By Hadley Priebe, Executive Director

As you consider the new year and the things you hope to accomplish take some time to consider your reading goals. During this time many people consider reading challenges. In many ways this helps them grow as a reader and often leads to finding new authors and genres. There are many challenges out there and it may be hard to know which is the right one to choose. Reading preferences are deeply personal and so choosing a challenge should speak to you. We have provided a few ideas here for you to consider for 2022.

Reading challenges can be altered to fit your lifestyle. For example, instead of reading a book a week you can choose instead to read a book a month or bi-weekly. Apps like Goodreads offer a challenge where you set the amount of reading you want to do. This kind of challenge helps you see how your reading habits change over time. The important thing is to have fun and enjoy the books and stories you choose to read.

I have chosen to do the Read Your Bookshelf challenge this year. While making room for the books I got for Christmas this year, I realized that I have quite a few on my shelves that I just haven’t read yet. The read your shelf challenges will encourage me to finally read the wonderful books I already own.

The Chill Challenge

This is a good challenge for beginner readers or someone who has a hectic life. It is also great for someone who doesn’t read much but wants to make reading a habit or start reading more often. There are just a few guidelines:

• Read at least one book per month
• Commit to reading during National Reading Month (March)
• Try an audiobook (audiobooks can make any chore much more enjoyable, especially when the narrator is great)

The Alphabet challenge

This challenge is pretty straightforward and can build off the laid back challenge. The only guidelines for this challenge includes:

• Choosing books with titles that start with every letter of the alphabet. 
• Titles starting with “The” don’t count as the first letter (even for T)

Example:

• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Etc.

Book to Screen Challenge

This sounds like a fun challenge! The focus is to read books that have been or will be adapted into movies and/or shows. Some challenges focus on adaptions coming out in 2022 but you can add any from previous years. This would give me a great reason to reread the  Harry Potter Series! Here are some of the adaptations expected in 2022:

• Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
• Redeeming Love by Francine Love
• Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith
• Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
• White Bird: A Wonder Story by RJ Palacio
• Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
• The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
• Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates
• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikrey by Gabrielle Zevin
• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• School of Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
• Peter Pan by JM Barry
• Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
• The Stars at Noon by Denis Johnson
• White Noise by Don Delillo
• All Quite on the Western front by Erich Marta Remarque
• Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
• Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
• The Power by Naomi Alderman
• Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan
• Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney
• The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin
• Kindred by Octavia E Butler
• The Viscount who loved me by Juia Quinn

Travel Challenge

This one isn’t so much about reading travel books but books that take place in a different part of the world. Below is a suggested reading schedule. In a time when travel can seem less than certain these may help you escape.

• January: Arctic & Antarctic
• February:  South Central Asia
• March: Eastern Europe & Russia
• April: Northern Asia
• May: Caribbean
• June: Books Set on an Island
• July: Australia & New Zealand
• August: Middle East
• September: Africa
• October: South America
• November: Central America & Mexico
• December: Western Europe

Children’s Books (for Adults and Families)

We particularly like this challenge. It brings about some comfort in this uncertain time. This is also a great challenge that you can share with your family. The only  rule is that the books must come from the young readers area of the library or bookstore. We have compiled list of suggestions and I also recommend checking out this list for more ideas: https://bit.ly/3EGLBjL

• The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Rudolf Wyss 
• Tales of Mother Goose by Charles Perrault 
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett 
• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
• Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
• The Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain
• Thomas the Tank Engine by Wilbert Awdry
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
• The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende
• The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
• And so many more!

Lastly, we at the bookmobile would like to offer you these reading prompts to explore the new year with. The goal for these reading prompts is to explore new books and enjoy literary worlds.

1. A Thriller
2. A love story
3. Your favorite book
4. A book about family
5. A book about New beginnings
6. A hopeful book
7. A classic
8. A book written by a BIPOC author
9. A book in a genre you have never read before
10. A book about a library/librarian
11. A book that starts with the first letter of your name
12. A book set in Vermont
13. A Book written by a Vermont Author
14. Young Adult Romance
15. Historical Fiction but not about WWII
16. Historical Fiction about WWII
17. A book exploring viewpoints different from yours
18. A book you already own but have not read
19. An adventure
20. A book set in another country
21. Children’s book
22. A biography
23. A How to for something you want to learn how to do
24. A book in your favorite genre