M. Suzanne Terry

I love a good reading challenge spreadsheet. Especially when it starts having more highlighted areas than blank areas.

August is our busiest month at work. It might seem like this would curtail my reading habits, but it usually accelerates them instead. Once I finally leave work, I don’t want to go anywhere else or do anything else or see anyone else. I just want to go home, take a shower, put on something comfy, and read. Or sometimes stare blankly at the wall. But mostly read.

Here’s what’s up next on the TBR.

Book Clubs

• The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson
• Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
• Habilis by Alyssa Quinn
• The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson

Reading Challenges

July was a good reading month for me. I finished Libro.fm’s Audiobook Champion Challenge (by reading 50+ hours – 60.5, to be exact – via audio), and I am about ⅔ of the way through the National Book Foundation’s Summer Reading Adventure. These short challenges really help out with my reading goals for the year. Noted. 

Summer Challenges

It’s going to take a lot of reading to finish the 52 Book Club’s Summer Reading Challenge. I’ve decided I’ll be happy if I finish it by the end of September. I’ve barely begun the books for this challenge that I planned for July. But here is the last group:

• Team pursuits (featuring a group of friends) – A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• Cross-country (title or theme related to the word endurance) – Night by Elie Wiesel
• Handball (author shares the last name of an Olympian) – The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean (same last name as Tom Dean, swimmer for Great Britain)
• Football/soccer (a double letter in the word title) – The Wedding People by Alison Espach
• At least four Olympic ring colors on the cover – Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
• Author who hasn’t released a book in the last four years – Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle
• Memoir/biography about an Olympian – 26 Marathons by Meb Keflezighi with Scott Douglas
• Volleyball (set in a country that wins a 2024 Olympic gold in Volleyball) – We won’t know which country this is until later this month or early next month, so I’ll keep you posted!

I’ve enjoyed everything so far that I’ve read for the MMD Minimalist Challenge. When I finish all the books on this list, I’ll post an update!

I am loving StoryGraph so far. The app hasn’t had records of a few of the more obscure books I’ve read, but the graphics alone (they have pie charts!) that help you see what you have read and what you are likely to enjoy are excellent. I am participating in their onboarding challenge that is designed to help readers learn several of the app’s features, and here’s what I’m reading for that challenge:

• Read a book from the five-star section of one of your similar readers – The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (finished)
• From StoryGraph’s list of “out of your comfort zone” – Emotional Inheritance by Galit Atlas, PhD – this was the book they listed that was closest to the prompt. Others? Not so much. I would be interested in seeing how the StoryGraph algorithm generates this list. I mean, to be fair, not much is out of my literary comfort zone. But still.
• Reading challenge random number game – One thing I really enjoy about this app is that you can track the reading challenge(s) you’re participating in. It allows you to search for challenges, and this game asks you to pick a number, go to the genre in the list that corresponds to that number, and read a book that meets a prompt in that challenge. Sounds complicated, but I picked 5, which corresponded to “Book Clubs, Podcasts, and Publications” section, which includes the Penguin 100 Must-Read Classic Books challenge, so I’m reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. 
• Read a book from your to-read pile that starts with the first letter of your name – Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat
• Read a book you discovered via the Buddy Reads or readalongs page – Cheating a little with this one, as there were no books listed that I “discovered” here (I’d at least heard of all of them), but I am enjoying reading Quiet by Susan Cain with a few other people.
• Read a book from your Up-Next suggestions – Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

2024 Challenges

Next up on the list for my year-long challenges:

10% Happier by Dan Harris 

• Read at least ten minutes of an audiobook every day for a month (Libro fm)

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

• Nominated for the Booker Prize (52 Book Club)
• Listen to an audiobook by an indigenous author (Libro.fm)

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

• Listen to a banned book (Libro.fm)

Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus

• Read an audiobook discussed on the Libro.fm podcast (Libro.fm)

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

• An author “everyone” has read except you (52 Book Club)

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

• A book that’s been adapted into a movie or TV show (Nowhere) 

And if that wasn’t a lot already, I’m also finishing up a couple of books that are due at the library this week:

• Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
• The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

I hope you get a chance to get out of the heat (or rain, or social obligations, etc.) and read some fantastic books this month!