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2025 Reading Challenge Improvements
When we started our first reading challenge on a whim for January 2020, we didn’t predict that we’d spend our fifth anniversary as the Book Girls trying to figure out how to add a SIXTH yearlong challenge for 2025.
- Changes to Existing Challenge Format
- In Case You Missed It
- Read Around the USA
- Decades Challenge, Book Voyage, & Lifetime of Reading
- BRAND NEW for 2025 Reading Challenge Shortcuts Page
- Rating Log Improvements
- Rating Log Highlights
- Print the Reading Trackers for All Challenges
- BMAC Member Changes for 2025
- 2025 Crossover List Updates
- Join Now!
As you can imagine, each additional challenge brings additional work. But, thanks in large part to our Buy Me a Coffee BFFs & Inner Circle members, we have some part-time help now, which means we’ll be keeping ALL FIVE existing challenges running in 2025. AND there are some improvements from last year that we’re outlining in this post!
2025 Challenge Themes
The New Challenge (to be revealed Friday 11/22/24)
In Case You Missed It Backlist Challenge
Read Around the USA
Book Voyage: Read Around the World
Decades Reading Challenge
Lifetime of Reading (Character Ages)
Changes to Existing Challenge Format
For 2025, we’re retiring the phrases “guided” and “self-paced” because every challenge will have book logs, printables, and a suggested reading schedule with book lists sent out on the 3rd Friday of each month.
You’re still welcome to complete the challenges at your own pace, but we heard from the majority of readers that you prefer a schedule.
In Case You Missed It
The biggest change to the ICYMI challenge for 2025 will be the publication years covered. Instead of reading the best of 2012-2023, we’ll be covering the best backlist books of 2013-2024. You will still have access to the Best Books of 2012 list and can complete it as a bonus prompt.
Read Around the USA
HUGE NEWS – We might be crazy, but we’re committing to providing you with a full book list for every US State by the end of 2025. Right now, you have access to at least five books from every state as part of the existing regional book lists.
Going forward, throughout 2025, we’ll send out 4 to 5 individual state lists per month. Unlike the other 4 existing challenges, these won’t all come out on the 3rd Friday of the month. Instead, they’ll be spread throughout the month to make it less overwhelming for both us and you.
You can continue to choose the 12-prompt, one-book-per-month version of the challenge, or you can work toward reading a book from every state. Read more about 2025 Read Around the USA.
Decades Challenge, Book Voyage, & Lifetime of Reading
The challenge prompts for these challenges will remain the same in 2025, with refreshed book lists becoming available for the next month each third Friday.
BRAND NEW for 2025: Reading Challenge Shortcuts Page
The change we are most excited about for in 2025 is the creation of the shortcuts page. As you explore this new page, you’ll find that the January booklists for every existing challenge are already updated and ready for you!
Throughout 2024, we included links to the book rating logs in the newsletter each Friday for the current and prior month, but there was no easy way to access them after that point.
Now, you will have one page with links to every reading challenge book list, and every corresponding rating log. With six challenges in 2025, it isn’t feasible to include them all in the newsletter, so instead, you’ll find a link to the shortcuts page in every email.
You’ll also be able to reach it anytime by clicking on Reading Challenges > Shortcuts from the main menu at the top of the website.
Rating Log Improvements
Before 1/1/2025, you’ll be able to access all twelve months of 2025 book logs using the new shortcuts page – yay! This should be extra helpful as we get further into the year because you may end up reading library books that become available after the suggested reading month has passed.
We’ll continue to update the logs as we add books to each list throughout the year. Please continue to rate only books you read in 2025 for the 2025 challenges.
PS: Going forward, we’re going to try to refer to the former “book logs” as the “rating logs.” There is occasionally some confusion that logging books is required to have completed the challenge, so people log books, but leave the rating blank. We’re hoping to clarify that we don’t keep track of who has completed the challenge using the logs, but instead, we use it to gather feedback on the books. We use the logs to compile the reader ratings that we include with many book descriptions and to determine which books should stay on the list each year.
Rating Log Highlights
Each month, we compile the rating log results for the prior months into infographic-style highlights. You will now be able to find the link to these highlights anytime on the shortcuts page.
Throughout 2025, at a minimum, we’ll create highlights for the new 2025 challenge. If we have enough data, depending on the number of people who fill out the rating logs for the other challenges each month, we may also include bonus highlights from the existing five challenges.
The January Rating Log Highlights will be published in mid-February.
Print the Reading Trackers for All Challenges
While each challenge post has a signup box to receive a tracker to note what you’ve read throughout the year, we know many of you enjoy participating in more than one challenge, so we’ve made a special opt-in box for you. The automated email you receive after signing up in the blue box below will include links for all five existing challenge trackers!
PS: BMAC Members (both BFFs & Inner Circle Members) also have access to reprint the trackers for any of the challenges whenever they need.
BMAC Member Changes for 2025
Our BFF & Inner Circle members will now receive printable book lists for ALL SIX YEARLONG CHALLENGES!
The five existing challenges will be available in a single-page printable format each month! This will include a single-page printable for all 50 US States as they are completed throughout the year. There will NOT be printables for the regional USA lists since each state will have its own list.
For the new challenge, you’ll receive BOTH a journal page and a single-page format.
The new challenge will also include at least one bonus book recommendation in Buy Me a Coffee. The existing challenge bonus book recommendations for the other challenges from prior years will still be available in the BMAC.
In addition to the book lists for the reading challenges, Inner Circle members will continue to receive printable book lists for every book list, including the mini-challenges, along with additional perks (such as the 2025 exclusive Inner Circle Bingo Card Reading Challenge).
2025 Crossover List Updates
In 2025, we’re narrowing the list to just books that crossover with the monthly prompt for the NEW challenge. Each month, we’ll publish a list that identifies books from the 2025 Challenge booklist that also meet that month’s prompt for any of the five existing challenges, and vice versa.
We initially planned to continue identifying all crossover books, but with six challenges total, there are 15 different combinations possible each month. Not only does it feel overwhelming for us to check for all potential crossovers each month, but it also feels like the resulting list would be overwhelming and confusing for you.
However, you are welcome to count any crossovers you find between the existing challenges.
Join Now!
We hope you’re as excited as we are to start planning your 2025 reading.
If you haven’t already, head to the main page for any of the challenges that you’re interested in to learn more details, including the monthly prompts and schedule. Or scroll back up to the blue box and sign up to receive the printable reading trackers for all five existing challenges all in one email. And keep an eye out for Friday’s email where we’ll reveal the brand new 2025 challenge theme!
Here are the links to each:
The New Challenge (to be revealed Friday 11/22/24)
In Case You Missed It Backlist Challenge
Read Around the USA
Book Voyage: Read Around the World
Decades Reading Challenge
Lifetime of Reading (Character Ages)
Thanks & Happy Reading!
