The Clock Reading Challenge 2025

Making time to read more

Are you looking for an easy reading challenge to do in 2025? Do you want a challenge you can join that is flexible and gives you the chance to connect with others? You're in the right place!

Welcome to the Clock Reading Challenge 2025!

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About the Clock Reading Challenge

I started the Clock Reading Challenge in 2021 and every year I've discovered some great books through doing the challenge. There's a lot of books out there with the numbers one to twelve in their titles!

If you're looking for a relatively easy reading challenge to do in 2025 the Clock Reading Challenge is for you! It only involves reading a total of 12 books during the year.

That said, some numbers can be a little trickier to find books for than others...

You might also like: Books with Numbers 1-12 in the Title: Clock Reading Challenge

The Challenge

The goal: to read 12 books, each with a number from 1 to 12 in the title.

The officially hashtag for the event: #ClockReadingChallenge

Keeping track of your progress: I've created this graphic so you can fill in your clock with the book covers of the books you read. Hopefully at the end of the year your clock will be complete.

Just download the graphic and then upload your book covers to it. I personally use Canva to do mine.

12 books in 12 months, each with a number from one to twelve in the title to make up a clock face.

This is a very relaxed reading challenge. There is no punishment for not reading all 12 books.

Skip a month? No problem. The goal is 12 books in 12 months so you have plenty of time to catch up latter on if needed.

If you'd like to plan out the books you want to read for the challenge in advance here's a template you can use for your TBR:

Want to join the Clock Reading Challenge? To sign up just post a comment below to let me know you'll be joining in with the challenge.

Click here for suggestions for what to read for the Clock Reading Challenge

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Book Review The Nice List Checklist by Brittany Plumeri

Books: My thoughts about The Nice List Checklist by Brittany Plumeri

The perfect read-aloud for the holiday season! The Nice List Checklist has; great illustrations, a positive message, and rhyming text that kids will love.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DJPR6HG4
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Once Upon A Page Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 22, 2024

The book synopsis for The Nice List Checklist by Brittany Plumeri

The Nice List Checklist by Brittany Plumeri book cover

Unwrap the Magic of Christmas with The Nice List Checklist!

Dive into a festive adventure with The Nice List Checklist, a charming children's book that whisks young readers away to the North Pole alongside Santa's jolly elves! This whimsical rhyming story reveals the secret to making the coveted Nice List, all while dazzling kids with stunning illustrations that sparkle with holiday cheer.

Perfect for spreading joy this holiday season, this enchanting book features:

A beautifully designed paperback or hardcover edition, ideal for tiny hands ready to explore
Captivating, full-color illustrations that bring the North Pole's magic to life
Joyful rhyming text that turns reading aloud into a fun family tradition
A heartwarming message that inspires kids to embrace kindness, generosity, and good deeds

Why The Nice List Checklist is a must-have for your Christmas celebrations:

Perfect for cozy family read-aloud sessions that create lasting memories
An amazing holiday gift or stocking stuffer that kids will adore
Encourages children to reflect on their actions and strive to join Santa’s Nice List!

Celebrate the spirit of Christmas and ignite your child's imagination with this delightful tale that promises to be a cherished holiday classic for years to come!

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Discussing The Nice List Checklist by Brittany Plumeri

My Review Summary:

Key Takeaways from the video:

I absolutely adored The Nice List Checklist and would happily give it five stars.
I found the illustrations incredibly cute and the overall design really charming.
The story’s message about kindness, generosity, and being good—especially during the Christmas season—really resonated with me.
I loved the whimsical, rhyming text, which made the book feel magical and perfectly suited to young readers.
I felt it worked brilliantly as a read-aloud story for the holidays and ticked all the right boxes for a children’s picture book.
I’m now genuinely curious to explore more books by this author in future.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend giving it a look.

Where to find The Nice List Checklist by Brittany Plumeri online:

The Nice List Checklist Amazon affiliate link

The Nice List Checklist on Goodreads

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Book Review Twelve Drummers Drumming by Emily E.K. MurdochBook Review Twelve Drummers Drumming by Emily E.K. Murdoch

Books: My thoughts about Twelve Drummers Drumming by Emily E.K. Murdoc

The first book in The Twelve Days of Christmas series

I picked Twelve Drummers Drumming as it was perfect as the final book for my Clock Reading Challenge for this year.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B6D6LGH1
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.; 1st edition
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 7, 2022
Print length ‏ : ‎ 150 pages

The book synopsis for Twelve Drummers Drumming by Emily E.K. Murdoch

Twelve Drummers Drumming by Emily E.K. Murdoch book cover

Welcome to the exciting new holiday series from USA Today Bestselling author Emily E K Murdoch.

Follow each of the Fitzroy women as they cause nothing but scandal and intrigue across the ton and try to keep their exploits quiet.

It’s 1813, and twelve drummers drumming are about to bring love into Jemima's life…

Jemima Fitzroy is tired of being ignored by her loud, rambunctious family - especially as she attempts to campaign for veterans in a world that doesn't appreciate them.

Soldiers are returning home from Napoleonic France, and Captain Hugh Rotherham knows he will never be the same again. Not just because of what he's seen, but because of what he's seeing right now: a startlingly beautiful woman who stirs something so passionate in it, the drumming of his heart matches that of his regiment.

Jemima knows she shouldn't be meeting this soldier without her family's knowledge. Hugh knows he cannot cross the line from respectability to scandal.

It doesn't matter. Twelve drummers drumming will change their lives - and the rhythm that can tease out exquisite pleasure…

Meet the Fitzroy family: twelve cousins falling in love over Christmastime!

This novella is a steamy Regency romance with a happily ever after, no cliffhangers, and is part of a series which can be read in any order - but follow the numbers down for the best reading experience!

Note: This series is part of Dragonblade's Flame line, so this is a sexy, steamy, and scorching-hot read with multiple sex scenes. Be advised.

The Twelve Days of Christmas
Book 1 - Twelve Drummers Drumming
Book 2 - Eleven Pipers Piping
Book 3 - Ten Lords a Leaping
Book 4 – Nine Ladies Dancing
Book 5 – Eight Maids a Milking
Book 6 – Seven Swans a Swimming
Book 7 – Six Geese a Laying
Book 8 – Five Gold Rings
Book 9 – Four Calling Birds
Book 10 – Three French Hens
Book 11 – Two Turtle Doves
Book 12 - A Partridge in a Pear Tree

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3 stars

Discussing Twelve Drummers Drumming by Emily E.K. Murdoch

My Review Summary:

Key Takeaways from the video:

I picked up 12 Drummers Drumming on Amazon a while back, mainly for my clock reading challenge, and it ended up completing my number twelve for the year, which I was quite pleased about.
The story is set in 1813, making it a historical romance, and it’s the first book in The 12 Days of Christmas series by Emily E.K. Murdoch.
Our protagonist, Jemima, is the eldest of five girls; her father remarried and had more daughters with her stepmother, leaving Jemima feeling rather marginalised.
While her younger sisters have had success at balls in finding suitors, she’s still searching for the right man.
She’s outspoken about war, which leads her to attend a protest/celebration event for returning soldiers.
There, she literally bumps into Captain Hugh Rotherham, who’s been injured in the war and is on crutches, and that’s how their relationship begins.
Their differing views on war, as well as family complications, create various challenges for the pair.
The book does contain a few steamy scenes, though not many.
Overall, I gave it three stars — it’s a short read, and if you’re after something a bit different for the Christmas season, it might be worth checking out.

Quotes from Twelve Drummers Drumming by Emily E.K. Murdoch

As the eldest, and the only daughter of his first wife, Jemima considered herself her father’s keeper. She had not been amused when he had married Selina, a widow who came with two daughters of her own.

Could not the world live in peace, rather than continuously fight wars over lines on a map?

Her real trouble, not that she would ever admit it to anyone, that she had encountered in each of the five Seasons she had been paraded around by her father and Selina, was that she was no one’s fool.

As they were now approaching December, the signs of the festive Christmas season were beginning to spring up everywhere she looked. Many of the shop fronts had ribbons of red and gold around their doors, and most had special notices of Christmas treats were available inside.

Jemima laughed darkly. “It has been noted by a few of my acquaintances. I suppose I never really learned the secret of lying politely, as ladies are supposed to.”

“You are by far the most interesting and beautiful woman I have ever met, and I would be unwise and senseless to let you walk away from me.”

Was there anything so isolating as believing you could be the only person to think one way—and anything so freeing as discovering you were just one of many?

Now the captain was shaking his head. “Do you really think that you can end a war by standing around in a street and complaining about it?”

War can rip humanity from a man’s very self and forbids him to act in charity and gentleness.

Where to find Twelve Drummers Drumming by Emily E.K. Murdoch online:

Twelve Drummers Drumming Amazon affiliate link

Twelve Drummers Drumming on Goodreads

Book Review Twelve Drummers Drumming by Emily E.K. Murdoch

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Books: My thoughts about Nine Eleven by Bob Mayer

I picked up Nine Eleven from Amazon as it was the perfect fit for my Clock Reading Challenge. If you like time travel, you might enjoy this one!

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01H7XBZ9M
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cool Gus
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 11, 2016
Print length ‏ : ‎ 217 pages

The book synopsis for Nine Eleven by Bob Mayer

'He who controls the past, controls the future. He who controls the present, controls the past.' George Orwell. 1984.

From the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Area 51, Nightstalker, Atlantis and Green Beret series.

Nine-Eleven 9 A.D.: Three Roman legions are annihilated by an alliance of Germanic tribes; the Romans would never again attempt to expand east of the Rhine River. What if the Romans won?

Nine-Eleven 1973: A military coup in Chile, engineered by the United States, topples the elected President and brings Pinochet to power. What if the coup fails?

Nine-Eleven 1857: 120 emigrants are slaughtered by Mormons in the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Utah. What if it was worse than that?

Nine-Eleven 1776: Benjamin Franklin and John Adams sit down with British Admiral Howe on Staten Island to discuss a possible peace settlement. What if they succeed?

Nine-Eleven 2001: while the world is focused on the United States, the largest plane in the world is carrying the largest nuclear weapon ever made across Russia; but disappears. Who took it? Where is it?

And then there is the most mysterious mission of all, where a Time Patrol agent must go into the Patrol’s own recent history to insure it even exists.

The Shadow's plan is to disrupt our time-line, creating a time tsunami and wiping our present out.

It is up to the Time Patrol to make sure that doesn’t happen!

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3 stars

Discussing Nine Eleven by Bob Mayer

My Review Summary:

Key Takeaways from the video:

I picked up Nine Eleven by Bob Mayer from Amazon to use for my Clock Reading Challenge, and I slotted it in as my number 11 for the year.

It’s number five in the Time Control series, but I hadn’t read the earlier books; it worked fine as a standalone, though starting from the beginning might provide more context about the Time Patrol team.

The book is a time travel story, which I only enjoy if done well — I found some parts engaging, but others left me a little confused.

It centres around 9/11, including references to the World Trade Center, which could be a trigger for some readers.

The story explores the idea of changing the past and the ripple effects on the present and future, which I found thought-provoking.

I gave it three stars — an okay read, though it didn’t fully pull me in enough to continue with the series personally.

If you enjoy time travel, science fiction, and politically themed stories with historical elements, this could be a series worth exploring.

Overall, it was interesting, and it works as a clever choice for completing a Clock Reading Challenge number.

Quotes from Nine Eleven by Bob Mayer

“What if I hadn’t interfered in 1776?” Doc asked and, as was his custom, answered his own question. He waved a hand about, taking in their surroundings. “This is called the Possibility Palace for a reason.

“They pay for it because most people need someone to make them do things they don’t want to do.”

“I don’t need you to understand,” Dane said. “I need you to accept, with all of your being, that the mission of the Time Patrol is to keep history intact. No matter how difficult that might be.”

Unlike modern politics, in ancient times, such matters usually ended up being resolved by the sword.”

“Why did they do it?” Scout said. “The same reason people often do very bad things,” Moms said. “They were afraid.”

“I fail, and Roland will kill me,” Scout said. “He really likes her.” “You fail,” Dane said, “and Roland won’t have to kill you.” “That’s cold, dude,” Lara said. “It’s the reality we work in,” Dane said.

Everyone on the Time Patrol believed, because they’d run into enough myth and legend to make any other determination foolish. Myth and legend were often birthed from reality that was so ancient, the legends were the only “historical” record.

“What is the forever death?” Doc asked, curiosity winning out. “Dead,” Thyia said. “The forever death is the end of all. The spirit is gone.” “Is there another kind of death? Not forever?” “Certainly,” Thyia said. “If there weren’t, why would we distinguish a forever death?”

“Perhaps our conquering of fear hurt us in our war with the Shadow. Maybe fear is a good thing at times.”

Scout wasn’t there, and then she was there, but she’d sort of always been there. It was the best way to explain how she arrived, becoming part of her current time and place without fanfare or excitement among those around her. She was in the bubble of this day, not before, and hopefully she wouldn’t be here afterward.

Change requires three things: a moment of enlightenment, a decision, and then action. To encapsulate the ability to do all three with cold dispassion, with only the greater good in mind, requires a very unique person. It also requires that the person accept responsibility for the results, good and bad.

“You know the history that you know,” Pandora said. “The history that was recorded. However, there is always a great deal that isn’t recorded. That is lost in the dust of time. Hidden in the darkness of neglect. There is also the history that is kept secret.”

War is such a terrible business, and there is no guarantee the correct side, which is always ‘ours,’ will prevail. Being right does not equal being the superior martial force.

The download gave secondhand information about what was going on in the parley, mainly because all accounts came from one side—the surviving side. And they all had an agenda after the fact.