24 book reading challenge

Photo by Franciele da Silva on Unsplash

This is a 24 book annual reading challenge that uses interesting prompts to help build a flexible to-be-read (tbr) pile. Two books every month is a great way to challenge yourself in this rat race and its waaaaay more than the average person will read (especially in my dear country, Malawi). I’ve added recommendations based on books I’ve read (the great and the meh), books I want to read plus some from my mad titan best friend Dytodo Vox. Many of the titles could fit multiple prompts including those in other challenges, but I tried to avoid repeats to give you more range and options. This list is just a guide. Feel free to swap in your own choices, and read however works for you.

If you are looking for other annual prompts check out my 6 book challenge and my 12 book challenge.

1) A book by an author from your country

I’m from Malawi in case you didn’t know. Here are my picks:

• Smouldering Charcoal by Tiyambe Zeleza
• It was Tender Underneath by Dytodo Vox
• I will try by Legson Kayira

2) A book that came out the year you were born

• The Perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• All About Love by Bell Hooks – (On my tbr)

3) A detective thriller

• Darkness Take my Hand by Dennis Lehane
• Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter

4) A book adapted to a Tv series

• Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
• The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary – Yet to finish the series
• Looking for Alaska by John Green – Only read the book

5) A book that’s being translated to English

• Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – (This is a mammoth of a book)

6) Books with queer main characters

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
• Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

7) A book that Spans Across Generations

• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 

I’ve never read these but I hear too many good things:

• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

8) A heartbreaking love story

• Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Fault in our Stars by John Green

9) A book set in a small town

• Touched by  Carolyn Haines
• Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
• Part of your World by Abby Jimenez

10) A book that’s an Epic Poem

I’ve never read one of these. But here are some on my tbr:

• The Odyssey by Homer
• Paradise Lose by John Milton

11) A book by an author you’ve been meaning to read

Other the years, the authors I’ve wanted (and I’ve gotten around) to read include:

• Toni Morrison
• Kazuo Ishigaro
• Zukisiwe Wanner 
• Chinua Achebe 
• Khaled Hossieni

(There’s too many)

12) A romcom

• Get a Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (or any other in this trilogy)
• Gloves Off by Stephanie Archer 
• Bride by Ali Hazelwood 

13) A prequel or a spin off

• Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi 
• Sunrise on the reaping by Suzanne Collins 

14) A book with a narrator between the ages of 13-16

• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
• Pet by Akwaeke Emezi 
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Matt Haddon

15) An essay collection

I’ve never read an essay collection so here’s recommended by Dytodo and some I want to read:

• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
• The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green 
• Bad Feminist by Roxanna Gay

16) Reimaginings or fan fiction

All these are on my tbr:

• Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys –  (Dytodo does not shut up about this)
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
• Circe by Madeline Miller

17) A Celebrity memoir

As Recommended by Dytodo

• Yearbook by Seth Rogen
• I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy – (This is on my tbr)
• The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman

18) A book about fathers and sons

• The Road by Cornac McCarthy – I keep Dnf-ing this but I’ll get back to it
• Between the World and Me by – Also dnfed this. Also want to get back to it)
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossieni – The only part of this book I truly enjoyed the exploration of the father – son relationship

19) A book with the Protagonist’s name in the title

• Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• A Man Called Ove by  Fredrik Backman – (I’ve only watched the movie and I loved it)
• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

20) A book about brothers and brother hood

• The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer
• More Than This by Patrick Ness
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 

21) A book that addresses the reader

• The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë – ( I’ve never read but I know she often addresses the reader as “reader”)

22) A book with an intriguing title

These titles really had me:

• The Goodman Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Phillip Pullman  (have not read yet)
• When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
• What it Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah

23) A book with a one-word title

• Luster by Raven Leilani
• Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
• Forever by Judy Blume

24) A book that’s part of a connected series

• Little Secrets by Emily Blake
• Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
• Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz