2022 For The Love of Reading Prompts
Welcome to the second annual For The Love of Reading Challenge hosted by Books, Interrupted. This post contains affiliate links to Amazon, or if you would prefer supporting independent bookstores, I have also included affiliate links to Bookshop.org.
Each new year brings a clean slate. A chance to resolve continuing a favorite hobby, or more commonly, setting new goals and resolutions. For readers, it means setting a goal to read a certain number of books, getting out of their reading comfort zone, or a myriad of other goals for their reading life. Although instead of setting a lofty goal of reading a large number of books like 100 when you haven’t read a book in 10 years, it means setting smaller more manageable goals and having a guided challenge to help along the way.
This is where the For The Love of Reading Challenge comes into play. It is to help you fall back in in love with reading and to explore the world of books.
Some of you may notice that I made the 2022 challenge shorter by 10 prompts than the 2021. This was an intentional move to make it a more manageable number. The math works out to be about a book and a half per month. The last 2 years have been hard to manage all around and I have to admit that I did not complete my own challenge in 2021. This is what prompted me (no pun intended) to pare down the 2022 challenge by doing 20 prompts instead of 30. We all have busy lives and if the last 2 years with COVID has taught us anything, life can change in an instant and the fatigue is undeniable.
A Brief History: This challenge is a product of quarantine in the sense that I read over 100 books in 2020 because, like everyone else, I did not have a social life outside of work and binge watching shows on Netflix. In September 2020, I did not think I was going to meet all 10+ reading challenges I signed up for, but I did surprise myself and met every reading challenge and even had a few books to spare. With all of my extra time, I also rebranded this blog and launched it here on Squarespace. So, with all of that in mind, I decided it was a perfect time to launch my own challenge.
Goal: The concept behind this challenge is to develop or rediscover a love for reading. The prompts are not meant to be difficult, though are also meant to inspire you to read something you might not have picked out for yourself otherwise. Many, if not all, of the prompts are broad so if you are struggling with a prompt that is not something that you would not normally read, you will see some of my own recommendations below each prompt along with some strategies on how to find a book to fit. And, as I read a book for each prompt, I will write a review right here on this blog and link the prompt title to my review.
Rules: There really aren’t any! I just ask that when you share this on social media, you use the hashtags #BooksInterrupted and #ForTheLoveOfReading
A book you purchased this year. Any book published in any format in any year. Though, if you’d like some suggestions of books published in 2021 or 2022, check out my suggestions on Amazon or on Bookshop.org.
A book you purchased last year but did not get around to reading. This can be any book as long as it was purchased by you in calendar year 2021. Although, if you are someone who reads books as soon as you buy them, then I would suggest reading a book published in 2021 that you have not gotten around to reading yet even if you have not actually purchased it. Need some ideas? Check out my favorites from 2021 on Amazon Affiliates or on Bookshop.org - double check the publication date before making your decision if you want it to meet the criteria I’ve set, but I also want you to enjoy this challenge and make your own rules!
A book you received as a gift. No time limit on this one. It could be one you received at Christmas, for your birthday, or just because. It could be that book you got 5 years ago that is collecting dust on your night stand. Check out my list of favorite books to gift for ideas on Amazon and Bookshop.org. A book you buy yourself today counts as a gift! (wink wink)
A book recommended by your favorite author, celebrity, or influencer. You can often find books recommended by people in these categories on their social media, websites, or in their email newsletters.
A book by an indigenous author. They can be indigenous to any region. For example, if you are an American living in Germany, feel free to read an author indigenous to the country/continent we know as Australia.
A book by an author from your state or province. The concept behind this one means the state or province where you currently live, though you could also go with the state where you grew up if you would prefer or want an added prompt! Coming soon: a curated list on both Amazon and Bookshop.org for authors from each of the 50 states in the US (plus Washington DC).
A book featuring a subject you know nothing about. I had non-fiction books about women in science and engineering when I wrote this prompt since I know next to nothing about women in the field. However, a fiction book featuring a main character in the field would also qualify.
A book with a guided workbook or journal. Many books with an accompanying workbook or journal tend to be academic or non-fiction. Sometimes the books are also in a sub-genre of professional development, self-help, or autobiography/memoir and the author produces the workbook or journal to guide others on their own similar journey. On Amazon and Bookshop.org you can find my suggestions of books and their companion journals that would fit this prompt.
A book on your shelf so long you forgot where it came from. Technically, this literally means your physical bookshelf. However, an e-book in your e-reader would count as well. Don’t have a backlog of unread books on your shelves? Then pick a book on your TBR (to be read) that has been on your list for so long you that forgot why you added it.
A book of poetry, short stories, essays, or a play. This is one of my favorite prompts from the Popsugar Reading Challenge from a few years ago. Poetry and short stories are both genres that I have been diving more and more into in the last several years, and this prompt helped me explore the genres a little more. It also opened my eyes to the fact that people enjoy reading the script of plays for fun. Check out my suggestions on Amazon and Bookshop.org.
A book that seems like everyone else has read but you. Do your social media feeds always seem to be populated with the same books? The New York Times bestseller list seemingly does not change for an extended period of time. Maybe your book club friends can’t stop talking about the latest Stephen King novel, or your favorite blogger and podcaster has been raving for months about Oprah’s Book Club pick for June. There are so many books out there that could fit this prompt for different people so rather than giving you specific recommendations, I suggest paying attention to what is being talked about in your region or social media feeds.
A book you don't want to admit you are dying to read. You know that guilty pleasure of a genre or book that is generally looked down upon by the mainstream? Or the one that would get you teased at the next book club discussion? Yeah, that one.
A reread of a book from the last 2 years or from childhood. Have you been meaning to go back and reread a favorite but would feel guilty for not spending the time reading the unread books on your shelf? Well, here is your permission slip to go reread that book.
A cookbook, guidebook, or How-To book. This is one of my favorite prompts from another reading challenge that really helped me to get through the other kinds of books that are not always thought of as part of “traditional” reading. Check out my Amazon and Bookshop.org lists for some suggestions on my favorite cookbooks. A little research on your own will hopefully yield some results for guidebooks and How-To books.
A book you previously abandoned/DNF'd and didn’t think you'd revisit. This might be a tough one becuase if you abandoned it or DNF (did not finish) it, then why would you revisit it? Yeah, I thought that too until a year after I first tried reading Before We Were Yours and gave up, I tried reading it again and ended up enjoying the story. A few books that I hope to read for this prompt are Girl Woman Other, Saint X, and Conjure Women. Chances are, I will be in a different mindset and more open to the story than I was when I tried it the first time.
A book you've been meaning to read. You know that book that has been sitting on your nightstand collecting dust for an unknown amount of time? Time to dust off the jacket and get to reading.
A book about books or reading. A book about books and/or reading? What? I did not know until I came across Anne Bogel’s book I’d Rather Be Reading that there is a sub genre for these kinds of books. In I’d Rather Be Reading, she talks about the different kinds of readers and how we handle them. Need ideas? Check out my lists at Amazon, Bookshop.org, or this list from Anne Bogel over at Modern Mrs. Darcy -
A book you can finish in a day. When I wrote this prompt, I had the idea that the book would be short enough to finish in a about 2-3 hours or an audiobook you can listen to on a long car ride. But I also think about the Christmas that my brother got the latest Harry Potter book as a gift and he finished it in about 12 hours. So if you finish an 800+ page or a 16-hour audiobook in one day, then you are my new hero.
A book outside your genre comfort zone. You know that book in that other genre that you have been reading but you haven’t had the courage to even pick it up let alone read it? Well, here’s your reason to finally get around to reading that one. Perhaps you might actually enjoy it! I will likely try to read some fantasy and/or sci-fi.
A book that was an impulse buy. Think about all those books you have brought home from the bookstore or bought online because you were in the mood to read it at the time, but then once it got to your house, the excitement wore off. It could be a book you bought several years ago and you forgot about it, or something you buy today. There are no other restrictions in terms of format, genre, etc., just as long as you read something on your shelf that was not a planned purchase.
And that’s a wrap! I will regularly be posting both here on the blog, Facebook, and on Instagram about this years challenge. Make sure to use the hashtag, #ForTheLoveOfReading2022, and tag me, @booksinterrupted, so we can share in the fun!
