Yes, I know it's February--my life motto is Better Late Than Never!
I'll recap the highlights and results of my 2024 Reading Challenges below, but you can see the details (including lists of books) at the link.
And,
I am joining some of the same reading challenges in 2025! My approach to reading challenges is to stretch and meet my goals without
being too prescriptive. A few have updates this year, so check out the links. All of my year-long reading challenges are listed first, with seasonal reading challenges toward the end of this post.
This year, I will also include some of the fun reading challenges and events I participate in on Booktube. I'll link below to the 2025 information for
each of them so you can join the fun, too!
Visit my 2025 Reading Challenges page for details, including monthly prompts and categories.
YEAR-LONG READING CHALLENGES:
Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2024 hosted by My Reader's Block.
I
haven't been doing very well on this one! Last year, I set my goal for 36 books from my own shelves, but I fell short.
I read only 31 books from my own shelves in 2024. Note that the challenge allows you to count audiobooks and e-books, but I have always just counted print books actually physically on my shelf.
I am again joining the
Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2025, still hosted by
My Reader's Block.
I will again set my goal for 36 books from my own shelves.
Since I am also on YouTube, I will also participate in the Read What You Own challenge there, hosted by Criminolly at the Bronze Level (25 books from my own shelves).
2024 Motif Reading Challenge hosted by Tanya and Kim at Chapter Adventure.
This
is one of my favorite annual challenges! The idea is simple: read a
book to fit each month's motif.
In 2024, I read books to fit 11 of the 12 monthly motifs. The only once I missed was April (a book with a character in royalty, government, or a kingdom) since I was reading for Booktopia.
I will once again participate in this fun challenge, 2025 Motif Reading Challenge hosted by Tanya and Kim at Chapter Adventure. Check out this year's creative motifs!
Classics Challenge
In
a sad turn of events, the Back to the Classics Challenge that I used to join
every year stopped in 2023. I looked all over and couldn't find
another that fits for me, so I did it on my own for the last two years! I used
the 12 categories from the Back to the Classics Challenge 2022, and I set my goal at 6 classics - but, for the first time in years, I didn't meet my goal and only read 4 classics last year.
In 2025, one of my Booktube buddies, Suey of Suey's Bookish Banter set up a classics challenge that is perfect for me: The Classic Six Challenge. The rules are super simple: read six classics (published in 1975 or later) in 2025. She's got a group set up on Storygraph, which I'm not on, so I'm participating through the Goodreads group ... and I've already read my first classic! Everyone is welcome to join, whether you're on YouTube or not. Another friend and former blogger, Melinda at A Web of Stories is also hosting her personal Classics Challenge, with 6 classics you can read-along with this year, and I may join her for March/April, Madam Bovary, since it is on my shelf.
2024 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge hosted by Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book.
In 2024, I read titles that fit into 23 of 26 letters of the alphabet, my best year yet! I was only missing K, X, and Z (for Q, X, and Z, you can count any word in the title, not just the
first word).
For this year: 2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge.
2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Book'd Out.
I signed up for the Nonfiction Nosher
category, aiming to read at least 12 nonfiction books and hitting as many of
the 12 categories as I can. I read 12 nonfiction books in 2024 and hit 9 of the 12 categories.
For this year: 2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge.
Diversity Reading Challenge 2024 hosted by Celebrity Readers.
This
is a familiar challenge for me that I enjoy every year. I read 41 diverse books in 2024 (56% of my total books), and I hit 7 of the 12 monthly mini challenges.
Celebrity Readers is taking a break from blogging, but I found another similar challenge for 2025:
2025 Diversity Reading Challenge hosted by The Smell of Ink blog.
Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge hosted by Tanya at Mom's Small Victories.
I
signed up for this one back in 2014, so
this is a continuation (it's a perpetual challenge).
In 2024, I read 23 books set outside the U.S., visiting 18 different countries in my reading. For 2025, Tanya has renamed the challenge, with some fun new features (all optional), including a weekly newsletter, a custom reading journal, and a Facebook group: Around the World Reading Challenge hosted by Tanya at Mom's Small Victories. I can't wait to see where in the world my books take me in 2025!
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge hosted by Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book.
I love tracking where I read domestically, as well. In 2024, I read books set in 32
different states.
I'm joining this challenge again (another annual favorite) at 2025 Literary Escapes Challenge hosted by Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book. I'm looking forward to reading in even more states
this year!
SEASONAL READING CHALLENGES:
NOTE: Even though -athon usually refers to a lot of something in a short
period of time (telethon, dance-athon, Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon), many
Booktubers call their reading challenges Readathons, even when they
last for months. This was confusing to me at first, so I thought I'd
explain it :)
Big Book Summer Challenge (link to 2024; 2025 link will go up in May) hosted by Book By Book (me!).
My
own annual challenge that I host each summer, beginning the Friday of Memorial Day
weekend (end of May) and running until Labor Day (first Monday of
September). The idea is simply to read bigger books (400 or more
pages)--just one or two or however many you want. And you have the whole
summer to do it! Plus there's a great community online to talk to about Big Books.
Last summer, I read 12 Big Books, in both print and audio, including the first-ever Big Book Summer Read-Along Book, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (my #1 book of the year). Many of the Big Books I read last summer ended up on my Top 10 Fiction list for the year!
My stack of Big Books is already growing in preparation for Big Book Summer 2025!
Mardi Gras Readathon hosted Kat's Novel Adventures and Laurie at Books, Ink, and Paper
I was thrilled to discover this one last year, since I used to live in New Orleans, and we are BIG into celebrating Mardi Gras! Last year, I participated in the Book Bingo and the read-along of New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith. Here's my video for Mardi Gras Readathon, with recommendations of books set in Louisiana (though as you can see on the Bingo card, all kinds of books count for the readathon).
I will definitely participate again this year: announcements for the 2025 Mardi Gras Readathon on Kat's channel and on Laurie's channel (lots of fun Mardi Gras info and photos here). In 2025, the readathon runs from February 9 - March 4, and includes reading sprints, a read-along book (Bayou Book Thief by Ellen Byron), a group read live chat, and the bingo card/reading prompts.
Middle-Grade March hosted by Books & Jams, On the Middle Shelf, and Life Between Words.
I participate in this fun challenge every year, as motivation to read more middle-grade books! Last year, I listened to 4 middle-grade books on audio during March, fulfilling all 5 of the prompts: 1. One word title
2. Debut
3. Immigration/Refugee Story
4. Animal on the cover
5. Book you feel like you missed out on.
I will definitely be participating again in 2025, but the launch video is not up yet.
Spoonie Readathon hosted by Novelle Novels and Brews & Reviews, in May.
This one was right up my alley, focused on reading books by or about people with disabilities ("spoonies" in chronic illness parlance). Last year was my first year participating, and I found out about it a little bit late, but I listened to the excellent middle-grade novel, The Sky at our Feet by Nadia Hashidi, featuring two fabulous characters with disabilities on an amazing adventure in New York City. And to help promote the challenge, I posted my own video, 30 Great Books, Perfect for Spoonie Readathon or Anytime! Check it out--you'll be amazed at the wide range of outstanding books in all kinds of genres by and about those with disabilities.
I will definitely plan to participate again in 2025, but it has not been announced yet.
June on the Range hosted by Michel K. Vaughan (and a "posse" of co-hosts).
This is a fun annual challenge, focused on reading westerns. While this is not something I thought I would be interested in, I thoroughly enjoyed participating last year. Since the timing coincides with my own Big Book Summer, last June I read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, and so many people joined me that I made it the official read-along of Big book Summer. It turned out to be my #1 book of the year, eliciting both belly laughs and sobbing. For some June on the Range fun (and book, TV, and movie recommendations), check out my Rootin', Tootin' June on the Range Tag.
I plan to participate again in 2025 (the video is not yet up for June) and can't wait to read Streets of Laredo, the sequel to Lonesome Dove.
R.I.P. Challenge - now hosted on Instagram @perilreaders
I
participate in this one every fall! It runs through September and
October and is all about reading darker stuff in the fall, which I love.
That doesn't necessarily mean scary books, like horror (though those
certainly count!) but anything darker: mystery, suspense, thriller,
paranormal, dystopian, etc. In 2024, I read 13 darker books in fall and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Nonfiction November 2024 hosted by A Book Olive on YouTube
I participated in the Booktube version of this annual challenge, and in November 2024, I enjoyed 6 excellent nonfiction books. You can hear more about the books I read and the challenge in my Nonfiction November Wrap-Up.
In 2025, A Book Olive will no longer be hosting Nonfiction November, but I will participate if someone else picks it up on Booktube or through the blogging version of the challenge or even on my own! TBA
