The Oxfam Reading Challenge 2023

Do you fancy doing a reading challenge this year? If you want one that essentially makes no demands of you and whose whole purpose is to effortlessly diversify your reading, while making a nod to key events happening in different months, then may I suggest the Oxfam Reading Challenge 2023.

Are you joining in?

What really draws me to this challenge is its simplicity. Sometimes if reading challenge themes are too precise, I start off with good intentions but then don’t continue past a few months. But not here – it has got just the right level of direction, so I really feel it’s one I’ll be sticking to this year!

So, this is how it works: Each month has a theme, you choose a book – pop into your local Oxfam and browse for one in each theme ideally, to bring this challenge full circle – then read it and share it with the hashtag #OxfamReadingChallenge.

Monthly themes:

• January: Thrillers
• February: Romance
• March: Female Authors (for International Women’s Day – 8th March)
• April: Classics
• May: Fantasy
• June: LGBTQ+ Authors (for Pride Month)
• July: Dystopian Novels
• August: Biographies
• September: Prize Winners
• October: Black Authors (for Black History Month)
• November: Non-fiction (for Non-Fiction November)
• December: Let a friend or family member choose

What will you read?

As you can see, the themes are pretty broad, so it gives you the freedom to read a book you’re going to enjoy, but may not have picked up otherwise. For example, I’m not a natural reader of fantasy books, so by reading one for this challenge in May, I know I’ll be pushing myself out of my reading comfort zone and am looking forward to trying something a little different.

While it’s a little early to be deciding on all 12 books I plan to read for this, some have already sprung to mind for the first few months. If you’re looking for some inspiration, I’ve written some themed blog posts in the past that might help:

• January – Thrillers (yes, these are summer beach ones BUT can be loved in January too!)
• February – Romance – 5 (absolutely not cheesy) love stories
• March – Female Authors – 6 Kick-Ass Female Characters

You can find out further info on the Oxfam reading challenge 2023 on their website here or on this Instagram post.

So, what do you think, it sounds appealing, right? Will you be joining me and taking part?

(Credit for the image on this blog post is Oxfam.)