A challenge hosted on Goodreads.
Who? What? Where? When? How?
Friday, January 2, 2026
monthly keywords
JANUARY
Weekend
Keep
Ground
Door
Among
Midnight
Glitter
Highway
FEBRUARY
Lying
Ruin
Alchemy
Hoax
Blind
Chance
Flower
Sound
MARCH
Favorite
Orange
Picture
Broken
Sister
Look
Forget
Fortune
APRIL
Mirror
Mist
Party
Stray
Light
People
Everlasting
Spell
MAY
Bright
Creek
Letter
Empire
Forever
Emerald
Wreck
Eye
JUNE
Box
Apple
Castle
Fool
Middle
Cold
Flight
Become
JULY
Fall
Sun
Boyfriend
Thousand
Shores
Country
Confession
Society
AUGUST
Matter
Spy
Roof
Missed
Zero
Enchant
Water
Point
SEPTEMBER
Orbit
Hot
Daydream
Endure
Curse
Ice
Decay
Smile
OCTOBER
Prey
Crypt
Hollow
Dreadful
Killer
Hex
Wolf
Lore
NOVEMBER
Whistle
Quiet
Bitter
Rising
Strings
Lands
Seven
Song
DECEMBER
Lemon
Welcome
Bake
Crush
Cafe
Taste
Cat
Kind
monthly motifs
MONTHLY MOTIFS:
JANUARY- Read Around the Clock
Read a book with a clock on the cover.
FEBRUARY- Secrets, Lies, & Schemes
Read a book in which the characters are telling lies, keeping secrets, or involved in schemes.
MARCH- Books on the Brain
Read a fiction or non-fiction book with a brain-function related theme. This could be memory, processing, mental health, dementia, dreaming, subconsciousness, thinking patterns, intelligence, brain injuries, etc.
APRIL- Alliteration Appreciation
Read a book with repeating sounds or letters in the title.
MAY- Debut Novels
Read an author’s first career published novel.
JUNE- Under the Neon Lights
Read a book with neon, electric, and fluorescent colors or typography on the cover.
JULY- Literary Road Trip
Read a book that takes place somewhere that is at least 5000 miles from where you currently live.
AUGUST- Celestial Covers
Read a book with celestial beings on the cover, or as part of the title (stars, comets, planets, galaxies, etc).
SEPTEMBER- Based in Truth
Read a book that is based on real-life events.
OCTOBER- Otherworldly
Read a book with otherworldly elements or entities in it. This can range from angels and demons to aliens, mythical creatures like elves and dragons, ghosts, magical characters, or any unexplained phenomena.
NOVEMBER- Indie Imprints
Read a book published by an independent publisher.
DECEMBER- Eats, Treats, & Sweets
Read a book with food, candy, or pastries on the cover, or as an integral part of the story.
Read with Allison 26 edition
Read with Allison has another challenge this year
Progress: 0/52 prompts
- released in jan
- five star prediction
- received as a gift
- 2025 bestseller
- released in feb
- bought over a year ago
- genre romance
- sweet treat on the cover
- released in mar
- from a subscription box
- genre fantasy
- recommended by a friend or family member
- features fresh beginnings
- released in apr
- has a cover you love
- set in a country youve never visited
- genre cont fiction
- released in may
- book youve seen someone with in public
- number in the title
- book you own multiple copies of
- released in june
- genre thriller
- book with travel in plot
- has a cover with no people on it
- author shares your initials
- released in jul
- book with multiple povs
- genre sci fi
- reread a fav book
- released in aug
- six words in title
- next book in a series you've started
- by a 2026 debut author
- released in sept
- genre young adult
- set on an island
- book that feels cinematic
- book with a blue spine
- released in oct
- genre horror
- book you bougth on vacation
- book that makes you feel cozy
- released in nov
- title starts with F
- book you've been saving for the right time
- book from your most anticipated list
- released in dec
- 2026 new release
- genre dystopian fiction
- book with a positive message
- doesn't fit the other 51 prompts
Uncorked Reader Bingo
A quarterly bingo challenge
Jan- Mar
- Sweater – Think sweater weather, sweater on the cover, or a destination where you might want to pack an extra sweater (like Iceland). Maybe it’s just the book you read while wearing a sweater.
- Grandmacore – Trending now… With this aesthetic, fashion, and lifestyle, embrace the cozy and vintage vibes of a stereotypical grandmother’s home. For me, this means big floral patterns, beautiful wood furniture, lace and crochet everywhere, Hershey Kisses, dolls and plushes, CATS, and sweet activities, including writing poems, baking, knitting, and gardening (or maybe drinking, a special kind of travel, and dancing). Get your Golden Girls on! Read a book with a sweet grandma.
- Comedy – Read a book that makes you laugh, or pick up a rom-com. Maybe this is a book about a comedian.
- Dessert – Our Uncorked Reader survey had SO many food requests… Let’s start with dessert. Pick up a book with dessert on the cover, or read something about your favorite dessert. Dessert cookbooks are always fun, too! Maybe this is a book that feels like dessert.
- Friendship – We have a list featuring our favorite friendship books.
- [Hidden] Gem Destination – Read about a place that is special to you or one you’d like to visit. My favorite gem destinations: Riga, Latvia & Parnu, Estonia; Salzburg, Austria; Trieste, Italy; Paraty, Brazil; Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Marsala, Sicily…
- Circus – Join the circus with a good book, or maybe read a book where it just feels like a circus… Holiday family gatherings included.
- Love – This is a great opportunity to read book tropes such as childhood sweethearts, love triangles, second-chance romance, miscommunication, and more. Find a book all about love: family, friendships, romantic, pets, and more.
- Talking Animals – Did someone say read a book with a talking cat or dog…or…
- Cottagecore – Also trending… Like Grandmacore, Cottagecore is an aesthetic and lifestyle focused on rural life, earthiness, simplicity, and nature. Romanticize, read about homesteading (or find a book with eggs on the cover), and look into rustic decor. Consider more traditional crafting, books about slowing down, themes with forests, gardens, and flowers, and even think about teacups.
- Small Town – Read a book about a fictional or real small town.
- Nature – While on the subject of “Cottagecore,” let’s dive into nature books. Maybe this is hiking or climbing a mountain. Or, read a book about birding or with a bird on the cover. Take a nature walk or share a book that you read with your walking book club.
- Garden – This is the time when I up my gardening game. Fiction or nonfiction, read a book about or set in a garden. Learn how to garden or look for a beautiful cover with garden tools and flowers. Maybe you are tending to your inner garden – that’s yoga for me.
- Rain & Rainbows – Travel to a rainy place filled with rainbows, like Ireland. Look for rain or rainbows on the cover. Read about a situation where rain turned into a rainbow, or find a grumpy-sunshine book (trope).
- Rest & Renewal – This is a key theme for 2026 Reading Challenge Bingo. Maybe this is a book about a vacation or where you want to travel next. I always love inspiring and thought-provoking nonfiction. Cozy blankets on the cover, a book that feels like rest or a nap…
- Lemonade – Read a book where a character makes lemonade from lemons. Maybe there’s a glass of lemonade on the cover. Read something that reminds you of sweet lemonade.
- Summer Camp – Read a book about or set at summer camp. Maybe this is an adult friends’ retreat, too. Heck, bachelorette, bacherlor, hen do, or stag party?!
- Chocolate – Need I say more? While this sweet treat sounds delicious enough, maybe you just want to read a book with a brown cover. Find a cookbook, a book about chocolate, a book that feels like eating chocolate, or a book with chocolate on the cover.
- Cozy Mystery – Curl up with a cozy mystery – and maybe even find a new series to devour.
- Quiet Place – Travel to your favorite quiet place. Maybe it’s even the bookstore or the library. Read a book with a cozy armchair on the cover or a book about meditation. Where is your quiet place?
- Sand – Head to the beach or shore with this theme. Or, maybe it’s sand in an hourglass… Something super small?! Grains… I always love a good island-set book, too, which fits many themes this year.
- Sun – Let’s get super creative! Sun on the cover? Steamy romance that makes you sweat? Sunny location? Summer-set book? A story where you need to cool off. A book that sunburned you.
- Mountain Getaway – After we sweat you out, this Asheville girlie is ready for her mountain home again. Read about a mountain destination like Asheville. Backpack, hike, road trip, and more. Just don’t get snowed in… or maybe do! Cabin-set books included!
- In The Sky – Birds, planes, hot air balloons, clouds, space, planets, aliens… You name it. The sky’s the limit (haha).
- Guilty Pleasure – This could be a book you are embarrassed to read in public, something a little steamy, or maybe just an innocent indulgence. Chocolate cake? Adopting all the senior kitties? Reading really bad romance books…
- Baking – Time to make that cake and eat it too! Find a fiction or nonfiction book about baking.
- Family – This might be found family, books about siblings, holiday gatherings, Friendsgiving, pets, and more.
- Snow – Head to a snowy destination, read about sledding or another snowy sport, or read a book with a blizzard. We even have an Everest reading list. Snow on the cover is always fun.
- Celestial – We talked about looking to the sky, so let’s focus on the stars, what we cannot see, space, magic, and more. Maybe this is something divine and godlike. Moon, sun, stars; make it yours! A goddess in literature?!
- Glitter – A 5-star read, glitter on the cover, people who sparkle, or a NYE party? I cannot wait to see your interpretation here.
- Footprints – Read a children’s book, a book that leaves footprints on your heart, or a book with footprints on the cover. Maybe read another book with snow or sand where you can see footprints. How about a book with Bigfoot?!
- Music – Find a book about music or one that makes you sing.
Picture Bingo
Picture Book Bingo
Progress: 0/16
1. A teacup and saucer
2. A set of weighing scales
3. A moth
4. A hand holding some fanned out playing cards
5. A hot air balloon
6. An acorn
7. A human eye
8. A cooking pot hanging over a campfire
9. A griffin
10. A large, old key
11. A hand holding a threaded needle
12. An octopus
13. A plant being repotted
14. A skull and crossbones
15. A decorative water fountain
16. A pinch-clip purse
Beyond the Bookends 2026
Beyond the Bookends 2026
2026 Reading Challenge Prompts
- January – Read a Book Being Adapted to the Screen
- February – Read a Thriller Novel About Writers
- March – Read a Historical Fiction Book for Middle School
- April – Read a Novel About Grief
- May – Read a Book About a Road Trip
- June – Read a Family Inheritance Novel
- July- Read a Book Set in Maine
- August – Read a Book Set in A Tropical Location
- September – Read a Novel About a Teacher
- October – Read a Book Set in a Museum
- November – Read a Nonfiction Book
- December – Read a Book with an Older Protagonist
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Cub reporter: 5 books (1 from each category)
Columnist: 10 books (2 from each category)
News Anchor: 15 books (3 from each category)
Editor: 20 books (4 from each category)
Newspaper Mogul: 25 books (5 from each category)
BONUS CATEGORY:
Pulitzer Prize Winner (Newspaper Mogul plus Bonus Category) = 30 books
EXTRA BONUS CATEGORY:
Nobel Prize for Literature (Newspaper Mogul plus Pulitzer Prize + Extra Bonus) = 31 books
WHO
Protagonist is a baker
Any Character who is a dead person (ghost, skeleton, vampire, zombie, etc.)
A Side Character who is kooky (or fun)/someone you’d love to have as a friend
Protagonist is a mother or father
A Character who works with books or writes (librarian/restorer/reporter/author/bookstore clerk)
WHAT
Supernatural element in the title
Proper name in the title
Title starts with any letter in your last name
Holiday in the title
Title is a play on words (ex: Mind Your Own Beeswax or Gluten for Punishment, etc.)
WHERE
Set in a city that starts with a D, a P or a S
Set in a small town
Set in a New England state
On vacation
Set on foreign soil (NOT America or England)
WHEN
Set during a holiday
Set in the 1900s
Set during summer
Set during fall
Set during a snow storm (doesn’t have to be whole story)
HOW
Strangled
Stabbed
Shot
Poisoned
Blunt Instrument
BONUS CATEGORY – PULITZER PRIZE
WHO – Protagonist is married
WHAT – Title is at least seven words
WHERE – Set in a fictional place you would love to live
WHEN – Set during a conference or convention (doesn’t have to be entire story)
HOW – Accident
EXTRA BONUS CATEGORY – NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
Horoscope (from on-line or a newspaper or wherever)
Pick a horoscope from the 3rd of any month. Then read a book that relates to that horoscope.
Example: Horoscope says – While you may feel the urge to put on a pair of boxing gloves and duke it out with your family, try putting on an oven mitt instead. Cooking a meal or performing other domestic chores will help take your mind off your troubles with your family.
For this horoscope, you could read a book about a boxer or a chef or a baker or a maid or a butler or a cleaner, etc. Something in the book must somehow relate to the horoscope.
Rules: For this challenge – Each book can only be used once (If it fits more than 1 category – choose one – as it can only be used in 1 of the categories)
The bonus rounds are just an added challenge to kick it up a notch!
The challenge runs from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025.
You don’t have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year.
Books can be in any format – paper, ebooks, audio…
Crossovers with other challenges are fine.
Most of all—have fun!