Time to get booked: Here are the categories for our 2020 #ReadICT Challenge
Are you ready for a new year of reading?
The 2020 Wichita Eagle #ReadICT Challenge is a great way to read more broadly, stretch your comfort zone and be part of a growing and enthusiastic community of readers.
For our fourth annual challenge, we kept the concept the same: Read 12 books from 12 different categories over the next 12 months.
We made the categories flexible, so you can interpret them to meet your reading habits or goals. Fiction, nonfiction, children’s literature — they’ll all fit into this year’s challenge.
We’re grateful to continue our partnership with the Wichita Public Library, where you not only can check out books, e-books or audiobooks to complete the challenge but also can track your progress online at wichitalibrary.org/readict.
At year’s end, anyone who completes the challenge and logs their books on the library’s site will be eligible for prizes.
Ready to see the 2020 categories? Here you go:
1. A book with a number in the title
2. A fix-it, how-to or self-help book
3. An epistolary novel
4. A speed read (less than 100 pages)
5. A book about someone you admire
6. A book that has been (or is being) adapted to the screen
7. A selection from a celebrity book club
8. A book by an author who is new to you
9. A book that features a strong female lead
10. A book that everyone’s talking about
11. A “cli-fi” (climate fiction) novel or book about a natural disaster
12. A book by an author slated to visit Kansas in 2020
We developed this year’s categories with help from local librarians and input from members of the Wichita Eagle #ReadICT Challenge group on Facebook.
I love the word “epistolary” (Category No. 3), which means a novel written as a series of letters, journal entries or other documents. (Think “Dracula” or “The Color Purple.”)
Category No. 9 — a book with a strong female lead — celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.
And Category No. 11 — a “cli-fi” novel or book about a natural disaster — is a nod to a recent literary movement that explores the effects of climate change and global warming. Possible selections here include “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, “Flight Behavior” by Barbara Kingsolver and “Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood.
The #ReadICT Facebook group, which has grown to more than 1,600 members, is a vibrant community of readers who share their picks for the challenge categories as well as general recommendations, reviews and bookish links.
One of my favorite things about the challenge has been getting to know these readers online and then meeting them at local author events or book swaps. Book people are the best people.
Speaking of book swaps, we have scheduled four events over the coming year for Wichita-area readers to meet and trade books, with leftovers going to the Friends of the Wichita Public Library.
If you’d like to plug the book-swap dates into your 2020 calendar, they are: Feb. 22, 10:30 a.m.-noon; May 30, 10:30 a.m.-noon; Aug. 27, 6-7:30 p.m., and Nov. 7, 10:30 a.m.-noon. All events will be at the Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. Second St.
In coming days, the Wichita library will distribute handy bookmarks listing the #ReadICT Challenge categories, and you’ll see displays at local libraries and bookstores of books that fit one or more of the categories.
It’s always fun to scan the shelves for something new, or to finally have a reason to pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read.
Just remember, this challenge is meant to be fun. We hope it inspires and encourages you, no matter what your reading habits, to consider new books, authors or genres, and to talk about books with friends and family members.
Here’s to another great year of reading.
This story was originally published December 29, 2019 at 4:15 AM.
