2026 Holiday Reading Challenge | The Running Bibliophile

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2026 Reading Challenge
Who doesn’t love a good challenge, especially when it pushes you to read outside your comfort zone or discover a new author? I’ve always wanted to join a reading challenge or reading bingo, but so many of them feel repetitive. So, I decided to create something a little different. It doesn’t mean a challenge like this isn’t out there; I just haven’t come across one myself.

Introducing The Running Bibliophile’s 2026 Holiday Reading Challenge, a fun and unique way to expand your reading list while celebrating the spirit of the year. This challenge features 14 books of your choice, with one key twist: each book’s plot must revolve around the specific holiday mentioned.

The challenge runs for January 1 through January 31, 2026. To keep things exciting, you may not duplicate any books on the list. By the time you've completed the challenge, you will have read 14 new books to diversify your reading list.

To kick things off, the first prompt is simple: choose any holiday-themed book as long as it was published in 2026.

  • A Holiday Book Published in 2026
  • A Book About New Year's Eve or New Year's Day
  • A Book About Valentine's Day
  • A Book About Mardi Gras
  • A Book About Easter
  • A Book About St. Patrick's Day
  • A Book About Mother's Day
  • A Book About Father's Day
  • A Book About The Fourth of July
  • A Book About Halloween
  • A Book About Thanksgiving
  • A Book About Hanukkah
  • A Book About Christmas
  • A Book About Kwanza

What we love about this reading challenge is that people of all ages can participate. Make this as fun or educational as you want it to be. Fiction or Non-Fiction books can be used to complete the challenge.

Are you joining the 2026 Holiday Reach Challenge by The Running Bibliophile? Let us know in the comments, and tell us what books you read so we can add them to our "To Be Read" list.

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