I usually set a bar of at least 12 books a year, as I like books thick enough that you can seriously hurt someone with if you need/want to. Then I recently discovered The 52 Book Club’s 2024 Challenge here, and it really caught my eye. I’ve had a lot of fun trying to match my books to the prompts and browsing for new ones. I think the idea is a great one, as it should motivate me to read more different books without forcing me completely out of my comfort zone.

However, as funny as it may seem, the more I think about this challenge, the more stressed out I get trying to figure out how to make sure I manage to read so many books. I don’t want to force myself to read or try to find ways to cheat, like deliberately choosing small books and so on. I realise that this is a challenge to myself and it’s no big deal if I don’t achieve this goal. I also know that I’m still that person who cried for hours while reading Ulysses, trying to finish the damn book because it was on the required reading list and I refused to read the summary like any sane person would. I fear I will inevitably break under the pressure, which is the last thing I want after it took me years to get back to reading for pleasure.

So my question is: what are the alternatives? I would really appreciate suggestions of more approachable challenges. Or maybe someone knows a really huge cool challenge that is so massive that it could be a task of a lifetime. During my research I also came across various book bingos and got a bit lost in them, so perhaps you can recommend ones you liked, or anything else you may have tried and would recommend to others.