Each year, I take on different reading challenges as a way to get outside of my reading comfort zone. For 2026, I plan to read a total of 52 books by completing the 52 Book Club's 2026 reading challenge.
If you'd like to participate in this 2025 reading challenge, visit www.the52bookclub.com/2026-reading-challenge.
Below is the list of reading prompts for the 2026 reading challenge which I'll start on January 1, 2026. After I finish each reading prompt, I'll update this list. If you want to see more of the books I've read this year and previous years, check out my Goodreads profile at: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/15431036.
The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge:
- Set in an ancient civilization:
- Kangaroo word on the cover: Marrying Myself (me) by Christine Melanie Benson
- Written without quotation marks:
- Has a dust jacket: The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger
- Featuring a conspiracy: Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything by Kelly Weill
- Title starts with the letter "O:" On Our Street Our First Talk About Povert by Dr. Jillian Roberts and Jaime Casap
- Title statrts with the letter "P:" P is for Pterodactyl by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter
- A three-syllable word in the title:
- Featuring a natural disaster: The Storm of the Century: Tragedy, Heroism, Survival, and the Epic True Story of America's Deadliest Natural Disaster: The Great Gulf Hurricane of 1900 by Al Roker
- Spans a decade or more: Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall
- Requires suspension of disbelief: Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
- A genre-defining read:
- Bookface: Ties that Tether by Jane Igharo
- Includes a character list:
- Subtitle with a comma: To the Gorge: Running, Grief, Resilience & 460 Miles on the Pacific Crest Trail by Emily Halnon
- Deus Ex Machina:
- Author's bio mentions their dog: Dogged Pursuit by David Rosenfelt
- Provokes strong emotion: You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation by Julissa Natzely Arce Raya
- A nosy neighbor character: Ms. Demeanor by Elinor Lipman
- Day of the week in the title: 700 Sundays by Billy Cyrstal
- Written in the 1800s: (1884) Flatland: A Roance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott
- Spotted in a TV series or movie:
- Grumpy sunshine trope: The Baby Dragon Cafe by A.T. Qureshi
- Uneven number of chapters: Left-Handed : Getting a Grip on Handedness by Mari Birminghman and Illustrated by Catherine Chan
- Includes a red herring: The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann
- Title in a serif font: The Beautiful Ones by Prince
- Two or more authors, one pseudonym:
- From a series of at least eight books long: (Aurora Teagarden Mystery) Real Murders by Charlaine Harris
- Set in the Arctic or Antarctic: At the End of the Word: A True Story of Murder in the Arctic by Lawrence Millman
- Author related to another author:
- Author related to author in prompt 30:
- Publisher starting with the letter "B:" (Benbella Books) Decolonizing Wellness: A QTBIPOC-Centered Guide to Escape the Diet Trap, Heal Your Self-Image, and Achieve Body Liberation by Dalia Kinsey, RD, LD
- A standalone fantasy novel: A Tale of Mirth & Magic by Kristen Vale
- Inspired by the top-grossing movie the year you were born: (1979: Superman) Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang and art by Gurihiru
- Character with a secret identity:
- Award-winning book from last year: A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst
- Start on the 26th of the month: The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber
- Domestic fiction:
- A book that cost you nothing:
- Author's first and last name start with the same letter: American Queen by Sierra Simone
- A guide to...: And Then We Rise: A Guide to Loving and Taking Care of Self by Common
- Includes a handwritten interior font:
- A Goodreads recommendation for you: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Literary Device: Personification: The Memory of an Elephant by Alex Lasker
- Biographical fiction: The Brightest Star by Gail Tsukiyama
- Non-fiction about character in prompt 45:
- A diacritcal mark on the cover: Bald by Tereza Čechová
- Related to the word "Nemesis:"
- In the 800s of the Dewey Decimal System: (811.6) Haiku and Hope: 50 States of Climate Change by Maggie Dewane
- Set in a castle: The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar
- Includes a map: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann
- Published in 2026: I'm So Happy You're Here: A Celebration of Library Joy by Mychal Threets and Illustrated by Lorraine Nam
