Reading Goals for the New Year (A Reading Challenge and Readalong)

There are so many books in the world, and not enough time to read them all. Isn't that the universal lament of bookworms? I have a To-Be-Read pile—that is, I have a To Be Read shelf—and sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed trying to choose which one to read next, so I end up reading something else entirely. If you hear of my sudden death, it's probably because a pile of books finally got too high and toppled over onto me while I slept.

Taking part in a reading challenge can be a fun way to meet your reading goals for the year. Unless you get sidetracked and end up binge-reading twenty Agatha Christies instead of following the challenge. True story. Although some of the Agatha Christies were on my To Be Read list, so there's that, at least. Maybe my death by book avalanche is not as imminent as I fear.

If you, too, struggle to choose what to read next, or you have a To Be Read pile (or three) growing dangerously high, then here is some good news:

We have put together a 2024 reading challenge for you. There are twelve categories, one for each month of the year, and a bonus set of categories for those who want more of a challenge. It's not a competition, of course, and the only prize is the joy of reading books you might not have read otherwise. We also have a children's reading challenge, because us moms can't be the only ones having all the fun.

Printable reading trackers are available on the Hive so if you're not yet a member then now is the time to join. (It's fun! It's free! And it's where all the cool kids hang out!) There will also be a reading challenge thread to give book suggestions, recommendations, and general discussion. If you share your progress on social media, please tag us so we can like and comment on your post.

But wait! There's more even more goodness coming in 2024:

Our first readalong of 2024 is a little different to what we've done so far. We will be reading Dorothy L. Sayers' The Man Born To Be King, starting on the 8th of January and finishing at Easter. The Man Born To Be A King is a series of twelve radio plays about the life of Jesus. Sayers wrote the series for the BBC from 1940-1941. They were broadcast from December 1941 until October 1942.

“These plays must have been a very great help to thousands to realise for the first time what the Gospel story means. While in language they have been modern, their Gospel has been the eternal Gospel unchanged in substance, though expressed in a manner which would make it more intelligible to the great multitude who never read their New Testament,” wrote one listener.

Another said, “Your plays on the Life of Christ have thrilled me to the core, and I am convinced that a book made up out of these plays is just the thing to save the appalling lack in sound religious education. The very language you use 'shocks' us out of worn conventional terms, and I know that the thousands of people who never dream of reading their Bible, let alone try to understand it, will be led to see the way of Christ as most necessary for our times.”

The Man Born To Be King is available for free online, and the radio broadcasts are on YouTube. It is ideal for reading individually, or reading/listening as a family. One idea is to listen to a play together once a week. If you listen to the first one on Saturday, 13 January, you will listen to the last one on Saturday, 30 March, between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.

Let us know in the comments if you'll be joining us for the read-and-listen-along, and which of the reading challenge categories you're most excited about.