Add a twist to your reading list and complete these fabulous reading challenges!
It’s a new year and the perfect time for reading goals! I’ve set my Goodreads goal for this year. It’s only twenty-four books because I will devote most of my time to writing. Whether you want to read one book a month or seventeen, I have some fun challenges to add some variety.
Besides writing, I’m an administrator for SBCO Silent Book Club Online (a licenced branch of Silent Book Club). I thought it would be fun to share them with you, too.
The WHERE Challenge
Here are twenty-five PLACES to read. Reading is a healthy habit that expands and sharpens your mind. Little challenges like this can help reinforce that habit.
If you would like a printer friendly PDF without the colorful border, scroll to the bottom of this post.
The WHAT Challenge
If you aren’t planning on reading twenty-five books this year, no problem. Part of the challenge of this list is to see how many you can check off with a single book.
Ideas for Using One Book for Multiple Items
Look over the list and try to think of books that fall into multiple categories. My novel, Allure, can count for FIVE items on the list.
Another sample would be Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. It has supernatural creatures, a POC main character, magic, over 400 pages, and it’s a fiction book. If you get it on sale, you can check that off too! I had fun reading this book last year. I’m always a sucker for all things Arthurian.
My favorite non-fiction audiobook of 2021 was I Take My Coffee Black by Tyler Merritt. Click here to see my review. You could check off non-fiction, POC Main character, and audiobook.
I think you get the idea. If you want more personal recommendations, check out my list here.
Banned Books List
There are many books that have banned for different reasons. I put some of those reasons in parentheses—some of them are HILARIOUS!
Note: If the book is no longer under copyright, I linked them to free versions on Project Gutenberg’s site (an excellent and legal place to get free books!). Other links are affiliate links to Amazon. This won’t cost you a penny, but it will help me earn a few coins to keep writing. I appreciate your support. 😀
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Use of the N-word)
- The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Pornographic and obscene) Bah ha ha!
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Vulgarity)
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Violence, smoking, and language)
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Racial slurs and stereotypes)
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (Racial slurs and depressing)
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Occult/satanic and anti-family) Ummm?
- Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling (Witchcraft)
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Sexual overtones)
- The Holy Bible (Religious viewpoints)
- Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey (Violence and language)
- Ulysses by James Joyce (Sexual content)
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (Language, insensitivity, and violence)
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (Religious viewpoint and violence)
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (Sex and language)
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Sex and language)
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Racism)
- Beloved by Toni Morrison (Sex and language)
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Language, sex, and homosexuality)
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (Occult/Satanism and language)
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (Language)
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Demoralizing)
- Animal Farm by George Orwell (Communism)
- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (Depressing)
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London (Too radical)
Goodreads Reader’s Choice Award Winners
I always find something good on this list. It might be the perfect place to find books that are out of your comfort zone. Here’s the list of GOODREADS READER’S CHOICE WINNERS 2021.
You don’t have to limit yourself to the 2021 winners. There are lots of other years to look at: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011.
Monthly Themes
Over on SBCO (Silent Book Club Online), we don’t require everyone to read the same book, but we have monthly themes. We polled our fabulous members and came up with this list.
Printable PDFs
To help you save some ink, I’ve provided printable PDF files without the color border. If you keep a reading journal or log, paste these babies inside. 😀
