Our sincerest apologies to your 2022 plans, dear readers, because you're about to be booked: the eighth annual POPSUGAR Reading Challenge has officially dropped!
Check off these 50 book prompts throughout the year to broaden your reading horizons and shake things up in 2022 by uncovering new subgenres ("A social-horror book"); authors ("A book by a Pacific Islander author"); and under-the-radar titles based on a specific topic ("A book about gender identity"), setting ("A book set in the 1980s"), or character ("A book with a character on the ace spectrum"). There are also prompts around book covers and titles ("A book with a tiger on the cover or 'tiger' in the title" is a nod to 2022 being the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac), awards ("An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner"), and scavenger hunts ("A book with a recipe in it").
If reading 50 books in a single year feels intimidating, we've divided the list into 40 standard book challenge prompts and 10 "advanced" prompts for the avid readers out there (not that 40 books is anything to scoff at!). As an ode to 2022, this year's advanced section is themed around twins, doubles, and pairs. For instance, there's "A book with a palindromic title" (reads the same backward and forward), "A book about someone leading a double life," and "Two books set in twin towns, aka 'sister cities,'" such as San Diego and Vancouver.
Whether this is your first time taking the challenge or you've been with us since the beginning, the goal for the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge is just to have fun, diversify your reading, and accomplish whatever goals you have set for yourself. There are no "rules"!
So, ready to get started?
Now keep reading for the 2022 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge, plus book suggestions for what to read for all the prompts!
— Additional reporting by Kalyn Womack
Advanced
Wahala: A Novel by Nikki May ($23, originally $28) — out Jan. 11
Shipped by Angie Hockman ($15, originally $16)
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave ($24, originally $27)
The White Tiger: A Novel by Aravind Adiga ($16, originally $17)
Honey Girl: A Novel by Morgan Rogers ($12, originally $17)
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia ($26, originally $28)
Smash It! by Francina Simone ($11, originally $19)
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor ($10, originally $11)
Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir by Natasha Trethewey ($26, originally $28)
The Song of Achilles: A Novel by Madeline Miller ($16, originally $17)
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune ($24, originally $27)
The Dinner by Herman Koch ($15, originally $16)
Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn ($12, originally $17)
The Once and Future Witches by Alix. E. Harrow ($26, originally $28)
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn ($13, originally $28)
Love in Color: Mythical Tales From Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola ($24, originally $26)
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling ($13, originally $16) — set during Halloween
XOXO by Axie Oh ($17, originally $18)
Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid ($22, originally $27)
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood ($15, originally $16)
Natalie Tan's Book of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim ($8, originally $16)
Red at the Bone: A Novel Jacqueline Woodson ($15, originally $16)
The Kindest Lie: A Novel by Nancy Johnson ($17, originally $28)
The Happiest Girl in the World: A Novel by Alena Dillon ($11, originally $17)
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone ($13, originally $15)
This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens ($9, originally $16) — set during New Year's
Sorry Not Sorry by Alyssa Milano ($18, originally $28)
The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta ($20, originally $27) — quote from Taylor Jenkins Reid
Sorrowland: A Novel by Rivers Solomon ($14, originally $27)
Bombshell: A Hell's Belles Novel by Sarah MacLean ($24, originally $28)
Star-Crossed: A Novel by Minnie Darke ($20, originally $26)
To Paradise: A Novel by Hanya Yanagihara ($23, originally $33)
Detransition, Baby: A Novel by Torrey Peters ($20, originally $27)
The Guest List: A Novel by Lucy Foley ($19, originally $28)
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino ($17, originally $18)
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas ($14, originally $18)
MaddAddam (The MaddAddam Trilogy) by Margaret Atwood ($12, originally $17)
The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh ($7, originally $12)
The Rose & the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh ($11, originally $12)
American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson ($16, originally $17)
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston ($16, originally $17)
The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox ($13, originally $17)
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea ($11, originally $17) — set in San Diego, twin town, aka "sister city" to Vancouver
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good ($19) — set in Vancouver, twin town, aka "sister city" to San Diego