A mini reading challenge celebrating summer and the month of July.
Welcome back! Have you been joining in on our fun monthly reading challenges? They’ve been a lot of fun, haven’t they? We’re now deep into summer and it’s time for the July Reading Challenge.
This mini reading challenge is perfect if you’re just looking for a small commitment. Or, you can combine all our our monthly reading challenges into a year-long challenge. If you’re a quick reader, try all four prompts. Or if you’ve already got a busy summer, choose your favorite of the four and enjoy the reading time that you get.
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July Reading Challenge
Since July falls right in the middle of summer, I thought we’d use summertime as the inspiration for our reading prompts as well as taking a look at some July holidays.
We’ll mix things up with both fiction and nonfiction choices. But, we’ll also keep things light, after all, this is summer!
So, get your library list ready and let’s start reading!
Historical Fiction About American History
Here in the United States, the Fourth of July is a huge holiday. Since that holiday is all about American independence, I thought this would be a great time for a historical fiction prompt. Let’s read a historical fiction book set in the United States.
You can read about the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movements, or any other part of American history, big or small.
Here are some fun choices to get you started.
If you’re interested in reading about the Revolutionary period and the founding of the United States, you can read My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie.
Or, choose a modern day classic and award winner with The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
For more choices, you can check out this list of historical fiction about American History.
A beach Read
Whether or not you’re actually spending time on the beach, a beach read is always a fun choice for a summer read.
What is a beach read? There are a million different definitions, but basically it’s a fun, highly entertaining, often best-selling book. It’s one you want to toss in a bag and take with you to a beach or pool. What it’s not is a book that takes a lot of concentration or one that is too heavy or difficult to read.
To me, a good beach read is often a fun contemporary romance like The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez or any of the other books on this list of Contemporary Romances You Can’t Put Down.
Or maybe you’d rather read a good edge-of-your-seat thriller. Try The Guest List by Lucy Foley or The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.
Nonfiction Book About Health or the Human BOdy
Even though this reading prompt is a nonfiction choice, it’s still a lighter choice. I tend to find book about health to be easy to read and often quite interesting.
There are a lot of great choices to pick up. You may want to read about a health concern you have or just a way to be healthier. Since I’m a woman in my mid-forties, I’m choosing The Menopause Manifesto by Dr. Jen Gunter to find out what the heck is going on with my body.
You can also read a book about medical history. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a great choice.
A Book By a Canadian Author
American Independence Day isn’t the only holiday in July, Canada Day is also a July holiday. So, in honor of Canada Day, we’re going to read a book by a Canadian author.
Margaret Atwood is a well-known Canadian author with a lot of great books. You can pick up one of her most popular books and read The Handmaid’s Tale. Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin are also great choices.
Or maybe you’d rather read a great children’s classic. I’ve also loved the books by L.M. Montgomery. Try Anne of Green Gables or maybe Emily of New Moon.
If you’re more into mysteries, one of my favorite is Louis Penny. Try book one of her Chief Inspector Gamache series, Still Life. (Or if you’re already deep into the series, just grab the book that you’re on!)
Which books are you going to choose for your July Reading Challenge prompts?
More REading Challenges to Check Out
365 Reading Prompts for Your Next Reading Challenge
2021 Uncorked Reading Challenge at The Uncorked Librarian
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