All Past Popsugar Challenge Categories (2015 - 2025)

[Nadine in NY]

2015
1 More than 500 pages
2 Classic romance
3 Became a movie
4 Published in 2015
5 Number in the title
6 Written by someone under 30
7 Nonhuman characters
8 Funny
9 Female author
10 Mystery or thriller
11 One word title
12 Book of short stories
13 Set in a different country
14 Nonfiction
15 Popular author's first book
16 A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet
17 Recommended by a friend
18 Pulitzer Prize winner
19 Based on a true story
20 At the bottom of your to-read list
21 A book your mom loves
22 A book that scares you
23 A book more than 100 years old
24 A book based entirely on its cover
25 A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
26 Memoir
27 A book you can finish in a day
28 Antonyms in the title
29 Set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
30 Published the year you were born
31 A book with bad reviews
32 Trilogy
33 From your childhood
34 A book with a love triangle
35 Set in the future
36 Set in high school
37 Color in the title
38 A book that made you cry
39 Magic
40 Graphic novel
41 Author you've never read before
42 A book you own but never read
43 Hometown
44 Originally written in another language
45 Set during Christmas
46 Written by an author with my initials
47 A Play
48 Banned book
49 Based on or turned into a TV show
50 A book you started but never finished

2016
1 Based on a fairy tale
2 National Book Award winner
3 YA bestseller
4 Haven't read since high school
5 Set in your home state
6 Translated into English
7 Romance set in the future
8 Set in Europe
9 Less than 150 pages
10 NYT bestseller
11 Becoming a movie this year
12 Recommended by someone you just met
13 Self-improvement
14 Can finish in a day
15 Written by a celebrity
16 Political memoir
17 At least 100 years older than you
18 More than 600 pages
19 from Oprah's Book Club
20 Science fiction
21 Recommended by a family member
22 Graphic novel
23 Published in 2016
24 Protagonist with your occupation
25 Takes place during summer
26 A book plus its prequel
27 Murder mystery
28 Written by a comedian
29 Dystopian
30 Blue cover
31 Poetry
32 First book you see in a bookstore
33 Classic from 20th Century
34 From the library
35 Autobiography
36 Road trip
37 Culture you're unfamiliar with
38 Satirical
39 Takes place on an island
40 Guaranteed to bring joy

2017
1 recommended by a librarian
2 on my TBR list for way too long
3 book of letters
4 audiobook
5 A book by a person of color
6 one of the four seasons in title
7 a story within a story
8 multiple authors
9 espionage thriller
10 cat on the cover
11 by an author who uses a pseudonym
12 bestseller from a genre I don't normally read (Western)
13 by or about a person with a disability
14 book involving travel
15 book with a subtitle
16 published in 2017
17 involving a mythical creature
18 a book I've read before that never fails to make me smile
19 book about food
20 book with career advice
21 from a nonhuman perspective
22 steampunk
23 red spine
24 set in the wilderness
25 a book I loved as a child
26 author from a country I've never visited
27 title that is a character's name
28 set during wartime
29 unreliable narrator
30 a book with pictures
31 main character is a different ethnicity than me
32 a book about an interesting woman
33 set in two different time periods
34 month or day of the week in title
35 set in a hotel
36 written by someone I admire
37 becoming a movie in 2017
38 set around a holiday that's not Christmas
39 first book in a series I haven't read yet
40 a book I bought on a trip
41 recommended by an author I love
42 bestseller from 2016
43 family-member term in title
44 takes place over a character's life span
45 about an immigrant or refugee
46 from a sub-genre I've never heard of ("cli-fi")
47 book with an eccentric character
48 more than 800 pages
49 from a used book sale
50 book mentioned in another book
51 about a difficult topic
52 based on mythology

2018
1 A book made into a movie you've already seen
2 True Crime
3 The next book in a series
4 A book involving a heist
5 Nordic noir
6 A novel based on a real person
7 A book set in a country that fascinates you
8 A book with a time of day in the title
9 A book about a villain or antihero
10 A book about death or grief
11 A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym
12 A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist
13 A book that is also a stage play or musical
14 A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you
15 A book about feminism
16 A book about mental health
17 A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift
18 A book by two authors
19 A book by a local author
20 A book about or involving a sport
21 A book with your favorite color in the title
22 A book with alliteration in the title
23 A book about time travel
24 A book with a weather element in the title
25 A book set at sea
26 A book with an animal in the title
27 A book set on a different planet
28 A book with song lyrics in the title
29 A book about or set on Halloween
30 A book with characters who are twins
31 A book mentioned in another book
32 A book from a celebrity book club
33 A childhood classic you've never read
34 A book published in 2018
35 A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner
36 A book set in the decade you were born
37 A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to
38 A book with an ugly cover
39 A book that involves a bookstore or library
40 Your favorite prompt from a previous Popsugar Challenges
41 A bestseller from the year you graduated high school
42 A cyberpunk book
43 A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place
44 A book tied to your ancestry
45 A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title
46 An allegory
47 A book by an author with the same first or last name as you
48 A microhistory
49 A book about a problem facing society today
50 A book recommended by someone else

2019
1. A book becoming a movie in 2019
2. A book that makes you nostalgic
3. A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction)
4. A book you think should be turned into a movie
5. A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads
6. A book with a plant in the title or on the cover
7. A reread of a favorite book
8. A book about a hobby
9. A book you meant to read in 2018
10. A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title
11. A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
12. A book inspired by myth/legend/folklore
13. A book published posthumously
14. A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie
15. A retelling of a classic
16. A book with a question in the title
17. A book set on college or university campus
18. A book about someone with a superpower
19. A book told from multiple POVs
20. A book set in space
21. A book by two female authors
22. A book with SALTY, SWEET, BITTER, or SPICY in the title
23. A book set in Scandinavia
24. A book that takes place in a single day
25. A debut novel
26. A book that's published in 2019
27. A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature
28. A book recommended by a celebrity you admire
29. A book with LOVE in the title
30. A book featuring an amateur detective
31. A book about a family
32. A book author from Asia, Africa, or South America
33. A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in title
34. A book that includes a wedding
35. A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter
36. A ghost story
37. A book with a two-word title
38. A novel based on a true story
39. A book revolving around a puzzle or game
40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge
41. A "cli-fi" (climate fiction) book
42. A "choose-your-own-adventure" book
43. An "own voices" book
44. Read a book during the season it is set in
45. A LitRPG book
46. A book with no chapters / unusual chapter headings / unconventionally numbered chapters
47. Two books that share the same title
48. Two books that share the same title
49. A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom
50. A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent

2020
1. A book that's published in 2020
2. A book by a trans or nonbinary author
3. A book with a great first line
4. A book about a book club
5. A book set in a city that has hosted the Olympics
6. A bildungsroman
7. The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed
8. A book with an upside-down image on the cover
9. A book with a map
10. A book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club
11. An anthology
12. A book that passes the Bechdel test
13. A book with the same title as a movie or TV show but is unrelated to it
14. A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name
15. A book about or involving social media
16. A book that has a book on the cover
17. A medical thriller
18. A book with a made-up language
19. A book set in a country beginning with "C"
20. A book you picked because the title caught your attention
21. A book published the month of your birthday
22. A book about or by a woman in STEM
23. A book that won an award in 2019
24. A book on a subject you know nothing about
25. A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics
26. A book with a pun in the title
27. A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins
28. A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character
29. A book with a bird on the cover
30. A fiction or nonfiction book about a world leader
31. A book with "gold," "silver," or "bronze" in the title
32. A book by a WOC
33. A book with at least a four-star rating on Goodreads
34. A book you meant to read in 2019
35. A book with a three-word title
36. A book with a pink cover
37. A Western
38. A book by or about a journalist
39. Read a banned book during Banned Books Week
40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
41. A book written by an author in their 20s
42. A book with "20" or "twenty" in the title
43. A book with a character with a vision impairment or enhancement (a nod to 20/20 vision)
44. A book set in the 1920s
45. A book set in Japan, host of the 2020 Olympics
46. A book by an author who has written more than 20 books
47. A book with more than 20 letters in its title
48. A book published in the 20th century
49. A book from a series with more than 20 books
50. A book with a main character in their 20s

2021 and future lists are continued in this post below


Note: I created this list from my own notes, and I tend to abbreviate so some of the challenge categories are not verbatim. For the original Popsugar lists, see the following links:
2015: https://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading...
2016: https://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading...
2017: https://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading...
2018: https://www.popsugar.com/entertainmen...
2019: https://www.popsugar.com/entertainmen...

[Katie]

Thank you for posting this!

[Amy (Other Amy)]

You are a wonderful human being! Thank you!

[Dawn]

Oh wow, thank you!!!! <3

[Donna]

This is fantastic!

[Amy]

Awesome! I am going to match up my books here that I read in that year if I can and then go back and complete these previous years as I have time.

[Amy]

My hero. Thank you so much!

[☘Misericordia☘]

Thanks! I was just looking for all the categories the other day!

[Lorraine]

This is brilliant - thank you for posting :)

[Lynn]

I think I'm going to do "A book your mom loves" from the 2015 PSRC prompts. But there are so many good ones to choose from. I also liked the suggestion to complete the prompts from other reading challenges when I find the time. Thanks to everyone who is participating!

[Dawn]

Love this, thank you!

[poshpenny]

Seasonal Reading Challenges

2016 Summer
1. A book about a road trip
2. A book you loved as a kid
3. A book with a Summer romance
4. A book that's under 200 pages
5. A YA fiction book
6. A thriller
7. A book with a yellow cover
8. A collection of short stories
9. A book that takes place on an island
10. A funny memoir
11. A book from a high school Summer reading list
12. A book about star-crossed lovers
13. A book you bought at the airport
14. A book about best friends
15. A used book
16. A book with the ocean on the cover
17. A romantic comedy
18. A book in the front window of a bookstore
19. A book that takes place in Europe
20. A book you bought without reading the back
21. A book with the word beach in the title
22. A book recommended by someone you met on vacation
23. A book set in Italy
24. A book that takes place somewhere warm
25. A book that made you cry
26. A book that takes place somewhere you hope to go
27. A book adapted into a movie
28. A book that has a wedding in it
29. A book you've been meaning to finish


2016 Fall
A scary book
A book that was written by a woman and features a male protagonist
A book and it's sequel
A celebrity memoir
A book on a the bestseller lists
A book recommended by an independent bookstore employee
A book that your book club read but you skipped
A book that you always wanted to read but never got around to reading
A book by a famous author you've never read
A book based on a historical event
A book published in 1995
A book published in 2015
A book with food in the title
A book with a pun in the title
A book that takes place during Fall
A book with an orange cover


2020 Summer
A book with "summer" in the title
A book with a summer drink or cocktail on the cover
A book that takes place in your favorite (or dream) summer destination
A book about a vacation
A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist
A book with an item you'd find at the beach in the title
A book with a body of water or pool on the cover
A book set at a resort or hotel
A book with a release date in June, July, or August of any year
A summer-set thriller
A book involving a summer romance
A book about Black history in America
A scary book you'd read around a campfire
A book that takes place during the summer before high school or college
A book that takes place in a beach town
A book with "sun," "sand," or "waves" in the title
A book with sunglasses on the cover
A book about camping or summer camp
A book classified as a "beach read"
A book that makes you nostalgic for summer



https://www.popsugar.com/love/Summer-...
https://www.popsugar.com/love/Fall-Re...
https://www.popsugar.com/entertainmen...

[Alicia]

how hard would it be to turn each one into a listopia? I would help and then everyone can go back and add in the books they think fit that list.

[Holman]

Thanks for sharing the list keep helping people like this.

[Laura]

Thank you for this helpful post!

[Nadine in NY]

I'm out of space in the original post, so continuing here:

2021
1 A book that's published in 2021
2 An Afrofuturist book
3 A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover
4 A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign
5 A dark academia book
6 A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title
7 main character works at your current or dream job
8 A book that has won the Women's Prize For Fiction
9 A book with a family tree
10 A bestseller from the 1990s
11 A book about forgetting
12 A book you have seen on someone's bookshelf
13 A locked-room mystery
14 A book set in a restaurant
15 A book with a black-and-white cover
16 A book by an Indigenous author
17 A book that has the same title as a song
18 A book about a subject you are passionate about
19 A book that discusses body positivity
20 A book found on a Black Lives Matter reading list
21 A genre hybrid
22 A book set mostly or entirely outdoors
23 A book with something broken on the cover
24 A book by a Muslim American author
25 A book that was published anonymously
26 A book with an oxymoron in the title
27 A book about do-overs or fresh starts
28 A magical realism book
29 A book set in multiple countries
30 A book set somewhere you'd like to visit in 2021
31 A book by a blogger etc
32 A book whose title starts with "Q," "X," or "Z"
33 A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child)
34 A book about a social justice issue
35 A book in a different format than what you normally read
36 fewer than 1,000 reviews on Amazon or Goodreads
37 A book you think your best friend would like
38 A book about art or an artist
39 A book everyone seems to have read but you
40 favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
41 The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list
42 The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list
43 The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover
44 The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover
45 The book that's been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time
46 A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn't
47 A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing
48 A book from your TBR list chosen at random
49 A DNF book from your TBR list
50 A free book from your TBR list (gifted, borrowed, library)


2022
1 A book published in 2022
2 A book set on a plane, train, or cruise ship
3 A book about or set in a nonpatriarchal society
4 A book with a tiger on the cover or "tiger" in the title
5 A sapphic book
6 A book by a Latinx author
7 A book with an onomatopoeia in its title
8 A book with a protagonist who uses a mobility aid
9 A book about a "found family"
10 An Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner
11 A #BookTok recommendation
12 A book about the afterlife
13 A book set in the 1980s
14 A book with cutlery on the cover or in the title
15 A book by a Pacific Islander author
16 A book about witches
17 A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2022
18 A romance novel by a BIPOC author
19 A book that takes place during your favorite season
20 A book whose title begins with the last letter of your previous read
21 A book about a band or musical group
22 A book with a character on the ace spectrum
23 A book with a recipe in it
24 A book you can read in one sitting
25 A book about a secret
26 A book with a misleading title
27 A Hugo Award winner
28 A book set during a holiday
29 A different book by an author you read in 2021
30 A book with the name of a board game in the title
31 A book featuring a man-made disaster
32 A book with a quote from your favorite author on the cover or Amazon page
33 A social-horror book
34 A book set in Victorian times
35 A book with a constellation on the cover or in the title
36 A book you know nothing about
37 A book about gender identity
38 A book featuring a party
39 An #OwnVoices SFF (science fiction and fantasy) book
40 A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
41 A book with a reflected image on the cover or "mirror" in the title
42 A book that features two languages
43 A book with a palindromic title
44 A duology (1)
45 A duology (2)
46 A book about someone leading a double life
47 A book featuring a parallel reality
48 A book with two POVs
49 Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (1)
50 Two books set in twin towns, aka "sister cities" (2)


2023
1 A book you meant to read in 2022
2 A book you bought from an independent bookstore
3 A book about a vacation
4 A book by a first-time author
5 A book with mythical creatures
6 A book about a forbidden romance
7 A book with "Girl" in the title
8 A celebrity memoir
9 A book with a color in the title
10 A romance with a fat lead
11 A book about or set in Hollywood
12 A book published in spring 2023
13 A book published the year you were born
14 A modern retelling of a classic
15 A book with a song lyric as its title
16 A book where the main character's name is in the title
17 A book with a love triangle
18 A book that's been banned or challenged in any state in 2022
19 A book that fulfills your favorite prompt from a past challenge
20 A book becoming a TV series or movie in 2023
21 A book set in the decade you were born
22 A book with a queer lead
23 A book with a map
24 A book with a rabbit on the cover
25 A book with just text on the cover
26 The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list
27 A #BookTok recommendation
28 A book you bought secondhand
29 A book your friend recommended
30 A book that's on a celebrity book-club list
31 A book about a family
32 A book that comes out in the second half of 2023
33 A book about an athlete/sport
34 A historical-fiction book
35 A book about divorce
36 A book you think your best friend would like
37 A book you should have read in high school
38 A book you read more than 10 years ago
39 A book you wish you could read for the first time again
40 A book by an author with the same initials as you
41 A book written during NaNoWriMo
42 A book based on a popular movie
43 A book that takes place entirely in one day
44 A book that was self-published
45 A book that started out as fan fiction
46 A book with a pet character
47 A book about a holiday that's not Christmas
48 A book that features two languages
49 The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list
50 A book with alliteration in the title

2024
1 A book with the word "leap" in the title
2 A bildungsroman book
3 A book about a 24-year-old
4 A book about a writer
5 A book about K-pop
6 A book about pirates
7 A book about women's sports and/or by a woman athlete
8 A book by a blind or visually impaired author
9 A book by a Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing author
10 A book by a self-published author
11 A book from a genre you typically avoid
12 A book from an animal's POV
13 A book originally published under a pen name
14 A book recommended by a bookseller
15 A book recommended by a librarian
16 A book set 24 years before you were born
17 A book set in a travel destination on your bucket list
18 A book set in space
19 A book set in the future
20 A book set in the snow
21 A book that came out in a year that ends with "24"
22 A book that centers on video games
23 A book that features dragons
24 A book that takes place over the course of 24 hours
25 A book that was published 24 years ago (2000)
26 A book that was turned into a musical
27 A book where someone dies in the first chapter
28 A book with a main character who's 42 years old
29 A book with a neurodivergent main character
30 A book with a one-word title you had to look up in a dictionary
31 A book with a title that is a complete sentence
32 A book with an enemies to lovers plot
33 A book with an unreliable narrator
34 A book with at least 3 POVs
35 A book with magical realism
36 A book written by an incarcerated or formerly incarcerated person
37 A book written during NaNoWriMo
38 A cozy fantasy book
39 A fiction book by a trans or nonbinary author
40 A horror book by a BIPOC author
41 A memoir that explores queerness
42 A nonfiction book about Indigenous people
43 A second-chance romance
44 An autobiography by a woman in rock 'n' roll
45 An LGBTQ+ romance novel
46 A book in which a character sleeps for more than 24 hours
47 A book with 24 letters in the title
48 A collection of at least 24 poems
49 The 24th book of an author
50 A book that starts with the letter "X"

2025
Regular
1 A book about a POC experiencing joy and not trauma
2 A book you want to read based on the last sentence
3 A book about space tourism
4 A book with two or more books on the cover or "book" in the title
5 A book with a snake on the cover or in the title
6 A book that fills your favorite prompt from the 2015 PS Reading Challenge
7 A book about a cult
8 A book under 250 pages
9 A book that features a character going through menopause
10 A book you got for free
11 A book mentioned in another book
12 A book about a road trip
13 A book rated less than three stars on Goodreads
14 A book about a nontraditional education
15 A book that an AI chatbot recommends based on your favorite book
16 A book set in or around a body of water
17 A book about a run club
18 A book containing magical creatures that aren't dragons
19 A highly anticipated read of 2025
20 A book that fills a 2024 prompt you'd like to do over (or try out)
21 A book where the main character is a politician
22 A book about soccer
23 A book that is considered healing fiction
24 A book with a happily single woman protagonist
25 A book where the main character is an immigrant or refugee
26 A book where an adult character changes careers
27 A book set at a luxury resort
28 A book that features an unlikely friendship
29 A book about a food truck
30 A book that reminds you of your childhood
31 A book where music plays an integral part of the storyline
32 A book about an overlooked woman in history
33 A book featuring an activity on your bucket list
34 A book written by an author who is neurodivergent
35 A book centering LGBTQ+ characters that isn't about coming out
36 A book with silver on the cover or in the title
37 Two books with the same title (1)
38 Two books with the same title (2)
39 A classic you've never read
40 A book about chosen family


Advanced Prompts
Easy
41 A book by the oldest author in your TBR pile
42 A book with a title that starts with the letter Y
43 A book that includes a nonverbal character
44 A book you have always avoided reading

Medium
45 A book with a left-handed character
46 A book where nature is the antagonist
47 A book of interconnected short stories

Hard
48 A book that features a married couple who don't live together
49 A dystopian book with a happy ending
50 A book that features a character with chronic pain

[Ron]

Thanks for this. It makes it so much easier in choosing for the past pop sugar challenge prompts.

[Leona]

Thanks for the 2022 list. I did not finish 2021 so hope to do better this year.

[Doni]

Nadine in NY wrote: "2015
1 More than 500 pages"

Thank you!

[Dedra ~ A Book Wanderer]

I noticed the Fall 2020 list wasn't included here:

This 2020 Fall Challenge was posted on the Popsugar Facebook Book Club by Lauren Oertel and includes the following 10 prompts:

1. A book with a cover with orange and brown.

2. A book that has been on your shelf since at least last fall.

3. A book by an indigenous author.

4. A book that includes someone falling.

5. A book that includes Black joy.

6. A book with a strong friendship.

7. A book that was published in October or November.

8. A book with a title that includes the letters F-A-L-L.

9. A book about or that takes place somewhere you'll likely never visit.

10. A book about or involving nature.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Chrissy]

I ended up choosing “a story within a story” from 2017, and read Trust. It’s very good, if slow paced, and requires you to pay some attention to details.