2023 Reading Challenges….Accepted

Happy Friday y’all! Today is my favorite day of the year…Reading Challenge Day! February will be 9 years since I started this little blog, and reading challenges are the thing that keeps me going. I love participating in my favorites and trying out a few new ones each year. Most of my challenges crossover so books can count for more than one, and I love digging through my TBR or books I’d like to read and finding one to fit a particular prompt.

Over the last few years, I’ve tried to scale back the amount of challenges I participated in because they were becoming overwhelming. Last year I kept my favorite challenges around and decided that this year I wanted to try a few new ones out. In addition to participating in challenges, I am also cohosting COYER again and am so excited for what we have in store for y’all. The sign up post for it is live, and you can find it here. My own personal goals for COYER are below along with the other challenges I plan on participating in this year. Read on to find out more.

The 2023 Audiobook Challenge is hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer & That’s What I’m Talking About. In 2022, I found my love of audiobooks again, so I cannot wait to dive in. This challenge is all about listening whether you are new to audiobooks or an audiophile. If you are interested in joining me on this one, it started January 1, 2023 and runs through December 31, 2023. You can sign up here.

The Details

• Runs January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023. You can join at any time.
• The goal is to find a new love for audios or to outdo yourself by listening to more audios in 2023 than you did in 2022.
• Books must be in audio format (CD, MP3, etc.)
• ANY genres count.
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Facebook, etc. I recommend creating a shelf on Goodreads titled 2023 Audiobook Challenge. You can keep track and link the shelf. 
• If you’re a blogger grab the button and do a quick post about the challenge to help spread the word. If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or Tweet about the challenge.
• Updates plus a giveaway will be posted twice during the year. The first update will be July 2, 2023, and the last update will take place on December 30, 2023. You’ll have one week to link up and share your progress

My Goal

This will be my 6th year participating in this challenge, and if you read my New Year’s Resolutions, you’d already know that I have a big goal in mind this year. Last year, I read close to 40 audiobooks and that’s after rediscovering my love mid way through the year. I have lofty goals this year, and hoping to read 1 audiobook a week. With this in mind, my goal for 2023 is Marathoner (50+ audiobooks). Not only do I feel like this is doable, it is a great motivator to keep me reading. You can track my progress below or follow my shelf on Goodreads.

2023 Audiobook Challenge: 16/50

The 2023 Backlist Reader Challenge is hosted by the Bookwyrm’s Hoard, and I swear this one is made for me. This will be my second year actively participating in the challenge, and I can’t wait. My TBR and arc backlist is climbing the walls. The point of this challenge is to read those backlist books, published prior to 2022. I’m going to work on this one with a couple of other challenges throughout the year and hopefully bring my TBR down to a manageable level. This one starts January 1, 2023 and ends December 31, 2023. If you want to join me, you can sign up here.

The Details

1. To count for the challenge, books have to be published before 2022 AND already be on your TBR list or pile. 
2. Create a goals or sign-up post on your blog 
3. *Optional* Review the books you read for the challenge*, and post your links on the review linky
4. Before January 5, 2024, create and link a wrap-up post.

My Goal

I finally have dipped below 300 on my TBR shelf on Goodreads (go me!), and I’d like to keep that trending in the right direction. Seeing as how I did not meet my low expectations of myself in 2022, I think I will set the bar low again this year with a goal of 25 books. This is doable, AND if I meet it early I can always increase later. You can track my progress below or follow my shelf on Goodreads.

2023 Backlist Reader Challenge: 19/25

The 2023 COYER: Upside Down challenge is hosted by myself, Because Reading and Once Upon a Chapter this year. This will be my 8th year participating in COYER and 2nd year hosting. COYER turns 10 this year so we have some fun in store! During 2020, it went from a twice a year seasonal challenge to all year, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Each chapter is slightly different so I will post my goals for each as the year progresses. The challenge starts January 1, 2023 and ends December 31, 2023. You can find the sign up here.

Chapter 1: It’s a Cold Summer Details (January 1st – April 30th)

1. Format doesn’t matter. Any format counts.
2. Price doesn’t matter. They can be free, they can be $50. They can be Kindle Unlimited, borrowed, etc.
3. Announce your participation! This can be a blog post (or if you don’t have a blog – Facebook, Twitter, Mastodon, Hive, Instagram, TikTok, Goodreads, etc.) If you want to list books you would like to read, that’s great, but not necessary. The point is to let everyone know you’re committed to COYER, maybe share some goals, and help spread the word. Not sure how to do your post? Check out this example from a previous COYER.
4. Link up! Link that post (not just your blog homepage) to the linky below.
5. Review & Link Reviews! Your review may be on your blog, Goodreads, etc. Link the review to the Review Linky (opens January 1st). When you post your review to the linky use the following format: Your Name @ Blog (if applicable): Book Title (e.g., “Michelle @ Because Reading: Twilight”).
6. Follow & share reviews on social media. Use #COYER on your posts and look for others posting with the hashtag.
7. Visit Each Other, Chat & Have Fun!

My Goal

Since we are doing summer rules during the winter, my goal is going to be higher than I normally would set it. Format and price don’t count which means essentially everything I read will count towards this challenge. With that in mind, I’m setting my goal at 30 books. You can track my progress below or follow my shelf on Goodreads.

COYER 2023: 28/30

The 2023 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge is hosted by friend at Celebrity Readers. This is another of my favorite challenges. I am a series addict. I love sitting down on a weekend or taking a whole week and bingeing a series, whether it be two books or ten. That being said, since becoming a blogger and reading ARCs, there are a lot of series I’ve started but then forgot to go back and finish. The goal of this series is to finish or catch up on a series that you’ve fallen behind on. This one starts on January 1, 2023 and ends December 31, 2023. If you are interested, you can sign up here.

The Details

• The challenge will run from January 1st, 2023 to December 31st, 2023.  Books must be read during this time frame to count.  Sign up is open from now until December 1st, 2023, so you may join even just for the last month of the year.
• Series can be already completed as well as still ongoing.  For ongoing series, the goal is to catch up to the most recent book published by the end of 2023.
• We don’t care if you have only 1 book or 10 books to read in order to finish your series, as long as you’ve started the series before 2023 (ie read at least one book in the series), it counts.  Re-reads are not required.
• Any format and length of book counts – print, ebook, audio, ARC, etc.
• Series can be any length (even if it’s just a Duet).
• Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable!
• Reviews are not required, but highly encouraged.

My Goal

This is my 6th year participating in this challenge, and my goal isn’t changing. I’m aiming for A-List Series Finisher (9 or more series). So far, I’ve met this one every year and look forward to knocking off and completing even more this year. You can track my progress below* or follow my shelf on Goodreads.

2023 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge: 1/15

*The challenge goal number is just a guess at the number of books I need to read to complete the challenge and not the number of series I plan to complete.

The 2023 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge is hosted by Kim & Tanya of GirlXOXO. This will be my first year participating, and it looks like a fun one. The goal is to read at least one book a month with at least one of that month’s keywords in the title. I love a good challenge! This one starts January 1st and runs through December 31st. You can sign up here.

The Details

• This is a monthly challenge that runs all year long from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.
• Eight “key words” are given for each month. Your task is to read 1 book that includes one or more of the key words in the title that month. 
• Synonyms and different suffixes are allowed. For example, if the keyword is ‘Lake’ you may also use the words ‘Lakes’, ‘Water’, ‘Sea’, ‘Ocean’. If the keyword is ‘Run’ you may also use the words ‘Running’, ‘Ran’, ‘Runs’. 
• A check in post will be published on the blog, in Goodreads GXO Reading Challenges group and on Instagram each month. The challenge is also posted to Storygraph.

My Goal

Pretty self explanatory right 😉 My goal this year is to read 1 book a month that fits the keyword prompts. If I can read more great, but if not that’s ok too. To give myself a bit more of a challenge, I will be choosing books from my current TBR or NetGalley backlist that fit the theme. You can track my progress below or follow my shelf on Goodreads.

2023 #MonthlyKeyWordGXO: 1/12

The 2023 NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge is hosted by Socrates Book Reviews. This will be my 6th year participating in the challenge. Sadly, I have yet to complete my goal. This challenge is for all reviewers out there that may be behind (like me) on reading those arcs or just want to improve their NetGalley percentage. This one starts January 1, 2023 and ends December 31, 2023. If you are interested, you can sign up here.

The Details

• The challenge runs from January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023. There is no deadline to sign up.
• Everyone is welcome to participate – you do not need to have a blog.
• Any genre, release date, length, etc. counts – it just needs to be a book from NetGalley or Edelweiss.
• Books can count for more than one challenge that you are participating in.
• The first day of each month I will post a monthly “link-up” for you to link your reviews. If you forget one month, no worries, just catch up the next month.

My Goal

Every year my goal is the same: I want to get my NetGalley percentage above 80%. To do this, I need to read a minimum of 82 books plus any that I pick up over the course of the year 😅 That’s a lot of books! AND if you read my New Year’s Resolutions, you know that I’m also hoping to read 50 books from my NetGalley backlist by July 1st. With that in mind, my goal for 2023 is Platinum (75 books). Wish me luck! You can track my progress below or follow my shelf on Goodreads.

#NGEW2023: 10/75

The 2023 New Release Challenge is hosted by (un)Conventional Bookworms. This is the challenge that I’ve participated in the longest and the one I look forward to every year. It is all about reading those new releases, anything published during the new year counts. It starts January 1, 2023 and ends December 31, 2023. If you want to join me, you can sign up here.

The Details

• Books have to be released and reviewed in 2023.
• Other challenges can be used as well, if you are participating in the Netgalley / Edelweiss challenge or in the COYER challenge, books can count towards more than one challenge, as long as the ones you use for the 2023 New Release Reading Challenge qualify to the other rules.
• The minimum length for a book to qualify is 100 pages, it can be in any format though, physical, e-book, ARC or audiobook.
• The New Release Challenge is open from January 1st through December 31st 2023, and sign-ups are open until September 1st 2023.
• You don’t have to be a blogger to participate, you can link to your review on Goodreads or Booklikes instead – so don’t be shy!
• If you want to spread the love, please use #2023NewReleaseChallenge on Twitter ?

My Goal

I have yet to have a problem meeting my goals for this challenge. I’m a new release junkie 😂 This year my goal is New Release Pro (31-60 books). You can track my progress below or follow my shelf on Goodreads.

2023 New Release Challenge: 5/31

Your Turn! Are you participating in any challenges? Do you host a challenge? Share below

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