Summer Reading Challenges 2026

Summer is a great time for those of us who like to try a challenge or two.

Big books. A lot of people like to take on a big book for summer. 

And fortunately for all of us who enjoy big books, Sue Jackson of Book by Book hosts a Big Book Summer Reading Challenge. 

Here's a little about the challenge.

The idea behind this reading challenge is simple: Use the ease of summer to tackle a Big Book (400+ pages) or two or ... however many you want! You set your own goals. And if it is the start of winter where you live, then it's your Big Book Winter Challenge. Everyone is welcome to participate. 

The Details:
Hey, it's summer, so we'll keep this low-key and easy!

• Anything 400 pages or more qualifies as a big book.
• The challenge runs from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend (May 22 this year) through Labor Day (September 7 this year).
  
• Choose one or two or however many big books you want as your goal. Wait, did you get that?  You only need to read 1 book with 400+ pages this summer to participate! (though you are welcome to read more, if you want).
• No sign-ups are necessary! All readers are welcome to participate.

What kind of books "count"? All kinds! Middle-grade, YA, graphic novels, classics, all genres, all types--as long as they are at least 400 pages. Yes, e-books and audio books count, too--just check online for the number of pages in the print edition. 

My potential reads:

• Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Lacios - 400 pages 

• The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen - 418 pages  

• Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel - 482 pages 

• Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser - 557 pages   

• Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy - 592 pages 

• Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - 992 pages 

 Two are book club reads---Pillars and Beyond Words---so those are the two I'm most likely to read.

 

 

But maybe you are not a person who enjoys reading big books. Maybe you like to read in quantity over the summer. In that case...

When Cathy of 746 books announced in 2025 that she would not host 20 Books of Summer this year after ten successful years, Emma of Words and Peace and Annabel of AnnaBookBel both volunteered to take it on. This year, Annabel will run the challenge alone.

• The 20 Books of Summer2026 (#20BOS26) challenge runs from Sunday June 1st to Sunday August 31st
• The first rule of 20 Books is that there are no real rules, other than signing up for 10, 15, or 20 books and trying to read from your TBR.
• Pick your list in advance, or nominate a bookcase to read from, or pick at whim from your TBR.
• If you do pick a list, you can change it at any time – swap books in/out.
• Don’t get panicked at not reaching your target.
• Just enjoy a summer of great reading and make a bit of space on your shelves!

Annabel will have monthly summary posts where you can add progress reports and recommendations. The final one at the at the beginning of September will stay open for a while to catch all the last reviews.

If you’re planning to join in please do add your blog / planning post link to the Mr Linky here.

Here are my (planned, but subject to change) 20 Books of Summer:

*Bake Happy by Judith Fertig.   

*Lost Horizon by James Hilton.    

*The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim   

*Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina.   

*Don't Call It Art by Austin Kleon.

*Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Mcfarlane.     

*The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout.  

*Make Life Happier by Mark Williamson.    

*Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorne.    

*The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck     

*Uncharted by Gordon Ramsay

*Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson

*The War of the Buttons by Louis Pergaud     

*A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

*My Friends by Frederik Bachman.    

*East Post Like by Emily Arden Wells 

*Write Yourself Out of a Corner by Alice LaPlante.    

*Paris Metro Tales by Ruth Paget     

*The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.    

*The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham

*The Lark and the Laurel by Barbara Willard.    

*Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane

*The Shippers by Katherine Center.    

*The Memoir Project by Marion Roach Smith

*The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse

  

Do you have any special plans for your summer reading?

Do you like to plan things out or are you more of a person who likes to read at whim?

Previous years' posts about summer reading:

Summer Reads: Seventeen Summer-Filled Books You Might Consider for Your Summer Reading This Year

Summer Reading Challenges