Gail W - 2025 Reading Plan

[GailW]

INDEX of 2025 Challenges::

📚 52BC-Annual:

🪷 ATY-Annual:
🪷 ATY-Rejects:
🪷 ATY-Anniversary:
🪷 ATY-Summer Reading:
🪷 ATY-Fall Reading:

🟢 Book Riot-Read Harder:

📚 CCC: FALL SPELL: QUOTATIONS
📚 CCC: New to You (Authors)
📚 CCC: Scrabble Anyone?:
📚 CCC: Shrink that TBR
📚 CCC: TITLES A-Z
📚 CCC: WINTER QUOTATIONS

🔍 Mystery/Thriller Fans-1st Round:
🔍 Mystery/Thriller Fans-2nd Round:
🔍 Mystery/Thriller Fans-3rd Round:

⭐ RC-A to Z Author Names:
⭐ RC-Bibliopoly:
⭐ RC-Bookworms Take Shelfies:
⭐ RC-Genre Bingo:
⭐ RC-HRCYED:
⭐ RC-Magical Mystery Tour:
⭐ RC-Pages:
⭐ RC-PopSugar:
⭐ RC-Series: message 40
⭐ RC-Shelf Awareness:
⭐ RC-Wheel of Feels:
⭐ RC-Q1
⭐ RC-Q2
⭐ RC-Q3 Anger
⭐ RC-Q4 FEAR:
⭐ RC Fall Readathon:

♀️ RW-Annual:
♀️ RW-Bingo 1:
♀️ RW-Bingo 2:
♀️ RW-RAtW: Women in Translation:
♀️ RW-RAtW: Women writing in English:
♀️ RW-QUAD Challenges:

🌎 World:
🌍 World: US/CA/MX:

PERSONAL CHALLENGES:
💫 Agatha Christie: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
💫 Banned: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
💫 City of Asylum: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
💫 Debuts: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
💫 Diversity: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
💫 New to Me: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
💫 Paperbacks and Fry Breads 2023 Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
💫 Translated: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
💫 Women to Read Before You Go: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[GailW]

2025 STATS:
191 / 160+

BOOKS:
Genre
Action and Adventure:
Autobiographical Fiction: 1
Biography/Memoir: 5
Classics:
Comedy: 1
Dystopia: 1
Fantasy/Mythical/ Magical Realism: 11
Literary Fiction/General Fiction: 58
Historical Fiction: 23
History:
Horror: 1
Mystery: 59
Nonfiction: 13
Picture: 1
Poetry: 3
Religious: 1
Romance: 2
Science:
Science Fiction: 9
Suspense/Thriller: 2
True Crime:

Form:
Epistolary: 1
Comic/Graphic Novel: 5
Essays (collection): 5
Play: 1
Poetry (collection): 3
Short Story: 1
Short Stories (collection): 16

Length:
Very Short (<70 pages): 12
Short (<250 pages): 88
Medium (250-499 pages): 91
"Big" (500+ pages):

Media
Book: 67
eBook: 97
Audio: 25
Internet Archive: 2

Series: 58
Banned/Challenged: 6
Debut: 33
Translated: 36
Children: 9
Middle Grade: 6
YA: 8

Publication Date
bef.1900: ........ 1
1900-1959: 10
1960-1979: 6
1980-1999: 8
2000-2009: 17
2010-2019: 55
2020-2024: 74
2025: .......... 20

AUTHOR:
* New to Me: 124
* Female: 146
* Diverse: 105

a book can be included across multiple challenges
📚 ✸ ⭐ ✔ ☀ ✔ ✔️ ✣ ✨ 🌈 ☑️ 👠🌠🎈📕📍☄️ 📆🕰️🌞💫🪷🟢🕙🆕🔹🔻▫️🔸🌟🌎🗺️⚖️ ♀️👑☃️
** Action and Adventure: the main character repeatedly finds themselves in risky, dangerous, situations.
** Fantasy/Mythical/ Magical Realism: includes prominent elements of magic, mythology, or the supernatural
** Horror: meant to cause discomfort and fear for both the character and readers
** Mystery: The plot always revolves around a crime of sorts that must be solved—or foiled—by the protagonists
** Science Fiction: leans heavily on themes of technology and future science
** Suspense/Thriller: hero attempts to stop and defeat the villain to save their own life rather than uncover a specific crime

[GailW]

READING BY MONTH JAN THRU JUN
97
(view spoiler)[
Bolded are my favorite for the month
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
pages: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

JAN
1. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore -5+
2. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer -4.5
3. Road No Good by Bridget Isichei -4
4. The Wedding People by Alison Espach -4 (audio)
5. This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson -5
6. Shot With Crimson by Nicola Upson -5
7. The Last White Man - Mohsin Hamid -5+
8. Cry Wolf by Annette Dashofy -4
9. Pope John Paul II: In My Own Words
10. His Truth Is Marching On by Jon Meacham -5.5 (audio)
11. Something Evergreen Called Life by Rania Mamoun -5
12. Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ -4
13. The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman -5
14. Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat -5
15. Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook -4.5
16. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren -3.5
17. Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri -5
PAGES: 4,730

FEB
18. James by Percival Everett - 5++++
19. The Purple Violet of Oshaantu by Neshani Andreas -5
20. Ali and Nino by Kurban Said -4
21. Murder at an English Séance by Jessica Ellicott -3
22. Our Riches by Kaouther Adimi -4
23. Ban This Book by Alan Gratz -3.5
24. Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe -3.5
25. N or M? by Agatha Christie -5 (audio)
26. The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft -4.5
27. Years and Years by Hwang Jungeun -4
28. The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman -4.5
29. Who Was John Lewis? by Crystal Hubbard -4
30. Aya by Marguerite Abouet -3.5
31. G'Day to Die by Maddy Hunter -3
32. So Distant From My Life by Monique Ilboudo -5
33. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle -3.5
34. The House On Sun Street by Mojgan Ghazirad -4
35. Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 by Edwidge Danticat -3.5
36. A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns -4
37. House Party Murder Rap by Sonia Parin -4
38. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells -4
PAGES: 4,885

MAR
39. Ashes of Izalco by Claribel Alegría -3
40. A Burnt-Out Case by Graham Greene -3.5
41. Festival of Colors by Surishtha Sehgal -4
42. Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor -5
43. Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh -3.5
44. When the Only Light Is the Moon by Rita Wilson -3.5
45. We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai -5
46. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto -4 (audio)
47. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon -5.5
48. Assembly by Natasha Brown -5.5
49. The Only Child by Guojing -5
50. My Ántonia by Willa Cather -5
51. Glory Daze: A Glory Broussard Mystery by Danielle Arceneaux -4 (audio)
52. No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister -5.5
53. The Girl in the Moon Circle by Sia Figiel -3.5
54. The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar -5.5
55. Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap -4
56. The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso -4.5
57. Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History by Kate Schatz -4
58. A Fatal Illusion by Matthew Costello -3.5
59. Stalking Ground by Margaret Mizushima -4
PAGES: 4,657

APR
60. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston -4.5
61. April Fools by Jess Lourey -3,5
62. Once Upon an Eid by S.K. Ali -5
63. The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg -3
64. Long Bright River by Liz Moore -4 (audio)
65. Deadly to the Core by Joyce Tremel -3
PAGES: 1,762

April 10th-15th:
66. Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson -4.5
PAGES: 320

April 16th-30th:
67. Huda F Are You?: A Graphic Novel by Huda Fahmy -5.5
68. The Life Impossible by Matt Haig -5 (audio)
69. The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman -5
70. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo -4.5
71. Have a Nice Day by Billy Crystal -4.5 (audio)
72. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama -5
PAGES: 1,352
total Apr pages: 3,434

MAY
73. The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen -5
74. The Three Taps: A Detective Story Without a Moral by Ronald Knox -3.5
75. The Bees by Laline Paull -4
76. Murder at Archly Manor by Sara Rosett -3.5 (audio)
77. River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer -5
78. As Close to Us as Breathing by Elizabeth Poliner -5.5
79. Mothersland by Shahzoda Samarqandi -4
80. Hotel Silence by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir -4
81. Evergreen by Naomi Hirahara -4
82. Baba Dunja's Last Love by Alina Bronsky -5
PAGES: 2,611

JUN
83. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy -5+++
84. A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return by Zeina Abirached -3.5
85. The Break by Katherena Vermette -4
86. A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas -3
87. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami -3
88. Golden Child by Claire Adam -5
89. The Pleasure of Drowning by Jean Bürlesk -3
90. The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy -4
91. I'm Just a Person by Tig Notaro -4
92. The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose -4
93. The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke -3.5
94. Black Friend: Essays by Ziwe -4
95. The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear -4.5
96. How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin -4
97. The Echoes by Evie Wyld -4
PAGES: 3,955
(hide spoiler)]
☄️☄️☄️ first half completed ☄️☄️☄️

[GailW]

READING BY MONTH JUL THRU DEC
191 / 160+
Bolded are my favorite for the month
https://www.goodreads.com..........
pages: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

(view spoiler)[
JUL
98. Cut and Thirst by Margaret Atwood -4
99. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor -4
100. I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger -5
101. The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark -3.5
102. The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton -4.5
103. Selected Shorts: American Classics, edited by Symphony Space -4
104. Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time -4
105. Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid -4
106. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers -4
107. A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa -3.5
108. Only The Stones Never Die by Padraig McLoughlin -3.5
109. Potiki by Patricia Grace -4
110. The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen -4.5
PAGES: 2,666

AUG
111. Neighbours: The Story of a Murder by Lília Momplé -3
112. The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares -4
113. The Colony by Annika Norlin -4.5
114. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry -not rated
115. Glorious Boy by Aimee Liu-5
116. Hai kur mamashu chis: I want to tell you a story by Cristina Zarraga -4
117. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister -5
118. Crooked House by Agatha Christie -4.5
119. bell hooks: The Last Interview: and Other Conversations by bell hooks -5
120. The Choice and other Tales by Amyna -2.5
121. The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy -3.5
122. My Conversations with Canadians by Lee Maracle -5
PAGES: 2,462

SEP
123. Devil's Peak by Deon Meyer -4
124. Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia -4
125. Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood -5
126. The Lake by Natasha Preston -4
127. Not a River by Selva Almada -3
128. Vanishing Edge by Claire Kells -4
129. Delia's Way by Olga Berrocal Essex -3.5
130. A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh -4
131. Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez -5
132. The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose by Alice Munro -4
133. Woof by Spencer Quinn -4
134. The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden -4
135. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler -5
136. Death of an Old Git by Andrea Frazer -4
137. Yarned and Dangerous by Sadie Hartwell -3.5
138. Killer Pitch by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards -3
139. The Love Detectives: A Short Story (#13) by Agatha Christie -3.5
140. Cloudy With a Chance of Murder by Gerald Elias -4
141. Literacy Is Liberation: Working Toward Justice Through Culturally Relevant Teaching -4.5
142. Adventure At Brimstone Hill by Carol Ottley-Mitchell -3.5
143. The Places We Call Home by Kim Ann -3.5
144. The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan -4
145. Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hauʻofa -4
146. Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet by Xinran -5+
147. The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton -3.5
148. The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang -4.5
149. Rosarita by Anita Desai -4.5
pages: 5,785

OCT
150. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman -5
151. Murder in the Valleys by Pippa McCathie -4.5
152. Cassie P Caribbean PI by Cecil Browne -3
153. A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant -3.5
154. Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls by Kai Cheng Thom
155. At the Foot of Blue Mountains edited by Shavkat Niyazi -3.5
156. Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes -4
157. We Are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures by Amnesty International -4.5
158. Sinister Graves by Marcie R. Rendon -4.5
159. The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson -5
160. Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun -5
161. Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius -5

NOV
162. The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen -4
163. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa -4
164. Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson -3.5
165. A Girl in Exile by Ismail Kadare -4
166. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng -5
167. When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén -5
168. I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett -4.5
169. The Devil Comes Calling by Annette Dashofy -4.5
170. The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain -5
171. Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires -5
172. Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald -4.5
(hide spoiler)]

DEC
173. Dizzy in Durango by D.R. Ransdell -3
174. The Betel Nut Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu -3.5
175. So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ -5
176. The Unfinished Harauld Hughes by Richard Ayoade -4.5
177. The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera -4.5
178. The Spy by Paulo Coelho -4
179. Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg -4
180. Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister -4.5
181. Vida by Patricia Engel -4.5
182. A Christmas Visitor by Anne Perry -4
183. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner -3.5
184. The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall by Benedict Brown -3
185. One Coffee With by Margaret Maron -3
186. The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Susan Wittig Albert -3
187. Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy -10
188. You by Nuala Ní Chonchúir -4
189. Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz -4
190. Playing by the Rules by Rosa Temple -4
191. Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi -4

[GailW]

Personal: AGATHA CHRISTIE
☀ Completed 3

* N or M?
* Crooked House
* The Love Detectives: A Short Story

[GailW]

Personal: BANNED/CHALLENGED READING
☀ Completed 6

☀ Ban This Book - banned in Clay County School District, Florida
☀ Banned Book Club- banned in Clay County School District, Florida
☀ Clap When You Land - Nebo School District Utah
☀ The Hill We Climb - banned in Miami-Dade Public Schools, Florida
☀ A Study in Scarlet - banned in Albemarle County School Board, Virginia
☀ Huda F Are You? - banned in Clay County School District, Florida

[GailW]

Personal: DEBUTS
...................... Women: 25
.............................. Men: 8
............................. They:
☀ Completed 33

☀ Ashes of Izalco - Claribel Alegría
☀ Assembly - Natasha Brown
☀ Aya - Marguerite Abouet
☀ Banned Book Club - Kim Hyun Sook
☀ Black Friend: Essays - Ziwe
☀ The Choice and other Tales - Amyna
☀ The Colony - Annika Norlin
☀ Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner
☀ The Final Revival of Opal & Nev - Dawnie Walton
☀ Golden Child - Claire Adam
☀ Hai kur mamashu chis: I want to tell you a story - Cristina Zarraga
☀ Heads of the Colored People - Nafissa Thompson-Spires
☀ The House On Sun Street - Mojgan Ghazirad
☀ Migrations - Charlotte McConaghy
☀ A Murder for Miss Hortense - Mel Pennant
☀ Murder in the Valleys - Pippa McCathie
☀ River Sing Me Home - Eleanor Shearer
☀ Road No Good - Bridget Isichei
☀ Something Evergreen Called Life - Rania Mamoun, poetry
☀ Stolen - Ann-Helén Laestadius - historical fiction
☀ Vida - Patricia Engel
☀ The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer
☀ When the Cranes Fly South - Lisa Ridzén
☀ When the Only Light Is the Moon - Rita Wilson
☀ Yarned and Dangerous - Sadie Hartwell

Men
☀ At the Foot of Blue Mountains - Shavkat Niyazi
☀ The Cricket in Times Square - George Seldon
☀ Fortune Favors the Dead - Stephen Spotswood
☀ Only The Stones Never Die - Padraig McLoughlin
☀ Our Riches - Kaouther Adimi
☀ The Pleasure of Drowning - Jean Bürlesk
☀ Sightseeing - Rattawut Lapcharoensap
☀ A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle

[GailW]

Personal: DIVERSITY IN READING AUTHORS
Book must be written by an author(s) who is different from you: race, gender, sexual orientation, geography, nationality, religion, language, ability, etc. I have eliminated "straight white males" from this category.
☀ Completed 101 books

Race or Ethnicity
born in the US, other than "white"
☀ Adolfo Bioy Casares - The Invention of Morel
☀ Amanda Gorman - The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country
☀ bell hooks - bell hooks: The Last Interview: and Other Conversations
☀ Crystal Hubbard - Who Was John Lewis?
☀ Danielle Arceneaux - Glory Daze
☀ Dawnie Walton - The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
☀ Derrick Barnes - Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
☀ Eleanor Shearer - River Sing Me Home
☀ Elizabeth Acevedo - Clap When You Land
☀ Jacqueline Woodson - This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
☀ John Shen Yen Nee (coauthor) - The Murder of Mr. Ma
☀ Kimberly N Parker - Literacy Is Liberation
☀ Marcie R. Rendon - Sinister Graves
☀ Mel Pennant - A Murder for Miss Hortense
☀ Nafissa Thompson-Spires - Heads of the Colored People
☀ Naomi Hirahara - Evergreen
☀ Nnedi Okorafor - Binti
☀ Patricia Engel - Vida
☀ Percival Everett - James
☀ Percival Everett - I Am Not Sidney Poitier
☀ Rattawut Lapcharoensap - Sightseeing
☀ Sonia Sotomayor - Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You
☀ Valerie Burns - A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death
☀ Ziwe - Black Friend: Essays
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Geography, Nationality, or Native Language
Not born in the US. Possibly doesn't live in the US. Could be translated. Does not include England authors.
☀ Alina Bronsky - Baba Dunja's Last Love - historical fiction, author from Russia, setting Ukraine
☀ Amyna - The Choice and other Tales - fiction short stories, author and setting in Maldives
☀ Anita Desai - Rosarita - literary fiction, author India, setting Mexico
☀ Ann-Helén Laestadius - Stolen - fiction, author and setting Norther Sami Sapmi, Sweden
☀ Annika Norlin - The Colony - fiction, author and setting Sweden
☀ Antti Tuomainen - The Man Who Died; The Rabbit Factor - mystery, author and setting Finland
☀ Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir - Hotel Silence - fiction, author and partial setting Iceland
☀ Bridget Isichei - Road No Good - nonfiction, author from New Zealand, book set in the country of Vanuatu
☀ Carol Ann Duffy - The Bees - poetry, author born in Scotland
☀ [author :Carol Ottley-Mitchell|4783938] - Adventure At Brimstone Hill - historical fantasy, author born in Nevis
☀ Cecil Browne = Cassie P Caribbean PI - mystery, author and setting St. Vincent
☀ Claire Adam - Golden Child - author born in Trinidad
☀ Claribel Alegría: Ashes of Izalco - author born in Nicaragua
☀ Cleyvis Natera: The Grand Paloma Resort -author born in, setting in Dominican Republic
☀ Daniel Nayeri - Everything Sad Is Untrue, nonfiction, author born in Iran
☀ Deon Meyer - Devil's Peak, thriller, author/setting South Africa, translated
☀ Edwidge Danticat - Everything Inside - fiction, author from Haiti, book set in Miami, Port-A-Prince
☀ Epeli Hauʻofa - Tales of the Tikongs - Fiction, author born in Papua New Guinea, setting unknown Oceanic island
☀ Evie Wyld: The Echoes - historical fiction, author England; setting England and Australia
☀ Guojing: The Only Child - fiction, children's wordless graphic, author/setting in China
☀ Hiro Arikawa: The Travelling Cat Chronicles
☀ Hwang Jungeun - Years and Years
☀ Ismail Kadare - A Girl in Exile, historical fiction, author from Albania
☀ Jean Bürlesk - The Pleasure of Drowning
☀ Jesse Q. Sutanto - Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
☀ Cristina Zarraga - Hai kur mamashu chis: I want to tell you a story
☀ José Eduardo Agualusa - A General Theory of Oblivion - author born in Angola
☀ Kaouther Adimi - Our Riches
☀ Katherena Vermette - The Break
☀ Kim Hyun Sook - Banned Book Club
☀ Laila Lalami - The Dream Hotel
☀ Lee Maracle - My Conversations with Canadians, nonfiction, first nation Canada
☀ Marguerite Abouet - Aya - historical fiction, author from Ivory Coast
☀ Michelle Zauner - Crying in H Mart
☀ Michiko Aoyama: What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
☀ Mariama Bâ: "So Long a Letter"
☀ Mohsin Hamid - The Last White Man - magical realism, author from Pakistan
☀ Mojgan Ghazirad - The House On Sun Street - historical fiction, author from Iran
☀ Monique Ilboudo - So Distant From My Life - literary fiction, author from Burkina Faso
☀ Natalia Ginzburg - The Little Virtues - nonfiction essays, author from Italy
☀ Neshani Andreas - The Purple Violet of Oshaantu - historical fiction, author from Namibia
☀ Ngaio Marsh: Death at the Bar
☀ Olga Berrocal Essex: Delia's Way
☀ Ovidia Yu: The Betel Nut Tree Mystery
☀ Padraig McLoughlin: Only The Stones Never Die - historical fiction, author from Ireland
☀ Patricia Grace: Potiki - historical fiction, author from New Zealand
☀ Paulo Coelho: The Spy - historical fiction, author from Brazil
☀ Pippa McCathie: Murder in the Valleys, set in Wales, author from Mauritius
☀ Pope John Paul II: Pope John Paul II: In My Own Words
☀ Rania Mamoun: Something Evergreen Called Life - author born in Sudan, writer-in-exile in Pittsburgh
☀ Selva Almada: Not a River
☀ Shahzoda Samarqandi - Mothersland - historical fiction, author born and setting
☀ Shavkat Niyazi - At the Foot of Blue Mountains - mix, authors all born/settings
☀ Sherry Thomas: A Study in Scarlet Women - author born in China
☀ Sia Figiel: The Girl in the Moon Circle, author born in Samoa
☀ Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Untamed Shore, author born in Mexico
☀ Sun-mi Hwang: The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly, author born in S. Korea
☀ Surishtha Sehgal: Festival of Colors, author born in India
☀ Tan Twan Eng: The House of Doors, author born in Malaysia
☀ Toshikazu Kawaguchi: Before Your Memory Fades
☀ Yamile Saied Méndez: Furia, author born in Argentina
☀ Yáng Shuāng-zǐ: Taiwan Travelogue - author and translator born in Taiwan
☀ Zeina Abirached: A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return - author born in Lebanon
-------------------------------------------------------------------
LGBTQ+
☀ Annalee Newitz - Automatic Noodle, trans- they/them/their
☀ Becky Chambers - A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
☀ Kai Cheng Thom - Falling Back in Love with Being Human
☀ Kate Schatz - Rad Women Worldwide
-author
☀ Nicola Upson - Shot With Crimson; The Christmas Clue-author, mc
☀ Tig Notaro - I'm Just a Person
☀ Zeyn Joukhadar - The Thirty Names of Night-author, mc, several characters
------------------------------------------------------------------
Ability Challenges

------------------------------------------------------------------
Religious / Spiritual Beliefs
only if it doesn't fit in any other category or it (subjectively) appears to be on a much higher plane than the other categories
☀ Alice Hoffman: The World That We Knew, Judaism
☀ Billy Crystal: Have a Nice Day, Jewish author
☀ Elizabeth Poliner: As Close to Us as Breathing, Jewish author
☀ Huda Fahmy: Huda F Are You?: A Graphic Novel, Muslim teenager
☀ Kurban Said: Ali and Nino: A Love Story, Islam and Christianity
☀ S.K. Ali: Once Upon an Eid, Islam

[GailW]

Personal: NEW-TO-ME AUTHORS
....................Women: 98
................................Men: 25
...............................They: 1
☀ Completed 124

Women:
☀ Aimee Liu: Glorious Boy
☀ Alice Munro: The Beggar Maid
☀ Alina Bronsky: Baba Dunja's Last Love
☀ Alison Espach: The Wedding People
☀ Amanda Gorman: The Hill We Climb
☀ Amyna: The Choice and Other Tales
☀ Anita Desai: Rosarita
☀ Ann-Helén Laestadius: Stolen
☀ Annika Norlin: The Colony
☀ Ariel Lawhon: The Frozen River
☀ Ashley Elston: First Lie Wins
☀ Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir: Hotel Silence
☀ bell hooks: bell hooks: The Last Interview
☀ Bridget Isichei: Road No Good
☀ Carol Ann Duffy: The Bees
☀ Carol Ottley-Mitchell: Adventure at Brimstone Hill
☀ Christina Lauren: The Unhoneymooners
☀ Claire Adam: Golden Child
☀ Claribel Alegría: Ashes of Izalco
☀ Claire Kells: Vanishing Edge
☀ Cleyvis Natera: The Grand Paloma Resort
☀ Cristina Zarraga: Hai kur mamashu chis: I want to tell you a story
☀ Crystal Hubbard: Who Was John Lewis
☀ Dawnie Walton: The Final Revival of Opal and Ned
☀ Edwidge Danticat: Everything Inside
☀ Eleanor Shearer: River Sing Me Home
☀ Elizabeth Acevedo: Clap When You Land
☀ Elizabeth Poliner: As Close to Us as Breathing
☀ Evie Wyld: The Echoes
☀ Gillian McAllister: Famous Last Words
☀ Guojing: The Only Child
☀ Hiro Arikawa: The Travelling Cat Chronicles
☀ Huda Fahmy: Huda F Are You?: A Graphic Novel
☀ Hwang Jungeun: Years and Years
☀ Jennifer Croft: The Extinction of Irena Rey
☀ Jess Lourey: April Fools
☀ Joyce Tremel: Deadly to the Core
☀ Julie Clark: The Ones We Choose
☀ Kai Cheng Thom: Falling Back in Love with Being Human
☀ Kaouther Adimi: Our Riches
☀ Kate Schatz: Rad Women Worldwide:
☀ Katherena Vermette: The Break
☀ Kim Ann: The Places We Call Home
☀ Kim Hyun Sook: Banned Book Club
☀ Kimberly N Parker: Literacy Is Liberation
☀ Laline Paull: The Bees
☀ Lee Maracle: My Conversations with Canadians
☀ Lília Momplé: Neighbours: The Story of a Murder
☀ Lisa Ridzén: When the Cranes Fly South
☀ Liz Moore: The God of the Woods
☀ Maddy Hunter: G' Day to Die
☀ Malala Yousafzai: We Are Displaced
☀ Margaret Maron: One Coffee With
☀ Marguerite Abouet: Aya
☀ Meg Shaffer: The Wishing Game
☀ Mel Pennant: A Murder for Miss Hortense
☀ Michelle Zauner: Crying in H Mart
☀ Michiko Aoyama: What You are Looking For is in the Library
☀ Mariama Bâ: So Long a Letter
☀ Mojgan Ghazirad: The House on Sun Street
☀ Monique Ilboudo: So Distant from my Life
☀ Nafissa Thompson-Spires: The Heads of Colored People
☀ Natasha Brown: Assembly
☀ Natasha Preston: The Lake
☀ Neshani Andreas: The Purple Violet of Oshaantu
☀ Ngaio Marsh: Death at the Bar
☀ Nnedi Okorafor: Binti
☀ Nuala Ní Chonchúir: You
☀ Olga Berrocal Essex: Delia's Way
☀ Pat Murphy: The Falling Woman
☀ Patricia Engel: Vida
☀ Patricia Grace: Potiki
☀ Pippa McCathie: Murder in the Valleys
☀ Rania Mamoun: Something Evergreen Called Life
☀ Rita Wilson: When the Only Light is the Moon
☀ Rosa Temple: Playing by the Rules
☀ Rufi Thorpe: Margo's Got Money Troubles
☀ Sadie Hartwell - Yarned and Dangerous
☀ Shahzoda Samarqandi: Mothersland
☀ Sherry Thomas: Study in Scarlet Women
☀ S.K. Ali: Once Upon an EID
☀ Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Untamed Shore
☀ Sia Figiel: The Girl in the Moon Circle
☀ Sonia Parin: House Party Murder Rap
☀ Sonia Sotomayor: Just Ask!
☀ Sun-mi Hwang: The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly
☀ Surishtha Sehgal: Festival of Colors
☀ Susan Wittig Albert: The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Trees
☀ Tanya Lee Stone: Girl Rising:
☀ Taylor Jenkins Reid: Evidence of the Affair
☀ Tig Notaro: I'm Just a Person
☀ Willa Cather: My Antonia
☀ Xinran: Sky Burial
☀ Yamile Saied Méndez: Furia
☀ Yáng Shuāng-zǐ: Taiwan Travelogue
☀ Yewande Omotoso - The Woman Next Door
☀ Zeina Abirached - A Game for Swallows
☀ Ziwe - Black Friend, Essays

Men:
✸ Adolfo Bioy Casares: The Invention of Morel
✸ Alan Gratz: Ban This Book
✸ Antoine Laurain: The Red Notebook
✸ Antti Tuomainen: The Man Who Died
✸ Cecil Browne: Cassie P Caribbean PI
✸ Daniel Nayeri: Everything Sad is Untrue
✸ Deon Meyer: Devil's Peak
✸ Derrick Barnes: Crown: an Ode to the Fresh Cut
✸ Epeli Hauʻofa: Tales of the Tikongs
✸ George Selden: The Cricket at Time Square
✸ Ismail Kadare: A Girl in Exile
✸ Jean Bürlesk: The Pleasure of Drowning
✸ John Shen Yen Nee: the Murder of Mr. Ma
✸ Jon Meacham: His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis
✸ José Eduardo Agualusa: A General Theory of Oblivion
✸ Kurban Said: Ali and Nino
✸ Padraig McLoughlin: Only the Stones Never Die
✸ Percival Everett: James
✸ Pope John Paul II: In My Own Words
✸ Rattawut Lapcharoensap: Sightseeing
✸ Richard Ayoade: The Unfinished Harauld Hughes
✸ Ronald Knox: The Three Taps
✸ Shavkat Niyazi: At the Foot of the Blue Mountains
✸ Stephen Spotswood: Fortune Favors the Dead
✸ Zeyn Joukhadar: The Thirty Names of Night

They/Them/Their:
✸ Annalee Newitz: Automatic Noodle

[GailW]

Personal: TRANSLATED
...................... Women: 24
............................. Men: 12
............................. They:
☀ Completed 36

☀ A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return, from the French
☀ Ashes of Izalco, from the Spanish
☀ Aya, from the French
☀ Baba Dunja's Last Love, from the German
☀ The Colony, from the Swedish
☀ Hai kur mamashu chis: I want to tell you a story, from the Spanish
☀ Mothersland, from the Russian
☀ Neighbours: The Story of a Murder, from the French
☀ Not a River, from the Spanish
☀ Our Riches, from the French
☀ Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet, from the Chinese
☀ So Distant From My Life, from the French
☀ So Long a Letter, from the French
☀ Something Evergreen Called Life, from the Sudanese
☀ Stolen, from the Swedish
☀ Taiwan Travelogue, from the Mandarin
☀ The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly, from the Korean
☀ The Little Virtues, from the Italian
☀ The Purple Violet of Oshaantu, from the Namibian
☀ Thirteen Months of Sunrise, from the Sudanese
☀ The Travelling Cat Chronicles, from the Japanese
☀ What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, from the Japanese
☀ When the Cranes Fly South, from the Swedish
☀ Years and Years, from the Korean

Men:
☀ A General Theory of Oblivion, from the Portuguese
☀ A Girl in Exile, from the Albanian
☀ Ali and Nino: A Love Story, from the German
☀ At the Foot of Blue Mountains, from the Russian
☀ Before Your Memory Fades, from the Japanese
☀ Devil's Peak, from the Afrikaans
☀ Hotel Silence, from the Icelandic
☀ The Rabbit Factor, from the Finnish
☀ The Red Notebook, from the French
☀ The Spy, from the Portuguese
☀ The Invention of Morel, from the Spanish
☀ The Man Who Died, from the Finnish

[GailW]

Personal: PAPERBACKS AND FRY BREAD 2023 CHALLENGE
source: Paperbacksandfrybread.com

Duration: Jan 1 2025 - whenever
☀ Progress: 27/28

☀ 1. North American Indigenous author: (Canada): Katherena Vermette: The Break
☀ 2. South American Indigenous author: Cristina Zarraga: Hai kur mamashu chis: I want to tell you a story
☀ 3. South Asian author (Pakistan): Mohsin Hamid: The Last White Man
☀ 4. East Asian author: (Taiwan): Yáng Shuāng-zǐ: Taiwan Travelogue
☀ 5. Middle Eastern author: Daniel Nayeri: Everything Sad Is Untrue
☀ 6. Afro-American author: Danielle Arceneaux: Glory Daze
☀ 7. Māori author: Patricia Grace: Potiki
☀ 8. Latine/Latinx author: Edwidge Danticat: Everything Inside
☀ 9. BIPOC children's author: Derrick Barnes: Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
☀ 10. BIPOC middle grade author: S.K. Ali: Once Upon an Eid
☀ 11. Indie author: Padraig McLoughlin - Only The Stones Never Die
☀ 12. Queer children's author: Jacqueline Woodson: This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
☀ 13. Afrofuturism story: Social and Political Critique: Assembly by Natasha Brown
🔺14. BIPOC adoptee narrative: You Should be Grateful by Angela Tucker OR Invisible Boy by Harrison Mooney
☀ 15. BIPOC poetry: Something Evergreen Called Life
☀ 16. indigenous memoir: My Conversations with Canadians
☀ 17. Mental Health Story: Hotel Silence
☀ 18. Non-Christian mythology: Golems: The World That We Knew
☀ 19. Non-colonial historical story: El Salvador 1923: Ashes of Izalco
☀ 20. Non-fiction narrative about racism: His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham
☀ 21. Non-medieval fantasy: 18th century military battle with time travel: Adventure At Brimstone Hill
☀ 22. Non-US historical fiction: Azerbaijan: Ali and Nino: A Love Story
☀ 23. Queer romance: Shot With Crimson by Nicola Upson
☀ 24. Story from Africa: The Purple Violet of Oshaantu
☀ 25. Disabled Protagonist: Lillian Pentecost: Fortune Favors the Dead
☀ 26. Neurodivergent protagonist: The Wood at Midwinter
☀ 27. Non-binary protagonist: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
☀ 28. Trans protagonist: The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar

[GailW]

PERSONAL: COA: CITY OF ASYLUM 21st ANNIVERSARY CHALLENGE
https://www.cityofasylumbooks.org/sto...
☀ Progress: 25 / 25 .......... completed 12/12/2025

☀ 1. Set in a country I've never visited: Taiwan: Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from the Taiwanese
☀ 2. A challenged or banned book: Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, translated from the Korean
☀ 3. With a cover that's your favorite color: Green: Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat
☀ 4. About an immigrant experience: We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai
☀ 5. Originally published in another language: French: Our Riches by Kaouther Adimi, aka A Bookshop in Algiers
☀ 6. Published in 2025: Glory Daze by Danielle Arceneaux
☀ 7. By a current or former City of Asylum Writer in Residence: Rania Mamoun: Something Evergreen Called Life, translated from the Sudanese
☀ 8. With a mythological creature inside: Golem: The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
☀ 9. About a person with a disability: 6 different children: Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor
☀ 10. Recommended by City of Asylum staff: "So Long a Letter" by Mariama Bâ
☀ 11. An International Booker Prize winner: The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose by Alice Munro
☀ 12. Written by a Pittsburgher: Rita Wilson: When the Only Light Is the Moon
☀ 13. Set during a conflict or war: Ali and Nino by Kurban Said
☀ 14. Written by an Indigenous author: The Break by Katherena Vermette
☀ 15. With a sapphic romance: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
☀ 16. By an author appearing in a 2025 City of Asylum program: The Grand Paloma Resort
☀ 17. With under 200 pages: Years and Years, translated from the Korean
☀ 18. One of the NY Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century: New York Times list of the funniest novels published in the 21st century: I Am Not Sidney Poitier
☀ 19. A famous author's less popular work: Susanna Clarke: The Wood at Midwinter
☀ 20. About music or a musician: The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
☀ 21. Featuring a birthday or anniversary: Emi's birthday: The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft
☀ 22. Involving time travel: Adventure At Brimstone Hill by Carol Ottley-Mitchell
☀ 23. A classic from another country: The Red Notebook, translated from the French
☀ 24. A memoir by someone you know nothing about: Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
☀ 25. With a cat on the cover: What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, translated from the Japanese

[GailW]

PERSONAL: WOMEN AUTHORS TO READ BEFORE YOU GO
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
This is a personal challenge for me, the idea springing from several articles I've recently read with that intriguing thought in the title. I had to see who they were! I can't say I agree with them all and I will add some myself as I go along.
Sources were:
(1) Abebooks: https://www.abebooks.com/books/best-f...
(2) Powell's bookstore: https://www.powells.com/25-women-to-r...
(3) Oxford summer courses: https://oxfordsummercourses.com/artic...

Completed 70 / 120 authors so far
Authors I have not yet read are italicized
☀ Authors Read for 1st Time in 2025: 12
* Books read for all listed authors in 2025: 22
🌹 Another book read for already completed author

☀ Acevedo, Elizabeth: Clap When You Land
* Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi = 3
* Alcott, Louisa May = 3
* Allende, Isabel = 5
Armstrong, Karen: A Short History of Myth
* Atkinson, Kate = 6
🌹 Atwood, Margaret = 3: Cut and Thirst
* Austen, Jane = 3
Bechdel, Allison
Beecher Stowe, Harriet
* Blume, Judy = 4
Bond, Cynthia
☀ Bronsky, Alina: Baba Dunja's Last Love
* Bronte, Charlotte = 1
* Bronte, Emily = 1
* Brooks, Geraldine = 4
☀ Brown, Natasha: Assembly
Bulawayo, NoViolet
* Butler, Octavia = 1
Byatt, A.S.: The Children's Book
Carter, Angela
☀ Cather, Willa: My Ántonia
Catton, Eleanor
🌹Christie, Agatha: (= >10): N or M?; Crooked House; The Love Detectives: A Short Story
☀ Danticat, Edwidge: Everything Inside; Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490
Davis, Lydia
☀ Desai, Anita: Rosarita
Desai, Kiran
Didion, Joan
Donogue, Emma
* du Maurier, Daphne = 1
* Egan, Jennifer = 1
* Eliot, George = 1
* Erdrich, Louise = 3
* Ferrante, Elena = 4
🌹Fitzgerald, Penelope = 1: Offshore
Funder, Anna
Gabaldon, Diana
* Gay, Roxane = 1
Gilbert, Elizabeth
* Glass, Julia = 1
Gordimer, Nadine
☀ Grace, Patricia: Potiki
* Groff, A Lauren = 1
* Gyasi, Yaa = 2
Hempel, Amy
* Heyer, Georgette = 3
* Highsmith, Patricia = 2
Hulme, Keri
* Hurston, Zora Neale = 2
Jacobs, Jane
* James, PD = 14
* Jones, Tayari = 1
July, Miranda
* Kidd, Sue Monk = 3
Kingsolver, Barbara
Kolbert, Elizabeth
Kushner, Rachel
* Lahiri, Jhumpa = 1
☀ Lawhon, Arial (I added): The Frozen River
Le Guin, Ursula K.
* Lee, Harper = 2
* L'Engle, Madeleine = 1
Lessing, Dorris:
Lispector, Clarice
Lively, Penelope: Judgement Day
Luiselli, Valerie: Lost Children Archive
Lurie, Alison
MacDonald, Ann-Marie
Mantel, Hilary
🌹McConaghy, Charlotte (1): [book: Migrations
🌹McConaghy, Charlotte (1): Wild Dark Shore
* McDermott, Alice = 1
McKay, Ami
Messud, Claire
Montgomery, Lucy Maud
* Morrison, Toni = 3
☀ Munro, Alice: The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose
Murdoch, Iris:
* Ng, Celeste = 3
* Oates, Joyce Carol = 2
O'Brien, Edna:
O'Connor, Flannery: A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories
* Oyeyemi, Helen = 1
* Ozeki, Ruth = 1
* Patchett, Ann = 8
Plath, Sylvia: The Bell Jar
☀ Poliner, Elizabeth: As Close to Us as Breathing
* Proulx, Annie = 1
☀ Reid, Taylor Jenkins: Evidence of the Affair
Rich, Adrienne
Robinson, Marilynne
* Rowling, JK = 13
Roy, Arundhati
Russell, Karen
* Semple, Maria = 1
Shelley, Mary
* Shields, Carol = 1
Shriver, Lionel
* Smiley, Jane = 1
Smith, Ali
* Smith, Zadie = 2
* Solnit, Rebecca = 1
Sontag, Susan
* St. John Mandel, Emily = 2
Stein, Gertrude
Straub, Emma
* Strout, Elizabeth = 4
Szymborska, Wistawa:
* Tan, Amy = 5
* Tartt, Donna = 1
Toews, Miriam: All My Puny Sorrows
🌹Tyler, Anne = 8; Three Days in June
* Walker, Alice = 1
* Ward, Jesmyn = 1
Waters, Sarah
🌹Wharton, Edith = 1: The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton
Wilkerson, Isabel:
* Willis, Connie = 1
* Winterson, Jeanette = 1
* Wolitzer, Meg = 2
* Woolf, Virginia = 2
☀ Wyld, Evie: The Echoes
----------------------------------------------------------------
I added:
Alina Bronsky
Anita Desai
Arial Lawhon
Charlotte McConaghy
Elizabeth Acevedo
Natasha Brown
Tyler Jenkins Reid

[Tanu]

Wow, Gail, what an inspiring series of challenges!

[GailW]

52 WEEK BOOK CLUB CHALLENGE ......... completed 5/27
msg #15: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 41 / 41

☀ 1. Has a pun in the title: an angel of death is the main character: Have a Nice Day
☀ 2. A character with red hair: Tracy: The God of the Woods
☀ 3. Title starts with letter "M": Mothersland
☀ 4. Title starts with letter “N”: N or M?
☀ 5. Plot includes a heist: G'Day to Die
☀ 6. Genre One: Set in Spring: Children's fiction: Festival of Colors
☀ 7. Genre Two: Set in Summer: Romance: The Unhoneymooners
☀ 9. Genre Four: Set in Winter: Mystery: The Frozen River
☀ 10. Author’s last name is also a first name: Percival Everett: James
☀ 12. Has a moon on the cover: The Last White Man

☀ 13. Title is ten letters or less: Cry Wolf
☀ 14. Climate fiction: The Bees
☀ 15. Includes Latin American history: Jan 1932 slaughter of farmworkers by the military after a 2-day revolt: Ashes of Izalco
☀ 18. A character who can fly: mc flies airplanes: Murder at an English Séance
☀ 19. Has short chapters: The House On Sun Street
☀ 21. Character’s name in the title: Aya
☀ 22. Found family trope: The Last Devil to Die
☀ 24. Title is a spoiler: [book :Murder at Archly Manor|41832528]
☀ 25. Breaks the fourth wall: Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect: A Novel
☀ 26. More than a million copies sold: author: Arthur Conan Doyle: A Study in Scarlet
☀ 27. Features a magician: what Daphne believes of/calls James: Shot With Crimson
☀ 30. In the public domain: My Ántonia
☀ 31. Audiobook has multiple narrators: No Two Persons
☀ 32. Includes a diary entry: Our Riches
☀ 33. A standalone novel: The Wishing Game
☀ 35. Written in third person: His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope
☀ 36. Final sentence is less than 6 words long: "Keep fighting the good fight!": Ban This Book
☀ 37. Genre chosen for you by someone else: religion: Pope John Paul II: In My Own Words
☀ 38. An adventure story: The Extinction of Irena Rey
☀ 39. Has an epigraph: Clap When You Land
☀ 40. Stream of consciousness narrative: Years and Years
☀ 41. Cover font is in a primary color: Blue: The Only Child by Guojing
☀ 42. Non-human antagonist: Artificial Condition
☀ 43. Explores social class: Taiwan Travelogue
☀ 45. Author releases more than one book a year: Crystal Hubbard: WhoHQ series: Who Was John Lewis?
☀ 47. “I think it was blue”: Ali and Nino: A Love Story

☀48. Related to the word "Puzzle": death of a magician, his mirror room: A Fatal Illusion
☀ 49. Set in a country with an active volcano: Vanuatu: Road No Good
☀ 50. Set in the 1940’s: The World That We Knew
☀ 51. Book is 300-400 pages long: 384: The Wedding People
☀ 52. Published in 2025: Glory Daze: A Glory Broussard Mystery

[GailW]

🪷🪷🪷 START OF ATY 🪷🪷🪷

ATY OFFICIAL CHALLENGE ............... finished Sep 2025
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 43 / 40

☀ 1. A book with a cover that has an image of something that starts with A, T, or Y: television: The Girl in the Moon Circle
☀ 2. A prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list: A book set before 1900: 1894: Only The Stones Never Die
☀ 3. A book connected to something mentioned in the Do Re Mi song: Re, Mi, Fa, So: As Close to Us as Breathing
☀ 5. A book with a weird or intriguing title: Huda F Are You?: A Graphic Novel
☀ 7. A book by an author that uses 3 names: José Eduardo Agualusa: A General Theory of Oblivion
☀ 8. A collection of short stories or novellas, essays, poetry, or a mix of various brief writings: poetry: Something Evergreen Called Life
☀ 9. A book that has been long-listed for the Tournament of Books in any year: The Woman Next Door - Yewande Omotoso
☀ 11. A book set in a fictional location: town in West Africa: So Distant From My Life
☀ 13. A book involving a "group" with at least 4 members that's not a family: The God of the Woods
☀ 14. A science fiction or fantasy novel written by a woman: Martha Wells: Artificial Condition
☀ 15. A book of secrets, lies, or deception: A Fatal Illusion
☀ 16. A book that fits a prompt from the 2016 ATY list: A historical fiction book: Evergreen
☀ 17. A history or historical fiction book set prior to 1925: River Sing Me Home
☀ 18. A book set primarily in nature: Colorado mountains: Stalking Ground
☀ 19. A book with a cover that has a building or cityscape: Once Upon an Eid

☀ 21. A book connected in some way to any collective noun for animals: penguins - colony: The Colony
☀ 22. A translated novel from Asia: Central Asia, Uzbekistan: Mothersland-Shahzoda Samarqandi
☀ 23. A book that involves art: art forgers: A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death
☀ 24. A book with a main character who is a brain, an athlete, a princess, or a criminal: Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History
☀ 25. A book with waves on the cover: Wild Dark Shore
☀ 26. A book by an author with a common noun in their name: prose: Nita Prose - The Maid's Secret
☀ 27. A book set in the winter: The Last Devil to Die
☀ 28. Two books with a pair of opposites in their titles: Book 1: The Unhoneymooners
☀ 29. Two books with a pair of opposites in their titles: Book 2: The Wedding People
☀ 30. A monster book: Golden Child
☀ 31. A book with a coastal setting: The Life Impossible
☀ 32. A mystery or true crime book: Cry Wolf
☀ 33. A book by an author you enjoyed but haven't gotten around to reading again for some time: Mohsin Hamid: The Last White Man
☀ 34. A book title that could be a country song: Famous Last Words
☀ 35. A book from the NPR “Books We Love” lists: A Study in Scarlet Women
☀ 36. A book with a common household object on the cover: bowl: My Ántonia
☀ 37. A book featuring adult friendships: The Purple Violet of Oshaantu
☀ 38. Two books with a connection from different genres: Poetry - The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy
☀ 39. Two books with a connection from different genres: Dystopian Fiction - The Bees by Laline Paull
☀ 40. A book you'd consider a comfort read: Murder at an English Séance
☀ 41. A book that involves digging up the past: Years and Years
☀ 42. A book set in a big manor, mansion or estate: Murder at Archly Manor
☀ 43. A book whose title has ten or fewer letters: The Echoes
☀ 44. A haunting book: I Cheerfully Refuse
☀ 45. A book by an author whose publishing career spans at least ten years: Agatha Christie: N or M?
☀ 47. A book relating to fire: The Thirty Names of Night
☀ 48. A book with a character dealing with death: doctor in a leper colony: A Burnt-Out Case
☀ 51. A book published in 2025: Glory Daze: A Glory Broussard Mystery

Summary-Completion:
5 Star books that I read for the official ATY Challenge
As Close to Us as Breathing
Famous Last Words
God of the Woods
Golden Child
Huda F are you?
I Cheerfully Refuse
Last White Man
Life Impossible
My Antonia
N or M?
Once Upon an Eid
Purple Violet of Oshaantu 
River Sing Me Home
So Distant from my Life
Something Evergreen Called Life
Thirty Names of Night
Wild Dark Shore
Woman Next Door

Any twists on the challenge?
I was feeling quite rebellious this year and really twisted up my challenge. Instead of reading all 52 of the "official" challenge and then whatever I could fit in for the "rejects" challenge, I set myself up to read as many as I could (or rather, wanted to) in each one. Add on top of that the anniversary challenge and I gave myself 90+ prompts to complete, with the rule that a single book could not cover more than one prompt in these three challenges or any of the seasonal challenges. I call it my own personal "happy me" rules. I finished at a total of 92 prompts between these three: official=43, rejects=39, anniversary=10.

My favorite prompt
#38 and 39: Two books with a connection from different genres. I groaned when I first saw these but it was so much fun researching what I could fit in. I read two books entitled "The Bees", one a science/science fiction, the other poetry.


My least favorite prompt
#4. A book set underground, under sea or in an underworld. True to my new "happy me" rules, I skipped it.

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
Two here - for prompts 28 and 29. Thoroughly enjoyed both of them! The Wedding People and The Unhoneymooners

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (and I wish I hadn’t!)
None! I have no books rated for this challenge below a 3.

[GailW]

ATY "REJECTS" CHALLENGE ............... finished Sep 2025
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 39 / 39

Three books by authors from 3 different European countries:
☀ 1. Country 1: Poland and Vatican City: Pope John Paul II: In My Own Words
☀ 2. Country 2: Ukraine: Ali and Nino: A Love Story
☀ 3. Country 3: Italy: The Little Virtues

Three books by authors from three different continents:
☀ 4. Continent 1: Oceania, New Zealand: Road No Good
☀ 5. Continent 2: North America, Haiti: Everything Inside
☀ 6. Continent 3: Asia, Iran: Everything Sad Is Untrue

4 Weeks:
☀ 7. A book connected to Northeast: NE US, Maine: The Frozen River
☀ 8. A book connected to Northwest: Pacific Northwest: My Conversations with Canadians
9. A book connected to Southeast:
☀ 10. A book connected to Southwest (of India): Andaman Islands: Glorious Boy
☀ 13. A book about books: The Wishing Game-Meg Shaffer
☀ 15. A book about someone fighting for their rights: Banned Book Club-Kim Hyun Sook, a memoir in graphic novel form, set in 1980's South Korea
☀ 18. A book by a Nobel Prize winner: Malala Yousafzai: We Are Displaced
☀ 19. A book by an author from a predominantly Spanish-speaking nation, territory, or commonwealth: Silvia Moreno-Garcia born in Mexico: Untamed Shore
☀ 20. A book club recommendation: Margo's Got Money Troubles
☀ 21. A book connected to a place you’ve lived in: SW PA: When the Only Light Is the Moon
☀ 22. A book connected to mushrooms: The Man Who Died-Antti Tuomainen
☀ 23. A book considered children's literature: The Only Child by Guojing
☀ 24. A book involving a politician: April Fools
☀ 25. A book involving an island: Dominican Republic: Clap When You Land
☀ 27. A book published by an independent publisher: Greywolf Press: Taiwan Travelogue
☀ 28. A book published in a quarter-century year (e.g. 2025): The Summer Guests
☀ 30. A book related to "civil rights" or human rights: His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope- Jon Meacham
☀ 31. A book set before 1900: 1847-1881: A Study in Scarlet
☀ 32. A book set during a revolution, revolt, or rebellion: Iranian Revolution: The House On Sun Street
☀ 33. A book set in a country bordering the Caribbean Sea: Yucatan, Mexico: The Falling Woman
☀ 34. A book set in a country without a monarch: Ivory Coast (Africa): Aya
☀ 35. A book set in a different hemisphere than where you live: Australia-Southern: G'Day to Die
☀ 36. A book set in a nation, territory, or commonwealth whose predominant language is Spanish: Nicaragua: Ashes of Izalco
☀ 37. A book shelved as literary fiction: The Ones We Choose
☀ 38. A book that breaks the fourth wall: Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect: A Novel-Benjamin Stevenson
☀ 42. A book that is an Audie award winner or nominee (read in any format): No Two Persons
☀ 43. A book that is the last in its series: Maisie Dobbs: The Comfort of Ghosts
☀ 44. A book that was part of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize: The World That We Knew
☀ 46. A book with a curmudgeon or grumpy character: The Three Taps
☀ 47. A book with a friend or loved one's name on the cover: James and Everett: James-Percival Everett
☀ 49. A book written by an author who is at least 65 years old at time of publication: Agatha Christie: Crooked House
☀ 50. A children's book that is somehow related to a book you are reading this year: same historical character: Who Was John Lewis? (see prompt 30)
☀ 53. A book recommended by an Independent Bookseller, MLB: First Lie Wins
☀ 54. A book involving science: forensic science and chemistry: Death at the Bar

Summary-Completion:
5 Star books that I read for the unofficial ATY Reject Challenge
Clap When You Land
Everything Inside
Everything Sad is Untrue
Frozen River
Glorious Boy
His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis
House on Sun Street
James
My Conversation with Canadians
No Two Persons
Only Child
Summer Guests
We Are Displaced
Who was John Lewis
World That We Knew

Any twists on the challenge?
I was feeling quite rebellious this year and really twisted up my challenge. Instead of reading all 52 of the "official" challenge and then whatever I could fit in for the "rejects" challenge, I set myself up to read as many as I could (or rather, wanted to) in each one. Add on top of that the anniversary challenge and I gave myself 90+ prompts to complete, with the rule that a single book could not cover more than one prompt in these three challenges or any of the seasonal challenges. I call it my own personal "happy me" rules. I finished at a total of 92 prompts between these three: official=43, rejects=39, anniversary=10.

My favorite prompt
#4-6: Three books by authors from three different continents:

My least favorite prompt
None - if I didn't like it, I didn't do it.

A book I might not have read if not for the ATY Challenge (but I’m so glad I did!)
The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen for #22. A book connected to mushrooms

[GailW]

ATY ANNIVERSARY CHALLENGE .......... completed Jun 8
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 10 / 10

☀ 2016. A book originally written in a language other than English: Japanese: What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
☀ 2017. A book whose title doesn't contain the letter "E": Ban This Book-Alan Gratz
☀ 2018. An author's debut book: Natasha Brown: Assembly
☀ 2019. A book related to one of the elements on the periodic table of elements: Gold: Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490
☀ 2020. A book with an emotion in the title: Baba Dunja's Last Love
☀ 2021. A book related to a codeword from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet: Hotel: Hotel Silence
☀ 2022. A book that uses all five vowels in the title and/or author's name: all in the name: KAOUTHER ADIMI: Our Riches
2023. A book whose author has published more than 7 books: Katherena Vermette - The Break
☀ 2024. A book that has been on your TBR for over a year: Have a Nice Day
☀ 2025. A book involving a "group" with at least 4 members that's not a family: The Extinction of Irena Rey

[GailW]

ATY: WINTER CHALLENGE .......... completed 1/17/2025
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ 15/ 15

Find a book that...
☀ 1. Fits one of the last 4 prompts on the 2024 list: A book with a senior citizen character: The Vanishing of Margaret Small -read in Dec
☀ 2. Fits one of the first 4 prompts on the 2025 list: A prompt suggestion for this year that did not make the list: A Book by a "Local" Author, librarian in local town: Jill Cullen: Flirting with a New Life: a novel -read in Dec
☀ 3. Has a mostly white cover: First Comes Love -read in Dec

☀ 4. Is on a Best of 2024 list: The Lost Bookshop -read in Dec
☀ 5. Is set in the snow: The Honjin Murders -read in Dec
☀ 6. Is by an author you've read before: Elizabeth Strout: My Name Is Lucy Barton -read in Dec
☀ 7. Features a winter holiday: Small Things Like These -read in Dec
☀ 8. Is nonfiction: Pope John Paul II: In My Own Words
☀ 9. Is written by an author whose first or last initial can be found in the word WINTER: Pip Williams: The Dictionary of Lost Words -read in Dec
☀ 10. Has a mostly blue cover: Brightly Shining -read in Dec

☀ 11. Is a speculative fiction novel: The Last White Man
☀ 12. Features family drama: The Guncle -read in Dec
☀ 13. Has fire on the cover: Shot With Crimson

☀ 14. Is written by a BIPOC author: Jacqueline Woodson: This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
☀ 15. Is a love story: Agnes -read in Dec

[GailW]

ATY 2025 SUMMER READING CHALLENGE
June 1 - August 31 2025 .......... completed 8/1/2025
☀ Completed 17 / 18 .......... Points Earned = 5,100

Chips and Dip - 100 points
1a. A book in a series
1b. A book with water on the cover
☀ 1c. A book released in 2024 or 2025: The Dream Hotel
☀ 1d. A book by a new to you author: Evie Wyld - The Echoes
☀ 1e. A humorous book: Black Friend: Essays

Drinks Station - 200 points
Author's initials are in:
☀ 2a. FRESH-SQUEEZED LEMONADE: Zeina Abirached - A Game for Swallows
☀ 2b. UNSWEETENED ICED TEA: Antti Tuomainen - The Man Who Died
2c. ROOT BEER SODA
☀ 2d. FRUIT PUNCH: Tig Notaro - I'm Just a Person
☀ 2e. SPARKLING WATER: Leif Enger - I Cheerfully Refuse

Burger and Hotdog Toppings - 300 points
☀ 3a. Ketchup: A book with red on the cover: The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

☀ 3b. Relish: A book by a favorite author: Jacqueline Winspear - The Comfort of Ghosts
3c. Mustard: A book with a military character (serving, retired, or adjacent)
☀ 3d. Pickles: A book title that includes a word starting with the letter P: Potiki
3e. Cheese: A sentimental book

Desserts - 400 points
4a. A book with a child main character
☀ 4b. A book with a wedding: Golden Child
☀ 4c. A book that has been nominated for an award: Nebula Award for Best Novel (1987), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee (1988): The Falling Woman
☀ 4d. A book with a cafe, bakery, or restaurant as an important setting: How to Seal Your Own Fate. There are two major characters in the book, from two different time periods. Francis is the older period character who works in her parent's bakery. She doesn't want to continue to do that, she wants to go to college, and it splits up her first, very short, marriage.
☀ 4e. A book originally written in a language other than English: Portuguese: A General Theory of Oblivion

The Sides - 500 points
☀ 5a. Potato salad - A book with more than one point of view: Wild Dark Shore
☀ 5b. Mac n' cheese - A book by an author with 10 or more books: Sherry Thomas - A Study in Scarlet Women
5c. Corn bread - A book originally published before 1900
☀ 5d. Deviled eggs - A book with challenging subject matter: The Break
5e. Watermelon - A book over 500 pages

[GailW]

ATY 2025 FALL CHALLENGE .......... completed 9/27/2025
Message 23: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Progress: 18 / 18

1. Phrase contains BOTH letters of the author's name (ignore middle initial)
2. Phrase contains the first letter of the title (ignore or include A, An, and The)
3. Phrase is exemplified on the cover (your interpretation)

The Phrases
☀ 1. Autumn or Fall: 1: Alice Munro: The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose
☀ 2. Corn Maze: 1: Ngaio Marsh: A Man Lay Dead
☀ 3. Harvest: 1: Selva Almada: Not a River
☀ 4. Red and Orange: 2: Devil's Peak
☀ 5. Foliage: 1: Andrea Frazer: Death of an Old Git
☀ 6. Cooler Weather: 1: Olga Berrocal Essex: Delia's Way
☀ 7. Pumpkin Spice: 1: Natasha Preston: The Lake
☀ 8. Sweater: 2: Woof
☀ 9. Hot Chocolate: 1: Anne Tyler: Three Days in June
☀ 10. Oktoberfest: 2: Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet
☀ 11. Spooky Season: 1: Stephen Spotswood: Fortune Favors the Dead
☀ 12. Halloween: 2: Literacy Is Liberation: Working Toward Justice Through Culturally Relevant Teaching
☀ 13. Jack-o-Lantern: 2: Killer Pitch
☀ 14. Trick or Treat: 1: Claire Kells: Vanishing Edge
☀ 15. Ghost Stories: 1: Sadie Hartwell: Yarned and Dangerous
☀ 16. Bonfire Night: 1: Epeli Hauʻofa: Tales of the Tikongs
☀ 17. Thanksgiving: 1: George Selden: The Cricket in Times Square
☀ 18. Fireworks: 2: Furia

🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷 END ATY 🪷🪷🪷🪷🪷

[GailW]

BOOK RIOT - READ HARDER
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 20 / 20 ........................... completed 9/4

(view spoiler)[
☀ 1. Read a 2025 release by a BIPOC author: Danielle Arceneaux - Glory Daze: A Glory Broussard Mystery
☀ 3. Read a queer mystery: Fortune Favors the Dead
☀ 4. Read a book about obsession: the father in "cockfight": Sightseeing
☀ 5. Read a book about immigration or refugees: Everything Sad Is Untrue
☀ 6. Read a standalone fantasy book: The Pleasure of Drowning
☀ 7. Read a book about a piece of media you love (movie Rebecca): Shot With Crimson
☀ 8. Read literary fiction by a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or disabled author: Zeyn Joukhadar: The Thirty Names of Night
☀ 9. Read a book based solely on its setting: Vanuatu: Road No Good
☀ 10. Read a romance book that doesn’t have an illustrated cover: The Invention of Morel
☀ 12. Read a staff pick from an indie bookstore: MLB: Cry Wolf
🔺13. Read a nonfiction book about nature or the environment: The World We Once Lived In
☀ 14. Read a comic in translation: A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return
☀ 15a. Read a banned book: Ban This Book
☀ 15b. Complete a task on Book Riot’s How to Fight Book Bans guides: wrote letters to both Senators and House Rep
☀ 16. Read a genre-blending book: travel, food, romance: When the Only Light Is the Moon
☀ 17. Read a book about little-known history: South Korea's Fifth Republic, a military regime that entrenched its power through censorship, torture, and the murder of protesters: Banned Book Club
☀ 18. Read a “cozy” book by a BIPOC author: A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns
☀ 19. Read a queernorm book: Clap When You Land
☀ 21. Read a book about a moral panic: The Last White Man
☀ 23. Read a wordless comic: The Only Child
☀ 24. Pick a 2015 Read Harder Challenge task to complete: A book by an author from Africa: Sudan: Rania Mamoun: Something Evergreen Called Life
(hide spoiler)]

[GailW]

📚📚📚 START CCC 📚📚📚

CCC: NEW TO YOU
Duration: 3/1/2025 - 2/6/2026
message 107: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 10 / 12 ..... TO BE COMPLETED IN 2026

☀ In March, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first OR last initial can be found in CRAFT:
Sia Figiel - The Girl in the Moon Circle - Letter(s) F - 3/23/2025

☀ In April, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first OR last initial can be found in HUMOR:
Michiko Aoyama - What You Are Looking For Is in the Library - Letter(s) M - 4/23/2025

☀ In May, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first AND last initials can be found in DATE YOUR MATE:
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir - Hotel Silence - Letter(s) A and O - 5/25/2025

☀ In June, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first OR last initial can be found in ROSE:
Evie Wyld - The Echoes- Letter(s) E - 6/30/2025

☀ In July, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first AND last initials can be found in ICE CREAM:
Alice Munro - The Beggar Maid - Letter(s) A and M - 9/11/2025

☀ In August, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first AND last initials can be found in ADMIT YOU'RE HAPPY:
Olga Berrocal Essex - Delia's Way- Letter(s) O and E - 9/11/2025

☀ In September, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first AND last initials can be found in FALL HAT:
Antoine Laurain - The Red Notebook - Letters A and L - 11/25/2025

☀ In October, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first AND last initials can be found in ADOPT A SHELTER DOG:
Ann-Helén Laestadius - Stolen - Letter(s) A and L - 10/28/2025

☀ In November, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first AND last initials can be found in AVIATION
Nafissa Thompson-Spires - Heads of the Colored People: Stories - Letters N and T -

☀ In December, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first OR last initial can be found in BINGO
Cleyvis Natera - The Grand Paloma Resort - Letter N - 12/12/2025

(view spoiler)[
In January, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first AND last initials can be found in BLOOD DONOR
Dusti Bowling - Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus - Letters D and B -

In February, read a book by a new-to-you author whose first AND last initials can be found in CHERRY
Elle Cosimano - Finlay Donovan Is Killing It - Letters E and C -
(hide spoiler)]

[GailW]

CCC: FALL SPELL .......... completed 11/30/2025
Duration: September 21 - December 20, 2025
message 27: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ 16 /16
(view spoiler)[
☀ S: Sky Burial by Xinran, 9/27/2025
☀ E: Ghosts of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton, 9/28/2025
☀ A: At the Foot of Blue Mountains edited by Shavkat Niyazi, 10/19/2025
☀ S: Sinister Graves by Marcie Rendon, 10/20/2025
☀ O: Osman, Richard - The Impossible Fortune, 10/4/2025
☀ N: Nee, John Shen Yen - The Murder of Mr. Ma, 9/26/2025

☀ F: Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls by Kai Cheng Thom, 10/18/2025
☀ O: Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald, 11/30/2025
☀ R: Lisa Ridzén - When the Cranes Fly South

☀ R: The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen, 11/01/2025
☀ E: Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson, 11/11/2025
☀ A: Hiro Arikawa - The Travelling Cat Chronicles, 11/03/2025
☀ D: The Devil Comes Calling - Annette Dashofy, 11/23/2025
☀ I: I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett, 11/22/2025
☀ N: Nafissa Thompson-Spires - Heads of the Colored People, 11/29/2025
☀ G: A Girl in Exile by Ismail Kadare, 11/12/2025
(hide spoiler)]

[GailW]

CCC: SCRABBLE
Duration: 10/18/2025 - ????
message 488: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

🔸Round 1🔸
🔸J. Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister, 12/18/2025
🔸G. A Girl in Exile by Ismail Kadare, 11/12/2025
🔸A. At the Foot of Blue Mountains: Stories by Tajik Authors, Shavkat Niyazi, 10/19/2025
🔸N. Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires, 11/29/2025
🔸R. Sinister Graves, Marcie Rendon, 10/20/2025
🔸O. Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald, 11/30/2025
🔸V. Vida by Patricia Engel, 12/19/2025
--------------------------------------------------------------------

🔹Round 2🔹
Letters = T, F, R, S, D, U, I

🔹T. Toshikazu Kawaguchi - Before Your Memory Fades - finished 12/30/2025
F.
🔹R, Rosa Temple - Playing by the Rules, finished 12/28/2025
S.
🔹D. The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Susan Wittig Albert, finished 12/25/2025
U.
I.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

[GailW]

CCC: SHRINK THAT TBR
CAN ONLY USE ONE TBR SHELF - CHOSE "POSSESS"
June 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026 ..... started with books read beginning in December
message 73: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
✸ Progress: 4 / 40

THE TASKS:
1. Read three books from series on your Goodreads TBR list that you have started and not finished. Books can be from the same series or from different series. Tell us the series.
1️⃣ Before Your Memory Fades - Toshikazu Kawaguchi - finished 12/30/2025
2️⃣
3️⃣

✸ 2. Read two books from your TBR list that you own – print books only please!
1️⃣ The Spy - Paulo Coelho, signed hardcover, finished 12/13/2025
2️⃣ Night of Miracles - Elizabeth Berg, hardcover, finished 12/14/2025

✸ 4. Read three books from your TBR list that are by new-to-you authors. Be sure to post links to the author names.
1️⃣ Cleyvis Natera: The Grand Paloma Resort, finished 12/12/2025
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
2️⃣
3️⃣


📚📚 CCC Continued message 69 📚📚
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The Challenges "Did You Know", "Mine Your TBR", "Series", "6 Author", and "Astrology" were not maintained here for 2025 as they each only represented one month. 2026 will include the December 2025 period.

[GailW]

MYSTERY/THRILLER FRIENDS GROUP CHALLENGE - Rd1 .......... completed 5/14/2025
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 25 / 25

Determination List
initially planning to catch up on the series of which I am behind!
☀ 1. Cry Wolf by Annette Dashofy
☀ 2. The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft
☀ 3. A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns
☀ 4. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
☀ 5. Death at the Bar by Ngaio Marsh
☀ 6. A Fatal Illusion by Matthew Costello
☀ 7. Stalking Ground by Margaret Mizushima
☀ 8. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
☀ 9. April Fools by Jess Lourey
☀ 10. Long Bright River by Liz Moore

Plus List
☀ 11. A book set in a different country than you live in: Australia: G'Day to Die
☀ 12. Read a book by an Author that you never read before or one by a new debut author: Sonia Parin: House Party Murder Rap
☀ 13. A book that someone recommended to you: Cindy: The God of the Woods
☀ 14. A book that is a different genre than your normal type of reading: Religious:
Pope John Paul II: In My Own Words

Two books from a series you haven't completed yet:
☀ 15. Murder at an English Séance, Beryl and Edwina series by Jessica Ellicott
☀ 16. Shot With Crimson - Josephine Tey Mystery series by Nicola Upson

☀ 17. A book that comes out in 2025: Glory Daze: A Glory Broussard Mystery
☀ 18. A book that you meant to read in 2024: The Last Devil to Die
☀ 19. A book that came out before you were born: 1941: N or M?
☀ 20. A book that more than one author does:
Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings writing as Christina Lauren: The Unhoneymooners
☀ 21. A book that won an award: 2024 Edgard Award, Best Paperback Original: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
☀ 22. One of the oldest to-be-read books on your unread mountain: 1887: A Study in Scarlet
☀ 23. A book set in multiple countries: Barbados/British Guiana/Trinidad: River Sing Me Home
☀ 24. Book you started in the past but put aside and never finished for some reason: started in audio, disliked the narrator: Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect
☀ 25. A book that is 500+ pages OR longer than your usual average page count or audio length (290 pages): 432 pages: The Frozen River

[GailW]

MYSTERY/THRILLER FRIENDS GROUP CHALLENGE - Round 2
completed 9/16/2025
☀ Progress: 25 / 25

Determination List
☀ 1. Evergreen, Japantown Mystery #2
☀ 2. Cut and Thirst, short story by Margaret Atwood
☀ 3. Crooked House
☀ 4. Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
☀ 5. The Lake by Natasha Preston
☀ 6. Vanishing Edge
☀ 7. A Man Lay Dead
☀ 8. Woof
☀ 9. Death of an Old Git
☀ 10. Yarned and Dangerous

Plus List
☀ 11. A book set in a different country than you live in: Australia: Wild Dark Shore
☀ 12. Read a book by an Author that you never read before: The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen
☀ 13. A book that someone recommended to you: Tara at Mystery Lovers Book Shoppe: Fortune Favors the Dead
☀ 14. A book that is a different genre than your normal type of reading: Romance: Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Two books from a series you haven't completed yet:
☀ 15. How to Seal Your Own Fate - Castle Knoll Files
☀ 16. The Love Detectives: A Short Story - Harley Quin #13

☀ 17. A book that comes out in 2025: The Maid's Secret
☀ 18. A book that you meant to read in 2024: A Study in Scarlet Women
☀ 19. A book that came out before you were born: 1927: The Three Taps
☀ 20. A book that more than one author does: Michael Costello and Neil Richards: Killer Pitch
☀ 21. A book that won an award: Edgar Award for Sue Grafton Memorial Award (2025): The Comfort of Ghosts
☀ 22. One of the oldest to-be-read books on your unread mountain: added May 2019: Murder at Archly Manor
☀ 23. A book set in multiple countries: England and Columbia: Famous Last Words
☀ 24. Book you started in the past but put aside and never finished for some reason: The Invention of Morel
☀ 25. A book that is 500+ pages OR longer than your usual average page count or audio length (>290 pages): 420: Devil's Peak by Deon Meyer

[GailW]

MYSTERY/THRILLER FRIENDS GROUP CHALLENGE - Round 3 .......... stopped 12/18/2025
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Progress: 19

Determination List
☀ 1. Sinister Graves
☀ 2. The Christmas Clue
☀ 3. The Rabbit Factor
☀ 4. Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret
☀ 5. The Devil Comes Calling
☀ 6. The Betel Nut Tree Mystery
☀ 7. The Unfinished Harauld Hughes
8.
9.
10.

CHALLENGE PROMPTS
☀ 11. A book set in a different country than you live in: Wales: Murder in the Valleys
☀ 12. Read a book by an Author that you never read before: Cecil Browne: Cassie P Caribbean PI
☀ 13. A book that someone recommended to you: bookseller at City of Asylum: The Grand Paloma Resort (author reading performed there)
☀ 14. A book that is a different genre than your normal type of reading: Falling Back in Love with Being Human

Two books from a series you haven't completed yet:
☀ 15. first option - Cloudy With a Chance of Murder - Daniel Jacobus #7
☀ 16. second option- The Impossible Fortune - Thursday Murder Club #5

☀ 17. A book that comes out in 2025: A Murder for Miss Hortense
18. A book that you meant to read in 2024:
☀ 19. A book that came out before you were born: 1934: The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton
☀ 20. A book that more than one author does: S.J. Rozan and John Shen Yen Nee: The Murder of Mr. Ma
☀ 21. A book that won an award: first winner of the Noma Award: So Long a Letter
22. One of the oldest to-be-read books on your unread mountain:
☀ 23. A book set in multiple countries: US and Mexico: Dizzy in Durango
24. Book you started in the past but put aside and never finished for some reason.
☀ 25. A book that is longer than your usual average page count: avg book length for last 9 yrs is 290: 400 pages: Stolen

[GailW]

MYSTERY/THRILLER FRIENDS GROUP CHALLENGE
YEAR END SUMMARY
------------------------------------------------------------------

Top Mystery/Thriller Books (1-10) of 58 read:
The Christmas Clue
Crooked House
Famous Last WordsFamous Last Words
Fortune Favors the Dead
The Frozen River
The God of the Woods
The Impossible Fortune
N or M?
Sinister Graves
The Summer Guests

Top Author (1-5):
Liz Moore
Marcie R. Rendon
Richard Osman
Tess Gerittsen
Nicola Upson

Top Books (1-5) any genre:
The God of the Woods
James
The Last White Man
Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet
Wild Dark Shore

Top Series (1-5):
* Cash Blackbear by Marcie R. Rendon
* The Martini Club by Tess Gerritsen
* Pentecost & Parker by Stephen Spotswood
* Thursday Night Murder Club by Richard Osman
* "Who Is / Who Was" by Who H.Q.

Best "New to Me" Author (1):
I read 120 new-to-me authors this year and narrowed it down to 10, based on my book rating of greater than 5. Picking one is painful, but if I absolutely must it would have to be Percival Everett for James.

Bottom of the Barrel Books (up to 5):
I only have one because I established new "happy me" rules this year. Life is getting too short. If I don't like it after 100 pages, I don't finish it (usually), even if it's a group read, even if I recommended it (think Butter). And if I don't finish it I don't rate it. Had one book that garnered a 2.5 - The Choice and other Tales by Amyna. I only finished it because it was for a discussion I was leading.

[GailW]

RC: A to Z WOMEN AUTHORS .......... completed 10/22/2025
message 7 .......https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

☀ Completed 26 / 26

☀ A. Kaouther Adimi - Our Riches, Algeria
☀ B. Natasha Brown - Assembly, England
☀ C. Claribel Alegria - Ashes of Izalco, El Salvador
☀ D. Edwidge Danticat - Everything Inside, Haiti
☀ E. Erica Bauermeister - No Two Persons
☀ F. Huda Fahmy - Huda F Are You?: A Graphic Novel
☀ G. Mojgan Ghazirad - The House On Sun Street, Iran
☀ H. Hwang Jungeun - Years and Years, S Korea
☀ I. Monique Ilboudo - So Distant From My Life, Burkina Faso
☀ J. Jessica Ellicott - Murder at an English Séance
☀ K. Kim Hyun Sook, Banned Book Club, S Korea
☀ L. Ariel Lawhon - The Frozen River
☀ M. Rania Mamoun - Something Evergreen Called Life, Sudan
☀ N. Natalia Ginzburg|- The Little Virtues, Italy
☀ O. Yawenda Omotoso - The Woman Next Door, Barbados
☀ P. Laline Paull - The Bees
☀ Q. Jesse Q Sutanto - Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, Indonesia
☀ R. Rufi Thorpe - Margo's Got Money Troubles
☀ S. Yang Shuang-zi - Taiwan Travelogue, Taiwan
☀ T. Tess Gerritsen - The Summer Guests
☀ U. Nicola Upson - The Christmas Clue
☀ V. Valerie Burns - A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death
☀ W. Martha Wells - Artificial Condition
☀ X. Xinran - Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet, China
☀ Y. Malala Yousafzai - We Are Displaced, Pakistan
☀ Z. Zeina Abirached - A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return, Lebanon

[GailW]

RC: BIBLIOPOLY - message 1 of 2
message 333: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed see message 38

(view spoiler)[
READ A BOOK...
CORNERS
☀ 1. Go: set on two or more continents: Europe (England) and Oceania (Australia): The Echoes
☀ 11. In Jail: Read a banned or challenged book: Clap When You Land
☀ 21. Free Parking: of your choice. Anything goes!: A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return (nonfiction, memoir, graphic novel, set in Lebanon)
☀ 31. Go to Jail: Read a crime fiction or true crime book: Fortune Favors the Dead

UTILITIES
☀ 13. Electric Company: with a light source on the cover: First Lie Wins

☀ 29. Water Works: with any form of water on the cover: Wild Dark Shore


TAXES
☀ 5. Tax: with money on the cover or in the title: Margo's Got Money Troubles
☀ 39. Luxury Tax: with a gemstone or precious metal on the cover or in the title: Golden Child

COMMUNITY CHEST
☀ 3. Community Chest: Participate in one of our Group Reads - November: The Travelling Cat
Chronicles
☀ 18. Community Chest: Participate in one of our Readathons. Individual Sep: The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton
☀ 34. Community Chest: Participate in one of our Buddy Reads: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

CHANCE
☀ 8. Chance: from your TBR shelf within the ten lowest number of ratings: 5 ratings: Only The Stones Never Die
☀ 23. Chance: from your TBR shelf among the ten oldest or newest additions: newest: The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
☀ 37. Chance: from your TBR shelf within the ten lowest average star rating: 2.75: The Choice and other Tales

RAILROADS
☀ 6. Reading Railroad: from a celebrity book club list: Jenna Bush: The Dream Hotel
☀ 16. Pennsylvania Railroad: published under an author’s pen name: Gloria Jean Watkins writing as bell hooks: bell hooks: The Last Interview: and Other Conversations
☀ 26. B&O Railroad: with an author or title beginning with B or O: Baba Dunja's Last Love
☀ 36. Shortline Railroad: under 200 pages long: The Wood at Midwinter
------------------------------------------------------------------
PURPLE PROPERTIES
☀ 2. Purple: with a wheelbarrow, garden tool or plant on the cover or in the title: plants: Three Days in June
☀ 4. Purple: originally written in a language other than your native tongue: Portuguese: A General Theory of Oblivion
☀ 🏠 1st Purple House: with a wheelbarrow, garden tool or plant on the cover or in the title: plants: The Christmas Clue

☀ 🏠 2nd Purple House: Read a translated book originally written in a language other than your native tongue: Sudanese: Thirteen Months of Sunrise
☀ 🏠 3rd Purple House: Read a translated book originally written in a language other than your native tongue: Swedish: Stolen
☀ 🏠 4th Purple House: Read a translated book originally written in a language other than your native tongue: Finnish: The Rabbit Factor
☀ 🏨 HOTEL: Read a book with a plant on the cover: Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret



------------------------------------------------------------------
BLUE PROPERTIES
☀ 7. Blue: with any type of hat or head wear on the cover: Huda F Are You?

☀ 9. Blue: Author or character whose sexual orientation is different from your own: Trans author and character: Zeyn Joukhadar- The Thirty Names of Night
☀ 10. Blue: Any shade of blue on the cover: The Break

☀ 1st Blue House: with any type of hat or head wear on the cover or in the title: The Comfort of Ghosts

☀ 2nd Blue House: Any shade of blue on the cover: Glorious Boy

☀ 3rd Blue House: Any shade of blue on the cover: Vanishing Edge

☀ 4th Blue House: Any shade of blue on the cover or in the title: Delia's Way

☀ HOTEL: with any type of hat or head wear on the cover or in the title: The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose

-----------------------------------------------------------------
(hide spoiler)]
continued in next message ~

[GailW]

RC: BIBLIOPOLY - message 2 of 2 ... complete 11/25/2025
message 333: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 80 / 70

(view spoiler)[
READ A BOOK...
PINK PROPERTIES
☀ 12. Pink: Any type of dog on the cover or in the title: Woof

☀ 14. Pink: author or character whose nationality or birth country is different from your own: China: A Study in Scarlet Women
☀ 15. Pink: Any shade of pink on the cover: Black Friend: Essays

☀ 1st Pink House: Author or character whose nationality or birth country is different from your own: England: Killer Pitch
☀ 2nd Pink House: Author or character whose nationality or birth country is different from your own: St. Vincent/Grenadines: Cassie P Caribbean PI
☀ 3rd Pink House: Read a book with an author or character whose nationality or birth country is different from your own: author of Jamaican descent, characters born in Jamaica: A Murder for Miss Hortense
☀ 4th Pink House: Read a book with an author or character whose nationality or birth country is different from your own: author born in Canada: Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls
☀ HOTEL: Read a book with an author or character whose nationality or birth country is different from your own: contributors born in Tajikstan: At the Foot of Blue Mountains
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ORANGE PROPERTIES
☀ 17. Orange: with a ship or boat on the cover, or involving water travel: The Life Impossible

☀ 19. Orange: Author or character whose religious or spiritual beliefs are different from your own.: As Close to Us as Breathing
☀ 20. Orange: Any shade of orange on the cover: Cut and Thirst

☀ 1st Orange House: Any shade of orange on the cover: Binti

☀ 2nd Orange House: Any shade of orange on the cover or in the title: Not a River

☀ 3rd Orange House: with a ship or boat on the cover, or involving water travel: Adventure At Brimstone Hill

☀ 4th Orange House: Any shade of orange on the cover or in the title: Tales of the Tikongs

☀ HOTEL: Any shade of orange on the cover or in the title: The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly

-----------------------------------------------------------------
RED PROPERTIES
☀ 22. Red: with a car, truck or bus on the cover: Devil's Peak

☀ 24. Red: Author or character whose race or ethnicity is different from your own: black author from Barbados: Yewande Omotoso - The Woman Next Door
☀ 25. Red: Any shade of red on the cover: The Invention of Morel

☀ 1st Red House: Any shade of red on the cover or in the title: The Colony

☀ 2nd Red House: Any shade of red on the cover or in the title: A Man Lay Dead

☀ 3rd Red House: Author or character whose race or ethnicity is different from your own: Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez
☀ 4th Red House: Any shade of red on the cover or in the title: Death of an Old Git

☀ HOTEL: Any shade of red on the cover or in the title: The Love Detectives: A Short Story

-----------------------------------------------------------------
YELLOW PROPERTIES
☀ 27. Yellow: involving foot travel: River Sing Me Home
☀ 28. Yellow: Character who has a neurodivergent condition: The Maid's Secret
☀ 30. Yellow: Any shade of yellow on the cover or in the title: How to Seal Your Own Fate

☀ 1st Yellow House: Any shade of yellow on the cover or in the title: The Ones We Choose

☀ 2nd Yellow House: Any shade of yellow on the cover or in the title: Neighbours: The Story of a Murder

☀ 3rd Yellow House: Any shade of yellow on the cover or in the title: Literacy Is Liberation: Working Toward Justice Through Culturally Relevant Teaching

☀ 4th Yellow House: Any shade of yellow on the cover or in the title: The Murder of Mr. Ma

☀ Yellow Hotel: Any shade of yellow on the cover or in the title: Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet

------------------------------------------------------------------
GREEN PROPERTIES
☀ 32. Green: with a thimble, sewing or craft implement on the cover: Knitting needles: Yarned and Dangerous

☀ 33. Green: author or character whose gender is different from your own: author is male: The Pleasure of Drowning
☀ 35. Green: any shade of green on the cover: I Cheerfully Refuse

☀ 1st Green House: with an author or character whose gender is different from your own: Cloudy With a Chance of Murder: A Daniel Jacobus Mystery
☀ 2nd Green House: Any shade of green on the cover: The Places We Call Home

☀ 3rd Green House: any shade of green on the cover: Rosarita

☀ 4th Green House: author or character whose gender is different from your own: The Impossible Fortune
☀ HOTEL: author or character whose gender is different from your own: character, Matt Lambert: Murder in the Valleys
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DARK BLUE PROPERTIES
☀ 38. Dark Blue: with any type of cat on the cover or in the title: The Cricket in Times Square

☀ 40. Dark Blue: that won an award: Nebula Award for Best Novel (1987): The Falling Woman
☀ 1st Dark Blue House: that won an award: Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature (2018): Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
☀ 2nd Dark Blue House: that won an award: Book of the Year Bonniers Book Clubs (2024): When the Cranes Fly South
☀ 3rd Dark Blue House: that won an award: Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for Historical Fiction (2024): The House of Doors
☀ 4th Dark Blue House: that won an award: Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Fiction (2010): I Am Not Sidney Poitier
☀HOTEL: Premio letterario Giuseppe Acerbi (Giuseppe Acerbi Book Award): The Red Notebook
(hide spoiler)]

[GailW]

RC: BINGO-GENRE ...... completed 6/14/2025
message 6: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

BOOKS COMPLETED: .......... 25 / 25
☀ B1: Romance: The Unhoneymooners by by Christina Lauren
☀ I1: Drama: James by Percival Everett
☀ N1: Contemporary Fiction: The Wedding People by Alison Espach
☀ G1: Literary Mystery: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
☀ O1: Short Stories: Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat

☀ B2: Literary Fiction: So Distant From My Life by Monique Ilboudo
☀ I2: Satire: The Pleasure of Drowning by Jean Bürlesk
☀ N2: Space Opera: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
☀ G2: Biography: Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
☀ O2: Thriller: First Lie Wins

☀ B3: Religion: Pope John Paul II: In My Own Words
☀ I3: Cozy Mystery: Cry Wolf by Annette Dashofy
☀ N3: OPEN FREE SPACE: The Last White Man
☀ G3: Children: This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson
☀ O3: Travel: When the Only Light Is the Moon

☀ B4: LGBTQ+: Years and Years
☀ I4: Art & Photography: The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
☀ N4: Food & Drink: Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ
☀ G4: Humor: G'Day to Die
☀ O4: Historical Fiction: Our Riches

☀ B5: Women's Fiction: The Purple Violet of Oshaantu by Neshani Andreas
☀ I5: Nonfiction: His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham
☀ N5: Science Fiction: The Bees by Laline Paull
☀ G5: Fantasy: The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
☀ O5: YA: Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook


BINGO COMPLETED:.......... 12 / 12
☀ Row 1
☀ Row 2
☀ Row 3
☀ Row 4
☀ Row 5

☀ Diagonal Right to Left
☀ Diagonal Left to Right

☀ Column B
☀ Column I
☀ Column N
☀ Column G
☀ Column O

[GailW]

RC: BWTS: BOOKWORMS TAKE SHELFIES - Through Diversity
completed 8/2/2025
msg 132: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed: 47 /40

(view spoiler)[

✔️ Award Winners: The Neustadt International Price for Literature
☀ 2006: Claribel Alegría: Ashes of Izalco (Nicaragua)
☀ 2008: Patricia Grace: Potiki (New Zealand Māori)

✔️A Book Genre: Mysteries
☀ The Summer Guests
☀ Cry Wolf

✔️Book Length: under 200 pages
☀ Baba Dunja's Last Love (Ukraine)
☀ Black Friend: Essays
☀ A Burnt-Out Case (Congo)
☀ The Girl in the Moon Circle (Samoa)
☀ The Little Virtues (Italy)
☀ The Pleasure of Drowning
☀ Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History
☀ Cut and Thirst

✔️ The Color of the Cover: Red
☀ Assembly (England)

☀ The Final Revival of Opal & Nev


✔️ Diversity: In ALL forms
☀ Golden Child (Trinidad and Tobago)
☀ Hotel Silence (Iceland)
☀ The House On Sun Street (Iran)
☀ Mothersland (Uzbekistan)
☀ My Ántonia- prominent characters that are immigrants from Bohemia (Czech), Norway, and Austria,
☀ The Thirty Names of Night
☀ What You Are Looking For Is in the Library (Japan)
☀ The Woman Next Door (Barbados)
☀ A Study in Scarlet Women (China)

✔️Formats and Styles: Graphic Novel
☀ A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return, (Lebanon)
☀ The Only Child, (China)

✔️Heritage & Culture:
☀ Evergreen (Asian American)
☀ Sightseeing (Thailand)
☀ The Life Impossible (Ibiza, Spain)

✔️A Listopia: Best Banned, Censored, and Challenged Books:
☀ Clap When You Land (Dominican Republic) : Black author: Nebo School District, Utah
☀ The Hill We Climb (USA): Black author, youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, award-winning writer and cum laude graduate of Harvard University: Miami-Dade Public Schools, Florida
☀ Huda F Are You? (USA): Muslim author: Clay County School District, Florida

✔️ A Location - Author from the continent of Africa
☀ The Dream Hotel (Africa)
☀ A General Theory of Oblivion

✔️Holidays
☀ Holi: Festival of Colors
Holi is a Hindu festival that celebrates the arrival of spring, love, and new life. It's also known as the "festival of colors". 
☀ EID: Once Upon an Eid
Eid is a general term for two major Islamic holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the first celebrates the end of Ramadan; the latter is celebrated on the last day of the Hajj, a pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia
☀ Mardi Gras: Glory Daze
Mardi Gras is the culmination of the carnival season, which precedes Lent, a period of fasting and reflection leading up to Easter. It marks the last opportunity to indulge in rich foods and festivities before the restrictions of Lent begin. Its origins can be traced back to types of ancient pagan festivals and medieval European traditions of Saturnalia and Lupercalia, celebrations held in anticipation of spring.

✔️Title (starting with the same letter): "A"
☀ As Close to Us as Breathing (USA-Jewish)
☀ Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 (Haiti)
☀ Artificial Condition
☀ April Fools

✔️Your Backlist (books added to your TBR prior to this year)
☀ No Two Persons
☀ Stalking Ground
☀ Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
☀ We Are Displaced (Pakistan)
☀ First Lie Wins
☀ Long Bright River
☀ River Sing Me Home

(hide spoiler)]

[GailW]

RC: Hardest Reading Challenge You Will Ever Do (HRCYED)

see google doc for tracking and stats:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

[GailW]

RC: Magical Mystery Tour
message 6...https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Progress 42 / 42
☀ Progress 3 / 8
Who 7, What 7, When 7, Where 7, How 7, Why 7, Bonus 3

✔️WHO
Solve cases featuring .....
☀ 1. Music (violinist): Cloudy With a Chance of Murder
☀ 2. Driving (chauffer): House Party Murder Rap
☀ 3. Food service (server/barmaid): The Three Taps
☀ 4. Healthcare (paramedic): Cry Wolf - Annette Dashofy
☀ 5. Games (player in a murder mystery game): A Man Lay Dead
☀ 6. Books (author; translators): The Extinction of Irena Rey
☀ 7. Events (Special Events Manager): The Maid's Secret

✔️WHAT
What makes your case distinctive?
☀ 21. 1. A middle grade or young adult sleuth: Woof
☀ 2.22. 2. An emotion in the title: The Love Detectives: Harley Quin [#13]
☀ 3. A time in the title: "Summer[time]": The Summer Guests
☀ 4. A color in the title: Shot With Crimson - Nicola Upson
☀ 5. An animal companion or narrator: Stalking Ground
☀ 6. A food on the cover: cake: A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death
☀ 7. A mostly white cover: The Impossible Fortune


✔️ WHEN
When did the dastardly deed take place or get reported?
☀ 1. In the 1920s: Murder at an English Séance
☀ 2. In the last 25 years: The Last Devil to Die
☀ 3. Around a holiday: Halloween: Fortune Favors the Dead
☀ 4. During a vacation: Untamed Shore
☀ 5. In your birth month: April Fools
☀ 6. Between dusk and dawn: Murder at Archly Manor
☀ 7. In summer: Famous Last Words

✔️ WHERE
Where did the dastardly deed take place?
☀ 1. At an orchard or farm: Deadly to the Core
☀ 2. On an island: Wild Dark Shore
☀ 3. In a capital city: London: Crooked House
☀ 4. At a restaurant or bar: Death at the Bar - Ngaio Marsh
☀ 5. At a hotel or lodge: N or M? - Agatha Christie
☀ 6. At a park or campground: The Lake
☀ 7. In someone’s home: A Fatal Illusion

✔️ HOW
For this category, each means of murder must be distinctly different.
For example, pistols and rifles are both firearms; knives and daggers are too similar.
☀ 1. Mushrooms: The Man Who Died - Antti Tuomainen
☀ 2. Blunt Force Trauma: How to Seal Your Own Fate - Kristen Perrin
☀ 3. (view spoiler)[Stabbed with a fountain pen (hide spoiler)]: Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect
☀ 4. Shot with handgun: Evergreen
☀ 5. Pushed: Vanishing Edge
☀ 6. Insulin Overdose: G'Day to Die
☀ 7. (view spoiler)[Bird's nest in Chinese Tea, allergy- (hide spoiler)]: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

✔️ WHY
What motivated you to choose a particular case?
☀ 1. A favorite mystery author or series: Glory Daze: A Glory Broussard Mystery
☀ 2. A favorite mystery subgenre: Mystery Thriller: First Lie Wins
☀ 3. A Goodreads listopia - Best Murder Mysteries Of All-Time: Death of an Old Git
☀ 4. A literary prize winner for crime fiction: The Martin Beck Award-awarded by the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy for the best crime novel in translation: Devil's Peak
☀ 5. A challenged or banned crime book: A Study in Scarlet, Albemarle County School Board in Virginia
☀ 6. A cold case (among your TBRs for over a year): Long Bright River
☀ 7. Average Goodreads rating of 4 stars or above: 4.42: The Frozen River

BONUS
1. Africa: South Africa (author, setting): Let The Dead Lie
2. Asia: Singapore (author, setting): The Betel Nut Tree Mystery
☀ 3. Europe: Wales (setting): Murder in the Valleys
☀ 4. Oceania: Fiji (author, setting): Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret
5. Caribbean: Dominican Republic (author, setting): The Grand Paloma Resort
☀ 6. North America: St Vincent (author, setting): Cassie P Caribbean PI
7. Central America: Mexico (setting): Dizzy in Durango
8. South America: Argentina (author, setting): Betty Boo

[GailW]

RC: PAGES

[GailW]

RC: POPSUGAR .............. completed 9/11
RC Pops- message 10: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 36 / 35

Regular
☀ 1. A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma: Aya
☀ 2. A book you want to read based on the last sentence: "Keep fighting the good fight!": Ban This Book
☀ 4. A book with two or more books on the cover: The Wishing Game

☀ 6. A book that fills your favorite prompt from the 2015 PS Reading Challenge: #16. An audiobook: The Life Impossible
☀ 8. A book under 250 pages: 236: Road No Good
☀ 10. A book you got for free: James
☀ 12. A book about a road trip: G'Day to Die
☀ 13. A book rated less than three stars on Goodreads:  The Choice and other Tales
☀ 16. A Book Set in or around a Body of Water: The God of the Woods
☀ 18. A book containing magical creatures that aren't dragons:  a female golem: The World That We Knew
☀ 19. A highly anticipated read of 2025: The Summer Guests
☀ 20. A book that fills a 2024 prompt you'd like to do over (or try out): 27. A book where someone dies in the first chapter: Long Bright River
☀ 21. A book where the main character is a politician: His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope
☀ 22. A book about soccer:  Furia
☀ 23. A Book That is Considered Healing Fiction: No Two Persons
☀ 24. A Book with a Happily Single Woman Protagonist: Taiwan Travelogue
☀ 25. A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee: Something Evergreen Called Life, the author who is the main character in her poetry, is a writer in exile from Sudan.
☀ 26. 26. A book where an adult character changes careers: What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
☀ 27. A Book Set at a Luxury Resort: The Wedding People
☀ 28. A book that features an unlikely friendship: Muslim boy, Christian girl: Ali and Nino: A Love Story
☀ 31. A book where music plays an integral part of the storyline:  The Life Impossible
☀ 32. A book about an overlooked woman in history: Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History
☀ 33. A book featuring an activity on your bucket list: street protesting: Banned Book Club
☀ 34. A book written by an author who is neurodivergent: Agatha Christie: N or M?
☀ 35. A book centering LGBTQ+ characters that isn't about coming out: I'm Just a Person
☀ 37. Two Books with the Same Name: The Bees by Laline Paull
☀ 38. Two Books with the Same Name: The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy
☀ 39. A Classic you've never read: My Ántonia
☀ 40. A Book About Chosen Family: The Last Devil to Die

Medium and Advanced Prompts
☀ 41. A book by the oldest author in your TBR pile: Arthur Conan Doyle: A Study in Scarlet
☀ 42. A book with a title that starts with the letter Y: Years and Years
☀ 43. A book that includes a nonverbal character: Cyrus: The Frozen River
☀ 44. A book you have always avoided reading: The Unhoneymooners
☀ 45. A book with a left-handed character: Agha Joon (grandfather): The House On Sun Street
☀ 46. A book where nature is the antagonist: Wild Dark Shore
☀ 47. A book of interconnected short stories: The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose

[GailW]

RC: SERIAL READER ............... completed 12/30/25
message 7 .......https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

TOTAL BOOKS: 58 / 50
🌟 Read: 28 books from series I already started
🌸 Started: 28 series started this year.
✔️ Finished: 2 series I finished this year.

🌟 ONGOING
* Andy Veracruz Mystery (#1-2): Dizzy in Durango (#3)
* Baker Street Bakery: A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death (#3)
* Before the Coffee Gets Cold (#1-2): Before Your Memory Fades (#3)
* Beryl and Edwina: Murder at an English Séance (#8)
* Cash Blackbear (#1-2): Sinister Graves (#3)
* Castle Knoll Files: How to Seal Your Own Fate (#2)
* Cherringham: A Fatal Illusion (#48):
* Cherringham: Killer Pitch (#49 and maybe my last)
* Daniel Jacobus (#1-6): Cloudy With a Chance of Murder (#7)
* Detective Honeywell (#1-2): The Devil Comes Calling (#3)
* Ernest Cunningham: Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect (#2);
* Ernest Cunningham: Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret
* Glory Broussard Mystery: Glory Daze (#2)
* Japantown Mysteries (#1): Evergreen (#2)
* Josephine Tey: Shot With Crimson (#11)
* Lord Edgington Investigates (#1): The Mystery of Mistletoe Hall (#4)
* Love Detectives (#1-12): The Love Detectives: A Short Story (#13)
* Mason (#1): Night of Miracles (#2)
* Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition (#2)
* Roderick Alleyn: Death at the Bar (#9);
* Roderick Alleyn: A Man Lay Dead (#1)
* Su Lin: The Betel Nut Tree Mystery (#2)
* The Martini Club: The Summer Guests (#2)
* Thursday Murder Club: The Last Devil to Die
* Thursday Murder Club: The Impossible Fortune
* Timber Creek (#1): Stalking Ground (#2)
* Tommy and Tuppence: N or M? (#3)
* Zoe Chambers: Cry Wolf (#7)

🌸 STARTED
* Ann Perry Christmas: A Christmas Visitor
* Aya: Aya (#1)
* Bennie Griesel: Devil's Peak (#1)
* Binti: Binti (#1)
* Bowser and Birdie: Woof (#1)
* Caribbean Adventure: Adventure At Brimstone Hill ( #1)
* Chester Cricket and His Friends: The Cricket at Times Square (#1)
* Cider House Mysteries: Deadly to the Core (#1)
* Darling Dahlias: The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree (#1)
* Dee & Lao: The Murder of Mr. Ma (#1)
* Evie Parker: House Party Murder Rap (#1)
* Falconer Files: Death of an Old Git (#1)
* Havard & Lambert: Murder in the Valleys (#1)
* High Society Lady Detective: Murder at Archly Manor (#1)
* Huda F: Huda F Are You? (#1)
* Lady Sherlock: A Study in Scarlet Women
* Last Interview: bell hooks: The Last Interview: and Other Conversations
* Miles Bredon: The Three Taps (#1)
* Miss Hortense: A Murder for Miss Hortense
* National Parks: Vanishing Edge (#1)
* Passport to Peril: G'Day to Die (#5)
* Pentecost & Parker: Fortune Favors the Dead (#1)
* Rabbit Factor Trilogy: The Rabbit Factor
* Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet
* Sigrid Harald: One Coffee With (#1)
* Tangled Web: Yarned and Dangerous (#1)
* Vera Wong: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for *Murderers
* Who Was/Is?: Who Was John Lewis?

✔️ FINISHED
* Maisie Dobbs (#1-17): The Comfort of Ghosts (#18) 😢
* Molly, the Maid (#1-2): The Maid's Secret (#3)

[GailW]

RC: SHELF AWARENESS
message 21: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
RW: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

☀ Completed 98 / 90 .......... 54 exact month

JAN & FEB
☀ Africa-Sudan (author): Something Evergreen Called Life
☀ Africa-Namibia (author, setting): The Purple Violet of Oshaantu
☀ Africa- Algiers (author, setting): Our Riches
☀ Africa-Cote de Ivoire (author, setting): Aya
☀ Black History Month: His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope
☀ Black History Month: Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat
☀ Black History Month: Who Was John Lewis? by Crystal Hubbard
☀ International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan 27th): The World That We Knew
☀ World Religion Day: Everything Sad Is Untrue, Iran issued a fatwah on the author's mother and the kids because she converted to Christianity.
☀ International Day of Education: Ban This Book
☀ International Mother Language Day (UNESCO-Feb 21): Burkina Faso (author and setting)-country of >70 languages, French is the "official" language: So Distant From My Life

MAR & APR
☀ Oceania-Samoa (author, setting): The Girl in the Moon Circle
☀ Women's History Month: The Frozen River
☀ National Poetry Month: The Hill We Climb, banned book
☀ Celebrate Diversity Month: Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You
☀ International Women's Day (Mar 8th): Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History
☀ United Nations Zero Discrimination Day (Mar 1st): Assembly
☀ Holi: Festival of Colors
☀ Eid al- Fitr: Once Upon an Eid
☀ Mardi Gras: Glory Daze: A Glory Broussard Mystery
☀ Trans Day of Visibility (Mar 31): The Thirty Names of Night
☀ April Fool's Day: April Fools
☀ World Health Day (Apr 7th): drug addiction and infant withdrawal: Long Bright River
☀ National Right to Read Day (April 7): banned book: Clap When You Land
☀ National Library Week (Apr 6-12): What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
☀ Arab American Heritage Month (Apr): Huda F Are You?, banned book

MAY & JUN
☀ Asia focus: China (author): A Study in Scarlet Women
☀ Asia focus: Lebanon (author, setting): A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return
☀ Asia focus: Uzbekistan (author, setting): Mothersland
* Juneteenth:
☀LGBTQ+ Pride Month: I'm Just a Person
☀ Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Evergreen, WW2 concentration camps for US citizens of Japanese heritage
☀ Canada’s Indigenous History Month (author, setting): The Break
☀ Jewish Heritage Month: As Close to Us as Breathing
☀ Caribbean American Heritage Month: Trinidad (author, setting): Golden Child
☀ Mental Health Awareness Month: Hotel Silence
* World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd)
☀ World Bee Day (May 20th): The Bees
☀ World Environment Day (Jun 5th): Wild Dark Shore

JUL & AUG
☀ European focus - England (author, setting): Crooked House
☀ European focus - England (author, setting): Famous Last Words
☀ European focus - Finland (author, setting): The Man Who Died
☀ European focus - Ireland (author, setting): Only The Stones Never Die
☀ European focus - Scotland (author): The Bees
* South Asian Heritage Month (UK)
☀ Women in Translation Month: Sweden: The Colony by Annika Norlin, translated by Alice E. Olsson
☀ International Day of the World’s Indigenous People: Chile (author, setting): I want to tell you a story. Author is the last known native speaker of the Yahgan language and the last living full-blooded Yahgan (Chile) person.
☀ Women’s Equality Day (Aug 26th): bell hooks: The Last Interview: and Other Conversations
☀ Canada Day (Jul 1st): Margaret Atwood: Cut and Thirst

SEP & OCT
☀ South American focus: Argentina (author, setting): Not a River
☀ South American focus: Argentina (author, setting): Furia
☀ Black History Month (UK)(author, setting): A Murder for Miss Hortense. Author's Jamaican grandparents moved to England in the 1950s as part of the Windrush generation.
☀ Hispanic Heritage Month: Untamed Shore
☀ International Literacy Day (Sep 8th): Literacy Is Liberation: Working Toward Justice Through Culturally Relevant Teaching
☀ International Day of the Girl Child (Oct 11th): Stolen
☀ US Indigenous Peoples' Day (Oct 13): Sinister Graves
☀ United Nations Day (Oct 24th): We Are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures by Amnesty International
☀ World Kid Lit Month: The Cricket in Times Square, characters from China and Italy, a cat, mouse, and cricket

NOV & DEC
27. North American focus: The Filling Station
28. National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month: Calling for a Blanket Dance
◦ International Day of Persons with Disabilities (Dec 3rd): Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
◦ Human Rights Day (December 10th): A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
◦ International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (Dec 2nd): The Abolitionists


Addl. CONTINENT FOCUS NOT READ IN SPECIFIED MONTHS:
☀ Africa: Angola (author, setting): A General Theory of Oblivion -Jul
☀ Africa: Congo (setting): A Burnt-Out Case -Mar
☀ Africa: Mauritius (author): Murder in the Valleys
☀ Africa: Morocco (Author): The Dream Hotel -Jun
☀ Africa: Mozambique (author, setting): Neighbours: The Story of a Murder -Aug
☀ Africa: Sudan (author, setting): Thirteen Months of Sunrise -Oct

☀ Asia-Andaman Islands of India (setting): Glorious Boy
☀ Asia-Azerbaijan (setting): Ali and Nino: A Love Story -Feb
☀ Asia: China (author, setting): The Only Child -Mar
☀ Asia: China (author): Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet -Sep
☀ Asia: India (author): Rosarita -Sep
☀ Asia: Indonesia (author): Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers -Mar
☀ Asia: Iran (author/setting): The House On Sun Street -Feb
☀ Asia: Japan (author/setting): The Travelling Cat Chronicles -Nov
☀ Asia: Maldives (author/setting): The Choice and other Tales -Aug
☀ Asia: Pakistan (author): The Last White Man -Jan
☀ Asia: Pakistan (author, partial setting): We Are Displaced -Mar
☀ Asia: South Korea (author, setting): The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly -Sep
☀ Asia: South Korea (author, setting): Years and Years -Feb
☀ Asia: South Korea (author, setting): Banned Book Club -Jan
☀ Asia: Taiwan (setting, author, translator): Taiwan Travelogue -Jan
☀ Asia: Tajikstan (setting, author): At the Foot of Blue Mountains -Oct
☀ Asia: Thailand (setting): Sightseeing -Mar

☀ Europe-Finland (author,setting): The Rabbit Factor -Nov
☀ Europe-Italy (author, setting): The Little Virtues -Apr
☀ Europe-Luxembourg (author, setting): The Pleasure of Drowning -Jun
☀ Europe-Ukraine (setting): Baba Dunja's Last Love -May

☀ North America: Barbados (author, setting): The Woman Next Door -Mar
☀ North America: Barbados/British Guiana/Trinidad (setting): River Sing Me Home -May
☀ North America: Canada (author, setting): Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls -Oct
☀ North America: Canada (author, setting): My Conversations with Canadians -Aug
☀ North America: Nicaragua (author, setting): Ashes of Izalco -Mar
☀ North America: Haiti (author, setting): Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 -Feb
☀ North America: Mexico (setting): The Falling Woman -Jun
☀ North America: Panama (author, setting): Delia's Way -Sep
☀ North America: St. Kitts and Nevis (author, setting): Adventure At Brimstone Hill -Sep
☀ North America: St. Vincent and the Grenadines (author, setting): Cassie P Caribbean PI -Oct

☀ Oceania: Australia (setting): The Echoes -Jun
☀ Oceania: New Zealand (author): A Man Lay Dead
☀ Oceania: Papau New Guinea (author): Tales of the Tikongs
☀ Oceania: New Zealand (author, setting): Potiki
☀ Oceania: Vanuatu (setting): Road No Good -Jan

☀ South America: Argentina (author): The Invention of Morel -Aug

[GailW]

RC: Wheel of Feels
Completed 49 / 42 completed 8/2/2025

<EMOTIONAL SPELLING:
📍LOATHING
☀ L. The Last Devil to Die
☀ O. Our Riches
☀ A. Aya
☀ T. This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
☀ H. His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope
☀ I. I'm Just a Person
☀ N. N or M?
☀ G. Glory Daze: A Glory Broussard Mystery

📍DISGUST
☀ D. Death at the Bar
☀ I. I Cheerfully Refuse
☀ S. Something Evergreen Called Life
☀ G. G'Day to Die
☀ U. The Unhoneymooners
☀ S. So Distant From My Life
☀ T. Taiwan Travelogue

📍CONTEMPT
☀ C. A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death
☀ O. The Ones We Choose
☀ N. No Two Persons
☀ T. The Three Taps: A Detective Story Without a Moral
☀ E. Everything Sad Is Untrue
☀ M. Murder at an English Séance
☀ P. The Purple Violet of Oshaantu
☀ T. The Thirty Names of Night

📍JOY
☀ J. James
☀ O. The Only Child
☀ Y. Years and Years

📍LOVE
☀ L. The Little Virtues
☀ O. Once Upon an Eid
☀ V. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
☀ E. The Extinction of Irena Rey

📍AWE
☀ A. Assembly
☀ W. What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
☀ E. Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

📍ANGER
☀ A. Ali and Nino
☀ N. Neighbours: The Story of a Murder
☀ G. The God of the Woods
☀ E. Everything Inside
☀ R. River Sing Me Home

📍RAGE
☀ R. Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History
☀ A. Artificial Condition
☀ G. The Girl in the Moon Circle
☀ E. Evergreen

EMOTIONAL COLORS
Amazement - deep blue: Golden Child
Anticipation - orange: The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
Apprehension - light green: Evidence of the Affair
Fear - Dark green: Baba Dunja's Last Love
Love - yellow and green: How to Seal Your Own Fate
Rage - deep red: Shot With Crimson
Submission - green and dark green: Road No Good

[GailW]

RC: Q1- EMBRACING THE BLUES .......... completed 2/18/25
msg 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 18 / 18

Words
☀ T. This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
☀ H. His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope
☀ E. Everything Inside

☀ B. Banned Book Club
☀ L. The Last White Man
☀ U. The Unhoneymooners
☀ E. Everything Sad Is Untrue
☀ S. Shot With Crimson

☀ P. The Purple Violet of Oshaantu
☀ L. The Last Devil to Die
☀ A. Ali and Nino: A Love Story
☀ Y. Years and Years
'
☀ E. The Extinction of Irena Rey
☀ M. Margo's Got Money Troubles

Books with a blue cover:
The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman Ban This Book by Alan Gratz Murder at an English Séance (A Beryl and Edwina Mystery #8) by Jessica Ellicott
☀ The World That We Knew
☀ Ban This Book
☀ Murder at an English Séance

Books related to the musical genre:
"The music often reflects themes of sorrow, heartache, and hardship, which is a central aspect of its lyrical content."
“Funny thing about the blues- you play 'em 'cause you got 'em. But when you play 'em, you lose 'em.” – George “Buddy” Guy, an iconic American blues guitarist and singer.
☀ James, sang "slave songs" for the minstrel shows.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RC: Q1- SAD SONGS .......... completed 2/26/25
msg 28: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 10 / 10

☀ 1. Read a book with "love" in the title: Ali and Nino: A Love Story
☀ 2. Read a book with "cry" in the title: Cry Wolf
☀ 3. Read a book with a moon on the cover: The Last White Man
☀ 5. Read a young adult novel: Banned Book Club
☀ 6. Read a book with a map in it: The Wishing Game
☀ 10. Read a book involving a heist or caper: Murder at an English Séance
☀ 14. Read a book with "good" or "bad" in the title: Road No Good
☀ 17. Read a book with "sun" in the title: The House On Sun Street
☀ 18. Read a book with a mood in the title: Everything Sad Is Untrue
☀ 20. Read a book with a question word in the title : Who Was John Lewis?

[GailW]

RC: Q2- A RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS .......... completed 6/3/2025
message 9: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🪷 8 / 8

Ingredients:
A cupful of your favourite genre – Mysteries
🪷 Murder at Archly Manor
🪷 Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

A spoonful of [one of] your favourite author: Charlotte McConaghy
🪷 Wild Dark Shore

A pinch of an anticipated new release
🪷 The Summer Guests

A drop of a long unread book from your TBR pile
🪷 The Three Taps
🪷 River Sing Me Home

And the cherry on top: Book(s) with a pretty cover
🪷 Deadly to the Core

🪷 Once Upon an Eid


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RC: Q2- A POP OF JOY ......... completed 6/4/2025
message 3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 15 / 15

Spark Joy
🎈 Read a book that has been on your TBR for over 2 years: River Sing Me Home
🎈 Read a self-help book: trust me-it was mental self-help: Have a Nice Day

Joy
🎈 Read the first book in a series: Murder at Archly Manor

Ode to Joy
🎈 Read a translated book originally written by a European author: Iceland: Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir - Hotel Silence

Joy of Cooking
🎈 Read a book that has been on a 'bestseller' list: The Hill We Climb

Joy to the World
🎈 Read a book by an author from a different religion/belief system than yours: Islam: Huda Fahmy: Huda F Are You?: A Graphic Novel

Tears of Joy 😂
🎈 Read a graphic novel: A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return
🎈 Read a science fiction book: The Bees

The Joy Luck Club
🎈 Read a book that has been adapted for film: Long Bright River

Joy Ride
🎈 Read a thriller: First Lie Wins
🎈 Read a book with less than 120 pages, so you can zip through it: The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg

Joy by Jean Patou
🎈 Read a book where one of the main character is wealthy, or pretends to be: April Fools
🎈 Read an award winning book (Amelia Elizabeth Walden award): Clap When You Land

Joy Nurse
🎈 Read a book about a character who works in healthcare or medicine: mc is a nurses assistant in a hospital: Evergreen

Joy of Missing Out
🎈 Read a book with less than 500 reviews on Goodreads: 1 reviews, 5 ratings: Mothersland

[GailW]

RC Q3

RC: Q3- Rage on the Page
message 8: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🤬 Completed 5 / 5

Read books about handling anger -- seeking revenge, controlling anger, compromising, etc.:
🤬 seeking revenge: Cut and Thirst
🤬 seeking revenge: I Cheerfully Refuse
🤬 all of them: A General Theory of Oblivion
🤬 compromising: Potiki

Read books with red on the covers:
🤬 The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

* Forever Home

* Hai kur mamashu chis: I want to tell you a story

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

RC: JULY - HOW ARE YOU GETTING THERE?
Any book featuring travel, a journey, or a notable mode of transportation counts.
message #3: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
🛞Completed 5 / 5

* American Fictionary - journey from Croatia to US
🛞 Binti - journeyed by spaceship from Earth to another planet
🛞 The Final Revival of Opal & Nev - travel abroad, travel in US doing tours
🛞 I Cheerfully Refuse - journey by sailboat
🛞 Only The Stones Never Die - journey by boat from Achill Island to Scotland
🛞 Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk #2) - journey by ox-bike and wagon
🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

RC: Q3- Recreational Anger .... completed 9/1/2025
message 6: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
☀ Completed 17 / 16

☀ 1. Anger Management: Read a humor or comedy book: Cut and Thirst

☀ 2. The Upside of Anger: 2. Read a book with a sibling group:
Potiki

☀ 3. To Sleep with Anger: Read a book with a manipulative character: Morel: The Invention of Morel

☀ 4. Day of Anger: 4. Read a book with a weapon on the cover: pistol under her arm: Fortune Favors the Dead


☀ 5. Look Back in Anger: Read a book that’s been adapted to or from another medium: adapted from a filmed documentary: Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time

☀ 6. Praying with Anger: Read a book by an Asian author or an author’s debut novel: The Choice and other Tales by Amyna, fits both options.

☀ 7. La Rabia: 7. Read about someone with an adulterous affair: Evidence of the Affair

☀ 8. Halls of Anger: Read a historical fiction novel: Only The Stones Never Die

☀ 9. Love and Anger: Read a short story collection: Selected Shorts: American Classics, edited by Symphony Space

☀ 10. Anger: Read a new release: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

☀ 11. Fighting with Anger: Read a book with male-female work partners, or a book about the consequences of a mistake: The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

☀ 12. The Anger: Read a book with a cross-cultural relationship: Portuguese and Angolan: A General Theory of Oblivion

☀ 13. Absolute Anger: Read a detective novel: author and setting- England: Famous Last Words

* 14. Anger Me: 14. Read a biography, an experimental literature book, or a book about visual arts: A Novel to Read on the Train by Dumitru Tsepeneag

☀ 15. Queen Bee's Anger: 15. Read a book with an insect on the cover: The Colony by Annika Norlin


☀ 16. Anger in the Wind: Read a book by an African author: author and setting-Mozambique: Lília Momplé - Neighbours: The Story of a Murder

☀ 17. Anger of the Dead: Read a book with a pregnant main character: Glorious Boy

☀ 18. Mad Max: Read a a book that’s the first in a series: author and setting (South Africa): Devil's Peak

🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻🔻

[GailW]

RC: Q4- HERE'S TO FEARS .......... completed 10/28/2025
message 6: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Progress: ☀ 10 / 10

☀ 1. Fear of the unknown -Read a book that involves secrets, or where someone ventures into a unknown place or territory: Murder in the Valleys
☀ 6. Live in fear -Read a book where a character is threatened: At the Foot of Blue Mountains
☀ 7. No fear -Read a book with a character who shows no fear, or a book with a negative in the title.: Thirteen Months of Sunrise
☀ 9. Fear and trembling -Read a book where someone is scared: Cassie P Caribbean PI
☀ 10. Strike fear into the heart -Read a book where a character is feared by others: Mr. Rivers: The Christmas Clue
☀ 13. Fear rears its ugly head -Read a book where someone resurfaces after a time: A Murder for Miss Hortense
☀ 14. Frozen with fear -Read a book set in a cold place, set in winter: Stolen
☀ 17. Fear for one’s life -Read a book that involves a death: The Impossible Fortune
☀ 18. Fear casts a long shadow -Read a book that involves trauma: Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls
☀ 19. Driven by fear -Read a book involving any mode of transportation: Sinister Graves
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RC: Q4 - WHAT’S YOUR FEAR FACTOR? What are you afraid of? .......... completed 11/12/2025

message 6: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Progress: ☀ 5 / 5

☀ 1. Losing independence: The Impossible Fortune
☀ 2. Fear of Heights: Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret
☀ 3. Cancer: The Travelling Cat Chronicles
☀ 4. Death: Murder in the Valleys
☀ 5. Political Oppression: A Girl in Exile
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[GailW]

RC: 2025 Individual FALL Readathon
Duration: September 26 to September 28, 2025
message 12: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Prompts
☀ 1. Anything from your TBR: Tales of the Tikongs
☀ 1.1 Anything from your TBR: Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet
1.2 Anything from your TBR: At the Foot of Blue Mountains: Stories by Tajik Authors
2. Dark Academia:
☀ 3. Something Spooky: The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton
☀ 4. A Cozy Mystery: The Murder of Mr. Ma
5. Fall colors on the cover

Fri, Sep 26:
Books read: 1
Pages read: 40: started "Tales of the Tikongs"
Hours listened: 2.3: balance of "Murder of Mr. Ma"
Prompts completed: 1

Sat, Sep 27
Books read: 2
Pages read: 247: completed "Sky Burial" (240-35); completed "Tales of the Tikongs" (82-40)
Hours listened:
Prompts completed: 1

Sun: Sep 28
Books read: 1
Pages read: 244: completed "The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton" (303-156); started "At the Foot of the Blue Mountains (97)
Hours listened:
Prompts completed: 1

Totals:
Books read: 4
Pages read: 531
Hours listened: 2.3
Prompts completed: 3

[GailW]

RC: Closing the Chapter: My 2025 Reading in Review

📚 Reading Snapshot
• Books read & goal met? Read 198, goal was 160
• Longest & shortest books:
Longest: The God of the Woods (490p). Shortest: The Hill We Climb (29p)
• Highest- & lowest-rated reads (do you agree?)
Highest Rated on Goodreads that I read: The Places We Call Home (4.7). I rated 4.
Lowest Rated on Goodreads that I read: The Choice and other Tales (2.67). I rated 2.5, rounded to 3.

📖 Favorites & Standouts
• Favorite & least favorite book: Favorite books: these are the ones that I would have given a 10 if I could:
* James - Percival Everett
* Migrations - Charlotte McConaghy
* The Last White Man - Mohsin Hamid
* Sky Burial - Xinran
* Wild Dark Shore - Charlotte McConaghy
• A book you can’t stop thinking about: all the ones above plus more
• A book you’d reread or recommend: all those noted above
• Most unique concept: The Unfinished Harauld Hughes - Richard Ayoade

🎭 Emotions, Opinions & Characters
• Most frustrating read: Great Big Beautiful Life
• New-to-you author: I read 124 new-to-me authors this year. I can narrow down to 4: Antti Tuomainen, Natasha Brown, Percival Everett, and Edwidge Danticat

👯‍♀️ Group Reading & Community
• Challenges participated in & favorite:
A-Z, Bibliopoly, Bingo, BWTS, Magical Mystery, Popsugar, Q1-2-3-4, Shelf Awareness, and Wheel of Feels.
Favorites: Magical Mystery and Shelf Awareness

🌟 Looking Ahead
• Interested in leading a future challenge? Yes, definitely.
• 2026 reading priorities: Translated works, new to me authors, world reading
• Set a 2026 reading goal? 160 books again . I'm not sure I can sustain 198

[GailW]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Begin Women Only ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

READ WOMEN GROUP - ANNUAL
group: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... ....
Completed 145 books - - - ☀ 98 new-to-me author

🔹Agatha Christie - N or M?
🔹Agatha Christie - Crooked House
🔹Agatha Christie - The Love Detectives: A Short Story
🔹Alice Hoffman - The World That We Knew
🔹Andrea Frazer - Death of an Old Git
🔹Anne Perry - A Christmas Visitor
🔹Anne Tyler - Three Days in June
🔹Annette Dashofy - Cry Wolf
🔹Annette Dashofy - The Devil Comes Calling
🔹Becky Chambers - A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
🔹Charlotte McConaghy - Wild Dark Shore
🔹Charlotte McConaghy - Migrations
🔹D.R. Ransdell - Dizzy in Durango
🔹Danielle Arceneaux - Glory Daze
🔹Edith Wharton - The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton
🔹Edwidge Danticat - Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490
🔹Elizabeth Berg - Night of Miracles
🔹Emily Henry - Great Big Beautiful Life
🔹Erica Bauermeister - No Two Persons
🔹Erica Bauermeister - Joy for Beginners
🔹Gillian McCallister - Famous Last Words
🔹Jacqueline Winspear - The Comfort of Ghosts
🔹Jacqueline Woodson - This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
🔹Jesse Q. Sutanto - Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
🔹Jessica Ellicott - Murder at an English Séance
🔹Kristin Perrin - How to Seal Your Own Fate
🔹Laila Lalami - The Dream Hotel
🔹Liz Moore - Long Bright River
🔹Marcie Rendon - Sinister Graves
🔹Margaret Atwood - Cut and Thirst
🔹Margaret Mizushima - Stalking Ground
🔹Martha Wells - Artificial Condition
🔹Naomi Hirahara - Evergreen
🔹Natalia Ginzburg - The Little Virtues
🔹Ngaio Marsh - A Man Lay Dead
🔹Nicola Upson - Shot With Crimson
🔹Nicola Upson - The Christmas Clue
🔹Nita Prose - The Maid's Secret
🔹Ovidia Yu - The Betel Nut Tree Mystery
🔹Penelope Fitzgerald - Offshore
🔹Rania Mamoun - Thirteen Months of Sunrise
🔹S.J. Rozan (coauthor) - The Murder of Mr. Ma
🔹Selva Almada - Not a River
🔹Susanna Clarke - The Wood at Midwinter
🔹Tess Gerritsen - The Summer Guests
🔹Tig Notaro - I'm Just a Person
🔹Valerie Burns - A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death


New:
☀ Aimee Liu - Glorious Boy
☀ Alice Munro - The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose
☀ Alina Bronsky - Baba Dunja's Last Love
☀ Alison Espach - The Wedding People
☀ Amanda Gorman - The Hill We Climb
☀ Amy Tan, et al - Selected Shorts: American Classics
☀ Amyna - The Choice and other Tales
☀ Anita Desai - Rosarita
☀ Ann-Helén Laestadius - Stolen
☀ Annika Norlin - The Colony
☀ Ariel Lawhon - The Frozen River
☀ Ashley Elston - First Lie Wins
☀ Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir - Hotel Silence
☀ bell hooks - bell hooks: The Last Interview: and Other Conversations
☀ Bridget Isichei - Road No Good
☀ Carol Ann Duffy - The Bees
☀ Carol Ottley-Mitchell - Adventure At Brimstone Hill
☀ Christina Lauren - The Unhoneymooners
☀ Claire Adam - Golden Child
☀ Claire Kells - Vanishing Edge
☀ Claribel Alegría - Ashes of Izalco
☀ Cleyvis Natera - The Grand Paloma Resort
☀ Cristina Zarraga - Hai kur mamashu chis: I want to tell you a story
☀ Crystal Hubbard - Who Was John Lewis?
☀ Dawnie Walton - The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
☀ Edwidge Danticat - Everything Inside
☀ Eleanor Shearer - River Sing Me Home
☀ Elizabeth Acevedo - Clap When You Land
☀ Elizabeth Poliner - As Close to Us as Breathing
☀ Evie Wyld - The Echoes
☀ Guojing - The Only Child
☀ Hiro Arikawa - The Travelling Cat Chronicles
☀ Huda Fahmy - Huda F Are You?: A Graphic Novel
☀ Hwang Jungeun - Years and Years
☀ Jennifer Croft - The Extinction of Irena Rey
☀Jess Lourey - April Fools
☀ Joyce Tremel - Deadly to the Core
☀ Julie Clark - The Ones We Choose
☀ Kai Cheng Thom - Falling Back in Love with Being Human
☀ Kaouther Adimi - Our Riches
☀ Kate Schatz - Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History
☀ Katherena Vermette: The Break
☀ Kim Ann: The Places We Call Home
☀ Kim Hyun Sook - Banned Book Club
☀ Kimberly N Parker - Literacy Is Liberation: Working Toward Justice Through Culturally Relevant Teaching
☀ Laline Paull - The Bees
☀ Lee Maracle - My Conversations with Canadians
☀ Lília Momplé - Neighbours: The Story of a Murder
☀ Lisa Ridzén - When the Cranes Fly South
☀ Liz Moore - The God of the Woods
☀ Maddy Hunter - G'Day to Die
☀ Malala Yousafzai - We Are Displaced
☀ Margaret Maron - One Coffee With
☀ Marguerite Abouet - Aya
☀ Mariama Bâ - So Long a Letter
☀ Meg Shaffer - The Wishing Game
☀ Mel Pennant - A Murder for Miss Hortense
☀ Michelle Zauner - Crying in H Mart
☀ Michiko Aoyama - What You Are Looking For Is in the Library
☀ Mojgan Ghazirad - The House On Sun Street
☀ Monique Ilboudo - So Distant From My Life
☀ Nafissa Thompson-Spires - Heads of the Colored People
☀ Natasha Brown - Assembly
☀ Natasha Preston - The Lake
☀ Neshani Andreas - The Purple Violet of Oshaantu
☀ Ngaio Marsh - Death at the Bar
☀ Nnedi Okorafor - Binti
☀ Nuala Ní Chonchúir - You
☀ Olga Berrocal Essex - Delia's Way
☀ Pat Murphy - The Falling Woman
☀ Patricia Engel - Vida
☀ Patricia Grace - Potiki
☀ Pippa McCathie - Murder in the Valleys
☀ Rania Mamoun - Something Evergreen Called Life
☀ Rita Wilson - When the Only Light Is the Moon
☀ Rosa Temple - Playing by the Rules
☀ Rufi Thorpe - Margo's Got Money Troubles
☀ Sadie Hartwell - Yarned and Dangerous
☀ Sara Rosett - Murder at Archly Manor
☀ Shahzoda Samarqandi - Mothersland
☀ Sherry Thomas - A Study in Scarlet Women
☀ SK Ali, et al - Once Upon an Eid
☀ Sia Fiegel - The Girl in the Moon Circle
☀ Silvia Moreno-Garcia - Untamed Shore
☀ Sonia Parin - House Party Murder Rap
☀ Sonia Sotomayor - Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You
☀ Sun-mi Hwang - The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly
☀ Surishtha Sehgal - Festival of Colors
☀ Susan Wittig Albert - The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree
☀ Tanya Lee Stone - Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time
☀ Taylor Jenkins Reid - Evidence of the Affair
☀ Willa Cather - My Ántonia
☀ Xinran - Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet
☀ Yamile Saied Méndez - Furia
☀ Yáng Shuāng-zǐ - Taiwan Travelogue
☀ Yewande Omotoso - The Woman Next Door
☀ Zeina Abirached - A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return
☀ Ziwe - Black Friend: Essays

[GailW]

RW: BINGO - 1st Half.......... completed Jun 7
group: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
(view spoiler)[

BINGOS - 12 / 12 completed
........ B ......... I ........ N ........ G ........ O.....

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

BOOKS - 25 / 25 completed
-- B --
☀ 1. Visual Arts: wordless, graphic novels are considered visual art: The Only Child
☀ 2. Latin America: Ashes of Izalco
☀ 3. First Published in 2025: Glory Daze
☀ 4. Cats or Dogs: Author of Arab Descent: Huda Fahmy : Huda F Are You?: A Graphic Novel
☀ 5. Indigenous Author: Katherena Vermette : The Break, Canada

-- I --
☀ 1. European setting and MC is BAME: Assembly
☀ 2. Disability: Stand-Alone Fantasy: The World That We Knew
☀ 3. Debut Novel: The Wishing Game
☀ 4. Poetry Collection: Something Evergreen Called Life, written by Sudanese author in exile
☀ 5. Dark Academia: Cover Art You Love: No Two Persons

-- N --
☀ 1. Set in a country bordering the Pacific Ocean: Australia: G'Day to Die
☀ 2. Memoir (not a celebrity): Road No Good, set in the country of Vanuatu
☀ 3. Southern Africa: The Purple Violet of Oshaantu
☀ 4. Feminism: Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History
☀ 5. Social Media or Social Platforms are a main theme: Margo's Got Money Troubles

-- G --
☀ 1. LGBTQ+: Years and Years
☀ 2. Graphic Novel: Aya
☀ 3. Physical or Mental Health: The Extinction of Irena Rey
☀ 4. Scotland: Shot With Crimson, Josephine Tey is the fictionalized mc in the series. The real Ms. Tey was born there and continued to live there her whole life.
☀ 5. Nonfiction on a topic new to you: Corrupt government in S Korea during 1980's: Banned Book Club

-- O --
☀ 1. Short Story Collection: Everything Inside
☀ 2. Classic (first published pre-1975): 1941: N or M?
☀ 3. Ukraine: Baba Dunja's Last Love
☀ 4. Author of African Descent: This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
☀ 5. Science or Nature: The Bees

BINGOS - 12 / 12 completed
(hide spoiler)]