Celebrating 17 years of True Book Addict!

I am over a week late posting this! So busy the past several weeks. Blogiversary date is August 5th.

Honestly, it still seems like yesterday! Time just flies by. My sons were still little when I started, 7 and 6. Now, they're 24 and 23!

Though I've slowed down a bit overall with blogging here, I still keep it going because it's such a worthwhile experience, and I do have special content during Banned Books Week, and other times as well. I branched out to running a full online reading community. My reading group on Goodreads, my horror blog, Castle Macabre (which celebrates 15 years today, August 16th), my readathon site, Seasons of Reading, and my reading community hub for the reading challenges I host, Gather Together and Read.

If you're new to my site, check down in the sidebar and you will see graphics linking to the moving parts of the reading community I mentioned above. (I've also linked them above.)

I have met so many wonderful people and made lifelong friends through this blogging journey. I wouldn't change a thing!

To everyone who has stuck with me since the beginning, and to those who came after, thank you for letting me share with you through the years. 

I look forward to many years to come.

Art featured on blog post graphic: Illustration by Art Attack on Unsplash

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2026...First Book of the Year and Reading Challenges

Another year that went WAY too fast and here we are already over two weeks into 2026. What a year 2025 was, and while I'm trying to stay hopeful, I won't lie and say I'm not deeply distressed and downright scared about what is happening in our country. Who will save us, and at this point, are we even savable? As we approach the 250th birthday of our nation, I wonder what the Founding Fathers would make of all this. I have a feeling many of them are currently rolling in their graves (especially John Adams). But I digress...enough gloom and doom for now. 

My first book of 2026, which I'm currently reading, is The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano. Sheila at Book Journey was my bookish secret Santa this year and it was part of my wonderful gifts she sent me. It's really good so far, but a difficult read because of the subject matter. When you're a witch yourself, reading about what happened to women in the past accused of being one is very hard indeed. I'm also reading Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann for my book group on Goodreads, True Book Talk, and I'm starting The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. We're reading Darwin for my 1000 Books Project this year. More on that below.

As I mentioned in my last post, I beat last year's goal by 10 books...I met my 2025 goal of 60 books read! I'm upping the ante again this year, but only by five. So my 2026 goal is 65 books. I can do it!

The new year for me always comes with a fresh start at reading challenges. This year I'll once again be doing Book Challenge by Erin (which is twice a year), in addition to the four challenges I host. I'm also going to do Horror Aficionados' (Goodreads) A to Z Challenge.

Challenges listed below:
Book Challenge by Erin 24.0

2026 A to Z Challenge, Horror Aficionados on Goodreads
2026 I Read Horror Year-Round

1000 Books Project 2026: Charles Darwin
2026 Book to Movie (and TV) Challenge
2026 Read Your Shelf Challenge

First up...the twice a year challenge - Book Challenge by Erin 24.0 

(Facebook group)

The first round of the year runs Jan 1 - April 30.

Freebie : A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin

Book title beginning with A, B or C: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

Epistolary: A People's History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal

Book with clock on the cover: The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

Strong father figure: Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

Radio National Pick: Circe by Madeline Miller

Occupation in the book title: The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell

School or Academic setting: Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Reader's pick: White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

Biography/Memoirs/Historical fiction: Chronicle of the Pharaohs by Peter A. Clayton

This is a private Facebook group. You can check it out and join here. You can join in at any time during the four months. Second challenge of the year starts July 1st. Categories announced in June.

Horror Challenges

2026 A to Z Challenge - Horror Aficionados on Goodreads

Look for book titles or author's last names that start with each letter of the alphabet but now we're including a fun change:

The A to Z can be all BOOK TITLES, all AUTHOR'S LAST NAMES or A COMBINATION OF BOTH.

That's right. You chose what you would like to include in your personal A to Z Challenge.

Some letters, such as Q, X, and Z, are a bit more difficult to find, so any title or author's name that includes those letters is acceptable.

I host this challenge at my sister blog, the horror blog, Castle Macabre.

I have some ideas on what I'll be reading, but not sure on all of them yet. I'm going for the Chilling level again this year. I completed the level in 2024 so I'll stick with it for now.

Here are the categories and levels...

• Winter - set in winter or snow on the cover or winter in the title
• Epistolary horror - found footage, told in letters and/or diaries
• Cult and/or ritual
• Haunted house
• Full moon and/or woods on the cover
• Indigenous, Asian, or Latino author
• Pumpkins/Jack O' Lanterns on the cover
• Black author
• Book published in the 60's, 70's, or 80's
• Social justice horror
• Yule/Christmas holiday themed
• Whatever scares you the most
  

Levels:

Spooky: Read 6 books from 6 categories
Chilling: Read 12 Books from all 12 categories
Frightful: Read 2 books from each category for a total of 24 books
Horrifying: Read 3 books from each category for a total of 36 books

This year I added an optional bonus challenge - Complete the Word

Read a book with a title that starts with each letter of your chosen word. Complete as many as you want. One of your main challenge books can count for one of the letters.

The words
DREAD
FEAR
FRIGHT
HORROR
SCARED
TERROR

I'm not sure what word (or words) I'm going to choose yet. TBD. 

Full details and sign up here.

The next three challenges are hosted by me at Gather Together and Read, my reading community site.

Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species and The Voyage of the Beagle

Reading is Political - Follow the Science

We have already started reading. The reading schedules are posted here, along with all of the information about this year's project.

My main level...
The Enthusiast: read 1-3 books being made into movies/series for release in 2026
Also, additional levels...
Not Ready to Let Go: read at least one (1) book made into a movie or series in 2025
vc iving in the Past: read at least one (1) book made into a movie in previous years
The Movie Was Better (What?!): watch the movie(s) for the book(s) you read.

Potential books (including some I didn't get to last year):

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, George R.R. Martin (2026)

The Book of Magic (Practical Magic 2) by Alice Hoffman (2026)

Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin - House of the Dragon streaming series (2022, 2024, 2026)

Klara And The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (2026)

Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger (2026)

Remain, Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shymalan (I don't usually read Sparks, but I'll make an exception when Shymalan is involved.)

The Testaments, Margaret Atwood (2026)
Wicked, Gregory Maguire (2024, 2025))

The Witching Hour, Anne Rice (reread) Second season of streaming series (1/5/25)

The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay (2023)
Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann (2023) Currently reading
My Lady Jane, Cynthia Hand - streaming series (2024)

Klara And The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (2025)
The Running Man, Stephen King (2025)

The Long Walk, Stephen King (2025)

Full details and sign up here.

Pretend your house is a library: A strategy for actually reading the books you own.

My "holds shelf"...

My full list of books on my holds shelf are listed on my 2026 Reading Challenges page located in the blog menu above.

Full details on how this challenge works (you can adapt it to fit your needs too!) and sign up here.

Last, but not least, my independent project called Backlist Challenge. I'm keeping track on a separate page which you can see up in the blog menu. As always, there are also links in the menu to my long term challenges like the Classics Club, etc.

That's it! What is (was) your first book of the year? What are your reading plans? Doing any challenges, or perhaps thinking of joining one (or more) of mine?
Whatever your plans are, I'm wishing you a Happy New Year of escaping the world into reading.❤

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My 2025 year in reading

I met my goal of 50 last year so I raised my goal by 10 to 60 for 2025 and I did it...I read 60 books last year! 

My top 12 favorite books (well, eleven...I didn't have a favorite in November for some reason):

1. Holly, Stephen King (this was my favorite book of 2025)
2. Horseman, Christina Henry
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
4. The Hacienda, Isabel Canas
5. The Eulogist, Terry Gamble
6. The Vampire Armand, Anne Rice
7. The March, E.L. Doctorow
8. Diavola, Jennifer Thorne
9. The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard
10. John Adams, David McCullough
11. All the Fiends of Hell, Adam Nevill

You can see the list of books I read last year on Goodreads here.

I did okay on reading challenges, completing most of my own challenges, and one (a twice a year challenge) not my own. My final update on 2025 reading challenges can be found here.

I didn't make a list of resolutions, just have a few goals in mind...

• Survive whatever 2026 throws at me
• Write my novel (I'm starting this weekend)
• Read 65 books

My word for 2026 is DETERMINED. I am going to need every ounce of determination I can muster.

Stay tuned for my 2026 reading challenges post.

Happy New Year and happy reading all year long!

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Banned Books Week 2025 - 821 attempts to censor library materials and services

"Reading rights advocates are looking to take preemptive approaches, such as creating legislative protections for librarians and educators to avoid the need to self-censor.

Penguin Random House and others are pushing for freedom to read laws, which were introduced in 25 states, with seven passing some protections in the 2025 legislative session.

While the laws vary, some have passed with antiretaliatory measures for teachers and librarians so they won’t get into professional trouble for defending certain books if they are challenged.

“If you relentlessly face book challenges year after year with legislation that is not clear, then a chilling effect happens, where instead of teaching America how to think, we try to teach America what to think. And so, Americans are going to start self censoring,” said Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Association (ALA), which puts on Banned Books Week each October. This year’s event runs Oct. 5-11."

"The ALA found 821 attempts to censor library materials and services in 2024, compared with 1,247 attempts the previous year. ALA defines a book ban as the removal of materials due to challenges from the community.

ALA said 72 percent of challenges were done by outside “pressure groups” and a majority of censorship attempts are occurring at public libraries. Around 38 percent of these challenges are hitting school libraries.

“Often these [book] challenges are presented in long list forms and include books that are not even in the library’s catalog. … It’s difficult to really ascertain beyond like the trends, what exactly is going to get the hammer when censorship is constantly looking for a nail,” Helmick said."

"Book ban opponents say one danger in the battle is the difficulty of knowing it is even occurring.

“I’m hearing stories, particularly in school libraries, of superintendents writing down titles on a Post-it note, quietly handing it to the media specialist or school librarian and then demanding both the Post-it note and those books back, and that’s not transparency, that’s not due process, that’s not the First Amendment,” Helmick said.

To combat self-censorship, community members will have to do more groundwork to discover it is happening in the first place.

“The easiest way is to request your librarian to acquire specific books, books that may be on these banned books lists or are otherwise controversial,” suggested Kris Austin, CEO of Draft2Digital, a publishing platform for self-published authors and independent presses, adding it “will be a quick way to identify that self-censorship might be happening, because you could see how they respond to those requests and it can be very illuminating.”"

 

"Penguin Random House is coming out with “Banned Wagons” filled with challenged books in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Authors are gathering for speaking events to highlight the issue, and retailers like Bookshop.org are giving discounts for certain books during this time.

“Banned Books Week is more than just symbolic, it’s a reminder that protecting free expression requires constant vigilance and participation, so whether that’s in the classroom or the library or through platforms that help authors reach their readers, it just it’s very important to support,” Austin said."

Graphics source: ala.org

Text source: The Hill

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Banned Books Week 2025 - Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024

"The 2024 data reported to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) shows that the majority of book censorship attempts are now originating from organized movements. Pressure groups and government entities that include elected officials, board members and administrators initiated 72% of demands to censor books in school and public libraries. Parents only accounted for 16% of demands to censor books, while 5% of challenges were brought by individual library users. The 120 titles most frequently targeted for censorship during 2024 are all identified on partisan book rating sites which provide tools for activists to demand the censorship of library books.

The most common justifications for censorship provided by complainants were false claims of illegal obscenity for minors; inclusion of LGBTQIA+ characters or themes; and covering topics of race, racism, equity, and social justice." (ala.org)

1. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson 

Number of challenges: 39
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit 

2. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Number of challenges: 38
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

3. (TIE) The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Number of challenges: 35
Challenged for: depiction of sexual assault, depiction of incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content

3. (TIE) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Number of challenges: 35
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, depiction of sexual assault, depiction of drug use, profanity

5. Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

Number of challenges: 33
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit

6. (TIE) Looking for Alaska by John Green

Number of challenges: 30
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit 

6. (TIE) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Number of challenges: 30
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity

8. (TIE) Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Number of challenges: 28
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, depiction of drug use

8. (TIE) Sold by Patricia McCormick

Number of challenges: 28
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, depiction of sexual assault

10. Flamer by Mike Curato

Number of challenges: 27
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit 

Information in this post obtained from ala.org

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Banned Books Week 2025 - Why it matters now more than ever

Kasey Meehan, the director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, said, “Censorship pressures have expanded and escalated, taking on different forms—laws, directives, guidance that sow confusion, lists of books mislabeled as ‘explicit’ materials, and ‘do not buy’ lists. A disturbing ‘everyday banning’ and normalization of censorship has worsened and spread over the last four years. The result is unprecedented.” (Kirkus)

Things have been getting increasingly worse with the banning/challenging of books over the past several years, and now more than ever, in the past eight months. 

"Federal efforts to restrict education use rhetoric from state and local efforts to ban books. In 2025, a new vector of book banning pressure has appeared – the federal government. Since returning to office, the Trump Administration has mimicked rhetoric about “parents’ rights”, which, in Florida and other states, has largely been used to advance book bans and censorship of schools, against the wishes of many parents, students, families, and educators. Under the guise of “returning education to parents,” President Trump has released a series of Executive Orders (EOs) mainly: “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism,” and “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.”" 

Although none of these EOs take a direct aim at books, they were used as justification for the July 2025 removal of almost 600 books from Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools on military bases. In restricting discussion of transgender people and diversity, equity, and inclusion and barring schools from “promoting un-American ideas,” books like ABC of Equality by Chana Ewing or several volumes from the series Heartstopper by Alice Oseman were removed from access. Students and their families responded by suing. 

(From this excellent article, The Normalization of Book Banning, on PEN America)

Common targets include books that:

• Feature LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
• Address race, racism, or civil rights.
• Discuss sexual health, puberty, or consent.
• Books that explore difficult realities such as violence, abuse, or addiction are also frequently challenged.

Case in point with that last one (violence). It has been recently revealed that Stephen King was the most banned author in the 2024/2025 school year...206 times. You can't convince me that some of those instances were not due to his outspoken "woke" public opinions (which I applaud). 

As this administration continues its attempt to censor free speech and eliminate references to diversity, historical truth, and even questions the validity of science, we can expect things may only get worse. We've already begun to go back so what will stop them from taking us back even further. 

For instance:

Science - Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, first published in 1859 and banned in 1895 for contradicting Christian beliefs. Darwin’s publication has been called “the most influential banned book.” On the Origin of Species lays the groundwork for modern evolutionary biology. Very little about science is understandable without a basic knowledge of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. (Intellectual Freedom Blog)

Diversity - Frequently challenged books include:

• A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines
• A Hero Ain't Nothin But a Sandwich by Alice Childress
• A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
• Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
• Always Running by Luis J Rodriguez
• Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence by Marion Dane Baue
• America by E.R. Frank
• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
• Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
  
  Full list here

History - 

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X: Banned for racism and violence; described as a "how-to-manual" for crime and decried for its “anti-white statements.”
• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown: Banned; perceived as divisive and the district wanted to avoid controversy. "If there's a possibility that something might be controversial, then why not eliminate it."
• The Hundred Years' War on Palestine, Rashid Khalidi: Banned in Michigan, 2024 - Little Free Libraries / ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom
  
  Full list here

I conclude today's post with a quote from the end of The Normalizing of Book Banning. It is spot on.

“Never before” only turns into “no more” if we make the constant, consistent choice to fight for our democracy and the bedrock institutions within it – public schools, public libraries, and more – that uphold free expression principles, including the freedom to read and exchange books, stories, ideas, histories, and information.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Visit ala.org for further Banned Books Week information and materials.

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Celebrating 16 years of True Book Addict!!

Another year in the books!

What a worthwhile experience it has been...starting out blogging here and gradually branching out to running a full online reading community. My reading group on Goodreads, my horror blog, Castle Macabre (which will celebrate 14 years on August 16th), my readathon site, Seasons of Reading, and my reading community hub for the reading challenges I host, Gather Together and Read.

If you're new to my site, check down in the sidebar and you will see graphics linking to the moving parts of the reading community I mentioned above. (I've also linked them above.)

I have met some fantastic people and made lifelong friends through this blogging journey. I wouldn't change a thing!

To everyone who has been here since the beginning, and to those who came after, thank you for letting me share with you through the years. 💙💙💙

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My Year In Books -- a meme

Anne at My Head is Full of Books inviting me to join in on this fun meme. How could I resist? You can participate too. Check it out here.

My Year in Books

Rules?

• Answer the questions with titles from books you read in 2024. (Some may end up being silly, others may seem overly serious.)
• The goal is to have fun.
• Participate by copying the questions below. Erasing my answers and inserting you own.
• Once you've created your post, link it below so others can see it, then visit others' posts to see how they answered the questions.
• Spread the word. Let's see if we can make this a thing again this year!

Questions:

In high school I was: Knowing (Mark Cox)

People might be surprised: I Was a Teenage Slasher (Stephen Graham Jones)

I will never be: Medusa's Sisters (Lauren J.A. Bear)

My fantasy job is: Arranging Words (Fran Abrams)

At the end of a long day I need: Fairy Tale (Stephen King)

I hate it: At the Edge of the Orchard (Tracy Chevalier)

Wish I had: The Moonstone (Wilkie Collins)

My family reunions are: And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie)

At a party you’d find me: They Lurk (Ronald Malfi)

I’ve never been to: The Last House on Needless Street (Catriona Ward)

A happy day includes: Lone Women (Victor LaValle)

Motto I live by: The Rules of Magic (Alice Hoffman)

On my bucket list is: A Winter Haunting (Dan Simmons)

In my next life, I want to have: When Women Ruled the World (Kara Cooney)

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2025...Reading Challenges, First Book of the Year, and my Word for the Year

I honestly cannot believe how fast 2024 went by! While it wasn't a terrible year, some things happened that made it less than ideal for me. Not going into details, but I'm sure many can relate. But let's put 2024 in the past where it belongs and get down to a new year of optimism and reading plans. I mentioned in my 2024 reading year post that I reached my goal of reading 50 books in 2024. I'm setting my 2025 goal at 60. We shall see if I can surpass last year. I'm certainly going to try.

First book of the year - Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow by Christina Henry

Of course I'm starting off the year with a horror novel. I have always loved the legend of Sleepy Hollow ever since watching The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad as a kid. So far, this one is really good!

I'm also reading Winter King: Henry VII and The Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn for my book group on Goodreads, True Book Talk. 

My word for the year

Last year, my word was Release and I think I did a pretty good job of doing just that. In 2023, I was struggling with empty nest syndrome so Brave was my word and then I chose Release last year to help me accept and release what I could not change. This year I chose Courage to help me cope with what is going on in our country and the world, and also to have the courage to keep going with my weight loss (I've lost 80 lbs since April 2024), and writing, and finishing, my novel. 

The new year for me always comes with a fresh start at reading challenges. This year I'll once again be doing Book Challenge by Erin (which is twice a year), in addition to the four challenges I host.

Challenges listed below:
Book Challenge by Erin 22.0
2025 I Read Horror Year-Round
1000 Books Project 2025: Sigrid Undset's Krisin Lavransdatter
2025 Book to Movie (and TV) Challenge
2025 Read Your Shelf Challenge

First up...the twice a year challenge - Book Challenge by Erin 22.0 (Facebook group)

First round of the year runs Jan - April.

Freebie: Horseman, Christina Henry

Added to 2024 TBA - The Hacienda, Isabel Canas

Artist (writer) as main character - The Writing Retreat, Julia Bartz

Sunset on cover - Holly, Stephen King

Jenna Bush Book Club rec - Camp Zero, Michelle Min Sterling

Title starts with I - Incidents Around the House, Josh Malerman

City/Town in title - The Last Witch of Langenburg, Thomas Robisheaux

Female villain - Rosemary's Baby, Ira Levin

Author w/ first name of Erin - Lake of Sorrows, Erin Hart

Climate change fiction - Portent, James Herbert

This is a private Facebook group. You can check it out and join here. You can join in at any time during the four months. Second challenge of the year starts July 1st. Categories announced in June.

Now on to the challenges I'm hosting...

I host this challenge at my sister blog, the horror blog, Castle Macabre. 

I have some ideas on what I'll be reading, but not sure on all of them yet. I'm going for the Chilling level again this year. I completed the level in 2024 so I'll stick with it for now.

Here are the prompts and levels...

• Vampires
• Witches
• Folk Horror 
• Written by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) author
• A Ghost Story
• Written by a female author
• Cosmic Horror
• Frightening Cover
• Adapted as movie/series
• Katsu, Ketchum, King, or Koontz
• Black, gray, orange, or red cover
• Book featuring a Cryptid (mark off one BINGO square!)

Levels:

Spooky: Read 6 books from 6 categories
Chilling: Read 12 Books from all 12 categories
Frightful: Read 2 books from each category for a total of 24 books
Horrifying: Read 3 books from each category for a total of 36 books

I'm sure you noticed that last prompt up there. That's right...I've added an optional BINGO challenge with a Cryptid theme. Fun, right?! Check out the BINGO card!

Full details and sign up here.

The next three challenges are hosted by me at Gather Together and Read, my reading community site.

Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter - January through August

Honoring women: A woman's life saga.

We have already started reading. The reading schedule is posted here.

Full details and sign-up here.

My main level...

The Enthusiast: read 1-3 books
Also, additional levels...
Not Ready to Let Go: read at least one (1) book made into a movie or series in 2023
Living in the Past: read at least one (1) book made into a movie in previous years
The Movie Was Better (What?!): watch the movie(s) for the book(s) you read.

Potential books:

Wicked, Gregory Maguire (2024)
The Witching Hour, Anne Rice (reread) Second season of streaming series (1/5/25)
The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard (2022)
The Cabin at the End of the World, Paul Tremblay (2023)
Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann (2023)

Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin - House of the Dragon streaming series (2022, 2024)

The Keep, F. Paul Wilson (1983)

My Lady Jane, Cynthia Hand - streaming series (2024)

Dune, Frank Herbert (2021 and 2024) streaming series Prophecy (2024)

Klara And The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro (2025)

The Running Man, Stephen King (2025)

Full details and sign up here.

Pretend your house is a library: A strategy for actually reading the books you own.

My "holds shelf"...

My full list of books on my holds shelf are listed on my 2025 Reading Challenges page located in the blog menu above.

Full details on how this challenge works (you can adapt it to fit your needs too!) and sign up here.

Last, but not least, my independent project called Backlist Challenge. I'm keeping track on a separate page which you can see up in the blog menu. As always, there are also links in the menu to my long term challenges like the Classics Club, etc.

That's it! What is (was) your first book of the year? Do you have a word for 2025? What are your reading plans? Doing any challenges, or perhaps thinking of joining one (or more) of mine?
Whatever your plans are, I wish you a Happy New Year of peace and prosperity, and great reading of course!

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