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. Print out the checklist 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

Read a book from 12 of the 15 categories by 12/31/2026 and return your list to the Fiction, Movies, and Music desk on the 1st floor to receive your prize. If you read something that fits multiple categories, count it in all of them!

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