Shelf Reflection 2026 Reading Challenge
Shelf Reflection 2026 Reading Challenge
By: Shelf Reflection
Welcome to another reading challenge!
What I love about these type of reading challenges is that it helps you read books you may not normally read and broadens your horizons.
Last year I created a two-part reading challenge (to help my to-read list…), but we are back to my normal format this year!
We’ve got 45 different prompts!
I’ve listed the books I plan to read for each one and will link my book reviews as I read them. Part of the fun is searching around to see what books will fit for each one.
Don’t be afraid to get creative, no one is enforcing any rules here. My goal is to just inspire people to read and get excited about books.
Join the Reading Challenge Community
I’d love to create an online community around this reading challenge (similar to Popsugar’s) where people can share the books they’ve chosen for each prompt or you can ask for ideas if you’re struggling with one.
This is the official Shelf Reflection Reading Challenge Facebook Group that you can join and get started sharing your picks. Invite others you know who are doing the challenge and help me build up the community!
Last year the group wasn’t super active, but maybe we can change that this year.
[Note: It’s currently still showing the 2025 graphics. I will change it over to 2026 at the end of December but you can still discuss the 2026 reading challenge now.]
Other Reading Challenges
If you love doing allll the challenges, here is a link to previously posted reading challenges you can do (or do again), including a fun Disney themed one!
Lastly, I have created a Candy-themed Kids Reading Challenge (that could also work for adults) that you should check out and get your kids into reading challenges too! [Link coming soon.]
How to Track
Below you’ll find links to templates and printable trackers. There are images at the end of the post to show you what they look like.
You can also track this challenge on Storygraph. Add your book to each prompt and as you mark books as finished it gets checked off the reading challenge as well.
Storygraph is another great place to get ideas and see what books others have added to the prompt. Just note that some people add books that don’t actually fit the prompt; you might need to verify.
The goal of my website is to help other readers find books and remind people how fun and rewarding reading can be. Hopefully this reading challenge will be a means to that end.
Also check out:
Most Anticipated Books of 2025
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope your new year of books gets off to a great start!
Shelf Reflection 2026 Reading Challenge:
A book with a city on the cover:
The Hidden City by Charles Finch
A book with a character who has a pet that’s not a cat or dog:
A book with a serial killer: (If you have a hard time with these kinds of books, read a book with more than one death)
The Grave Artist by Isabella Maldonado and Jeffrey Deaver
A book by your auto-read-author:
Dangerous Obsession by Jessica Patch
A book you saw recommended on a social media platform:
Social Justice Fallacies by Thomas Sowell
Mark of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse
A book with a main character who works a blue collar job:
The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House by Joanna Davidson Politano
A book about resilience:
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
A book with ‘first’ in the title:
The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave
A book with ‘last’ in the title:
Last Seen by J.T. Ellison
The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan
A book with a medical professional:
99 Ways to Die by Ashley Alker
Two books by the same author (1):
These Hallowed Binds by A.M. DaylinTwo books by the same author (2):
A Curse Upon Tides A.M. Daylin
A book you had to wait for its release:
Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson
A book your 12-year-old self would have hated:
Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age by Amanda Hess
A book with a title you would want on your gravestone:
We Won’t All Survive by Kate Alice Marshall
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
A book with a title you would NOT want on your gravestone:
Funny Story by Emily Henry
In Gad We Trust by Josh Gad
A book about a historical event that’s not from WWII:
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett Graff
A memoir by a person you’ve seen as a villain:
Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
A book with sacrificial love:
Bond of Briars by Erin Phillips
A book recommended by an author (that’s not their own):
A book that takes place in 3+ countries:
The Liar’s Treasure by Connie Mann
A book with a title that would make a good excuse for being late:
A book with a character with a unique nickname:
A book with a storm:
Where He Left Me by Nicole Baart
A book without swearing:
A book with a door on the cover:
A book authored by a celebrity you’ve seen in a movie:
Gone Before Goodbye by Harlan Coben & Reese Witherspoon
A book with a cover you’d blow up and hang on your wall:
The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis
A book featuring a character pretending to be someone else:
Nash Falls by David Baldacci
A book that takes place in the Middle East:
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis
Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef
A book with food on the cover:
The Perfect Hosts by Heather Gudenkauf
A book about memory/memories:
The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve
A nonfiction book about something that means a lot to you:
Good News for Parents: How God Can Restore Our Joy and Relieve Our Burdens by Adam Griffin
A book with a sports term in the title:
Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
A book reviewed on Shelf Reflection:
FREEBIE for me
A book with a workplace romance:
Icon & Inferno by Marie Lu
The Romcommers by Katherine Center
A book with a character with a compound name:
A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais
A book with a clock on the cover:
Strangers in Time by David Baldacci
A locked room mystery:
The House at Devil’s Neck by Tom Mead
A book with a character named Jack or Lucy:
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan Henry
The Wishing Game by Meg Shafer
A book by an author using three names:
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
A book that takes place on a boat:
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
A book that’s less than 150 pages:
Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes) by Mindy Kaling
A book you picked by browsing library shelves:
A book with a direction in the title:
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
Bonus: (I always add this for the previous challenges I never finished… unfortunately it keeps adding up!)
A book you never got to from the last reading challenge:
[I have too many to list here now…]
Canva Template Book Cover Tracker
2026 PDF Printable (Lines)
2026 PDF Printable (Boxes)