With the cold front that has swept the country this week, I’m feeling a strong desire to shirk all responsiblities and curl up in a cozy nook with a warm beverage and a good book. I haven’t given into said urge . . . yet . . . I’m still going to the day job and pounding out words on the computer at home. However, I keep my Kindle and tea mug close at hand in case I can sneak in 20-30 minutes of book time.
The novel I’m currently reading is a new find, a book by an author I have never read before. Because I have so little time to read for pleasure, I usually stick to my favorite tried-and-true authors. Thanks to a new reading challenge, however, I’m broadening my horizons this month. And I’m pleased to say I’ve been very happy with my new discovery. I just might pick up another book by Rachael Anderson in the near future.
How did I come to select this particular book, you may ask? The inspiration came from my annual Posse Reading Challenge. Every year, readers in my Posse Facebook group help me select 12 challenges or themes for the year. Each month we tackle a different challenge and share about the books we chose to read. It’s a fun way to share recommendations and find friends who read the same types of books. We make a point to keep the themes broad so that no one is pigeonholed into reading a book they aren’t interested in.
Here is our schedule for this year:
As you can see, our challenge for January is to read a book with a number in the title. Hence my selection . . . Five Kisses.
When the theme is a little tricky, like this one, I try to help readers get ideas. This time I pulled together a graphic with some number options to get the creative juices flowing. It’s been fun seeing how many titles people have come up with to fit the category.
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Do you enjoy participating in reading challenges? What are some of your favorite types of challenge themes? Which of our Posse Readign Challenge categories seem the most interesting to you?
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If you would like to join our Posse Reading Challenge, we’d love to have you! Simply click here to join The Posse.
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Such fun to think of books for each category. I love how this makes us stretch our reading muscles and maybe read something outside our usual choices. That said, I just happened to have books that fit January, February, and March on my nightstand. (Ha! That’s not saying much since I have TALL stacks of books on my nightstand to choose from. 😊)
How perfect, Deb! That’s a side benefit of these challenges. Readers find the motivation to dig through those TBR stacks to find books that might have been buried for far too long but now fit a particular theme. 🙂
Love your challenge. And I almost missed that one of my books is in that mix (Four Weddings & a Kiss).
I have been part of a book club with other authors for more than a year, and that has definitely challenged my reading. I’ve discovered some great books by authors I didn’t know, and I’ve also found some books with tens of thousands of reviews and ratings that so many seem to love but I’ve hated. It’s stretching me for sure.
So fun, Robin. Book clubs are extra challenging. I don’t do well with them because I have so little time to read, and I’m not ready to give up all control over how I spend that reading time. 🙂 Most months, I only manage to read 1-2 books for pleasure, and if I don’t care for a book, I tend to read even slower. Sigh. Someday when I retire from the day job, maybe that will change. Maybe then, I can give book clubs another try. They do offer great fellowship with book lovers, which is a huge plus!
What a fun post, Karen. Thanks for including A Million Little Choices in that list with numbers. Your lists will definitely stick with me as I read books in 2024. Very creative!
Thanks, Tammy! Several of my Posse Pals already mentioned that they planned to read your book for their January selection. 🙂 Nice timing on that release!
Thank you for the Posse challenge. I have been a member since the beginning and enjoy the flexibility to find titles in my TBR books – so many actual and ebooks to chooses from. I dropped out of a nice book club, begun when I was still teaching, for the very reason you gave, “I’m not ready to give up all control over how I spend that (my) reading time.”
Posse challenge works for me, and I love seeing all the selections from others! As if I need more on my TBR. LOL!
Yay! I’m so glad you are enjoying it, Betty. 🙂 I, too, love to see what other books people are reading. Invariably my TBR grows as a result.
I love the themes you picked for each month! So much fun! Also I have a book with a number in the title! Her One and Only. 😉
Perfect, Becky! I think there were a few members who mentioned that one as well. 🙂 I actually have no books of my own that fit the challenge. Sad. Ha!
I am new to reading challenges. I completed my first two just this past year. Your Posse challenge was one I completed…and loved. I’m totally doing your challenge again this year. So far, I read Holiday Honeymoon for One by Jennifer Peel. It was a super cute read!
Hooray, Nicole! So glad you are enjoying it. And your choice for January sounds perfect!