaaaaally recommended one of her books as m..."

Hey Franzi!

The newberry prompt can be an award winner or a book that has received a newberry honor. I saw that you have Charlotte’s Web on your to read shelf-that works. It received a newberry honor.

A few other recommendations:

When you reach me by Rebecca Stead
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Both won the newberry medal.

Sorry I don’t have a rec for 1985 but maybe someone else in the group does.

I always appreciate when everyone checks in during the challenge so thanks for the update! :D





Glad you’re enjoying the challenge. :)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Rachel wrote: "When you reach me by Rebecca Stead"

I recommend this book too. Maybe I'll see if I can still re-read it this month.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I am currently re-reading A MERCY by Toni Morrison. This is my favorite book I've read by Toni Morrison. The audiobook is narrated by the author, very lyrical presentation and it's relatively short.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

A few 1985 recommendations:
Ender's Game
The Handmaid's Tale
The Castle in the Attic

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Franzi wrote: "So, here's my winter challenge update :

1) Beautiful World Where Are You by Sally Rooney - 3/5
I didn't connect with the characters and unless someone reaaaaally recommended one of her books as must read I don't think I'd bother with another."

I liked Beautiful World Where Are You better than her newest Intermezzo. These are the only two books I've read by the author and likewise, I probably won't seek out more of her work based on these two. I did give the book 4/5 and her other one 3/5

[Rachel]

Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl wrote: "I am currently re-reading A MERCY by Toni Morrison. This is my favorite book I've read by Toni Morrison. The audiobook is narrated by the author, very lyrical presentation and it's relatively short..."

Thanks for the update, Dustin! :)

[Danell]

I read Unspeakable by Laura Griffin, which works for “un”. It was good. Didn’t realize it was a series but probably won’t read the others.

[Rachel]

Danell wrote: "I read Unspeakable by Laura Griffin, which works for “un”. It was good. Didn’t realize it was a series but probably won’t read the others."

Thanks for the update, Danell! :D

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Thanks to Rachel for informing me that Bel Canto by Ann Patchett works for the challenge. I hadn't realized that Julianne Moore was in the film adaptation, now I need to see if I can find a copy of the movie.


Adding this title has me completing my goal of 15 books. I might need to increase that goal - we'll see.

On another note, I've been curious if everyone has stopped getting Goodreads notifications? All I get now are the friends updates grouped in one email.

[Rachel]

Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Thanks to Rachel for informing me that Bel Canto by Ann Patchett works for the challenge. I hadn't realized that Julianne Moore was in the film adaptation, now I need to see if I can find a copy of..."

Thanks for the update, Dustin!
Congrats on completing the challenge! :D
I’m still getting my notifications.

[Franzi]

Thanks so much for your recommendations. I'll see if I can read Charlotte's Web still. It has been on my TBR for ages!

I'm still getting notifications too but tend to ignore and just look at everything once a week if that.

[Rachel]

Franzi wrote: "Thanks so much for your recommendations. I'll see if I can read Charlotte's Web still. It has been on my TBR for ages!

I'm still getting notifications too but tend to ignore and just look at every..."

You’re welcome, Franzi! :)
If you have time, Charlotte’s Web is a great classic.

[Rachel]

Dustin-

Are you getting your notifications yet?

[Danell]

I read Anne Frank Remembered, The Story Of The Woman Who Hide The Frank Family by Miep Gies which works for W-H-A-L-E. It was a very good book and I’m glad to have read it. I have Death Of The Author, one of the group reads, from the library and hope to finish before the end of the challenge.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Rachel wrote: "Dustin-

Are you getting your notifications yet?"

Unfortunately, I'm not. I just have to make sure I check in whenever I log into goodreads, but I'm missing any notifications of when someone likes or comments on my reviews. I even tried to change my account settings. Notifications aren't going into my spam folder either. It's been going on for a while now.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I was able to re-read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead this past week, that brings my total to 16 Winter books read.