Open Books Reading Challenge

What Is 'Open Books'?

The Open Books Reading Challenge is a year-long reading challenge for people interested in pushing the boundaries of their reading.

Here's how it works: We give you a list of 15 challenge categories. You'll have until the end of the year to read a book from at least 12 of those categories (that's just one book a month!). If you happen to read a book that falls into more than one category, you can count it more than once! 

If you finish, you'll get a coffee mug or other prize that you can use to brag about your accomplishment!

Need help finding a book for some of these categories? Check out the lists below, ask a library staff member, or join the Open Books Facebook group to discuss what you're reading with fellow challengers!

The Challenge

To participate:

1. Download the Open Books Checklist (PDF), or pick up a copy at the library. 
2. Read a book in at least 12 of the 15 categories. 
3. Return your checklist to the Library before December 31 to redeem your prize!

Here's what you'll be reading in 2026:

• By an author with your name or initials
• With a character who works at your job or your dream job
• In honor of Rochester’s Sister City partnership with Siheung City, South Korea, read a book set in South Korea or by a South Korean author
• Translated from its original language
• Short story collection
• Purple cover or purple in the title or subject, to mark the 10th anniversary of Prince’s death
• On a subject you know nothing about
• By a Jewish author
• With time or a unit of time in the title
• About a missing person or object
• By a Muslim author
• About cabins, camping, or the wilderness
• About or set during a natural disaster
• Set in America between 1600-1800, to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
• From the Overdrive/Libby app

This year's Open Books Challenged is sponsored by the Friends of the Rochester Public Library.