As we’re in the last quarter of the year, I’m looking at my 2026 challenges. Thanks to my time off this summer, I’m very close to completing them – which is great, since now my reading time is so limited. Here are the categories I need to complete my challenges this year.
The Nonfiction Reading Challenge, hosted by Book’d Out, has 12 categories of nonfiction to complete. The only book I need to read is a nonfiction book about Southeast Asia. I’d like to read The Last Whalers by Doug Bock Clark, about a tribe who are the last subsistence whalers whose way of life is under threat. I’m open to other suggestions.
For the 52 Books Challenge, I have to read books that meet 52 different categories. This is certainly my most difficult challenge, and with only 2 and a half months left of the year, I don’t know if I’ll get there. Here is what I have left.
- A title with a kangaroo word: This is a word with a related word buried in it. For example, the word “fragile” contains “frail”. My idea for meeting this category is to read Jill Lepore’s We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution (“history” and “story”). Other ideas are Fragile Threads of Power or The Great Alone.
- Starts with letter O: This one was surprisingly hard. On my shelf is a book of short stories, One More Thing by BJ Novak. I’ve always heard great things about it.
- Written in the 1800s: There are plenty I could choose from here, but two I’m leaning towards are Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy or Silas Marner by George Eliot
- Spotted in a TV series or movie: I found a great list of books that have been shown on Heartstopper, read by the character Isaac. I’d like to read We are Okay by Nina LaCour.
- Two or more authors writing under one pseudonym: The authors I know that meet this category are Christina Lauren, James S.A. Corey, and Ilona Andrews. I’m planning to read The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren (if you liked Dolly All the Time, this plot looks pretty similar)
- Two authors related to each other: I’ve struggled with this one. I thought about Stephen King and Joe Hill, but Hill’s books just didn’t look good to me. Then I read Geraldine Brooks’ Memorial Days, and she writes a lot about her husband’s books. Does married count as related to each other? I’m saying yes, so I can read Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz.
- Nonfiction about a historical character in another book: Earlier this year I read Ghost Boys, about the ghosts of black boys who have been killed because of racism. Emmett Till is a main character in this book, and I want to learn more about him. Two options are The Blood of Emmett Till or Death of Innocence.
- Handwritten interior font: I had to look up ideas on Goodreads for this category, since a lot of my books are audiobooks, and you can’t tell what kind of font they have. I don’t love this category, but two books that came up that I want to read are Buckeye by Patrick Ryan, or Sounds like Love by Ashley Poston.
- Set in a castle: I have a nonfiction ARC called Castles: A Fortified History of the World, about how castles have shaped history. I also want to read The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar.
Those are the books I need to read for challenges, though if I don’t get there, I’m okay with that. I’m not putting a lot of pressure on myself right now; that’s an easy way to add more stress to the end of the year, which is always busy enough!
Have you read any of these books, or do you have any recommendations for these categories? How are you doing on your challenges?