2026 Reading Challenge

Massachusetts Center for the Book has a fun, unique reading challenge to take on in 2026!

Here is how the challenge works:

  • Choose a book that fits the monthly challenge, see below for this month’s suggestions.
  • After you read, fill out this form to tell us about the book.
  • That’s it!
    • If you read at least one book, you will be invited to a year-end celebration hosted by Mass Center for the Book.
    • If you read a book in each of the 12 months, you will be entered in a drawing to win 1 of 2 totes filled with books and Massachusetts goodies.
    • For February’s prompt, you can access the Genre Picker Wheel here!

April: Read a short story or essay collection!

No Middle Name : the Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories by Child, Lee
Self-Portrait With Ghost : Short Stories by Jin, Meng
Magically Black and Other Essays by Walker, Jerald
Live Wire : Long-Winded Short Stories by Ripa, Kelly
Little Weirds by Slate, Jenny
Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Didion, Joan
These Precious Days : Essays by Patchett, Ann
Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim by Sedaris, David
The Anthropocene Reviewed : Essays On A Human-Centered Planet by Green, John
All About Love : New VIsions by Hooks, Bell
Wow, No Thank You. : Essays by Irby, Samantha
The Best American Short Stories 2019 by
The Doll : the Lost Short Stories by Du Maurier, Daphne
I'Ve Tried Being Nice : Essays by Leary, Ann
Skeleton Crew by King, Stephen
Homeland and Other Stories by Kingsolver, Barbara
Magic for Beginners by Link, Kelly
Her Body and Other Parties : Stories by Machado, Carmen Maria
Bliss Montage : Stories by Ma, Ling
Homesick for Another World by Moshfegh, Ottessa
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours : Stories by Oyeyemi, Helen
Poets Square : A Memoir In Thirty Cats by Gustafson, Courtney
Sitting With Dogs : Stories of Rescue Dogs Going From Lost to Loved by Kanaka, Rocky
Interpreter of Maladies : Stories by Lahiri, Jhumpa