The 52 Book Club’s 2026 Reading Challenge
Dragons and apocalyptic worlds, undersea quests, and settlements on Mars, lost loves, decades-old secrets, and untold history… The 52 Book Club is back with a year’s worth of new prompts!
Designed to challenge and inspire your reading goals, this literary scavenger hunt will leave your bookshelves groaning under the weight of their newfound reads. So, flip the page on this new year and settle into an adventure of unlimited possibilities. Your next five-star read awaits.
What is the challenge?
The 52 Book Club’s annual reading challenge is made up of 52 unique reading prompts. The goal is to match one book to each prompt, for a total of fifty-two books over the course of the year.
Prompts are related to everything from specific words in the title, to cover design, authors, genres, settings, themes, characters, etc. Each prompt asks you to look for something specific in a book. (For example, one of the prompts on this year’s challenge is “Set in the Arctic or Antarctic.” For that prompt, you can pick any book that is either fully or partially set in the Arctic or Antarctic. It can be any genre, any length, and read using any format.)
We like to think of this challenge as a giant bookish scavenger hunt! We encourage participants to try books outside of their regular reading comfort zones and push themselves to read more, read differently, and get creative with it!
How does it work?
1) Follow The 52 Book Club on social media. You can find us on Facebook, Goodreads or Storygraph, and Instagram. PLUS, don’t forget to sign up for e-mails to stay in the loop with any new challenge news!
2) Using the list below, match one book to each of the 52 prompts. (52 books total.) Get as creative as you like with interpreting the prompts! (Hint: If you need help understanding a prompt, check out our 2026 Challenge Guide!)
3) When January 1, 2026 rolls around, start reading!
4) This challenge is entirely self-led. Read at your own pace and track your challenge however works best for you. The Facebook group is our most popular spot for posting reads. We also invite you to join our Goodreads group or Storygraph challenge, and you can track your reads using our custom 2026 Reading Challenge journal!
5) Join The 52 Book Club community! The 52 Book Club is a global group made up of thousands of bookworms. Connect with new friends in our Facebook group or other social sites using #the52bookclub or #the52bookclub2026.
Want to learn more? This 52 Book Club 2026 Challenge video walks you through all the details:
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Do I have to complete the challenge in order? Not at all. Working through the list in order will make the challenge more difficult. Some members choose to work through the prompts in order as a fun add-on to increase difficulty, while others like to bounce around. Do what works best for you!
- Can I read (a specific book or format of reading) for this challenge? Yes! All reading is reading. Any book that fits the prompts works for this challenge. Each of our prompts can be completed using any format of reading (physical copies, e-books, audiobooks, live readings from the author, children’s board books, graphic novels, etc!) There is no required length or format of reading. Interpret the prompts as creatively as you like!
As we like to say, “If you think a book fits the prompts, it does!”
- What if I can’t read all 52 books? That’s okay! Join anyway and complete as many as you can, or cross off multiple prompts with the same book. This is a self-led, pressure-free challenge! It’s not a competition. Read at your own pace and have fun!
- I read more than 52 books a year. Is that okay? Of course! Sign up for e-mails and keep an eye out for the bonus mini-challenges we release throughout the year. For our most prolific readers, we also have some suggestions for increasing the difficulty of your 2026 challenge!
- Help! I don’t understand this prompt… We’ve got you covered. Head over to our 2026 Challenge Guide and we’ll walk you through each and every prompt in detail.
- When does the challenge start? The challenge officially begins January 1, 2026! Any books read in 2026 count toward this challenge.
Have more questions? Check out our FAQs.
So, let’s get started! Here are our 2026 prompts:
Sharing the challenge? Don’t forget to use the hashtags #the52bookclub or #the52bookclub2026
Invite your friends and family members to join in. It’s okay if you can’t read 52 books in a year. All are welcome!
2026 Challenge Downloads
Want to download a copy of the challenge for yourself? Check out these free printables!
Note: To edit the shareable JPEG graphics, download a copy and then edit using a photo editing app of your choice. (We like to use a free photo-editing tool like Canva.)
The 2026 Journal
Want to know our favourite way to track the 2026 Reading Challenge? With The 52 Book Club’s custom 2026 journal, of course! This journal contains review pages for all fifty-two of our 2026 prompts, as well as planning pages, bonus challenges, tools for tracking your monthly reading stats, and more!
This journal is printed by Amazon KDP and is available wherever Amazon ships. (Note: Due to Amazon printing in Australia and Japan, journals ordered from those regions will have black-and-white interior pages.)
Note: Because this journal is printed through Amazon, pages may be thinner than other planners. We recommend using non-bleed pens when using the journal. This journal is also fully compatible with our 2026 prompt stickers from PlanItWithStickers.com.
For sample photos of the journal or for a video walkthrough showing you exactly what’s included, click here!
If the button does not direct you to the Amazon region closest to you, here are the links to the individual Amazon regions: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon DE, Amazon FR, Amazon ES, Amazon IT, Amazon NL, Amazon PL, Amazon SE, Amazon BE, Amazon IE.
AUSTRALIA: and JAPAN: Due to the different interior printing, the above button won’t work for Amazon Australia or Japan, but our friends using Amazon Australia can purchase here, and our friends in Japan can purchase here.
Other Resources for 2026:
Need some help with your 2026 challenge? We’ve got some extra resources for you!
Before starting your challenge, we highly recommend taking some time to read through our 2026 Reading Challenge Guide. This guide walks through EACH of the 52 prompts and contains creative interpretations, ideas to get you started, and links to our Goodreads lists. The challenge guide is a helpful launching point for your challenge and will show you a variety of ways to interpret the prompts, but it’s not an exhaustive list. Feel free to think outside the box and find what works for you!
Want a quicker way to access the Goodreads lists? We’ve also compiled a full list of all 52 Goodreads lists for this challenge. Click the buttons below to access both of these amazing resources!
The 52 Book Club 2026 sticker set collection from PlanItWithStickers is available now! These stickers are an optional add-on for those who enjoy tracking their reads with physical journals or planners. (They’ll also fit within your 52 Book Club 2026 Journal!) This sticker collection has been custom-designed to match the seasonal, bookish vibe of our 2026 challenge and contains stickers for all fifty-two prompts. You can purchase a sticker set here!
Connect with us:
Want to make some bookish friends? Have more questions? Our social sites are an excellent place to ask for book suggestions, get challenge help, and meet new bookish friends! We invite you to join our Facebook group, Goodreads group, The 52 Book Club 2026 challenge on Storygraph, YouTube, and/or follow us on Instagram! You can find quick links to each of these groups below. Reading is always more fun together! Come join us!
Ready for 2026? Some prompts on this 2026 challenge may seem easy, while others may feel more daunting. It’s all part of the challenge! Research, ask for suggestions, and get creative! Don’t be afraid to try new genres and step outside your regular reading comfort zones. Push yourself to read more, read differently, and have fun!
(Don’t forget to read through our guidelines, FAQs, and our 2026 Challenge Guide for more tips on completing your 2026 challenge!)
Happy reading!