Co-Read-19 Reading Challenge and Recommendations

Hey guys! If you are finding yourself stuck inside with a little extra time on your hands recently or if you are just looking for a way to get rid of the stress that comes with a worldwide pandemic, we have something for you!

During this lockdown, we are challenging ourselves and you all to read a little more! Try something that might be out of your genre, a book you have been wanting to read for a long time, or a series that you kept avoiding because you didn’t have enough time. Challenge yourself to see how many of these you can get through. (Books you have already read count, too!)

Read a Literary Classic

Have you have always wanted to read a classic novel, but felt like you never had the time or energy to put towards demystifying the old-timey language and endless symbolism?

Recommendations:

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (filled with endless satire) by Mark Twain

• Feeling Pretentious? Try the Picture of Dorian Gray! (or anything by Oscar Wilde really)

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Middle-grade

If current events are too stressful and you need to run away from the constant responsibilities of being an adult, escape into an age where things are simpler.

Recommendations:

• Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan (soon to be a tv show!)

• Magisterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

• Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

A Recommendation

Have you ever promised a friend that you would read a book they recommend? And then turned around three seconds later thinking “aint nobody got time for that!”? Well, if you do decide to read that book and tell them you read it, we promise that your friend will love you forever.

Recommendations depend on the person, but for us personally:

• The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater

• The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

YA (or regular) Mystery

Missing school? Want to live out your fantasy of being a super-smart detective and solving a crime instead of doing homework? (Don’t we all) Well, you can do both!

Recommendations:

• Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson

• One of us is lying by Karen M. McManus

• A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

• Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Epic fantasy series

Does anyone else have commitment issues with starting a dauntingly long series where the end is nowhere in sight and there are just so many books and characters and you don’t have time and why is it so long ahhhhh? Is that just me?

Recommendations:

• Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

• The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Reread a favorite novel or series

We all have a series that we can lose ourselves into no matter how many times we read it! What better time to immerse oneself into a world you know you love.

Recommendations depend from person to person, but my go-to is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

Fairytale Retelling

If your own happily ever after seems nowhere in sight, consider these reimagined “once upon a times”!

Recommendations:

• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

• Cinder by Marissa Meyer

• Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Self-improvement/Reflection book

Was becoming a better person always a distant goal in the future? Why do something tomorrow when you can do it today!

Possible Recommendations:

• Becoming by Michelle Obama

• The Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

Non-fiction book on a topic that interests you

The best thing is feeling informed about a topic you know and love!

Recommendations depend on personal interests, but we would choose:

• The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli

• When Women Ruled the world (6 Queens of Egypt) by Kara Cooney

Feel-good Love Stories

Love is in the air! … Okay maybe I only found oxygen, but love is definitely there in these books.

Recommendations:

• The Sun is also a star by Nicola Yoon

• What if it's us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli

• Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Science Fiction

From amazing technology to comical aliens, leave the present behind to explore the future

Recommendations:

• Warcross Duology by Marie Lu

• They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

A book that has been on your TBR forever

Does it take you as long to go through your TBR as it would take you to read an actual book? Let’s work on that!

Recommendations depend on the person, but for us:

• The Da Vinci code by Dan Brown

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

• The Valiant by Lesly Livingston

Deep, Thought-provoking Books

Expand your viewpoint. There is still a lot to learn about humanity.

Recommendations:

• Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

• Night by Elie Wiesel

• Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen

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How many of these categories have you already read from? Head over to our Forum to share your progress!

Happy Reading <3

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