2025 Reading Challenges

It's that time for some new challenges and I am SO excited! Did I go overboard with the number of challenges I'm participating in this coming year? Of course I did 😆

2025 Reading Challenge

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In 2024 I significantly brought my reading goal down and, honestly, I loved it! It was very low pressure and at no point in the year was I scrambling to catch up. So I'm going to put my goal at 52 books again for 2025! I will most likely surpass this by quite a bit, but just in case, I set it at 52 because that's just one book a week so that should be easy to achieve.
January:

1. Write Your Own Cake: Tips for Writing a Long Series by Jennifer Estep
2.
3.
4.
5.

52 books in 52 weeks Reading Challenge

The challenge: Read one book a week, 52 books in 52 weeks.
I love this challenge because it keeps me accountable 😆 And I also like that this particular 52 in 52 challenge doesn't have specific prompts! You just read one book a week, and it can be whatever you want! As a mood reader, I appreciate that. Lol.

1. [01/01/25] Write Your Own Cake: Tips for Writing a Long Series by Jennifer Estep
2. [01/05/25]
3. [01/12/25]
4. [01/19/25]
5. [01/26/25]

The challenge: To read one book that has a title starting with every letter of the alphabet. You can drop the A’s and The’s from the book titles—The First Main Word Needs To Be The Letter You Are Counting, except for that pesky Q, X, and Z titles, then the word that starts with the challenge letter can be anywhere in the title. Book titles starting with EX for the X prompt are also allowed.
I love this challenge! It is SO fun! I don't think I've ever completed this challenge, but I've gotten really close. Maybe this year? Lol.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
Write Your Own Cake: Tips for Writing a Long Series by Jennifer Estep
X
Y
Z

The challenge: To read one book that has an author whose first name, middle, or last name starts with every letter of the alphabet.
And this one is similar to the previous one, except this one is for author names!
A
B
C
D
Estep, Jennifer [Write Your Own Cake: Tips for Writing a Long Series]
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

The challenge: To read books you have owned before January 1, 2025.
I haven't reached Mt. Vancouver in a couple of years... but maybe this will be the year! Lol. I got close-ish in 2024, so I'm gonna stick with 36 books again and hope for the best 😅
Level chosen: Mt. Vancouver — Read 36 books from your TBR pile.

1. Write Your Own Cake: Tips for Writing a Long Series by Jennifer Estep

The challenge: Read your Netgalley/Edelweiss books.
I did not do great in this challenge in 2024... I got close, but not close enough 😅 So I'm gonna stick with the same level and hopefully I'll be able to actually complete this challenge in 2025!
Level chosen: Bronze — 10 Netgalley/Edelweiss books.

The challenge: Finish/catch up on series. The series can already be completed and is still ongoing. The ongoing series aims to catch up to the most recent book published by the end of 2024.
I always do a challenge to help me finish series because let's face it, I need the help 😅 Last year I did pretty good and finished 10 series, so I'm gonna aim for around the same goal. And this challenge in particular includes series that are still ongoing and you need to catch up on, so that will be nice!
Level chosen: First Class — Complete 9+ series.

1. Write Your Own Cake: Tips for Writing a Long Series by Jennifer Estep [Caught up]

The challenge: Each badge represents a certain type of book or element in a story. It’s up to you how you take on the challenge. A book doesn’t have to be pure fantasy or Sci-fi; horror and historical fiction count too if you can make them fit! The only rule: one book can only earn you one badge, so choose wisely and complete your collection!
I found this challenge very last minute but I loved the idea so much that I had to join! It's basically a bingo card and it involves a lot of sci-fi/fantasy tropes and genres and there are badges that you can collect as you complete books. I have my little badge card hidden below only because I do not need this post to be longer than it already is 😂 But I'll be updating it as the year goes on with the badges I earn.

1. The Animal Companion Badge: Read a book featuring a character that is buddies with an animal.
2. The Sea Setting Badge: Read a book set at sea, or in which most of the story takes place on the water.
3. The 2025 Badge: Read a book published in 2025.
4. The Spooky Badge: Read anything scary.
5. The Epic Fantasy Badge: Epic fantasy usually involves a quest to solve a problem affecting the whole world or universe, making it particularly epic in scale. Epic fantasy usually has multiple main characters and a grand story.
6. The Dragon Badge: Read a book that has a dragon!
7. The Space Opera Badge: Read a book set in space or on other planets.
8. The Historical Fantasy Badge: Read a fantasy set within a real period of history.
9. The Uncovered Diamond Badge: Read a book with <100 total rating on Goodreads at the time of starting.
10. The Asian Inspiration Badge: Read a book inspired by the culture, history, or identity of Asia.
11. The Big Battle Badge: Read a book that features a big battle.
12. The SPFBO Badge: Read a book that made it to a SPFBO final, past or present.
13. The Collector Badge: Earn ALL other badges in the challenge first!
14. The Monster Badge: Read a book featuring a monster or otherworldly creature.
15. The First Contact Badge: Read a book where humanity has met extraterrestrial life for the first time.
16. The Non-Human Badge: Read a book in which the protagonist or one of the MCs isn't a human being.
17. The African Inspiration Badge: A book inspired by Africa, its culture, history, or people.
18. The Big'un Badge: Read a book that is over 600 pages.
19. The Mythology & Folklore Badge: Read a book based on mythology or folklore.
20. The Debut Badge: Read an author's debut novel to unlock this badge.
21. The Post-Apocalyptic Badge: Read a book with a post-apocalyptic or dystopian setting - the world is on the decline, life isn't good. Those that remain are just trying to survive.
22. The Big Screen Badge: Read a book that has been adapted for TV or film (or is in the works).
23. The Lightweight Badge: Read a book under 200 pages.
24. The Graphic Novel Badge: Read a graphic novel or comic.
25. The Standalone Badge: Read a book that has its story wrapped up in one book. It is not part of a wider series, trilogy or duology.

The challenge: To read 25 different books that fit each of the 25 prompts on the book bingo.
This challenge is also a book bingo! I really liked this one because the prompts don't feel as constricting as other challenges that have prompts. And as a mood reader, I need my prompts to be a little more open. Lol.

1. 2025 Release - A book published in 2025.
2. One Word Title - “A”, “An”, and “The” DO count as a word.
3. Involves Travel - This can be open to interpretation, and the travel doesn’t have to be the MAIN part of the story. It can be a road trip, traveling to another country, or maybe even time travel!
4. Number in the title - For an additional challenge, don’t use “Volume X” as your number with a graphic novel or manga. (but not required)
   
5. Cover buy - A book that you picked up because you liked the cover, without knowing much about it. This can be either a book you actually bought or one that you just added to your TBR or picked up from a library.
6. Seasonal Book - Read a book that takes place in the current season. For example, read a summer camp thriller in the summer, read a witchy book around Halloween, or read a Christmas romance in December.
7. LGBTQ+ Representation - Read a book with main characters that are LGBTQ+ or written by an LGBTQ+ author.
8. ✅Favorite author’s newest release: Write Your Own Cake: Tips for Writing a Long Series by Jennifer Estep
9. Hyped Book - Read a book you have been seeing EVERYWHERE!
10. Color of the Year - Pick one of the "colors of the year" and find a book that has a substantial amount of it on the cover (e.g. Mocha Mousse)
11. POC Author - Read a book by an author of color.
12. Novella - Novellas are customarily under 200 pages, but use your best judgment here.
13. 5-Star Prediction - Read a book that you think will be 5 stars.
14. “Comped” - A trend in publishing is to compare books to other popular books. You can complete this one of two ways: a) read a book that uses that language in its marketing or promotion, or b) find a book that is comped to a favorite or a 5-star book you read in 2024.
15. Friend Recommendation - This can come from an IRL friend, a booktuber that you watch, etc.
16. Over 400 pages - Read a big(ish) book!
17. Special Edition - Read a book that has something special or extra to it. (i.e. different cover, sprayed edges, B&N exclusive editions, etc.)
18. Chapter Titles - Read a book that has something other than “chapter 1, chapter 2”, etc.
19. Debut Author - This prompt was designed to read a book from an author that only has one book published. However, if you want to go to an author’s backlist and read their debut, that would work too.
20. Mental Health Representation - Read a book that features some type of mental health representation. (i.e. anxiety, ADHD, Depression, PTSD, OCD, etc. This is not an exhaustive list. Use your best judgment)
21. Snake on the Cover - 2025 is the Chinese Year of the Snake. Read a book with a snake on the cover.
22. Self-Published - Read a book that was not published traditionally or from an indie publishing house.
23. New-to-you Author - Read a book from an author you haven’t read before.
24. TBR Vet - This can be either the oldest (or one of the oldest) books on your TBR, or could be a book you’ve just had on your TBR for a long time.
25. From another challenge - Read a book that you have to read for another reading challenge or readathon in 2025.

The challenge: To read 12 different books (1 per month) that fit each of the 12 prompts.
One of my favorite types of challenges that I found in recent years is one where it's this sort of flow chart where the book you pick to read next is affected by the book you last read. And I am so happy that I found this one for 2025!

1. January- Choose a book with your favorite color on the cover.
2. February- A book from an author whose last name starts with the same letter as January’s author's last name.
3. March- Choose a book with a title that has half the number of letters from your February book.
4. April- Turn to page 100 of March’s book and find a word on the page. Your April book must have that word in the title.
5. May- Choose a book set in a time period different from your April book.
6. June- Choose a book that has the same number of pages as May’s book within 25 pages.
7. July- A book with the same color spine as June’s book.
8. August- A book from a different genre than your July book.
9. September- Choose a book that has a word in the title that was also in August’s book title.
10. October- A book with an author of the opposite gender as the author of September's book.
11. November- A title with the same number of words in it as October’s title.
12. December- Read a book in a format different from November's book.

The challenge: Enter and complete reading challenges.
And this one is always fun! With all the challenges I'm doing, I need another challenge to help me actually complete those challenges 😂
Level chosen: On the Roof — 6-10 Challenges (Entered & Completed)

1. Goodreads Reading Challenge
   
2. 52 Book in 52 Weeks Reading Challenge
3. Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge
4. Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge: Author Edition
5. Mount TBR Reading Challenge
6. Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
7. Finishing the Series Reading Challenge
8. Spells & Spaceships Reading Challenge
9. 25 in 25 Reading Challenge
10. Go with the Flow Reading Challenge

I love discussion posts so I always look forward to this challenge!
Level chosen: Gift of the Gab – 41+ discussion posts

I think that's it (for now lol). Let me know what reading challenges you'll be joining in 2025!