Challenge Your-shelf in 2025!
The start of a new year is a chance to pause, reflect, and think about what you want to achieve in the next twelve months. Make 2025 a year of adventure and discovery by setting a reading resolution with the BPL Reading Challenge! Sign up online now to get started, then pick up your tracker from any BPL branch. It’s completely FREE to join.
Reading Challenge 101
The goal of our Reading Challenge is to read one book every month on a different theme or topic. In January, we kick off with the challenge to read a book set in a faraway place. It can be any book, fiction or non-fiction, that takes place somewhere else, whether it’s a different part of Canada, a different country, or even a different planet! If you’re not sure where to start, our librarians have curated a list of recommendations.
Stay Motivated
Every month, we’ll send you a reminder to check in online and let us know what book you read. When you check in, you’re entered into both our monthly and end-of-year grand prize draws for a chance to win great prizes. We’ll also share a new set of recommended reads, and other ways that we can help you find a book we think you’ll love that fits the monthly theme.
Connect With Other Readers
It’s like having a gym buddy, but for books! We’ll host a monthly meet-up for challenge participants, where we’ll chat about what we read, what we did and didn’t love, and exchange reading recommendations. Bring a friend, or come to make new ones. There’s no need to register, and you can find all the dates and locations on the BPL Reading Challenge web page.
Try Something New in 2025
Your monthly read can be in any format or genre, so why not challenge yourself even more and read outside of your comfort zone? Try a new genre, like romance, mystery, fantasy, or non-fiction. Or make 2025 the year you commit to audiobooks—it's the ultimate in multi-tasking. You can tune into a great story while you're driving, exercising, or cooking dinner.
Other Reading Resolutions
Beyond the Reading Challenge, there are lots of fun ways you can motivate yourself to read more in 2025. Here are some fun ideas for reading resolutions:
- Read the alphabet: Start with A and work your way through reading authors or books starting with each letter of the alphabet.
- Make a to-be-read jar: Anytime you hear about a book you want to read, write it on a scrap of paper and toss it in a mason jar, then pick a book from the jar when you're not sure what to read next.
- Travel through books: Make a list of all the places you want to visit someday, then pick books set in those places.
- Expand your shelf: Exploring stories from people with different lived experiences can challenge your thinking, improve your empathy, and expand your understanding of global issues.
- Take on the classics: They're (usually) popular for a reason, so consider tackling the books you skipped (or skimmed) in high school. For a fun twist, read the graphic or comic version of a classic novel, too!
- Ask us for a booklist curated by our book-loving staff through our Handpicked For You Service!
May your year ahead be filled with great books!
