12 MONTHS OF READING

So What?

You may be wondering, “If there’s no pressure, why bother?” Well, I have six reasons for you:

1. I really do my best to make it fun!
2. You’ll meet some cool lit-minded people and have something to share with your bookish friends.
3. This challenge pairs nicely with the others I host throughout the year, including my LAM Summer Reading Challenge.
4. You’ll have something interesting to share at otherwise boring parties.
5. You will discover new books or think about your reading choices differently.
6. If you do choose to complete the entire 12 Months of Reading Challenge, you will win more than bragging rights!

Each month, simply record the book you read however you’d prefer to keep up with it and email me your completed list and mailing address by January 2 at midnight (CT). EMAIL ME

If you read all 12 book categories, I will mail you a 12 Months of Reading calendar for the next year! The calendar has space for you to record each month’s chosen title and author … a handy way to show me you’ve completed the challenge!

This category goes beyond the fantasy realm. What adventure or journey would you like to start your year with? Perhaps you have a personal growth book in mind. Maybe you want to read through the Bible this year—start your epic quest in January, and you’ll be marking off two books on December 31! Pick a book where the character is embarking on something big—fantastic or realistic.

I love one-word categories because the sky’s the limit! Will you dive into a realm of immortal characters, choose a book that has eternal meaning, pick characters whose decisions have lasting consequences or use the shortest month to tackle the longest book? Part of the fun is seeing how each reader interprets the category, so be sure to #ShareTheRead with your other fellow 12 MOR readers.

A collection of essays or short stories or poems will definitely fulfill this category. You may also get more creative than that and uncover a book about collecting things like stamps or records or cookbooks. Perhaps you dig up a book featuring a character who collects things or you find a book where part of the plot includes a collection of … people.

Again, this category is wide open! Perhaps you read about gardening or a young character’s coming-of-age experience. Maybe a novel features a garden or flowers. Perhaps a story or book opens with the promise of something beautiful to come—for yourself or a character. Beauty truly can be in the eye of the beholder with this one!

In addition to a few specially selected Featured Authors, you’ll also get reaquainted with phenomenal authors from past summers—each of whom I consider my Authors of the Round Table. Closer to our Kickoff on June 7, you’ll be able to find info about each of these authors on this page as well.

Family doesn’t always mean blood relations. Found family has come to be a recurring theme in most of my books and in many of the books I most enjoy reading. Nonfiction readers can find a ton of books on the topics of family and friendship as well that will fit this category quite nicely. What will you choose?

In many fictional tales, characters stand up for a cause—sometimes that cause is themselves or a dream or a friend or family member. Often, fiction highlights a cause worth standing up for and sheds the light on needs in the real world. Nonfiction shelves are full of books on worthy causes. Which will you pick?

This category is not just for my fantasty fanatics! Sometimes the most fantastic of beasts lie beside us on our couches. You could read true accounts of animals or fictional ones of mythical creatures. You could latch on to the “& More” part and choose a fantastic account of another sort. The sky’s the limit!