My 2022 Reading Challenge

For my 2022 reading challenge, I've developed seven main categories, each with five subcategories, for a total of 35 possible books. Considering that I read only about 30 books a year, I do not expect to read a different book for each category. Instead, my goal will be to read about three from each category, for a total of about 20 books. I'm allowed to double-dip, where one book can fulfill more than one category, so it's very possible that I'll meet most if not all of my "requirements."

Why do a book challenge? Why not just read things? Well, I do that a lot, and I imagine I will read several books that don't fit the categories listed here (or that are repeats). But for me, having a list like this is a kind of discipline, and a way in which I can ensure that I try out books, authors, and genres that I might not otherwise try.

Today I'm going to begin by listing the categories and subcategories. Over the next few weeks and months, I'll fill in some of the book titles. You'll see some repeats; these are the books that fulfill more than one category.

UPDATE: I have added some book titles. As happens every year, I will probably end up replacing at least a few with something else. But for now, I've listed a few that I'd like to read in 2022. Books that are re-reads are marked with an asterisk(*).

If you're interested in adopting my challenge for yourself, please let me know in the comments. I'm also taking recommendations, if you have favorites that fit the categories below. And happy reading!

THE NICE CHAMELEON'S READING CHALLENGE 2022

Category 1: Classics Published 50 or More Years Ago

  • A classic novel from the 18th or 19th century: Frankenstein*, by Mary Shelley (1818)
  • A classic and/or bestseller from the year I was born (1970): The French Lieutenant's Woman, by John Fowles (pub. 1969; bestseller for much of spring 1970.) (completed in October)
  • A feminist classic
  • A classic novel by a BIPOC author: Go Tell It on the Mountain, by James Baldwin (1953) (completed in January)
  • A Shakespeare play: The Tempest* (1611) (completed in July)

Category 2: Genre

  • A biography, autobiography, or memoir The Great Good Thing: A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ, by Andrew Klavan (2016) (completed in November)
  • A collection of short stories: Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri (1999)
  • A YA or children's novel: The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (2005) (Book 1 of the Percy Jackson series; recommended by my 13-year-old niece) (completed in January)
  • A book of satire: The Postmodern Pilgrim's Progress: An Allegorical Tale, by Kyle Man and Joel Berry (2022) (completed in June)
  • A mystery/thriller (not a genre I typically read): The Summer House, by James Patterson and Brendan DuBois (2020) (mystery/thriller; completed in April)

Category 3: Topical

  • A book about words, language, or music: Metaphors We Live by, by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980) (completed in July)
  • A book about a current cultural issue: Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Refined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution, by Carl Trueman (2022)
  • A book about nature: The Trees in My Forest, by Bernd Heinrich (1997) (completed in July)
  • A book about suffering: The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery, by Ross Douthat (2021)
  • A book from a cultural or theological viewpoint I suspect I will disagree with

Category 4: Place

  • A novel about Latin America or that takes place in Latin America
  • A book by an author who grew up in the Soviet Union
  • A book by a Southeast Asian author: The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen (1984) (completed in February)
  • A book by a Middle Eastern author
  • A book with a U.S. city or state in the title

Category 5: Recommendations

  • A book recommended by a friend: The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt (2007) (recommended by my friend Anh) (Completed in April)
  • A book recommended (or gifted) by my spouse: The Truth and Beauty: How the Lives and Works of England's Greatest Poets Point the Way to a Deeper Understanding of the Words of Jesus, by Andrew Klavan (2022)
  • A book recommended by my child, or by another tween or teen: 11 Before 12, by Lisa Greenwald (2017) (recommended by my 12-year-old daughter)
  • A book recommended by a teacher or pastor: Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today, by Adam Hamilton (2016)
  • A book recommended by someone I follow on social media: The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver, by Shawn Inmon (2016) (completed in May; this book also started a binge-read of the series!)

Category 6: Accolades

  • A novel that won either the Pulitzer Prize or the Nobel Prize The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen (1984)
  • A Newbery Medal finalist or winner: The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill (2016) (completed in November)
  • A Booker Prize or PEN/Faulkner finalist or winner
  • An IPPY (Independent Publishers Awards) finalist or winner
  • A "banned book": The Bible

Category 7: Just for Fun

  • A book whose title comes from a Bible verse: East of Eden*, by John Steinbeck (1951) (completed in April)
  • A book whose title or author has my initials (JB, JR, or NR, if I count maiden name and nickname) Go Tell It on the Mountain, by James Baldwin (1953)
  • A book that is set within about an hour's drive (give or take) of my hometown: My Sunshine Away, by M.O. Walsh (2015) (completed in January)
  • A book by an author I've met in person or have corresponded with: Enjoying the Bible: Literary Approaches to Loving the Scriptures, by Matthew Mullins (2021) (completed in July)
  • A book whose author shares my birth month
Additional Books
Below are additional books that I read in 2022, many of them for either a class or a book group..
  • Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith, by Wayne Grudem (1999)
  • Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides, by Scott Sauls (2015)
  • The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis (1942) 
  • The Knowledge of the Holy, by A.W. Tozer (1961)
  • Handbook of Basic Bible Texts, by John Jefferson Davis (1984)
  • The New Inductive Study Bible (ESV)
  • So You Want To Be a Great Volleyball Coach (Art of Coaching)
  • Because of This I Rejoice, by Max O. Vincent (2018)
  • The House on Tradd Street, by Karen White (2008)
  • The Redemption of Michael Hollister, by Shawn Inmon (2017)
  • When Stars Collide, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (2021)
  • The Death and Life of Dominick Davidner, by Shawn Inmon (2017)
  • The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon, by Shawn Inmon (2018)
  • The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister, by Shawn Inmon (2018)
  • The Changing Lives of Joe Hart, by Shawn Inmon (2018)
  • Basis of Christian Unity, by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1963)
  • The Rose Code, by Kate Quinn (2021)
  • The Exiles, by Christina Baker Kline (2020)
  • Enjoying the Bible: Literary Approaches to Loving the Scriptures, by Matthew Mullins
  • The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, by Tim Keller
  • Making Sense of the Bible: Rediscovering the Power of Scripture Today, by Adam Hamilton
  • The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson
  • The Lost Summers of Newport, by Beatriz Williams, Karen White, and Lauren Willig
  • The Vigilante Life of Scott McKenzie, by Shawn Inmon

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