Happy Sunday all! I hope you’ve had a fab weekend so far.
Since 2025 is the year I’m trying to work on this blog more, I have decided to jump on the Let’s Talk Bookish train! Before I get into this weeks prompt, a quick note on what this actually is.
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish discussion meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and Dini @DiniPandaReads. Each Friday (yes I am late as per), bloggers will write posts about a particular topic and share on their blog.
(I saw this first on Lila’s blog @HardcoverHaven, so thank you Lila!)
This weeks prompt is:
Reading Challenges: Do we love them or hate them?
What do you think of reading challenges—do they motivate you or do they feel restrictive and end up making reading feel like a chore?
If you read my 2025 Reading Plans post, you’ll know that the majority of my year is based around reading challenges. So I love them! I am very type-A, I love a plan and some organisation. On the flip side, I have discovered I am something of a mood reader. Reading challenges and mood reading don’t often go hand-in-hand, but after a few years of figuring it out I have found what works for me.
I used to participate in lots of different monthly reading challenges and I always ended up scrambling at the last minute, or failing them all together. This always made me feel guilty, which is ridiculous because they are meant to be fun and the outcome literally affects nobody, not even myself. Yet I would keep trying them over and over. Turns out I had a case of FOMO. Last year I made the decision to stop participating in monthly challenges and I ended up having my most successful reading year ever through participating only in yearly challenges. Having a big list of books to pick from satisfied my mood-reading tendencies, while checking off the boxes made my brain very happy.
Are there any challenges you participate in yearly?
The one that started it all for me was The Magical Readathon, created by G of Book Roast. This one is suuuuper popular in the fantasy book sphere and it is a lot of fun. I did this one from it’s conception up until last year, when I bowed out, since it primarily revolves around two month-long readathons. It’s premise is that you have a character attending a magical school, and you read books to pass your classes. I keep feeling pulled to go back, but I know that the month format just doesn’t work for me.
The other challenge I have been doing for years now is the r/Fantasy Book Bingo. This is a yearly challenge where you read books to fit 25 prompts and fill out your board. I’ve been doing this since 2018, mostly as a silent participant until the last couple of years where I started to share my reviews on the sub. As a yearly challenge, this one works well for me.
What reading challenges are you joining in 2025?
Aside from Book Bingo mentioned above, I am participating in two more reading challenges.
- The Diverse Baseline Challenge
- Friends Recommend (a list of 36 books from bookish friends)
I’m planning to write more about the challenges individually at some point, so keep an eye out!
Pages of Emma 
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