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Summer Reading Challenge for Adults
We’ve been introducing mini-reading challenges for each season, and it’s time for summer! We hope these seasonal reading challenges help us all stay a bit more present and enjoy the unique joys that each season brings.
For the summer reading challenge, we’ve come up with six prompts. You’ll select one book for each prompt from our lists of highly-rated book recommendations (linked below). Of course, you’re also welcome to choose books that aren’t on our curated lists to complete the challenge.
Free Printable Challenge Tracker
Fill in the box below to receive a free printable page to track your progress throughout this challenge. You’ll also receive challenge updates and other book recommendations, author guides, and more each Friday morning.
Summer Reading Challenge Prompts & Book Lists
To complete this challenge, select one book of your choice for each of the six prompts below. This is totally self-paced and can be completed in any order.
Reading Prompt #1:
Read a Book about a Swimmer
As we’ve compiled various book lists over the years, we’ve noticed that swimming can often play an important role in the lives of characters. We found 13 highly-rated novels and a new non-fiction release for you to choose from!
Reading Prompt #2:
Read a Book with a Summer 2024 Olympic Tie-in
For this prompt, you can select a book related to one of the summer Olympic sports or a book set in Paris (the 2024 host city). Remember, you only need to read ONE book to meet the prompt, even though you can select from three different lists.
Reading Prompt #3:
Read a Book Set at a Lake or on an Island
We have both multi-genre and thriller-specific lists to choose from for islands and lakes, so there is something for everyone!
Reading Prompt #4:
Read a Summer Book from Your Favorite Genre
Reading challenges should be fun! For this prompt, you can select any book with summer vibes from your favorite genre. We hope this is an excuse to grab something from your TBR list, but we have plenty of suggestions, too! You can see all of our summer book lists here, but we linked four that are perfect for this prompt below.
Reading Prompt #5:
Read a Book Set in a Location You’d Love to Visit
Whether you dream of taking a safari through Africa, bustling through London or Tokyo, or visiting a new US state, this is your chance to armchair travel anywhere you’d love to visit. We have recommendations for every US state & territory, plus almost every country around the world.
Reading Prompt #6:
Read a Book that Takes You on a Road Trip
Whether you fondly remember the road trips of your youth, or you are planning a cross-country adventure of your own this summer, we invite you to join us on a literary road trip.
We hope you love our new adult summer reading challenge! If you’re not already a member of our Read with the Book Girls Facebook Group, we hope you’ll join and share your progress in our weekly What Are You Reading thread.
More Reading Challenges to Explore
- 2024 Christmas Mini Reading Challenge
- Halloween Mini Reading Challenge
- Fall Mini Reading Challenge
- Summer Reading Challenge for Adults
- Spring Mini Reading Challenge
- Winter Mini Reading Challenge
- Christmas Mini Reading Challenge
- In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) Backlist Reading Challenge: 2025 Edition
- Read Around the USA – 2025 States Reading Challenge
- Lifetime of Reading Challenge: 2025 Edition
