This will be the 7th year for the Travel Reading List Challenge. I get excited for it every year, because, as one of the members in our Facebook group said,
” I’m looking forward to seeing the new book opportunities! It always gives me books I never would have chosen on my own, but end up enjoying.“
The challenge was founded out of a love of reading and curiosity for the world, and as means of exploring new topics, writers and points of view.
The reading challenge is designed for those who love travel and who love to read. For people who have a curiosity about the world around them, those who are always looking for their next great read (whether picking it up in an airport bookstore or finding wi-fi to download to their Kindle), those who want more ideas about what to read, and those who want to explore the world in person and through a good book. We believe that a book is both a travel companion and a window to unexplored worlds.
The basic reading challenge has a pace of two books per month, for a yearly total of 24 books. The advanced portion of the reading challenge adds on another six books, bringing the yearly total to 30 books.
The challenge is self-paced. Read what you want, when you want. There’s no order you must follow. Feel free to interpret the list in any way you wish, choosing the type of books that you think you will enjoy. However, we also hope you’ll be encouraged to try some new authors, and genres, and will add new voices to your reading list – that’s part of the fun of the challenge, expanding your view of the world around you.
Your hosts for the 2024 reading challenge are:
Mary Jo Manzanares – Mary Jo is an avid traveler and reader. With a bag always packed, and a Kindle always full of books to read, she and her husband travel the world in search of value luxury destinations and experiences. She loves historical fiction, biographies, and debut authors. Mary Jo enjoys the reading challenge as a way to discover new authors and books that wouldn’t typically be on her to-read list. She likes finding books set in places she’s been, and places she’s going to and loves getting ideas from other book lovers in the Challenge Facebook group. Mary Jo is the author of Secret Seattle, and blogs at Traveling with MJ and Discovering Washington State.
Carol Guttery – Carol is a first-class book nerd and a recovering bookseller. She helps avid readers and book clubbers find and discuss their next great read at Libro Maniacs. She believes that travel and reading are intrinsically connected and all her trips are paired with a reading list. She’s a big fan of fiction and she goes deep into sci-fi/fantasy, spec-fic, mysteries and stories about people on a journey. A few of her 5-star reads for 2023 were: Chain Gang All-Stars, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk and Slow Horses. Carol’s goal for the reading challenge is to stretch into some new genres and get ideas for her ever-expanding TBR (to be read) list.
Like you, both of us are starting the challenge from scratch and we’ll be tackling the challenge right along with you. We will be updating our selections here throughout the year, and providing suggestions and recommendations in our Facebook group.
We also have a reading challenge set up on StoryGraph. You can find it here, or click on search challenges and search for “2024 Travel Reading List Challenge.” Note that the StoryGraph
For suggestions of what to read, discussions about our favorite books, and recommendations of what to take along on your next trip, please join our Facebook Group here. We are directing all discussions, comments, and questions about the reading challenge to that group. And don’t worry, we keep the talk general to avoid spoilers. Please join us!
Now let’s get to the list!
Basic Challenge (an average of two books per month)
- A book set in Sweden
- A book about a social justice issue or with social justice as a theme
- A book that’s a Sherlock Holmes retelling
- A book set south of the Equator
- A book about a historical event (fiction or non-fiction)
- A book that’s the first in a “new to you” series
- A book about aviation or air travel
- A book set in a country you dream of visiting
- A book with a country in the title
- A book set in more than one country
- A book published in 2024
- A book that’s a #booktok recommendation
- A book that’s a locked room mystery
- A book that’s a YA (young adult) romance
- A book with a subtitle
- A book from the 2023 Goodreads Reader Choice Award
- A book where you go in blind (no reading of the reviews, book jacket, or synopsis)
- A book with swashbuckling
- A book with a main character on a quest
- A book with a title that contains a synonym or woman (girl, lady, female, gal, etc.)
- A book with a gem in the title (ruby, diamond, amethyst, etc.)
- A book that involves music or musicians
- A book about a detective(s)
- A book whose title starts with the letter “W”
Advanced Challenge (an additional six books)
- A book set in Eastern Europe
- A book by a South Asian author
- A book with a tourist landmark on the cover
- A book with two or more POVs
- A book about or set in old Hollywood
- A book by a Latinx author
You can download a pdf of the list here.
Remember, the challenge is self-paced. Read what you want, when you want. There’s no order you must follow. Feel free to interpret the list in any way you wish, choosing the type of books that you think you will enjoy. However, we also hope you’ll be encouraged to try some new authors, and genres, and will add new voices to your reading list – that’s part of the fun of the challenge, expanding your view of the world around you.
We’ll get the website updated for January 1st, but since you’ve signed up for our monthly newsletter, you get a sneak preview!
May your new year be filled with lots of wonderful books!