Reading Challenges 2023 and 2024

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

The benefits of reading challenges include expanding reading horizons, improving critical thinking and analytical skills, and encouraging a reading habit. Tips for successful reading challenges include setting realistic goals, joining reading communities, and seeking recommendations from others.

You can develop or keep up a reading habit by participating in a reading challenge. You can use it to investigate new genres, writers, and topics.

Reading challenges can also take the form of contests that monitor and honour the accomplishments of a group of readers over a predetermined amount of time.

Every year I participate in a number of reading challenges, like Booklistqueen’s challenge, Uncorked reading challenge and Kayla’s Reading Challenge to work on these same goals. I managed to read 65 books this year and here I’m just going to list the titles, with a one liner about the book, if you’re interested in my review and rating, please click on the title and read the info.

Many of these books are also available on Kindle Unlimited. Try Kindle Unlimited Free for 30 days!

Sign Up for amazing book recommendations

Uncorked reading Challenge 2023

Winter 2023: January through March

January through March topics and reading lists include:

April through June topics and book lists include:

July through September topics and book lists include:


October through December topics and reading lists include:

  • Scotland: Films About Scotland | Books About Scotland | Books Set In Scotland
  • Ireland: Ireland Books | Ireland Movies
  • Beer: Books About Beer
  • Castles: Books About/Set At Castles
  • About Maps: Books With Fantasy Maps | Fiction & Nonfiction Map & Cartography Books
  • Monsters: Dragon Books & Series | Best Monster Books
    • December - Boo by Shinie Antony
  • Ghosts: Ghost Books | Haunted House Movies | Haunted House Books
  • About Books: Books About Libraries | Books About Books

Booklist queen Reading challenge 2023

January

The Ballad of Bant Singh by Nirupama Dutt


February

A Book By a Famous Avoided Author - Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich


March

A Book by a Local Author - The Ballad of Bant Singh by Nirupama Dutt


April

A Book about Royalty - A Gujarat Here, A Gujarat There by Krishna Sobti


May

A Book about the mother-daughter relationship - The Bedroom Window by K.L.Slater


June

2023 New Release - Death Comes to Marlow by Amy Matthews


July

An Audiobook - The Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka


August

A Fiction Bestseller - It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

September

2022 Bestseller - Babel by R.F.Kuang


October

Long Title - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon


November

Nonfiction Award Winning - The 4-hour work week by Timothy Ferris


December

Bottom of TBR - Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann


Kayla's Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023

Kayla's Challenge was all about reading books related to or about the buzzword she had given for the month. Also the order to be followed was not month-specific. Following lists the buzzwords by month and the book I read for the prompt. 

Reading challenges for 2024

Following are a list of challenges I am keen on in 2024. I have some books in mind for some of the prompts in each challenge. I'm mentioning them below the prompt just in case you need some ideas.

Kayla from BooksandLALA has the Buzzword reading challenge every year and she continues it into 2024. She is yet to release her prompts or 2024. Hoping to add them in here soon..

Uncorked Reading Challenge 2024

Uncorked Reading Challenge 2024


January through March topics include:

  • Magical Realism – Magical realism is a genre grounded in the real world that has an undercurrent of fantasy or magic.

    • Exit West by Mohsin Ahmad

  • Mount Everest – Scale the highest mountain above sea level.
  • Folk Horror – This genre navigates angry spirits, ancient rituals, and isolated landscapes into sinister stories. 
  • Favorite City – Travel to your favorite city; this could be a place you live, have visited, or wish to visit.
    • A gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
  • Neurodiversity – “Neurodiversity” is a word used to explain the unique ways people’s brains work. 
    • Wonder by R.J.Pallacio
  • Werewolves – Howl into the night – and forest – with your favorite werewolves. 
  • Fem STEM – As a nod to our love for Ali Hazelwood, read about women in science, technology, engineering, and math.
  • White Cover –  find a book with a predominantly white cover.
    • Poppy War by R.F.Kuang

April through June topics include:

  • Historical Mystery – Head back to the past to solve a mystery or crime.

  • Cuba – Learn more about Cuba.
  • Prolific – A prolific author (or producer) is defined as someone who creates a large amount of work. A few famous authors: Stephen King, Corín Tellado, Isaac Asimov, R.L. Stine, and Ryoki Inoue.
    • The Shining by Stephen King
  • Southern Gothic – This genre has themes of slavery, poverty, racism, violence, and alienation. 
  • Ancient Greece – From philosophy to architecture, travel back to Ancient Greece. 
    • Lore by Alexander Bracken
  • Debut – Find a first-time author or maybe even an author who has published their first book in a new genre.
  • Indian Mythology – We’ve traveled to India via past reading challenges. 
  • Dark Fantasy – Explore dark and disturbing themes in the fantasy genre.
    • Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

July through September topics include:

  • Appalachia – Travel across Appalachia through states including Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and more. 

  • Celebrity Memoir – There have been so many great celebrity memoirs in recent years. 
    • Yes Please by Amy Pohler
  • Apocalypse – It’s the complete destruction of the world as we know it. 
  • Great Outdoors – Breathe in that fresh air, go for a hike, road trip, and more with our great outdoors theme. 
    • Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
  • Croatia – For our armchair travelers or if you are planning a visit, head off to Croatia.
  • Vietnam – Whether you want to learn more about the Vietnam War or Vietnamese culture, this theme promises to teach you more and take you there. 
    • The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
  • Noir Mystery – Part of the crime-fiction genre, enter a darker world of mysteries filled with unethical, cynical characters, gritty backdrops, and disturbing scenes.
  • BIPOC – Read a book with a BIPOC character or from a BIPOC author; “BIPOC” stands for Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
    • The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

October through December topics include:

  • Coffee 

    • before the Coffee Gest Cold (Book 2)

  • Outer Space – Travel to outer space with this reading challenge theme. 
    • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
  • Serial Killers or Con Artists – Read fiction and nonfiction books about serial killers. 
  • Historical Fiction – Travel back in time with these books. The sub-genres and topics are truly endless here.
    • Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
  • Weather Event/Natural Disaster – Whether through fiction or nonfiction, read about a weather event such as a tropical cyclone, tornado, flood, freeze, or heat wave.
    • The Wager by David Grann
  • New England – From Connecticut and Massachusetts to New Hampshire and Maine, travel to New England. 
  • Diaspora – Diaspora is defined as a group of people who have been dispersed across the globe from their homeland. 
  • Favorite Holiday/Season – Celebrate your favorite holiday or season across the globe.

Booklist queen Reading challenge 2024

Booklist queen Reading challenge 2024

Challenge prompts

1. You Meant to Read Last Year 

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff

2. Goodreads Winner in 2023 

3. About Mental Health 

4. Five-Star Read

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

5. An Audiobook 

A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

6. Set in the 1950s

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

7. Unreliable Narrator 

8. Book Becoming Movie in 2024 

Dune by Frank Herbert

9. With an Epilogue 

10. About Starting Over 

11. Author You Love 

Poppy Wars by R.F.Kuang

12. Flowers on the Cover 

Dragonfly Eyes by Cao Wenxuan

13. Title Starts with "B" 

14. Published in 2014 

15. Purple Cover

Truly Devious by Johnson

16. Historical Mystery 

17. With Multiple Points of View 

18. A Book You Couldn't Put Down

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

19. One Word Title 

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

20. Debut Author

21. 2023 Bestseller 

The Wager by David Grann

22. Intriguing Premise

23. A Friend's Favorite Book

24. Author from the Southern Hemisphere 

25. About Secrets 

26. Bottom of Your To-Read List

27. Your Favorite Genre

28. Character Who Is an Actor

29. Recommended on a Podcast 

30. Set in Paris

31. Ugly Cover

32. Set in a Small Town

33. Three Books by the Same Author 

34. Three Books by the Same Author 

35. Three Books by the Same Author 

36. A Quick Read 

37. Set During Autumn

38. Classic by a Female Author 

39. Memoir by a Person You Admire 

40. About a Historical Event 

41. Written Under a Pseudonym

42. Legal Thriller 

43. Fantasy Book

44. Popular Book You've Never Read 

45. Inspiring Nonfiction

46. 2024 New Release

47. Genre You Don't Usually Read 

48. You Own But Haven't Read 

49. Book About Books

50. Book Everyone is Talking About 

51. With a Place in the Title 

52. Reread a Favorite 

Other Amazing Reading Challenges you may like to participate in 2024


This post contains affiliate links.  Read my Disclosure Policy.

Share0
Tweet0
Share0
Pin0

Other posts from this category