It’s time once again for your annual WPPL Reading Challenge! As someone who regularly reads over 200 books a year, I’m always looking for new books or new ways to spice up my TBR list. So, that’s where the reading challenge comes in! Through a series of simple (and sometimes not-so-simple prompts), readers are encouraged to try new things, reread old favorites, and pull out titles that they might never have tried otherwise.
So, every year, I make my own reading challenge (more on that in a moment). I also turn to the internet to find reading challenges from other people, since they often think of cool prompts that might not have occurred to me. If you’re looking for a way to revitalize your book list, then keep reading to check out my WPPL reading challenge and more!
First, we’ll start with the WPPL challenge. You can find the prompts listed below (in full-color!) If you don’t like the list I’ve put together this year, consider trying one from the past few years:
Or, check out one of the other reading challenges out there. These are the ones I’m doing in 2026:
Novelist | Read with Allison | 52 Book Club
The fact is, I don’t have time for every challenge, but here are two more that are usually very popular:
The rules of my reading challenge are pretty simple: read a book for each prompt. And that’s it!
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? This is your reading challenge and its meant to be fun! If you’re not the sort of person who reads 40+ books in a year, but still want to complete the challenge, you can most certainly double-dip! It’s not an official contest or competition. Do whatever makes you happy! I’m planning on sticking to one prompt per book, but I’ve done it both ways in the past and had fun each time.
Do I have to wait until January 1st or can I start right now? 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 2025 and finished in 2026, 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. For example, if a book is set during a holiday, you can use one where the holiday is the main focus of the story or one where a scene or two happens on Christmas or the Fourth of July. You can save the bonus prompts for the end or do them right away. Again, the choice is yours.
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, picture books, 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!
Remember to scroll in order to see the full challenge. Or click the download or print buttons to save the file!
Happy reading!
