2025 Challenges

Birth of a Reader: (The challenge that gets harder every year--read one book published in every year of your life.)

1970: 
1971:
1972:
1973: Sula by Toni Morrison
1974: 
1975: 
1976:
1977:
1978:
1979: Kindred by Octavia Butler
1980:
1981:
1982:
1983:
1984:
1985: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
1986: 
1987:
1988: 
1989: 
1990: The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson 
1991:
1992:
1993: 
1994: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
1995: Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
1996: Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
1997: Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb
1998: 
1999: 
2000: That's Not In My American History Book by Thomas Ayres
2001: Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
2002:
2003: The Spartans: The World of the Warrior - Heroes of Ancient Greece by Paul Cartledge
2004: The Bone Woman: A Forensic Anthropologist's Search for Truth in the Mass Graves of Rwanda, Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo by Clea Koff
2005: 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley
2006: The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
2007: 
2008: House Calls by Dogsled: Six Years in an Arctic Medical Outpost by Keith Billington
2009: Tide, Feather, Snow by Miranda Weiss
2010: The Captive Queen by Alison Weir
2011: The Irish Princess by Karen Harper and Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis
2012: When Maidens Mourn by C.S. Harris
2013: My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
2014: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
2015:  

2016: The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
2017: Less by Andrew Sean Greer
2018: The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre
2019: How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr

2020: Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation by Andrew Weissmann 

2021: Infinite Country by Patricia Engel

2022: How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

2023: The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

2024: Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff 

2025: Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

PBT Monthly Tag: (Each month on PBT, a "tag" or "shelf" is chosen. A tag or shelf -- the words mean the same thing -- which is to say a topic, is chosen. Group members read, review, and discuss books of their own choosing. It is a great way to not only read books outside those topics you might normally read but also to learn about books that weren't previously on your radar.)

• January (Canada): The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters and Fire Weather by John Vaillant
• February (Science): Challenger by Adam Higginbotham and The Six by Loren Grush and How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler
• March (Thriller): The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre 
• April (Fun): Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
• May (Strong Women): Hill Women by Cassie Chambers and Hudson Bay Bound by Natalie Warren
• June (Summer): Happy Place by Emily Henry
• July (Speculative Fiction): The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Kindred by Octavia Butler
• August:
• September:
• October:
• November:
• December:

2025 Trim the TBR: (This is a Play Book Tag challenge. Each month a group member picks a number, and we read whichever book on our personal list corresponds to the number. The books on my list are some of the oldest books on my Overdrive wishlist. Sometimes, members decide to do Buddy Reads, putting the same books on the same number so we can read them the same month and discuss them. I'm not commiting to any of those this year.)

1. The Irish Princess - Karen Harper
2. Captive Queen - Alison Weir
3. That’s Not in My American History Book - Thomas Ayers (completed in March)
4. Into the Silence - Wade Davis
5. Final Voyage - Peter Nichols
6. A Little History of the World - E. H. Gombrich
7. Far Bright Star - Robert Olmstead
8. Far North - Will Hobbs
9. You Can Buy Happiness - Tammy Strobel
10. 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel - Jane Smiley
11. The Spartans - Paul Cartledge (completed in March)
12. Tide, Feather, Snow - Miranda Weiss (completed in May)

2025 Play Harder Challenge: (This is a Play Book Tag challenge. Prompts were submitted by members and randomized lists individually created for each member. If a member finishes one list, they may request another.)

1. Reread a chapter book that you originally read under the age of 18. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

2. A book involving a father, fatherhood or Father’s Day. Small Acts of Courage by Ali Velshi

3. A book featuring a story about a grandparent My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

4. Collection of any year's best short fiction or stories edited by a favorite author The Best American Short Stories of the Century ed. by John Updike

5. Read a book with points of view from more than one character The First Ladies by Marie Benedict

6. Read a book of non-fiction related to history The Rebel Romanov by Helen Rappaport

7. Read a book recommended by a librarian. Fire Weather by John Vaillant

8. A nonfiction book about a medical subject The Bone Woman by Clea Koff

9. Book by author who you first read for a PBT Monthly Tag When Maidens Mourn by C.S. Harris

10. A food memoir Life From Scratch by Sasha Martin

11. Read one of your top ten shortest books on your tbr Sisters of the Ice by R. Bruce MacDonald

12. A book tagged “language” or “linguistics” The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

2025 The Compass Challenge: (This is a Play Book Tag challenge. Each individual reader chooses a location on the globe from which to begin the game. The moderator spins a directional spinner individually for each reader. The reader must travel in a straight line from their starting location but may go as far or as close as they choose. A book must be read that is set in the location where the reader stops. New spins will be offered each Wednesday to readers who have completed a book and posted a review.)

Starting location: Talkeetna, Alaska, U.S.A.

Compass Spin: NE

Chosen Stopping Point: Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, Canada

Chosen Book: 

House Calls by Dogsled: Six Years in an Arctic Medical Mission by Keith Billington

2025 Going Long Challenge: (This is a Play Book Tag challenge. Read at least four books over 500 pages.)

1. Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff (736 pages/31.5 hrs)