My 2015 Reading Challenge

I came across this book list on pinterest at the beginning of the year (around February). It’s from PopSugar and is titled the 2015 Reading Challenge. There are 50 books on this list… yes… FIFTY!! I don’t know about you, but as a busy mom I’m lucky if I get one or two books read a month, usually less! There is no way I can do fifty books in a year (but that may be a challenge for another year!)



But, I loved the idea of the book list, SO I picked one column and that became my goal. Read 26 books by the end of the year (that’s a little over two books a month). And let’s be honest, even if I can’t reach that goal I’ll still be pretty dang proud of how many books I did read!



So, here’s my reading challenge list for 2015! [You can print off the printable from PopSugar]. I’ll also include the books that I have already read this year under their corresponding categories (and links to their reviews).

• A book with more than 500 pages (FINISHED: September)
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 


• A classic romance
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern


• A book that became a movie (FINISHED: June)
• Pines by Blake Crouch


• A book published this year
• At the Water's Edge by Sarah Gruen


• A book with a number in the title (FINISHED: February)
  • How I Made 40K My First Year of Blogging by Chelsea Lords


• A book written by someone under 30 (FINISHED: May)
  • Pros of Prozac by Beca Mark


• A book with nonhuman characters
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis


• A funny book (FINISHED: June)
  • Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling


• A book by a female author (FINISHED: April)
  • A Return to Virtue by Elaine S. Dalton


• A mystery or thriller 
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie


• A book with a one-word title (FINISHED: May)
  • Remake by Ilima Todd


• A book of short stories (FINISHED: May)
  • Courtships of the Prophets by Mary Jane Woodger & Paulette Preston Yates


• A book set in a different country (FINISHED: April)
  • The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion


• A Nonfiction book (FINISHED: April)
  • The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Condo


• A popular author’s first book
• Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee


• A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet (FINISHED: March)
  • Atlantia by Ally Condie


• A book a friend recommended (FINISHED: March)
  • LoveBirds by Trevor Silvester


• A Pulitzer Prize-winning book
• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee


• A book based on a true story (FINISHED: June)
  • Yes, Please by Amy Poehler


• A book at the bottom of your to-read list (FINISHED: May)
  • Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau


• A book your mom loves
• From This Moment On by Lynn Kurland


• A book that scares you
• My Story by Elizabeth Smart


• A book more than 100 years old (FINISHED: May)
  • 20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne


• A book based entirely on its cover (FINISHED: June)
• Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Book Store by Robin Sloan


• A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t (FINISHED: May)
  • Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison


• A memoir (FINISHED: May)
  • Bossy Pants by Tina Fey

I love this reading challenge list because it challenges me to get out of my “reading comfort zone” (which usually involves YA dystopian novels). It has gotten me to read some of the books that have been sitting on my shelf for ages (ie: number 25,
which I’m working on now which I just finished!). And, it get’s me excited about reading my books again.



It’s so easy to push reading out of the way in our busy day to day, especially reading books for ourselves. We spend so much time reading with our kids, reading labels, reading social media, and being bombarded with information that we feel too tired to sit and read (or we totally forget about it). I keep this list on my desk where I see it often. I work on a couple books at once (usually a nonfiction and a fiction book) so I can switch it up depending on what I’m in the mood for. And I have an additional copy of this list pre-filled with the books I want to read for each category (which keeps me looking forward to the next book).



I’ll reference this reading challenge list as I post my reviews. I urge you to start this list. (I love that this list isn’t numbered because I’m totally not going in order, as you can tell!) Pick any category and start. Or create your own list!


UPDATE: I've finished my 2015 Reading Challenge way sooner than I thought. It's now updated to include all the books I read for this challenge (12/12/15)

Let’s talk! What book are you currently working on? What category does it fit in to on my reading challenge list? (I would love the suggestions).



Thanks for reading!