In an effort to expand my reading horizons at least a little bit, here's another reading challenge I've decided to take on:

We all know there's no such thing as too many books. Is there such a thing as too many reading challenges? Probably. Do I care? I do not. I've always loved reading challenges. They add a fun element to my bookish life. I don't take them too seriously; if I don't finish them, I don't finish them. No biggie. With that being said, let me tell you about the SIXTEEN I'm going to take on in 2026 (no, that's not a typo). 

If you also love reading challenges, check out the Reading Challenge Addict blog. Bev keeps a running list of all the ones happening around not just the book blogosphere, but also on BookTok, BookTube, and Bookstagram. Tanya Patrice over at Chapter Adventure used to keep a master list as well, but I'm not seeing one for 2026...

At any rate, here you go, starting with the ones I'm hosting:

1. Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)—This is a totally laidback challenge in which you read books about books. Easy peasy. There are different levels. I always do the "Living at the Library" one, which involves reading 30+ bookish books. Sign up for the 2026 challenge here.

2. Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)—As you will soon see, I love me a prompt-based challenge. I created this one, which has 50 prompts related to book covers, for funsies and I'm glad that other readers have joined the party with me. Same as last year, I will be joining at Level 5, which involves completing 41-50 of the prompts. Sign up for the 2026 challenge here.

3. Popsugar Reading Challenge (hosted by Popsugar)—This annual challenge has 40 basic prompts, plus 10 "advanced" ones that are (loosely) centered around a new theme each year. (The 2026 challenge has a garden theme). I've only actually completed this one once, so most of the time it really IS a challenge for me. Although this challenge usually starts on January 1st of every year, they actually started the 2026 one early, so you can begin checking off prompts right away. I've still got 8 prompts to go for the 2025 challenge...it looks like this year will be another one where I don't quite finish. Oh, well.

4. Build Your Library Reading Challenge (hosted by Emily @Build Your Library)—I've enjoyed participating in this challenge for the last couple years. It's made up of 40 prompts based around a different theme each year. This time around it's "A Year of Cozy and Whimsy," which sounds perfect! I'm in.

6. The 52 Book Club's Reading Challenge (hosted by The 52 Book Club)—Another annual challenge with 52 prompts, this is one I do every year. I only have two prompts left for the 2025 challenge, which I'll check off as soon as I finish the two books I'm currently reading. Yay!

7. Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge (hosted by Rick Mills @The Mystillery/RickMillsProject)—Rick hosts several reading challenges, but this one is my favorite. It's a bit macabre since it involves playing medical examiner and "tying toe tags" by counting up the dead bodies in the mystery novels you read. Still, I enjoy doing it and watching the scoreboard to see how the friendly competition between participants is going. (I'm currently in 13th place with 567 toe tags tied; the #1 reader has 1801! Wow.)

8. Pioneer Book Reading Challenge (hosted by Pioneer Book)—The lucky ducks who live in Provo, Utah, are privileged to have this fun indie bookstore in their midst. (I lived there for six years while my husband and I attended Brigham Young University and we still visit at least once a year.) After several years of attempting, I still haven't managed to finish this challenge, but I enjoy trying. You cross off 40 prompts, after which you can claim a $50 gift certificate to the store (for in-person shopping only). The prompts for 2026 have not been announced yet, so keep an eye on the bookstore's Facebook page if you're interested in this one. 

9. Literary Escapes Reading Challenge (hosted by Stacy @Escape With Dollycas Into a Good Book)—This challenge involves reading one book set in each of the 50 U.S. states + Washington, D.C., with bonus points given for each country you "visit" outside of the U.S. as well. I finished all the states in November, which wasn't an easy feat! 

10. Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge (hosted by Stacy @Escape With Dollycas Into a Good Book)—I always enjoy a good, palate-cleansing cozy mystery, so this challenge is a no-brainer for me since all it requires is reading cozies. I joined at the "Peckish" level in 2025, but I think I'll up the ante in 2026 and go for "Famished," which means reading 26-51 cozies. I may even give the mini-challenge aspect a go next year.

11. Historical Fiction Reading Challenge (hosted by Marg @The Intrepid Reader and Baker)—Since I love hist fic, this annual challenge is another no-brainer. I'm going to join at the "Ancient History" level, which requires reading at least 25 historical novels.

12. Mount TBR Reading Challenge (hosted by Bev @My Reader's Block)—Although I have gotten nowhere near my 2025 challenge goal of reading 100 books off my own shelves, this challenge still helped motivate me to actually read some of the books I already own. I'm going to join again for 2026, but with a more modest goal of at least 24 books (Mount Blanc level). That seems doable.

13. Around the Year in 52 Books (hosted by Emily @Goodreads)—I'm just about finished with this year's challenge, which involved checking off 50 basic prompts, plus a bonus 10 from an "Anniversary List." I'm definitely up for another round.

14. Series Reading Challenge (hosted by Judy @Coffee, Cookies, and Books YouTube channel)—I love to read series books, but I'm in the middle of SO many of them. This challenge is about moving forward in the series your reading (NOT starting new ones) and maybe even FINISHING some of them (gasp!). I've never done this particular challenge before, but it sounds fun.

15. Southern Literary Reading Challenge (hosted by Jen @Introverted Reader)—It's been a hot minute since I participated in this challenge that's all about reading books set in the American South. I'm excited to join in again. I'll be doing Level 4, which involves reading 9+ books set in the South. Shouldn't be too tough.

16. Reading Challenge Addict Reading Challenge (hosted by Bev @My Reader's Block)—Obviously, this one is another no-brainer. It's all about entering and finishing reading challenges. I'm going to be less ambitious in 2026 than I was this year and join at the "Easy As Pie" level, which involves finishing 1-5 reading challenges. 

Whew! That's a lot of challenges. I'm excited to start fresh with a new set of prompts and goals. How about you? Are you joining any reading challenges in 2026? Which are your favorites? Good luck to all of us reading challenge addicts!

In spite of being a slacker host, I'm having fun hosting this challenge, so I'm bringing it back for 2026. The rules are the same as they've always been. I hope you'll join me for this no pressure, totally chill reading challenge. Spread the word to your bookish, bloggish friends. The more, the merrier. 

Toe in the Door: 1-10 books read

Picking and Perusing: 11-20 books read

Lost in the Stacks: 21-30 books read

Living in the Library: 30+ books read

I'm an overachiever, so I'm aiming for the Living in the Library level again this year. 

Reviews aren't required, but they're always nice. I, for one, am perpetually on the lookout for more bookish books and reviews help me to know which are worth the read. So, I'll put a monthly linky up so we can all see what we're reading for the challenge. 

You don't have to have a blog to participate, but it's helpful to keep a list of books read for the challenge somewhere. Mine will be listed under the "Reading Challenges" tab here at BBB.

If you need ideas for the challenge, I've started a Goodreads list to help. I'm sure there are others there with a similar theme. 

The challenge will run from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026. You can sign up any time during the year, starting now, but only books finished after the starting date count for that year's challenge.

Challenges are more fun with friends, so please join me. Feel free to grab the challenge button, post about the challenge on your blog, and help me spread the word.

1. The challenge will run from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026.

2. Since this isn't a competition and we're just playing for fun, not prizes or even acclaim, books of any length count (as long as they fit one of the prompts). All genres and formats are allowed. 

3. Don't overthink or stress out about the prompts. If a book fits-ish a prompt, that's totally fine, but a book should only be used once (unless you're going rogue and just doing things your own way). I'm all about being flexible and laidback!

4. 50 prompts can be overwhelming, so let's break it down:

Level One: 1-10 books

Level Two: 11-20 books

Level Three: 21-30 books

Level Four: 31-40 books

Level Five: 41-50 books

You can sign up at any level you'd like and even change levels mid-challenge if you need to.

5. Reviews aren't required, but I always like to get suggestions for prompts and for good reads. I will publish a challenge post at the beginning of each month with a form for review links. If you post one, I promise to come give it some love. On second thought, I'm not going to bother with a monthly review link. Too much work. Feel free to post links to your reviews in the comments on this post, though, and I will stop by and give them some love!

Easy peasy, right? 

Here are the prompts... 

Read a book with a cover that includes:

1.  a scene you would like to step into for a day

2.  the word "house" or "home" in the title

3. your favorite food or drink 

4. a subtitle

5. a chalkboard

6. an animal that is often ridden by humans (horse, mule, camel, etc.)

7. a mythical creature (unicorn, dragon, centaur, etc.)

8. someone holding food or a drink in their hand(s)

9. a compound word in the title or author's name (the compound word needs to be made up of two real words, but the resulting word does not have to be a real word, like buttermore, Shellman, etc.)

10. someone in a uniform of some kind

11. the author's picture on the front cover

12. something a chef might use (apron, toque, spatula, pots and pans, etc.)

13. the name of a flower in the title or author's name

14. an adverb in the title

15. a car's headlights shining in the darkness

16. ice in some form ("ice" in the title, ice cubes, frozen pond/rink, glaciers, etc.)

17. a timepiece

18. a palindrome in the title or author's name

19. the name of a bird in the title

20. a title that does not include the words "and" or "the"

21. a bridge

22. a title word or author's name you don't know how to pronounce correctly

23.  a mug or teacup

24. a bell of some kind (doorbell, jingle bells, cowbell, etc.)

25. something you might see in a house of worship (stained glass windows, scriptures, cross, menorah, priest, etc.)

26. something you associate with pirates (Jolly Roger, eyepatch, parrot, etc.)

27. someone with facial hair

28. an adjective that is often used to describe the weather (stormy, sunny, windy, cloudy, etc. in the title or author's name 

29. a watercraft

30. something you might use for a home improvement project (tools, paint, nails, etc.)

31. someone reading 

32. a word from the military alphabet in the title (https://militaryalphabet.net/)

33. at least one person using a medical or mobility device (wheelchair, cane, hearing aids, insulin pump, etc.)

34. an honorific in the title or author's name (Miss, Mrs., Doctor., Your Highness, etc.)

35. a telephone (rotary or cell) or a telephone booth

36. someone who is barefoot

37. an alliterative title (A Christmas Carol, Legacy of Lies, Forever Friends, etc.)

38. punctuation of some sort in the title

39. somewhere you could happily sit and read all day

40. an X, Y, or Z in the author's name

41. an umbrella

42. a computer

43. a title or cover art with the name of a road or street (Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah, The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark, etc.)

44. minimal cover art/design

45. someone with red hair

46. one of the weapons from the board game Clue (candlestick, dagger/knife, lead pipe, rope, revolver/pistol, wrench)

47. one or more balloons

48. a creepy old house or building

49. someone with painted fingernails or toenails

50. a noun in the author's name (Amanda Flower, Cherie Priest, Stephen King, etc.)

If you'd like a printable version of the prompts, here it is:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14l3U9PNB6HrzlKoT4SV6EQh5VnpjsAaVIb8VERYkdt8/edit?usp=sharing

So, what do you think? Want to join me for the 2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge? Use the form below to sign up:

If you hang out here at BBB, you know I love me a reading challenge. Every year, I take on too many and end up finishing only some of them. No matter. I just enjoy the chance to add a little fun and variety to my reading life. I've had a good time with my challenges this year, so I'm going to do another batch of them this year. 

Before I dish about my 2025 challenge picks, I just want to remind you of the Bookish Books Reading Challenge, which I've hosted for two years now. It's a no-pressure, laidback challenge where you simply read books with bookish themes. Easy cheesy. If you're interested in signing up for 2025, here's all the info:

I'm not the most on-the-ball reading challenge host, but I enjoy hosting nonetheless. So much so that I decided to create a new challenge for next year. I hope you'll join me for the 2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge. It's all about fulfilling prompts by finding certain items on the covers of the books you read. You can find all the deets below:

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In addition to the two challenges I'm hosting and a couple long-term ones from Goodreads that I've been working on, I'm planning to participate in these:

1. Popsugar Reading Challenge (hosted by Popsugar)—Since this yearly challenge often has very specific and difficult prompts, I've only actually completed it once in probably five years of doing it. Prompts can be changed out, but I'm too much of a purist for that! Ha ha. At any rate, I'll be back at it in 2025.

2. Literary Escapes Reading Challenge (hosted by Stacy @Escape With Dollycas Into a Good Book)—One of my favorite annual challenges, this one requires reading a book set in each of the 50 U.S. states + Washington, D.C. Some of them are a real challenge to find year after year (*cough* North Dakota *cough*).

3. Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge (hosted by Stacy @Escape With Dollycas Into a Good Book)—I enjoy cozy mysteries, especially as palate cleansers between darker, heavier reads. I've read 30 of them this year, so I think I'll join next year's challenge at the Famished level, which requires reading 26-51 cozies. Shouldn't be too hard. The challenge also includes a prompt-based mini-challenge that looks fun, so I'll do that too.

4. Historical Fiction Reading Challenge (hosted by Marg @The Intrepid Reader and Baker)—I read lots of historical fiction, so this one isn't really a challenge per se. Still, it's fun to keep track of the hist fic I read and to check out what other participants are enjoying. I'm joining at the Prehistoric level, which involves reading 50+ books. 

5. Booklist Queen Reading Challenge (hosted by Rachael @Booklist Queen)—This annual challenge is another of my favorites. It has 52 prompts that are generally pretty easy to check off. 

6. The 52 Club's Reading Challenge (hosted by The 52 Club)—As you can probably surmise, this yearly challenge also has 52 prompts to tackle. 

7. Build Your Library Reading Challenge (hosted by Emily @Build Your Library)—This annual challenge features 40 prompts, which revolve around a new theme each year. For 2025, it's "Read Banned Books."

8. Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge (hosted by Take a Walk Down Gregory Road)—This is a yearly mega challenge with A LOT of prompts (109, if you include the wildcards). You can join at various levels. The prompts for 2025 have not been announced yet, but I'll planning on completing all of them since I'm just an overachiever that way!

9. Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge (hosted by Rick @The Mystillery)—Another challenge I do every year, this one isn't really a challenge either since I read so many mystery/thriller books anyway. Still, it's fun, in a macabre way. For this challenge, you get to play M.E. and count up the deaths in the mystery/thriller novels you read. You're vying against other challenge participants to distribute the most toe tags during the year. I've never even gotten close to the Number 1 spot, which makes me feel a *little* better about my murder mystery loving self!

10. Marathon Reading Challenge (hosted by Rick @The Mystillery)—This challenge by the same host also involves reading mysteries. When you finish a mystery/thriller, you simply record how many pages were in the book. This number becomes your step count as you race toward the finish line! It's a simple challenge that pairs perfectly with the Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge. 

11. Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Emily @Goodreads)—Another 52-prompt reading challenge. I can't get enough of them!

12. Mount TBR Reading Challenge (hosted by Bev @My Reader's Block)—This challenge is about reducing the number of books on our TBR piles by reading from the stacks we already own. I was too ambitious this year, so for 2025 I'm going to join at the Mt. Ararat level, which requires reading 48+ of your own books. I'm going to limit myself to physical books because that's what I really need to clear off.

13. Reading Challenge Addict Challenge (hosted by Bev @My Reader's Block)—I'm not sure why, but I haven't done this challenge in years. It has to do with, what else, reading challenges! Since we all know I'm addicted to them, I'm going to join in with this challenge at the In Flight level, which requires joining and completing 11-15 challenges. 

Thirteen challenges is a lot, although not all of them are really challenging. Still, we'll see how I do. What about you? Are you into reading challenges? Which ones will you be joining in 2025?