I successfully completed my 24 in 2024 TBR challenge last year and decided to do it again in 2025. My rules are simple: I must have had the book in my possession for at least two months before January 1, 2025 and at least 12 of the books have to be by non-white authors. Here are the 25 books I have selected for this year along with the status of each.

I’ve decided to try my hand at creating a reading prompt list. I’d love to see your picks if you join. Use #JRIA25 on Instagram when posting so I can follow along! Here are the prompts. (I will link the review of the book that I read for each as I go.)

1. A book published the year you turned 25. (If you’re not yet 25, use a parent)
2. A book that won a literary award
3. A locked room thriller
4. A banned book
5. The first book in a new to you series
6. A book that was made into a movie
7. A book set in the middle of nowhere
8. A book with a title more than five words long
9. A classic book you’ve never read
10. A book whose title starts with the first letter of your birth month
11. A book that is a retelling
12. A book by a new to you author
13. A book with a color in the title
14. A book that is longer than 500 pages
15. A book that intimidates you
16. A book set before 1925
17. A YA book that was popular or a book you loved when you were a teenager
18. A book with a protagonist older than 50
19. A book about music or a musician
20. A book with a title that begins with the first letter of your first name
21. A book that spans 5 or more years
22. A book that you have been meaning to read for more than two years
23. A cozy fantasy or cozy mystery
24. A book set in the future
25. A book that is set primarily in or around water

For those of you who want a monthly surprise, I will also be doing “pop-up prompts” each month. Keep an eye on the blog and/or Instagram to find out what the prompt of the month is. Below are a list of the prompts thus far:

• January: Click here to view the post
  • Read any author’s debut book
  • Read a book centered around a party or celebration
  • Read a book set during the Civil Rights Era
• February: Click here to view the post
  • Read a romance by a Black author
  • Read one of my favorite books
• March: Click here to view the post
  • Read a book with a green cover
  • Read a book with a strong female lead
• April: Click here to view the post
  • Read a book with an animal as a MC
  • Read a book where climate change is central to the plot
• May: Click here to view the post
  • Read a book by an AAPI author
  • Read a book focusing on a mother/child relationship
• June: Click here to view the post
  • Read a book by a LGBTQIA2S+ author
  • Read a book focusing on a father/child relationship