The 52 Book Club: 2025 Challenge discussion
Mini-Challenges
>
**Read It, Watch It 2025 Challenge**
date
newest »
newest »
I also thought about using Disney movies for this. I helped a friend get a bunch of Disney films for his collection as a Christmas gift, and checked if some older copies of mine had Norwegian subtitles for him, since English is OK for me.January – March: In the public domain - Book - En studie i rødt by Arthur Conan Doyle - Film - Basil The Great Mouse Detective - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091149/...
April – June: A fairy tale retelling - Book - Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy by Serena Valentino - Film - Maleficent, got both - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587310/... & https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4777008/...
July – September: A character with red hair - Book - The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander - Film - The Black Cauldron - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088814/...
October – December: More than a million copies sold - haven't decided yet, maybe Treasure Island
Got two Disney films, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043067/... & https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133240/...
I am using Alice in Wonderland for the Read It and Watch It Mini Challenge. I was planning to reread Alice in Wonderland this year anyway. I'm reading A Room of One's Own separately for my Public Domain book.
Little Women my local theatre has a show in March, so I’ll see that and the movie and read the book. It’s a classic, but I may use for reference of other books by reading the other March sisters
Last year I found I usually read a different book than I entered for the prompt in the larger challenge. We shall see how it goes this year.January – March: In the public domain: A Study in Scarlet and the BBC Sherlock.
April – June: A fairy tale retelling
July – September: A character with red hair
October – December: More than a million copies sold
In the public domain: The Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie A Fairytale Retelling: House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin A. Craig
A Character with Red Hair: Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson
More than a Million copies Sold: Catch 22 by Heller
Jan-March Public Domain: Little Women. I haven’t read it in a while.Apr-Jun Fairy Tale retelling: Searching still.
Jul-Sep Red Hair character: Anne of Green Gables OR Pippi Longstocking.
More than a million sold: Agatha Christie - Orient Express probably
I wanted to do this challenge last year but could just not get the matchups I wanted. Giving it a go again this year. ;0January – March: In the public domain
April – June: A fairy tale retelling
July – September: A character with red hair
October – December: More than a million copies sold
Sounds great! January - March: In the public domain: Book: Dr. Zhivago / Movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059113/...
April – June: A fairy tale retelling: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West / https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1262426/...
July – September: A character with red hair: Outlander /https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3006802/...
October – December: More than a million copies sold : Book: Lessons in Chemistry / Movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13911628...
Read It, Watch It - 2025✅ Q1: In the public domain
(view spoiler)
✅ Q2: A fairy tale retelling
(view spoiler)
Q3: A character with red hair
📕 - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
🎥 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072328/
Q4: More than a million copies sold
📕 - Where the Crawdads Sing
🎥 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9411972/
Newbie here - could we have a little square so I can put this into my bullet journal please :)Loving the challenge
Mod
Loving the challenge"
It's hard to share images on Goodreads, but we have some free printables on our website!
https://www.the52book.club/read-it-wa...
Another Newbie here enjoying the challenge thus far.Jan-March, In The Public Domain
Much Ado About Nothing- W. Shakespeare Same title Movie-1993
April-June, A Fairy Tale Retelling
Alice in Wonderland - Movie, The Matrix-1999
July-Sept, A Character With Red Hair
Harry Potter (Believe it or not, at 57 years of age, I have never read the book.)
Movie Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets
Oct-Dec, More than A Million Sold
How To Train Your Dragon Movie, New Release 2025
Prompt #1: The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Book is done. It was a rough read, but I made it!!!I plan to watch a real adaptation of the book and Eazy A, mainly bc I already love that movie!
Prompt #2:
Prompt #3:
Prompt #4:
Jan to March=📖 In the Public Domain: A Princess of Mars (Edgar Rice Burroughs)
🎥 John Carter
In the public domainPersuasion by Jane Austen
Watched the 1995 version then the 2007 version ✅
1995 version was closer to the book.
In the public domainBook - BUtterfield 8 - John O'Hara
Movie - BUtterfield 8 - Starring -Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey
Stephanie wrote: "Another Newbie here enjoying the challenge thus far.Jan-March, In The Public Domain
Much Ado About Nothing- W. Shakespeare Same title Movie-1993
April-June, A Fairy Tale Retelling
Alice in W..."
Hey, I am also 57, and even though I have all the Harry Potter books I have only read the first one. I have watched the 3 first films (have all of those too), and got hooked on fanfiction. I am telling myself at the beginning of each year that this is the year I'll read the books and watch the films.
Pride & Prejudice
Public Domain
One of my favourite books - I watched the BBC drama along with reading the book - That famous scene with Mr Darcy !!!!
:)
I completed this back in January.
Sharan wrote: "
Jane EyreFebruary I decided to watch another classic as I enjoyed January. Will also do another in March already got it picked out. I watched the BBC drama "
Prompt #1: Around The World In 80 Days—Jules Verne and the recent TV series with David Tennant. Prompt #2: Still deciding.
Prompt #3: The Mirror And The Light — Hilary Mantel and Wolf Hall Series 2.
Prompt #4: Emma — Jane Austen and Clueless
January – March: In the public domain:Book: The Odyssey by Homer (750 - 650 BCE) 4/5
Movie: The Return (2024) 2/5
April – June: A fairy tale retelling
Book: A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow 5/5
Movie: Sleeping Beauty (1959) 4/5
July – September: A character with red hair
Book: Nimona by N.D. Stevenson TBD
Movie: Nimona (2023) TBD
October – December: More than a million copies sold
Book: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett TBD
TV Show: The Pillars of the Earth (2010) TBD
The 52 Book Club: 2025 Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
It Ends with Us (other topics)The Turn of the Screw (other topics)
Ella Enchanted (other topics)
Little Women (other topics)
Jane Eyre (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Henry James (other topics)Gail Carson Levine (other topics)
Arthur Conan Doyle (other topics)
Lloyd Alexander (other topics)
L. Frank Baum (other topics)
More...
A 2025 Bonus Challenge
Have you read the book? Now, let’s watch the movie!
Our “Read It, Watch It” is an optional, bonus challenge connected to the prompts you’re already reading for our 2025 challenge. We’ve assigned a prompt for each quarter of 2025. Match a book to that prompt and then watch the movie or TV adaptation of that book. This is a great way to see how others interpreted or visualized the same story and to see where it did or didn’t line up with your imagination.
Now the real question is, which did you like better? Book? Or movie?
How it works:
1) Our “Read It, Watch It” challenge has four prompts to be completed (read and watched) during a specific quarter of the year. This year’s prompts are:
January – March: In the public domain
April – June: A fairy tale retelling
July – September: A character with red hair
October – December: More than a million copies sold
2) For each of the four prompts, pick a book that matches the prompt but ALSO has a movie and/or TV adaptation. Keep in mind that it does not have to be a direct adaptation of the book, so feel free to get creative!
3) During the corresponding months, read it, watch it, and discuss! Join the Facebook group and watch for specific discussion threads related to our Read It, Watch It challenge!
Need some help with the prompts? Here are a few ideas to get you started:
In the public domain:
Public domain means that a book is no longer copyrighted and exclusive intellectual property rights no longer exist for that work. Because of this, anyone can legally use or reference those works. Any book published in the US before 1929 will be in the public domain. For this prompt, choose a book that is in the public domain that also has a movie or TV adaptation.
Remember that the movie does not have to be a direct adaptation of the book. (For example: You may read the book Pride and Prejudice, and then choose to watch the 1940 film version of Pride and Prejudice, a contemporary retelling of the original like Bridget Jones’ Diary, or the 2016 movie, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.) It is up to you whether you want a direct adaptation, or a movie or TV series that is inspired by the book but has taken a more creative interpretation.
A fairy tale retelling:
A retelling of a fairy tale is when you take a classic fairy tale (of any origin) and put a new spin on it. These stories may be told in a different genre or with a new twist. Retellings often resonate with modern readers in new ways as authors incorporate current themes, new settings, diverse characters, etc. The fairy tale retelling may keep the original story structure and plot throughout, or it may be barely recognizable from the original by the end.
The retelling may be told from the perspective of a secondary or minor character, villain, introduce a brand-new character, etc. It may also combine multiple fairy tales into one new story.
For this Read It, Watch It challenge, you may choose a book and a movie that are both based on the same fairy tale but approach the story in completely different ways. (For example: You may decide to read the book Cinder and then watch any Cinderella retelling, like A Cinderella Story or Ever After, rather than a direct adaptation of the book. Alternatively, you may decide on a direct adaptation of a fairy tale retelling, ie: Ella Enchanted (book) and Ella Enchanted (movie.))
A character with red hair:
This character-based prompt is for any character with red hair (natural or dyed.) They may be the main character or a secondary character. As a non-fiction option, you may also choose a memoir or biography about a historical or modern-day individual with red hair.
The movie or film version may be a direct retelling of the book, or it may take more creative license. You may also choose to watch a version in which the director did not stay true to the original character description, and cast an actor without red hair for that character.
As a creative twist, you may choose a film or TV adaptation in which the character is cast with red hair, even though they don’t have red hair in the book.
More than a million copies sold:
For this prompt, we’re looking for books that have more than a million copies sold worldwide. It could have sold over a million copies in one specific country or across multiple countries or regions. It could have hit “one million copies sold” at any point after being released, and it does not have to be within a specific timeframe.
Alternatively, you could also choose an author who has sold more than a million copies of their books in total. (Multiple books combined to equal one million sold, rather than one specific book.)
For this Read It, Watch It challenge, just the book or the author has to have sold more than a million copies. The movie or TV adaptation does not have to have hit any specific box office or viewership numbers.
Questions and tips:
I already have a book picked for one of these prompts but it doesn’t have a movie adaptation! What do I do?
This challenge is an optional bonus challenge and there is no pressure to complete any or all of it. If you’ve already read a book without a movie or TV adaptation for one of these prompts, you’re welcome to simply skip that prompt on this Read It, Watch It challenge.
Alternatively, you could also decide to complete that prompt twice — once for the regular 2025 challenge, and once more for this Read It, Watch It challenge.
Does the movie have to be a direct adaptation of the book?
No. As always, feel free to get creative with this bonus challenge. For example, you could choose to read Pride and Prejudice for the prompt “In the Public Domain.” You could then watch a direct adaptation of the book, or choose a looser interpretation such as Bridget Jones’s Diary or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
As always, it is up to you how flexible you’d like to be with your interpretation of each prompt.
Does a TV series count for this challenge?
Absolutely!
Website link: https://www.the52book.club/read-it-wa...