A reading challenge gets you out of your habits: most of us keep returning to the same authors, the same genre, books of the same length. Setting yourself a constraint (a country, a form, an era) leads you to books you would never have opened and gives your reading year a thread to follow.
Each challenge on the wheel explains how to complete it: where to look, who to ask, what to note once you close the book. The “Teens and adults” variant works well as a year-long challenge with one spin a month; the “Young readers” variant is for ages 8 to 12 and works in the classroom as well as at home.
How to use it
- Choose the variant and a pace: one challenge a month, a term or per school holiday.
- Spin the wheel and write the challenge at the top of a reading journal or a note on your phone.
- Look for the book at the library or a bookshop and quote the challenge word for word: librarians and booksellers love this kind of request.
- Once you have finished, write three lines: what you liked, what surprised you, and who you would recommend it to.
All the options
- Another continent
- Read a book by an author from a continent you have never read anything from. Bookshops often shelve translated fiction by language or country, so start there.
- A genre you’ve never read
- List the genres you read (crime, fantasy, romance, science fiction, non-fiction, poetry…) and take the first one missing. Ask for the most approachable title in that genre rather than the most famous.
- A childhood favourite
- Reread a book that left a mark on you before age 12 and note what you had forgotten or now see differently. Many children’s classics can be read in an evening.
- Under 150 pages
- A novella, a short memoir or a slim novel: aim for something you can finish in a weekend. Classic paperback ranges are full of short works by great authors.
- A century-old classic
- Choose a book published more than a hundred years ago that you know by name but have never read. Many such works are out of copyright and free to download as e-books.
- A graphic novel
- Read a long-form comic, a graphic novel or a graphic memoir, paying as much attention to the pictures as to the words. Most public libraries have a graphic novel section for adults.
- The book before the film
- Pick a novel that has been made into a film you have not seen, read it, then watch the adaptation. Note three differences and think about why the director made them.
- A bookseller’s pick
- Ask at a bookshop or library for “the book you loved most this year”, without naming a genre. Read it to the end, even if you would never have picked it yourself.
- A poetry collection
- Read a collection at a pace of two or three poems a day, aloud if you can. Copy the line that struck you most into a notebook.
- Non-fiction or biography
- Choose an essay collection, a biography or a popular science book on a subject that intrigues you but that you know nothing about. Jot down one idea per chapter as you go.
- A new language
- Read a book translated from a language you have never read anything from: Korean, Icelandic, Brazilian Portuguese, Swahili… The translator’s name is on the title page.
- A debut novel
- Read the very first novel an author published, recent or old. If you know their later books, compare the style and themes.
- Judged by its cover
- Pick a book purely for its cover, without reading the blurb. It is the riskiest challenge, and often the most rewarding.
- A play
- Read a whole play, ideally aloud with friends taking the parts. A Shakespeare comedy such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream makes a lively evening read.
Frequently asked questions
What is a reading challenge?
A list of prompts to tick off as you read, such as “a book by an author from another continent” or “a classic you have never read”. You complete it over a set period, often a year, on your own or with a book club.
How many books should you read for a yearly reading challenge?
Twelve, one a month, is a realistic goal for most readers. Start from your current pace and add two or three books: the challenge should stretch you without putting you off.
How do you find books for a reading challenge?
Ask a librarian or bookseller by quoting the challenge, browse literary prize shortlists and the themed displays in libraries. Online book clubs also share reading lists prompt by prompt.
How do you get a child to enjoy reading?
Let them choose their own books, comics and non-fiction included, and let them see you reading too. A playful challenge, such as reading to someone younger or finishing a first book in a series, motivates more than a set number of pages.