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?
- Download our printable list here [1], checking off the books as you go, and pin the handy graphic ahead for reference.
- Join the POPSUGAR Book Club on Facebook [2], a well-read community of enthusiastic POPSUGAR editors and fellow readers from around the world. Swap book picks for the challenge, reach out when you're stumped on a prompt, share bullet-journaling ideas, or just chat about the latest page-turner you're obsessed with.
- If you're looking for an easy way to digitally track and rate the books you've read for the challenge, we suggest also joining this Goodreads group [3] made up of readers who participate in the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge every year.
- Follow POPSUGAR Books on Twitter [4] and share your progress on social with the hashtag #popsugarreadingchallenge [5].
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
A book published in 2022
Wahala: A Novel by Nikki May [6] (£15) — out 6 Jan.
A book set on a plane, train, or cruise ship
Shipped by Angie Hockman [7] (£10)
A book about or set in a nonpatriarchal society
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave [8] (£8.50)
A book with a tiger on the cover or "tiger" in the title
The White Tiger: A Novel by Aravind Adiga [9] (£9)
A sapphic book
Honey Girl: A Novel by Morgan Rogers [10] (£12)
A book by a Latinx author
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia [11] (£17)
A book with an onomatopoeia in its title
Smash It! by Francina Simone [12] (£15)
A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid
Always Only You by Chloe Liese [13] (£12)
A book about a "found family"
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor [14] (£11)
An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner
Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir by Natasha Trethewey [15] (£10)
A #BookTok recommendation
The Song of Achilles: A Novel by Madeline Miller [16] (£10)
A book about the afterlife
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune [17] (£17)
A book set in the 1980s
My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix [18] (£10)
A book with cutlery on the cover or in the title
The Dinner by Herman Koch [19] (£9)
A book by a Pacific Islander author
Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn [20] (£9)
A book about witches
The Once and Future Witches by Alix. E. Harrow [21] (£7.50)
A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2022
The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn [22] (£7.50)
A romance novel by a BIPOC author
Love in Colour: Mythical Tales From Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola [23] (£8.50)
A book that takes place during your favourite season
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling [24] (£9) — set during Halloween [25]
A book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read
XOXO by Axie Oh [26] (£13)
A book about a band or musical group
Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid [27] (£9)
A book with a character on the ace spectrum
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood [28] (£7.50)
A book with a recipe in it
Natalie Tan's Book of Luck & Fortune by Roselle Lim [29] (£5)
A book you can read in one sitting
Red at the Bone: A Novel Jacqueline Woodson [30] (£7.50)
A book about a secret
The Kindest Lie: A Novel by Nancy Johnson [31] (£20)
A book with a misleading title
The Happiest Girl in the World: A Novel by Alena Dillon [32] (£11)
A Hugo Award winner
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone [33] (£10)
A book set during a holiday
This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens [34] (£8) — set during New Year's
A different book by an author you read in 2021
By the Book: A Meant to Be Novel by Jasmine Guillory [35] (available 3 May 2022)
A book with the name of a board game in the title
Sorry Not Sorry by Alyssa Milano [36] (£22)
A book featuring a man-made disaster
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham [37] (£10)
A book with a quote from your favourite author on the cover or Amazon page
The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta [38] (£19) — quote from Taylor Jenkins Reid
A social-horror book
Sorrowland: A Novel by Rivers Solomon [39] (£15)
A book set in Victorian times
Bombshell: A Hell's Belles Novel by Sarah MacLean [40] (£8)
A book with a constellation on the cover or in the title
Star-Crossed: A Novel by Minnie Darke [41] (£8)
A book you know nothing about
To Paradise: A Novel by Hanya Yanagihara [42] (£17)
A book about gender identity
Detransition, Baby: A Novel by Torrey Peters [43] (£15)
A book featuring a party
The Guest List: A Novel by Lucy Foley [44] (£9)
An #OwnVoices SFF (science fiction and fantasy) book
A Magic Steeped in Poison (The Book of Tea, 1) by Judy I. Lin [45] (£12)
A book that fulfils your favourite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi [46] (£12) — 2021, an Afrofuturist book
Here are the previous prompts, for reference: 2015, 2016 [47], 2017 [48], 2018 [49], 2019 [50], 2020 [51], 2021 [52]
A book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino [53] (£10)
A book that features two languages
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas [54] (£14)
A book with a palindromic title
MaddAddam (The MaddAddam Trilogy) by Margaret Atwood [55] (£10)
A duology (1)
The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh [56] (£9)
A duology (2)
The Rose & the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh [57] (£9)
A book about someone leading a double life
American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson [58] (£9)
A book featuring a parallel reality
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston [59] (£13)
A book with two POVs
The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox [60] (£8)
Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (1)
The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea [61] (£8) — set in San Diego, twin town aka "sister city" to Vancouver
Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (2)
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good [62] (£17) — set in Vancouver, twin town aka "sister city" to San Diego