Blogmas Day 22: Wrapping Up My 2025 Reading Projects

Hello! Welcome to Blogmas Day 22!

I thought today I would reflect on my various 2025 reading projects. How much did I read for them? Did I reach my goals? Will I be carrying any of them forward into 2026?

But first… I’m afraid this might have to be my last day of Blogmas, since Christmas is really heating up and I need to focus on family stuff. But hey, I kept it up for longer than I thought I would! Many thanks to everyone who has checked out these posts throughout December. I have a few more posts planned for after Christmas, so I’ll post a picture of the last two days of my advent calendar then.

Advent Calendar

Today’s advent calendar was surprisingly challenging with all those pieces of sky and that one big tree. Or maybe I’m just that tired. 😅

My 2025 Reading Projects

World LiteraTour

My reading projects for 2025 started with my main reason for creating this blog – my World LiteraTour project.

For this project, the idea was that I would read and analyze the foundational classics from around the world and learn about the languages they were originally written in. Unfortunately, my year derailed pretty quickly when we put our house up for sale and started the months-long process of moving and then renovating our new house. I simply didn’t have the time and energy I needed to devote to this project. Also, I found it hard to get my hands on some of the books I’d expected to read and analyze. Ancient classics are more expensive to buy and harder to find in libraries than I thought!

All told, I completed 4 of the planned 12 languages/literatures of this project: Sanskrit, Sumerian, Ancient Chinese, and Ancient Egyptian. I had a great time working on this project, and I definitely want to return to it in 2026, but maybe a slightly pared-down version.

Top 100 Canadian Books of All Time

The next reading project I took on was the Top 100 Canadian Books of All Time.

I had so much fun compiling this list! I found a bunch of Top Canadian Books lists from various sources, and I combined and ranked them using a points system for books that appeared more than once. There were so many titles and authors I’d never heard of and certainly never read that I decided to turn it into a reading project. My plan was to read one book from the list each month, but sadly I only managed three. I want to be more diligent about this project in 2026. Canadian literature is a passion of mine that I’d like to nurture.

Diplomatica Global’s Great Reads from Around the World

Next I discovered Diplomatica Global’s Great Reads from Around the World list. These are books recommended by foreign embassies in Washington D.C., and they were chosen to encapsulate each country’s culture and literature. How could I resist turning that into a reading project?

Again, I only managed to read 3 books for this project, but they were all fantastic. I definitely want to continue this project in 2026.

Goodreads lists

I also tried to make reading projects out of Goodreads’ 100 Years of Popular Books and Spine Tinglers Challenge.

I never got around to diving into the first, but I might take another look at it sometime and see what I can do with it. As for the Spine Tinglers Challenge, I did get the Achievement for reading The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon, but I hated it. I also tried to read but DNF’d Hunted by Darcy Coates, which I found boring. I did finally have success with Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker (gave it 4 stars), and I started The Reformatory by Tananarive Due but won’t be able to finish it by the end of the year, even though I’m enjoying it.

I might try to make reading projects out of more of these Goodreads challenges in 2026, if they keep creating them. I didn’t even know for half the year that they existed, so I’ll try to pay more attention as/if they pop up.

How I did

Overall, considering all the real-world challenges I’ve faced this year, I’m not unhappy with my reading projects. I haven’t given up on any of them, I just prioritized new releases in the second half of the year because it became a lot easier to get my hands on those at my new library. For 2026, though, I want to focus more on reading projects than on new releases. I don’t feel like myself if I’m not reading classics and world literature. And I’m cooking up lots of plans for this blog in the new year, so watch this space!