Summer Reading Challenge @ Messy Middle

I've been excited for this one to come! As with every year, I will get as many books as I can between the dates indicated. The "Make up Your Own Category" sounds like fun!

The Summer Reading Challenge will start on June 1 and run for eleven weeks through August 14, 2026. To enter, read seven books from 25+ categories and leave a comment at the end of the challenge with the books you read. That’s all. No entrance fee, no hassle, just fun.

What’s different?

• Only four charities were nominated, so we won’t be reading every Friday for Good. We’ll read on the 2^nd and 4^thFridays of June and July. Hopefully next summer we can return to reading every Friday with more nominations! You can learn more about the four charities here.
• Three special categories tied to big 2026 moments — the USA’s 250th birthday , my mom’s 90th birthday , and the World Cup 

What’s the same?

• Many of the categories were submitted by you!
• Choosing a penalty book within the first week of the challenge. A penalty book is one you declare to yourself:I will read this or be penalized. My penalty book this year has been sitting on my shelf long enough — Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. This is the year. (Or I’ll die, get it?! HA!)
• Like previous years, if you do not read your penalty book, you will subtract two books from your total
• The joy of reading!

What’s in it for you?

• All who comment on the summary blog post I’ll publish around August 14th will be entered to win one of several $10 Amazon gift cards. You’ll have a few days after August 14th to comment with the names of the books you read.

Drumroll . . . here are the categories!

1. A book someone mentioned in last year’s summer reading challenge
2. A book with cover that uses a color with a plant in the name. Turns out there are 20 colors with plant names!! Greens (moss, sage, fern, clover), Purples (lavender, violet, wisteria, thistle), Yellows (saffron, marigold, dandelion, goldenrod), Pinks and Reds (rose, blush, poppy, amaranth), and a mixed group (indigo, cornflower, eucalyptus, lichen)
3. A book with a verb in the title.
4. A book set where you’re going on vacation this summer/winter (or would like to vacation)
5. A book recommended by a child in your life
6. A book recommended by a bookseller or a librarian
7. A book that is Science Fiction, Fantasy or a Western
8. A book featuring nature such as a river, National Park, forest, or mountains
9. A book that has your favorite color in the title
10. A book with a great first line
11. A book whose title is someone’s name
12. A book that takes place in a place that you’ve been to
13. A how-to book
14. A book you stay up late to read
15. A book about space (I was thinking outer space but “space” could be interpreted in other ways)!
16. A book set on the opposite side of the world to where you are currently located
17. A middle grade or YA novel
18. A book told in epistolary style (letter or diary)
19. A book featuring travel as a theme
20. A graphic novel
21. A cookbook, picture/coffee table book, or wordless book
22. A mystery, classic, or play
23. A book for professional development (loosely defined)
24. An audiobook
25. A book you want to discuss with others
26. A book that’s outside of your normal reading
27. Choose your own adventure: Make up your own category!

A few categories special to Summer 2026

1. Since this summer is the 250th birthday of the USA, either a book about the birth of that nation or a book with 250 in the title.
2. In honor of my mom’s 90th birthday in August, either a book with an elderly person (at least 80 years old) or the number 90 in the title.
3. Because the world cup is in June, a book with soccer (football 😉) or the world cup in it

Bonus: choose a Penalty Book in the first week of the challenge as a way to kick yourself in the pants. If you don’t read your penalty book you will subtract two (2) books from your grand total.