2026 Reading Challenges

I don't know why I do this to myself, but I overdid it with the challenges again 😅 But they're so fun! I can't help it 😆

I would like to eventually read 100 books in a year, but I have really been enjoying setting my number low, at 52, for the last couple of years. It's just so low pressure. So I'm going for 52 again. Which is perfect, because I'm doing like a hundred other challenges 😆
Progress:

0/52 books (0%)

The challenge: Read one book a week, 52 books in 52 weeks.
I really like this challenge, except this year I couldn't find one out there that I wanted to do. Most of them have prompts attached to them, but with the million other challenges I'm doing, it is not necessary for me 😅 I just wanted a simple challenge where the whole goal is to read ONE book a week, for each week of the year, and with zero prompts. So that's what I'm going to do here. Lol. Or try, at least. Lol. Last year I missed a bunch of weeks, but I have managed this challenge before, and I'm sure I can do it again!
Progress:

0/52 weeks (0%)

1. [01/04/26]
2. [01/11/26]
3. [01/18/26]
4. [01/25/26]
5. [02/01/26]
6. [02/08/26]
7. [02/15/26]
8. [02/22/26]
9. [03/01/26]
10. [03/08/26]
11. [03/15/26]
12. [03/22/26]
13. [03/29/26]
14. [04/05/26]
15. [04/12/26]
16. [04/19/26]
17. [04/26/26]
18. [05/03/26]
19. [05/10/26]
20. [05/17/26]
21. [05/24/26]
22. [05/31/26]
23. [06/07/26]
24. [06/14/26]
25. [06/21/26]
26. [06/28/26]
27. [07/05/26]
28. [07/12/26]
29. [07/19/26]
30. [07/26/26]
31. [08/02/26]
32. [08/09/26]
33. [08/16/26]
34. [08/23/26]
35. [08/30/26]
36. [09/06/26]
37. [09/13/26]
38. [09/20/26]
39. [09/27/26]
40. [10/04/26]
41. [10/11/26]
42. [10/18/26]
43. [10/25/26]
44. [11/01/26]
45. [11/08/26]
46. [11/15/26]
47. [11/22/26]
48. [11/29/26]
49. [12/06/26]
50. [12/13/26]
51. [12/20/26]
52. [12/27/26]

The challenge: "To read one book that has a title starting with every letter of the alphabet. You can drop the A’s and The’s from the book titles—The First Main Word Needs To Be The Letter You Are Counting, except for those pesky Q, X, and Z titles, then the word that starts with the challenge letter can be anywhere in the title. Book titles starting with EX for the X prompt are also allowed."
I'm back with the Alphabet Soup challenges. Last year, I got REALLY close to fully finishing them, so I am really going to try to actually complete them this year!
Progress:

0/26 books (0%)

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

The challenge: To read one book that has an author whose first name, middle, or last name starts with every letter of the alphabet.
And here is the author version. Like the last one, I got really close to finishing this one last year. I think I had maybe 6 or 7 letters left.
Progress:

0/26 books (0%)

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

The challenge: To read books with covers every color of the rainbow
I'm modifying this challenge a bit because I want to do ALL the colors. This challenge is also expanded so that you can include title and author names, not just the cover to get your color, but I want to make things harder for myself, apparently, because I'm only doing covers (for now) 😆
Progress:

0/10 books (0%)

1. Red
2. Orange
3. Yellow
4. Green
5. Blue
6. Purple
7. Pink
8. White
9. Black
10. Brown

The challenge: To read books you have owned before January 1, 2026.
I haven't reached Mt. Vancouver in YEARS. I think it's time I step down a level and try that 😅
Level chosen: Mount Blanc — Read 24 books from your TBR pile.
Progress:

0/24 books (0%)

The challenge: Read your Netgalley/Edelweiss books.
I am actually going to try on this challenge this year! I swear! 😆 I have a couple of backlog books that have been there for years, and I'm quite embarrassed about it 😅 This past year, I only read 4 books, so we will see how things go. Lol.
Level chosen: Bronze — 10 Netgalley/Edelweiss books.
Progress:

0/10 books (0%)

The challenge: Finish series. That's it. Lol.
Last year, the series challenge I did included both finishing series and catching up on series, and let me tell you, I did SO bad! I think I only finished like 3 series! It was crazy! So this year I really need to buckle down and focus on actually finishing up some series. But because I did so bad last year, I'm going to start easy and set my goal to 5 series.
Progress:

0/5 series (0%)

The challenge: "A not-too-serious reading challenge hosted by Curiosity Killed the Bookworm. (Interpret the prompts however you like, the notes are just for ideas.) It’s mostly orientated towards science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but there’s nothing stopping you from reading about the fishing industry for scaled creatures, or contemporary romance for creepy cover. Sorry, did I say creepy? I meant pretty. Though seriously, why do so many have faceless people on the cover?"
The sassy writing of this challenge immediately sucked me in! Plus, sci-fi, horror, and fantasy?? I am SO in!
Progress:

0/25 books (0%)

1. Scaled creatures: Reptiles, fish, dragons, mermaids, dinosaurs (depending on who you ask), etc, on the cover, in the title, or contained within the book.
2. Dark academia: You know those schools where bad stuff happens, but let's be honest, we still kinda wish we went there.
3. Faeries are bad: Cruel, evil, mischievous versions of the fae.
4. Faeries are good: Kind, cute, fun-loving, cosy versions of the fae.
5. Artificial stupidity intelligence: AI, the cool kind from science fiction, or the more real kind, here to take all our jobs.
6. Set far, far away: The other side of Earth or across space and time.
7. A book by T. Kingfisher: 
8. A pretty cover: 
9. A creepy cover: Faceless people, creepy dolls, spooky shadows, creepy crawlies. Whatever creeps you out.
10. Space travel: 
11. Cosy fantasy: 
12. Such a fungi *groan*: Mushrooms, fungal zombies, the mycorrhizal networks of trees. Or you could just read about a fun guy.
13. There’s probably a deity involved somehow: Mythology and meddling gods, or something about real-world religion.
14. A fun book: 
15. The great British pastime of commenting on the weather: Weather in the title or on the cover, cli-fi, books set during extreme weather, etc.
16. Witchcraft: 
17. Retail therapy: Set in a shop or use this prompt as an excuse to treat yo self.
18. Working in STEM: A character probably works in science, tech, engineering or maths.
19. The end of the world… or is it?: Apocalyptic fiction or, you know, read about the mess that is the world out there.
20. Bookish: A book about books, set in a library or bookshop, about writing, or the next Thursday Next novel.
21. Bargain: A bargain with the devil or a book you got for cheap.
22. It’s a mystery: The genre, a mystery within another genre, or a book you just don't quite understand what the F happened.
23. Back in my day, we called it paranormal romance: A.K.A. romantasy
24. Beware of the woods: Set in the woods, about a dodgy family called the Woods, or maybe there's nothing to be wary of at all.
25. Water works: A book that makes you cry, oceans, rivers, underwater worlds. I suppose you could also read about urinary tracts...

The challenge: "There are 40 prompts and 10+ bonus prompts— which, admittedly, is a lot of prompts… but no candy left behind! Set your own goal and pick whatever combination of prompts you’d like to do!"
I am really overdoing it with the challenges this year, which is me every year, let's be honest 😆 But this one sounded SO fun! And I love the fact that you can pick your own goal, because I definitely do NOT think I can do all 50+ prompts. Lol. I think I'm going to go for 25, because that's basically a bingo board right there. And it's at least half the prompts! Maybe I'll even do more, who knows!
Progress:

0/25 books (0%)

1. NERDS: A book with a STEM character.
2. REESE’S: A book from Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club.
3. TWIX: A book with twins.
4. SKITTLES: A book with a character whose name is a color
5. M&M’S: A book by an author with the initials M.M.
6. WHATCHAMACALLIT: A book with words not in a standard dictionary (like nonsense words or words from a made-up language or fictional world).
7. PAYDAY: A nonfiction book about work.
8. SOUR PATCH: A book with a character who starts off sour but then turns sweet.
9. LAFFY TAFFY: A book with a title that has rhyming words.
10. HERSHEY’S: A book set in Pennsylvania (the location of Hershey’s).
11. NOW & LATER: A book with a dual timeline.
12. GUMMY WORMS: A book where a character goes underground (other than just the basement).
13. KIT KAT: A book with the word ‘break’ in the title.
14. JOLLY RANCHER: A book set on a farm.
15. MILKY WAY: A book that takes place in space.
16. THREE MUSKETEERS: A book about three friends.
17. MILKY WAY MIDNIGHT: A book with a clock on the cover.
18. STARBURST: A book featuring a character’s fall from fame.
19. 100 GRAND: A book with a number in the title.
20. SWEDISH FISH: A book that takes place near a river.
21. MAMBA: A book with a snake on the cover.
22. MIKE & IKE: A book written by two authors.
23. SOUR PUNCH: A book with a showdown.
24. BABY RUTH: A book with a new mom.
25. YORK PATTY: A book set in New York.
26. FUDGE: A book with the word ‘lie’ in the title.
27. GOOD & PLENTY: A book with two adjectives in the title.
28. MOUNDS: A book set in the mountains.
29. REESE’S PIECES: A book with something broken on the cover.
30. MR. GOODBAR: A book with ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’ in the title.
31. PIXY STIX: A book with imaginary creatures.
32. RUNTS: A book with a character who is an outcast.
33. SYMPHONY: A book where music is a main theme.
34. TOBLERONE: A book set in Switzerland.
35. WONDERBALL: A book with a mysterious character whose identity is not revealed until later in the book.
36. CANDY CANE: A Christmas book.
37. HOT TAMALES: A book written by a Latine author.
38. ICE BREAKERS: An enemies-to-lovers story.
39. MARSHMALLOWS: A book with a character who survives fire.
40. RING POP: A book with a wedding or proposal.
41. BUTTERFINGER: A book with a clumsy character.
42. BAZOOKA BUBBLE GUM: A book with a weapon on the cover.
43. DOVE CHOCOLATES: A book with a character who has a pet bird.
44. WARHEADS: A book with a war.
45. LIFESAVERS: A book with a rescue mission.
46. AIRHEADS: A book about a character who has to fix a mistake.
47. CRUNCH: A book about/with a bodily injury.
48. JELLY BEANS: A book with multiple stories in it.
49. SPREE: A book about an obsession.
50. COOKIES ‘N CREAM HERSHEY’S: A book with a black and white cover.
51. HERSHEY’S MINIATURES: A book about a group of kids.
52. JOYRIDE: A book with an amusement park or carnival.

The challenge: Enter and complete reading challenges.
At the time of writing this post, I have only finished THREE 2025 reading challenges 😅😂 So I'm also stepping down a level and hope to get to at least 5 in 2026. Lol.
Level chosen: Easy as Pie — 1-5 Challenges (Entered & Completed)
Progress:

0/1-5 challenges (0%)

Discussion Challenge
This space is reserved for the Discussion Challenge, which is not up yet. Last year, I was a couple posts short of completing the challenge, but I think I may be able to do it this year, so I'm going to stick with the same level!
Level chosen: Gift of the Gab – 41+ discussion posts
Progress:

0/41 posts (0%)

I think that's it (for now lol). Let me know what reading challenges you'll be joining in 2026!