Progress on Reading Challenges

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I signed up for a several reading challenges earlier this month.

There is a lot of crossover books on these challenges. I decided to list them out for people who may only be interested in one or two specific challenges – and to give myself an idea of where I stand on them.

2026 Cruisin’ Thru the Cozies – Hosted by Socrates Book Reviews

Since 9/9/26, my cozy mystery reading has filled in #12-16 in the Your Choice section for this challenge:
12. Dying to Sell (A Hope Street Church Mystery, #9) by Ellery Adams and Tina Radcliffe – Read 9/9/26
13. The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco (Book Club Mystery, #1) by Laura DiSilverio – Read 9/13/26
14. An Appetite for Murder (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #1) by Lucy Burdette – Read 9/14/26
15. Death in Four Courses (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #2) by Lucy Burdette – Read 9/19/26
16. Murder, She Barked (Paws & Claws Mystery #1) by Krista Davis – Read 9/21/26

I find it interesting that the prompts I have left to complete are some of my favorite cozy themes: Craft related, paranormal, and holiday based. When I first started filling in my books for this challenge, I would have bet these would have been filled 🙂 Aside from the three I noted, I still need to read two books for the Travel mystery prompt. Since I’m doing a Cozy Travel Bingo game on Goodreads, I should find books that crossover here.

2026 Alphabet Soup Challenge from Escape with Dollycas #AlphabetSoupChallenge

Since 9/9/26, I’ve only filled in one completely new Author Titles in this challenge:
D – Dying to Sell (A Hope Street Church Mystery, #9) by Ellery Adams and Tina Radcliffe – Read 9/9/26
M #2 – Murder, She Barked (Paws & Claws Mystery #1) by Krista Davis – Read 9/21/26
R #2 – The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco (Book Club Mystery, #1) by Laura DiSilverio – Read 9/13/26

I still need books that have titles starting with O, P, Q, X, Y, and Z.
For these, I tentatively have these books in mind:
O – On the Chopping Block by Jenny Kales
P – Peach of a Murder by Livia Washburn – OR – Pawsitively Poisonous by Melissa Eric Jackson
Q – (A) Question of Murder (Murder, She Wrote #25)-I plan to read through this series one day, so I hope to find another option.
X, Y & X – I still need to find options for these.

2026 Alphabet Soup Challenge (Author Edition) – #AlphabetSoupAuthorChallenge

Since 9/9/26, I have only added one new Author to my list, but I am including a couple that doubled up on other letters, just because I find it interesting.

B #3 – Lucy Burdette – An Appetite for Murder (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #1) – Read 9/14/26
D #2 – Laura DiSilverio – The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco (Book Club Mystery, #1) – Read 9/13/26
R – (Ellery Adams and) Tina Radcliffe – Dying to Sell (A Hope Street Church Mystery, #9) Read 9/9/26

I am still missing Authors for the following letters: G, I, O, Q, U, X, Y, and Z.
I have these in my spreadsheet for possibilities:
X – Diana Xarissa’s Aunt Bessie Assumes
Y – Kate Young’s Crime for the Books

2026 Cravings for Cozies Challenge and Library Card Challenge – #CravingCozies

Since I started this challenge so late, I opted for the Famished Level (Read 26-51 Cozy Mysteries). Since 9/9/26, I have added numbers 25-29 to my list. I am hoping to reach the Yearing Level by the end of the year (51-75 cozy mysteries. We’ll see how it goes.

25. Dying to Sell (A Hope Street Church Mystery, #9) by Ellery Adams and Tina Radcliffe – Read 9/9/26
26. The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco (Book Club Mystery, #1) by Laura DiSilverio – Read 9/13/26
27. An Appetite for Murder (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #1) by Lucy Burdette – Read 9/14/26
28. Death in Four Courses (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #2) by Lucy Burdette – Read 9/19/26
29. Murder, She Barked (Paws & Claws Mystery #1) by Krista Davis – Read 9/21/26

Library Card Challenge

Every time I think of this challenge, it makes me happy, simply because of the library card.

I have only added one book to my card since I officially started the challenge:
A BOOK BY A NEW AUTHOR TO YOU
Lucy Burdette – An Appetite for Murder (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #1) – Read 9/14/26

I still need to complete books for these prompts. The book I’m planning to read for each is listed after, but these may change.
A BOOK BY AN AUTHOR WHO HAS PASSED AWAY – Through a Glass, Deadly by Sarah Atwell (aka Sheila Connolly, who passed on April 20, 2020) or the next in Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series, which is Speaking from Among the Bones.
A BOOK SET IN ALASKA – Basket Case (Silver Six Crafting #6) by Nancy Haddock, set in Arkansas.
A BOOK THAT TAKES PLACE OVER A HOLIDAY – This will be whichever Halloween book I end up reading first.This will likely have to do with what Themes are called in my Goodreads Bingo group, so I can match it to that theme. Otherwise, I will find one to fill in a spot for 2026 Cruisin’ Thru the Cozies, listed above.

If you’re doing these challenges too, I’d love to get a link (below) to your tracking list. It’s always fun to see what other people are reading!

If you have suggestions for books or authors you love that will help me finish my challenges, I am always interested in book recommendations.