Low-Stress Yearly Reading Challenge Ideas

If you’re a reader with internet access, you’ve likely encountered yearly reading challenges and goals. The most common type of reading challenge is the “Read X Number of Books This Year” type, and I swear that number seems to get bigger every year, doesn’t it? 

Many readers love these sorts of reading goals and find them highly rewarding. On the other hand, some readers find them overwhelming and incompatible with their time or the types of books they like to read. If you want a lower-stress yearly reading challenge or are just curious about trying something new, allow me to suggest some alternatives.

Read 12 Books a Year

Okay, this one is a numbers-based challenge—but one book a month can feel way more manageable than one book a week. Twelve books a year is actually close to my natural reading pace (2020 lockdown reading notwithstanding), and I find it allows for life to happen without the guilt. If twelve books a year still sounds overwhelming but you still want a number to work towards, adjust it to whatever amount challenges you while letting you remain present in your reading.

Set a Time-Based Challenge 

Volume-based reading challenges sometimes feel overwhelming because there can be too many things preventing us from focusing for as long as it takes to read X number of books. Try setting a time-based challenge instead, such as reading for ten minutes before bed, or listening to an audiobook during your commute. This’ll help you fit reading into your life in a way that makes sense for you.

Read Books in Translation

Have you (like me) ever gotten stressed about how many books exist in the world that you’ll never be able to read because you don’t know the language they’re written in? What if one of them could become your favourite? This is why translators are magical. Try challenging yourself to read more translated books—and stand in awe of translators!

Author-Based Reading Challenge

Many of us have authors we love even though we haven’t yet read all of their books. This is a fun challenge because it often involves dipping into an author’s backlist. In doing so you can note the ways their unique voice and style have always existed, the themes and tropes they return to, and the ways they’ve evolved. 

Genre-Based Reading Challenge

There are a couple of ways you can do a genre-based reading challenge. For the ultra-focused, you can spend time within a specific genre and drill down into its subgenres. For the vibes-based readers, you can do the exact opposite and read a variety of books from genres you don’t usually turn to. 

Diversify/Decolonize Your Book

Let’s face it: just one way of looking at the world is boring, isn’t it? Challenge yourself to diversify and decolonize your reading—whether or not you already do. I like the framework the FOLD sets up for their reading challenge: ask yourself who’s missing and go from there. You can get specific about the stories you want to seek out, like with the FOLD’s reading challenge, or simply make a general effort to read authors and voices that are missing on your shelf.

Reread Old Favourites

I’m a big lover of rereading. It’s a great way to reset myself if I’m in a reading rut, and it’s also just a really cozy thing to do with your life. It’s reflective, meditative, even enlightening. Try revisiting a favourite from your younger days, or get hardcore and reread the same book each year like Christopher Lee with The Lord of the Rings. I’m sorry, I have The Lord of the Rings on the brain right now because I’m currently doing a year-long reread of the book with a friend—the ultimate in cozy.

Get Recommendations From Friends

Speaking of friends, why not let them dictate your reading for a while? Some of my absolute favourite books were ones I’d never heard of until a friend insisted I’d love them. Reading books that are recommended to you gives you insight into what people think you’ll enjoy. You can also read books that your friends love, which will help you understand them a little better too. 

Read Books You Already Own

I saved this one for last because it feels a little bit “challenge level: impossible.” Believe me, I know the allure of the new book is strong, but your TBR pile needs love too. Challenge yourself to not buy or borrow another book until you’ve cleared your to-be-read pile, or have at least made a dent in it. The sense of accomplishment will be worth it, I promise. 

These are just a few low-stress yearly reading challenge ideas that you can try. They don’t even have to be yearly—you can experiment with different time periods like monthly or seasonally. You can try even smaller challenges like reading a book with a certain word in the title, reading something hyper-specific like a mystery novel written in the ‘70s, or even reading whatever you pick at random from the library. Whatever reading challenge you choose, give yourself the freedom to customize it in any way that suits your life and interests. And most importantly—have fun!