2023 Reading Challenge

I’ve done many different types of reading challenges as a lifetime reader. I’ve done category challenges, book number challenges, time challenges, and my personal favorite readathons. I once read 12 books in a month for a library readathon, and they weren’t short books either! In 2023, I challenged myself to read 60 books, about 5 per month. And those 5 books each month had to come from the following collections: one adult fiction, one young adult fiction, one children’s fiction (more specifically a middle reader), one graphic novel, and one non-fiction. I don’t have to stick to that order, but I can’t repeat a book for the same collection until I’ve completed a five book cycle.

In the last few years, I’ve set a lofty goal of 100 books on GoodReads. I’ve only hit it twice. I often find myself getting stuck in a rut, reading a string of one level of book. I have a feeling this 5 book rotation will keep me out of reading ruts. A lower goal will also allow me to take breaks where I don’t have a book going every day of the year. I can take a bookless break now and then and still be ok with my goal. I’ll keep track of the book cycles on this page, and I’m also using a “Current Five” and “Next Five” reading shelf on Goodreads.

2023 Book Cycles

Categories: Adult Fiction, Children’s Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction

Cycle 1

  • The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson
  • Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson
  • Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
  • ADHD 2.0 by Edward M. Hallowell
  • The Patron Thief of Bread by Lindsay Eagar

Cycle 2

  • Spare by Prince Harry
  • The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
  • Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare
  • My Aunt is a Monster by Reimena Yee
  • The Vanderbeekers on the Road by Karina Yan Glaser

Cycle 3

  • Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Button Pusher by Tyler Page
  • After Life by Melissa de la Cruz
  • Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World by Lauren Fleshman
  • The Last Great Adventure of the PB&J Society by Janet Sumner Johnson

Cycle 4

  • The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner
  • Mansion on a Hill: The Story of the Willows Maternity Sanitarium and the Adoption Hub of America by KelLee Parr
  • The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln
  • In Limbo by Deborah Jung-Jin Lee
  • After Death by Melissa de la Cruz

Cycle 5

  • An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten
  • The Longest Race by Kara Goucher
  • A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat
  • The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
  • Elf Dog and Owl Head by M. T. Anderson

Cycle 6

  • Choosing to Run by Des Linden
  • In the Live of Puppets by T.J. Klune
  • Betrayal by the Book by Michael D. Beil
  • Project Naught by Chelsey Furedi
  • The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune

Cycle 7

  • The Love Report by Maya Beka
  • Breathe In, Breathe Out by Stuart Sandeman
  • Shelter by Christie Matheson
  • Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • A Long Stretch of Bad Days by Mindy McGinnis

Cycle 8

  • The Greatest Treasure Hunt by James Patterson
  • The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
  • Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham
  • Half Moon Summer by Elaine Vickers
  • We Share the Sun by Sarah Gearhart

Cycle 9

  • The Jules Verne Prophecy by Larry Schwarz and Iva-Marie Palmer
  • Squire & Knight by Scott Chantler
  • The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings
  • Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan
  • Your Brain’s Not Broken by Tamara Rosier, PhD

Cycle 10

  • The Museum of Lost and Found by Leila Sales
  • The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams
  • The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz
  • Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
  • You: The Story by Ruta Sepetys

Cycle 11

  • Kariba by Daniel Clarke
  • The Vanderbeekers Ever After by Karina Yan Glaser
  • Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue
  • Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by Jamie Loftus
  • Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade by Nancy Springer

Cycle 12

  • The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead
  • Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich
  • Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed
  • The Program by Suzanne Young
  • Self-Care for People with ADHD by Sasha Hamdani

Cycle 13

  • Witches of Brooklyn: Spell of a Time by Sophie Escabasse
  • Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare
  • Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer
  • The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
  • The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club by Alex Bell

Cycle 14

  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
  • The Sea of Terror by Stuart Gibbs
  • Watership Down: The Graphic Novel by James Sturm
  • An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten
  • Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor