Now that the new year has begun, it's time to set new reading goals for 2017. Since I enjoyed the
Around the Year in 52 Books challenge
last year, I decided to give it another go. I like the idea of reading one book a week and the prompts help diversify my reading habits. Once again I tried to choose books that were currently on my shelf or easily available through the library.
1. A book from the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016 (
link) -
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
2. A book with at least 2 perspectives (multiple points of view) -
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
3. A book you meant to read in 2016 -
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
4. A title that doesn't contain the letter "E" -
NW by Zadie Smith
5. A historical fiction -
Atonement by Ian McEwan
6. A book being released as a movie in 2017 -
IT by Stephen King
7. A book with an animal on the cover or in the title -
A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
8. A book written by a person of color -
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
9. A book in the middle of your To Be Read list -
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
10. A dual-timeline novel -
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
11. A category from another challenge : A book you loved as a child (from the Popsugar reading challenge) -
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
12. A book based on a myth -
Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
13. A book recommended by one of your favorite authors -
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (recommended by John Green)
14. A book with a strong female character -
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
15. A book written or set in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland) -
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
16. A mystery -
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
17. A book with illustrations -
Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen
18. A really long book (600+ pages) -
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
19. A New York Times best-seller -
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
20. A book that you've owned for a while but haven't gotten around to reading -
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
21. A book that is a continuation of a book you've already read -
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
22. A book by an author you haven't read before -
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
23. A book from the BBC's "The Big Read" list (
link) -
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
24. A book written by at least 2 authors -
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
25. A book about a famous historical figure -
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (currently reading)
26. An adventure book -
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
27. A book by one of your favorite authors -
M Train by Patti Smith
28. A non-fiction book -
Chronicles: Vol 1 by Bob Dylan
29. A book published outside the 4 major publishing houses (Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Hachette Livre) -
The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli, translated by Christina MacSweeney
30. A book from Goodreads Top 100 YA books (
link) -
I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson
31. A book from a sub-genre of your favorite genre -
Lit by Mary Karr (memoirs about substance abuse)
32. A book with a long title (5+ words, excluding subtitle) -
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
33. A magical realism novel -
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
34. A book set in or by an author from the Southern Hemisphere -
The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara
35. A book where one of the main characters is royalty -
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
36. A Hugo Award winner or nominee (
link) -
Saga, Vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
37. A book you choose randomly - I'm leaving this one open for now
38. A novel inspired by a work of classic literature -
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
39. An epistolary fiction -
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
40. A book published in 2017 -
Things We Lost In the Fire by Mariana Enriquez
41. A book with an unreliable narrator -
Rebecca by Daphane du Maurier
42. A best book of the 21st Century (so far) -
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
43. A book with a chilling atmosphere (scary, unsettling, cold) -
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
44. A recommendation from "What Should I Read Next" (
link) - I'll probably decide on this book a little later in the year
45. A book with a one-word title -
Beloved by Toni Morrison
46. A time travel novel -
Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
47. A past suggestion that didn't win (
link) : A book about traveling, can be fiction or non-fiction -
Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson
48. A banned book -
1984 by George Orwell (currently reading)
49. A book from someone else's bookshelf -
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
50. A Penguin Modern Classic -
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
51. A collection (e.g. essays, short stories, poetry, plays) -
The Tenth of December by George Saunders (currently reading)
52. A book set in a fictional location -
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
Like last year's challenge, these books are subject to change at any time. I'll try to check in every once in a while with updates, but this list provides a starting off point. Happy reading!
Do you participate in any reading challenges? If so, which ones?
-S
