As writers, our best education will always be reading. For that reason, I’ve put together a reading challenge meant to inspire your best writing yet!

A New Book from Your Genre

Reading your genre is normal and important. This one should have been released no earlier than January 2020. Keep up with current trends, and see how readers respond to bigger risks.

A New-to-You Book by an Author You Love

Fill your soul up with something you haven’t written before by someone you love. Even if it’s not quite as good, you’re sure to find beautiful moments. For me, I’ll be reading The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.

A Book You’ve Read Before

Revisiting books from your past can remind you how much you’ve grown and changed but also how much a genre can grow and change. This year, I’ll be rereading The Martian with my husband. It’ll be his first time!

A Book the Opposite of Your Genre

Challenge yourself this year. If you write horror, pick up a romance novel. If you write sci-fi, grab something set in the 1800s. You’ll likely learn something new.

A Book You’ve Been Putting Off Reading

For me, this is 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. Don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of fun reading Murakami, but somehow this tome has been too daunting until now.

An Award-Winning Book

Wouldn’t you love to win an award someday? Some days, this is me. Other days, I would rather rebel. Either way, these books have deeply affected millions of readers and are worth reading. If you need a suggestion, I would go for All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr or Beloved by Toni Morrison.

A Recommendation

Reading what other people find valuable is a great way to better understand your audience, and having someone to connect with about a book is a beautiful prize at the end. There are many recommendations in this article, but if you need one more, try The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler.

A Short Story Collection

Short story collections are a series of quick lessons on pacing, characterization, and plot lines. One of my favorites is A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, which also happens to be award-winning.

A Challenging Book

This is likely to look different to everyone. For some, a challenging book is a very long one. For others, it may be a new format like poetry, a non-linear story, or a translated work. For me, it will probably be something nonfiction.

A Children’s Book

At least once a year, I love to remind myself how the little ones see our world. If you haven’t, you simply must consider reading Mister Orange by Truus Matti.

A Book That’s Also a Movie

When I was in college, I realized that so many of the movies I was seeing were made from books. And while the movies varied greatly in their success, the reason they were being made came from a book that was far more interesting. Promising myself to read the book before I see the movie is what got me back into reading as an adult, and I like to keep up that tradition. This year, I’ll likely read many, but first on my list is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré.

A Book About Books

Ah, the meta part of the challenge. I find fiction books about books so comforting, and if you’re going that route, I suggest The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. But for most writers, I suggest reading something nonfiction written to grow your craft. My current favorite for those wanting to work on their plot lines is The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne.

There you have it! Some of the suggestions come to challenge you, and others are for comfort, but it is of my opinion that each will help shape you into a better writer. Read like your writing depends upon it, because it likely does.