2019: The Year of the Books
- Somerset
- Dec 31, 2018
- 3 min read
A few years ago at a family reunion around the holidays, my aunt and I bonded over our mutual love of books and wine. After returning to our designated states, she tagged me in a Facebook post about a year-long book reading challenge. A few days later I received a book in the mail from her, to start me on my journey.
I thought it was a great idea, and I wanted to participate, but we all know what happens with New Year’s intentions. I call them intentions rather than resolutions, because according to U.S. News, approximately 80% of resolutions fail by the second week of February. We all intend to lose 25 pounds by eating healthier and working out regularly, get more sleep, quit that bad habit, and stop watching so much TV. But we slip up and fall back into the same old patterns because “it’s too hard,” “what’s the point, I don’t even like _______,” “no one is keeping me accountable,” or what happens to me, “it’s too much of a hassle to keep up with.”
Needless to say, I read a lot of books that year, maybe a few that I could have checked off the list, but I never strayed outside of my comfort zone to read something that would enlighten me about a different culture, belief system, or set of values. Since then I’ve read some books that differ from my normal, but still find myself wanting to understand others through literature. When thinking of what to post for this week it hit me; my 2019 intention is to read 52 books in the 52 weeks of the year, and I wanted to see if any of you are interested in joining me.
So I started searching for the post my aunt tagged me in a few winters back, and sadly came up empty. But I did find plenty of options online to choose from for my challenge, and there’s even a list of all the challenges in one place: The Master List of 2019 Reading Challenges.
Out of the 88 challenges on this list, there is sure to be something appealing for everyone. If you are crazy like me and want to try and read a book a week, there are some great options, and for the reader whose schedule is a little more cramped, Linz the Bookworm has 5 different challenges to choose from, each containing 12 categories—a book a month, which may be more doable for you.
Personally, I am doing the Mommy Mannegren Challenge along with the #Bookiary2019 Challenge. The great thing about both challenges is that the categories are a great way to uncover new authors and genres that I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise. It’s also super relaxed. If I don’t read a book in each category, that’s ok because the entire goal is simply to get me to read more. One of the requierments for the #Bookiary2019 challenge is a weekly review of the different books I've been reading. Be sure to check in on Fridays for updates on my 52 in 52 challenge.
Below are some of the challenges I thought were interesting that you may want to try:
The Alphabet Challenge: there are several alphabet reading challenges, either a book for each letter in the alphabet or a book that has an author whose first or last name starts with every letter of the alphabet.
The Audiobook Challenge: perfect for those of you with long commutes or who love to listen to stories.
The Austen Challenge: one I must support, but also a great way for first time readers to experience Austenland.
#Bookiary2019: another book a week challenge with monthly goals and a prizes for those who finish all the tasks.
Color Coded Reading Challenge: read only books where the color is in the title or is the dominant color on the cover.- Family Tree Reading Challenge: read books from different birth years of members of your family.
Historical Fiction Challenge: read books set in different time periods.
Library Love: try to read at least 12 books from your local library.
Monthly Motif: read a book that corresponds with the motif of the month.
Let me know what challenge you pick and keep me posted on your progress through Facebook, Insta, or Twitter.
Happy reading!
~M
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