If you’re anything like me, those lofty reading goals you set on January 1st have fizzled into an infinite scroll of TikTok by…oh, late March tops. We’ve all been there—the year starts out with such boundless literary ambition! Book buyers’ remorse from that spontaneous 20-book Oprah’s Book Club haul gives way to the harsh reality that hey, reading takes time and discipline amidst our hectic modern lives.
But don’t hang up those bibliophile hats just yet! What if I told you there was a fun, foolproof way to stay motivated and smash your reading challenges in 2024? One that offers a low-stakes sense of community, clever themes to pique your curiosity, and tangible milestones to celebrate along the way?
Enter: the wide, wonderful world of Reading Challenges! From bite-sized personal trials that nudge you out of genre ruts to global phenomena that unite book lovers across social media, these ingenious little reading roadmaps come in flavors to suit every literary appetite. Some dangle enticing prizes as incentives, others inspire thought-provoking reflection, but all are brilliant hacks for developing more consistent, rewarding reading habits.
As someone who’s completed an utterly ridiculous number of these quirky challenges over the years, I can’t recommend them enough for reigniting your passion if you’ve found yourself in a sneaky book drought. In fact, here are 10 of my favorite Reading Challenges on tap for motivating voracious page-turners throughout 2024. Prepare to get inspired!
For the Socially-Savvy Reader: The #BookTok Reading Challenge
With over 92 BILLION views and counting, the “BookTok” phenomenon on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram is showing no signs of slowing. Why not lean into that power of community motivation by joining a #BookTokReadingChallenge tailor-made for the literary social media set?
Similar to the video book clubs that first emerged during quarantine life, you’ll find these challenges organized around dedicated hashtags and account handles cheerleading members through a curated book list. They run on a set schedule – say, one book per month for twelve months. Passionate #BookTok moderators provide regular reading updates, host engaging themed discussions, and spotlight spotlight fan reactions through video responses and posts.
What I love about #BookTok challenges in particular is the thoroughly modern peer-to-peer element. Rather than stuffy, prescribed classics, you’ll feast on buzzed-about new releases and inventive indie darlings you may have otherwise missed. And swapping takes with fellow readers from around the world exponentially expands your perspectives!
For the Classics Revivalist: Reviving Literature’s Greatest Hits
Let’s be real – there’s a reason those hallowed, oft-assigned classics have stood the test of time as pillars of literary excellence. If revisiting treasured novels from The Great Gatsby to Frankenstein has been lingering on your personal bucket list, the upcoming “Revival of Literature’s Greatest Hits” reading challenge is teed up to be your golden ticket.
Spearheaded by an impressive coalition of libraries, museums, colleges and publishers, this yearlong event celebrates an exceptional new class of centennial novels hitting their 100th anniversaries throughout 2024. We’re talking epoch-defining works like E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India, Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha and many more revolutionary tales that left an indelible mark on 20th century fiction.
Each month, the reading challenge spotlights a new classic bundled with exclusive complementary material like author bios, scholarly analysis, archived interviews and more to breathe new insight into familiar pages. You’ll also have the option to attend virtual seminars, book club meetings, and expert-led discussions that’ll foster an even richer, multimedia experience.
For the Introspective Seeker: The Spiritual Growth Book Challenge
If the idea of a reading challenge that actually helps shape your inner self sounds groovy, look no further than “The Spiritual Growth Book Challenge.” This thoughtfully curated list aims to facilitate elevated mindfulness and deeper self-actualization through a diverse array of teachings and literary works.
Each month brings an evocative new theme, from “Finding Presence” to “Mastering Gratitude” to “The Meaning of Existence” itself. You’ll then read one to two acclaimed titles or sacred texts that speak soulfully to that motif. Think: philosophical staples like Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now alongside transformative poetry by Rumi and Gibran; James Clear’s Atomic Habits layered with Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations.
But this is no mere book report assignment – The Spiritual Growth Book Challenge builds in mindful “practices” and group prompts for harnessing the readings’ lessons in your day-to-day. You may find yourself sketching mandalas to cultivate concentration, freewriting morning journal pages to instill positivity, or discussing ethical conundrums in virtual salons with like-minded bibliophiles.
For the World Traveler: The Passport to Everywhere Reading Challenge
If your goal is to flex those well-worn imaginary travel muscles in 2024, this “Passport to Everywhere Reading Challenge” is guaranteed to satiate even the most insatiable case of wanderlust! For bibliophiles who treat literature as the ideal vehicle for expanding their perspectives and experiencing diverse cultures, customs and global perspectives, these twelve diverse reads deliver the goods.
The expert curators at The Reading Planet have thoughtfully mapped out one transporting tale from each of planet Earth’s major geographical regions and diasporas. So in any given month, you may find yourself vicariously exploring the mosaic of characters and histories from an Egyptian epic like The Door by Magda Szabo, or gaining profound new insight into modern life in Mumbai through Family Life by Akhil Sharma.
As a special added perk, each book on the itinerary will also arrive bundled with authentic recipes, music playlists and other sensory cultural elements to make your journeys feel all the more immersive. Talk about a low-cost ticket to experiencing the world!
For the Award Aficionado: The Prize Circuit Reading Challenge
If you’re the type of discerning bibliophile who treats their Goodreads account like a competitive sport, you’ve met your dream motivation scenario with 2024’s “Prize Circuit Reading Challenge.” This devilishly clever trial delivers consistent monthly rushes of literary clout.
Here’s the premise: Over the course of twelve months, you’ll read 12 different prize-winning books pulled from respected awards bodies spanning literary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, bios and beyond. Some titles you may recognize, like the most recent Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner. While others – say, the Governor General’s Literary Award recipient from Canada – could represent refreshing new frontiers in your canon.
Part of what makes the Prize Circuit concept so addictively rewarding is the giddy validation of seeing your predictions pan out as new award winners are gradually unveiled throughout the year. Did you accurately forecast the National Book Award darling this cycle, or were you left shook when a sleeper hit took the glory? Best keep those “fabulous taste in literature” badges polished ’til next round!
For the Ambivalent Mood Reader: Lit Sources Surprise Me!
Are you a capricious, spontaneous reader who’d rather leave their book selections up to fate…or at least trusted literary tastemakers? If the notion of having zero idea what you’ll be reading next thrills you to your bibliophilic core, then the mysterious “Lit Sources Surprise Me” reading challenge could very well be your ticket.
Each month, one of several renowned national media outlets or bookish social influencers will secretly curate the surprise book that all subscribers will receive in discreet packaging – no jacket coverspill the surprise (though you’ll get basic content advisories for heads up). You’ll all read it together at the same pace, completely blind, for one month of fevered anticipation.
Come the big mid-month discussion night, everyone will have their jaws on the floor as the title is finally unveiled amidst behind-the-pages commentary and dissection from the respected curators themselves. It’s Christmas morning for grown-up lit nerds, times twelve! The suspense, passionate debates, and jaw-dropping revelations galore make this challenge simply unmatched for novelty and social gratification.
For the Self-Improver: 12 Books to Help You Level Up Your Life
Look, we’ve all been there – enthusiastically skimming those intriguing personal growth book summaries only to, ahem, quickly abandon the full read in favor of Netflix and emotional stagnation. Which is exactly why the perfectly-crafted “12 Books to Help You Level Up Your Life” reading challenge is ready to keep your self-actualizing quest on track this year!
Designed to progressively guide you through skill-honing and breakthrough breakthroughs across the personal, professional and philosophical realms, the thoughtful syllabus kicks off with foundations for simple habit formation and mindset mastery (see: James Clear’s Atomic Habits, Mel Robbins’ The 5 Second Rule, etc) before building towards more advanced principles for peak performance optimization, deeper interpersonal bonds, spiritual exploration and beyond.
You’ll find no gimmicky “life hacks” or junk fad psychology here—just thoroughly researched, field-tested wisdom from today’s most resonant thought leaders (hey there, Brené Brown and Angela Duckworth!)
My personal favorite part of this challenge is its scalability to meet your ambition level, from casual personal growth kicks to deeply transformative potential. Read cover-to-cover solo; tackle just the built-in discussion prompts and activities; or go all-in with access to private coaching sessions, in-person retreats and more. Whatever mode gets you closest to that levelled-up life is fair game!
For the Voracious Yet Avid Re-Reader: The Re-Reading Rabble Revival
What’s that you say? So many books, too little time to re-read old favorites from your battered high school book pile of yore? Au contraire – you’re precisely the prime audience for 2024’s hot new “Re-Reading Rabble Revival” challenge designed specifically for nostalgia-seekers and textual overachievers alike!
Here’s how it’ll work: Over the course of the year, you’ll commit (or re-commit) to revisiting 10 beloved works of classic literature by heavyweight wordsmiths with fresh, woke lenses and matured mindsets in tow. We’re talking iconic, generation-defining texts like Moby Dick, Brave New World, Pride & Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird—things you either glossed over in school or would have approached way differently at this stage of life.
Of course, no novel reads quite the same after a few decades, some wisdom under your belt, and a broader scope of lived experiences to draw from. You’ll be part of an engaging virtual community digging deeper into literary symbolism, motifs, cultural context you totally missed as a hormone-addled high schooler. Expect many impassioned group “How did I not realize X was a metaphor for Y back then?!” moments to ensue.
For the Restless Genre Dabbler: Pick Your Poison 2024
Here’s a truth we hardcore bookworms must accept – even us supposedly adventurous literary souls risk getting stuck in humdrum genre ruts from time to time. One too many cozy mystery binges leaves you jonesing for edgier speculative fiction. Or perhaps that magical realism kick has soured into supernatural fatigue.
Whatever your latest poison of choice, expect the aptly-titled “Pick Your Poison 2024” reading challenge to deliver some much-needed bibliotherapeutic whiplash! Rather than pre-prescribing a rigid content syllabus, this ultimate palate cleanser for genre-hopping rebels splits its list into broad, far-flung categories (rom-com, political thriller, experimental novella, you get the idea) then dares you to select your own titles for each bucket.
Come monthly discussion time, you’ll swap subversive new faves and gleefully compare reactions to totally disparate textual worlds with the other roving adventurers. Did anyone else expect to hate that alien-narrated sci-fi but ended up pleasantly shooketh? Lively, impassioned debates about which genres reign supreme are par for the course.
For the Slogging Series Starter: The Epic Undertaking
They loom over your lifetime reading bucket list like insurmountable Everests of word-counted ambition: The sprawling, decades-spanning, multigenerational genre titans you Always Meant to Read…yet somehow never quite made time for amidst the ceaseless influx of new content. Well, consider 2024 the year you finally set off to slay literature’s monolithic masterworks – with help from a community taking on the “Epic Undertaking” reading challenge right alongside you!
We’re talking those literary leviathans comprising thousands of densely-packed pages apiece. The autobiographical magic of Karl Ove Knausgaard’s struggle memoir series, My Struggle. Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The multi-century scope of Edward Rutherford’s classics like Russka and The Forest. Elena Ferrante’s transcendent character study turned cultural phenomenon, the Neapolitan series. Texts so immense and immersive, they demand full-body investments and book hangovers galore.
By breaking each of these mammoths down into bite-size monthly increments with set discussion dates, the Epic Undertaking challenge finally makes scaling Fiction’s Seven Summits feel downright achievable. You’ll stay motivated with a dedicated support squad to joyfully flounder alongside as you traverse life-spanning character arcs, tangled mythologies, and historical deep-dives demanding all your intellectual endurance. Conquer just one of these babies and you’ll have truly elevated your bookworm game!
So pore over that reading challenge buffet and get pumped, because 2024 is absolutely destined to be your year of literary triumph! Whether you thrive best amidst warm social bookish camaraderie, demand a hearty personal growth component, or simply crave an insatiable sense of novelty and adventure from your annual reading regimen, there’s a perfectly-curated experience that’ll have you prioritizing quality book time again in no time.
Sure, you’ll inevitably hit the odd speed bump where real life temporarily derails your voracious progress. Some months, those book club meetings won’t quite align with the cosmos (if you catch my drift). But giving yourself ready-made community and clearly-defined reading quests to work towards is a game-changing way to stay engaged with your passion project all year long.
And who knows? This could finally be your white whale year of checking off bucket list mammoths, achieving that elusive “125 books read” Goodreads goal, or just feeling consistently enriched from carving out sacred literature time again. All it takes is finding that perfect challenge to spark your unique motivation…and being ready to revel in the sweet satisfaction that comes from another rewarding page turned!