When I joined Storygraph in 2023 as an alternative to Goodreads, I decided to take part in a reading challenge and actually see it through. I was hopeless with challenges, I was just too all over the place that I knew any challenge was going to just slip through my fingers, so to speak, and get forgotten. But, here we are. My first ever completed reading challenge. The Sound of Madness Reading Challenge is hosted by Timy of Queen’s Book Asylum:

The Sound of Madness is a bingo-like, year-long reading challenge hosted by Queen’s Book Asylum where I’m using song titles as reading prompts. Please note that the interpretations I added are my own, you are absolutely welcome to interpret any of the prompts as you’d like!

The rules are pretty simple: only books read in 2023 count, and you can join the challenge any time, so if you only discover it in August, that’s fine, you can still play! Ideally, you can only use 1 book/prompt, but if you are less of an avid reader, then you can use 1 book for 2 prompts.

The aim of this challenge is to have fun and reduce your TBR a bit. It’s probably more aimed toward SFF but it could work with any genre you like. For more info on the challenge, please visit my main blog post HERE. Also, check out the Spotify playlist HERE. 

25 prompts, all completed… Let’s take a look:

I chose Jane Eyre for this prompt. I received the most gorgeous Chiltern edition from La La in the Library as a gift and it is my most prized treasure! We plan to reread Jane Eyre every March 🙂

Storytellers by Bjorn Larssen was a book that completely took me by surprise. It has themes in the book that hit home very closely (loneliness, alcoholism and depression), and it’s a fantastically written historical piece taking place in Iceland. I recommend it strongly.

The Gottingen Accident by James Mordechai is a novella about scientist we all learn and read about during our lives, and it’s a great concept that Mordechai has put these characters in, ultimately asking what if these scientists gained superpowers in what they specify in? It’s a thoroughly entertaining story that might make your head spin, what with the non-Euclidean geometry aspect. This title was submitted to SPSFC – https://thespsfc.org/

Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara was an ARC that I took a chance on. It’s a retelling of your classical Greek mythology.

Peter Camenzind by Hermann Hesse was one of my favourite classics in 2023, and well, throughout time. It probably won’t appeal to everyone, but for the mindset that I carry around with me – this book was top notch! It’s just that I UNDERSTAND what our MC was going through. I get it.

The Crew by Sadir S. Samir was me first 2023 book and I quite enjoyed this fantasy romp with a great mix of all sorts of characters.

I am Grey by Jane Washington – this is one of those contemporary/new adult romance stories that come with trigger warnings. There is abuse, there is depression, self destructive behaviour, seriously awful situations. It’s emotionally charged. The trope here is that love can fix or heal a person. I read it in a day, quite immersive.

Accidental Magic by Iris Beaglehole. Well. It all started with a name. Someone (and I know who that someone is but will not name due to reasons) said that Beaglehole is one of the more fantastic author names out there, and I agreed. Thus, I went to check out the book and thought, right, I’ll just try this. It’s definitely not bad. It’s one of those quirky, cosy reads that folks love. I love my books many notches to the darker side. But I am glad I tried this.

The Ballad of Buttery Cake Ass by Aug Stone is a book that is an ode and an anthem to music’s heyday… music shops, vinyls, CDs, garage bands… Chaotic like jazz, nostalgic to quite a few.

America by Franz Kafka… I had never read Kafka, so I decided to go for it. I finished America, but DNFd The Trial. Kafka was wordy. Oh, so wordy. And this prompt was by far the hardest for me to find a match for, but I figured our MCs suitcase could make this story fitting.

The Fish that Climbed a Tree by Kevin Ansbro hit this prompt – bullseye! We have a priest as a character and strong themes of faith and afterlife. I recommend this title, Ansbro is a master writer.

A Crack in the World by James Mordechai. I read quite a few horror titles in 2023 and they were all brilliant (looking at you P.A Sheppard! Brilliant) – but A Crack in the World was my favourite because it delivered the occult atmosphere that made it so mysterious. Like the author itself. This title took part in SPFBO9.

Traitor of Redwinter by Ed McDonald has a female MC that just does what she feels is right. She’s the annoying thing that always grates against the grain, and that’s a good thing. Raine is simply fantastic and the sequel to Daughter of Redwinter kept the level of fantasy and unexpected high.

A Dagger in the Winds by Brendan Noble was part of SPFBO9 and I had the pleasure to read this Slavic myth inspired fantasy title.

Terror Forming by P.A. Sheppard for this prompt was so perfectly fitting because it had a LOT to do with the mind and the mind bending and mind freeing.

In the Shadow of Time by Kevin Ansbro – oh look! Another Ansbro title! This one was a time travel story. The ultimate at that, because until this book, I would not touch a time travel story with a 6 foot pole, and In the Shadow of Time proved to me that, yes, time travel stories can be done well! I loved this book that had a strong found family at its centre.

Daughter of the Beast by E.C. Greaves – an SPFBO9 title which is currently a finalist and thus I can’t say much more about it at this moment in time, but a looming attack and a looming war are the themes in this book. By the way, I love that cover. It’s another title that has some Slavic myth elements included.

I do not know if this is cheating if one book is added to 2 separate prompts… probably. But meh, rules are for breaking. Jane. Enough said. Also, read this book, I implore you! Pride and Prejudice? Nah, pick up Jane Eyre instead!

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers was one of those stories that proved me wrong again. I wouldn’t typically pick up a book set in space or on a space ship, but Chambers delivered a banger of a story of this crew on a spaceship, and their dynamics and friendships. It’s a fantastic book! It’s like a hug.

Oops, look at me… Breaking the rules again. Accidental Magic for this prompt, obviously, because witches!

The Piledriver of Fate by Samuel Gately – I bet you didn’t expect this book for this prompt! Well, I am pleased to shake your expectations. Scott Flawless in The Piledriver of Fate is someone who is seen as a leader. He is the highest of the high in the eyes of the wrestling competition and also in his own eyes. And in this book he will attempt to topple the different type of ‘royalty’ – the kind that would have a town under its hold by criminal means… However, make no mistake, the story runs way deeper than I would possibly wish to reveal at this point in time. Read the book!

Man, 2023 was a good year for me when it came to classics. Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen, translated into Estonian by one of our most esteemed poets for the purpose of opera, and I was BLOWN AWAY by the brilliance. Peer Gynt himself is chancer of a character, a chancer of a man, even death he want to trick. Send women Peer’s way and you can be sure he will have a tumble with them in the bushes. I think Peer is a mysterious character, doing mysterious things and he did ruin someone else’s happiness alongside his own. Read this book!

Food for Thought by Ariana Ferrante is a short retelling which uses Greek myth to tell a tale of famine and… Fates-forbidden love?

Bringing out the big guns for this prompt, naturally, The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence. This book alone is an ode to all books and literature that ever existed. The stories spans multiple timelines and civilizations and has a mind bending connection in between times and people within a magical library.

Gods of the Deep by Drew Montgomery was a title I read for SPFBO9 and it was difficult to cut the book because it’s a wonderfully written and delivered tale that has a folk story vibe to it. I would warmly recommend this book.

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Phewh! If you’re still here and are intrigued by this challenge, then below are all the details and links you need:

The Sound of Madness is a bingo-like, year-long reading challenge hosted by Queen’s Book Asylum where I’m using song titles as reading prompts. Please note that the interpretations I added are my own, you are absolutely welcome to interpret any of the prompts as you’d like!

The rules are pretty simple: only books read in 2024 count, and you can join the challenge any time, so if you only discover it in August, that’s fine, you can still play! Ideally, you can only use 1 book/prompt, but if you are less of an avid reader, then you can use 1 book for 2 prompts.

The aim of this challenge is to have fun and reduce your TBR a bit. It’s probably more aimed toward SFF but it could work with any genre you like. For more info on the challenge, please visit my main blog post HERE. Also, check out the Spotify playlist HERE.