2026 Book Lover’s Reading Challenge
Of all of our reading challenge themes, the Book Lover’s Challenge really pulls at our hearts because it reminds us of how grateful we are for YOU.
We recently celebrated the sixth anniversary of Book Girls’ Guide and the eleventh year of our friendship, which also developed thanks to our mutual lifelong love of books. What better way to celebrate our connection with each other and all of you than with a yearlong challenge dedicated to books and the people who love them?
How Does the Book Lover’s Challenge Work?
This challenge includes monthly reading prompts related to different aspects of reading that we all love, from browsing the aisles of our favorite bookstore or library to losing ourselves in the world of a story. You’ll find a recommended monthly reading schedule below.
Every month, you will choose a book related to the monthly reading prompt from our curated list of highly-rated books. Each list includes a synopsis of every book, as well as additional notes to help you select your perfect read. This allows you to spend more time reading and less time researching.
After you finish reading, share your feedback by completing our short book rating form. We also invite you to join our Facebook group to chat about what you’re reading throughout the month.
Join the Book Lover’s Challenge
When you sign up using the box below, you’ll get a welcome email with a link to download the cute reading tracker for the challenge.
Even if you’re already on the email list, you can provide the same email address in the box below to receive this year’s tracker (you won’t receive duplicate emails).
Once you’ve signed up for the challenge, you’ll begin receiving our Friday email newsletter. Plus, we’ll send one bonus email on the third Monday of each month with reminders and updates for the Book Lover’s Challenge. This is the easiest way to help you stay on track throughout the year.
In addition to signing up for the challenge, we recommend joining our Read with the Book Girls Facebook group. It’s a friendly place where we discuss books, both for the challenges and anything else that we’re reading.
Monthly Reading Schedule & Rating Logs
This reading challenge features a wide range of prompts beyond typical book-lover themes. For example, the June prompt includes a list of amazing audiobook narrators along with some of the best titles they have narrated. Don’t worry, if audiobooks aren’t your thing, you’ll enjoy these book recommendations just as much in print form.
While the book lists are available below from prior years, keep in mind that they may change. Any updates will be made by the 3rd Monday of the prior month, and we will send you an email on that day letting you know the list is finalized.
For example, the February list will be finalized for this year on January 19th. Books may be removed, and others added, so we recommend waiting until the updated list is finalized before choosing your book.
| Reading Month | Challenge Prompt | After Reading* |
| January | Characters Connecting Through Books | Rate Your Book |
| February | Books About Bookstores | Rate Your Book |
| March | Modern Retellings | Rate Your Book |
| April | Characters Becoming Part of the Story | Rate Your Book |
| May | Books About Writers or Editors | Rate Your Book |
| June | Favorite Audiobook Narrators or Audiobooks with Full Cast Narration | Rate Your Book |
| July | Books About Book Clubs | Rate Your Book |
| August | Books Written Under Pen Names (Including Writing Duos) | Rate Your Book |
| September | Books About Libraries & Librarians | Rate Your Book |
| October | Characters Interacting with Real Authors | Rate Your Book |
| November | Holiday Novels for Book Lovers | Rate Your Book |
| December | Re-Read a Favorite or Choose One of Our Favs | Rate Your Book |
Printable Book Lists
Readers who support The Book Girls’ Guide through our Buy Me a Coffee (BMAC) membership site can access printable versions of the reading challenge book lists. As we update each book list throughout the year – following the monthly reading challenge schedule above – each list will be available in a single-page printable format for our BMAC members.
We offer two membership levels. Both our BFF members and our Inner Circle members get access to the single-page printables for the year-long reading challenges. Visit our Buy Me a Coffee membership page for a full list of benefits for each level.
Our BMAC members help cover the cost of running the challenges so we can keep them free for everyone!
What Do I Do When I Finish Reading My Book Each Month?
As a member of our email list and Facebook group, you can share your rating and other feedback about your monthly challenge reads via our book rating logs.
The book rating forms help us determine which books should stay on our recommendation lists, which should be removed, and whether any changes are needed to our descriptions. Additionally, we use the data to calculate the “BGG Reader Ratings” that you’ll see noted for many of the books.
We’ll send a reminder to log your books in your 3rd Monday Challenge email, but you can also always find the links in the Schedule & Rating Log section above.
Additional Frequently Asked Questions
If you’ve signed up for the challenge above, you’re all set, and our emails will help guide you through everything throughout the year.
If you have any questions, you can continue reading the most commonly asked questions below.
How much does it cost to participate?
All our reading challenges, as well as our other book lists and resources, are free for everyone! Although putting together and administering the challenges takes an extraordinary amount of time, we never want finances to be a barrier to participation. At the request of some of our readers, we established a totally optional Buy Me a Coffee membership for anyone willing to help support our work.
What types of books are included?
As with our other challenges, we provide carefully researched lists of highly-rated titles for you to choose from for each reading prompt.
Each list includes a wide variety of genres, from contemporary and historical fiction to mysteries, romance, and magical realism. We aim for a mix of newer releases and backlist titles that are easier to get from the library without a long wait. We also always try to include diverse characters and authors.
Within the book list, each recommendation includes a synopsis of the book and additional notes to help you select your perfect read.
Do you host any other reading challenges?
Yes! We host numerous yearlong reading challenges, as well as fun mini-challenges. You are welcome to join as many challenges as you would like each year. Many of our readers participate in more than one.
If I’m doing more than one challenge, can a single book count twice?
Yes, absolutely!
Do audiobooks count?
Yes! We’re equal-opportunity readers. Whether you choose a paper book, an ebook, or an audiobook, if you finish the material knowing the story the author set out to tell, you’ve “read” the book!
Can I choose my own book?
Absolutely! You can choose any book from our recommendation lists or any other book that meets the challenge prompt. In fact, if you really enjoy an off-list book you select, we’d love for you to share your feedback in our rating logs (select “Other” from the book title dropdown).
Can I recommend a book for one of the Book Lover’s Challenge book lists?
Yes, we’d love to hear your recommendation, and you can submit it using this form. Please only recommend books that you’ve already read and rated highly.
How do I get the printable tracker for this reading challenge?
To get the printable reading challenge tracker, just click here to jump to the “Join the Book Lovers’ Challenge” sign-up form, which is located above the links to all the book lists.
What if I signed up, but didn’t receive the email?
Sometimes, our emails might get trapped in your spam filter. If you signed up but haven’t received the email with the printable reading tracker, be sure to check your spam folder. To keep future emails out of the spam folder, be sure to add our email address to your address book, or drag our emails over to your Primary tab in Gmail.
If you’ve checked your spam folder and still don’t see the email from us, then please send us a quick email to hello(at)bookgirlsguide(dot)com and we’ll get it sorted out for you as quickly as we can.
Can I join a reading challenge after January?
Absolutely! How you choose to participate is totally up to you, so there’s no such thing as being behind. Any month can be a great time to start!
If you’re a voracious reader, you can double up and complete multiple prompts in one month. Or feel free to start with the current month and move forward.
No pressure from us. We’re happy for you to join in whenever and wherever!
What happens if I miss a month?
Nothing at all! Life happens, and we’re committed to our challenges being fun and not stressful.
While it feels great to make it to the end of the year with all 12 months completed, sometimes it’s better to skip a month and move on to the next prompt when you can. You can also go back and read the month you skipped if you’d like, but please don’t feel any pressure to do that.
Do I have to go in order?
Yes and no. While the book lists are available above from prior years, keep in mind that they may change. Any updates will be made by the 3rd Monday of the prior month, and the updated link will be in a bonus email newsletter that day. For example, the February list will be finalized for this year on January 19th.
If you follow the recommended monthly reading prompts outlined above, you’ll always have access to the most up-to-date book recommendations. And you’ll be able to chat with other readers in our Facebook group who are reading books for the same prompts each month.
Can we use the challenge for our book club?
Absolutely! We’ve had many book clubs use our challenges and reading prompts to help guide their book selections throughout the year.
One suggestion is to give each member a link to the book list for each prompt and let them vote on their top 3 options to help narrow down the book options before making the final selection as a club.
We also have a list of Universal Book Club Discussion Questions to spark insightful conversations, no matter what title your club is exploring.
P.S. We have many other resources for book clubs, including lists of highly rated and discussion-worthy novels and book club guides for specific titles.
What if I need help or have another question?
Feel free to email us anytime at hello(at)bookgirlsguide(dot)com, and we’re happy to help!
We look forward to reading with you this year!
I am so excited to have found you last week! I love that you have themes and then several books to choose from to go with that theme. I especially appreciate the notes about difficult subjects (I am a full-time caregiver for my husband and want to avoid things that hit too close to home.) For January, I read the list and listed in order the ones that most interested me. The first 4 on my list were not available to download from my library (I placed holds.) So I read the 5th on the list – and loved it! An example of a book I thoroughly enjoyed but likely would not have come across on my own. Isn’t that one of the reasons we join book clubs? Thank you!
Ah, that’s so great to hear Cathy! We love connecting readers with books that they might not have come across another way!
What is the pen pictured?!
They’re Japanese import version of the Pilot Frixion markers – Melissa got them on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3PxIXVb
Will the books be available on Kindle unlimited?
There are usually at least a few Kindle Unlimited titles on each of our book recommendation lists (sometimes quite a few more). We always not all of the books that are Kindle Unlimited – you’ll see the notation below the synopsis and right above the Amazon and Bookshop.org buttons. We also aim to include a mix of newer titles as well as backlist titles that are easier to obtain from local libraries without long wait lists.
Another great one I have to choose can’t do 4 challenges but what one that the hard one???
Looks like another great reading year with you ladies.
Are the book recommendations appropriate for teens?
Hi Cinthia, Teens can definetely complete the challenge using our recommendations, however some of the books on each list of option would definetely include adult themes and situations that may or may not be deemed appropriate in your household. In most cases, we at also include at least one YA and/or middle grade title on the list of options. Many of the adult fiction books would also be totally appropriate for anyone. I’d recommend having your teen narrow down the list to a few they are interested in and then doing a bit of extra research for each of those if you’re concerned about particular content.
Love it! Looking forward to all the exciting options for the new challenge. I really appreciate all your hard work for us.
Thanks, Kathy! We can’t wait to read with you again in 2025!
Who of us doesn’t love a bookshop mystery or a book celebrating our love of books and how it can connect us to others? This year I’ve read a few Historical (WW2) books about underground libraries and those keeping them afloat and it really brings home the importance of a book to the reader….sometimes it keeps us grounded. I’m excited to participate in this challenge ( I’ve read some of the initial list already and count 4 in my TBR pile).
Yes! We love those historical fiction books about people protecting books and sharing books through hard times! You’ll definitely find more titles like that one our lists as the year goes on!
This looks like an awesome, enjoyable challenge! I’m excited to join this one!