My Challenge

Updated: 12 January 2025

2025 Challenge

Aiming to read at least 35 books in 2025. To diversify my reading and to challenge myself to read more widely, I have created a new bingo board to add some fun to the challenge.

Books read in 2025:

1. Garry Disher - Sanctuary
2. Helen Garner - The Season
3. Dervla McTiernan - The Scholar
4. Kevin Wilson - Nothing to See Here

20th century modern classic	19th century classic	Pre-19th  century classic	Published in 2025	Published  in translation
Biography /  Memoir	Current Affairs	Poetry  collection	Short story collection	Essay collection
Written by  Nobel Laureate	Australian Prize  longlister	Women's prize  longlister	Booker prize longlister	Non-fiction  prize longlister
Book on the  1001 list	Book from my 50/50 list	Book adapted   for TV/Film	Retelling of another story	First book in a series
Set in a fantasy  location	Set in Canada	Set during wartime	Set at Sea	Set in the future

2024 Challenge

Aiming to read at least 30 books in 2024. To diversify my reading and to challenge myself to read more widely, I have created a new bingo board to add some fun to the challenge.

Books read in 2024:

1. Pat Barker - The Voyage Home
2. Lech Blaine - Bad Cop (QE93)
3. Nick Bryant - The Forever War
4. Alba De Cespedes - Forbidden Notebook 
5. Claire Dederer - Monsters
6. Garry Disher - The Way it is Now
7. Anne Enright - The Gathering
8. Anne Enright - The Wren, The Wren
9. Percival Everett - James
10. Sarah Firth - Eventually Everything Connects
11. Richard Flanagan - Question 7
12. Tana French - The Hunter
13. Kate Grenville - Restless Dolly Maunder 
14. Chris Hammer - The Valley
15. Robert Harris - Conclave
16. Samantha Harvey - Orbital
17. Susan Hill - The Vows of Silence 
18. Dorothy B Hughes - In a Lonely Place
19. Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go
20. Miranda July - All Fours
21. Claire Keegan - Foster
22. Alan Kohler - The Great Divide (QE92)
23. Paddy Manning - The Successor
24. Louise Milligan - Pheasants Nest
25. Lisa See - Lady Tan's Circle of Women
26. Colm Tóibín - Long Island
27. Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
28. Mark Twain - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
29. Don Watson - High Noon (QE95)
30. Colson Whitehead -  Harlem Shuffle
31. Colson Whitehead - Zone One
32. Sue Williams - Elizabeth and Elizabeth
33. Alice Winn - In Memoriam
34. Charlotte Wood - Stone Yard Devotional

20th century modern classic *Hughes	19th century classic *Twain	Pre-19th  century classic	Published  in 2024 *French *July *Bryant	Published in translation *De Cespedes
Biography /  Memoir *Manning	Current Affairs *Blaine *Kohler *Bryant	Poetry collection	Short story collection	Essay collection *Firth
Written by Nobel Laureate *Ishiguro	Protagonist is over 50 *Wood	Women's prize longlister *Enright	Booker prize longlister *Enright	Debut  novel *Milligan
Book on the  1001 list *Twain	Book from my 50/50 list	Book adapted  for TV/Film *Harris	Banned book	Book which defies genre *Flanagan
Set at Sea *Barker	Retelling of  another story *Everett	Set during  wartime *Winn	Fiction based on fact *Grenville *See *Williams	Set in the future *Whitehead

2023 Challenge

Aiming to read at least 30 books in 2023. To diversify my reading and to challenge myself to read more widely, I have created a new bingo board to add some fun to the challenge.

Books read in 2023:

1. Jessica Au - Cold Enough for Snow
2. Anne Bronte - Agnes Grey
3. Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
4. Charlotte Bronte - Shirley
5. Charlotte Bronte - The Professor
6. Costanza Casati - Clytemnestra
7. Eleanor Catton - Birnam Wood
8. Garry Disher - Consolation
9. Garry Disher - Peace
10. Percival Everett - The Trees
11. Anna Funder - Wifedom
12. Robert Galbraith - The Running Grave
13. Julia Gillard - Not Now, Not Ever
14. Chris Hammer - The Tilt
15. Chris Hammer - The Seven
16. Sarah Holland-Batt - The Jaguar
17. Shirley Jackson - Dark Tales
18. Sophie Mackintosh - Cursed Bread
19. Dervla McTiernan - The Ruin
20. George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four
21. Ann Patchett - Tom Lake
22. Sally Rooney - Normal People
23. Jennifer Saint - Atalanta
24. Margot Saville - The Teal Revolution
25. Hayley Scrivener - Dirt Town
26. Britney Spears - The Woman in Me
27. Grace Tame - The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner
28. Miriam Toews - Women Talking
29. Elizabeth Von Armin - Vera
30. Winifred Watson - Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
31. Colson Whitehead - The Nickel Boys
32. Thorton Wilder - Our Town 
33. John Williams - Stoner

20th century modern classic *Orwell *Watson	Debut  novel *Scrivenor	First Nations Author/Issues	Poetry  collection *Holland-Batt	Biography or memoir *Tame *Spears
19th century classic *Bronte	Retelling of  another story *Saint	Protagonist is over 50 *Patchett	Short story collection *Jackson	Essay collection *Gillard
Pre-19th  century classic	Novel in  translation	LGBTQIA+ Author/Issues	Women's prize longlister *Mackintosh	Non-fiction bestseller *Spears
Book on the  1001 list *Watson	By a favourite author *Disher	Novella in  November *Au	Australian  literary prize longlister	Current  affairs/politics *Saville
Published  in 2023 *Catton *Funder	New to me author *Von Armin	Book in my To Be Read pile *Williams *Whitehead	Booker prize longlister *Everett	Non-fiction history

2022 Challenge
Aiming to read at least 30 books in 2022. To diversify my reading and to challenge myself to read more fiction, I have created a new bingo board to add some fun to the challenge.

Books read in 2022:

1. Maxine Beneba Clarke - How Decent Folk Behave
2. Graeme Macrae Burnet - Case Study
3. Evan S Connell - Mrs Bridge
4. Evan S Connell - Mr Bridge
5. Miranda Cowley Heller - The Paper Palace
6. Garry Disher - Bitter Wash Road
7. Jennifer Down - Bodies of Light
8. Jennifer Egan - The Candy House
9. Robert Galbraith - The Ink Black Heart
10. Kate Grenville (editor) - Elizabeth Macarthur's Letters
11. Dave Grohl - The Storyteller
12. Chris Hammer - Treasure and Dirt
13. Jane Harper - Exiles
14. Claire Keegan - Small Things Like These
15. John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber - Our Iceberg is Melting
16. Emily St John Mandel - Sea of Tranquility
17. Meg Mason - Sorrow and Bliss
18. Madeline Miller - The Song of Achilles
19. Madeline Miller - Galatea
20. Frank Moorhouse - Grand Days
21. Tara Moss - The Ghosts of Paris
22. Katharine Murphy - The Lone Wolf - Quarterly Essay
23. Maggie O'Farrell - The Marriage Portrait
24. Julie Otsuka - The Swimmers
25. Taylor Jenkins Reid - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
26. Amy Remeikis - On Reckoning 
27. Jennifer Saint - Ariadne
28. Niki Savva - Bulldozed
29. Zadie Smith - The Wife of Willesden 
30. Matthew Spencer - Black River 
31. Douglas Stuart - Young Mungo 

20th century modern classic *Connell	Retelling of  another story *Miller	Novel in  translation	Poetry  collection *Beneba Clarke	Women's prize longlister *Mason
First Nations Author/Issues	Essay collection	New to me author *Disher	Biography or memoir *Grohl	Book on the  1001 list
Debut  novel *Cowley Heller	19th century classic	Published  in 2022 *Stuart	By a favourite author *Egan	Non-fiction bestseller
Short story collection	Australian  literary prize longlister *Down	Current  affairs/politics *Savva	Protagonist is over 50 *Smith	LGBTIQ+ Author/Issues *Reid
Pre-19th  century classic	Non-fiction history *Grenville	Book in my To Be Read pile *Moorhouse	Booker prize longlister *Burnet *Keegan	Novella in  November *Miller

2021 Challenge
I seem to consistently be able to read 30 books each year, but given the uncertainty this pandemic brings, I do not want to increase the volume. Instead I will continue to explore new authors, genres and subject matters. To diversify my reading and to challenge myself to read more fiction, I have created a new bingo board to add some fun to the challenge.

Books read in 2021:

1. Pat Barker - The Silence of the Girls
2. Pat Barker - The Women of Troy
3. Susanna Clarke - Piranesi
4. Tegan Bennett Daylight - The Details
5. Kate Ellis - Sex, Lies and Question Time
6. John Fowles - The Collector
7. Tana French - The Searcher
8. Helen Garner - How to End a Story (Diaries 1995-1998)
9. Matt Haig - The Midnight Library
10. Chris Hammer - Silver
11. Chris Hammer - Trust
12. Patricia Highsmith - Carol / The Price of Salt
13. David Hill - The Forgotten Children
14. Susan Hill - The Various Haunts of Men
15. Susan Hill - The Pure in Heart
16. Susan Hill - The Risk of Darkness
17. Kazuo Ishiguro - Klara and the Sun
18. Sean Kelly - The Game
19. Hannah Kent - Devotion
20. Sarah Krasnostein - The Believer
21. Raven Leilani - Luster
22. Emily Maguire - Love Objects
23. Emily St John Mandel - The Glass Hotel
24. Louise Milligan - Witness 
25. Tara Moss - The War Widow
26. Joyce Carol Oates - The (Other) You
27. Edna O'Brien - August is a Wicked Month 
28. Intan Paramaditha - The Wandering 
29. Dolly Parton - Songteller
30. Sarah Winman - Still Life
31. Evie Wyld - The Bass Rock

B	I	N	G	O
Set during Wartime  Winman	Retelling of  another story* Barker	Novel in  Translation*	Poetry  Collection	Women's Prize  Longlister Clarke
Lesser known book  by a Famous Author	Essay Collection  Bennett Daylight	Set in the Future	Booker Prize  Longlister Ishiguro	About a non-Western  world leader*
Debut  Novel* Leilani	19th Century Classic	Published in 2021  Ellis	Biography  or Memoir Garner	Set in Space or at Sea Kent
Short Story Collection Oates	Australian Literary  Prize Longlister Paramaditha Wyld	Current Affairs / Politics Milligan	Protagonist  is over 50*	Coming of  Age Story*  Highsmith
Pre-19th Century  Classic	First Novel in a Series Moss	Book on the  1001 List O'Brien Fowles	Fiction Based on a True Story	Written by a  male author* Hammer

Bingo rules: Books can only be used once, even if they fall into multiple categories. 
Bingo can be achieved horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

*New categories 2021

2020 Challenge
I plan to read 30 books this year, again with an emphasis on fiction.  To diversify my reading and to challenge myself to read more diverse fiction, I have created a new Bingo board to stretch myself into new areas and compel me to read wide and deep.

Books Read in 2020:

1. Margaret Atwood - Dearly
2. Sarah Bailey - The Dark Lake
3. Julia Baird - Phosphorescence
4. Joey Bui - Lucky Ticket
5. Rachel Cusk - Outline
6. Daphne Du Maurier - Jamaica Inn
7. Kitty Flanagan - 488 Rules for Life
8. Robert Galbraith - Troubled Blood
9. Helen Garner - One Day I'll Remember This
10. Amy Goldstein - Janesville: An American Story
11. Kate Grenville - A Room Made of Leaves
12. Jane Harper - The Survivors
13. Patricia Highsmith - The Tremor of Forgery
14. Patricia Highsmith - This Sweet Sickness
15. Patricia Highsmith - The Two Faces of January
16. Jess Hill - See What You Made Me Do
17. Zora Neale Hurston - Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick
18. Emily St John Mandel - Station Eleven
19. Michelle McNamara - I'll Be Gone in the Dark
20. Madeline Miller - Circe
21. Ottessa Moshfegh - Death in her Hands
22. Katharine Murphy - The End of Certainty (QE79)
23. Maggie O'Farrell - Hamnet
24. Mandy Ord - When One Person Dies The Whole World Is Over
25. Josephine Rowe - Here Until August
26. Kate Elizabeth Russell - My Dark Vanessa
27. Curtis Sittenfeld - Rodham
28. Muriel Spark - The Driver's Seat
29. Lisa Taddeo - Three Women
30. Edith Wharton - Bunner Sisters
31. Charlotte Wood - The Weekend

B	I	N	G	O
19th Century Classic	First Novel in a Series Bailey	Lesser known Book  by a Famous Author Highsmith - Sickness	Features Strong  Female Protagonist Miller	Short Story Collection Bui
Essay Collection	Pre-19th Century Classic	Banned Book	Fiction Based on a True Story Hamnet	Australian Literary Prize Longlister Wood
Book on the 1001 List Wharton	Women's Prize  Longlister O'Farrell	20th Century Classic Du Maurier	Set in the Future Mandel	New York Times Bestseller Taddeo
Set in Space or at Sea Harper	Mystery or Crime Novel Highsmith - Forgery	Booker Prize  Longlister	Published in 2020 Hurston	Book with a  colour in title
Current Affairs / Politics Hill	Biography  or Memoir Ord	Set during Wartime	Poetry  Collection Atwood	Adapted into a Film/TV Show Highsmith - January

Bingo rules: Books can only be used once, even if they fall into multiple categories. 
Bingo can be achieved horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

2019 Challenge
This year I plan to stretch myself to read 30 books with an emphasis on fiction!  To diversify my reading and to challenge myself to read more diverse fiction, I have created a new Bingo board to stretch myself into new areas.

Books Read in 2019:

1. Margaret Atwood - The Testaments
2. Belinda Bauer - Snap
3. Brian Bilston - Diary of a Somebody
4. Oyinkan Braithwaite - My Sister, the Serial Killer
5. Jim Broadbent and Dix - Dull Margaret
6. Michael Caine - Blowing the Bloody Doors Off
7. Annabel Crabb - Men at Work
8. George Eliot - Silas Marner
9. Nora Ephron - Heartburn
10. Helen Garner - Yellow Notebook
11. Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
12. Patricia Highsmith - Deep Water
13. Clive James - Injury Time
14. Tayari Jones - An American Marriage
15. John Lanchester - The Wall
16. Vicki Laveau-Harvie - The Erratics
17. Michael Lewis - The Fifth Risk
18. Kate Lilley - Ladylike
19. Ian McEwan - The Children Act
20. Heather Morris - The Tattooist of Auschwitz
21. Emily Nussbaum - I Like to Watch
22. Michelle Obama - Becoming
23. Philip Pullman - La Belle Sauvage
24. John Purcell - The Girl on the Page
25. Heather Rose - Bruny
26. Niki Savva - Plots and Prayers
27. Gillian Triggs - Speaking Up
28. Tara Westover - Educated
29. Meg Wolitzer - The Wife

B	I	N	G	O
19th Century Classic Eliot	First Novel in a Series Pullman	Adapted into a Film/TV Show McEwan	Australian Literary  Prize Longlister Laveau-Harvie	Short Story Collection
Essay Collection	Set in Space or at Sea	Pre-19th Century Classic	Fiction Based on a True Story Ephron Morris	Current Affairs / Politics Lewis Crabb
Book on the 1001 List   Haddon	Banned Book	Features Strong  Female Protagonist Rose Braithwaite	Set in the Future Atwood	New York Times Bestseller Obama
Spin-off from  a Classic	Mystery or Crime Novel Highsmith Bauer	Booker Prize  Longlister Lanchester Atwood	Published in 2019 Savva	20th Century Classic
Legal Thriller	Biography  or Memoir Caine Westover Triggs	Set during Wartime Morris	Poetry  Collection James	Book with a  colour in title Garner

Bingo rules: Books can only be used once, even if they fall into multiple categories. 
Bingo can be achieved horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

2018 Challenge
This year I plan to stretch myself to read 30 books. Over the past few years I have read at least two a month, so I will need to pick up the pace a bit to reach my goal. I will update my progress here as I go.

See the results of my 2018 in reading.

Books Read in 2018:

1. Julia Baird - Victoria: The Queen
2. Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik - Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
3. Lee Child - Killing Floor
4. Agatha Christie - The Murder on the Links
5. Richard Dennis - Dead Right (Quarterly Essay 70)
6. Nick Drnaso - Sabrina
7. Neil Gaiman - The Graveyard Book
8. Robert Galbraith - Lethal White
9. Helen Garner - The Spare Room
10. Helen Garner - Stories
11. Mohsin Hamid - Exit West
12. Chris Hammer - Scrublands
13. Jane Harper - The Lost Man
14. Chloe Hooper - The Arsonist
15. Samantha Irby - We Are Never Meeting in Real Life
16. Rupi Kaur - The Sun and Her Flowers
17. Sarah Kranostein - The Trauma Cleaner
18. Bri Lee - Eggshell Skull
19. Rick Morton - One Hundred Years of Dirt
20. George Saunders - Lincoln in the Bardo
21. Rebecca Solnit - Men Explain Things To Me
22. Julian Stodd - The Social Leadership Handbook
23. Laura Tingle - Follow the Leader (Quarterly Essay 71)
24. Bob Woodward - Fear: Trump in the White House

To diversify my reading and to have a bit of fun, I made the following Bingo board with the view to expanding my reading horizons. I wonder how many times I can get Bingo before the year is out.

B	I	N	G	O
Adapted into a Film/TV Show (Agatha Christie)	Biography  or Memoir (Notorious RBG) (Victoria: The Queen) (Trauma Cleaner)	New York Times Bestseller (Robert Galbraith)	Booker Prize Shortlister (Exit West)	Poetry Collection (Rupi Kaur)
Current Affairs / Politics (Bob Woodward)	Set in Space or at Sea	Pre-20th Century Classic	Fiction Based on a True Story	New-To-Me Author (Samantha Irby)
Short Story Collection (Heen Garner)	Published in 2018 (Chris Hammer) (Chloe Hooper)	Free Choice (Helen Garner)	Set in the Future	First Novel in a Series (Lee Child)
Written by a Nobel Laureate	Mystery or Crime Novel (Jane Harper)	Stella Prize Shortlister	Banned Book	20th Century Classic
Set during Wartime (Saunders)	New-To-Me Genre	Lesser-known Book by a Famous Author	Essay Collection (Rebecca Solnit)	Book on the 1001 List

Bingo rules: Books can only be used once, even if they fall into multiple categories. 
Bingo can be achieved horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

2017 Challenge
In 2017 I planned to read 24 books - two a month. I exceeded this target by completing 26 titles:

1. Angela Carter - The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
2. Agatha Christie - The Mysterious Affair at Styles
3. Hillary Rodham Clinton - What Happened
4. Ta-Nehisi Coates - Between the World and Me
5. Mark Colvin - Light and Shadow: Memoirs of a Spy's Son
6. Alan Cumming - Not My Father's Son
7. Daphne Du Maurier - My Cousin Rachel
8. Carol Dweck - Mindset
9. Carrie Fisher - The Princess Diarist
10. Richard Flanagan - Notes on an Exodus
11. Gillian Flynn - Dark Places
12. Jane Harper - The Dry 
13. Jane Harper - Force of Nature
14. Clive James - Collected Poems
15. Rupi Kaur - Milk and Honey
16. Hannah Kent - The Good People
17. Benjamin Law - Moral Panic 101
18. David Marr - The White Queen
19. Ian McGuire - The North Water
20. Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater
21. Heather Rose - The Museum of Modern Love
22. JK Rowling - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
23. Mark Tedeschi - Murder at Myall Creek
24. JD Vance - Hillbilly Elegy
25. Sonya Voumard - The Media and the Massacre
26. Lindy West - Shrill

2016 Challenge
This year I planned to read 24 books - two a month. Got pretty close to my goal with 22 titles read. Here's my 2016 in reading:

1. James Brown - Firing Line
2. Graeme Macrae Burnet - His Bloody Project
3. Tegan Bennett Daylight - Six Bedrooms
4. Joan Didion - The Year of Magical Thinking
5. Fleur Ferris - Risk
6. Clementine Ford - Fight Like a Girl
7. Anna Funder - The Girl with the Dogs
8. Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) - Career of Evil
9. Helen Garner - Everywhere I Look
10. Stan Grant - The Australian Dream
11. Helen Macdonald - H is for Hawk
12. Emily Maguire - An Isolated Incident
13. George Megalogenis - Balancing Act
14. Nigel Paine - The Learning Challenge
15. JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
16. Niki Savva - The Road to Ruin
17. Gloria Steinem - My Life on the Road
18. Kate Tempest - Brand New Ancients
19. Laura Tingle - Political Amnesia
20. Don Watson - Enemy Within
21. Jeanette Winterson - Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
22. Charlotte Wood - The Natural Way of Things