If one of your goals for the warmer months is to READ MORE then I have a few suggestions. First and foremost, schedule time to read! With the longer stretches of daylight upon us you can even set aside time in the evenings to devour a few chapters while sitting outside. Next, bring a book with you wherever you go! Whether you’ve got a long wait ahead of you at the pharmacy or are headed to the beach for a lazy afternoon in the sun, if you have the option to turn a few pages, you might just do so. Hopping in the car for a road trip (or maybe just a long commute)? Consider downloading an audio book or checking one out FO’ FREE at your local library. Finally, challenge yourself! Map out a few prompts for book ideas that could expand your horizons while holding you accountable.

Need some ideas? I came up with a Spring/Summer 2016 Book Challenge with a few suggestions based on books I personally loved…

Pick a book in each category for two books a month:

April

• A book to help you live a better life.

  • The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
  • Think by Lisa Bloom
  • The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas Campbell
  • The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins
  • Yes Please by Amy Poehler

• Oops! You saw the movie first…now read the book.

  • Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
  • Room by Emma Donoghue
  • Wild by Cheryl Strayed
  • The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

May

• A book written by a woman you look up to.

  • Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
  • Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
  • I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
  • My Berlin Kitchen by Luisa Weiss
  • Bossy Pants by Tina Fey

• Delve into a book that covers historical events.

  • The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
  • The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
  • The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler
  • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
  • Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

June

• Young adult fiction.

  • Looking for Alaska by John Green
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

• A book for the eco-conscious.

  • Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman
  • Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
  • Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

July

• A book that will make you want to fight for the cause.

  • Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn
  • Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
  • Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein
  • Lost Girls by Robert Kolker
  • The Working Poor by David Shipler

• A compelling memoir.

  • Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman
  • Everything You Ever Wanted by Jillian Lauren
  • The Boy Kings of Texas by Domingo Martinez
  • Just Kids by Patti Smith

August

• A book you were supposed to read in school but skipped.

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  • Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
  • In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

• Furiously page-turning fiction.

  • The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
  • We the Animals by Justin Torres
  • The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
  • Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
  • Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
  • The Blue Orchard by Jackson Taylor
  • Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Have you read any of these books? Any sound interesting enough to add to your reading list? How are YOU planning to prioritize reading this Spring and Summer? I LOVE talking books, so let’s chat in the comments below!!