Diana's 2025 Reading Challenge (bookofsecrets)

Hello, I'm Diana from Olathe, Kansas. I've been on LibraryThing since 2010, but this is my first time participating in a challenge. I was a book blogger for almost 15 years before stepping away in 2024. I usually read between 60-70 books per year, mostly fiction, so my main goal is to cut back on screen time so I can finish at least 75 books by the end of the year.

Happy reading in 2025!

Welcome! Hope you enjoy it here.

Welcome, Diana!

Howdy!

Welcome to the 75ers, Diane. Good luck with your reading goals and don't be shy of peeping at a few other threads. I think you'll find us a generally very friendly bunch.

Thanks, everyone. I'm looking forward to getting started.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2025, Diana

Enjoy your 2025 reading!

❉ JANUARY READS ❉

1. Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd (4.25 Stars)
2. Beneath the Poet's House by Christa Carmen (3.5 Stars)
3. Cold Snap by Lindy Ryan (3 Stars)
4. The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree by India Hayford (5 Stars)
5. A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall (4.25 Stars)
6. The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean (5 Stars)
7. The Crash by Freida McFadden (4 Stars)

❉ FEBRUARY READS ❉

1. Vantage Point by Sara Sligar (4 Stars)
2. What Remains of Teague House by Stacy Johns (2 Stars)
3. The Search Party by Hannah Richell (3 Stars)
4. Passing by Nella Larsen (4 Stars)
5. The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark (5 Stars)

DNF: The Vanishing of Josephine Reynolds by Jennifer Moorman

❉ MARCH READS ❉

1. Buried Road by Katie Tallo (4.25 Stars)
2. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (4.5 Stars)
3. Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (5 Stars)
4. Isola by Allegra Goodman (5 Stars)
5. Field of Screams by Wendy Parris (4 Stars)

DNF: The Moonlight Healers by Elizabeth Becker

Congrats!

❉ APRIL READS ❉

1. The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly (4.25 Stars)
2. Claire, Darling by Callie Kazumi (3 Stars)
3. The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens (5 Stars)

❉ MAY READS ❉

1. The Blanks by Grady Hendrix (2 Stars)
2. Heartwood by Amity Gaige (2 Stars)
3. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (4.5 Stars)

❉ JUNE READS ❉

1. Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (3.5 Stars)
2. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (4 Stars)
3. The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis (5 Stars)
4. The Burning Island by Hester Young (4.5 Stars)
5. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (4 Stars)
6. The Starlets by Lee Kelly (3.5 Stars)
7. The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware (3 Stars)

>15 bookofsecrets: Interested to see that you read Gone with the Wind last month, Diana, and seemed to have been taken with it. I have had it on the shelves for quite some time and often intended to read it only to be put off by the cancellation culture that seems to revolve around books that depict things as they were and not necessarily as they should have been. I will read it one day soon.

>17 PaulCranswick: It's a controversial novel for sure, but I thought it was worth reading.

❉ JULY READS ❉

1. The Red House by Mary Morris (4.25 Stars)
2. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (4.5 Stars)
3. Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild (4.75 Stars)
4. The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (1 Star)
5. The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani (4.25 Stars)
6. Asylum Hotel by Juliet Blackwell (3 Stars)

❉ AUGUST READS ❉

1. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (Re-read; 4 Stars)
2. The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff (1 Star)
3. Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson (2 Stars)
4. The Haunting of Bellington Cottage by Laura Parnum (4 Stars)

❉ SEPTEMBER READS ❉

1. Play Nice by Rachel Harrison (4 Stars)
2. We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough (3.75 Stars)
3. Family of Liars by E. Lockhart (Re-read; 5 Stars)
4. Ghoulia: Making New Friends Can Be Scary by Barbara Cantini (5 Stars)
5. Ghoulia and the Mysterious Visitor by Barbara Cantini (5 Stars)
6. Ghoulia and the Ghost with No Name by Barbara Cantini (5 Stars)
7. Ghoulia and the Doomed Manor by Barbara Cantini (5 Stars)
8. A Slow and Secret Poison by Carmella Lowkis (3.75 Stars)

❉ OCTOBER READS ❉

1. Haunting and Homicide by Ava Burke (4.5 Stars)
2. The Intruder by Freida McFadden (4.5 Stars)
3. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (Re-read; 5 Stars)
4. Gloam by Jack Mackay (5 Stars)
5. The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong (2.5 Stars)
6. Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting by Richard Chizmar (3 Stars)
7. Broken Dolls by Ally Malinenko (4 Stars)

Quick Check-In: Here it is, October, and I'm nine books behind schedule if I want to read 75 by the end of December. While I thought I would have more time to read in 2025, that just didn't happen. So, I'm changing my reading goal late in the game to 55 books. I saw someone else post that their reading goal is equal to the age they're turning that year, which is more attainable for me. Onward to 55!

❉ NOVEMBER READS ❉

1. We Fell Apart by E. Lockhart (3 Stars)
2. Ghoulia: Ghoulia and the Sunken Secret (5 Stars)
3. A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James (4 Stars)
4. Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman (5 Stars)

❉ DECEMBER READS ❉

1. The Kill Clause by Lisa Unger (3 Stars)
2. Good Spirits by B.K. Borison (2.75 Stars)
3. The Witching Hour by Bridget Collins, etal. (4 Stars)
4. Stranger Things: One Way or Another by Caitlin Schneiderhan (3.5 Stars)

2025 Reading Wrap-Up: 63 Books

Well, I failed at my original goal of 75 books, but I did surpass my second goal of 55. Honestly, 2025 was a horrible year, and I’m pleased to have reached 63.

One accomplishment I’m proud of is having (finally) updated LibraryThing with all of my books read from the past 15 years. I was about eight years behind.