A challenge for reading a variety of genres through the year. All types of reading material welcome, cross-challenge reading expected. Notations are made when a genre may not be clear, but ultimately it’s your challenge, so your choices are the final ruling.
| 1. Adventure Fiction or nonfiction. Try a story about a great adventure, an epic quest, or the tales from someone who has been there and/or done that. Find and enjoy a great (or smaller) adventure. — Beneath the Sugar Sky – Seanan McGuire | |
| 2. Autobiography, memoir, or biography We’re combining a few related genres here, but it seems that everyone has a preferred way to read about others and a reading challenge is supposed to be fun. Find and enjoy a book by or about someone awesome (or terrible, or complicated). | |
| 3. Black stories Most of the books on most of the lists out there are by white people about white people. Find a book by a Black author writing about Black lives. The main character and most supporting characters should be BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or Persons of Color). Fiction or nonfiction. Bonus points if it’s about Black joy instead of Black trauma. | |
| 4. Fantasy What kind of fantasy is fun for you? Sword and sorcerer, urban fantasy, mythology, folklore retellings, or magical realism? Find and enjoy a fantasy that helps your imagination soar. — By the Sword – Mercedes Lackey | |
| 5. Graphic novel Whether it’s a graphic interpretation of a book you love, a collection of your favorite comics, or a story best told with pictures as well as words, find and enjoy a graphic novel. If graphic novels are difficult for your adaptive equipment, try a book about graphic novels or the people that make them. | |
| 6. History This is another collection of related genres pulled together. Real history or alternate history, fiction or nonfiction, from a few decades ago or a few centuries ago, find and enjoy a book that takes a look into the past. — The Killer of Little Shephards – Douglas Starr | |
| 7. Horror Tailor this one to your tastes. Some folks love scary, spooky, or terrifying stories… and some folks like their scares a lot tamer. Either way, find and enjoy a scary story that’s just *your* perfect kind of shiver. | |
| 8. Mystery This is another one to tailor to your taste. From hard-boiled detective stories and classic who- done- its, to cozies or romantic figure- it- outs, go find and solve a mystery! — Stalked – Allison Brennan | |
| 9. Nature Fiction or nonfiction. Pick a book that involves getting out into nature, or a fight against a natural force, or that teaches you something about an aspect of nature that intrigues you. Any kind of nature – from microbes, to natural systems, to an entire planet – is on the table. (Humans are part of nature, so books about how humans work inside or out count as well!) | |
| 10. Non-Western Most books on most lists are from a Westernized perspective and usually set in a Westernized location. Find a story by someone from a non-Western culture with a story from their culture and viewpoint, or talking about something in their culture from an insider’s perspective. Fiction or nonfiction. | |
| 11. Poetry What is your taste in poetry? Do you like classical poetry, stories in rhyme, cultural and social commentary, or dirty limericks? Find and enjoy a lyrical book in your own tastes. | |
| 12. Queer Lit A lot of books about lesbian, gay, bi, and/or trans folks have become more available recently, but books that just tell queer stories are harder to find. Look for a book by a queer person that is NOT a coming out story or an “identity 101” type book. Find and enjoy a queer story from a queer perspective. | |
| 13. Religion or spirituality Interpret this as whatever religion or spirituality mean to you. Find something that feeds your own heart or that expands your view or knowledge of religion(s) and/or spiritual topics. ALL religions and spiritual paths welcome. | |
| 14. Romance What kind of relationship stories do you love? Love at first sight, enemies to lovers, the friend that was there all along, more physicality than emotion, or no physicality and all romance, finding the perfect squish, or that triad finally figuring it out? Whatever works for you – whether that involves humans, cryptids and shapeshifters, or aliens – find and enjoy a good story. ALL orientations, genders, and relationship styles welcome. | |
| 15. Self-help What would you like a few tips on this year? A new hobby or project, a new cuisine, finally getting to that half-finished bit you put aside last year, reading about how to better understand your own head, feelings, or situations, or how to finally get that feature on your devices to work? Find and enjoy a helpful book – taking its advice is optional. — I Have Breast Cancer, Now What? – Natalie Smalley | |
| 16. Science This is the only prompt tagged nonfiction only. (The fictional kind is the next prompt.) Find and enjoy a book about an aspect of science, or that relies on a real scientific investigation for its story. — Asleep – Molly Caldwell Crosby | |
| 17. Science Fiction Here’s where the not- exactly- real science goes. Whether it’s starships, zombies, plagues, utopia, dystopia, retrofuturism, or Afrofuturism, something new or something classic, find and enjoy a science fiction book. — Restoree – Anne McCaffery | |
| 18. Thriller or suspense Tailor to your tastes. Whether it’s psychological suspense, domestic intrigue, stealthy spies, a survival story, or whatever keeps *you* turning the pages, find and enjoy a thriller or suspense book. — The Girl Who Survived – Lisa Jackson | |
| 19. Travel Where have you always wanted to go? Anything from a travelogue, a trip-planner, a traveler’s memoir, or a story that takes you to multiple places works here. Find and enjoy a travel book. | |
| 20. Young Adult The young adult category could cover every other genre listed here, but for this prompt find and enjoy a book that’s specifically marketed to the young adult or new adult market. Bonus points for a book that doesn’t fit into one of the usual young adult tropes. — Terrier – Tamora Pierce | |