In December, I stumbled upon booktuber Kayla, of BooksandLala on youtube, and became quickly infatuated with her videos, content, and book recommendations. One of her recent videos (imbedded below) introduces her Buzzword Reading Challenge and I immediately started making plans to join in the fun.
According to her Goodreads challenge group page, “The Buzzword Readathon (#buzzwordathon) is a monthly readathon, running the first week of each month (1st through 7th). Each month will have a designated word/word theme and you have a week to read as many books as you like with that word in the title. Or use this as a year-long reading challenge, and read just ONE book each month featuring the monthly buzzword until you complete the whole challenge!”
I had a lot of fun combing through my TBR list (of 275+ titles) on Goodreads and looking at her recommendations to make my list. Being the type A that I am, I couldn’t pick just one. I don’t know that I’ll read more than one a month but I like having options at the ready in case I can’t get my top choice from the library!
January – “dream”
Top Choice:
Big Dreams, Daily Joys by Elise Blaha Cripe
Other:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones
February – a colour
Top Choices:
How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang
The Silence of the White City by Eva García Sáenz
Other:
Black Buck by by Mateo Askaripour
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Golden State by Ben H. Winters
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole
March – “time”
Top Choice:
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Other:
Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by M. Gottman
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
April – space/galaxy terms
Top Choices:
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Other:
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
May – “house/home”
Top Choices:
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Other:
The Butterfly House by Katrine Engberg
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
Crooked House by Agatha Christie
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
June – name/title
Top Choices:
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
His and Hers by Alice Feeney
Other:
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
July – “last”
Top Choice:
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (2021 release)
Other:
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman
The Last Flight by Julie Clark
The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake
August – time of day
Top Choices:
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Survive the Night by Riley Sager (2021 release)
Other:
Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
September – “dark”
Top Choices:
A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Other:
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Dark Secrets by Michael Hjorth, Hans Rosenfeldt
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
October – elements
Top Choices:
A Slow Burning Fire by Paula Hawkins (2021 release)
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Other:
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race edited by Jesmyn Ward
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
November – “lost”
Top Choice:
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
Other:
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
December – day/month/season
Top Choices:
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Tuesday with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Other:
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
BooksandLala blogpost linked here
Goodreads group linked here
Until tomorrow, Meryn
MERYN MADE 
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