2021 Reading Challenges

Another year, another set of reading goals!

As always I’m trying to keep it relatively simple to start but expect to add on a few as the year progresses. But since so much about the upcoming year is still uncertain, I really have no idea how much I’ll actually be able to read.

Graphics associated with each challenge were created by the host(s).

Last updated April 2, 2021

Goodreads Reading Challenge

PROGRESS: 68 / 150

Yeah, I somehow surpassed 400 books in 2020 (!!!), but that’s not the kind of pressure I want to put on myself going into a new year; it’s psychologically much easier for me to increase than to decrease my goal later on. 

Beat the Backlist Bingo

PROGRESS: 34 / 52

In the past few years, I’ve found that the majority of the books I read are backlist, so I don’t feel the need to set a number goal. But I’ll still be aiming to complete the bingo prompts, because I love reading bingos.

✓ more than one author – Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
☐ dragons OR lizards
✓ it’s on a ship! – Peter and the Starcatchers
✓ purple cover – This Is the Circle
☐ set in a major city
✓ book you forgot you had – Year of Yes
☐ caused a major book hangover

✓ multiple points of view – Sourcery
✓ book you’re giving another chance – Palimpsest
☐ quest to find lost/hidden object
✓ chapter title page has art – The Secret Commonwealth
✓ kept you up late reading – An Accusation
☐ picked by a friend/trusted reviewer
✓ non-human character – Fledgling

✓ first line is less than 10 words – The Wise Man’s Fear
☐ banned book
✓ cover features your favorite color prominently – The Midnight Library
☐ all about music
☐ character lets out a breath they didn’t realize they were holding
✓ genre you never/rarely read (romance) – Truly, Madly, Royally
✓ standalone – If It Makes You Happy

✓ lost royalty – Ace of Shades
✓ cover with your country’s flag colors – Get Your Sh*t Together
☐ written in letters or diary entries
☐ book centered around politics
☐ features a carnival or circus
☐ snake on the cover

☐ on the Indie Bestseller list in 2020 or earlier
✓ historical with a twist – The Girl in the Tower
✓ character has a dream scene – Storm of Locusts
☐ set in autumn
✓ based on non-Greek/-Roman mythology – Trail of Lightning
☐ non-binary protagonist
✓ a book with illustrations – Let’s Make Ramen!

✓ WTF plot twist – The Dragon Republic
☐ second book in a duology
☐ non-fairytale retelling
✓ from your 2020 backlist TBR – Owls and Other Fantasies
✓ book where the woods/forest are important – The Queens of Innis Lear
✓ black and white – A Promised Land
✓ novella – The Slow Regard of Silent Things

✓ person on the cover – Hunted
✓ anthology – Devotions
✓ has a map – The Poppy War
✓ book about bones OR “bone” in the title – The Bone Shard Daughter
✓ good book, bad cover – How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
✓ brings out the geek in you – Because Internet
✓ bought it for the cover – When You Ask Me Where I’m Going

✓ book written in verse – The Opposite of Innocent
✓ includes a 2nd person POV – Not for Nothing
✓ author has a book releasing in 2021 – Adaptation
☐ mentions a pineapple

POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

PROGRESS: 30 / 50

✓ A book that’s published in 2021 – Tales From the Hinterland
☐ An afrofuturist book
✓ A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover – Ace of Shades
✓ A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign – Year of Yes
☐ A dark academia book
☐ A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title
☐ A book where the main character works at your current or dream job
☐ A book that has won the Women’s Prize For Fiction
☐ A book with a family tree
☐ A bestseller from the 1990s
✓ A book about forgetting – The Bone Shard Daughter
☐ A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf
☐ A locked-room mystery
✓ A genre hybrid – One Last Stop
✓ A book set mostly or entirely outdoors – Across the Green Grass Fields
☐ A book with something broken on the cover
☐ A book by a Muslim American author
☐ A book that was published anonymously
☐ A book with an oxymoron in the title
✓ A book about do-overs or fresh starts – Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
✓ A magical realism book – The Mirror Season
✓ A book set in multiple countries – The Midnight Library
✓ A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021 – Convenience Store Woman
☐ A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTuber, or other online personality
✓ A book whose title starts with Q, X or Z – (The) Queens of Innis Lear
✓ A book featuring three generations – How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
✓ A book about a social justice issue – The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
☐ A book set in a restaurant
✓ A book with a black-and-white cover – A Promised Land
✓ A book by an indigenous author – Trail of Lightning
✓ A book that has the same title as a song – Adaptation
✓ A book about a subject you are passionate about – Because Internet
✓ A book that discusses body positivity – If It Makes You Happy
✓ A book found on a Black Lives Matter reading list – I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
✓ A book in a different format than what you normally read (audio + Kindle) – Know My Name
✓ A book that has fewer than 1k reviews on Amazon or Goodreads – Law School Confidential
✓ A book you think your best friend would like – Sourcery
✓ A book about art or an artist – Steal Like an Artist
✓ A book everyone seems to have read but you – The Poppy War
☐ Your fave prompt from a past PS challenge: 

Advanced Prompts
✓ The longest book on your TBR – The Wise Man’s Fear
✓ The shortest book on your TBR – TED Talks Storytelling
☐ The book on your TBR with the prettiest cover
☐ The book on your TBR with the ugliest cover
☐ The book that’s been on your TBR for the longest
✓ A book from your TBR you meant to read last year but didn’t – Owls and Other Fantasies
☐ A book from your TBR you associate with a fave person, place, or thing
✓ A book from your TBR chosen at random – Hunted
✓ A DNF book from your TBR – Palimpsest
✓ A free book from your TBR – The Secret Commonwealth

Books and Tea Reading Challenge

PROGRESS: 8 / 12

☐ hexed with color: ask a friend for a color, read a book with a cover to match
✓ hidden creations: an author’s lesser known book / a lesser known author – This Is the Circle
☐ stardust: a book you’ve owned since 2016
✓ awesome, of course: book by author of color – Fledgling
✓ in Satan we stan: a book with 666 pages or more – The Wise Man’s Fear
✓ full of pride: LGBT+ books and authors – Adaptation
☐ highly recommended: a recommendation from a friend
✓ a fresh look: a new to you diverse read – How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
✓ star’s the limit: travel to another country or world – Dear Haiti, Love Alaine
✓ new kids on the pub(lisher): 2021 debut author – The Sword in the Street
☐ opposites attract: swap a TBR entry with someone
✓ small stories: an anthology or book that’s shorter than most – Devotions

• What reading goals do you have for 2021?
• Which challenges and readathons, if any, are you participating in?
• Do you have any titles picked out (whether for a prompt or monthly TBR or just to read soon), or do you prefer to leave your options open?