Low-Stress 12 Month Reading Challenge

Looking for a new way to stop (or at least minimize) the doomscrolling? Does the thought of attempting to read 50+ books a year seem overwhelming or unrealistic right now? Give this low stress challenge a try!

Here’s how it works: you’ve got 12 months to read through 12 ‘self development’ or educational (for you) books. That’s it. 12 of these books within 1 year.

You can split it up to one per month or go through them all at once. There have been times when I completed one book per month ... then other times I've gone through 3-4 in a month. As long as you get to 12 by the end of a full year of starting, you’re good.

Oh, and you can definitely listen to audiobooks too (let’s be real, life gets busy) but your primary focus is reading physical books.

I’ve successfully completed this challenge for 7 years now and plan to continue for the foreseeable future!

You can look into books about self development, cooking, history, nonfiction, art, parenting, teaching, etc. Choose books that are teaching skills or lessons that you want to learn.

No need to buy new every month. Hop over to the local library or stop by a used book store.

Make it fun with your kids (or students) and write down a book they read that month and then a book you read. If they've read more than one (yay) no problem, just have them write out their favorite that month.

Here are some great recommendations to get you started:

Mindset by Carol Dweck

The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul and Lucy Kalanithi

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking

How to Draw Adorable by Carlianne Tipsey

Color and Light by James Gurney

How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen Joanna Faber and Julie King