We’re into a new year! I know I touched on the challenges I’ll be tackling in 2025 in an earlier Blogmas post, but there have been some changes and I’ll be noting here some of the books I’ll be reading for these challenges this year, too.
2023 Reading Challenges / 2024 Reading Challenges
Total Reading Goal 2025: 70 Books
Musicals Reading Challenge 2025
Hosted by me
As with last year, I created this challenge with 24 prompts, but I’ve added an extra bonus prompt for this year, too. This challenge has prompts based off various musicals and songs. I just managed to complete this in 2024, and I definitely realised I need to make sure I don’t have too many physical books on these challenges, as I read ebooks a lot faster.
Bonnie & Clyde – The World Will Remember Me – Outlaws
Seven Mercies by Elizabeth May, Laura Lam
I may have been slightly obsessed with this musical after seeing it early in 2024, but I’ve basically had this prompt in my head all year since! It’s a great show. And gives me the perfect opportunity to finally dive into the Seven Devils sequel.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again – Knowing Me, Knowing You – Book 2 or onwards in a series you’ve previously started
The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten
I definitely needed something to get me to continue a couple of the series’ I’ve started and absolutely loved, and this book was very high on my list. I loved The Foxglove King, and I’m very keen to dive back into this world.
Kiss Me, Kate – Too Darn Hot – Set during summer OR makes you think of summer/heat
Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson
I absolutely adored You Should See Me in a Crown, and this one – set over a musical festival just before the characters are returning to school/college – feels like a perfect fit for something summer-y.
Netflix Movies & TV Shows
Hosted by nora_knight
My intent was to finish this during 2024, but I…didn’t. So, I’m hoping I’ll finish it in 2025, but we’ll see. I haven’t really made any changes to the books here, but I did manage to read a couple last year, so hopefully I can finish off the last 10. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?
Seaspiracy – Changed how you think about something
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
I really need to read this book – it’s been on my list for a long time now, and I’m definitely hoping I can get this one read in early(ish) 2025.
Julie and the Phantoms – has a band/musicians
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins R
This is another one I’ve been meaning to read for ages, and I have found a place for it on my Musicals Challenge, so definitely getting this one read sometime in 2025!
Heartstopper – LGBTQIA+ Romance
All That Remains by Sheri Lewis Wohl
I haven’t actually seen Heartstopper, but maybe I’ll check it out this year…anyway, All That Remains has been on my TBR for way too long now, so I’m definitely keen to get it read!
2025 SFF Title Challenge
Hosted by adancewithbooks
Most of the challenges I’ve done so far are theme based – prompts like those above where you find a book that matches the prompt, and this one caught my eye because of how different it is! Plus, I have a lot of SFF books I haven’t had the chance to read yet, so this seems like a good way to get to a lot of them. This challenge requires matching a book title with a word, and I actually asked my partner to pick out a couple of Star Wars books for me for this one, too, as he has been wanting me to read some of his SW books for a good while now! As I am just looking at the top three books here though, the SW books aren’t included (yet!).
WICKED
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang
This is one of those books I pre-ordered and just haven’t got round to yet! As soon as I saw this prompt I knew it was a great opportunity to read this.
KING(DOM)
I’ve read a previous book (Lava Red Feather Blue) by this author, so I’m excited for this one.
STORY/STORIES
The Art of Space Travel and Other Stories by Nina Allan
I’m really looking forward to this – I feel like I haven’t read many short story collections or anthologies in more recent years, so it’ll be good to get back into short stories!
Romance Readers Diversity Challenge 2025
Hosted by matmatmatty
I love romance, and I think I read quite diverse romance anyway, so when I saw this challenge I did get really excited! Such a great idea
A book written by a Black author
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
This is one I was hoping to get to in 2024, so knew I needed to use it for this prompt as soon as I saw it. I loved the second book in the series, so think I’ll really enjoy this one.
A book featuring mental health representation
I struggled to find a book to match this prompt, but dug into In Memoriam a bit more to see if it would fit and viola! This one feels like it’ll be a sad read though, so I’m not quite sure when I’ll feel up for tackling it.
A book written by a trans or non-binary author
This Cinderella retelling feels absolutely perfect for this challenge, and it immediately popped in my head when I saw the prompt. I’ve been excited for this one since I first purchased it – I love retellings, and this one sounds lovely.
Be Curious – Non-Fiction Challenge 2025
Hosted by brynawel
Non-fiction is definitely something I’ve been neglecting, so this feels like a great way to correct that!
Anthropology
The Celts: Search for a Civilization by Alice Roberts
Though we (in Wales) learn a bit about the Celts in school, I feel like I know very, very little about them as a whole, so I think this book will be incredibly interesting to dive into!
Investigative Journalism
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
I picked this up around the time the TV series was being advertised, and just haven’t actually read it yet. It’s an intriguing case and though I think it’ll be a fairly heavy read, it’s no doubt enlightening.
Medicine
Madness: Stories of uncertainty and hope by Sean Baumann
This is a book written by a psychiatrist, focusing on patients’ lived experiences, and I think these kind of stories are so crucial to our understanding of mental health and what others go through regularly. This should be eye-opening.
2025 TV Shows Reading Challenge
Hosted by vira92
This was a bit of a late addition – I needed something that had more general prompts (similar to ones I’ve done in the past), and this looked fun. It’s only 12 prompts and they have it marked as one for each month, but I’m not great at sticking to timelines so I’ll probably do this as and when instead.
FRIENDS – A book set in New York
The Queen of Steeplechase Park by David Ciminello
It actually took me a fair bit to find a book that would fit this one, but I’m happy with the one I eventually landed on! It sounds really intriguing, and very different.
BLACK-ISH – A book where the main character is a POC
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
This, on the other hand, is a book I’ve been meaning to read for a long while, and was instantly added as soon as I saw this prompt. I’m really excited to finally get to it!
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES – A book featuring a group of women
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
I’ve struggled to fit in audiobooks with these challenges, so I’m glad to find space for at least one! It’s likely this will be my first audio read of the year, and it feels a long time coming.
It’s possible I have – once again – bitten off more than I can chew, but we’ll see. I like the variety I’ve got at the moment, and I’m excited to start my 2025 challenges and see how I do with them. There’s a lot of books here I’m really excited to read, too. As always, I’ll keep the blog updated monthly with my progress, so you can see how well – or maybe not-so-well – I’m doing. And let me know if you’re participating in any of these challenges!
Unwrapping Words 
Good luck with your goal
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much!
LikeLike
Welcome, do you do buddy reads?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t tend to but I’d be willing to give one a go!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Pick a book, and I will buddy-read you
LikeLike