My 2025 Reading Challenges

In 2025 I made a goal to complete 4 “mini” challenges. Mini, to me, meaning less than 7 books each. Here are the 4 challenges I decided on, with a brief explanation and some books that would complete the challenge.

For the first challenge, I am doing an Around The World read. I have picked a book with the main setting being from each continent and I am already 5/7 books done with this challenge. While I didn’t include it in the graphic, I plan to read a book that takes in Antarctica as well. Here are the books I read (or plan to read) to complete the challenge.

• Africa: My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

• Antarctica: Endurance by Alfred Lansing

• Australia: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

• Asia: The Women by Kristen Hannah

• Europe: Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

• North America: The First Love Myth by Casey Dembowski

• South America: Shipped by Angie Hockman

For my 2nd mini challenge, I am completing a book award challenge. Picking books to read for this challenge really took me out of my comfort zone, which is what I was going for. To complete this challenge I plan to read:

• Book Browse Award Winner: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

• Pulitzer Prize Winner: Less by Andrew Sean Greer

• Booker Prize Winner: The Seven Moons of Maali by Shehan Kaunatilaka

• National Book Award Winner: All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

• Goodreads Award Winner: The Wedding People by Alison Espach

For my third mini challenge, I plan to do a diversity reading TBR challenge. I plan to follow these prompts but pick from the books I own and have yet to read. This will help me read more diverse books and books I have planned to read for a while. For this challenge I haven’t planned exactly what books I want to read, but here are some of the books on my to-be-read shelf that fit the prompts.

• A main character who is a person of color: For She is Wrath by Emily Varga, Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana and Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

• A LGBTQIA+ main character: House on the Cerulian Sea by TJ Klune, Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston, and Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

• A disabled main character: Get a Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, Take a Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo,

• Written by a black author: Fifth Season by N.K. Jemsin, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi

• Written by a Hispanic/Latinx author: A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Cana, The Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas and The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cardova

• Written by an Asian author: Babel by R.F. Kuang, The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart and Daughter of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

For my final mini challenge, I plan to read picks from Celebrity Book Clubs. Since this is the last challenge I plan to complete I have given no thought to which books will end up picking but with a quick scroll through the options these are the ones that catch my eye.

• Reese’s Book Club: The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan, The UnWedding by Ally Condie and Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

• Read With Jenna: All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah, Good Material by Dolly Anderson

• Oprah’s Book Club: Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward, The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

• Mindy’s Book Studio: Woke Up Like This by Amy Lea, Almost Surely Dead by Amina Akhtar and The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev

• Belletrist: Darkly by Marisha Pessl, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and Outlawed by Anna North.