Napoleon Bonaparte
Audacity succeeds as often as it fails; in life it has an even chance.
Quote of the Week – November 14, 2025
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#HRCYED Progress Update
It’s been three months since I started working on the Hardest Reading Challenge You’ll Ever Do (HERCYED) 2.0.
While I’ve been putting up reading lists for each prompt, I might not always read exactly as planned. Part of the challenge for myself is trying to do as many of these prompts as possible using the books that I already have on hand. This is my round up of what progress I’ve made so far:
Completed Prompt: Subgenres of Choice (in August)
Completed Prompt: 24 Hour Readathon (in September)
Completed Prompt: Non-Fiction
For this prompt you need to read five books in five different subcategories of non-fiction. For example: Biography vs Science vs Self-Help, etc.
I read:
- Thick – Tressie McMillan Cottom (May be replaced before I submit depending on whether I have time to read another non-fiction or not)
- Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain
- The Awful End of Prince William the Silent – Lisa Jardine
- Dogtripping – David Rosenfelt
- Messy – Tim Harford
In Progress:
- By the Hundreds: 4/7
- Series Staircase: 6/10
- The Last 10 Years: 3/10 or 11 if you want to earn +5 points
- Adaptations: 6/8
- Around the World: 3/7
- Spooky Creatures: 3/8
- Become the Avatar: 1/4
- Animals: 3/5
- Queer Alphabet: 2/9
- BIPOC Authors: 3/10
- New Releases: 4/12
- Challenge Yourself: 2/??
- Readathon Challenge: 3/25
- Make a Quote: 0/6
- The Even Bigger Rainbow: 5/13
- Translation Challenge: 0/5
- Heritage Months: 2/12
- Disability Challenge: 0/5
- TBR Game Challenge: 0/6
- Award Season: 0/7
- HRCYED 1: 3/3 (All replaceable)
I am enjoying this challenge. I have decided that although I have plans to read individual books for everything, I am going to take the opportunity to double-up books. That means that I may end up changing my lists before my finalized submissions, if I have enough time, but for now, each book will count against two prompts. This will change the numbers a bit next month, I reckon.
Anyway, if you’d like to learn more about HRCYED, and join the madness, you can find the announcement here:
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Quote of the Week – November 7, 2025
Anne Lamott
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.
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#HRCYED Become the Avatar
This is what I’m planning to read for the HRCYED Become the Avatar Prompt. I’m going with cover image rather than title. (Note: I am trying to do this challenge with only books I own or can get from the library.)
- Water – Daisy Darker – Alice Feeney (read)
- Earth – The God of the Woods – Liz Moore
- Fire – Agatha H and the Siege of Mechanicsburg – Phil & Kaja Foglio
- Air – The Affinity Bridge – George Mann
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Quote of the Week – October 31, 2025
Henry David Thoreau
Dreams are the touchstones of our characters.
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Books Read – September & October 2025
Fiction
Pride in Prejudice– Jane Austen
Animal Farm – George Orwell
The Furthest Station – Ben Aaronovitch
Wolf in the Fold – Simon R Green
Sport for the Baron – John Creasey
The Last Days of New Paris – China Mieville
The Masquerades of Spring – Ben Aaronovitch
What Abigail Did That Summer – Ben Aaronovitch
Nettle & Bone – T. Kingfisher
The Specialists – Lawrence Block
Forces From Beyond – Simon R Green
Design for Great-Day – Alan Dean Foster & Eric Frank Russel
Alchemy of Secrets – Stephanie Garber
The Penelapiod – Margaret Atwood
Hekate– Nikita Gill
Short Stories
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century – Kim Fu
Graphic Novels
Nimona – Noelle Stevenson
Rivers of London – Bodywork – Ben Aaronovitch & Andrew Cartmel
Non- Fiction
Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer
Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain
Messy – Tim Harford
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#HRCYED Favorite HRCYED 1.0 Prompt
This is what I’m planning to read for the HRCYED Favorite Prompt from HRCYED 1.0: Garage Sale : (Note: I am trying to do this challenge with only books I own or can get from the library.)
- Diablo Mesa – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
- Killed at the Whim of a Hat – Colin Cotterill
- The Serpent of Venice – Christopher Moore
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BitterSuites 