2027 Reading Challenges: The Big Ones Compared
Goodreads, The StoryGraph, the 52 Book Club, Around the Year in 52 Books, Read Harder, PopSugar and r/Fantasy Bingo: how big each one is, what it asks, when its 2027 list arrives, and who it suits.
Most reading challenges fall into three kinds: a number to hit, a list of prompts to match, or a community that reads together. Here's every major challenge for 2027 in one place, which ones have published their lists already, and how to pick one you'll still be doing in June.
Last reviewed
- The 52 Book Club published its 2027 list: 52 prompts for its tenth anniversary.
- Around the Year in 52 Books finalized its 2027 topics.
At a Glance
- Opens January 1
Your number · Number goal
- Ongoing
Your goal, plus member-hosted challenges · Goals and community challenges
- Out Nov 7
52 prompts · Prompts, one a week
- Out Nov 2
52 prompts · Member-voted weekly topics
- Expected December
24 tasks · Comfort-zone prompts
- Not announced
40 + 10 advanced (2026) · Eclectic prompts
- 2026 card open
25 squares; next card April · SFF prompts
- Out
52 prompts · Prompts with book picks
Status as of November 15, 2026. We update this page as each 2027 list is published.
Which one should you do?
Two questions, then jump to the one that fits.
How many books did you read last year?
What do you want from a challenge?
Three Kinds of Reading Challenge
A number challenge sets a target and nothing else: read 30 books this year. The Goodreads Reading Challenge is the famous one. It's the easiest to start and the easiest to stall on, because it never tells you what to read next.
A prompt challenge gives you a list to match books to: "a book with a purple cover", "a book set in a capital city". The 52 Book Club, Around the Year in 52 Books, Read Harder, PopSugar and r/Fantasy Bingo all work this way. They solve the what-next problem and push you toward books you wouldn't have picked, at the cost of more planning.
A community challenge adds people: weekly discussion threads, shared spreadsheets, a group read. Several prompt challenges are also communities, which is a big part of why people finish them.
You can stack them. Plenty of readers set a Goodreads number and do a prompt list on top, letting one book count toward both.
Number Challenges: Goodreads and The StoryGraph
- Size
- A number of books you choose
- Runs
- January 1 – December 31, 2027
- Good for
- Readers who want a target, not a reading list
The Goodreads Reading Challenge opens on January 1. You set a number of books, and every book on your Read shelf with a 2027 finish date counts toward it, plus Did Not Finish books with a 2027 date (a 2026 change). Goodreads also runs achievements: limited-time bookmarks for reading qualifying books in a set window. Our Goodreads Reading Challenge guide covers what counts and how to fix books that don't.
The StoryGraph does two things. It has reading goals, and it hosts challenges that any member can create, in three styles: prompts, a set list of books, or a number of books that fit a rule. Some organizers host their own there (the 52 Book Club runs an official 2027 challenge on The StoryGraph), and other big prompt lists get a copy set up by a reader (the 2026 PopSugar copy has more than 4,500 participants), so you can track one there even when it started elsewhere.
Pick a number with care. A goal set in a burst of New Year energy is the most common reason these challenges end in March. Our 2027 reading goal planner turns the minutes you really have each day into a realistic book count, and a reading bingo card gives the number some variety.
The 52 Book Club 2027
- Size
- 52 prompts, one a week
- Runs
- January 1 – December 31, 2027
- Cost
- Free; a printed journal and stickers are optional extras
- Community
- Facebook group, a Goodreads group of 28,000+ members, and a StoryGraph challenge
- Good for
- Quirky, playful prompts and a big, friendly community
Published on November 7, 2026. 2027 is the club's tenth anniversary, so the list mixes new prompts with throwbacks: one prompt from each past year's challenge, plus "any previous 52 Book Club prompt". Examples: "Title starts with the letter Q", "Audiobook with sound effects", "A purple cover", "Published in 2027" and "Your final read of the year".
It's relaxed about rules. Any format counts, including audiobooks, graphic novels and children's books, and you can interpret prompts creatively. The site has a free printable log and graphics, a prompt-by-prompt guide, and a Goodreads list for almost every prompt. Monthly mini-challenges keep fast readers busy.
Around the Year in 52 Books 2027
- Size
- 52 weekly topics, voted on by members
- Runs
- Week by week through 2027
- Cost
- Free
- Community
- A Goodreads group of 11,700+ members
- Good for
- A weekly rhythm and real discussion
Members suggest and vote on every prompt over the summer, and the group works through them as weekly topics. The 2027 list was finalized on November 2, 2026. Prompts include "A book with the letters A, T, & Y in the title", "A book set in a capital city", "A book related to Dolly Parton" and "A book published in 2027".
Each prompt gets its own discussion thread, and there's a community spreadsheet. You get one wild card a year to swap out a prompt that doesn't suit you. You'll need a Goodreads account to join in, since that's where the group meets.
Book Riot's Read Harder 2027
- Size
- 24 tasks, two a month (2026)
- Runs
- January 1 – December 31
- Cost
- Task list and PDF free; paid All Access adds editor picks
- Good for
- Fewer, more pointed prompts; breadth over volume
Designed to get you out of your comfort zone. 2026 was its twelfth year, and its list arrived on December 8, 2025. Book Riot's November 5, 2026 newsletter called the 2027 challenge "coming soon", so expect it in early December. The 2026 tasks included reading a microhistory, a genre book in translation and a nonviolent true crime book, and repeating a task from any previous year.
One book can count for several tasks, and graphic novels and audiobooks count. The free Read Harder newsletter sends recommendation lists through the year.
PopSugar Reading Challenge 2027
- Size
- 40 prompts plus 10 advanced (2026)
- Cost
- Free
- Community
- The Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge group on Goodreads, 43,000+ members
- Good for
- A long, eclectic list and the hunt for a book that fits
The 2026 edition, the twelfth, came out on November 1, 2025, on a garden theme. As of November 15, 2026, PopSugar hasn't published a 2027 list. We'll add it here when it does.
Its prompts tend to be specific and topical (the 2026 list includes "A book you meant to read in 2025"). Readers' StoryGraph copies are the easiest way to track it.
r/Fantasy Bingo
- Size
- 25 squares on a 5 × 5 card
- Runs
- April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027; the next card arrives in April
- Cost
- Free
- Good for
- Genre readers who want depth rather than breadth
Reddit's r/Fantasy runs a bingo card of fantasy, science fiction and horror prompts each year, from April 1 to March 31. Most squares have an optional hard mode, each book fills only one square, only one square can be a reread, and an author can't be repeated across the card.
Filling the whole card earns "Reading Champion" flair, but you can aim for a single line and still get plenty out of it. There's a StoryGraph version for tracking.
Parch's Free Challenges
- Size
- 52 prompts, each with book picks
- Cost
- Free, no sign-up
- Good for
- Readers who'd rather have the books already suggested
The 52-book challenge has a prompt for every week of 2027 with book picks for each. 12 Months, 12 Genres gives you one genre a month. For a longer project, work through 100 classic books or read around the world in 40 books.
Want a bingo card instead of a list? Our free reading bingo maker deals a 3 × 3, 4 × 4 or 5 × 5 card from six prompt packs, lets you rewrite any square, and prints it or saves it as a phone wallpaper. Copy its link to give a book club the same card.
Prefer paper? Our free 2027 journal kit includes printable trackers.
How to Pick One You'll Finish
Match the size to your year. 52 prompts is a book a week, about 45 minutes of reading a day at an average pace; our guide to how many books to read in a year has the arithmetic. If last year was 15 books, Read Harder's 24 tasks or a single bingo line is a stretch you can actually make.
Plan five, not fifty-two. Pick books for the first few prompts and let the rest find you. Mapping the whole list in January is a quick way to burn out by spring.
Let books count twice. A book can fill one prompt in each challenge you're doing, and stacking is how readers with three challenges get through them.
Track it somewhere you'll look. Whether it's a spreadsheet, a StoryGraph challenge or an app, the challenges people finish are the ones they check in on. In Parch you can set a yearly, monthly or weekly goal in books, pages, reading time or listening time, privately, and keep a note on each book of which prompt it filled.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best reading challenges for 2027?
The big ones are the Goodreads Reading Challenge (a number goal), the 52 Book Club and Around the Year in 52 Books (52 prompts each), Book Riot's Read Harder (24 tasks), the PopSugar Reading Challenge (40 prompts plus 10 advanced in 2026) and r/Fantasy Bingo for genre readers. Pick by size and by whether you want a community.
Is the 52 Book Club 2027 challenge out?
Yes. The 52 Book Club published its 2027 challenge on November 7, 2026: 52 prompts, including throwback prompts for the club's tenth anniversary, with a free printable log and a prompt-by-prompt guide.
When does the Read Harder 2027 challenge come out?
Book Riot hasn't announced a date, but its November 5, 2026 newsletter said the 2027 challenge is coming soon. The 2026 list came out on December 8, 2025, so early December 2026 is likely. It has 24 tasks, two a month.
Is the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2027 out?
Not as of November 15, 2026. The 2026 list, with 40 prompts and 10 advanced prompts, came out on November 1, 2025.
What is Around the Year in 52 Books?
A Goodreads group of more than 11,700 readers that votes on 52 reading prompts each summer and works through them as weekly topics the following year. The 2027 list was finalized on November 2, 2026.
When does the Goodreads 2027 Reading Challenge start?
On January 1, 2027. You set a number of books, and any book on your Read shelf with a 2027 finish date counts toward it.
Is there a reading bingo card for 2027?
r/Fantasy's Book Bingo is the best known, but its card runs April to March, so the 2026 card is the current one until March 31, 2027. For a calendar-year card, our free reading bingo maker builds one in a minute, in any size from 3 × 3 to 5 × 5, with prompts you can change, to print or save as a phone wallpaper.
Can one book count for more than one reading challenge?
Usually, yes. Most challenges let a book fill one prompt per challenge, so a book can count toward your Goodreads number, a 52 Book Club prompt and a Read Harder task at once. Check each challenge's own rules.
How many reading challenges should I do?
One you'll finish beats three you abandon. If you read fewer than 20 books last year, start with one prompt list or a number goal. If you read 50 or more, stacking two challenges is easy because the same books can count for both.
Do audiobooks count for reading challenges?
For the major challenges, yes. The 52 Book Club says any format counts, including audiobooks, Read Harder counts audiobooks, and the Goodreads Reading Challenge counts any book on your Read shelf with a finish date. A few prompts ask for a specific format, like the 52 Book Club's "audiobook with sound effects".
Put this guide into practice
Time your reading sessions, keep a daily streak and see when you'll finish every book. Free on iPhone and Android.
The 2027 Reading Journal Kit
19 printable pages, with a dated calendar for every month of 2027. Enter your email and we'll send the PDF straight to your inbox.
- 2027 reading goals
- Year at a glance
- 12 dated months
- Reading log
- TBR planner
- Ratings & reviews
- Reading bingo
- Year in books