Winter 2027 Reading Challenge @ Beyond the Bookends

Another seasonal favorite. The Winter 2027 reading challenge runs from December 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027.

1. Memoirs or Celebrity Memoirs:
2. Books Becoming Movies:
3. Suffragette:
4. Healing Fiction:
5. Books About Tea:
6. Mysteries and Thrillers Set in Hotels:
7. Literary Romance Novels (February):
8. Publishing (January):
9. Older Protagonist (December):

2026 Yuletide Spirit Reading Challenge and Readathon

 Always look forward to this seasonal challenge. Will get as many books as possible during this time.

Three ways to participate:

1. Challenge - Pick a level
2. Readathon - read as much (or as little) as you want
3. Participate in both!

We're also having a 24 in 48 hours Readathon the weekend of December 11 - 13. We start at 8:00 pm eastern time on Friday and it ends at 8:00 pm eastern time on Sunday. The idea is the try to read for 24 hours during that 48 hour period, but there are no rules. Read as much or as little as you want. It's all for fun. A nice relaxing weekend of reading. I'm all for it!

Regarding the reading of Christmas books, for the readathon, you do not have to read only Christmas books. I am always reading regular genres along with Christmas books during the season. Please do try to read at least one though.

For the reading challenge, these must be Christmas novels, books about Christmas lore, a book of Christmas short stories or poems, books about Christmas crafts, children's books (we even have a level for them!), etc.

Reading Challenge Levels:
--Candy Cane: read 1 book
--Mistletoe: read 2-4 books
--Christmas Tree: read 5 or 6 books, or more (this is the fanatic level!)

Additional levels:

--Fa La La La Films: watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!
--Visions of Sugar Plums: read books with your children this season and share what you read

*the additional levels are optional, you still must complete one of the main reading levels above

My Books:

1. 
   

A Message for Today

 

Mental Health Reading Challenge 2027

Another I'm bringing back next year. This topic is very important to me.

General Rules:

• Any book depicting mental health counts, whether fiction or non-fiction.

• Challenge takes place from January 1 to December 31, 2027. All books must be read during that time to count.

• All book formats (print, audio, e-books) are accepted.

• Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating.

• No levels, read as many books as you like.

• Need ideas for books? Check this Goodreads page for several lists of books on the topic.

• You do not need a blog to participate. You may sign up on Goodreads, YouTube, Blue Sky, Facebook, etc. 

• Sign up below in the comments. 

Need reading ideas? Here are some links to get started:

Goodreads Lists of Mental Health Reads

Amazon: Best Sellers in Mental Health

11 Enlightening and Empathetic YA Novels about Mental Illness

Memoir Reading Challenge 2027

One I will be brining back is the Memoir Reading challenge. The rules will be the same as in previous years, and I will read as many as I can during the year.

To participate, you must read a minimum of five memoirs from any of the categories listed. One book can only count for one category. Re-reads are acceptable. All book formats count. 

Other Rules:

1. Books must be read on or after January 1, 2027 to count.
2. Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2027.
3. Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating. 
4. Books must be labeled as memoirs to count. You do not need a blog to sign up.  
5. You may keep tract of your progress on Goodreads, Amazon or other similar sites with a shelf dedicated to this challenge.  Or sign up on Youtube, Facebook, X, or Bluesky. Sign up below in the comments.

If you need reading ideas, here are some links to get started:

Goodreads: Best Memoir/Autobiography

Goodreads: Memoirs by Women 

B&N: 50 Essential Memoirs

1. Here are the categories:
2. Mental Illness Memoir: 
3. Other Illness Memoir: 
4. Political Memoir: 
5. Food Memoir: 
6. Animal Memoir: 
7. Music Memoir: 
8. Travel Memoir: 
9. Written by a person of color: 
10. Written by a woman: 
11. Written by a person who identifies as LGBTQIA: 
12. Written by an actor or a comedian: 
13. Written by an author or journalist: 
14. Written by any other celebrity:
15. Written by someone under 40: 
16. Written by someone over 40: 
17. Written by someone from a country different from your own: 
18. One you find thought-provoking: 
19. Made into a movie: 
20. Graphic novel memoir: 
21. Bestselling memoir: 
22. Humorous memoir: 
23. Fictional memoir:
24. In translation:
25. Won an award:  
26. Published in 2027: 
27. Published in 2026 or earlier: 
28. Under 300 pages: 
29. Over 300 pages: 
30. One you want to re-read: 
31. On a favorite topic: 
32. By a favorite celebrity: 
33. Free choice: 
34. Free choice: 
35. Free choice:

Book Discussion: Joining Challenges

As you can see, it's getting to be time for reading challenges for 2027 to start popping up. So far, three I do each year have turned up and I have signed up for them. Another I've done the past few years has also posted, but I wasn't too happy with the new format on this one, so I chose to pass on it, at least for next year. I've also seen a few new ones (at least to me) that I'm considering joining. 

I also host challenges, but two (Epistolary and Creativity), I have not made a lot of progress on this past year, so I am uncertain of continuing those.  I've also been considering starting a brand-new challenge, one with a checklist, since I seem to do better on those then on the genre ones, though there are some genre ones I do plan to rejoin. Some challenges have gotten a little repetitive, such as the Fairy Tale one. As much s I love this idea, a lot of the same tales keep turning up year after year, and some like Bluebeard, Rapunzel, Snow White and The Little Mermaid are getting harder to find retellings of that I have not already read. So whether to rejoin that one is up in the air right now. Even though I've already signed up for the Color Coded challenge, finding some colors in titles has become challenging, such as green, brown and yellow.

Since I am moderator for a Facebook that collects such challenges, I'm always looking for these as soon as this time of year approaches. Even though I choose not to participate in. 

Those who join challenges, have you decided on any for next year yet, that have already posted?

2027 Color Coded Challenge

I always look forward to this one. Finding colors in titles has become even more challenging, especially green, yellow and brown. But I still like to do it. 

~Read nine books in the following categories:

1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue in the title/author name/on the cover.
2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red in the title/author name/on the cover.
3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow in the title/author name/on the cover.
4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green in the title/author name/on the cover.
5. A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown in the title/author name/on the cover.
6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black in the title/author name/on the cover.
7. A book with "White" or any shade of White in the title/author name/on the cover.
8. A book with any other color in the title/author name/on the cover.title/on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, etc).
9. A book with a word/image that implies color in the title/author name/on the cover. (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Shadow, Paint, Ink, etc).

The 2027 Reading Challenge @ 52 Book Club

Always excited for this one to come.

1. Title starts with the letter “Q”
2. Audiobook with sound effects
3. Author with three names
4. Rags to riches
5. A book you’ve been putting off
6. Set in a close-knit community
7. Same series: book one
8. Same series: book two
9. Same series: book three
10. Related to the word “fate”
11. First chapter is more than ten pages
12. Book is a three-time award winner
13. Follows a character from childhood
14. 2018: By an author under 30
15. 2019: Name of a color in the title
16. 2020: Published when you were 20
17. 2021:  A dual timeline
18. 2022: A non-fiction bestseller
19. 2023: A city or country name in the title
20. 2024: At least four different POV
21. 2025: Title is ten letters or fewer
22. 2026: Spans a decade or more
23. Any previous 52 Book Club prompt
24. Read by a narrator in Audible’s Hall of Fame
25. Unrelated books with opposite titles (book 1)
26. Unrelated books with opposite titles (book 2)
27. A purple cover
28. Divided into parts
29. Has a tenth anniversary edition
30. Leaves you questioning
31. An underdog story
32. Same publisher as prompt ten
33. Eureka!
34. Title is in first person
35. Character is on vacation
36. A political thriller
37. Has an index
38. Low fantasy
39. A bird on the cover
40. Set in a fictional country
41. ISBN ends in -6
42. Includes a party
43. Copy has a misspelling or grammatical error
44. Image of a person on the spine
45. Mentions another book title
46. A verb in the title
47. A morally grey character
48.  “I prefer the UK cover”
49.  Over 10,000 Goodreads reviews
50. A nostalgic read
51. Published in 2027
52. Your final read of the year

More Election Humor

 

Thursday 13

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.  

 

November Bookish Bingo

The card for November is here.

My Books:

1. Hollywood, Ending--John Green (10 squares): DNF Last Month, Free Book, Physical Book, Not in a Series, Slower Pace, Free Space, Sacrifice, Ombre Cover, Book Club Read, New Release
2. When Clouds Touch Us--Thanhha Lai (3 squares): Audiobook, In a Series, Multi-World Title
3. Pretty--KB Brookins (3 squares): E-Book, Found Family, Save the World/Universe
4. Love Songs--Katherine Stone (5 squares): Shelf Love, Unlikely Friendship, Forced Proximity, Soulmates, Family Dinner
5. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden--Joanne Greenberg (1 square): Re-read
6. Diary of a Confused Feminist--Kate Weston (1 square): Author Famous for Other Reasons

It's November

It's now November, the end of fall, but beginning of Christmas according to some.  I'm not thinking about it just yet, but I could not resist sharing the cartoon above. I still have to take down my pumpkin lights, the only Halloween decorating I did this year. I'm now wondering if the solar lights will still be working next year. The ground is a little muddy form rain early yesterday morning, so I'm waiting for that to dry up. I got a pink shirt half off at the Spirit Halloween store yesterday. The store is said to be closing today.

And of course, the time change began yesterday. As it always seems to be at this time, I got tired and hungry earlier than usual. I was wide awake when I arrived home after midnight from the bar celebration, so I set the clocks back before I attempted to get any sleep.

And tomorrow is Election Day. I'm a voter-by-mail, so I've already filled out and sent my ballots. I'm getting anxious to hear the results tomorrow night.

Last Night

Not a lot of people showed up, so it wasn't terribly crowded. But not a lot of costume competition, and again this year, I took third place.

I also got some pictures at home before leaving.