The Writers Write Book Reading Challenge – 3

Are you overwhelmed by the sheer number of books to choose from? Here’s a reading challenge to make choosing a book (and reading it!) more fun.

The Writers Write Book Reading Challenge – 3

At Writers Write, we believe in healthy challenges. After all, they push us to the edge of our comfort zone, and we all know that’s where learning begins, and where adventure starts.

We’d like you to start this new book-reading challenge with us. You can begin at any month of the year. For example, let’s say you start in May. Then you simply work your way to the end of the list and continue with January until you reach April. Challenge completed! But of course, we hope you’ll grab a book the minute this post is published.

This is our third book reading challenge. You can read all about our other challenges at the end of this post.

A New Challenge Every Month

January: January is the time of new beginnings. Choose a book about a journey. How about Jules Verne’s Around The World In 80 Days? Or the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon?
February: Read a love story. This month, you don’t need to feel ashamed for enjoying a cheesy one.
March: Go through your phone contacts or your social media friends. Message the third person, asking for a book recommendation.
April: Honour April Fool’s Day and read a funny book. Yu could get started on one of the two series by Douglas Adams. Choose either the series The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy or Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. You may, of course, also choose any other book you think is funny.
May: This month, please read a book that was written after the movie. For example, any of the Books on Star Wars. May the force be with you!
June: Read a novel written by an author who uses a pen name. You could choose Robert Galbraith, John Le Carré, Mark Twain, or Ellis Peters, for example.
July: Indulge in a beach read. To find one, go to the next train station or airport. Usually, their bookstores sell lots of beach reads.
August: Read a book set in the desert. Here are two suggestions: T.E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars Of Wisdom (that’s the story of Lawrence of Arabia), or Michael Ondaatje’s novel The English Patient.
September: Please visit your local library, and ask which novel is most popular, and which is least popular. Look at both and choose one, or both.
October: Time to get a little spooked. Please read a book about a witch. I suggest Deborah Harkness, any one of her All Souls series (the first one is called A Discovery Of Witches). It’s all about witches and vampires.
November: This is the month of Thanksgiving. So, choose a book about gratitude. How about Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women? Or Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist? Maybe these books can inspire you to keep a gratitude journal.
December: Please gift the joy of reading to children. Maybe you’d like to volunteer to read a Christmas-themed book to kids at your local library? Or at an elementary school? My favourite is Nicholas Allan’s Father Christmas Needs A Wee.

When you’ve completed this challenge, pat yourself on the shoulder! We know that life is busy, and it can be hard to find the time for reading. Yet you have made time and space for one of the greatest hobbies in the world. It’s also a fundamental activity if you want to be a writer.

The Last Word

If you’ve enjoyed this challenge, you can continue with more challenges!

Additional Reading: 20 Weird Things Readers Do.

Image: Pixabay

By Susanne Bennett. Susanne is a German-American writer who is a journalist by trade and a writer by heart. After years of working at German public radio and an online news portal, she has decided to accept challenges by Deadlines for Writers. Currently she is writing her first novel with them. She is known for overweight purses and carrying a novel everywhere. Follow her on Facebook.

The Writers Write Book Reading Challenge – 3