The 2025 Annual Reading Challenge List Thread

[pdurrant]

2025 Reading Challenge List Thread

Welcome to our 16th Annual Reading Challenge!

The Annual Reading Challenge is not a race, nor an “exclusive club”, anyone can join! This is just a fun activity that some of us have enjoyed doing in the past. Many of us have found reading challenges to be an entertaining way to set goals for ourselves, get ideas for books, and see what others are reading.

This thread is for you to keep a running tally for your chosen challenge. Please state your goals at the top of your post (in the title line if you can), and then start your list in the body of your post. As you read books, edit your post to update your list of books read, or other challenge status.

Please Remember: No discussion posts in this thread. Please use the other thread for that. Non-List posts will be deleted or moved to the other thread.

Discussions & Ideas can be found here:

2025 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread

Post #2 of this thread is dedicated to a Table of Contents for all participants in this thread. Names will be added to this TOC in alphabetical order with a link to that individual’s post number from this thread.

Previous threads were for
2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010

[pdurrant]

Table of Participants

• afv011 - Post #8
• astrangerhere - Post #15
• BelleZora - Post #12
• bookaho!ic - Post #14
• CAFlanny - Post #10
• Dazrin - Post #4
• DJUNGELSKOG - Post #22
• DrNefario - Post #7
• HLS - Post #17
• Hollow Man - Post #16
• irishmac473 - Post #23
• issybird - Post #5
• jbcohen - Post #18
• JSWolf - Post #6
• Karellen - Post #9
• library addict - Post #11
• magiun - Post #25
• Musicman - Post #19
• pdurrant - Post #3
• Tarana - Post #20
• ucfgrad93 - Post #24
• Uncle Robin - Post #13
• Waylander - Post #21
  

23 Participants .

[pdurrant]

Last year I managed to reduce my TBR pile by only 10 books.
I start 2025 with 671 books on my TBR pile.
This year I aim to end with under 650 books on my TBR pile.
Stretch goal is under 625.
Impossible goal is under 600!

Books removed from TBR

Read and Reading

1. December 31st: Three Stories by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. - £0.94 - 3/5 - 40pp
   The just OK short stories. IMO they should have been shorter or longer
2. January 1st: Elusive by Genevieve Cogman - £0.99 - 5/5 - 329pp
   Excellent. I'm looking forward to the conclusion later this year.
3. January 2nd: The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes - £0.99 - 3/5 - 250pp
   An OK retelling, but I hated the split time format
4. January 3rd: One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross - £1.99 - 5/5 - 203pp
   A Jerusalem adventure for Rabbi Small
5. January 4th: Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin - £0.99 - 4/5 - 418pp
   Return of a major villain in a most unlikely way. otherwise good
6. January 7th: The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths - £0.99 - 4/5 - 252pp
   Good, but perhaps too many astonishing coincidences
7. January 8th: Ocean under the Ice by Robert L. Forward - £3.83 - 3/5 - 245pp
   Bit are fascinating, but almost abandoned because of being dull
8. January 12th: The Patience of the Spider by The Patience of the Spider - £1.19 - 4/5 - 177pp
   The plot was obvious to me before it was to Montalbano
9. January 14th: The Day the Rabbi Resigned by Harry Kemelman - £1.50 - 5/5 - 233pp
   Good stuff
10. January 16th: Flying Finish by Dick Francis - £0.99 - 5/5 - 222pp
    Excellent thriller/mystery
11. January 17th: Blood Sport by Dick Francis - £0.99 - 5/5 - 218pp
    Excellent thriller/mystery
12. January 17th: That Day the Rabbi Left Town by Harry Kemelman - £0.99 - 5/5 - 202pp
    Great fun with Rabbi Small - the clues are there.
13. January 18th: Conversations with Rabbi Small - £1.99 - 4/5 - 214pp
    An exploration of what Judaism is with Rabbi Small. Interesting.
14. January 19th: I am Crying all Inside by Clifford D. Simak - £2.99 - 5/5 - 243ppp
    Excellent short SF and a Western.
15. January 21st: The Ghost of a Model T by Clifford D. Simak - £1.99 - - 237ppp

Discarded (13)
Sandman 12,Sandman 12.1, Anansi Boys, Neverwhere, Smoke and Mirrors, American Gods 2005, Adventures in the Dream Trade, Duran Duran, Free Speeches, Ghastly Beyond Belief, Gods and Tulips, Outrageous Tales, Seven Deadly Sins


Books added to TBR

Freebies (Unread)

1. None

Bought (Unread)

• January (10/£10.89): Elusive, Agatha Raisin in Down the Hatch, The Children of Jocasta, London Match, The House at Sea's End,The Janus Stone, The Woman in Blue, Dangerous Visions, The Last Dangerous Visions, The Torso in the Town
• February (0/£0.00):
• March (0/£0.00):
• April (0/£0.00):
• May (0/£0.00):
• June (0/£0.00):
• July (0/£0.00):
• August (0/£0.00):
• September (0/£0.00):
• October (0/£0.00):
• November (0/£0.00):
• December (0/£0.00):

Analysis
TBR: 653
Books read: 14 (includes 0 freebies, 0 re-reads)
Books otherwise removed from TBR pile: 14 (1 duplicate, 13 discarded)

Books removed from TBR pile: 28
Books added to TBR pile: 10 (includes 0 freebies, 0 omnibuses counted as 0)
Removed/Added: 2.8
Net reduction for 2025: 18

Non-free books read: 14 (includes 0 re-reads)
Total cost of books read: £21.36
Average cost of books read: £1.53

Non-free books bought: 10 (includes 0 not added to TBR, 0 omnibuses counted as 0)
Total cost of books bought: £10.89
Average cost of books bought: £1.09

Rating System:
1: Bad.
2: Poor. (Or just not to my taste.)
3: Satisfactory.
4: Good.
5: Excellent.

Pages are as given by the ADE algorithm in Calibre, or from the Amazon web page.

[Dazrin]

Same goal for 2025 at 12,000 pages. This has worked well the last few years, although it looks like 15,000 pages is about my average. Reading is supposed to be fun and relaxing, so this is enough of a buffer that I won't stress over it.

---

Page Goal:: Read 12,000 Pages in 2025
Status as of January 22: 1,501 pages read, 8 books/short stories completed (24,903 projected)

2025 Stats:

• Novels/Novellas (>50 pages): 3 (38% books / 94% pages)
• Short Stories (< 50 pages): 5 (63% books / 6% pages)
• Audiobooks: 3 / 47h 31m (38%)
• Library Books: 3 (38%)

---

Current and upcoming books:

• Parable of the Sower (Earthseed 1) - Octavia E. Butler
• Rhythm of War (Stormlight Archive 4) - Brandon Sanderson
• Obsolescence - Martha Wells

Spoiler:

Completed books, ordered by finish date:

January: 8 book(s), 1,501 pages, 24,903 projected

• The Mongolian Wizard (Mongolian Wizard 1) - Michael Swanwick (Link)
• The Fire Gown (Mongolian Wizard 2) - Michael Swanwick
• Day of the Kraken (Mongolian Wizard 3) - Michael Swanwick
• Arnold, the Bominable Snowman - Terry Pratchett (Link)
• House of Dreams (Mongolian Wizard 4) - Michael Swanwick
• Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds - Read by John Lee
• The Lost Tomb - Douglas Preston - Read by David Grann
• The Mysterious Benedict Society (Mysterious Benedict Society 1) - Trenton Lee Stewart - Read by Del Roy

---

My lists: 2011 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 2025

[issybird]

Only two challenges this year, but one is a challenge with a capital C. It's also a pre-curated list, which I've not done before. My usual 120 total book benchmark. Linking to my Goodreads shelves.

Adding a Dance to the Music of Time challenge.

Doorstops:

• Don Quixote
• The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
• Moby Dick
• Les Misérables
• The Brothers Karamazov
• The Magic Mountain

12 Travel Books

120 Books in Total

[JSWolf]

January: Mickey7 by Edward Ashton

February: Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings by Jodi Taylor

March: Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore

April: Weather by Jenny Offill

May: State of Emergency by Richard Drysdale

June: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

July: Star Trek: The Original Series: A Contest of Principles by Greg Cox

August: The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly

September: Replay by Ken Grimwood

October: Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter

November: Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer

December: Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs

[DrNefario]

Read more than I buy.

Bought: 3
Borrowed: 0
Free: 2

Read: 5

Books read:
1. Ascend Online - Luke Chmilenko (k) - 634
2. Starstormers - Nicholas Fisk (k) - 109
3. Blood of Tyrants - Naomi Novik (k) - 485
4. Concrete Desert - Jon Talton (e) - 208
5. Dragon Keeper - Robin Hobb (k) - 493

Monthly Breakdown:

Spoiler:

January
Bought: 3 (£4.97)
Free: 2
Read: 5 (£8.63)
Pages: 1929

Achievements:

1. Buy It, Read It. Start at least 50% of the books I buy.
Current total: 2/3 (67%)

2. King of the Mountains. My 5 longest books should total over 3000 pages.
Current total: 1929

Spoiler:

634 - Ascend Online - Luke Chmilenko
493 - Dragon Keeper - Robin Hobb
485 - Blood of Tyrants - Naomi Novik
208 - Concrete Desert - Jon Talton
109 - Starstormers - Nicholas Fisk

3. Paper Chase. Reduce my unread paper book collection.
Out: 0
In: 0
Net reduction: 0

4. Never Gonna Be Respectable. Read a classic or literary-award-adjacent book.

5. He Scores. Read a book by Nevil Shute. This is a bit of an annual tradition since I inherited my father's collection, so I thought I would make it official.

6. Bundleer. Ongoing attempt to get value-for-money from bundles by spreading the cost over books read. OK is under £5 (the price of an average ebook), Good is under £2 per book.

Spoiler:

Storybundle Video Games (Dec 2020) - £23.24 - Read: 12 - Cost per book read: £1.94 - Value: Good
Storybundle Video Games 2 (Feb 2022) - £11.50 - Read: 5 - Cost per book read: £2.30 - Value: OK
Humble SF (Jul 2014) - £7.24 - Read: 3 - Cost per book read: £2.41 - Value: OK
Humble Post-Apocalypse (Mar 2015) - £10.43 - Read: 4 - Cost per book read: £2.60 - Value: OK
Poisoned Pen (Feb 2012) - £5.94 - Read: 2 - Cost per book read: £2.97 - Value: OK
Humble 1 (Oct 2012) - £9.66 - Read: 3 - Cost per book read: £3.22 - Value: OK
Humble 2 (Jul 2013) - £6.87 - Read: 2 - Cost per book read: £3.44 - Value: OK
Humble Battletech (Apr 2024) - £23.78 - Read: 3 - Cost per book read: £7.92 - Value: Poor
Young Wizards (Jan 2012) - £21.55 - Read: 2 - Cost per book read: £10.78 - Value: Poor
Humble Modesitt (Sep 2023) - £14.42 - Read: 1 - Cost per book read: £14.42 - Value: Poor

7. The Wonder Years. Re-read 1 formative SF/F work published in each year from 1970. An exercise I am doing elsewhere that I think I will track here.
Last completed year: 1980

Spoiler:

Read in 2024:
1970 - Nine Princes in Amber - Roger Zelazny
1971 - Trillions - Nicholas Fisk
1972 - An Alien Heat - Michael Moorcock
1973 - Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C Clarke (not reread)
1974 - Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion - Terrance Dicks
1975 - Crisis on Conshelf Ten - Monica Hughes
1976 - Gate of Ivrel - C J Cherryh
1977 - Gateway - Frederik Pohl
1978 - The Moon Raiders - Patrick Moore
Read in 2025:
1979 - The 2000ad Annual 1980 - Various
1980 - Starstormers - Nicholas Fisk

8. Alphablast. Read a novel whose title begins with each letter of the alphabet, in order.
Last completed letter: C

Spoiler:

A - Ascend Online - Luke Chmilenko
B - Blood of Tyrants - Naomi Novik
C - Concrete Desert - Jon Talton
D - Dragon Keeper - Robin Hobb

Legend:
(p) paperback, (h) hardback, (k) kindle, (e) epub, (i) ibook, (f) pdf, (a) audio, (w) web
On target, Off target, Completed

[afv011]

I don't have the time I used to for reading, so my challenge is to read 24 book next year.

Completed

• January
  1. Leviathan Wakes (James S.A. Corey) - 463p
  2. Think like a Dinosaur (James Patrick Kelly) - 31p
  3. Drive (James S.A. Corey) - 27p
  4. The Churn (James S.A. Corey) - 75p
  5. The Butcher of Anderson Station (James S.A. Corey) - 37p
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

Books read: 5
Pages read: 633

[Karellen]

Just updated my 2024 list, so reserving this for 2025

[CAFlanny]

Goals for 2025:

• Read 25,000 pages

• StoryGraph Mobileread Reading Challenge

• Reduce TBR

I start the year with a TBR of 248.

Pages Read: 146/25,000
Current TBR: 247

TBR: 1
Kindle Unlimited: 0
Kobo Plus: 0
Library: 0
Borrowed: 0
Freebie: 0

MR StoryGraph Challenge:
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

[library addict]

I have a mix of reading goals for 2025, but mainly to put several small dents in my TBR. They include:

• Catch up completely on at least three series started years ago that the authors finished but I have not (books already in TBR).
• Read a complete series or trilogy by a new-to-me author already owned (books already in TBR).
• Pick 10 “Must Read” books for the year from my huge digital TBR mountain (not including any new releases)

January 2025

February 2025

March 2025

April 2025

May 2025

June 2025

July 2025

August 2025

September 2025

October 2025

November 2025

December 2025

[BelleZora]

Count me in. I recently began a challenge to read a book set in each of the fifty US states plus the District of Columbia. There are 39 left which I plan to read in 2025. Wherever possible I am choosing books from my TBR.

Alabama - Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez 4/5
Alaska - Alaska by James Michener 4/5
Arizona - Tombstone Courage by J. A. Jance 2/5
Arkansas - True Grit by Charles Portis 4/5
California - The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan 4/5
Colorado - Plainsong by Kent Haruf 4/5
Connecticut - A Little Hope by Ethan Joella 4/5
Delaware - The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella 4/5
Florida - Flashback by Nevada Barr 3/5
Georgia - The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers 4/5
Hawaii - Honolulu by Alan Brennert 4/5
Idaho -
Illinois -
Indiana -
Iowa -
Kansas - The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas 2/5
Kentucky -
Louisiana -
Maine - Empire Falls by Richard Russo 5/5
Maryland -
Massachusetts -
Michigan -
Minnesota -
Mississippi -
Missouri -
Montana -
Nebraska -
Nevada -
New Hampshire -
New Jersey -
New Mexico - The Pot Thief Who Studied Calvin by J. Michael Orenduff 3/5
New York -
North Carolina - Serena by Ron Rash 4/5
North Dakota -
Ohio -
Oklahoma -
Oregon -
Pennsylvania - A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella 4/5
Rhode Island -
South Carolina -
South Dakota -
Tennessee -
Texas - Massacre at Goliad by Elmer Kelton 4/5
Utah -
Vermont -
Virginia -
Washington -
West Virginia -
Wisconsin -
Wyoming -
District of Columbia - The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu 3/5

[Uncle Robin]

1. Commit to fewer challenges at The Storygraph. DONE - 2 in 2025, 4 in 2024

2. Complete the StoryGraph Reads the World Challenge

3. Complete the MobileRead Users TBR Reduction Challenge at the StoryGraph

5. Read at least 40,000 pages

6. Read at least 130 books

7. Read no more than 200 books.

8. Read more poetry.

9. Read at least 30 nonfiction books.

10. try AGAIN to finish the Hindi biography on my TBR

[bookaho!ic]

Count me in. 100 in 2025

January
The Choice by Samantha King
The Choice by Clare Wade
Forget me not by MJ Arlidge
The other couple. By Triona Walsh
The Widow by Fiona Barton
The Child by Fiona Barton
The Suspect by Fiona Barton

[astrangerhere]

Planned books for the 2025 MR TBR Reduction Challenge under the spoiler [here] and [here]:

Spoiler:

January: "Leftovers / New Beginnings":
PTBR - X-Men Omnibus Vol 1 (Claremont Run)*
ETBR - Orbital by Samantha Harvey*

February: "St.Valentines /Shortest TBR":
PTBR - Batwoman Elegy by Greg Rucka*
ETBR - The Headswoman by Kenneth Grahame

March: "Women's Day / St. Patricks":
PTBR - The Claremont Run: Subverting Gender in the the X-Men by Andrew Deman*
ETBR - The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden*

April: "April Showers / April Fools":
PTBR - Metal From Heaven by August Clark*
ETBR - The Grand Babylon Hotel by Arnold Bennett

May: "Elder and Old / Mayday!":
PTBR - The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitesei*
ETBR - The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton

June: "Beached / Broken":
PTBR - Salt Slow by Julia Armfield*
ETBR - Private Rights by Julia Armfield"

July: "Independents / Free Space":
PTBR - The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera*
ETBR - The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

August: "Grow Up / Education":
PTBR - Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond: The Life of Astronomer Vera Rubin by Ashley Jean Yeager
ETBR - Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh*

September: "Brevity / Seasonal":
PTBR - Gifted by Suzumi Suzuki*
ETBR - Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri

October: "Masks / Mysteries":
PTBR - The City in Glass by Nghi Vo*
ETBR - Laura by Vera Caspary

November: "Indigenous / Families":
PTBR - Selected Letters by Virginia Woolf
ETBR - Human Comedy: Selected Stories by Honoré de Balzac

December: "Endings / Gifted":
PTBR - Berlin City Trilogy by Jason Lutes*
ETBR - The Simple Art of Murder by Raymond Chandler

*Indicates book chosen by or one I am reading with my wife. I always try to read at least 10 or so books that she selects or that come from her TBR. This year, I gave her my categories list and told her to pick things. Life is more fun when you're discussing what you read with your spouse, I've found.

I will also be participating in the year-long read of Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time cycle hosted by Neglected Books [here]

Read List:

*Indicates challenge book

1. The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King
2. Orbital by Samantha Harvey*
3. Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser
4. King's Speech, The: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi
5. Laura by Vera Caspary*
6. The Headswoman by Kenneth Grahame*
7. Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King
8. Pirate King by Laurie R. King
9. The Selected Letters of Virginia Woolf*