2025 Reading Challenge @ Blydyn Square Books

 I wasn't sure how many more I'd be signing up for, but I've been doing this one for several years now.

1. By an author whose name has an initial(s):
2. Animal name in the title:
3. Nonfiction:
4. Published before 1980:
5. Red cover or spine:
6. Set in Europe:
7. Biography or memoir:
8. Written in first person:
9. Urban/city setting:
10. With a love story:
11. Read at least once before:
12. Child as a major character:
13. Mentions weather (snow, rain, etc):
14. One-word title:
15. With a happy ending:
16. Book you've had on your TBR at least one year:
17. Current bestseller:
18. Won a major award:
19. Blue cover or spine:
20. Written for children's or YA audience:
21. Author you've never read: The Blackbirds--Eric Jerome Dickey
22. Book you find a little or a lot scary:
23. A "classic" (whatever that means to you!):
24. Picture book
25. Book that inspires you:

January Bookish Bingo

 The new card for January.

My books:

1. Happily Ever Afters: A Reimagining of Snow White and Rose Red--Melanie Cellier (5 squares): Audiobook, Bravery, Curse/Spells, Demon, In a Series
2. Depression Self Help 7--Heather Rose (2 squares): E-Book, Goals/Resolutions
3. The Blackbirds--Eric Jerome Dickey (10 squares): Shelf Love, Physical Book, Not in a Series, Free Space, Different Culture, Diverse Read, Characters Are in a Club, Celebration, Meant to Read in 2024, A Character is Real

First Thursday 13 of 2025

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂  

 Just some random things to kick off my first Thursday 13 post of 2025. 

1. Still haven't taken down my Christmas yard lights. I need to pack them away safely and where they won't get exposed to the sun. I really want to use them again next year, especially the candy canes.
2. I wasn't able to keep my gingerbread house on the lawn very much as there was a lot of rain last month. Just the same, some of it did get wet. I don't plan on reusing it next year anyway--no doubt I'll come up with another idea then.
3. I was sad to learn that the Pick Your Poison reading challenge will be ending after this year. It's so much fun, and I love the bizarre categories it includes.
4. I don't seem to have signed up for as many challenges as I did last year. Then again, I can never keep tract of just how many I do.
5. The county library reopens today, but I am not sure when I'll be back, but I will. I'm reading some books from home for now.
6. It's been cold in my area, even if the sun does appear outside.
7. Mostly stayed home on New Year's Day. Gave a friend a ride to the ATM and the liquor store. I shouldn't have to say how empty the town and parking lots were.
8.  It sure did not feel like it was Wednesday this week and last because of Christmas and New Year's Day. It felt like Friday last week was Monday and I expect this Friday to feel the same.
9. We baked cookies at work last Friday, with dough made from scratch. They were chocolate chip, a mix of semi-sweet and milk chocolate ones. The cookies were delicious!
10. I pod
11. I don't yet know about what to do for my birthday next Saturday.
12. I wanted to get some new books when I last went to Target, but did not find any I wanted just yet.
13. And I still don't know when our town's bookstore will be open. It's near where I work.

Board Games Reading Challenge

I found this new one offered through Instagram and Story Graph. I like this idea and it sounds like a fun one to try.

CHALLENGE PROMPTS

1. Apples to Apples Fruit on the cover

2. Axix & Allies Set during WWII

3. Backgammon A classic

4. Balderdash Title contains a strange or obscure word

5. Bananagrams Yellow cover

6. Barrel O' Monkeys Animals are important to the story

7. Battleship Takes place on or in water

8. Boggle A book that kept you guessing

9. Candy Land A sweet read

10. Cards Against Humanity A book containing irreverent humor

11. Checkers Black and white or black and red cover

12. Chess Features royalty

13. Chinese Checkers A translated book

14. Chutes N' Ladders A book with several plot twists

15. Clue A locked room mystery

16. Concentration A complex read

17. Connect Four Part of a 4-book series OR 4th in a larger series

18. Cranium Title contains the word "cat", "head", "star", or "word"

19. Dominoes Part of a duology

20. Don't Break the Ice Set in a cold climate

21. Guess Who Mysterious villain

22. Hi Ho Cherry-O Rhyming title

23. Hungry Hungry Hippos Alliterative title

24. Jenga Tall tower or tall building on the cover

25. Mahjong Set in the 19th century

26. Mancala Set in Africa

27. Mastermind Features codes/code breaking

28. Monopoly Features a wealthy character

29. Mouse Trap Features a set up

30. Operation MC is in the medical field

31. Othello Shakespeare play or retelling

32. Parcheesi Set in India

33. Perfection A tense read

34. Phase 10 Number in the title

35. Pictionary A book with illustrations

36. Risk A book with a map

37. Rummikub Face on the cover

38. Scattergories Published in the 1980s

39. Scrabble Buddy read

40. Sequence Features STEM

41. Settlers of Catan Characters are settlers/pioneers

42. Simon MC's name is in the title

43. Skip-Bo Next book in a series you've already started

44. Sorry A book you wish you hadn't read

45. Stratego Character is in the military

46. Taboo A banned book

47. The Farming Game Character is a farmer or set on a farm/ranch

48. The Game of Life Life story (fiction or nonfiction)

49. Ticket to Ride Character travels by train

50. Trivial Pursuit A nonfiction read that taught you something new

51. Trouble Multiple character quest

52. Twister Red, yellow, green, & blue on the cover

53. Uno One word title

54. Yahtzee A retelling

2025 Foodies Read

 Another I like to do, getting as many books as possible.

1.