By FPL_Amy
I don’t know about you, but to me a new year means new reading challenges! Participating in yearly reading challenges helps me not just read more books but read more diversly in genres and on subjects that maybe I wouldn’t pick up on my own.
Below are some of my favorite challenges and some resources to help you find reading challenges that best fit your reading goals.
Goodreads is one of my favorite bookish sites. Not only can I keep track of what I’m reading, I can also keep track of books I want to read. There’s also reviews, book clubs, and best of all a yearly reading challenge. In this challenge you set a goal of the number of books you want to read in 2022. Each book you read this year, is automatically added to your yearly challenge. It has a social aspect, in that you can cheer your friend’s reading challenges and provide encouragement and at the end the year you get a yearly wrap up of not just how many books you read, but how many total pages you read, the shortest and longest books you read, your highest and lowest rated books, and more. This challenge provides a nice overview of everything you read in a year.
This is one of my favorite reading challenges and one I never miss. It’s great for introducing new genres and diversity into your reading. Also, it has some unique prompts that I don’t see everywhere else. For example, last year’s list had “a book everyone seems to have read, but you” and this year has “a book with an onomatopoeia in its title.” It also includes a social aspect where you can join a Facebook group or Goodreads group of readers who are also participating in the challenge, but you don’t have to. Whether you’re motivated by friendly competition or prefer to keep it offline, you’re sure to find the right fit for you.
This is a new challenge to me and one I can’t wait to participate in. One of the reasons I love this challenge, is that you can use NoveList’s database to explore different genres that meet the theme of each reading prompt. Not only does NoveList provide reviews and annotations for fiction titles it also provides author, series, and title read-alikes. I find read-alikes especially helpful when trying to find similar content to books, series, and authors I love to read. You can access this database with your library card online.
Another reading challenge that I anticipate every year, is Book Riot’s 2022 Read Harder Challenge. These reading prompts encourage you to read outside of your comfort zone and explore authors and stories that you may not pick up on your own. I personally love this challenge and find it to be as rewarding as it is challenging.
So, I have a bad habit of not reading outside of my usual genres of science fiction, fantasy, and shojo manga. This year I’m eager to try the Diversify Your Reading Challenge to help me expand my reading habits into other genres. I like it because it’s simple. Each month has a genre assigned to it and the goal is to read one book in that genre to complete the challenge for the month. I do plan on modifying the challenge, so that for months in which one of my usual genres is mentioned I’ll change it to a different genre not on the list. If you’re looking for something that offers a gentle nudge outside your comfort reading zones, then I would recommend this challenge.
- Make Your Own Challenge
Sometimes the best reading challenges are the ones you create yourself. Is there a topic, genre, hobby, fandom, etc. that you love and want to tie into your love of reading? Making your own challenge is a fun and creative way to whittle down your TBR list.
For example, maybe you love the Gilmore Girls and want to delve into the books on Rory’s reading list. You can easily find a list of all the books she read during the series and then make your own reading prompts to go along with this book list.
For myself, I’m a huge fan of the South Korean music group BTS. To make my reading more engaging and entertaining I’ve created a reading challenge based off their discography. As a bonus, I have an instant playlist as well! You can view the challenge below for inspiration on making your own challenge, or if you’re a fellow A.R.M.Y. feel free to try the challenge yourself.
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