Hello everyone,
Whisper it quietly, but the halfway stage of 2025 is not all that far away, which means that we will also starting to get a very clear idea of how our Goodreads Challenges are shaping up. Are we on track? Do we have any catching up to do in the second half of the year? How are our other aims and objectives for the year coming along?
This is my eighth time doing the Goodreads Challenge, and the third in a row where I have set my target at 52 books, working out at one per week. A few years ago, when I still lived with my parents and had less adulting responsibilities, that would have been a piece of cake. But now, it gets harder every year and often I am just finishing the final book in the last remaining hours of 31st December.
Already it looks like it might be something similar this time round. With one exception, all the books I have read so far have been over 350 pages long or containing some very complex premises, so getting through a book over the course of a week has not proven easy. Still, having spent most of the year behind schedule I have just last weekend finished my 18th book, which according to Goodreads has put be back on track.
One area where I am still behind though is book reviews. I usually like to, in an ideal world, write my reviews as soon as possible after finishing the book – when they are fresh in the mind and my feelings towards them are still in my consciousness. Right now, I am writing reviews over two months late and really having to try hard to post one every week. Somehow, I need to catch up!
As for the books I have read, there have been some real highlights up until now. My standout read of the year so far is one that was actually published not far off a decade ago, The Plea by Steve Cavanagh. It was a proper edge-of-the-seat legal thriller that I never wanted to put down. The quality of the mysteries and thrillers I have picked up this year as a whole has been pleasingly high, with some of my favourite authors delivering the goods once again.
There has been lots of room for other genres too. Stuart Turton’s science fiction mystery The Last Murder At The End Of The World is among the most experimental books I have read. I have immersed myself in atmospheric historical fiction, fairytale retellings, and magical realism. The one genre I have not read so much of this time compared to 2024 is fantasy, but I am addressing that at the moment with Juniper And Thorn by Ava Reid.
Another highlight of the year was listening to Radio Silence by Alice Oseman on audiobook. When I say that this book was life-changing, that is no exaggeration. I flew through it at the start of January and in all the months since, have not listened to another book on audio. I guess the reason why is that I am sure that whatever audiobook I choose next will not come close to matching Radio Silence.
Indeed, it has been a year where I have mostly stuck faithfully to physical books. Along with that one audiobook, I have also read only one on my Kindle. That is in part because my physical TBR is still looking pretty high, and this year I have actually put a real effort into picking up some of the books I have owned for a longer period of time, alongside the constant stream of new releases.
One main area I would like to improve heading into the summer are to read a bit more diversely than I have so far in 2025. There have been a couple of really good examples I have encountered this year including the aforementioned Radio Silence, but when I look back through the list there are not as many as I hoped. The other main aim is to be a bit more up to speed with new releases. That will mostly be through reading other book blogs and visiting bookstores, as I barely use social media these days.
In summary, it has been a reasonably good year for reading so far, but I get the feeling there is better to come – particularly with some of the books I have lined up for the next few months. Reaching my target of 52 I know will be a close-run thing, but I remain confident that I can just about do it. Anyway, I will have a much better indication when I arrive at my next update in September.
Let’s Chat
Are you taking part in the Goodreads Challenge this year? How are getting on so far and what are some of your aims for the rest of 2025? Let me know in the comments!
Stephen Reads Books 