I have always been a bookworm. Of late, I would describe myself as an obsessed bookworm. I thoroughly enjoyed my book reading challenges last year. And this year in 2017, I’d like to challenge myself with some more challenging reading goals.
Now, you may ask, why should I be taking up these book challenges when I love reading so much. Well, the thing about reading is that even though you may be obsessed about it, it is easy to let it fall by the wayside. In the hustle and bustle of every day work, chores and life in general, suddenly you realize that it’s been days since you picked up a book.
And for this you certainly need book reading challenges.
When you pick up reading challenges, you are consciously deciding to read and when you do that, you will certainly find time to read no matter what. Also reading challenges broaden your scope of reading as you get to explore a whole lot of books. From diverse genres and topics to variety of authors, from different characters in every book to distinct settings, from short tales to really long ones, from classics to contemporary stories, from fiction to non-fiction, from memoirs and biographies to banned and challenged books, from books in various formats to books outside your comfort zone, reading challenges prompt to read all these and much more. Another interesting aspect of taking up reading challenges is that it makes your reading list so lively. And the fun of finding books for the various prompts and then the joy of ticking off the books in your planning sheets. Aah! It’s simply exhilarating.
This year, I am going to explore and soak in the amazing world of books by taking up the following reading challenges…
1. Goodreads :
2. HT Brunch Book Challenge : This is easy peasy. The challenge is to complete at least 36 books by December 31st, with at least six books by Indian authors, or those centred on India.
3. 2017 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge : I loved doing this challenge last year and this year there are 40 book prompts to help diversify PLUS an “advanced” section with 12 books for hardcore readers.
4. The 2017 Audiobook Challenge : Last year, I explored reading with my ears and I loved the experience. Last year, I attempted the Newbie level and this year, I’d try to be a Weekend Warrior.
Levels for The 2017 Audiobook Challenge are :
- Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5
- Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
- Stenographer (can listen while multi-tasking) 10-15
- Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
- Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
- My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30+
- Marathoner (Look Ma No Hands) 50+
5. Banned/Challenged Books Reading Challenge 2017 
: There’s something intriguing about the banned / challenged books. I have never read such books. I’d like to explore some of the books that created controversy.This has the following Levels
- Read 1 book. You are an Ember. You’re small but mighty just waiting to burn the structure down.
- Read 2-6 books. You are Creeping. You’re burning with a low flame and spreading slowly.
- Read 7-12 books. You are a Blow-up fire. Sudden increase in fire intensity strong enough to upset control plans
- Read 13+ books. You are Uncontrolled. Any fire which threatens to destroy life, property, or natural resources.
6. 2017 Diverse Reading Challenge : I liked the guided reading this challenge provides through its diverse prompts.This has monthly mini challenges:
- January– diverse folklore/mythology (e.g. South Asian mythology, Russian folklore, Japanese folklore, Greek mythology, Chinese folklore, etc.)
- February– POC Main Character / Biracial / Multiracial
- March– main characters with a disability
- April– mental health
- May– religious diversity
- June & July– sexuality and gender identity
- August– non-Western setting
- September– #ownvoices
- October– Intersectionality
- November– diverse retellings
- December– 2017 Releases
7. eBooks Reading Challenge 2017 : 
This is going to be my absolute favourite, for now-a-days, I want to read only Kindle books, though in this challenge one can read any electronic format of the book viz PDF, nook, plain text, EPUB, iBook, Mobi etc.Levels in this challenge are…
- bit – 1 book
- Byte – 10 books
- Megabyte – 25 books
- Gigabyte – 50 books
- Terabyte – 75 books
- Petabyte – 100 books
- Empty the Cloud – 101+ booksI’d like to go for Empty the Cloud but may be I’d actually do the Terabyte, because I have a lot of paper books that are begging my attention.
8. Humor Reading Challenge 2017 : 
No genre of books brings me as much joy as the books in the humor genre. I simply love reading the fun, funny, witty, entertaining and satirical books. I am aiming to reach the ‘Stand Up Comedian’ level with this challenge.
Levels for this challenge are…
- Cartoonist: 1-5 books
- Humor Columnist: 6-10 books
- Comedy Writer: 11-15 books
- Stand Up Comedian: More than 15 books
9. LGBTQIA Reading Challenge 2017 : 
This one is a pretty unique reading challenge. For this one,
- You have to read one book of at least 100 pages.
- Book should have a main character or significant secondary character that fits one of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual requirement.
10. #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks 2017 : 
Aah! This is something I seriously need to do it. I have so many unread books in my library cupboard and Kindle. It’s high time, I finish reading them before picking up new ones.
The rules are simple…
- You make the rules
- Be as hardcore (or not) as you want
It’s going to be a busy reading year for me and I am really looking forward to read some good books. I can feel it in my bones that this is gonna be exciting. Wish me luck for my ambitious reading goals.
Are you taking up any reading challenges? Any tips/ suggestions you have for me as I chase my 2017 Book Reading Challenges. Do share in the comment box.
32 Responses
For the one ‘Read a book that is mentioned in another book’ , there’s a YA fiction book called ‘Carry On’, which is mentioned in ‘Fangirl’ by Rainbow Rowell. Like, both the books are written by Rowell. Also, Carry On has a bit of LGBT theme in it.
‘Not Without My Daughter’ by Betty Mahmoody is one book that could be read for the one ‘book with a family-member term in it’.
For the others, I’m going to follow your TBR list and check out some awesome books! Looking forward to see which book you select for the eccentric character task! 🙂
Wow! Those are some awesome recommendations, Mithila. Thank you! Will check these out.
Thanks for joining my Humor challenge. Can’t wait to see what you read 🙂
The pleasure is all mine. Thanks for hosting this wonderful challenge, Jamie! 🙂
I have a question. A genuine question. Not a fisicious question. What is the purpose of reading so many books? I read a maximum of 4 books in a year. Is this to gain knowledge? Or, something else? Thanks.
You can say that I have a passionate love affair with books. 🙂 I read for a lot of reasons… knowledge, information, virtual traveling, getting to live several lives through characters and their stories, getting to know such diverse point of views…
Just as most people watch TV to relax or unwind or pass time, I read to just do that and much more… 🙂
Wow..i am sticking to 36 only. I visit the prompts on the challenges though.
Happy reading, Lata and hope you meet your reading goals 🙂
My my my! This is fab! I should sit down and start making a note of all the challenges and see if I can participate in any. I have set a goal of 52 books in Goodreads, one book a week at least. That’s the only challenge I have taken upon until now. 😛
One book a week is a cool goal, Shalini. Have a great time reading this year! 🙂
Wow! That’s very impressive Shilpa. I am just taking the Goodreads challenge and I have set my target at 30. Much more than 2016 and like you said these challenges help us read more and keep at it.
Good luck!
Thanks Parul. I believe having goals give a sense of direction and focus. Also the prompts in the challenges help to explore new books, genres and authors. Happy reading and achieving your reading goals, Parul 🙂
Reading help us to acquire more knowledge about various aspects. I love to read history and fictional writings.
Happy to know about your reading habit and challenges.
Go ahead !
Have a wonderful week ahead !
Agree with you, Manoj. Books open up a world of imagination, discoveries and learnings… Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts.
This is too bad. Like Shalini I’m also going to sit down and note what all I could participate too. And following your TBR list too.
Go ahead and just do that, Sheethal! Have a good time reading all that you want to read this year 🙂
Oops! No no not Bad! What I meant is Good. Really sorry for the typo
LOL 😀 It’s ok. I got it 🙂
Wow…it’s probably good I’m in the midst of making sure my books are linked up to the right reading challenges. It’s a lot of work. Otherwise, I might sign up for half of the ones on your list here, Shilpa! I do love a good reading challenge. :O)
I know, mapping the books to the challenges and prompts is a lot of work, but it surely is fun. I truly admire your reading spree and reviews, LuAnn. Have a great reading year 🙂
Shilpa, I’ve never seen anyone dedicate themselves to a challenge more than you do. It’s truly commendable. Hats off to your persistence and I hope you achieve all of the above challenges and more in 2017
Oh Boy!! That is one too many to complete, how will you even keep track?
I had tried the ebook challenge and totally lost track halfway.
I missed my Goodreads challenge also last year so this time it is a manageable 105 books.
All the best, hope you nail them all.
Oh, my! Quite an impressive list, Shilpa. I admire you for setting yourself the target to read as many as you possibly can. I might be able to do about 15 – 20 books this year and am already done with 1, so I’m happy 🙂 Can’t wait to hear about the ones that you finally manage to, eventually !! Best of Luck with the challenge, Shilpa.
Those are some challenges indeed….I have never tried an audiobook…..I wonder how the experience will be…And for the HT Brunchbook challenge, somehow I was under the impression that all books are to be of Indian writers…..thanks for passing on the info…..Good luck with your Reading Challenge too….
You inspire me, Shilpa. Your love affair with books is something to look upto. I haven’t entered into any reading challenge this year. I am planning to take the year as it comes. I am doing a course this year and I am sure to have a tough time with the dissertations and all. So, I shall look upto you for good recommendations and keep up with reading as much as I can 🙂
Phew! You have set a standard that is insane! So many challenges… What… How… I can Add the HT challenge to my list apart from goodreads, but that’s about it. I won’t even dare. I wish you all the best and I am sure you will nail all the challenges 😀
That’s a mind-boggling array of challenges. I’ve somehow found the challenges daunting and most times find it hard to update. But January has started on a better note. I’ve already read 2 books. Considering l was struggling in the last few months, this is good. Fingers crossed it continues.
Wow! Now this is called a reading challenge; I hope you intend to keep your readers updated with your reading activities through the year; I would love to know more on this.
Thanks for 😛 sharing such interesting reading challenges- I didnt know about most of them….
Never read an audiobook- maybe this year I should also give it at ry.
Wonderful list!
I gave up on challenges as I realised that I take a lot of time to keep of them. These days I read whatever catches my fancy and track it on a simple list on Good Reads.
Good luck and happy reading.
WOW! Shilpa, my friend you will have a busy year ahead:-) I am a big reader too, but think you will beat my record this year… What a wonderful feeling to dive into the imaginary world of a new universe right. Lots of love your way:-)
Lovely Shilpa. The challenges seem orgnaised unlike mine. I actually don’t really have a challenge in its truest sense, but just want to read as much as possible especially the ones that are considered an all time best. seller.
Great list of books. Will choose some and read :). Thank you very much.