Each month, we take the ratings you submit on the reading challenge book logs and gather them into highlights of the highest-rated books. It’s always fun to see which books rise to the top, and we always end up bumping books up our own TBR lists after seeing the results. 

The Lifetime of Reading Challenge is self-paced for 2023. Since you can read books for the Lifetime prompts in any order throughout the year, there are no book logs for the Lifetime Challenge this year, and therefore no book log highlights.

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Readers’ Favorites From Our Monthly Challenges

OCTOBER 2023 HIGHLIGHT

GET THE BOOKS: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah; The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore; The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E. Smith; Come Sundown by Nora Roberts; Educated by Tara Westover

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN AK, ID, MT, ND, SA
GET THE BOOKS: Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi; A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini; Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris; The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly & Jennifer Thorne; A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea by Melissa Fleming

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE MIDDLE EAST
GET THE BOOKS: Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid; The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis; The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman; The Editor by Steven Rowley; Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1990s

SEPTEMBER 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

GET THE BOOKS: This Tender Land by William Kent Kruger; West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge; The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan; The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart; The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS ABOUT TRAVELING ACROSS AMERICA
GET THE BOOKS: Three Words for Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb; Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie; Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen; Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys; Falling by T.J. Newman

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET ON A MODE OF TRANSPORTATION
GET THE BOOKS: The Address by Fiona Davis; I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys; The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels; Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt; The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1980s

AUGUST 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

GET THE BOOKS: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt; Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah; Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin; The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos; The Guncle by Steven Rowley

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE AR, LA, MS, OK, TX
GET THE BOOKS: Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See; I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn; The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See; Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu; The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN NORTHERN ASIA
GET THE BOOKS: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah; Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins Valdez; The Perfumist of Paris (Book #3 in The Jaipur Trilogy) by Alka Joshi

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1970s

JULY 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

GET THE BOOKS: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas; The Bodyguard by Katherine Center; The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate; Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts; The Help by Kathryn Stockett

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN AR, LA, MS, OK, TX
GET THE BOOKS: Honor by Thrity Umrigar; The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi; The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese; Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai; I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN SOUTHERN ASIA
GET THE BOOKS: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd; Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus; Love & Saffron by Kim Fay; The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni; The Outsiders by SE Hinton

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1960s

JUNE 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

GET THE BOOKS: Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen; Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult; The Spectacular by Fiona Davis; Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano; The Shadow Box by Luanne Rice

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1960s
GET THE BOOKS: All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracy Lien; The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera; The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline; White Girl by Tony Birch; In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN AUSTRALIA & NZ
GET THE BOOKS: By Her Own Design by Piper Huguley; The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson; The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson; The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer; The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1950s

MAY 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

GET THE BOOKS: Horse by Geraldine Brooks; The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson; The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader; The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf; Magic Season by Wade Rouse

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE IA, KS, KY, MO, NE
GET THE BOOKS: The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson; Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys; I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys; A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles; Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN EASTERN EUROPE
GET THE BOOKS: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn; The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer; Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly; Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford; The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1940s

APRIL 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

GET THE BOOKS: Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand; Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman; Flying Blind by Max Allen Collins; Revenge Cafe by Lisa Shiroff; The Not-Quite States of America by Doug Mack

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE US TERRITORIES
GET THE BOOKS: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo; Wish You Were Here by Jodi Pico; Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson; Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton; Float Plan by Trish Doller

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET ON ISLANDS
GET THE BOOKS: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate; West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge; The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah; This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger; The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1930s

MARCH 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

GET THE BOOKS: Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber; Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate; Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE STATES OF AL, FL, GA, SC, TN
GET THE BOOKS: I Will Always Write Back by Martin Ganda and Caitlin Alifirenka; The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abe Dare; The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy; Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN AFRICA
GET THE BOOKS: The Light of Luna Park by Addison Armstrong; The Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore; Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera; Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor; Radium Girls by Kate Moore

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1920s

FEBRUARY 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

Infographic illustrating the February 2023 Read Around the USA book log highlights which books are linked below
GET THE BOOKS: The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin; Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan; One For the Blackbird, One For the Crow by Olivia Hawker; Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls; and The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE STATES OF AZ, CO, NM, UT, WY
Infographic illustrating the February 2023 Book Voyage book log highlights which books are linked below
GET THE BOOKS: Nightingale by Kristin Hannah; The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman; The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen; The Girl Behind the Wall by Mandy Robotham; and The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN WESTERN EUROPE
Infographic illustrating the February 2023 Decades Challenge book log highlights which books are linked below
GET THE BOOKS: The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman; The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis; The Alice Network by Kate Quinn; The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray; and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1900s & 1910s

JANUARY 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

Infographic illustrating the January 2023 Read Around the USA book log highlights which books are linked below
GET THE BOOKS: The Broken Girls by Simone St. James; Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan; The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant; Francesca’s Kitchen by Peter Pezzelli; and The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE STATES OF MA, ME, NH, RI, and VT
Infographic illustrating the January 2023 Book Voyage book log highlights which books are linked below
GET THE BOOKS: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah; How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior; Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys; The Cruelest Miles by Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury; and Dalvi by Laura Galloway

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE ARCTIC & ANTARCTICA
Infographic illustrating the January 2023 Decades Challenge book log highlights which books are linked below
GET THE BOOKS: The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore; The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin; The Address by Fiona Davis; The Mad Girls of New York by Maya Rodale; and Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

SEE THE FULL LIST OF BOOKS SET IN THE 1880s and 1890s