It’s almost a cliche to start a reading challenge in a new year. It’s the bookish equivalent of joining a gym, or a subscription service for frozen green smoothie delivery. But it’s also lots of fun! Nothing beats the aspirational feeling of finding a list of books that you are absolutely, definitely going to read this year – and all the better if there are others doing it with you.
Even if you don’t actually get to all the books you set out to (no one does, don’t worry!), it’s a great way to get you back into the rhythm of reading after the holidays and get you out of your reading comfort zone. Of course, you don’t have to wait for a new year to roll around to start a reading challenge: the best ones (in my view) let you take it at your own pace!
I’ve designed a few of my own with that in mind, just for you Keeper Upperers. Because I’m obsessed with organising my books alphabetically (see here, and here, and even here), it made sense to theme my reading challenges that way.
Every challenge includes a Free Space, which you can fill with whatever the heck you want. I want to pretend that’s because it’s a reminder to leave a little room for whimsy and spontaneity in this coming year, but really… X is just a very tricky letter, even for expert alphabetisers like myself.
First up, the A-Z Reading Challenge by book title…
Or, if you want to level-up, here’s an A-Z reading challenge by author surname…
But if you want to have a little more fun with it, get a little crazy, here’s a hybrid BINGO! version, just for you…
If you’re going to have a crack at one of these, please do comment below with a link or tag me wherever you share it – I’d love to see how you get on!
January 1, 2021 at 7:43 PM
Terrific challenges! I look forward to following along. I’m having a challenge free year this year but I’ll still keep an eye out for other people’s challenge progress.
January 1, 2021 at 8:02 PM
Cheers, Theresa! To be honest, I’m not even sure I’ll keep up with my own challenge… but it’s nice to have a goal! 😉
January 1, 2021 at 8:56 PM
Good luck with your challenges. I’m still thinking about mine. I’ve only committed to the AWW challenge so far. I like your idea of making your own bingo card. I may give that a go this year.
January 3, 2021 at 2:14 PM
Oooh that’d be fun, Veronica! Looking forward to seeing how you go 😉
January 2, 2021 at 8:26 PM
Excellent challenges! I’ll be tacking a crack at The Unread Shelf challenge this year. I’m not particularly wonderful at sticking to these things so we’ll see.
(Also, I see you with that double K on the Author Surname A-to-Z challenge!)
January 3, 2021 at 2:15 PM
Hehehe I felt so clever! 😉 Have fun with the Unread Shelf Hannah, looking forward to seeing how you go!
January 7, 2021 at 11:21 AM
Wow, what a cracker of a challenge! Several of these are on my radar already, and the ones I’ve already read are great. I will definitely be looking out for your review of these.
January 7, 2021 at 6:31 PM
Yes, Paula! Hold me to it!