Chapter 23 - Reading Challenge, Part 2

As promised here is the next six month Reading Challenge for those who wish to move out of their comfort zones as readers. I find that it is always good to mix it up when reading. For me, reading the same author, genre, or series can definitely lead to boredom. Here are a few suggestions to help you expand your reading horizons.

July - Read something Revolutionary! It could be history like George Washington and the Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade or historical fiction like America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray or even just a new way of thinking like Quiet by Susan Cain which celebrates the introverts among us. What is Revolutionary to me might be entirely different for you so if you usually read romance, stretch to popular adventure fiction. I'm sure you get the idea!

August - One of the best times at the beach supports...you've got it...Beach Reads! You can go with any of Elin Hilderbrand's, Nancy Thayer's, Emily Henry's, or Wendy Wax's books. For men Clive Cussler, Steve Berry, or Mark Greaney will provide easy, adventure filled reads! All fit this category nicely!

September - I always get nostalgic this time of year for the start of the school year. If you do too, read a classic. There is nothing like Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, or Eudora Welty to take you back to easier times when you first discovered you liked reading the tried and true. If your recollections of classics aren't as happy as mine, try rereading something you read first in school. Maybe you'll get a new perspective. It has been said that "a classic is a book that has never finished what it had to say."

October - Read something spooky! Lots of authors fit this genre. Try H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, Dean Koontz, Joe Hill or Grady Hendrix. Of course you could combine September and October challenges and read classics like Frankenstein by Mary Shelley or Dracula by Bram Stoker. Both of these have held up surprisingly well over the years since they were first published.

November - Pick up a good nonfiction book. There are so many possibilities out there. It could be Self-Help, Inspirational, Memoir, History, Current Events, Humor, or Spiritual. Really, nonfiction reading abounds with possibilities!

December - Grab a Christmas book to read. Again the selections are endless. Try Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard (what actually happened to Tiny Tim when he grew up), any of the Christmas books by Anita Hughes (she has several), One Day in December by Josie Silver, or The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman.

Well that should complete your reading year! Have you taken this or any other Reading Challenge? Let me know!