For 2017, I’m doing a Reading Challenge. Yes, I know lots of other people, publishers, libraries, etc. do them. But I wanted to pick the topics and books myself. So here’s how mine will work: at the start of every month, I’ll post the month’s reading theme and a list of possible books to read, then at the end of the month, I’ll share my thoughts on at least one of them. YOU are invited to read along by picking whatever book on the list appeals to you and sharing your thoughts –OR– by picking some other book that fits the theme and sharing your thoughts about that. Easy, right? And, hopefully fun too.
2017 Categories
January – Books about Books or Bookstores
February – Jane Austen Inspired Fantasy
March – Set in Circus or Theater
April – Foodie Fiction
May – Steampunk
June – The Fae
July – Fairytale Retellings
August – Beach Reads
September – Nonfiction books that aren’t about writing
October – Modern Gothic
November – Written during NaNoWriMo
December – Angels & Demons
January Book Choices
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend
Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen…
Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds that Amy’s funeral has just ended. Luckily, the townspeople are happy to look after their bewildered tourist—even if they don’t understand her peculiar need for books. Marooned in a farm town that’s almost beyond repair, Sara starts a bookstore in honor of her friend’s memory.
All she wants is to share the books she loves with the citizens of Broken Wheel and to convince them that reading is one of the great joys of life. But she makes some unconventional choices that could force a lot of secrets into the open and change things for everyone in town. Reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, this is a warm, witty book about friendship, stories, and love.
The Bookshop on the Corner
Nina Redmond is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more.
Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile—a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling.
From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb, to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there’s plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that’s beginning to feel like home… a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending.
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore
So, whadya think? Ready to read more in 2017? Remember, you don’t have to pick one of the books I list. Just use my list of categories as inspiration. Or, if nothing else, just stop by every now and then and tell me what you’re reading. I really don’t care what it is — so long as you keep reading! 😀
JILL ARCHER 
I needed this! It’s perfect!!!
Love this idea!! I’m so in!
Hi Kriss–terrific! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on what you read in 2017. Best wishes and happy reading! 🙂
Very interesting idea. Should help keep you on point and your reading varied.
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