Return to Reading - Joining Bookish Birder's Reading Challenge
Growing up, I was a voracious reader. I had a college reading level before the end of middle school, and I remember blazing through Homer's Odyssey (yes, the full translated version) in a summer before 6th grade. I DEVOURED books.
But once I got older, I fell off the habit of reading for myself. Middle school brought drama and high school brought a more intensive workload and planning for college.
I've read sporadically since, but all nonfiction and mostly for personal research projects. While those have been fun, I want to make a more concerted effort to return to reading this year: sparked by Bookish Birder's 1st Annual Bird Quest Reading Challenge!
If you're curious about the details, the announcement video can be found here where she explains the details of the challenge and links to the full rules in the description. But the gist is that it is a monthly reading challenge with "Quests" (prompts) to choose from, Side Quests to complete alongside the reading, and even a Boss Battle! It seems a cute way to gamify reading in an accessible way, and I felt inspired to try and take it up!
I'm gonna break down my TBR (to-be-read, for those who don't know) I crafted based on this challenge, where I aim to read one nonfiction book a month for the year! It's a bit ambitious, but I love nonfiction and have a long TBR consisting almost entirely of nonfiction so wanted to try and knock some out.
January
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a book with 300+ pages" and the book I am reading for that prompt is Better Together: Restoring the American Community by Robert D. Putnam and Lewis M. Feldstein. Better Together is a book I have started and restarted a few times, as the content is INCREDIBLY interesting to me (case studies of places in the USA that created community in spite of different circumstances) but it is...quite dense in the beginning, so I would fall off of reading further for a while and then restart the book. But, I am now making steadier progress than before, and am enjoying the book a lot.
Side Quest
The Side Quests are quite fun this month, but the one I will try to complete is: "Drink 1 full water bottle during a reading session." Seems straightforward enough, but I might choose a smaller water bottle than the big one I have, if I'm honest.
February
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a book by a Black author." The book I will be reading for the prompt is Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds.
This book is technically the young adult version of Kendi's Stamped from the Beginning marketed towards teens, but I am perfectly alright with that. It's a dense and heavy topic, and I'm still rather new to deeper explorations of the subject. It might be a cop-out to some, but I think that's fine. Regardless, I had started this book in the past and despite not getting far, the writing style was delightfully accessible and still jam packed with information. I can't wait to dive into it again.
Side Quest
The Side Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read instead of scrolling one night before bed." Seems pretty straight forward honestly.
March
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a book by a Woman author." The book I will be reading for the prompt is Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.
This book has been on my TBR for a while, and my mom has a physical copy...somewhere in the house lol. But it seems like an interesting (if chonky) read, so onto the TBR!
Side Quest
The Side Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Stretch for 10 minutes." It aligns well with my goal to stretch every morning and take better care of my body, so doing some lengthier stretches sounds like a good idea!
April
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a book by an Arab or Arab-American author." The book I will be reading for the prompt is I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb.
This is another book that's been staring at me from my bookshelf for...an embarrassingly long time. I had begun it at one point but didn't follow through.
Side Quest
The Side Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Go through your closet and donate clothes/items you no longer use," though I might do the others as well.
May
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a book written before 2020." The book I will be reading for the prompt is Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie.
I had technically started this before, but would restart it or the reading challenge. It's a fascinating read about merging business with charity.
Side Quest
The Side Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Spend at least 30 minutes doing a craft," though I might do the others as well.
June
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a book by an LGBTQIA+ author." The book I will be reading for the prompt is Transgender History, second edition: The Roots of Today's Revolution by Susan Stryker with Emily Cauldwell. I will be listening to the audiobook version via Libro.fm.
This book covers American transgender history from mid 20th century to the book's publish in 2008. While I am a little worried I won't be able to fully process an audiobook, I want to learn this material bad enough I think I will be able to note-take along the reading, just as if I was reading a physical book.
Side Quest
I might aim for ALL of these Side Quests, because all of them sound like a wonderful idea: "Write a letter to your future self to open again in December," "Tidy or declutter one space in your home," "Put your phone in another room during a reading session." Like, how can I pick just one?? Might do the phone one first as it is easiest (hypothetically) and then the letter, and then the decluttering.
CHECKPOINT
Ok, time for a break because WOW that's a text wall already.
Get up and stretch, refill your water bottle, and look at something not a screen for 5 minutes or something.
Here, relax with this bear for a sec.
Ok, now you can keep reading if you wish.
July
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a book you physically own." The book I will be reading for the prompt is The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones.
I was gifted this book by my mother (yes my mom is just that awesome) in 2021, and she left the following message in the front of the book:
Wherever your path takes you in life always be an active learner. <3 What's cooler than being cool? Realizing you don't know everything and are constantly learning and growing! How exciting!!
She also wrote down the following quote underneath:
People need to stop giving oxygen to the idea that teaching America's history in full is an exercise of making white people or white children feel bad about themselves. Not the objective. Not the purpose. No the hidden agenda. Wisdom is earned by confronting hard truths. - Michele Norris
Side Quest
I might aim for ALL of these Side Quests, because all of them sound like a wonderful idea: "Create a reading or relaxing music playlist", "Attend a library, bookstore, or author event", "Unfollow social media accounts that drain your energy". Once again, all phenomenal side quests and I intend to do as many as I can.
August
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a book with a one word title." The book I will be reading for the prompt is Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World by Vivek H. Murthy. And I'm counting it ok, the other words after "Together" are a subtitle soooo...But I have this on audiobook via Libro.fm so will be trying to read it there.
Side Quest
I might aim for ALL of these Side Quests, because all of them sound like a wonderful idea: "Do a face mask or apply your favorite moisturizer", "Treat yourself to a yummy snack", "Delete photos and videos from your phone that you don't need". Only one I might not do is the face mask, because I do not own any and do not have a moisturizer I think. But otherwise, some good options!
September
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a banned book." The book I will be reading for the prompt is Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis.
Side Quest
I might aim for ALL of these Side Quests, because all of them sound like a wonderful idea: "Go for a walk with no headphones and notice the beauty around you", "Delete apps from your phone that you don't use", "Wash your bedsheets and take an everything shower before bed".
A no-headphone walk sounds great, but September will be pretty hot for where I live still, so it might not be too long. That's ok though, if I'm honest. I'll have to see when I get there!
October
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a book by an Indigenous author." The book I will be reading for the prompt is As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom through Radical Resistance by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.
Side Quest
I might aim for ALL of these Side Quests, because all of them sound like a wonderful idea: "Unhaul at least 3 items (not necessarily books) and donate them", "Listen to an audiobook on your commute or while doing chores", "Reach out to a friend and schedule time to meet up for coffee, lunch, etc."
Again, broken record here, but all of these look phenomenal. I might not do the audiobook one, because I usually need to focus while doing the two activities listed or I might focus too much on the audiobook instead, so... we will see.
November
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Reread a book." The book I will be reading for the prompt is Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal, and Sovereignty in Native America by Gregory D. Smithers.
I was originally gonna use this for the prompt "Read a book by a Native American author" but he is not actually Native American apparently. He's still cool though, and Australian professor who is really globally minded and thus neat. But dang. Oh noooo, guess I have to read the book twice...what horror lmao.
Side Quest
I might aim for ALL of these Side Quests, because all of them sound like a wonderful idea: "Write a gratitude list", "Do a task or chore you have been procrastinating", "Try a new recipe".
December
Main Quest
The Main Quest I am aiming to complete is: "Read a book that addresses a social issue." The book I will be reading for the prompt is The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by the late Jane Goodall with Doug Abrams.
I cannot verbalize how badly I need to read this book. I might switch this to November so I can read it twice, if I'm honest. But regardless, hooooo boy do I want to get my grubby little hands on this book.
Side Quest
I might aim for ALL of these Side Quests, because all of them sound like a wonderful idea: "Do a holiday activity," "Purchase a gift for yourself or someone else from a small business," "Set goals for 2027."
Recap
WOW. What a wall of text. Sorry it's so chunky, but I wanted to keep this in one post instead of splitting it up. Thank you so so much for reading all the way to the bottom. As a little gift of sorts, here's my vision board I made for 2026 that I mentioned in my previous post, New Year, New Themes 2026.
May you have a wonderful new year, and I hope this maybe inspired you to take a peek at some nonfiction books as well!