Just Read: 2021 Reading Challenge

After looking at over a dozen reading challenges posted online and feeling entirely uninspired, in 2019, I decided I would create my own with categories that don't feel impossible and that could easily be recycled from one year to the next, tweaking occasionally for variety, if I so choose. More importantly, the category prompts won't pigeonhole you into reading the one book that fits but is a book in which you have zero interest, but instead are broad or vague enough to apply to books across a wide spectrum of reading interests. And so was born my (newly renamed for 2021!) reading challenge.

It has far more categories than I will likely ever get to in a single year--there are 100 now and that is officially where I am capping it--but my goal is to check off as many as I can while letting the category prompts inspire the books I choose. I thought I'd share my list with any of my other reader friends who might be interested but haven't found a reading challenge that spoke to them yet--and 2020 was the first year that several people decided to join me! I dare say we had a blast with it, comparing book selections to fill a category and cheering each other on.

I'm not big on rules when it comes to reading, so we'll keep it simple:

**While a single book will certainly apply to more than one category prompt, each book can only be used to fill one category.
**Choose carefully, because once you've placed a book, there's no changing your selection! (I wait to make my final decision until after I have finished reading the book in most cases, to make sure that I know exactly which remaining category prompts will apply. Pro tip: Use the applicable category prompt you believe will prove to be the most difficult to fill, saving the easier ones until the end, as prompts fill up.)

**Category prompt interpretation is up to the person doing the reading. If the fit makes sense to you, you don't need my permission. No one is keeping score. Just let yourself be inspired!

**100 category prompts is a lot, right? The goal isn't to get to all of them--but yay for you, if you do! Rather, it's to get inspired to read with a little bonus challenge of trying to fill as many category prompts as you can. Read as many or as few books as your personal reading style allows. There is no minimum requirement for you to participate and share what you read! The goal is to read as many books as you can and to be inspired by the prompts to choose books that appeal to your reading taste. No one is keeping score of how many you read or judging the books you enjoy. The point is...get this...JUST READ. (Novel idea, yes? And no, I am not sorry about the pun.) And by sharing and following the hashtag, maybe you'll find new books you'll want to read, meet a new book-loving friend, or get into a good discussion about books.

**There is no minimum page requirement for a book to qualify. If it's a book and you finished it in 2021, it counts.

**There is also no deadline to start! Jump in whenever, look over the books you've finished already for 2021, apply them to the categories that fit, share them with us on social media if you like, and join in the fun!

 

Share what you read and which prompt you applied on Instagram and/or Facebook using #JustRead2021Challenge. 

Happy reading!

1. A book with several short stories or novellas
2. The first book in a new-to-you series
3. A book from a series you've already started
4. The newest book from a series
5. A book that's part of a trilogy
6. A book that is at least 10th in its series
7. A book with 500 or more pages
8. A book with 150 pages or less
9. A book published before 1990
10. A book you've been meaning to read for at least ten years
11. A book published in 2020 or 2021
12. A book someone else raved about or recommended
13. A book you've been really anticipating
14. A book you're not sure you'll like but want to try anyway
15. A book you picked up on a whim
16. A book you wanted to read last year but didn't get to
17. A library book
18. A book you already own
19. A physical book
20. An e-book
21. A book geared toward children, teens or young adults
22. A mystery or thriller
23. A memoir or autobiography
24. A book that is historical fiction
25. A book that takes place during contemporary times
26. A non-fiction book
27. A book set between 1900 and 1940
28. A book set in your time zone
29. A new-to-you author
30. An author you've been meaning to read more by
31. A longtime favorite author
32. Written by a woman
33. Written by a man
34. Written by an author who is not white
35. Written by two or more authors
36. A book with a title or author that is alliterative
37. A book you hope helps you to learn or grow
38. A book that teaches you a lesson
39. A book that is pure brain candy
40. A book with a one-word title
41. A book with a two-word title
42. A book with a four-word title
43. A book with red on the cover or in the title
44. A book with orange on the cover or in the title
45. A book with yellow on the cover or in the title
46. A book with green on the cover or in the title
47. A book with blue on the cover or in the title
48. A book with white on the cover or in the title
49. A book with black on the cover or in the title
50. A book with a TITLE containing a color not listed above
51. A book with clothing on the cover or in the title
52. A book with food on the cover or in the title
53. A book with a beverage on the cover or in the title
54. A book with a utensil, weapon, or tool on the cover or in the title
55. A book with a season in the title
56. A book with a holiday as a theme or in the title
57. A book with a place in the title
58. A title that mentions something found in nature
59. A book with some form of water on the cover or in the title
60. A title that mentions some form of weather
61. A book where the title or the cover includes something you find in the sky
62. A book that has a day of the week in the title
63. A title with a number in it
64. A book with a question mark in the title
65. A title that includes an animal
66. A book with a dog or cat on the cover
67. A book with any animal that is NOT a dog or cat on the cover
68. A title that includes a person's name
69. A book with a person on the cover
70. A book with a body part on the cover or in the title
71. A book with ONLY words on the cover
72. A book with a cover that makes you want to read it
73. A book that takes place in a different country
74. A title that starts with the word 'a' or 'an'
75. A title that starts with the word 'the'
76. A title with the word 'and' or 'or' 
77. A book with a type of building on the cover or in the title
78. A book with a window or a door on the cover
79. A book with a piece of furniture on the cover
80. A book with a type of transportation on the cover
81. A title with a directional reference (north, down, left, under, etc)
82. A title that mentions sound in some way
83. A title that mentions time in some way
84. A title that includes an action or activity
85. A title that mentions an emotion or feeling
86. A book with something related to reading on the cover or in the title
87. A book that references music on the cover or in the title
88. A female leading character
89. A male leading character
90. A title that references a profession
91. A book with a title or author that includes the name of a month
92. A book with a title that made you want to read it
93. A title that references royalty/nobility
94. A title with a familial connection in it
95. A book you expect to make you think
96. A book you expect will make you laugh
97. A book of your choice
98. Author whose first or last name contains exactly four letters
99. A book with flowers on the cover or in the title
100. A book with more than one storyline from different time periods