The Benefits of Reading Challenges

Every year, the collective reading community tallies the books occupying their ever-growing to-be-read stacks. We count every spine, update our book-tracking apps, and set a goal to delve into those undiscovered worlds. Unfortunately, 92% of people fail to achieve their annual goals (sorry, forgotten New Year’s Resolution to work out. I was reading)! Setting reading challenges in 2023 can help you stay motivated and increase your chances of success as an avid reader. Better yet, you can have fun reading without experiencing burnout. Not many people realize the benefits of reading challenges can extend into their daily lives, too. Read on to discover how participating in reading challenges (with a little help from the Uncover app) can benefit your routine!

What Is a Reading Challenge?

Reading challenges are themed competitions to help you set and track your progress as a reader. You can choose themes based on different genres and subgenres, the time of year, authors, and more! Whether you choose to challenge yourself or other readers, challenges are an effective way to read more. Whereas traditional goals focus on stats (putting unnecessary pressure on readers), challenges are fun, engaging ways to gamify reading. You can start reading more of what you love (without numbers stressing you out).

The Benefits of Reading Challenges

Participating in reading challenges for adults can help you clear your TBR shelf, expand your mindset, and more. Here are a few benefits of reading challenges you’ll experience once you get started!

1. Read More of What You Love

How many books did you set out to read in 2023? Americans say they’ve read an average of 12.6 books in the past year. Only 27% of Americans reported reading over 10 books last year (a decline since 2016). Whether you set out to read one book or 100 this year, you’ll need to read a little every day to slay your reading goals. Reading shouldn’t feel stressful, though! Instead of focusing on how many books you’ve read, you can enjoy the fun challenge of reading based on certain themes. Even if you fall short of the goal you set, you’ll have a fun graphic you can share with friends to show off your progress. You don’t have to wait until the end of the year to show off what you’ve accomplished, either!

2. Explore Genres

One of the best ways to get out of a reading slump is to break away from your norm. Reading challenges can encourage you to branch out into unexplored genres. You might surprise yourself by falling in love with a new genre, sub-genre, or trope (warning: your TBR pile might get a little bigger as a result).

3. Discover New Authors

Following someone else’s reading challenge could introduce you to new books or authors. A challenge could help you find a new auto-buy author you can’t stop raving about. Some authors write books that follow the same styles or themes, and that’s okay! Exploring new authors can broaden your perspective of the world. You can read about different time periods or settings, expanding your knowledge base in the process. Reading books by authors from different parts of the world is like traversing the globe without paying for a costly plane ticket. You’ll gain a better understanding of different cultures and traditions, too!

4. Expand Your Mindset

Reading helps enhance empathy and our ability to understand ourselves. Discovering new books written by diverse voices can help you learn about other walks of life and points of view. Learning from these authors and their characters can help you empathize with their experiences. Your imagination and creativity will expand as you discover new, uncharted worlds. Boosting your brain power will make work all the easier (just don’t get caught reading on the job!). In fact, reading will prevent cognitive decline, keeping your brain young and full of fresh ideas. Feel free to start showing off that expanded vocabulary you’ll gain, too!

5. Improved Mental Health

Adults who read for 30 minutes a week are 20% more likely to report greater life satisfaction. People who read for pleasure also have higher levels of self-esteem. Nearly 20% say reading stops them from feeling lonely (because how could you possibly feel lonely with a book?). Participating in reading challenges can help you become a consistent reader. Reading even a few minutes each day can help you avoid feeling stressed or dissatisfied. Lowering your stress levels will benefit your body and mind. In fact, you could get a better night’s sleep (unless you’re reading under the covers, way past your bedtime). The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, set aside the TV remote and start completing a reading challenge! Reading more could even help you live two years longer than those that don’t. Get your friends and family in on this!

6. Encourage Others

Don’t shy away from a little humble bragging as you start slaying your reading challenges (and don’t wait until the end of the year to rave about your progress!). Working on a challenge could encourage you to get others into reading. As you laud your favorite books, they might decide to join you for the next challenge. Challenging one another will help you grow on the momentum you’ve built (the bragging rights are an added bonus).

Accept the Challenge

Skip searching for examples of reading challenges online! Instead, download the Uncover app for instant access to fun challenges, updated regularly. As you continue reading, the book will instantly fill the spot on your challenge graphic as you mark it as “Finished.” The best part: Uncover makes reading fun. You’ll have endless possibilities for different themed challenges at your fingertips. The automated imagery makes it easy for you to show off the books you’ve read and challenge your friends to join in. You can challenge yourself without the pressure of focusing on quality (because we know it’s all about reading quality books you love). Our current challenges include our annual A to Z challenge, Romance Challenge, and Romance Trope Bingo. There are more challenges to come (keep an eye out!).

A to Z Challenge

Can you read 26 books this year, each starting with another letter of the English alphabet? The goal of our A-Z Book Reading Challenge is that simple! You can broaden your literary horizons, discover new authors, and connect with other readers who are participating as well. If you’re struggling to find books starting with Q, X, or Z, don’t worry! You can find books that count for each letter in the Uncover App. For a little extra help, the challenge also accepts books with the letters Q, X, or Z anywhere in the title. Don’t forget to join our Facebook event. Try helping some of your fellow readers by suggesting titles for different letters.

Romance Challenge

Love is in the air with all the heartwarming romances that have come out this year! For this challenge, try to read one romance book for each romance sub-genre below.

• Contemporary romance
• Historical romance
• Sports romance
• Second-chance romance
• College romance
• Fantasy romance
• Small town romance
• Paranormal romance
• Dark romance
• Romantic comedy
• Workplace romance
• Spicy romance

Each book you read counts for one subgenre. Challenge yourself by exploring different romantic subgenres and get your heart all aflutter.

Romance Trope Bingo

Who doesn’t love a romantic trope? Pair your Romance Challenge with this Romance Trope Bingo by finding 12 books featuring:

• Grumpy and sunshine
• Opposites attract
• Fake relationship
• Forced proximity
• Friends to lovers
• Enemies to lovers
• Age gap
• Forbidden love
• One bed
• Arrange marriage
• Slow burn
• Rivals to lovers

Remember, each book counts for one trope!

More Fun Challenges

Finding new, fun reading challenges every year can help you develop a consistent reading habit. If you want to maintain your momentum, experiment with different challenges. You’ll get a chance to engage with different readers, explore new worlds, and gain fresh perspectives. Here are a few ideas for a reading challenge you can try before the year ends.

• Book Club Challenges: Join a book club online or in real life with friends
• Seasonal Reading Challenges: Create a TBR stack for the season (check out our Cozy Books with Gilmore Girl Vibes or Cozy Romances for Fall collections for inspiration!)
• Genre Challenges: Choose a genre outside of your norm
• Author Challenges: Explore an author you’ve never read before and dive into their backlog
• Countries Challenge: Choose five to 10 countries and read books set in each one
• Birth Year Challenge: Read books written during the year you were born
• Award Winners Challenge: Choose a literary award and read books that have won in the past decade

Regardless of the challenge you choose, remember to have fun with it! There’s no pressure to complete reading challenges. Participating can make it a little easier for you to clear your TBR, though.

Participate in Uncover’s Reading Challenges Today

The benefits of reading challenges go beyond reading more books or clearing out a towering TBR stack. Participating in reading challenges will expand your mind, benefit your mental health, and help you grow as a reader. Plus, it’s a fun alternative to the pressures of reading goals. Challenge yourself by tackling a new reading challenge today! Uncover makes it easy for you to participate in fun reading challenges! Each time you finish a book, the app will automatically update your challenge. You just need to keep reading. Download the app today to join in on the fun!