Join the Year's Definitive Book Event: The 2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Starts Now!

Fun fact: 2024 is a leap year. "Sappho's Leap" by Erica Jong (£13), who is also author of best-selling debut "Fear of Flying," would cross this prompt off the list.

In case you need a definition (I know I did), Merriam-Webster defines "bildungsroman" as "a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character." "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (£9) would work nicely here. Centreing on a young Nigerian woman named Ifemelu, the story follows her journey to America and the complicated questions about identity and home awaiting her there.

Twenty-four is an interesting age. You're old enough to be placed firmly in the "adult" category, but also not very far removed from adolescence and all the chaos that comes with it. For this prompt, we're inviting readers to follow along on a 24-year-old's journey. Need a starting point? "Hana Khan Carries On" by Uzma Jalaluddin (£23) comes highly recommended from our editors.

Write about what you know, as they say. For this prompt, read a book about a writer. (Any kind of writer counts!) "Romantic Comedy" by Curtis Sittenfeld (£14) would fit the bill, for example.

If you're a fan of K-pop, don't miss "Fireworks" by Alice Lin (£8), which follows a 17-year-old girl named Lulu Li whose neighbour and childhood friend Kite Xu grew up to become a member of the K-pop group Karnival. And for more books for K-pop fans, check out our list here.

I personally don't have any stories about pirates on my TBR pile, but hey, that's what this challenge is all about, right? Join me in unchartered waters, if ye dare, and pick up a book about pirates — perhaps "Fable" by Adrienne Young (£8)?

First, POPSUGAR defines "woman athlete" as anyone who identifies as such. Second, our team is very passionate about giving women athletes the platform and respect they deserve. We are thrilled to dive into a story written by or about a woman athlete for this year's reading challenge. One suggestion of the many wonderful books that would fit this prompt: "Money, Power, Respect" by Macaela MacKenzie (£24).

A classic by one of America's preeminent authors, "The Colour Purple" by Alice Walker (£10) should be on everyone's reading list. The novel follows sisters Celie and Nettie, who sustain their love for each other other across time, distance, and silence.

"Deaf Utopia" by Nyle DiMarco with Robert Siebert (£7) is an empowering memoir and celebration of Deaf culture, all culling from the experiences of DiMarco, who you may recognise for being an actor, producer, and reality-show winner.

Many best-selling authors self-published to get their work into the world. But "Milk and Honey" by Rupi Kaur (£9) has found success beyond the physical book; you've likely seen her beautiful poetry on social media.

Personally? I am not a horror reader. Enter: "The Luminous Dead" by Caitlin Starling (£9), a frightening tale following a caver on a foreign planet who's trying to survive.

Perhaps one of the most famous books told by animals, "Animal Farm" by George Orwell (£7) is a scathing satire of totalitarianism.

Mary Ann Evans is better known by her pen name, and "Middlemarch" by George Eliot (£4) is her best-known novel. It's a masterpiece that explores a fictional 19th century English town.

I recently won a surprise bundle of books from a local bookstore and discovered a new favourite: "The Rabbit Hutch" by Tess Gunty (£5). It's a multi-perspective story that follows one very dramatic week in the lives of one building's residents, culminating in an act of violence.

For this prompt, we recommend popping into a local bookstore and investigating current staff favourites. Maybe you'll be introduced to your new favourite read. At the very least, you'll know another book-lover in the neighbourhood.

We're proud of this challenge because, above all, it brings book people together. (Have you joined our POPSUGAR Book Club Facebook group yet?) For the 2024 edition, we're encouraging you to seek out a librarian (local or from afar; in-person or online!). Let them surprise you with a recommendation to fulfil this prompt. We can't be certain which shelf your librarian will pull from, but "Beloved" by Toni Morrison (£5) — a fervent supporter of libraries — seems like a good bet.

As a child of the early '90s, "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton (£12) works for my personal prompt. Dial back the clock and find a book published 24 years before your birthday year.

Japan is at the tip-top of my personal travel bucket list. If your bucket list destination is also Japan, "Fault Lines" by Emily Itami (£13) works. Where are you dreaming of visiting someday? Travel there via literature for this prompt.

Oftentimes, books set in space reflect more about our own planet than we could ever imagine. Enter: "An Unkindness of Ghosts" by Rivers Solomon (£12), which follows Aster, who lives in the slums of a space vessel that's organised much like the antebellum South.

"How High We Go in the Dark" by Sequoia Nagamatsu (£20) may begin in 2030 — when an ancient virus is unleashed in melting permafrost — but it ends up spanning continents, centuries, and celestial bodies.

Any Olympics lover should rush to read "Rise" by Lindsey Vonn (£21), the most decorated woman skier of all time. The memoir charts Vonn's pursuit of greatness on the slopes, as well as reveals her decades-long depression and struggles with self-confidence.

"The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann (£12) was originally published in 1924. It's a hallmark of German literature, and takes place in a tuberculosis sanatorium in the Swiss Alps, which functions as a fictional microcosm of Europe in the days before World War I.

If you're one of the few POPSUGAR Book Club members who hasn't already finished "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin (£11), now's your chance. Even if you're not a gamer, you'll love this story of friendship, life, and love.

2024 is the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese calendar. Dive into a fantasy narrative featuring these mythical, winged creatures. We suggest "Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros (£10), which takes you into the elite world of a war college for dragon riders.
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A lot can happen in the course of the day. Such is the case in "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon (£6), which follows two teenagers in New York City who meet on a fateful day and spend the next several hours together.

I'm still wrapping my brain around this one, but "The Princess Diaries" by Meg Cabot (£8) is already 24 years old. Despite the decades since this book was released, Mia Thermopolis will forever be our favourite unlikely princess.

From "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire (£4) to Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic," many fan-favourite musical productions started out in book form. Get to know the source material of Broadway hits for this prompt — love of musical theatre not required.

Sometimes a death is required to really get a book going. In "A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas (£7), huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, setting off a mystical (and frightening) series of events.

In "The Good Part" by Sophie Cousens (£18), 26-year-old Lucy Young is tired and makes a wish to be older. When she wakes the next morning as a 42-year-old, she has to figure out: is this what she really wants?

A seminal novel, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon (£9) follows Christopher John Francis Boone, a boy with autism who sets out to solve the murder of a neighbour's dog.

I'd never heard the word "zazen" before, but it turns out it's the word for seated meditation. Perplexingly, "Zazen" by Vanessa Veselka (£8) isn't a calm, meditative book at all; it takes place in a dystopian America that feels far too familiar.

Ah, sometimes a full-sentence book title is just so satisfying. Take "Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman (£9) as an example. It's a book beloved by Reese Witherspoon and editors alike.

Enemies to lovers plot have been everywhere this year: just think this summer's popular movie "Red, White & Royal Blue." "Yours Truly" by Abby Jimenez (£5) is also a good fit for this prompt. It follows Dr. Briana Ortiz, who has just been eclipsed for a promotion by Dr. Jacob Maddox.

Although they're unsettling, books with unreliable narrators offer so many intriguing twists and turns. If you haven't yet read the crime thriller "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn (£9), now's your chance. The narrative alternates between the point of view of married couple Nick and Amy. Nick's narration begins when he finds Amy is missing from their home on their fifth wedding anniversary; Amy's narration, meanwhile, comes in the form of her diaries.

Highly recommended by celebrities and PS editors alike, "Alice Sadie Celine" by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright (£22) follows one woman's affair with her daughter's best friend — and we get insight into each character as we move through a mesmerising portrait of three women.

Merriam-Webster defines magical realism as "a literary genre or style associated especially with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction." It's a mind-bending, magical genre, and "Gods of Jade and Shadow" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (£9) is a great example. In it, a young woman opens a wooden box and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death.

In her memoir "The Many Lives of Mama Love" by Lara Love Hardin (£9), Hardin takes the reader on her journey of going from football mom to opioid addict to convicted felon to ghostwriter.

If you're a writer, you've likely heard of National Novel Writing Month, which happens each year in November. Thousands of people sign up for the challenge — to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days — every year. NaNoWriMo paid off in the form of "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen (£4), which tells the tale of workers in a Depression-era circus.

"Cosy fantasy" has quickly become one of the most popular niches within fantasy, and it's perfect for the wintertime. Might we suggest starting out with "Keeper of the Enchanted Rooms" by Charlie N. Holmberg (£8)? It centres on a remote estate in Narragansett Bay, RI, with a writer and a keeper of enchanted rooms trying to tame the house.

"Manhunt" by Gretchen Felker-Martin (£12) is a gruesome modern take on the post-apocalyptic novel, in which a trio must navigate murderous TERFs, feral men, and more. For more books we love by trans and nonbinary authors, check out this list.

BIPOC authors often nail the horror genre in terms of incorporating the real-life horrors of racism. Such is the case in "Jackal" by Erin E. Adams (£19). After a young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white rust belt town, another Black woman starts noticing a pattern: that Black girls have been going missing in these woods for years.

In "Hijab Butch Blues" by Lamya H (£13), Lamya recounts her journey as a queer hijabi Muslim immigrant. Tracing her coming-of-age story, she makes sense of her struggles and triumphs by comparing her experiences with some of the most famous stories in the Quran.

Indigenous perspectives deserve to be heard in mainstream media. "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer (£19) is a beautiful, genre-bending book that traces Kimmerer's life as an Indigenous scientist and woman. In it, she passes down wisdom about how other living beings offer us gifts and lessons.

Who doesn't love another shot at love? In "Love and Other Words" by Christina Lauren (£9), childhood sweethearts reconnect by chance after a decade apart. And the romance doesn't end there; you can check out more second-chance romance books here.

Patti Smith was at the centre of rock 'n' roll in the late sixties and seventies, and in her memoir "Just Kids" by Patti Smith (£11), she paints a picture of that pivotal time as much as she recounts the love story between her and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Who doesn't love a good romantic comedy? In "Iris Kelly Doesn't Date" by Ashley Herring Blake (£9), Iris is convinced she doesn't want dating, love, or romance. But then she goes to a bar in Portland and happens to meet Stefania — and despite a terrible one-night stand, everything changes.

If a book featuring a mostly-asleep protagonist doesn't sound like a page-turner, "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" by Ottessa Moshfegh (£9) will surprise you. Rumour has it a film adaptation of this best-seller is still in the works.

This romance might have exactly 24 letters in its title, but it promises a lot of steamy scenes, too. "Things We Hide From the Light" by Lucy Score (£6) follows Nash, a police chief recovering from being shot, and Lina, his new next-door neighbour.

In 2022, Ada Limón became the first Latina Poet Laureate of the United States, and if you haven't read her poetry yet, it's high time. Thankfully, "The Carrying" by Ada Limón (£3) has far more than just 24 of her poems to peruse.

It's hard to be an author as popular as Colleen Hoover; dozens of her novels have shot straight to the bestselling list. She's prolific, and while "Layla" by Colleen Hoover (£7) might not be her most popular title, it is her 24th published novel.

You guessed it, "x" is the 24th letter in the alphabet, so it goes along perfectly with our 2024 theme. Why not try "Xingu" by Edith Wharton (£2)? First published in 1916, it's a collection of short stories that are relevant as ever today.