Popsugar Reading Challenge 2026 List

They say the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, but around these parts, we know nothing that tops the launch of the annual Popsugar Reading Challenge — our take on a virtual book club that connects book lovers around the world. That’s part of the reason we’re giving readers an extra month this year to start working through the 50 prompts we’ve compiled, each one designed to keep your bibliophile juices flowing and your library card dust-free.

While it’s possible that some of the books you choose to read in the coming year won’t be rosy in nature (I, for one, love a dark and twisted read), the theme of the 2026 reading challenge is indeed; not just pink, but also leafy and winey and generative. The idea is that our prompts will “plant” your “garden” (ahem, your personal library) with bookspo, and that over the course of the year, your hearts, minds, and bookshelves will blossom with the great reads you and all avid readers in PS Book Club Facebook Group have fostered.

A couple of this year’s prompts reflect that gardening theme, such as “a book set during harvest season” and “a book with any type of fruit on the cover or in the title.” Others take inspiration from some of our favorite PS stories from 2025, like “a book with a dad as the primary caregiver” (shout-out to the dad clubs) and “a book about a Grandma’s hobby.” And some — like “a book set in Michigan or written by a Michigan author,” aka the 26th state — are a tribute to the number 26, looking ahead to next year and the rewards that 2026 will hopefully bring. Maybe “a book that makes you want to travel to Italy” will inspire you to attend the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan?

In typical Reading Challenge style, our team has also been hard at work creating some IRL extras to help you keep your 2026 reading goals on track, including a printable ‘bouquet’ – but instead of flowers, each stem is a different prompt. You can download the printable list of book prompts herethe sheet of book choices that will become your bouquet hereand the book cover tracking sheet here. And if you haven’t already, join PS Book Club on Facebook and that Ultimate PS Reading Challenge on Goodreads to keep in touch with your reading buddies throughout the year.

However you choose to tackle the 2026 prompts, we hope they help seed a very fruitful year of reading.

2026 PS Reading Challenge Prompts

A book where gardening or gardening is central to the plot

A book that describes a platonic friendship between a man and a woman

A book you wanted to read in 2025

A book starting with the letter “Z”

A book about female astronauts

A book with an overweight main character whose story is not about losing weight

A book about a grandmother’s hobby

A book about a sexless marriage

A book about a horse or with a horse on the cover

A book with a father as primary caregiver

A book with “pop” or “sugar” in the title

A book with a character with a hidden past

A book set in Michigan or written by a Michigan author

A book about new beginnings

A book of less than 260 pages

A book about your favorite Winter Olympics event

A love story that defies social boundaries

A book about teenage angst

A book with a character doing Pilates or Lagree

A book about a bachelor trip

A book about a book club

A book you hoped would fit into a prompt but doesn’t

A book about childbirth

A book that explores influencer culture

A book with a character navigating infertility

A book with a character who has curly hair

A book about debt

A book that takes place during the harvest season

A travel ghost story

A book that will make you feel FOMO

A book about an underwater civilization

A book about college

A book with a trans or non-binary protagonist

A book that makes you want to travel to Italy

A book about a mob (fiction or non-fiction)

A book about a pop star

A book with any kind of fruit on the cover or in the title

A book with a character who runs a marathon

A book outside your comfort zone

Advanced prompts

A book in a different format than your usual: physical, audio, e-book

A book inspired by a real song, album, band or artist

Two books written by real-life partners or spouses (1)

Two books written by real-life partners or spouses (2)

A book told entirely through letters

A book with a mention of your zodiac sign

A book about Afrofuturism

2026 PS Reading Challenge Printables

Below are the printables you’ll want to bring with you as you tend your 2026 PS Reading Challenge garden. How will your bouquet take shape?

Emma Glassman-Hughes (she/her) is an associate editor at PS Balance. In her seven years as a reporter, her beats have spanned the lifestyle spectrum; she has covered arts and culture for The Boston Globe, sex and relationships for Cosmopolitan, and food, climate and agriculture for Ambrook Research.