Notes from the Shelf

I have mixed feelings on book challenges. On the one hand, book challenges force me to expand my comfort zone by reading books that wouldn’t have been on my radar otherwise, but on the other hand, I feel like they distract from the books I would otherwise read throughout the year, especially new releases. Also typically, when I do a reading challenge, I read less in the year than I would otherwise since I focus more energy on finding a book that fits the challenge.

Overall I do think book challenges can be a positive, but I might take a break from a reading challenge next year since I’ve done them the past two years now. This year, the challenge I found was through my local library. It was 20 books and there’s a chance to win a gift card if you turn it in by the end of the year. I completed the challenge in early November.

Below are the books I read for the challenge with some stats on the book as well as my rating out of 5 stars.

Recommended by library staff:

 Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

Published 2023, 360 pages, Romance/Thriller/Horror, 4 stars

Featuring POC or LGBTQIA+ author or character:

The Honeys by by Ryan La Sala

Published 2022, 344 pages, Horror/Mystery/YA, 4 stars

From a display shelf (at the library):

Wanderess: The Unearth Women Guide to Traveling Smart, Safe, and Solo by Nikki Vargas & Elise Fitzsimmons

Published 2022, 192 pages, Travel Nonfiction, 3 stars

Featuring a character with a disability or chronic illness:

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Published 2023, 389 pages, Contemporary Romance, 5 stars

An author who lives in Illinois:

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica

Published 2024, 330 pages, Thriller/Mystery, 3 stars

Set before 2000:

The Gentleman’s Gambit by Evie Dunmore

Published 2023, 432 pages, Historical Romance, 4 stars

With your favorite flower on the cover:

Secrets of the Tulip Sisters by Susan Mallery

Published 2017, 384 pages, Contemporary Romance, 3 stars

Graphic novel or manga:

Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh

Published 2022, 305 pages, Historical Fiction/Fantasy/YA, 4 stars

A yellow cover:

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

Published 2022, 345 pages, Mystery/Thriller, 5 stars

Published in 2024:

The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake

Published 2024, 496 pages, Fantasy/Magical Realism, 5 stars

An audiobook with multiple narrators:

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Published 2023, 357 pages, Romantasy/Historical Fiction, 4 stars

Nominated for an award:

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri, translated to English by Morgan Giles

Published 2014, 168 pages, Contemporary/Historical Fiction, 2 stars

A genre you wouldn’t normally read:

Everyday Chaos: The Mathematics of Unpredictability, from the Weather to the Stock Market by Brian Clegg

Published 2020, 256 pages, Mathematics/Science Nonfiction, 4 stars

Recommended by a friend:

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

Published 2010, 1007 pages, High Fantasy, 4 stars

A locked room mystery:

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Published 2020, 319 pages, Mystery, 4 stars

A retelling of a myth or classic:

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Published 2011, 408 pages, Historical Fiction, 5 stars

An independently published book:

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Published 2022, 296 pages, Cozy Fantasy, 3 stars

A book about a period of history you don’t know much about:

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

Published 2016, 272 pages, Historical Fiction, 4 stars

A young adult book:

Threads that Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou

Published 2023, 352 pages, Fantasy/YA, 4 stars

With a neurodivergent character or author:

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

Published 2024, 295 pages, Horror/Thriller, 5 stars

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