Tafadhali's 2025 Category Challenge

Here we go! Another year of reading ahead — as ever, I'm entering the year with big aspirations and we'll see how it goes in practice, haha.

I. BingoDog 🐾



1. Features winged creature(s): Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire (fairies) ✔️
2. Features fire: The Dead Zone by Stephen King (in one notable section) ✔️
3. Travel: Book Lovers by Emily Henry ✔️
4. Newly in public domain: Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers (newly-ish) ✔️
5. Child main character: A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus (9, 12, 13) ✔️
6. Long title (5+ words): The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashina ✔️
7. Non-traditional family: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire ✔️
8. Totally random: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers ✔️
9. Author has your first/last name:
10. Holiday in title:
11. Non-human narrator: Open Throat by Harry Hoke (mountain lion) ✔️
12. Published in a language not your own: The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (Spanish) ✔️
13. READ A CAT
14. Furniture on the cover:
15. Medical topic: Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu ✔️
16. Features a birth: Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (I wouldn't call it the book's defining characteristic, but Sarah did nearly die in childbirth!) ✔️
17. Hollywood!:
18. Place you've never been: The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (Iceland) ✔️
19. Profession in title: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers ✔️
20. Sun on cover/in title: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins ✔️
21. Oldest book on your TBR: Beowulf, trans. by Maria Dahvana Headley (oldest book chronologically and the one I've been in the middle of reading for longest!)
22. Set in your favorite season: The Last Devil To Die by Richard Osman (Winter/Christmastime) ✔️
23. Recommended by a friend: Child of a Hidden Sea by A.M. Dellamonica (recced by Christine & Jacob) ✔️
24. "Library" or "Thing" in title: The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman ✔️
25. Writing about writers: Paperback Crush by Gabrielle Moss ✔️

II. Cats & Kits 🐈‍⬛

JANUARY
- Cozy Fantasy (SFFKit): The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman ✔️

FEBRUARY
- Haunted Houses (ScaredyKit): Thornhill by Pam Smy ✔️
- Vintage Mysteries (MysteryKIT): The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers ✔️

MARCH
- Magical Realism (SFFKit): The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino ✔️

APRIL
- Women Authors (SFFKit): The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison ✔️
- Paranormal (MysteryKIT): The Things She's Seen by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina ✔️

MAY
- Out in the Wild (ScaredyKit): I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall ✔️
- Not Set in My Country (MysteryKIT): The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir ✔️

JUNE
- YA and Graphic Novels (ScaredyKit): Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury ✔️
- Anthologies & Collections (SFFKit): The Language of the Night by Ursula K. Le Guin ✔️

JULY
- Series Sleuths (MysteryKIT): Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers ✔️

AUGUST
N/A

SEPTEMBER
- Stephen King & Family (ScaredyKit): The Long Walk by Richard Bachman ✔️

OCTOBER
- Gothic (ScaredyKit): The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White ✔️

NOVEMBER
- Psychological Thrillers (ScaredyKit, MysteryKIT): Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley ✔️
- The Day After (SFFKit): Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz ✔️

DECEMBER
- Cozies (MysteryKIT): The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman ✔️

III. Tackling Mt. TBR 🏔️

1. Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino ✔️
2. Less by Andrew Sean Greer ✔️

Specifically, going for books that are stacked around my room precariously:

Pursuits of Happiness by Stanley Cavell
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
Projections of Passing by N. Megan Kelley
It Came from the Closet by Joe Vallese
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
La Passe-miroir by Christelle Dabos
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Old is the New New by Kieron Gillen
Hollywood: The Oral History by Jeanine Basinger & Sam Wasson
I Do and I Don't by Jeanine Basinger
The Outsider by Stephen King

And ongoing WIPs:

Beowulf by Maria Dahvana Headley
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

IV. Gifts & Recommendations 🎁

1. Child of a Hidden Sea by A.M. Dellamonica (recced by Jacob) ✔️
2. Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (borrowed from Mom) ✔️
3. The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino (recced by students) ✔️
4. Book Lovers by Emily Henry (gift from Mom) ✔️
5. Sorcery and Cecelia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer (recced by Dana) ✔️
6. Beartown by Fredrik Backman (recced by Ella L.) ✔️
7. Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (recced by Amelia) ✔️
8. The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis (recced by seekingferret) ✔️

V. Run the Series 📚

Beartown: Beartown (bk. 1) ✔️, Us Against You (bk. 2) ✔️

💯 Book of Dust: The Rose Field by Philip Pullman (bk. 3) ✔️

💯 The Chronicles of Osreth: The Tomb of Dragons (bk. 3) ✔️

💯 Firekeeper's Daughter: Sisters in the Wind (bk. 3) ✔️

💯 Lord Peter Wimsey: The Nine Tailors (bk. 9) ✔️, Clouds of Witness (bk. 2) ✔️

💯 Monk and Robot: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (bk. 2) ✔️

💯 Rivers of London: Stone and Sky (bk. 10) ✔️

Thursday Murder Club: The Thursday Murder Club (bk. 1) ✔️, The Man Who Died Twice (bk. 2) ✔️, The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman (bk. 3) ✔️, The Last Devil To Die by Richard Osman (bk. 4) ✔️

💯 Wayward Children: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (bk. 9) ✔️, Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (bk. 10) ✔️

World of Oz: Ozma of Oz (bk. 3) ✔️

VI. Read the World 🌎

Africa: ❌
Antarctica: ❌
Asia: Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino (Japan) ✔️
Europe: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers (UK) ✔️
North America: Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury (Canada) ✔️
Oceania: The Things She's Seen by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina (Australia) ✔️
South America: The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (Argentina) ✔️
Space: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers ✔️

VII. Turn Back the Clock 🕚

1975-2000: The Dead Zone by Stephen King (1979) ✔️
1950-1975: The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin (1971) ✔️
1925-1950: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers (1934) ✔️
1900-1925: Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1907) ✔️
1850-1900: David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850) (CR)
1800-1850: ❌
Pre-1800: ❌

VIII. Book Talk Fodder 🗣️

JANUARY - NPR Best of 2024: A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus ✔️
FEBRUARY - Monsters: Thornhill by Pam Smy ✔️
MARCH - RTW South America: The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica ✔️
APRIL - RTW Australia: The Things She's Seen by Ambelin Kwaymullina ✔️
MAY - LGBTQIA: The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes ✔️
JUNE - US Summer Reading: Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury ✔️
JULY - US Summer Reading: Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater ✔️
AUGUST - Faculty Summer Reading: Shift: Managing Your Emotions -- So They Don't Manage You by Ethan Kross ✔️
SEPTEMBER - n/a
OCTOBER - Spooky Read: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White ✔️
NOVEMBER - Native American Author: Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley ✔️
DECEMBER - Graphic Novel: Flip by Ngozi Ukazu ✔️

IX. Get Back Into Graphic Novels 💥
Read 5+ new-to-me graphic novels in 2025

1. Thornhill by Pam Smy ✔️
2. Spent by Alison Bechdel ✔️
3. Flip by Ngozi Ukazu ✔️

X. Read About the Real World 📰
Read 5+ new-to-me non-fiction titles in 2025

1. Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss ✔️
2. Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams ✔️
3. Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater ✔️
4. The Language of the Night by Ursula K. Le Guin ✔️

Good reading in 2025. Great list.

You've got some interesting categories here. Happy reading!

Good luck with your 2025 reading!

Very interesting categories.

Ambitious! Wishing you luck and happiness with your reading and the new year.

>16 majkia: Haha, thanks! I definitely won't finish all of these but if I even make a dent in Mt. TBR or do one Kit/Cat a month, I'll be happy.

Very ambitious reading plans! Enjoy!

Great categories. I'll be watching your world reading in particular.

Enjoy your reading in 2025. Hope you make a dent in the book mountain (I never seem to!)

Enjoy your 2025 reading!

I really like your categories -- I'm also planning on getting through some series next year.

Happy New Year and good luck with your reading.

Enjoy your 2025 reads!

Looks like a great year!

January

1) The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (🐾 🐈‍⬛) (1/17, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
2) A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus (🐾 🗣️) (1/18, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
3) The Dead Zone by Stephen King (🐾 🕚) (1/28, ⭑⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
4) Child of a Hidden Sea by A.M. Dellamonica (🐾 🎁) (1/30, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)

February

5) Thornhill by Pam Smy (🐈‍⬛ 🗣️ 💥) (2/26, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)

March

6) The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers (🐾 🐈‍⬛ 📚 🕚 🌎) (3/11, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
7) The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (🐾 🗣️ 🌎 🍁) (3/14, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
8) Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (🎁 🍁) (3/17, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
9) The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino (🐾 🐈‍⬛ 🌎 🗻 🎁) (3/19, ⭑⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
10) Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire (🐾 📚) (3/26, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
11) Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu (🐾) (3/27, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
12) Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire (🐾 📚) (3/27, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)

April

13) Paperback Crush by Gabrielle Moss (🐾 📰) (4/4, ⭑⭑⭑)
14) Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (🐾) (4/5, ⭑⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
15) The Things She's Seen by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina (🐈‍⬛ 🗣️ 🌎) (4/18, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
16) The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison (🐈‍⬛ 📚) (4/19, ⭑⭑⭑)
17) Book Lovers by Emily Henry (🐾 🎁) (4/25, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)

May

18) Sorcery and Cecelia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer (🎁) (5/4, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
19) Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (🐾 📰) (5/11, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
20) I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall (🐈‍⬛) (5/13, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
21) The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (🐾 🐈‍⬛) (5/25, ⭑⭑⭑)
22) The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (🐾 🌎) (5/28, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
23) The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes (🗣️) (5/28, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)

June

24) Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury (🐈‍⬛ 🌎 🗣️) (6/15, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
25) The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin (🕚) (6/24, ⭑⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)

July

26) A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (📚) (7/2, ⭑⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
27) Less by Andrew Sean Greer (⛰️) (7/7, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
28) Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater (🗣️ 📰) (7/10, ⭑⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
29) Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers (🐾 🐈‍⬛ 📚) (7/13, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
30) The Language of the Night by Ursula K. Le Guin (📰 🍁) (7/17, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
31) Open Throat by Harry Hoke (🐾 🍁) (7/18, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
32) Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch (7/25, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
33) Beartown by Fredrik Backman (📚 🎁) (7/30, ⭑⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)

Midyear Stats

Total Titles: 33/50 (66%)

BingoDOG: 18/25 (72%)
MysteryKit: 4/7 (57%)
ScaredyKit: 3/7 (43%)
SFFKit: 4/7 (57%) (I have been doing at least 1 Kit per month, though, which is my real goal)

RTW: 6/8 (75%)
Turn Back the Clock: 3/7 (43%)
Graphic Novels: 1/5 (20%)
Non-Fiction: 4/5 (80%)

Secret Bonus Challenge: Vermont Bookstore Tour, 2025-2026 🍁

Stores Visited: 7/20 (35%)

2. Phoenix Books (Burlington): The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
4. Flying Pig Bookstore (Shelburne): Open Throat by Henry Hoke ✔️, Spent by Alison Bechdel ✔️
8. Bear Pond Books (Montpelier): The Long Walk by Richard Bachman ✔️
10. The Vermont Bookstore (Middlebury): The Language of Night by Ursula K. Le Guin ✔️
11. The Bookstore (Brandon): The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica ✔️, Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane ✔️, Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
12. Norwich Bookstore (Norwich): The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr ✔️
14. Yankee Bookshop (Woodstock): Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

>34 Tafadhali: I love the idea of a bookstore tour! I wonder if there's one a bit closer to me...

>35 christina_reads: It's been so much fun! I don't live in VT but go pretty often and am trying to visit as many as I can.

August

34) The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr (🍁) (8/16, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
35) Shift: Managing Your Emotions -- So They Don't Manage You by Ethan Kross (🗣️) (8/24, ⭑⭑⭑)

September

36) The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (🐈‍⬛ 🍁) (9/14, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)

October

37) Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (📚) (10/9, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
38) The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White (🐈‍⬛ 🗣️) (10/22, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)

November

39) The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (📚) (11/8, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
40) Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (🐈‍⬛ 📚🗣️) (11/8, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
41) Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (🐈‍⬛ 🎁) (11/11, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
42) The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis (🎁) (11/14, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
43) The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman (📚) (11/24, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
44) Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum (📚🕚) (11/24, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
45) Spent by Alison Bechdel (💥) (11/28, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)

Going Into December Stats

Total Titles: 46/50 (92%)

BingoDOG: 19/25 (76%)
Kits: 10/11 (91%)

RTW: 6/8 (75%)
Turn Back the Clock: 4/7 (57%)
Graphic Novels: 2/5 (40%)
Non-Fiction: 4/5 (80%)

December

46) The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman (🐈‍⬛ 📚) (12/14, ⭑⭑⭑⭑)
47) Flip by Ngozi Ukazu (💥 🗣️) (12/15, ⭑⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
48) The Last Devil To Die by Richard Osman (🐾 📚) (12/20, ⭑⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)
49) The Rose Field by Philip Pullman (📚) (12/28, ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2)