2021 Reading Challenges

Posted December 17, 2020 / Book Challenges, Features / 16 Comments

Am I being ambitious for even thinking about signing up for challenges? I basically stopped actively trying to work on them in 2020 and still managed to squeak out a few additions in the second half of the year by pure coincidence or luck. However, there is something about a fresh slate of challenges and goals that really motivate me. I know turning the calendar to 2021 won’t magically fix the world’s problems but I am finally feeling hopeful about things. That includes my reading life!

This is a pretty straightforward challenge, hosted HERE. You basically aim to read books that begin with each letter of the alphabet. They also have mini challenges for each month:

JANUARY – A book you purchased in 2020 but didn’t read
FEBRUARY – A book with non-romantic love (siblings, parent-child, friendships)
MARCH – A book written by a person of a different race than you
APRIL – A book with an Autistic main character (April is Autism Awareness)
MAY – A book about a nurse (Nat. Nurses Week 2021 is May 6-12)
JUNE – A co-written book (2 authors)
JULY – A Christmas book (Christmas in July!)
AUGUST – A book by an Indie author (self-published or independent)
SEPTEMBER – A memoir/biography
OCTOBER – A book written by a new-to-you author
NOVEMBER – A book outside your normal genre
DECEMBER – A backlist title (published BEFORE Jan 1, 2021)

I’d like to meet most of these but I’m not 100% sure I will focus on them. It definitely depends on if my reading year looks more like 2020 versus 2019 haha.

Take the 2021 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

I’ve done this one for at least three years now (HERE). I just like the variety of prompts and challenges! I usually don’t go wild with planning for this one because many books fall into categories without me trying. There are some I have to look up though. Anyways, this one is looking great! Many of the prompts are easy and fun. I usually aim to finish at least 40 out of the 50 categories but I honestly think I could get close to 50 this year based on the challenge categories. I will usually post a Popsugar Challenge TBR Ideas post too – check for that in January.

Even though I failed at this one in 2020, I want to try again. I knew I wanted to do a mystery/thriller type of challenge (HERE) and the categories here are just super fun to me. You have to read crime-related books based on the months of the year. The options are below. You don’t necessarily have to read within that month itself (like you could do the December book/prompt in July if you were in the mood to read a Christmas book in July). I prefer to read by month just to make things more streamlined 😉

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[…] and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a Reading Challenge{s}, of course. Check out Bookmark Lit to find some great options for the new […]