As the year comes to an end, it’s time for me to reflect on the different challenges I pushed myself to meet.
While I worked through 3 separate reading challenges, there was only one that I stuck to throughout the year, and that was the Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge.
Created by the blogger Take a Walk Down Gregory Road, there are several options to choose from.
My husband and I take these categories, and we create a bingo board to gamify these challenges a little bit more.
Below, you will see the board that I created.
While I did not mark off every square on my board, I did clear a majority of it. Listed below are the books I read for each category and the star rating I gave each book.
Make sure to join me in January to see my new reading challenge and my favorites of the year!
| CATEGORY | BOOK | STAR RATING |
| Mystery Set in House Party | Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop by Otto Penzler (Editor) | 2/5 |
| Book about Switching Places | The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead | 5/5 |
| About an Exclusive Group or Club | For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing | 5/5 |
| Sherlockian Character | Curse of the Arctic Star by Carolyn Keene | 2/5 |
| By a Comedian | The World Record of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar | 5/5 |
| Cardinal Direction in Title | The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix | 4/5 |
| Book about Social Media | LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media by P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking | 3/5 |
| YA Novel | Generation Wonder: The New Age of Heroes by Various Authors | 3/5 |
| Mythology Retelling | Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Tricksters by Various Authors | 5/5 |
| Elderly Protagonist | Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto | 4/5 |
| Cover is Seven Deadly Sins (Pride) | Lupe Wong Won’t Dance by Donna Barba Higuera | 3/5 |
| Book by Author You Love | That Summer by Sarah Dessen | 3/5 |
| About a Scandal | Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley | 4/5 |
| Demon or Devil Character | The House that Death Lives by Various Authors | 3/5 |
| “Adult Beverage” in Title | Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler | 3/5 |
| Workplace Romance | The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding | 4/5 |
| A Biography | I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb | 4/5 |
| Epic Family Novel | Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick | 4/5 |
| Short Story Collection | Black Girl Power by Various Authors | 5/5 |
| Author Name an Occupation | Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver | 5/5 |
| Eldritch Horror Book | Let Me in Your Window by Adam Ellis | 4/5 |
| Righting a Wrong | Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune | 5/5 |
| “Beach Read” | Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen | 3/5 |
| Includes Recipes | With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo | 5/5 |
| A Graphic Novel | Voices that Count by Various Authors | 3/5 |
| Favorite Color on Cover (Purple) | Wash Day Diaries by Various Authors | 4/5 |
| Set in a Small Town | Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare | 3/5 |
| Coming of Age Story | Wonder by R.J. Palacio | 5/5 |
| Set in Home State (Alabama) | The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon | 5/5 |
| Book Published in 2025 | Spy x Family, Vol. 13 by Tatsuya Endo | 4/5 |
Luna's Literary Corner 