Goose's 2025 Book Challenge!

Hey Friends!

Welcome to my first ever thread, and my first year doing the 75 Book Challenge.

Some background info on me. I'm in my early 20s and have recently started working in youth development. I was born and raised in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, but have since left them to live by the river in the northern part of the state. I'm currently living with my two best friends, Cam and Tori, in a very small house we fill with laughter, love, and too many trinkets. We share the space with a regal-acting, black cat we found in the woods (aptly named Sir).

I read mainly YA Lit, Sci-Fi, Dystopia, or any mix of the three, but I frequently dabble outside of those to keep things interesting. From time to time, I'll enjoy a non-fiction read, but I find the ones that read as fiction much easier to digest.

Outside of reading, I'm a big outdoors guy! I have my degree in environmental science, and spend a lot of time hiking, camping, and birding. My favorite bird is the Common Grackle (although it is followed narrowly by the Summer Tanager), in case you were interested. I practically grew up camping in the woods near my late-grandmother's house in the mountains. She inspired me to stay connected to nature and to understand it's bounties.

Each year, in lieu of resolutions, I do a yearly goal that focuses on improving my mental health and wellbeing. My yearly goals to date have been:

2021: Year of Positivity
2022: Year of New Beginnings
2023: Year of Discovery
2024: Year of Living

and now... I am proud to announce that my 2025 yearly goal is...

The Year of Gratitude!

I am excited to keep this thread updated with my reads this year (with the occasional update on my yearly goal of course). Glad to meet all of you! Hope to chat soon! :)

Books Read in 2025:
January
A Psalm for the Wild Built | 147 pages | 5/5 stars | Started Jan. 1 | Finished Jan. 1
Project Hail Mary | 16h 10m | 5/5 stars | Started Dec. 10, 2024 | Finished Jan. 2
Ella Minnow Pea | 4h 26m | 4/5 stars | Started Jan. 2 | Finished Jan. 31

February
The Hunger Games | 436 pages | 5/5 stars | Started Feb. 3 | Finished Feb. 14
Catching Fire | 439 pages | 5/5 stars | Started Feb. 15 | Finished Feb. 27

March
Sunrise on the Reaping | 400 pages | 6/5 stars | Started Mar. 18 | Finished Mar. 19
Where the Crawdads Sing | 12h 12m | 4/5 stars | Started Feb. 3 | Finished Mar. 22

April
Mockingjay | 11h 19m | 4/5 stars | Started Apr. 25 | Finished Apr. 30

May
The Martian | 10h 59m | 5/5 stars | Started May 2 | Finished May 7
Misery | 12h 11m | 5/5 stars | Started May 14 | Finished May 23

June
No Reads.

July
No Reads.

August
The Handmaid's Tale | 11h 1m | 4/5 stars | Started Aug. 1 | Finished Aug. 6
The Testaments | 13h 18m | 4/5 stars | Started Aug. 7 | Finished Aug. 24

September
Spread Me | 5h 11m | 2/5 stars | Started Sept. 23 | Finished Sept. 25
Fantasticland | 10h 1m | 5/5 stars | Started Sept. 25 | Finished Oct 1.

October
Lucky Day | 8h 24m | 4/5 stars | Started Oct. 9 | Finished Nov. 6

November
A Short Stay in Hell | 101 pages | 4/5 stars | Started Nov. 12 | Finished Nov. 12
The Edge of Sleep | 304 pages | 3.5/5 stars | Started Oct. 27 | Finished Nov. 29

December
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle | 17h 4m | 5/5 stars | Started Dec. 1 | Finished Dec. 12

Currently Reading:
Physical Book: Twilight
Audiobook: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

Tabled Reads:
Physical Books:
Braiding Sweetgrass
There Is No Antimemetics Division
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
The Knife of Never Letting Go
The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Audiobooks:
The Shining

DNFs:
Fourth Wing - I'm not going to lie... I didn't know it was a smut book until about 4-5 chapters in... annnddd I peaced out after that. I'm sure it's great, just not my vibe.

Amusing/Moving Quotes from my 2025 Reads:
From A Psalm for the Wild Built:

If you ask six different monks the question of which godly domain robot consciousness belongs to, you'll get seven different answers.

From Braiding Sweetgrass:

They say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and I can only imagine the conversation between Eve and Skywoman: “Sister, you got the short end of the stick…”

From Project Hail Mary:

Sheesh-- you almost ruin a mission one time and all of a sudden you have an alien enforced bedtime.

From The Hunger Games:

It's lovely. If only you could frost someone to death.

From Catching Fire:

From where I sit, I pull out an arrow, whip the notch into place, and I'm about to let it fly when I'm stopped by the sight of Finnick kissing Peeta.

From Sunrise on the Reaping:

I roll straight off the mattress onto the floor and pull on a pair of shorts made from a government-issued flour sack. The words "Courtesy of the Capitol" end up stamped across my butt. My ma wastes nothing.

From Where the Crawdads Sing:

Why should the injured, the still bleeding, bear the onus of forgiveness?

From Mockingjay:

You're a painter. You're a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. You never take sugar in your tea. And you always double-knot your shoelaces.

From The Martian:

"He’s stuck out there. He thinks he’s totally alone and that we all gave up on him. What kind of effect does that have on a man’s psychology?” He turned back to Venkat. “I wonder what he’s thinking right now."
LOG ENTRY: SOL 61 How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.

From Misery:

I don't care if you're John Q. Jesus Johnnycake Christ from the planet Mars! Get off my land or you're DEAD!

From The Handmaid's Tale:

A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.

From The Testaments:

As they say, history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.

From Spread Me:

She’s mentioned more than once that since she’s the team lead, it would be unethical for her to donate her orifices to the office potluck.

From Fantasticland:

If he showed up on a desert island with a sandwich and a rescue boat, most people would try to beat him to death with the sandwich.

From Lucky Day:

I’m something, at the very least. I’ve defied the existential odds already, winning the trillion-to-one jackpot of even existing in the first place.

From A Short Stay in Hell:

You are here to learn something. Don’t try to figure out what it is. This can be frustrating and unproductive.

From The Edge of Sleep:

The dead guy could be right. It’s the end of the world.

From The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle:

Tomorrow can be whatever I want it to be, which means for the first time in decades, I can look forward to it. Instead of being something to fear, it can be a promise I make myself. A chance to be braver or kinder, to make what was wrong right. To be better than I am today. Every day after this one is a gift. I just have to keep walking until I get there.

Books Finished to Date:
Physical Books: 6
Audiobooks: 12
Total: 18
Pages Read to Date:
1827
Time Listened to Date:
132h 16m

75 Book Challenge Update:
57 Books to Go!

Hi Goose, welcome.

Welcome! There's a birder here you should get to know - Mark (msf59) is a retiree who took it up and has gone all in. I've met him a few times, and he's a really nice guy too. 😀

Welcome, Goose! I like your yearly theme. I have also spent some time in Kentucky, and got my graduate degree (Library Science) from UK. I look forward to seeing what you read this year!

Welcome to the group, Goose.

Laughter, love and too many trinkets is a good way to fill a house!

>5 foggidawn: Glad to see another UK Alum! Go Cats!

Welcome, Goose. You have joined a very special place and I hope you can keep up around here. LOL. It looks like we have similar interests, other than a love of books. I love hiking and camping and I am an avid birder, (about 8 years in). I live in the Chicagoland area. I like your common grackle choice but summer tanagers are also very special, as are their cousin the scarlet tanager. I am meeting some birding buddies tomorrow for a New Year's Day bird walk.

Happy New Year!

Welcome, Goose! It looks like we have similar book taste. I loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built and have Project Hail Mary on my list to read this year. Starring your thread to follow you!

Happy 2025, Goose

>9 curioussquared: I Just finished A Psalm for the Wild-Built! It’s very good! I’m excited to hear your thoughts on it. I’m most of the way through PHM as well, an interesting listen for sure!

>6 PaulCranswick: It absolutely is! Happy 2025!

Welcome to the group! I'm looking forward to seeing what you read this year!

Did you miss me up there Mr. Goose? 😜

Have a great year of reading!

>8 msf59: I did miss you! I wasn't expecting to have so many people respond. The scarlet tanager is soooo beautiful, I saw a few of them about 6 months ago when I took a 2 week camping trip in the Daniel Boone National Forest. I really hope you enjoyed your bird walk!

Hi Goose! Happy New Year, and happy new thread. @@msf59, Mark, mentioned you on his thread, so here I am!

>1 mrgoosecharles: Sounds like you and your best friends have a great thing going, and I love that Sir is sharing space with you.

A yearly goal is a great idea. Gratitude is perfect.

>16 mrgoosecharles: You’re going to get so many messages this year… we’re a very chatty group and have folks from all over the world who read a great variety of books.

Hi, Goose. Weird_O here. Welcome to this place. Gratitude is a goal I can appreciate. Among things I'm grateful for is this group here and the matchless book organizing tools LT provides. Free for nothing.

>3 elorin:
>4 drneutron:
>13 alsvidur:
>15 thornton37814:
>18 weird_O:
Sorry I missed you all! I'm still getting used to this thing and keeping up is crazy! Welcome in new friends!

>17 karenmarie: I'm happy to see that you found me. Mark is an awesome guy! I'm already struggling to keep up! I don't see how y'all do it! This is an amazing space though, happy to be here!

The thread count jumps up this time of year, but settles into a lower volume pretty quickly. But yeah, keeping up can be a challenge. 😀

January 22nd | Life Update 1:
Everything is crazy! The job I recently started has picked up to full speed. I've been working 12-14 hour days, on top of my 45 minute commute. I'm not upset because I have been absolutely LOVING it. It has put a damping on my reading. I'm hoping that once I get used to the chaos, I can jump back in and find more time for self care and reading.

More on the chaos, my pipes are frozen! The water company has ensured that nothing is damaged, but there's nothing we can do other than wait for them to thaw out. I will never take running water for granted ever again. I have managed to hold out so far, but if we don't have running water soon, I may get desperate.

I have started writing my pen pal again! We haven't written in over a year, but I was really loving writing those letters and reading about her life. AND WE'RE BACK! I just got her response today and am rushing to my desk, pen in hand, to write her back.

I'm probably switching my physical book from Braiding Sweetgrass to either Scythe, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, or What Moves the Dead for now. I need an escape from the chaos for a bit, and non-fiction really isn't doing that for me right now!

More updates to come! Stay warm everyone!

>21 mrgoosecharles: Oh no! I hope your pipes thaw out soon. I have been reading the Outlander books for my physical books and random books from my Kindle for my Kindle daily reads. I hope you find your perfect escape.

>21 mrgoosecharles: Haven't had the dubious pleasure of frozen pipes in many years - living in Malaysia!

March 19th | Life Update 2:
The newest installation in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins has risen me from the dead. I pre-ordered this book MONTHS ago, and as a die-hard Hunger Games fan, I was ready to tear into this book and dissect everything about it. I read this book from cover to cover, faster than I've read anything in a long time. I read the last page just an hour or so ago, and my heart aches with grief. A feeling so intense I would never have imaged a book inciting. This was absolutely phenomenal work.

I have read, re-read, and re-re-read this series at least 50 times over in the past 5 years, but I have been a die-hard fan since the first book hit the shelves. Every character call back, direct quote, plot-line, even down to the miniscule details were perfectly aligned with the other books. Plus, the underlying messaging she manages to convey with each book is so impressive.

Anyway... my life... right. I have been working, and working, and working some more. I probably end up putting in about 50-60 hours a week on average, which isn't horrible, but it has put a dampening on my reading still. I still write my pen pal, although I'm past-due sending her a letter back. Now, I'm doing one load of laundry on a Wednesday night (this adult life thing is really crazy. laundry... on a Wednesday? Who have I become!) because I am heading off to a work trip tomorrow. I'll be in the middle of the woods with zero cell service and a group of middle school boys. I'll be taking at least one book with me (to read, but possibly for self-defense from the B.O. and Axe body spray), hopefully I can find the time to chow down on some good reads.

I haven't forgot about you all! I think of you often and hope to talk to you all soon enough!

Peace and Love,
Goose

P.S. I keep >2 mrgoosecharles: updated with all of my reads throughout the year! I'm trying to keep it updated as I finish books or switch what I'm reading. #HappyReads!

>24 mrgoosecharles: Good luck on your camping trip! Maybe tell them that the only axe that's allowed in the woods is the kind with a wooden handle and a metal blade? :-)

>25 foggidawn: I tried my best, and lost that argument LOL. Luckily, they've all showered at least once!

An admission. I am 58 years old and have never been camping. I really feel like I should before I get too old to appreciate it at all.

August 8th | Life Update 3:
I have survived! Summer time is my busiest time of year, between summer camps and county fairs, I am EXHAUSTED! But it is so worth it to see the smiles on the kids faces. It comes without surprise, however, that I did not read or listen a lot the past few months. It's only now that things have calmed down that I have been able to sit down and enjoy a good book. So of course, after the stress and overexertion of my summer months, I picked a happy and joyous book to return to... The Handmaid's Tale... (for those who haven't had the pleasure of reading this title, even though it was published in 1985, that was sarcasm.)

I was prompted to read this book, surprisingly, by a Facebook group called The Handmaid's Tale Fans, of which I am not a member of, but whose posts frequently appear on my feed. It's usually a picture of something with a red body and a white top, and a pun on the names and greetings of the handmaids throughout the story. My personal favorite is a picture of a red and white inhaler with the caption "Ofpuffer, May the Throat Open."

My only complaint is that I wish I read it as a hard copy for the first time, rather than an audiobook. That's not to say it isn't beautifully written, and the emotion carried throughout the story is top-notch. It has such a strong and clear message. There's a lot of bravery in that. I enjoyed it so much that I have moved on to it's sequel, The Testaments. I'm about halfway through it now, and I am loving it.

With this being my first year, I am not expecting to reach the 75 book goal, but I am going to do my best to get as close as possible. I am VERY impressed with how far I've come this year already. I am also going to try to be more active in the latter half of the year. I'm still figuring out what to post about hahaha.

Feel free to reach out! I love hearing from you all.

Peace and Love,
Goose

I hope you enjoy The Testaments! I haven't gotten to that one yet.

>29 norabelle414: It was great! Just finished it a day or two ago. Highly recommend it! It makes ya think for sure! The audiobook version I listened to was VERY well done.

September 30th | Life Update 4:
2 things...
1. I am moving in literally 3 days! Thus comes the joys of boxes and bags and bags in boxes (and of course, the occasional box in a bag). No... I haven't packed, but that's more a me issue lol.
2. I read the new Sarah Gailey book Spread Me. And boy was it... something!

I typically don't enjoy romance novels, let alone sexually charged romance. If it's got romance on the side, all good, but when it takes over the whole plot... you've lost me. Of course, that's just personal preference. Now you may be wondering... "Goose... why did you pick up a book with this level of 'romance ;)' if you don't like it?" Well, dear reader, I would love to share the reason.

I DIDN'T KNOW!

I thought it was an ecology based horror novel (one of my favorite genres), and by Chapter 5 (if you know you know), I realized that there was... quite a bit of... well you get it. Since it was a short read, I powered through, and I'm glad I did! It's very well written and it does have a well developed horror foundation that Gailey builds off of. Will I read it again, No. Once was enough for me, but no regrets!

2 more books until I read 15 books for the year (a new PB!) I definitely underestimated the difficulty of this challenge, but I have enjoyed it a lot! 3 more months to go!

Peace and Love,
Goose

>31 mrgoosecharles: Good luck with the move! I have moved many times in my life (19, maybe?), and hope to never do so again.

>32 foggidawn: I have made it into the new place! I also hope to never move again (but I know I will :0). Thank you for the well wishes!