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!
- A book with several short stories or novellas
- The first book in a new-to-you series
- A book from a series you've already started
- The newest book from a series
- A book that's part of a trilogy
- A book that is at least 10th in its series
- A book with 500 or more pages
- A book with 150 pages or less
- A book published before 1990
- A book you've been meaning to read for at least ten years
- A book published in 2020 or 2021
- A book someone else raved about or recommended
- A book you've been really anticipating
- A book you're not sure you'll like but want to try anyway
- A book you picked up on a whim
- A book you wanted to read last year but didn't get to
- A library book
- A book you already own
- A physical book
- An e-book
- A book geared toward children, teens or young adults
- A mystery or thriller
- A memoir or autobiography
- A book that is historical fiction
- A book that takes place during contemporary times
- A non-fiction book
- A book set between 1900 and 1940
- A book set in your time zone
- A new-to-you author
- An author you've been meaning to read more by
- A longtime favorite author
- Written by a woman
- Written by a man
- Written by an author who is not white
- Written by two or more authors
- A book with a title or author that is alliterative
- A book you hope helps you to learn or grow
- A book that teaches you a lesson
- A book that is pure brain candy
- A book with a one-word title
- A book with a two-word title
- A book with a four-word title
- A book with red on the cover or in the title
- A book with orange on the cover or in the title
- A book with yellow on the cover or in the title
- A book with green on the cover or in the title
- A book with blue on the cover or in the title
- A book with white on the cover or in the title
- A book with black on the cover or in the title
- A book with a TITLE containing a color not listed above
- A book with clothing on the cover or in the title
- A book with food on the cover or in the title
- A book with a beverage on the cover or in the title
- A book with a utensil, weapon, or tool on the cover or in the title
- A book with a season in the title
- A book with a holiday as a theme or in the title
- A book with a place in the title
- A title that mentions something found in nature
- A book with some form of water on the cover or in the title
- A title that mentions some form of weather
- A book where the title or the cover includes something you find in the sky
- A book that has a day of the week in the title
- A title with a number in it
- A book with a question mark in the title
- A title that includes an animal
- A book with a dog or cat on the cover
- A book with any animal that is NOT a dog or cat on the cover
- A title that includes a person's name
- A book with a person on the cover
- A book with a body part on the cover or in the title
- A book with ONLY words on the cover
- A book with a cover that makes you want to read it
- A book that takes place in a different country
- A title that starts with the word 'a' or 'an'
- A title that starts with the word 'the'
- A title with the word 'and' or 'or'
- A book with a type of building on the cover or in the title
- A book with a window or a door on the cover
- A book with a piece of furniture on the cover
- A book with a type of transportation on the cover
- A title with a directional reference (north, down, left, under, etc)
- A title that mentions sound in some way
- A title that mentions time in some way
- A title that includes an action or activity
- A title that mentions an emotion or feeling
- A book with something related to reading on the cover or in the title
- A book that references music on the cover or in the title
- A female leading character
- A male leading character
- A title that references a profession
- A book with a title or author that includes the name of a month
- A book with a title that made you want to read it
- A title that references royalty/nobility
- A title with a familial connection in it
- A book you expect to make you think
- A book you expect will make you laugh
- A book of your choice
- Author whose first or last name contains exactly four letters
- A book with flowers on the cover or in the title
- A book with more than one storyline from different time periods