Tackling the Pile of Shame: A Reading Challenge

keithy23's profile picture keithy23 Host

19 participants (144 books)

01 Jan 2025—31 Dec 2025

Overview

Have you ever started a book, set it aside, and somehow never picked it back up? Maybe life got busy, the timing wasn’t right, or you just weren’t feeling it. We all have them—those books sitting in our “pile of shame*,” waiting for a second chance.

This year, I’m challenging myself (and anyone who wants to join!) to tackle those unfinished reads. The goal? To finally finish 10 books that I’ve softly DNF’d and give them the attention they deserve.

Whether you’ve got a handful of books you’ve paused on or an entire stack calling your name, this challenge is for anyone who wants to turn unfinished pages into completed stories. Let’s dust off those books and see where the journey takes us—because it’s never too late to finish what we started!

Are you ready to face your pile of shame? Let’s do this together!

*quoted by Emily Fox

Challenge Books

All books added
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Witcher #3

Blood of Elves

Andrzej Sapkowski

398 pages • 1994 • 166 editions

fiction fantasy adventurous dark medium-paced
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Idiot

Fyodor Dostoevsky

720 pages • 1869 • 426 editions

fiction classics literary challenging dark reflective slow-paced
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley

How to Age Disgracefully

Clare Pooley

352 pages • 2024 • 31 editions

fiction contemporary funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Intermezzo

Sally Rooney

464 pages • 2024 • 95 editions

fiction contemporary literary emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary

Andy Weir

476 pages • 2021 • 122 editions

fiction science fiction adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde #1

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Heather Fawcett

317 pages • 2023 • 84 editions

fiction fantasy historical adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
The Mindf*ck Series by S.T. Abby

Mindf*ck #1-5

The Mindf*ck Series

S.T. Abby

683 pages • 2016 • 19 editions

fiction contemporary crime romance thriller dark tense fast-paced
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

Razorblade Tears

S.A. Cosby

319 pages • 2021 • 45 editions

fiction crime mystery thriller dark emotional tense fast-paced
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr

531 pages • 2014 • 173 editions

fiction historical literary emotional reflective sad medium-paced
My Body by Emily Ratajkowski

My Body

Emily Ratajkowski

233 pages • 2021 • 32 editions

nonfiction essays feminism memoir emotional reflective medium-paced