We like to read books!
We like to talk about them too!!
(I mean – we’ve got two whole podcasts about them: a book group podcast Reading With Libraries and our quickie look at books in Book Bites.)
Yeah, that’s not a secret or anything. Hopefully most people who are in the library field like to read and talk about books.
But, you know.
Sometimes you just get into a rut, and there you are – reading the same things over and over again.
Oh, the happy hours I’ve spent listening to Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series. I’ve listened to every book more than five times, I’m sure. I’ve listened while driving across town and across the country, walking, cleaning, hiking, flying – anything you can do while hearing sound. They are just great, and I look forward to re-listening to all of them again before the next book in the series comes out.
That’s great. But sometimes you want to try new things, to find new books, to reach out beyond just hearing about werewolf pack politics.
(I mean, I guess you do???)
One thing that has really helped me to find some cool new books is doing challenges on Goodreads. I’ve found so many fun challenges, and so many fun new books that I would not have sought out if not for the gentle push a challenge gives me – it’s great!
One of the most popular is the Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge hosted on Goodreads. They provide you with 40 prompts for the challenge, and ten additional “advanced challenge” prompts. You find a book that fits into the prompt, and read that one.
It’s easy! It’s fun! You find all kinds of new books!!
What kinds of books will you read? The diversity of book ideas available is amazing!
Here are a few of the prompts for 2019:
- A book made becoming a movie in 2019
- A book that makes you nostalgic
- A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction)
- A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads
- A book with a plant in the title or on the cover
- A reread of a favorite book
- A book about a hobby
- A book you meant to read in 2018
- A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title
- A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
- A book inspired by myth/legend/folklore
- A book published posthumously
Are you already thinking about some books? Wondering where you would ever find those books??
Great!!
As for finding them – you can get all kinds of suggestions on the Goodreads page, or google a prompt and get rewarded with a ton of suggestions there!
You can record your books on the Goodreads page (you need a free account, if you are not already there), or just use a handy chart to track books yourself. Don’t want to make a handy chart? No worries! You can copy a nice one from any of a bunch of Goodreads members who have already made them. Click here.
This challenge has been going on for a few years – with new prompts each year. You can check out some of the past years here, and if you feel inspired to read any of those prompts: go for it!!
As with everything we do here, there are no right or wrong books. It’s just good to read. We don’t care about format, about re-reading, about reading above or below your usual level, or what you “should” be reading. (That last one makes me grit my teeth in annoyance, so definitely not that one!)We don’t care if you read 50 books, or two.
Just read books. Enjoy them. Share them with your community.
Books are good. Let’s read some together!
(If you want to follow my challenge, let me know and I’m happy to share my Google chart with you. Let’s read some fun books!!)