I regularly read over 200 books every year, so to make an already fun activity even more fun, I like to engage in a couple of reading challenges. These are lists of prompts that encourage readers to try something new and different. Prompts can encourage readers to try books by a specific type of author (race, nationality, gender, age, etc.), or a certain genre, setting, character, cover, etc.
Every December, I start to assemble a list for myself from a variety of different sites. Here are a few of my favorites:
NoveList | 52 Book Club | Read with Allison
And here are a few that are usually quite popular:
But, to keep things interesting, I also create a list of my own. It started off as something I did for fun with the staff. But, now, I also like to offer this challenge to the general public. Because if you enjoy a reading challenge, I hope that you also enjoy mine!
I’ve posted this year’s challenge below. If you don’t like this year’s prompts or would like some additional suggestions, you can also check out the links below, which include more suggestions from previous years.
FAQs:
Are there prizes? No, the only prize here is the satisfaction of a completed list (and a lot of wonderful books). Sorry!
Can I use one book for multiple prompts? Since this is not an official contest, you can do this however you want. If you want to use one book to check off three, four, or even ten prompts on the list, then go for it! Or, if you’re a purist and want it to be one book per prompt, that’s fine, too. I’ve done both over the years.
Do I have to wait until January 1st? Again, since this is not an official contest, you can start whenever you want. Some people start their challenges as soon as they get the prompts. Others prefer to wait until January 1st. You can use books that you started in 2023 and finished in 2024, or you can only use books that you started in the new year. Again, the choice is yours!
When a prompt says ______, how specific do I need to be? I’ve seen a lot of liberties taken with reading challenge prompts, and personally, this librarian applauds creativity. I’ve used short stories, picture books, and even comics to complete prompts. If a book says, for example, “a romance with ________” I’ve used both romance novels AND novels with romance in them (that are not technically romance novels), such as Captain Blood or The Phantom of the Opera.
Do “non-traditional” formats count? Since this is a reading challenge, these are (generally) acceptable means of completing the prompts: books, large print books, ebooks, audiobooks, comic books, graphic novels, short stories, poetry collections, and plays (in script form, written down, not performed). Movies, TV shows, video games, magazines, zines, webcomics (online), etc. do not count. But, this is your personal reading challenge. If you bend or break the rules, I’d never know.
The Challenge:
