Do you participate in reading challenges? It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve joined one. I think they can be fun for many reasons. They help me get outside my usual genres and expand my reading horizons, yet I don’t feel too much pressure to complete the challenge if I lose steam.
If you want to read more but like a little nudge to encourage you to keep reading, or you want inspiration for what to read, a reading challenge might be a helpful thing to try this year.
I’m rounding up several different 2022 challenges, read on to see which reading challenge is right for you.
If you want to read more broadly:
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. This is the challenge I followed last year (here’s what I read). According to Book Riot, this challenge is meant to “help you break out of your reading bubble and expand your worldview through books.” That is exactly why I chose it last year and it helped me do just that. If you’re in the mood to try new genres and explore books you might not normally pick up, this challenge is for you.
Professional Book Nerds Challenge. The Professional Book Nerds, Adam and Jill, work for OverDrive, an eBook and audiobook app for libraries. They have a podcast, and this is their reading challenge with 11 prompts that will help you read outside your comfort zone.
StoryGraph Read the World Challenge. This year I started tracking my reading with The StoryGraph app (which I love—maybe I’ll share a post on that soon!) and they have a reading challenge you can join. As you might guess from the title, it’s all about reading books written by authors from around the world.
If you want a challenge that’s not too overwhelming:
RAD Reading Challenge. Anne shared this one with me last year and I was glad to see she’s doing another one this year. It has just 9 prompts, so it’s perfect if you want to start on the smaller end of the challenge spectrum, plus it comes as a cute printable to fill out.
Reading Glasses Reading Challenge. I’ve mentioned before that Reading Glasses is one of my favorite podcasts, so I had to mention their challenge. This one is a mix of books and book-themed activities, such as watch a movie adaptation of a book. This challenge is perfect if you enjoy the idea of a reading challenge but don’t necessarily want to add a bunch of books to your TBR–there are only 5 actual books in the challenge.
If you just want more FUN in your reading life:
PopSugar Reading Challenge. This is one I am less familiar with, but I know it’s a popular one. What I like about this challenge are the whimsical prompts, like “a book that takes place during your favorite season” and “a book with the name of a board game in the title.” This challenge may also help you broaden your reading horizons, but also add more fun and whimsy to your reading life (and who doesn’t need a bit more of that this year?).
Bliss Reading Challenge. I love Bliss, my local online bookstore, so when I saw they had their own challenge I had to check it out. It is a list of 50 prompts (plus 10 bonus picks), with a variety of topics (“a book with an animal on the cover,” “a book about afrofuturism”). This is a great challenge if you like a little guidance on what to read next, but don’t want to be limited to just a few prompts. Whether you do all the prompts or just a few, this challenge will give you some variety in your reading life.
If you like a monthly theme instead of individual prompts:
The Uncorked Reading Challenge from The Uncorked Librarian. A reader, Jayne, shared this one with me last year as well, and she has a version for this year too. I love that instead of specific prompts, each month has a theme to follow. It sounds like a great one if you love both travel and reading diversely.
If your goal is to listen to more audiobooks this year:
Libro.fm Listening Challenge. If you’re an audiobook fan I recommend checking out Libro.fm’s reading challenge, which includes 24 prompts all about audio. I love that the prompts are a mixture of books to read (“Listen to a new (to you!) genre”) and activities to do (“Try a new listening speed”). If you want to listen to more audiobooks this year, this is a great one to try.
Tell me which of these, if any, you would like to try this year! Or if there’s a challenge you’re trying that I didn’t mention, let me know so I can check it out!
