The 52 Book Club just put out their first full-sized genre-specific challenge. All books read for this challenge must be mysteries, but there is not timeline for completing it. The mystery challenge contains fifty different “cases." Match one mystery to each case for a total of fifty different books. Cases are related to different mystery elements and tell you what to look for in a book.
A classic mystery:
An opening line that hooks you:
An “impossible” crime:
Murder disguised as an accident:
A missing person:
A cozy mystery:
An unsettling read:
Title includes the word “death” or “dead:”
A white-collar crime:
A humorous mystery:
The “brilliant detective” trope:
An amateur sleuth:
Antagonist toys with the detective:
Includes a podcaster, writer, or journalist:
A crime-solving duo:
Detective has to confront their own past:
An iconic detective:
Police procedural:
A detective on the cover:
Title starts with first letter of author’s last name:
A serial killer:
An unreliable narrator:
A victim with lots of enemies:
Features small town secrets:
Written from multiple suspects’ perspectives:
A “new-to-you” author:
A crime of passion:
A character wrongly accused:
Set by a lake:
A character...
I am a huge Agatha Christie fan and love participating in the Read Christie challenge hosted at agathachristie.com. This year the theme is “Biggest, Best, Beloved” books. There are “official” selections, but you can also choice to read alternatives. The hashtag is #ReadChristie2026.
January - Best Opening - The Body in the Library by Agatha ChristieFebruary - Beloved Character(s) - Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha ChristieMarch - Biggest Impact on You As A Young Reader - Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha ChristieApril - Beloved in your Collection (A Caribbean Mystery)May - Best Short Story Collection (The Labours of Hercules)June - Best to Read in One Sitting (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd)July - Best-Kept Secret (The Rose and the Yew Tree)August - Beloved Duo (By the Pricking of My Thumbs)September - Best According to Agatha (Endless Night)October - Best Cold Case (Sleeping Murder)November - Biggest Inspiration (And Then There Were None)December - Best Seasonal Read (Hercule Poirot’s Christmas)2026 - Best Book...
The Literary Escapes Challenge hosted at Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book is one I don't do great at but have fun keeping track of. The goal is to read 1 book set in each of the 50 states + the District of Columbia. (51 Points). If you complete the challenge you earn 50 Bonus Points. You also can earn Bonus Points for books set in Countries around the world. 1 Bonus Point for each country – no repeats.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California - A Very Novel Murder by Ellie Alexander
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine - Murder Will Out by Jennifer K. Breedlove
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Greece - The Last Death of the Year by Sophie Hannah
England - The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Australia - Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson
Sweden - The Living and the Dead by Christoffer Carlsson
Nigeria - My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Canada - Alibi by Accident by Kayleigh...
I’m signing up for the 2026 Audiobook Challenge, hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and That’s What I’m Talking About. I might be a bit of an audiobook junkie. My goal for the year is 75+, which puts me at the Over-Achiever level. The hashtag is #2026AudiobookChallenge.
Also, June is Audiobook Month, so there will be a special mini-challenge just for the month.
Books read:...
By the end of the year, I will have completed 2025's 52 Books in 52 Weeks main challenge. (I did not do so great at the mini-challenges.) I read a lot of books I enjoyed, some of which I wouldn't usually have picked up, so I'm signing up again this year.
Here's the list:
Set in an ancient civilization
Kangaroo word on the cover - The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
Written without quotation marks - The Killer Question by Janice Hallett
Has a dust jacket
Featuring a conspiracy
Title starts with the letter “O”
Title starts with the letter “P”
A three-syllable word in the title
Featuring a natural disaster
Spans a decade or more
Requires suspension of disbelief
A genre-defining read - Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Bookface
Includes a character list - May Contain Murder by Orlando Murrin
A subtitle with commas - Separation of Church and Hate by John Fugelsang
Deus Ex Machina
Author’s bio mentions their dog
Provokes strong emotion
A nosy neighbour character - A Very Novel Murder by Ellie Alexander
Day...
We all know I love cozies, so of course I'm signing up for the Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge again. It's hosted by Yvonne at Socrates’ Book Reviews. I’m aiming at being an investigator, reading 20 cozy mysteries of my choice hopefully including one from each of the categories below.
One from culinary –
One from animal-related –
One from craft related –
One from paranormal –
One from cozy mysteries based outside the US –
One career-based cozy mystery – A Very Novel Murder by Ellie Alexander
One holiday based –
One travel mystery –
One historical mystery –
One is your choice! –
Books read:...
