My 2023 Reading Challenge List

This post contains affiliate links. Life is getting busier and busier as my kids get older. The girls are in middle school and high school, which means heavier homeschooling loads. My husband transitioned to a new job in 2022, and he’s also getting a second master’s degree, so he’s also busy. That means my support role for all three of them is increasing, and I don’t have quite as much time to read as I would like. While I would LOVE to set and accomplish the goal of reading 52 books for my 2023 reading challenge, that’s not realistic at this point.

My 2023 Reading Challenge List

So, this year, I’m setting a goal to read 35 books in 2023.

READ 9 BOOKS BY STEPHEN KING

I haven’t actively read Stephen King books for awhile, so I want to go back and reread some old favorites that I read in middle and high school. I also want to discover some new ones. One book I won’t be rereading is my favorite of his–11/22/63. I have read that one twice, the last reading fairly recently. Here are the books I’m thinking of reading based in part on this list:

The Shining,

READ 5 CLASSICS

I want to reread books I read in high school and college. I’m curious if reading the books 30 years later makes a difference in how I interpret them and relate to them. I also want to read a few classics I’ve never read before.

A Separate Peace,

East of Eden,

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (never read),

Something Wicked This Way Comes (never read),

READ BOOKS ABOUT PREPARING FOR COLLEGE

We didn’t prepare much for paying for college because we always thought my husband would continue working at a university and get a tuition discount for the kids. Now, he’s no longer working for a university, so the college costs are on us. I plan to read some books this year that will help me help our kids pay less for college so they don’t have to take out a lot of student loans. (We’re still repaying my husband’s grad school student loans, so I know what a burden they can be.)

Launch: How to Get Your Kids Through College Debt-Free and Into Jobs They Love Afterward

Cure the Fear of Homeschooling High School

Homeschooling for College Credit

READ 10 HISTORICAL FICTION

I didn’t read as much historical fiction in 2022 as I normally do, and I missed it. So for 2023, I’m making reading historical fiction a priority. Here are some of the books I’m considering reading:

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles