Level up your reading life with 25 unique literary challenges, and reward yourself with 25 bookish surprises!

I’ve been eyeing The Ultimate Reading Challenge by Weldon Owen for several years. Every holiday I’m obsessed with finding fun advent calendars, and The Ultimate Reading Challenge is the perfect blending of my love of books AND advent calendars. I added this to my Christmas wishlist last year, and my Secret Santa, who ended up being my brother-in-law, snagged it for me! The funny thing is I also purchased the kid version, The Ultimate Reading Challenge for Kids!, for my niece, as well. Next on my wishlist: The Ultimate Romance Reading Challenge!

I’ll give you a little peek inside, but I won’t spoil what’s in the pockets!

Keep reading, if you’d like to hear about how I’m hoping to fulfill each challenge!

(Link to the synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)

• Read a novella (a short novel, typically under 200 pages) – Orbital by Samantha Harvey
• Read in a place you’ve never read before – This will probably be somewhere new I travel to soon.
• Read a book about a person with a disability – The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (alternate – Better Hate Than Never by Chloe Liese)
• Read a graphic novel – Heartstopper Vol. 6 by Alice Oseman, if it’s released in 2025.
• Re-read a book you loved as a child – Socks by Beverly Cleary
• Find and read a book that is much longer than your usual reads – Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon

• Read a book you selected based purely on its cover design – Deep End by Ali Hazelwood – Ok, maybe not purely on cover design because I’d read anything by Hazelwood, but I think I’d want to read this one even if it wasn’t by her.
• Listen to a reading-themed podcast – This shouldn’t be too difficult. If you know of a good one, recommend it to me!
• Visit your local bookstore and ask a bookseller to recommend a book based on your recent favorites – This is a tough one because HELLO, introvert here. But my local bookstore does have a shelf of employee favorites….
• Write a letter to someone who has influenced your reading life – I’ll have to think about this one.
• Re-read a classic you hated in high school – HATE is strong word, but I thought of a couple that weren’t my favorites: The Red Pony by John Steinbeck (alternate – Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Unknown)
• Attend an author event, in person or virtually – I used to be good about this, but it’s been several years.
• Read a book by an author whose ethnicity is different from your own – Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

• Read a new book that is primarily intended for children – Challenger Deep by Neal Schusterman
• Go to your favorite section of the library or bookstore; blindly take a book off the shelf and take it home to read – I wouldn’t mind doing this at all, but I OWN so many books that I need to read. So I decided to cheat and just blindly pull one off of my own shelf. I ended up picking The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, and I’m pretty excited about this one!
• Write down a favorite quote or passage from a beloved book, display it in your home – Super easy!
• Read a book that’s been sitting on your shelf, unread, for more than a year – Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
• Ask a family member what book has made a lasting impression on them. Find and read that book – I already know the answer to this one! My mom has told me A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was her favorite book as a child, and I still need to read it.
• Read a book in a genre you’ve never read before – Time for me to finally read a cozy mystery?? Give me your best recommendations!

• Read a book that features an indigenous person – Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
• Read a book published this year – A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young
• Gift a copy of your favorite book to a friend or family member—special occasion not required – I love to give books as gifts!
• Make (or order) a snack or meal described in a book you’re read – Yum! This one should be easy.
• Participate in a book club, in person or virtually – I’ve wanted to join a book club for YEARS. But, introvert. There is a Silent Book Club not too far away…. I need to talk myself into it.
• Read a book currently on a bestseller list – The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Do you see any books that are must-reads? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!