Jewish Genre Reading Challenge discussion
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Is there a great book you’ve already read that would be perfect for the challenge? Hop into the relevant thread - genre-specific or prompts-specific - and talk it up to others who are searching for a book. One of the motivations behind this challenge is that Jewish genre books are out there, but there are so many readers who don’t know about them. So please share your knowledge with us and help these books to become better known. And as you search for books to read yourself, you can add any new finds to the community book lists. Come report back to the genre or prompt-specific threads when you’ve finished your book.
Our monthly Book Chats are the spot to talk about what you’re reading that month. (Don’t forget to use spoiler tags as needed!)
At the end of the month, let us know your favorite reads from the month in the Favorite Reads thread, whether you read them for this challenge or not.
We’ve found that as we start turning our attention to reading Jewishly, there’s always a lot to say. Our Reading Jewishly thread is the place to talk about all things Jewish and book-related, beyond what you’re reading for the challenge itself. Memories of Jewish books read in childhood, musings on the past and present state of Jewish sci-fi - all welcome in Reading Jewishly.
Looking for a person or group to read alongside? Post in the Find Your Buddy Reads and Book Clubs thread and connect with others.
The Young Readers thread is the place to talk about Jewish YA, middle grade & children’s books. Adult readers are more than welcome here, and the conversation is open to readers of all ages.
Encountered something unsavory in one of your reads? Bring it to the Hot Topics forum.
Our database and lists include titles written in many different time periods. So you may encounter antisemitism or stereotyping of Jewish characters and culture as you read, as well as sexism, racism, homophobia, and other artifacts of the "old days" of literature. Read with care! If you encounter antisemitism or stereotyping in a book, we have a Stereotypes and Antisemitism thread in our where you can let other readers know in case that's something they would prefer not to read.
The Book-Related Hot Takes thread is the place to put any other potentially controversial BOOK-RELATED discussion. This includes anything related to Israel/Palestine, and ALL negative comments about Zionism, anti-Zionism, and Israel, all of which must be specifically related to the book you are discussing. This thread will still be moderated, antisemitism won’t be tolerated, and conversation needs to be book-related, but there will be space here for conflicting viewpoints and potentially volatile topics. All Jews and Jewish viewpoints are welcome here for the Jewish Genre Challenge, but we’re all exhausted, so let’s try to keep the rest of the conversation around here fun and relaxing.
**Important Disclaimer: We haven't read most of the books in the site database ourselves, and the community-created booklists are open to all members of the community. There may be books listed that don't have Jewish main characters and so don't meet the criteria of the challenge. We are also gathering titles written in many different time periods. You may encounter antisemitism or stereotyping of Jewish characters and culture as you read, as well as sexism, racism, homophobia, and other artifacts of the "old days" of literature. Read with care!
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The Jewish Genre Reading Challenge, also known as the Jewish Genre Challenge (JGC), is a fun way to guide some of your reading for the year. The idea behind the challenge is to read books with Jewish main characters across different genres of books, with a focus on what is commonly called "genre literature" or "genre fiction" - stuff like mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, horror, action and adventure, and so on.
Below you’ll find the steps to guide you through doing the challenge. If you still have questions, check the FAQ. If you don't see it answered in the FAQ, you can post your question there.
To participate in the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge:
1. Choose your challenge
2. Introduce yourself
3. Post your challenge plan
4. Find books to read
5. Chat with the community about the books you’re reading
6. Once you finish the challenge, post your completion for the community to celebrate!
Step 1: Choose your challenge. There are two ways to complete the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge. Learn about the Genres Challenge here, and the This & That challenge here. Choose which challenge you want to take on in 2024 - you can also do both! If you choose the Genres challenge, decide on a goal of 4, 6, or 8 books.
Step 2: Introduce yourself. Once you’ve decided to take on a challenge, come introduce yourself in our Member Introductions thread. (This is optional, you’re also welcome to participate without introducing yourself.) This thread also contains our group rules, so be sure to check those out as well.
Step 3: Create a challenge plan and post it in our Challenge Plans thread. This is where you can plan your reading and track your progress.
TIP: You'll be going back and editing your original post to mark off your progress on your plan. You can bookmark your post in this thread, from the browser, by clicking on the date of your post, and then bookmarking the page that pops up. You can also remember the number of your post in the thread and find it that way (but bookmarking is easier).
Step 4: Time to find some Jewish books to read! If you need some inspiration, you can check out our community-created book lists for the Genres Challenge and This & That Challenge, the ever-growing database on our website (www.readjewishly.com/books), and the articles linked to from our Resources page (www.readjewishly.com/resources), which explore Jewish genre fiction in more depth, from a list of Jewish romances for Bridgerton fans to a round-up of Jewish horror picks from fellow horror authors.
Step 5: Engage with the community. See below for an outline of the different conversations in this community and find your Book People!
Step 6: Complete the challenge. Once you've met your Jewish Genre Challenge goal, post your completed challenge plan in the Challenge Completion Party area so we can all celebrate with you!