Reading Challenges to Start the New Year With

Reading challenges for different reading tastes and goals

Hi readers,

I don’t know when “reading challenges” became a thing, but I didn’t know what a reading challenge was until 2016. I read what I wanted, when I wanted, with no rhyme or reason to what I’d choose to read. I’d read the first book in a series and go on to read all the books in the series. I’d read a book someone recommended only to be tempted by another recommendation or a book with a cover I just couldn’t resist. There’s nothing wrong with any method a reader chooses or no method at all, but sometimes readers want more from their reading life. When we want more from our reading life, reading challenges can provide a way to expand your reading to new genres, new adventures and to make reading intentional.

The last two years have been challenging, and many readers are saying, “I don’t need another challenge.” And for many readers, that is so true. For other readers, a reading challenge may be a needed escape. If you fall into the first category, I have a link to a couple of posts and a different kind of reading challenge that may be just the thing that you didn’t know you needed for the coming year. If you want the challenge of reading from different prompts, I’ve got a wide variety to choose from. All are fun, others are deliberate, and they all guarantee many hours of reading ahead.

The first reading challenge I participated in was Modern Mrs. Darcy’s 2016 reading challenge: read 12 books in 12 different categories in 12 months. I enjoyed researching the books to find the “right one for me” to fit each challenge prompt, and I celebrated when I checked the last box on the challenge. In 2021, Anne Bogel turned the world of reading challenges upside down when she created the My Reading (Life) Challenge. This challenge provides the reader the opportunity to “create the reading life you want and need by setting intentions, contemplating some actions, and customizing your reading challenge.” She decided not to create a reading challenge for 2022, and she explains why here, but for readers that like a challenge but want more from it, she has made the 2021 reading challenge available for 2022. If you feel like a challenge is the last thing you need, I encourage you to check this one out as it allows you to design something that is entirely yours and fits what you need in your reading life for the coming year.

There are many different types of challenges in the world of pre-set reading challenges focusing on reading specific genres, reading only backlist titles, clearing your TBR, reading around the world, and so many more. Some focus on quality over quantity, while others provide random prompts. I’m sure there are hundreds to choose from on the internet if you want to spend the time looking for something to fit your needs. I’ve found several that might interest you, and I’ve included a link to the challenge and a brief (I promise) description of each, so you know if you want to click through.

• Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge - is designed to clear your TBR backlist of unread titles, and the challenge is also located on Storygraph to connect with others doing the challenge.

• A Book a Week with the Booklist Queen - a well-rounded challenge that will have you reading different genres to fit each prompt. Choose your favorite prompts and design your own reading challenge if fifty-two books are too many.

• 2022 Reading Challenges for Every Type of Reader - no specific book prompts, but helps determine what type of reader you are and suggestions of what to read based on that.

• Uncorked Reading Challenge 2022 - this twelve-book-a-year monthly challenge takes you around the world, and there are book lists to help you find books to fit each prompt.

• Lifetime of Reading Challenge for 2022 - this challenge features books about characters in different age ranges. There are also two evergreen challenges available, the book voyage challenge and the decade’s challenge awaits you too.

• BookRiot Read Harder Challenge - the unique thing about this reading challenge is that it will have you reading a wide variety of genres and subjects by an even wider range of authors to expand your reading horizons.

• PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge - this challenge has various prompts designed to expand your reading through book award books, sub-genres, BIPOC authors, headline-making topics, and many more nerdy, bookish prompts.

• Reading Women Challenge - one of the best available in prior years, this challenge focus on reading women BIPOC authors. Unfortunately, they just aired their last podcast episode, and Reading Women is no more, but if you are looking for this type of variety, the 2018 through 2021 challenges are still available on their website.

• Currently Reading Podcast Reading Challenge - I’ve linked to the 2021 challenge as I don’t know if they are doing a 2022 challenge or not. Twelve prompts for a book a month, and if you want something a little more varied, those same prompts repeat to fill it with #ownvoices authors.

• Build Your Library Challenge - the theme of the 2022 challenge is “we’re going on an adventure,” and it is designed for children of all ages to read different types of books set in various locations around the world. The prompts are varied enough that adults and children can use them, or the whole family can read the same books.

• StoryGraph 2022 Reading Challenges - if you like having community in your reading and reading challenges, three StoryGraph sponsored 2022 challenges are available and ready to go for the new year. Other creators have set up their own challenges like the “Beat the Backlist” challenge from above.

• Master List of 2022 Reading Challenges - if all of the above challenges aren’t enough, GirlXoXo has created a master list of challenges and updates it weekly with new challenges throughout January 2022. If you are looking for a different challenge, be sure to check it often during January, as many challenges haven’t been released yet.

I know that a reading challenge can be a double-edged sword. A challenge can offer variety in your reading if you feel stuck in a rut, but it can also provide unwanted stress to complete and check all the boxes. If a reading challenge isn’t right for you, don’t feel pressure to do one just because everyone else is. Only you know what you need as a reader, and if you decide that a reading challenge is right for you in 2022, maybe you can find one from the above links.

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I enjoyed the first reading challenge I did back in 2016 so much that for 2017 I decided to do several reading challenges. I decided that I wouldn’t read a different book for each prompt across all the challenges, but I would allow the same book to fill a prompt on each different challenge. It started out good for the first month or so, and then I got busy at work during tax season, and it became a chore; I dreaded making time to keep track of everything across all the challenges. Lesson learned, I will never try to do more than one, or possibly two, challenges again.

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My plans for a reading challenge for 2022 are set, and I believe I’ve chosen something that will enhance my reading life, not detract from it. For 2021, even though I had the My Reading Life Challenge from Modern Mrs. Darcy, I made a half-a$$ed attempt at doing it. The loss of a loved one due to Covid in early January, and then, shortly after that, realizing that my work life in 2021 was going to be a dreaded continuance of 2020, I quickly abandoned it.

Looking back on it, I didn’t put the time into the challenge to define what I wanted, so I didn’t miss anything by abandoning it. I am in a much better headspace now, so my project for the coming weekend is to create my reading plan for 2022. I’m also going to do a mini-challenge that will help make my reading life better. I’ve gone through my TBR and identified twelve books that I was so excited about reading when I first heard about them but haven’t read yet. I’m excited to read all twelve, and I’ll start the first one this weekend. If you choose to do a reading challenge, I’d love to hear more about it; you can tell me in the comments below.

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Hopefully, this newsletter has provided resources if a reading challenge sounds right for you for 2022. If you are like many readers this year and have decided that a challenge is the last thing you need, I applaud you for knowing what is best for your reading life. The magical thing about reading is that there is something for everyone, and not everything will be for all.

There will not be a Happy Friday Links this week; in its place will be a look at the year in review for this newsletter. A look back at what has happened and a look ahead to 2022 for the newsletter. I hope you spent time with family and friends over the holiday after so much uncertainty in what seems like forever. I was able to do the same, and I am so thankful for it. Happy reading!