Despite being a voracious reader, I have never done any sort of reading challenge. While I am not one to count how many books I have read (I refuse to let my love of reading be turned into yet another ceaseless quantification of self), I do like the potential of challenges to aid you in branching out and reading new-to-you authors and genres. It also makes the question of “what to read next??” slightly simpler to answer. Previously, the only challenge I have seriously considered is “Around The World in 80 Books,” in which you read 80 books from 80 different countries. However, this year, I have finally committed to *and planned out no less!* the Reading Women Challenge created by the wonderful Reading Women podcast (one of my favorite female-hosted podcasts).
The reading challenge has 24 prompts (and two bonus ones for overachievers) to help you diversify your bookshelf. The only rule is that all of the books must be written by women! After all, their tagline is “Reclaim Half The Bookshelf.” For some of the prompts, a few books instantly came to mind, while for others, I had no idea where to start. Luckily, they have created a discussion board on Goodreads that has tons of great recommendations for each prompt. To create my *potential* list, I mixed a variety of books that I want to read, unread books that I already have sitting on my bookshelf, and recommendations from the Goodreads group and a couple of friends who are English professors.
A couple of days ago, I sat down and planned out my books for the challenge. While I am sure that some of these will change through the year, I am brimming with excitement about how the list turned out. I don’t know which book should kick it off!
If you are interested in joining me in the Reading Women 2020 challenge, you can find all the details (and this downloadable PDF list) here. Alternatively, if you are craving something else, some other reading challenges I think sound awesome include Back to the Classics, Popsugar 2020 Reading Challenge, 20 LGBTQ+ Books, Author & Cultural Diversity Challenge, Book Riot’s 2020 Read Harder Challenge, European Reading Challenge, and a Poetry Reading Challenge.
Are you considering doing a reading challenge in 2020? Have you ever done one before?
I would love to hear about your experiences!
+ For more book recommendations, here are the 25 books that changed mine & my BFFs’ lives.
+ If you are looking for some shorter reads, these are my favorite websites for women.
+ To ensure you have enough time to read, consider simplifying your tech life.
