2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion
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Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly Challenges - Start Here
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Can I link a challenge thread to my Member's Corner?Yes! Rather than keeping duplicate book lists in both your challenge threads and your Member’s Corner, you can create a link in your challenge thread original sign-up post which points to your Member’s Corner post. The method described below can save time if you join multiple challenges, but it’s completely optional.
(1) Using the Let’s Turn Pages yearly challenge as an example:
- Sign up for Let's Turn Pages
- Create a Let's Turn Pages post in your Member's Corner
- Open two browser tabs, one for each thread
(2) At your Member's Corner thread:
- Go to your Let's Turn Pages post
- Right-click the time stamp in the upper right corner of that post
- Choose the menu option to copy the link (wording varies by browser)
(3) At the Let's Turn Pages thread:
- Go to your original sign-up post
- Click "edit" at the bottom right corner of that post
- Position your cursor where you'd like your link to be
- Right-click and "paste" the link to that spot
- Click "edit post" at the bottom left to save changes
The above steps work for any challenge, including challenges you may have joined elsewhere on Goodreads.
Please note that you will still need to add update posts in the challenge thread to inform the leader of your progress.
If you have a question that wasn’t answered above, please read through these threads:
2026 NEW MEMBERS: Start Here
How Do I Do Things on Goodreads?
If your question is still unanswered, please post a comment with your question in the Questions for Mods? thread, and one of us will be happy to help.
Rebecca wrote: "Please sign me up for 10 audiobooks for April."Hi Rebecca. You have to click on the challenge you want to join and let the challenge leader know.
If I have a question for a challenge I just joined, do I post the question right in the challenge thread, or is there another way I should do it?
Donna wrote: "If I have a question for a challenge I just joined, do I post the question right in the challenge thread, or is there another way I should do it?"Donna, you can either post a comment within the challenge thread, or if you'd prefer, you can send a private message to the challenge leader through Goodreads. Your choice! 😊
What if I have another question about participating in a challenge?
Every challenge has its own leader to record goals, updates and answer questions. If you need clarification or help, post a message to the challenge leader. Either the leader or one of the moderators will be happy to answer it.
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Our group has a wide variety of challenges that will help motivate you to reach your reading goals, expose you to new books and authors, and bring you into contact with other group members. The FAQ below can help you get started. We hope you will join us!
Note: We recommend using a computer browser rather than the app whenever possible. You may be able to use the desktop/browser option from your phone in a pinch, but know that it can be quite difficult.
Where can I find the challenges?
From the group home page, scroll down to the folder you’re seeking. Or visit the 2026 Yearly, Quarterly, or Monthly challenge folders directly.
Links to our current challenges are also highlighted in our monthly message. You can receive this message in your Goodreads inbox by following these steps:
- On the Goodreads website, click your profile picture at the top right
- Click Account Settings
- Click Accounts & Notifications
- Under Notifications, click Choose which notifications you want to receive from Goodreads
- Under Groups, check/select ⬜ 2026 Reading Challenge
The monthly message is also posted each month in the Announcements! folder on our home page.
When can I sign up for a challenge?
Challenges are posted for viewing in advance so that you can plan your reading ahead of time. Yearly challenges open on a staggered schedule in early December, while Quarterly and Monthly challenges are opened for sign-ups about a week in advance.
How do I join a challenge?
Read through the specifics of the challenge, decide on a goal that suits you and your reading pace, then post a comment with that information in that challenge thread.
Sample sign-up post:
Please sign me up for 10 books.
0/10
What if I don’t know how many books I will read?
Since we track challenges with spreadsheets, we need a specific number for your goal. If you change your mind later, you may increase or decrease your goal by posting a new comment to the leader, so feel free to set a smallish goal to start. If you don’t include your goal at all, or you give an indefinite number, the challenge leader may assign you a goal at their discretion.
What if I’m late for a challenge?
You may join a challenge that is in progress and count any relevant books you read during the challenge dates. For example, if you join a yearly challenge in March, you may count all qualifying books you’ve read since January 1st. Our challenges are of limited duration, however, so once a challenge’s specified duration ends, that challenge is over.
How do I track my progress?
Many participants like to edit their original sign-up post to track their current progress and list books they’ve read for a challenge. Others prefer to track challenges in their Members’ Corner thread. Post #2 in this thread explains how you can link from one to the other.
How do I participate and post my updates?
Instructions on how to participate and report your progress are in the 2nd post of the challenge. Usually, you will post a comment including your original message number and your current progress, using the format below.
Update to msg x: (current progress)/(challenge goal)
For example, Update to msg 53: 3/10
This indicates that the participant signed up in message 53, and they have read 3 books out of their goal of 10.
Please note that some challenges may have further update requirements. Please check the instructions within each challenge.
Where can I find my original sign-up message number?
When you post on Goodreads, your message is automatically assigned a number which shows at the top left of the post beside your username. If you don’t see a number, click Refresh on your browser.
How do I format and edit my challenge post?
The How Do I Do Things on Goodreads? thread has detailed how-to information and lots of helpful tips, including:
- posting
- adding book/author links
- adding book covers
- formatting with bold, italic, etc.
- adding spoiler tags
Which books qualify for my challenge?
Pay attention to the rules of each challenge you join. Some challenges only allow one book per prompt, while others allow repeating prompts. The genre, format, or book length might be limited for a specific challenge or prompt. For example, the Magical Mystery Tour is all about reading fiction and nonfiction crime books.
Can I use the same book for more than one prompt?
No, and yes. Within a specific challenge, each book only counts for one prompt. However, if you participate in multiple challenges, a single book can count toward each of those challenges, as long as it satisfies the rules and prompts for each challenge.
I updated my original post, but my progress isn’t shown on the Participants List.
The challenge leader tracks and updates the progress of the participants based solely on the update comments you make, not by checking everyone’s original sign-up posts. (See How do I participate and post my updates? above.)
I posted a new update, but the Participants List shows my old progress.
You may need to wait a bit longer for the challenge leader to record updates and edit the Participant List. If other participants in the list were updated, but you weren’t, you may have missed some of the required information in your update. Check post #2 in the challenge for instructions. If your update comment was correct, and you suspect it was overlooked, please send a message or post a comment to your challenge leader.
Note that the Participants List does not update automatically. Updates are recorded manually, and update frequency depends on the challenge leader. Please remember that our challenge leaders are volunteers and have real-life demands on their time, just as you do.
What if I change my Goodreads user name?
Please inform the leaders of any challenges you’ve joined, either by posting in the challenge thread or sending a message. This will ensure that they can continue to smoothly track your challenge progress. (Your original message number will not be affected by your name change.)
After a challenge ends, may I still update my progress?
Once a challenge ends, its challenge leader will continue checking the challenge thread for about 7 days. If you wish to have your progress included, be sure to post your final update in a timely manner.
What if I have another question about participating in a challenge?
Every challenge has its own leader to record goals, updates and answer participants’ questions. If you need clarification or help, you many post a comment to the leader within the challenge thread, or send a message to the leader’s Goodreads inbox. Either the leader or one of the moderators will be happy to help.