Shelf Reflection’s 2025 Reading Challenge
2025 Reading Challenge
By: Shelf Reflection
Hello 2025!
Okay, here’s the deal. I had these big plans to do a reading challenge this year that was 25 prompts and all had to do with the number 25.
I got the prompts ready. I compiled my TBR list (well… the main ones I’ve been needing/wanting to read) and it was over 130 books (including leftovers from the 2024 Reading Challenge I didn’t get to) and they didn’t fit very well into my 25 prompts.
I didn’t want to scrap the ‘25’ idea altogether, but I realized it may be a wiser choice for me to do a reading challenge that fit better into the books I needed/wanted to get through.
So I decided to compromise.
Shelf Reflection’s 2025 Reading Challenge will be done in two parts this year.
The first 20 prompts will be similar to previous years.
The second 25 prompts will keep with the theme of ‘25’ each prompt relating in some way to the number 25 or the year 2025.
It’s not in my nature to just say ‘I’ll create the reading challenge for everyone else but I just won’t do it this year.’ But I CAN say, I’ll let others do both parts and I will allow myself to just do Part One. And if any of the books I read end up fitting into Part Two, great!
Doing the math, if you only do one of the parts, that’s only about 2 books a month and if the average book is 350 pages, that’s only about 22 pages a day.
I’m hoping the shorter option will also encourage more people to give the reading challenge a shot.
For those of you who like a challenging and/or long challenge you can do BOTH parts!
And if that’s still not enough for you, I’ve got you covered:
You could do one of my past reading challenges that you haven’t done yet— or do them again. I’ll also be putting out my annual Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge which is reading one book from each category of the reader-nominated books. You can also check out previous years of this challenge.
Or I would direct you to my Disney Animated Movie Reading Challenge, which is not really about reading Disney-specific books. For example, for the movie Snow White, one of the prompts is to read a book with a character that has a color in their name.
This Disney Challenge has a ton of movies and within each movie there are 3 prompts— 2 regular, 1 harder one. So theoretically, you could do one massive reading challenge or you could do one prompt from each movie for 3 years.
If you have kids who want to do a reading challenge, I also made a reading challenge for kids!
I’ve listed the books I plan to read for each prompt on this year’s challenge and will link my book reviews as I read them. Part of the fun is searching around to see what books will fit for each one.
Connect with other Challengers!
Feel free to share your ideas in the comments or join the Facebook Group to connect to the reading challenge community. If you get stuck on a prompt you can message me for some suggestions as well.
I would love if you joined me in this challenge and shared it with your friends!
How to Track:
Below you’ll find links to a checklist or worksheet printable if you prefer paper copies.
I’ve added it to Storygraph (Part 1 and Part 2) where you can add books to each prompt and as you mark the books as ‘finished’, your reading challenge goal will update. The cool feature about this Storygraph option is that you can see what books others have added for each prompt that may give you some reading ideas.
Feel free to share these template link with others!
Book Cover Tracker [Part 1 Only]
Book Cover Tracker [Part 2 Only]
Whether you do reading challenges or not, the goal is to encourage reading and broaden your horizons by reading books you maybe wouldn’t normally read.
The goal of my website is to help other readers find books and remind people how fun and rewarding reading can be.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope your new year of books gets off to a great start!
Shelf Reflection’s 2025 Reading Challenge PART 1:
A book with footnotes:
Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham
A book with a cover the colors of your favorite athletic team:
A Killer’s Code by Isabella Maldonado
A book set during Prohibition:
A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni
A book with an occupation in the title:
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva
A book with a competition:
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
A book about a historical figure:
Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart by Russ Ramsey
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan Henry
A book with/about cancer:
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinithi
A book by an author whose last name is also a first name:
A Killing Cold by Kate Alice Marshall
The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by D.A. Carson
A book with a curse:
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
A book with a city in the title:
The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn
Two books by two different authors with the same last name:
Wild Things by Stephen JamesRift Trilogy by Steven James
A book from Jimmy Fallon’s Book Club nominees (list found HERE):
How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
A book that takes place on a farm:
This Promised Land
A book where the title takes up the entire cover:
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
A book written by a celebrity:
Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bargahtze
A book about a missing parent:
Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight
A ‘pandemic’ novel (either written by the author during COVID or is about a pandemic):
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
An athlete’s memoir:
Far Beyond Gold by Sydney McLaughlin
A book with a new mom:
Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
A book set in New England:
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Shelf Reflection’s 2025 Reading Challenge PART 2:
A book with 25 letters in the title:
A book written 25 years ago (2000):
A book published in 2025:
A book with a word in the title that rhymes with twenty-five:
A book by an author who was published by the age of 25:
The second or fifth book in a series:
A book with at least 25 chapters:
A book with a character who is 25:
A book with a title that starts with the letter ‘Y’ (25th letter):
A book with a 2 or 5 in the title:
A book by an author with the initials ‘TF’ (Twenty-five):
A book by an author who has written more than 25 books:
A book with a silver cover (traditional 25th anniversary gift):
A book with 4 different POVs (quarters):
A book set in Arkansas (the 25th ratified state):
A book that has been translated into at least 25 different languages:
A book that includes baseball (#25 was typically reserved for the team’s slugger):
First Love, Second DraftA book that could be associated with a song from Adele’s album titled ‘25’:
A book set during Christmas (December 25th):
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie
A book with an assassination OR set in the Civil War (25th President McKinley was assassinated and served during the Civil War):
Mark of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse
A book with a lawyer (25th most common occupation in America):
A book from New York Times list of top 25 books from the last 25 years (list has top 100 but you can scroll to the top 25):
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
A book associated with Jane Austen (2025 is the 250th anniversary of her birth):
A book with a square on the cover (25 is a perfect square):
A book with a queen (Cassiopeia- named for a queen- is the 25th largest constellation):
Bonus: (I always add this for the previous challenges I never finished… unfortunately it keeps adding up!)
A book you never got to from the last reading challenge:
[I have too many to list here now…]
