Whenever I decide to try completing a reading challenge, I have a lot of fun planning up front what books I will read for each task. Most of the time, what I actually read is wildly different from what I had planned. I think that is part of the fun! I’m a giant booknerd, though. It could just be a me thing.
I also like to plan books up front in case I get into a reading slump. That way, I don’t have to make any decisions about what to read next. I can just go down my list and do the next book, even if I don’t really feel like it. Most of the time, just getting started is half the battle for me and it is enough to kick me out of a slump. I had such a big slump in 2024 that I want to prevent it from happening again in the future.
So, here are some ideas I have for completing my own reading challenge this year. I had fun finding books that would complete the tasks, and I tried to include at least 1 book by a woman in each category. I didn’t tally up how many authors of color or LGBTQ+ authors there are, but that is a task I want to set for myself as well. I plan to read at least 30% by LGBTQ+ and authors of color in 2025.
In any case, I think I will see how close I stick to the books below for this year’s reading challenge. Let me know if you have ideas for different books in the tasks – I’d love to hear them!
- Set in a non-patriarchal society, because FUCK the patriarchy: The Bees by Laline Paull, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin, Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, or Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I’ve had all of these for ages and haven’t gotten around to reading any of them yet.
- Set in or about nature: Landlines by Raynor Winn, The Outrun by Amy Liptrott, Rain: Four Walks in English Weather by Melissa Harrison, The Book of Wildflowers by Angie Lewis, Chasing the Ghost: My Search for All the Wildflowers of Britain by Peter Marren.
- Reread a favorite childhood book: The Blue Ribbon series by Chris St. John. The first in the series is called Riding High. The whole series is about a group of girlfriends who are 3-day eventers. Or I might also revisit Pern, especially the Harper Hall trilogy, by Anne McCaffrey.
- A nonfiction by a woman about a STEM field: Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, or I might reread Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and take better notes this time.
- By or about a person struggling with a mental illness: Obviously, The Bell Jar, which I have somehow never read. Or We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.
- Recommended by a family member: The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown (rec’d by my BFF Lynn, who is certainly my family), or Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan (rec’d by my cousin Ashley).
- A middle grade book: Can I Get There by Candlelight by Jean Slaughter Doty. I read this fucking decades ago but remember that I loved it, so I will reread the copy I have on my shelf.
- A nonfiction about an -ology: I have Enlightenment Now and Rationality by Steven Pinker, so I’ll tackle one of them. I also have a couple others that have been collecting dust, so maybe one of them instead. Guess we’ll see.
- Passes the Bechdel Test: The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin, which was listed on some library sites as passing the Bechdel test. I figure the librarians know what they’re talking about and it’ll give me a good reason to finally get around to reading this series.
- A book that was adapted to the screen: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, which I keep saying I will read and then never actually do. Or The Princess Bride by William Goldman, The Outrun by Amy Liptrot, or Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.
- A book that is a novelization of a TV show or movie: It isn’t exactly the same, I guess, but I have billions of Star Trek books, some of which are novelizations of specific episodes. Easy.
- A book that won an award in 2023: Babel by RF Kuang (Nebula Award), or maybe Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, which won several awards.
- A book with a yellow spine: How Long Til Black Future Month by NK Jemisin.
- Flowers on the cover: Weyward by Emilia Hart
- A retelling: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (retelling of “The Fall of the House of Usher”), The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Cornichec (retells various Norse myths), or Lamb by Christopher Moore (retells The New Testament).
- A banned or frequently challenged book: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
- Explores a culture that is different from yours: Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (Appalachia), LaRose by Louise Erdrich (Objibwe), Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey (New Zealand).
- Features snakes in some way (2025 is the Year of the Snake in Chinese zodiac): Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry.
- Set in a utopian society, because reality is dystopian enough, thank you: The Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, Dispossessed by LeGuin.
- Related to medicine: The Plague Tales by Ann Benson, The Patient’s Eye by David Pirie.
- About witches or nuns: The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Warner Townsend, Anchoress by Robin Cadwallader, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson, A Pocketful of Crows by Joanne Harris
- About geek culture: The Geek Feminist Revolution by Kameron Hurley, Geek Wisdom: The Sacred Teachings of Nerd Culture edited by Steven H. Segal, The Geek’s Guide to Dating by Eric Smith.
- Takes place over one 24-hour period (circadian novel): The Uncertain Hour by Jesse Browner, Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple, Shy by Max Porter, or Orbital by Samantha Harvey.
- Three or more point-of-view characters: One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus, Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.
- Bonus challenge 1: Complete the challenge using books only by people who identify as women: Every task above has at least 1 book by a woman as an option listed, so I should be good there.
- Bonus challenge 2: Use the prompts to complete the A-Z reading challenge: I’ll fill these in as I can. Y’all are on your own for this one!
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