Today is the last day of posts on the blog before I go on summer hiatus (I will be back on 9 August 2023), so I wanted to leave you with something fun. Pretty much every reader that I’ve connected with has been a book reader as well. So it seemed to make perfect sense to me to create another reading challenge. My Royal Reading Challenge for the Coronation was a lot of fun, and forced me to get out of my reading rut, so I’m hoping another challenge will do the same for all of us! Welcome to the An Historian About Town 2023 Summer Reading Challenge!
Rules of the An Historian About Town 2023 Summer Reading Challenge
This is simply for fun and to push ourselves out of our regular reading habits! The challenge starts on Saturday, 1 July and ends on Friday, 15 September. Read or listen in whatever format you choose- reader’s choice! And make sure to take advantage of your library and everything they have to offer. (In addition to physical books, many libraries allow you to borrow ebooks and audiobooks through apps like Libby and Hoopla!)
If you are on Instagram, tag @AnHistorianAboutTown and use the hashtag #23SummerReadingChallenge and I will share your post on my account!
Throughout this post, I’m including the covers of several books if you are looking for suggestions. (Or you can visit my Summer Reading Suggestions post here)
Reading Challenge Book Prompts
I have created five different book prompts to help you get out of your book comfort zone and try something new! With massive TBRs and so many books being shared all over social media, it can be overwhelming to choose your next book. (In the grand scheme of life, that is a good problem to have, but frustrating in the moment.) Hopefully these will inspire you to think outside of your book-box!
1) New-to-you Genre
Give a new genre a shot! I tend to stick to the same three or four genres and while I love them, I typically end up loving other genres just as much when I give them a try. There are so many different genres to choose from, and if you aren’t sure where to start, I usually choose a related genre. I love historical fiction, so I chose a historical fantasy book to try.
2) New-to-you Author
In the same vein as the first prompt, read a book by a new-to-you author. It could be a debut author or someone with a large catalogue, but take a chance on a new author! When you have favourite authors who release regularly, it can be easy to get caught up in their books, but you never know what other authors are waiting for you.
3) One Book From Your To-Be-Read (TBR) List
Summer is a great time to tackle your TBR list- read at least one book from your TBR! You could pick the book that’s been on your TBR the longest, the book with the highest (or lowest) rating, or use a random generator. Make your way through that list!
4) One Book That Someone Else Has Recommended to You
Ask someone to recommend a book for you, outside of your TBR list! You can tell them what types of books you enjoy (if they don’t already know) or you can let them make the decision on their own. In any case, let someone else choose the book that you read!
5) Reread a Favourite Book From Your Childhood
While the first four prompts are helping you branch out of your regular authors and books, this one is bringing it back to where you started. Choose one of your favourite childhood books and reread it! As an adult, it will probably carry different meaning now, and you will notice different things. I reread Emily of New Moon each year, and I notice something new each year.
Will you be taking part in the An Historian About Town 2023 Summer Reading Challenge?
Cheers,
The Historian
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