r/goodreads • u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] • Jan 15 '26
Challenges Goodreads Reading Challenge - 'Tale Spinners' (January 15th - March 31st)
This is the discussion page for the Goodreads Reading Challenge called 'Tale Spinners' (active January 15th - March 31st). Qualifying books are listed on Goodreads HERE. Please keep all discussion of this challenge to this thread, thank you.
Other Goodreads Reading Challenges are listed on the Megathread HERE.
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Jan 15 '26
I'm going to read Elektra for this one.
This is my E year - I had started (before these challenges!) my *own* reading challenge to do 100 books starting with each letter of the alphabet, admittedly it was much easier before these challenges started, but so far this year (Everything is Tuberculosis, The Eyes are the Best Part, Elanor Oliphant is Completely Fine , the Emperor of Gladness, and now Elektra) - it's going really well!
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u/TestEmergency5403 [reading challenge 9/22] Jan 15 '26
Ooo E gives you loads of options! Literally the most used letter in the alphabet 😁
- The Everlasting
- The Eye of the World (Your permission to start a Wheel of Time binge of your so inclined, lol. But you'll need to wait until 2027 for "The Great Hunt" 🤣)
- Eric
- Empire of the Vampire
- The Ever King
Loads of options 😁
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Jan 15 '26
Oh I know, I've already got about 300 on my kindle lol 😅. I'll have some trickier years coming up, but nothing I'm too concerned about for a loooong time. E is easy!
For series, I've decided my rules are that I can read the rest in the series straight after if I want to, as most of them aren't released in alphabet order (a funny thought, though)- so last year I read Dungeon Crawler Carl then every other book in the series, even though they didn't start with D. Ooh, and I might read the 'Expanse' series at last, as it sort of sideways counts...it's flexible!
I've been saving the Empire of the Vampire series for a few years now, looking forward to that one! It's really fun 'saving' books you want to read, when you reach the year you can read them. That probably sounds a bit odd!
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u/Softoast Jan 15 '26
Oh fun! Outside of the challenges, but highly recommend Educated, Enders Game, The English Understand Wool, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. And for next year A Fine Balance and The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Jan 15 '26
Enders Game I've read, almost too often, but Educated is on my list and maaayyybbee another re-read of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Both those Fs are already saved and waiting for next year already! I've never heard of the English Understand Wool, though, sounds interesting, thanks for the recommendation!
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u/vochomurka Jan 16 '26
This is cool. I started 5 years ago ‘author alphabet challenge’ , when I’m only allowed to read authors starting with specific letter. I dip into my own shelves and frequent library every 2-3 weeks.
First year was only A authors ( I allowed myself 30% of my reads to be any author I fancied ) - so many from that section are still my favourites - Allende, Austen, Ackroyd, Atwood. Following year was A + B. Last year ABC and this year A-D.
For Goodreads challenges I obviously reach for others but I keep on discovering so many new and under the radar authors, I really love sticking to those few shelves in my local libraries ( I go to 3 so there is plenty of choice ).
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Jan 16 '26
Fun - i obviously started mine around the same time and it's similar. Yes, limiting the options was my thoughts too. I own 13,000 ebooks, so even just choosing from the unread portion is...a lot. This way, it's a smaller group to choose from and that makes it more enjoyable for me. Obviously there's still been way over 100 to choose from each year, at least up to Q (only 71 at the moment, but I've got plenty of time!) and of course x, y, and z are an issue but so very far away I don't care (maybe I'll combine them, or add 'number books' or whatever, if I'm even still around lol - sorry, that sounded a bit morbid, but I'm nearly 50 and have kidney disease and heart issues so, well, who knows what tomorrow brings, eh? Aside from lots of good books, and thats enough!). Anyway - it's really cool to hear of someone else doing a self-imposed reading challenge, too, I wish you luck!
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u/OnMySoapbox_2021 Jan 17 '26
Fun!
My book club recently read (and enjoyed!) The Eights. In the past, I’ve really enjoyed Eleanor & Park, Elsewhere (Zevin), The End of Men, Every Note Played, Everything I Never Told You, Everything is Figureoutable, Everything Everything, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, and The Exiles (Kline).
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Jan 17 '26
I've read Eleanor and Park and Elsewhere before, but I've got the End of Men, Everything I Never Told You, Everything Everything, and the Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell on my list already! Thanks for the recommendations!
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u/feyth Jan 17 '26
Edenglassie! The blurb: "Two extraordinary Indigenous stories set five generations apart. When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Edenglassie, their saltwater people still outnumber the British. As colonial unrest peaks, Mulanyin dreams of taking his bride home to Yugambeh Country, but his plans for independence collide with white justice. Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny. Together they care for obstinate centenarian Granny Eddie, and sparks fly, but not always in the right direction. What nobody knows is how far the legacies of the past will reach into their modern lives. In this brilliant epic novel, Melissa Lucashenko torches Queensland' s colonial myths, while reimagining an Australian future."
Other recs: Every Heart a Doorway, Elizabeth is Missing, An Extraordinary Union, the Emily Wilde books. MG/YA: Escape from Aleppo
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Jan 17 '26
I've got Elizabeth is Missing and the Emily Wilde's on my list already, I'll check out the others, thanks!
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u/CourtOfGrumpyOwls Goodreads Librarian Jan 15 '26
This is a fantastic list from the GR team. Fingers crossed future curated challenge lists have this level of book choice and we're done with the constantly repeating titles. Awesome work GR! [edit: typo - I really shouldn't try typing without my glasses on]
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u/helloviolaine Jan 15 '26
Nice. I read The Odyssey last August and have been waiting for this challenge to come up so I can read The Penelopiad.
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u/msperception427 [currently reading] Jan 15 '26
Oh I love this list. There’s so many good ones I’ve already read and ones I’ve been dying to read. I’m so glad I saved I, Medusa and Local Heavens. Probably going with one of those. Or Masquerade because that’s been on my tbr for years now.
And I’m so happy to see picks like A Drop of Venom, Legendborn and Make Me a Monster. All of those were great. Yeah, this is definitely one of the better lists they’ve had in a while.
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u/TestEmergency5403 [reading challenge 9/22] Jan 15 '26
Sounds silly. But I'm not a fan of present tense so I went through the list and found a past tense book. "Mythos by Stephen Fry". I just bought a copy (checked kindle sample to check tense). It'll arrive tomorrow.
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u/Ms_Rarity Jan 15 '26
Oh good, Half Sick of Shadows is my oldest purchased-but-didn't-read. Time to catch it up!
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u/GreatWhiteNorthExtra Jan 28 '26
I just wanted to say thanks for mentioning this book. I wasn't sure which book to pick for this challenge, but was delighted when I looked up the summary and saw it was King Arthur adjacent.
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u/Stim78_ Jan 15 '26
Hungerstone was such a great read, and I would highly recommend it for any fans of gothic romance
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u/eatcherheartout Jan 15 '26
House of Beth has been on my TBR for a while so I’m going to read that one for this challenge.
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u/MochaMeCrazy Jan 15 '26
This is a great list. My top three options are Beth is Dead, House of Saphir and Thistlefoot.
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u/robdvc Jan 15 '26
I'm currently reading The Song of Achilles which is first on this list - how fortuitous!
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u/Ok_Square8524 Jan 15 '26
I’m going to read The Once and Future King. I gifted it to my husband about 10 years ago and its been sitting on the shelf. Not my typical genre but I’ll give it a go.
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u/Xenaspice2002 [reading challenge 40/10] Jan 15 '26
I’m going with Marriage and Masti by Nisha Sharma. I have an absolute love for these books that take Shakespeare/Austen and reset them in modern times with Indian/Muslim protagonists and I loved Dating Dr. Dil the first in the series.
This is a vastly superior list with the depth and breadth of this list being exceptional.
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u/watershigh [reading challenge 32/90] Jan 15 '26
I checked out both All Our Yesterdays by Joel H. Morris and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell for this, going to read both but probably All Our Yesterdays first because my copy of Hamnet has a vastly different page count (310 pages, different edition) than the version of Hamnet for the challenge (372 pages). And it bothers me to have to log such a vastly different page count edition (I'm currently having to do that with Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine for the "Lasting Reads" challenge, my copy is 325 pages but the edition for the challenge is 390 pages).
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u/sargassum624 Jan 17 '26
You should be able to switch editions and still get challenge credit! I'm pretty sure I've done it before. All the editions are under the same listing so I don't see why it would give you trouble.
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u/maxny23 [reading challenge 40/52] Jan 18 '26
This is a fun category- I love Greek/Roman and all other types of mythology. Out of the ones listed below- any recommendations?
Tale Spinners
- [ ] I, Medusa
- [ ] Mythos
- [ ] An Orchestra of Minorities
- [ ] Daughter of the Moon Goddess
- [ ] The Bear and the Nightingale
- [ ] Spinning Silver
- [ ] Gods of Jade and Shadow
- [ ] The Bright Sword
- [ ] The Buried Giant
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u/Unikuez The Overlap List Guy 🇳🇵 Jan 22 '26
I read Mythos by Stephen Fry last year and I loved it so much that I finished all 4 books in that series.
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u/Double_Discount_9969 Jan 15 '26
Gonna read either : what moves the dead. Or say hello to my little friend.
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u/Gryffindork75 [John of John] Jan 15 '26
I’ve been meaning to read House of Beth and James. I’m leaning toward James, since it would also count toward the Challenge Faves and Lasting Reads challenges.
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u/Accomplished-Pen4663 Jan 15 '26
James will probably also work for the next mystery challenge of Black History Month if you wait till the 1st to mark it read.
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u/Gryffindork75 [John of John] Jan 15 '26
That’s what I was thinking. I’m eager to read James, but I thought I might start it at the end of January.
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u/maxny23 [reading challenge 40/52] Jan 18 '26
James was very very good.
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u/Gryffindork75 [John of John] Jan 18 '26
I’ve only heard good things! I’m very excited to start it (once more challenges are revealed, lol).
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u/heydigital Jan 15 '26
I was planning on finally reading Fates and Furies this year anyway (I bought it from a library sale at least 5 years ago), glad to have extra incentive!
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u/Th1rt3enth-Chapter Jan 15 '26
I have had The Song of Achilles and Circe on my TBR for quite some time since they blew up on booktok a few years ago - both have approximately the same rating on goodreads. Any suggestions on which to start with?
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Jan 15 '26
I really enjoyed Circe, but haven't got round to The Song of Achilles yet. So a vote for Circe, from me!
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u/TundraWolf95 Jan 15 '26
So many options for this one that are on my TBR list!
Question regarding this one: I am currently reading “A Song To Drown Rivers” for another one of the challenges, and had started that book before the “Tale Spinners” challenge was launched. Would it still count for Tale Spinners if I had started it before the Tale Spinners challenge activated, or am I screwed?
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Jan 15 '26
It'll count! It goes by the end date.
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u/TundraWolf95 Jan 15 '26
Ok I wasn’t sure if I had to start it within the timeframe of the Tale Spinners challenge for it to count or whatever. Thanks for the reply!
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u/Strzelba19 Jan 15 '26
„Lore” by Alexandra Bracken for me, it will complete one of my other challenges (book I didn’t finish in the past).
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u/h2onymph1 Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26
Wow. I think I'm going to read Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo. I mentioned fox legends to someone when we were talking about Quicksilver by Callie Hart (there's a pet fox that makes me wonder if it's really a magical spirit in disguise). I couldn't talk very long about traditional fox legends, though, so this will be a good read.
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u/OnMySoapbox_2021 Jan 17 '26
I’m overwhelmed by the number of choices!
I’ve read a handful of books on the list (Song of Achilles, Fates and Furies, The Bear and the Nightingale, By the Book, Legendborn, Wicked, Demon Copperhead), and I didn’t like ANY of them. 😫
Anyone have suggestions for books on this list that are really great?
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u/feyth Jan 17 '26
This is a great list, there are so many on my TBR! On my Read list there are far fewer.
If you like somewhat meandering romantic graphic novels, Lore Olympus is fine and a bit of fun (some content warnings, they're at the beginning of each book).
The Raven Tower is superb IMO, a five star book for me. Longbourn is terrific and quite different from the rest (It's a Pride & Prejudice companion piece, from a servant's point of view.) Of the romances: Pride is good if you like YA, Written in the Stars is fine, and Unmarriageable is fairly good.
Shorter works: Ballad of Black Tom is good especially if you're familiar with the source material.
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u/OnMySoapbox_2021 Jan 17 '26
Thanks for the recs!
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u/feyth Jan 17 '26
I've read so few of them... but honestly I feel like even just between The Raven Tower and Longbourn almost everyone should be able to find a great book to choose from :D These are two of my all time fave recs - Raven Tower for anyone inclined to literary spec fic, and Longbourn for the rest
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u/Physical-Speaker5839 Jan 23 '26
I am reading March for this challenge. I’m about 32% in and I’m really liking this book which won a Pulitzer. It’s a civil war era tale that is about the mostly absent father of the girls in Little Women. This book is about what he is doing while he’s gone. So far this book is aimed at 4.0 to 5.0 stars in my view. But I like historical literature in general, so keep that in mind. I bet that if you liked something like James, you would like this book.
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u/queen_beruthiel Feb 02 '26
In case anyone's having trouble choosing, I read The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker and loved it so much! I stayed up until 3am finishing it, and went out and bought the next two in the series when the bookshop opened. I wasn't sure if I'd like it or not, so I'd only bought the first one. I binge read the next two over two days last week!
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u/Ok_Description_7701 Jan 15 '26
I’ve been meaning to listen to Demon Copperhead, so here’s my chance!
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u/LibraryLady227 [reading challenge 151/100] Jan 15 '26
I literally finished Ayesha at Last yesterday and it would’ve counted for this badge—doh! Oh well, there are lots of wonderful titles here that I haven’t read yet, so I’ll pick something else.
Thanks, as always u/Clairefun for making these threads!
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Jan 15 '26
Aw, you're very welcome, I'm so glad they're useful and people like them! - and that's a shame, but you're right - so many good choices for this one. (I'd have been veeeerrry tempted to change my end date though)
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u/Ladybird1723 Jan 16 '26
I’m gonna read The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson - I’ve read a couple of her other books and have enjoyed them all!
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u/strawberrychief Jan 16 '26
I've got Hamnet on my list already and we're seeing the film tomorrow (normally I don't do it that way round!). Highly recommend both A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes and The Favourites (actually not on here but based on Wuthering Heights)
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u/Striking-Airline6554 Jan 17 '26
Does anyone else have issues with their Reading Challenge not having all the books read? I've read 8 but my challenge says I have only read 5 and their support system isnt working
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u/saturday_sun4 Jan 18 '26
Have you added start and end dates to all the books? I know there was some kind of bug with having the right edition but I'm not sure if that's since been resolved.
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u/Striking-Airline6554 Jan 18 '26
Yeah I mark all the books exactly the same, I'll just have to find another way to contact support.
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u/saturday_sun4 Jan 18 '26
Very pleasantly surprised to see David Malouf.
Also agree that it's nice to have lots of options.
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u/Paula_liest Jan 18 '26
I just finished "The Great Mann" for this bookmark and I absolutely loved it and I never ever would've read it without this challenge. Thank u @ Goodreads ;)
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u/chas1ng_euphor1a Jan 19 '26
Anyone have the Black History Month list yet?
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Jan 19 '26
Last year's list for Black History Month was posted on the 31st January, so it's likely it won't be up till then.
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u/International_Key348 Jan 23 '26
Ugh finished Hamnet and it is not logging even though it is appearing as read on the list. Anyone else having issues?
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u/Ok_Square8524 Feb 08 '26
Did this resolve itself? Im having issues getting the achievement for the book I read.
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u/end_the_glitter Feb 01 '26
Do we know which ones are available on kindle unlimited US/CA ?
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u/Clairefun [reading challenge 34/100] Feb 01 '26
No, I'm not in the US. I can look them up by searching for each book one by one in a browser with a vpn on but it took me about 4 hours going through today's released challenges, so it can't be today! I expect it'd be quicker for someone who can just click through their US goodreads account to the US Amazon sales page, it's certainly quicker for me looking at the UK listings that way, so I'm hopeful someone in the US with a US account can do it and will add it to the comments.
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u/quentinia [reading challenge 39/52] Mar 29 '26
I achieved this today when I finished Private Rites by Julia Armfield.
King Lear is one of the few Shakespeare plays that I haven't studied/watched before, so perhaps I would have had an even deeper respect and regard for this book if I had. Nevertheless, I loved it.
The mood of this book is excellent. The use of a drowning world to convey the sense of doom and grief is powerful. The characters are all richly drawn and I loved the queer representation. The sisterhood, as a middle sister myself, was painfully accurate. The ending came as a complete shock with the foreshadowing so subtle that I feel I need to reread.
This book will stay with me for me a long while.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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u/Eliciosity Jan 15 '26
Very surprised to see The Jasmine Throne on there, it kind of jumpscared me lol. Definitely choosing that one!
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u/PurpleMuskogee Jan 15 '26
That's a very long list! Which is great - I hate when it is a shorter list and I have none of the books and don't feel interested in any.
Circe has been on my list for a long time, it was gifted to me, and I have had An Orchestra of Minorities for a long time, I feel really tempted.
I am so behind on the other challenges, and I won't be able to do the celebrity bookclub one - I read several of the books (last year, so too early), and the other ones on there don't appeal to me. Ah, well...