Pick a Reading Challenge - I picked a couple (okay more than a couple!)
I know there are lots of readers who don't want to be tied to a specific challenge. They feel like it inhibits their reading or adds stress or pressure to finish a certain number of books or to fulfill a certain category. That's fine. Everyone should read for enjoyment in their own way. If you're not a challenge person, you probably didn't even open this post!
I, however, enjoy a good challenge. Maybe the difference between me and the reader described above is that I use challenges as a guideline and certainly don't feel any pressure to finish. I absolutely make each challenge "my own" by ignoring categories that just don't appeal or whatever. At the beginning it was just the Goodreads "how many books are you going to read this year" challenge. Every year I picked 60-65 books because on the average, that's how many I read. Sometimes I didn't make it and sometimes I exceeded it, which was always a pleasant surprise.
All that being said, this year I'm being extravagantly ambitious and have picked several challenges. Join in or find you own. The point is to read a book, any book, and hopefully find a new favorite, expand your world view, laugh or cry, or learn something new. Here are the challenges I'm joining (starting on my own shelves and looking for crossover books that fulfill multiple categories everywhere!).
Book Riot's #ReadHarderChallenge - I've joined this the last several years and never finished though it only has 24 categories. As you can tell from the title, they aren't particularly easy categories, but they have really pushed me outside my usual reading paths. Maybe this is the year I'll complete them all. (there's a helpful Goodreads group to start researching some of the category options)
Anne at #ModernMrsDarcy is offering a new list for this year - 10 categories that will often crossover with categories in some of the other challenges - a bonus! Tag with #MMDchallenge or #MMDreading.
#PopsugarReadingChallenge - I've never tried this one before but it seemed intriguing. Not a lightweight one at 50 categories, but I'm in.
#BooklistQueenChallenge - This is Rachael's second year of providing a challenge and it tops out at 52 categories, a book a week! Not everyone reads that much, so maybe this is a list you pick and choose from. She also offers a monthly challenge with one theme per month and that may be more your speed. As with most challenges, the goal is to encourage more reading of more types of books.
My final challenge is super easy and will be filled from all the above challenges. It's an A-Z Alphabet Soup challenge listing books by title sponsored by Escape With Dollycas. See what I did there? Finish (hopefully) a challenge based entirely on categories from others. Winner!
You can track my progress on the various challenges on the Challenge tab in the top menu. I'm keeping track of books I'm targeting for different categories and will make the title BOLD when I've completed the book as well as link to my reviews. You can also see my reading for the year on my Pinterest board "Terrie's Reading 2020".
If the challenges I picked don't interest you, that's totally fine. There are a bazillion to choose from and the gals over at GirlXOXO have kindly provided a pretty comprehensive master list. Though this is the 2019 one, they are likely working on an update so check back, but this one should get you started. The ladies at Reading Challenge Addict have another monster list that will surely help you find a challenge suited to you.
Go ahead, join in, and Let's Talk Books this year!
top photo via pexels.com, bottom photo is books from my shelves that fit a challenge category to get me started