Happy January! Here are three reading challenges that I am going to try to complete. It will probably not happen, but I am excited to try some more purposeful reading this year! I will be using some books in multiple challenges to help out with the amount. Here are my tentative plans. Maybe you'll find something that piques your interest! Happy new year reading!
52 Books in 52 Weeks (I will be doing this with my lovely mom.)
Locked room mystery: Cover Her Face by PD James
Bibliosma: The Sweet Life in Paris
More than 40 chapters: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Lowercase letters on spine: Just Thinking: about the state by Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker
Magical realism: The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove by Karen Hawkins
Women in stem: Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell
Four different POV: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Features the ocean: The Glass Ocean by Williams, Willig, and White
Character-driven novel: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Non-chronological order: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Title with letter 'k': Killing the Legends by Bill O'Reilly
Title with letter 'L': The Library Book by Susan Orleans
Academic thriller: Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Grieving character: No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
Part of duology: The Princess and Curdie by G.K. Chesterton
Omniscient narrator: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Booker prize: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Apostrophe in title: La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith
Buddy read: something by Heather Webber with mom
A revenge story: The Iliad by Homer
Ghostwriter: Will by Will Smith
Plot similar to another book: The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Other book: How High the Moon by Karyn Parsons
Cover without people: Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
Author 'everyone' has read but me: 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
Hybrid genre: Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
Neurodivergent author: Crispin and the Cross of Lead by Avi
Yellow spine: The Jasmine Farm by Elizabeth von Armin
Year of the dragon: Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Without reading blurb: The Hidden Prince by Tessa Afshar
Personal phobia: How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
Week or less timeframe: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Abrupt ending: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Landlocked country: The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin
Title matching lyrics: One LORD, One Faith, One Baptism by J.R. Miller
Futuristic technology: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Palindrome: The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
Hachette: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Non-fiction rec: The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser
A Holiday I don’t celebrate: The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
Sticker on cover: Reef Road by Deborah Goodrich Royce
Author debut in 2024:
Finding identity: The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield
Includes a wedding: The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
Chapters with dates: Then They Came for Me by Matthew D. Hockenos
Indigenous culture: The New Trail of Tears by Naomi Schaffer Riley
Author self-insert: Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger by Louis Sachar
'Secret' in title: The Secret Pilgrim by John Le Carre
Set in 'm' city: The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
Musical instrument on cover: A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond
Related to 'wild': Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughgrean
Published in 2024: KM Shea new trilogy
Tim Challies Reading Challenge (I love challenging myself with these prompts.)
Current issue: Just Thinking: about the state by Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker
Biography: Being Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn
Classic novel: Watership Down by Richard Adams
Book about history: The New Trail of Tears by Naomi Schaffer Riley
Book targeted to females: When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons
Theology: Living Faith by Helen Roseveare
400 pages: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Pastor recommends:
Christian living: (A)typical Woman by Abigail Dodds
100+ years old: The Iliad by Homer
Published 2024: KM Shea new trilogy
Book for children: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
My choice: Cover Her Face by PD James
100 pages or less: That Which Is Seen and That Which is Not Seen by Bastiat
Church history:
Written by a Puritan: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs
By or about a missionary: The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson
Christian Living: The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee
Commentary on book of the Bible: Revelation by David Jeremiah
Reformation: The Reformation: How A Monk and a Mallet Changed the World by Stephen j. Nichols
Theology: The Case for Christian Nationalism by Stephen Wolfe
Recommended by family: The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser
Great cover: The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove by Karen Hawkins
On current NYT list: The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
My choice: No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
Won a prize: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Theological view I disagree with:
Christian living: Home-Making by James Russell Miller
Apologetics:
My choice: Becoming Free Indeed by Jinger Duggar Vuolo
Humorous: Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger by Louis Sachar
Based on true story: Reef Road by Deborah Goodrich Royce
Prayer: The power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian
Poetry: Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
One-word title: Will by Will Smith
Sinclair Ferguson:
Author I've never heard of: Shannon by Campbell McGrath
Christian Living: Christian Love by Hugh Binning
Memoir/autobiography: The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield
Shakespeare: Twelfth Night
My choice: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Author with initials: One God, One Faith, One Baptism by J.R. Miller
Female author: Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Theology:
Published by Crossway:
Self-improvement: The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi
Graphic novel: Big Nate
Own but haven't read: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Book targeted to males: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Christian living: The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
My choice: The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
Race/racial issues: Black and Tan by Douglas Wilson
Started but haven't finished: Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
Church history:
Holiness/sanctification: The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
Science: Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbel
Used as seminary textbook:
ECPA bestseller list: After the Rapture by David Jeremiah
Productivity/time management: Simplified Organization by Mystie Winkler
My choice: The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin
Spiritual disciplines: Learning Contentment by Nancy Wilson
Parenting: Fit to Burst by Rachel Jankovic
Christian living: Angels in the Architecture by Douglas Wilson
By Iain Murray:
Business:
Theology: Christians and Exiles: Christian Faithfulness in God's Two Kingdoms by Scott Aniol
Marriage: Marriage to a Difficult Man: The Uncommon Union of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards by Elisabeth Dodds
Essay book:
Comics:
WWII: Then They Came for Me by Matthew D. Hockenos
By a Puritan:
Preaching/public speaking:
My choice: Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Suffering: Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughgrean
Evangelism: Tactics by Gregory Koukl
By my fave author: The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
Reread: The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
Christian novel: The Hidden Prince by Tessa Afsha
Bio of a Christian: The White Horse King by Banjamin Merkle
About natural world:
YA: A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond
400+ pages: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
About history: Killing the Legends by Bill O'Reilly
About the Bible: Musing on God's Music: Forming Hearts of Praise with the Psalms by Scott Aniol
Rec by friend: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
P&R Publications:
Ugly cover:
About a martyr:
My choice:
Christian Living: Christian Modesty by Jeff Pollard
Church history:
Money/finances: Redeeming Money by Paul David Tripp
Leadership:
John Piper:
Theology: On Grace and Free Will by St. Augustine
For kids or teens: How High the Moon by Karyn Parsons
Sexuality: Strange New World by Carl R. Trueman
About writing: The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings by Philip and Carol Zalenski
Current events: In the Shadow of Plenty: Biblical Principles for Caring for the Poor by George Grant
About the church:
My choice: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
About a hobby:
Written in 20th century: Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Literary Life Reading Challenge (Listening to the Podcast episodes help me a lot!)
Mythology: D'aulaires Greek Myths
The Ancients: The Iliad
Biblical Times: God King
Early Middle Ages: King Arthur by Roger Lancelyn Green
14th Century: Kristin Lavansdatter by Sigrid Undset / A Beginner's Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy by Jason Baxter
15th Century: Everyman Plays / The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
16th Century: Twelfth Night by Shakespeare / The Immortal Tartuffe by Moliere
17th Century: / Paradise Lost by Dante
18th Century: Declaration of Independence / Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge
19th Century: Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte / Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
20th Century: Howard's End by E.M. Forrester / Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
21st Century: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling