Hello! It’s that time of year again – time to reveal the 2022 Thoughtful Reading Challenge!

The challenge is very informal but designed to get you out of your comfort zone and read genres you wouldn’t normally read. The way it works is simple – I’ll post my review of the book I chose for the challenge at the end of the month, and you can post comments about the book you read or remain silent. This is a no pressure challenge.

I’m happy to say that the 2021 challenge introduced me to some excellent books, including:

• Watership Down by Richard Adams
• The Girl in Green by Derek B. Miller
• Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
• Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson

I think we have some interesting categories for this year’s challenge (thanks for the suggestions, George, Molly, and Michaela!), so without further ado, here’s the 2022 Thoughtful Reading Challenge!

January – Read a book with a bird on the cover. Why? January 5th is National Bird Month. I’m dedicating this one to my bird loving mother who passed away in May 2021.

**Bonus challenge: Read Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety in honor of MLK Day (January 17). You can find the full text of the speech here.

February – Read a book by an African author because it’s Black History month. Here are a couple of suggestions:

• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

March – Read a novel by an Irish-American author because it’s National Irish-American month.

April – Read a book about the outdoors or that mostly takes place outside. Why? Winter is ending and it’s starting to warm up outside, plus April 22nd is Earth Day. Here are a couple of good ones that fit this category:

• Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen
• The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

**Bonus challenge – April 2nd is National Children’s Book Day, so donate some new children’s books to a local charity.

May – Read a book that takes place in space because May 6th is National Space Day. Check out The Martian by Andy Weir.

June – It’s time for summer vacations, so read a book with a trip in it. Here are some good options:

• Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
• Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
• The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

July – Read a book with a dog as a main character because July is in the middle of “the dog days of summer.”

August – August 7th is Friendship Day, so have a good friend choose this month’s book.

September – It’s Hispanic Heritage Month, so read a book written by a Central or South American author.

October – Who doesn’t like Oktoberfest? Read a book about or set in Germany.

November – November 8th is Young Readers Day. Read a YA (young adult) novel this month and then give it to a young person to enjoy. Here are a couple of good options:

• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
• Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

December – A lot of Christmas trees come from the Northwest, so read a book set in the Pacific Northwest or Canada. You can’t go wrong with one of my all-time favorites – The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown.

I hope you’ll join me for the 2022 Thoughtful Reading Challenge. Wishing everyone a merry Christmas and a new year full of good reads!