25 Fun Reading Challenges to Help You Read More
I love reading, but I’m also very good at buying books faster than I actually read them. I’m sure I can’t be the only person with books sitting around the house that I was definitely going to read next about three years ago!
I also have a habit of gravitating towards the same sorts of books. Give me a psychological thriller, crime novel or something with a slightly suspicious-looking house on the cover and I’m interested.
One of the things I enjoy about being in a book club is that occasionally I have to read something I wouldn’t have chosen for myself. Sometimes I discover something brilliant. Sometimes I spend half the book wondering who on earth chose it.
That’s part of the fun.
If you want to read more, reading challenges can give you that little push to choose something different without turning reading into another job on your to-do list.
I’ve put together 25 reading challenge ideas below. You absolutely don’t have to complete all of them. Pick ten, do one a month or simply use the list whenever you’re standing in front of your bookshelf unable to decide what to read next.
Why bother with a reading challenge?
For me, the best thing about a reading challenge isn’t reaching an impressive number of books by the end of December.
It’s getting out of a reading rut.
If you always read thrillers, a challenge might persuade you to pick up a memoir. If you usually buy whatever is currently popular, it might send you towards something published fifty years ago.
It can also solve that ridiculous problem of owning dozens of unread books while simultaneously declaring, “I’ve got nothing to read.”
Rather than choosing from everything, you’re choosing a book with a blue cover or something recommended by a friend.
Much easier.
25 reading challenges to try
1. Read a book you already own
I’m starting with this because surely I’m not the only one who needs it.
Don’t buy anything new. Don’t browse Kindle. Don’t wander innocently into Waterstones and somehow emerge £40 poorer.
Choose something from your existing pile and actually read it.
2. Read outside your usual genre
This is probably the challenge I need most.
If you automatically head towards crime, try historical fiction. If you love romance, pick up a thriller. If fiction is usually your thing, try a memoir.
You don’t have to permanently change your reading tastes. It’s just one book.
And if you hate it, at least you’ll have confirmed that your usual genre really is superior!
3. Re-read a childhood favourite
Choose something you absolutely loved when you were younger.
The interesting thing about doing this as an adult is noticing things that completely passed you by the first time.
You might adore it all over again or wonder what your younger self was thinking.
Either result is quite entertaining.
4. Choose a book purely because of its cover
We’re always told not to judge a book by its cover.
Ignore that advice for once.
Go into a library or bookshop and choose something because the cover catches your eye. Don’t spend twenty minutes checking reviews first.
Sometimes it’s fun to take a chance.
5. Read a memoir or autobiography
Choose someone whose life genuinely interests you.
It doesn’t have to be an incredibly serious political autobiography either. I particularly enjoy memoirs that are funny, honest or revolve around something I’m interested in.
Food memoirs can be brilliant for this because you get someone’s life story alongside all the memories connected to what they ate, cooked or drank.
6. Read the book before watching the film
Find a film adaptation you haven’t watched yet and read the book first.
Then watch the film and spend the entire thing saying, “Well, THAT didn’t happen in the book.”
It’s practically compulsory.
7. Listen to an audiobook
Audiobooks count.
I know people occasionally get strangely passionate about whether listening is “really reading”, but if you’ve enjoyed an entire book while driving, cleaning or walking, I’m certainly not going to confiscate it from your reading total.
They’re particularly useful if you struggle to find time to sit down with a physical book.
8. Read a book set somewhere you’d love to visit
Fancy Japan? Find something set in Tokyo.
Planning a holiday to Italy? Read a novel set there before you go.
I love books that give you a real sense of place, and it’s even better if you later visit somewhere you’ve previously imagined through a story.
9. Try a graphic novel
If you’ve never read one, make this the year you do.
Graphic novels aren’t somehow lesser books because pictures are involved. They’re simply another form of storytelling.
You might discover you love them.
10. Read your friend’s favourite book
Ask someone you know to name one book they think you should read.
The interesting part is that you’re handing over control completely.
I’d probably establish a maximum page count first if your friends are the sort of people who think a 900-page Russian classic would be hilarious.
11. Read a banned or challenged book
Pick a book that has been banned or challenged somewhere and find out why.
This can lead you towards some fascinating books and interesting discussions about censorship, social attitudes and why particular stories have caused controversy.
12. Read a collection of short stories
If you’re struggling to concentrate on a full novel, short stories can be much less intimidating.
You can finish an entire story in one sitting and then come back for another when you fancy it.
They’re also handy if you’re trying to get back into reading after a long break.
13. Find a book with a particular word in the title
Choose a random word before you start looking.
Secret. Summer. House. Murder. Chocolate. Midnight.
Then find a book containing it.
You can make this as sensible or ridiculous as you like, which is rather the point.
14. Finally read that classic
You know the one.
The book everyone seems to have read except you.
Maybe it’s Pride and Prejudice, 1984, Jane Eyre or The Great Gatsby.
Give it a go.
And if you decide you don’t like it, you’re still allowed to stop. Being called a classic doesn’t mean you’re legally obliged to enjoy it.
15. Read a book by a local author
Ask your library or independent bookshop if they can recommend authors from your area.
I think this is a lovely challenge because you might discover someone writing about places you actually recognise.
You could make it even more specific and find a novel set in your county.
16. Read something funny
Not everything needs to be profound.
Find something that makes you laugh.
A funny memoir, comic novel or comedian’s autobiography can be exactly what you need between heavier books.
17. Read a book involving food
This is one I particularly like because there are so many directions you can take it.
It could be a chef’s memoir, a novel set in a restaurant, food-related crime, travel writing centred around food or even a cookbook you actually sit down and read rather than only opening at the recipe you need.
Food and drink play a surprisingly big role in some fantastic books.
18. Read a mystery or thriller
Obviously I had to include this one.
If you’re in a reading slump, I think a good thriller is one of the easiest ways to get yourself turning pages again.
Pick something with short chapters and plenty of I’ll just read one more moments.
Just don’t blame me when it’s 1am.
19. Tackle a book with more than 500 pages
Choose one enormous book you’ve been avoiding because it looks like it could double as a doorstop.
Don’t think about finishing 600 pages.
Read twenty.
Then another twenty.
Eventually you’ll get there, and there’s something particularly satisfying about finishing a massive book.
20. Read a debut novel
Choose an author’s first published novel.
It’s a lovely way of discovering someone new, particularly if they go on to write a whole series you enjoy.
The downside is discovering someone brilliant and then realising they’ve only written one book and you have to wait impatiently for the next one.
21. Read non-fiction about something you know nothing about
Choose a subject you’ve never really considered before.
It could be anything from forensic science or mountaineering to fungi, art theft, cults or the history of a particular food.
Don’t choose something because you think you should learn about it.
Choose something that makes you think, Oooh, I wonder…
22. Read somewhere different
Take your book somewhere you don’t normally read.
Go to a café alone with it. Sit in the garden. Take it to the park or read on the beach when you’re away.
I think there’s something lovely about deliberately making time to sit somewhere and read instead of only squeezing a few pages in before bed.
23. Read a charity-shop book
Give yourself a small budget and see what you can find.
One of the nicest things about browsing second-hand books is that you don’t have an algorithm deciding what you should read next.
You might find something you’d never have searched for online.
When you’ve finished, donate it back and let someone else discover it.
24. Read something more than 100 years old
This sounds much more intimidating than it needs to be.
There are plenty of incredibly readable older books, and many classics are available very cheaply or even free as ebooks because they’re out of copyright.
It’s also fascinating seeing which parts of human behaviour apparently haven’t changed at all.
25. Let someone else choose
Finish the challenge by giving someone complete control.
Your partner, friend, child, librarian or someone from your book club gets to choose your next book.
No swapping it.
No reading seventeen reviews before agreeing.
Just read what you’re given.
Although I reserve the right to reconsider this rule if someone hands me War and Peace.
Make your own reading challenge
You don’t have to use my 25 prompts exactly as I’ve written them.
In fact, making your own version could be even more fun.
You could create twelve prompts and choose one each month, put them into a jar and pick one randomly, or get everyone in your book club to contribute a challenge.
You could also theme the whole thing.
A crime-reading challenge could include a cosy mystery, police procedural, psychological thriller, true crime book and a crime novel published before you were born.
A travel version could take you around the world through books.
You could even create a food-and-drink reading challenge, which is something I’m very tempted to do!
Don’t turn your reading challenge into homework
This is the bit I think matters most.
Reading is supposed to be enjoyable.
If you’ve challenged yourself to read 50 books this year and reach December having read 23, you’ve still read 23 books.
You haven’t failed anything.
Likewise, if you’re 100 pages into a book and actively avoiding reading because you hate it so much, put the thing down.
Life is too short and there are far too many books.
I used to feel as though once I’d started a book I had to finish it. Now I’m much happier abandoning one that I’m not enjoying and moving on.
There are no reading police coming to check.
How to find more time to read
I don’t think most of us have enormous empty gaps in our days waiting to be filled with reading.
Sometimes it’s about finding little bits of time.
Keep your current book somewhere visible rather than tucked away on a shelf. Read for ten minutes with your morning coffee. Take a book when you know you’ll be sitting in a waiting room.
Audiobooks are useful here too because you can listen while doing something else.
And yes, sometimes I need to put my phone down.
It’s frightening how easily “I’ll just have a quick look” turns into half an hour of scrolling!
Keep track of what you’ve read – if you want to
Some people love tracking books.
You can use Goodreads, a reading journal, a spreadsheet or simply keep a list in your phone.
It’s nice looking back at everything you’ve read and remembering which ones you loved.
I also find ratings useful because apparently my brain is quite capable of forgetting what I thought of a book six months after reading it.
But again, don’t turn it into admin if you don’t enjoy doing it.
You don’t need statistics for your hobby.
Try a book club
Joining a book club has introduced me to books I probably wouldn’t have chosen myself, which is one of the reasons I enjoy it.
There’s also something nice about finishing a book and actually having people to discuss it with.
And when everyone hated it, the discussion can sometimes be even better!
You could join a local group, start one with friends or find an online book club if you’d rather participate from home.
So, which challenge are you starting with?
I’d start with the easiest one.
Go and look at the books you already own and choose something you’ve been meaning to read.
Then when you’ve finished that, come back and pick another challenge.
You don’t need to read 100 books this year or work your way through every classic ever published.
If a reading challenge helps you discover one brilliant book you would never otherwise have picked up, I’d say it has done its job.
If you think you need to spend time doing more for yourself, check my wellbeing hub for lots of ways to start putting yourself first.
