Seven Reading Challenges to Fuel Your 2019 Reading Life

I love a new year. New years always means new resolutions and while I have my own list of reading goals, I know some of you might be looking for something for yourself. I love that word, “challenge.” It means that you’re taking your regular life and trying to add more to it. It could be a new routine. It could be a different approach to what you’ve been doing. It could mean anything, but what it definitely means is standing outside of your comfort zone.

I love a good challenge and with that in mind, I put together a quick list of some reading challenges I found online. A few live on their own while others are within the Bookstagram community. I hope you find something that works for you!

The Reading Women Reading Challenge

As you can imagine, this reading challenge focuses on one overarching point; read more women. This challenge is great because it doesn’t just challenge you to read women, but it also challenges you to read diversely. I’m always up for challenges like this and while I won’t be participating in this one, if you love reading diversely and you love reading female authors, then you’ll love to follow along and try your hand.

The Guy With the Book’s #BetterReadsChallenge

Out of all the challenges, this is probably both the easiest and the hardest challenge to do. Instagrammer, @theguywiththebook, decided that this year he would read every single day. For some people, this isn’t an easy task. We all have busy lives with a lot of stuff going on and reading may have to take a back seat every once in a while. However, Faroukh challenges all of us to read every day. It doesn’t have to be all day and it doesn’t have to be an hour. He just challenges you to pick up that book and read it.

Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge

I love the read harder challenge because it really makes you read harder. If you’re the type looking to change up your reading life this year, then definitely try this one. It’ll get you out of your comfort zone and help you discover more enjoyable reads.

Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Reading Challenge

If you’re looking for something on the easier side when it comes to challenges, I think Anne Bogel’s reading challenge for 2019 might be the one for you. It’s challenging yes, but in comparison to some of the others listed here, it feels a little bit more geared towards your own reading choices. You can easily find novels in your own collection or brand new ones at the store that fit into any of those categories. I think this is perfect for someone who wants to challenge themselves for the first time this year. No shame in that game!

The Unread Shelf’s Reading Challenge

I loved when Whitney from @theunreadshelf came up with this challenge last year and this year she’s continuing her challenge. Out of all the challenges, this is the one that’s most intriguing to me (and mostly because my unread bookshelves are bigger than my read ones). This year, you’ve got monthly prompts already set up for you and the challenge is to read what you already own. I’m very much into this idea and I’ve already started this challenge by adding two books from my backlist bookshelf to my monthly TBR. Also, I’ve got my own book club dedicated to reading books published before the current year. It’s going to be a blast to see how much shelf space I can make with this one.

Popsugar’s Reading Challenge

I discovered this challenge this year too and oh my gosh, I’m in lurve. Not only are the books on this list fun, but it challenges you to read based on aesthetics. Read a book with a plant on the cover! I mean, that could be anything. I think what Popsugar offers here is a fun reading experience. It’s not about improving your reading life or expanding your worldview. It’s about enjoying reading and challenging yourself in a different way. I might just follow these every once in a while to change up my reading life!

Goodreads Reading Challenge

The old tried and true reading challenge. Perhaps you’re not interested in upping your reading game. Perhaps the challenge for you this year is to read as much as you can. So for those folks, the Goodreads Reading Challenge is right for you. Just set the number of books you want to read this year and then do it. Read those books! But make sure to give yourself space and don’t worry if you can’t hit that goal at the end of the year. We’ve always got next year.