Yesterday, the PopSugar people dropped the list for their annual reading challenge, which I try to do every year. What is is, is 40 prompts (with 10 optional “Advanced” prompts”) for which you choose appropriate books. The goal is to help you broaden your reading horizons and perhaps read books you normally wouldn’t. It’s a fantastic way to diversify your reading. An example of this year’s prompts include “Read a book that takes place in the 1980s” and “Read a Hugo Award Winner.” You may consider me strange, but I get super excited every year when the challenge is announced. I then run to my bookshelves and begin choosing the books that I plan on reading for it.

Many people choose their books as they go but I always like to do mine ahead of time. I derive enjoyment from planning out my reading for the coming year so I know in which direction I’m heading. Now this isn’t necessarily restricting my reading as I read a lot of Advance Reader Copies that come my way during the year as well. I also can’t resist reading new LGBTQ books that come to my attention.

You can get involved as much or as little as you like. If you’d like to reach out to others who are also doing the challenge, there is a Goodreads group where people post their reading lists, track their progress and chat about the books they’re reading. If you’re stuck on ideas for a particular prompt, there are also lists of ideas for each prompt, which I often find incredibly helpful. There’s also a quite popular PopSugar Book Club on Facebook which is a fantastic place to hang out. You’ll find me in both places, chatting about the prompts and posting my progress. If you’re more of a Twitter user, you can follow the progress of others by using the hashtag #popsugarreadingchallenge.

This year, I made the challenge especially challenging for myself by limiting it to books that I already own. I really want to work through my physical TBR in the coming year so this is the perfect excuse to do so. I was able to find books for almost all of the prompts so that made me quite happy. Additionally, I’m doing a second reading challenge, which I’ll mention in another post.

I’ll post all of the prompts below for those of you might be interested in doing it this year. Check out the Goodreads group for a lot more information on the challenge. Good luck!

PopSugar Book Challenge Prompts

1. Book published in 2022
2. A book set on a plane, train or cruise ship
3. A book about or set in a non-patriarchal society
4. A book with a tiger on the cover or “tiger” in the title
5. A sapphic book
6. A book by a Latinx author
7. A book with an onomatopoeia in its title
8. A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid
9. A book about “found family”
10. An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winnder
11. A #BookTok recommendation
12. A book about the afterlife
13. A book set in the 1980s
14. A book with cutlery on the cover or in the title
15. A book by a pacific Islander author
16. A book about witches
17. A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2022
18. A romance novel by a BIPOC author
19. A book that takes place during your favorite season
20. A book whose title begins with the last letter of our previous read
21. A book about a band or musical group
22. A book with a character on the ACE spectrum
23. A book with a recipe in it
24. A book you can read in one sitting
25. A book about a secret
26. A book with a misleading title
27. A Hugo Award winner
28. A book set during a holiday
29. A different book by an author you read in 2021
30. A book with the name of a board game in the title
31. A book featuring a man-made disaster
32. A book with a quote from your favorite author on the cover or Amazon page
33. A social-horror book
34. A book set in Victorian times
35. A book with a constellation on the cover or in the title
36. A book you know nothing about
37. A book about gender identity
38. A book featuring a party
39. An #OwnVoices SFF book
40. A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR challenge

Advanced

1. A book with a reflected image on the cover or “mirror” in the title
2. A book that features two languages
3. A book with a palindromic title
4. A duology (1)
5. A duology (2)
6. A book about someone leading a double life
7. A book featuring a parallel reality
8. A book with two POVs
9. Two books set in twin towns, aka “sister cities” (1)
10. Two books set in twin towns, aka “sister cities” (1)