Goodreads Fall 2025 Challenge

“Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high, take a look its in a book,” is in the opening song for Reading Rainbow. There is also transformation in reading outside my own parameters. I really do enjoy finding ways to expand my literary horizons. A really fun way to do this is through a good reading challenge. The one I was focusing on this fall was the Goodreads fall reading challenge. To be fair, there were a few categories where I did read some books I’d been longing to read. Cynthia Pelayo's Vanishing Daughters was one of those books because Cynthia is an amazing writer and I’ve been privileged to enjoy a wonderful conversation with her. I enjoyed having the excuse to finally pick up Ninth House (for my dark academia choice) and Moon of the Crested Snow (for my spine tingler). The Goodreads fall challenge was definitely a great excuse to dive into some titles in my (never ending) TBR pile: Cinnamon Bun Bookstore (which I read for the cozy book category), Witch's Guide To Magical Innkeeping (which I read for Choice Awards) and Demon Copperhead (Fiction Faves). It was an added bonus to be able to include this in my reading challenge! I had been intentionally seeking out Native American voices for my fall reading. Moon of the Crested Snow was an intentional choice for my spine tingler for that very reason. For the "official" native voices title I read Mighty Red because Louise Ehrlich is a writer whose work I have become completely enamored with. I do count listening to audiobooks as reading and Serviceberry was a wonderful companion in my work day, getting me to think about my relationship with the land surrounding me. What surprised me is that one of my absolute favorite books is one that I read for the memoir category–Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Adiche. Adiche is an author that I have been wanting to give a second chance to reading. The prose on the nature of grief is heartbreakingly stunning! It truly felt like sitting with a friend who not only has gone through a loss, but can hold your hand with an incredible amount of understanding. This surprise reminded me of why I like finding ways to break out of my literary comfort zones. I was truly blown away by a book outside of what I would normally think of adding to my bookshelf!