Question 1

What is a reading challenge? Why do a reading challenge?

Accepted Answer

Reading challenges have become popular in recent years as a fun way for readers to help guide their reading for the year. A challenge can be as simple as picking a certain number of books to read during the year, or as complex as a set of 52 different prompts that have to be matched to 52 different books.

People take on reading challenges for many reasons: to encourage themselves to read outside their comfort zone, to diversify their reading (which could mean anything from reading a range of different books to reading diverse authors and characters), or to "game-ify" their reading as it can be quite a fun puzzle to match up prompts and books. Reading challenges are also a unique way to read in community, where everyone is working on the same challenge though they may be reading different books. Many readers doing the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge are motivated by the desire to see themselves reflected in the genres they love, or to experience meeting Jewish characters in unexpected places.

Question 2

What is the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge?

Accepted Answer

The Jewish Genre Reading Challenge, also known as the Jewish Genre Challenge, is a fun way to guide some of your reading for the year. The idea behind the challenge is to read books with Jewish main characters across different genres of books, with a focus on what is commonly called "genre literature" or "genre fiction" - stuff like mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, horror, action and adventure, and so on.

Take the challenge to read more Jewishly in 2025!

Question 3

How does the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge actually work?

Accepted Answer

There are three steps to take to participate in the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge.

1. Pick your challenge. Look at the two challenges described on the Challenges page, the Genre Challenge and the This & That Challenge, and choose which one you will do (or both). If you choose the Genre Challenge, decide whether your goal is 4, 6, or 8 books.

2. Join the JGC community. Join our Goodreads group, which is our main hub for information and participation. Declare your challenge choice, track your progress, share book recommendations, and ultimately announce your triumphant completion.

3. Read! Read books throughout 2025 that fulfill the challenge you have chosen. Good starting points for finding books are the JGC Listopias (book lists) on Goodreads, the articles linked to in our Resources section, and our searchable database. There are many, many more qualifying books than we've been able to catalog and include, so these resources are only to provide suggestions. You are free to read any book that fits the criteria of the challenge. Once you've finished the challenge, let the community celebrate you in our Challenge Completions thread.

Question 4

I love this idea, are there other ways I can support the Jewish Genre Challenge project?

Accepted Answer

Thank you so much! We would love your help! There are many ways you can contribute to the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge.

The first is, of course, participating in the challenge and joining us to talk all things Jewish genre books in our Goodreads community group.

The second is talk it up to everyone you know! Do you have Jewish friends and family you enjoy talking about books with? Does your rabbi add literary and pop culture references to their talks? Would your book club be interested in focusing on a few Jewish books this year? Maybe you can do the challenge together. Are you and your Jewish community exhausted from the rise of global antisemitism and ready to bring in a more lighthearted spot of Jewish-themed fun? Maybe a sexy Jewish romance or fascinating Jewish whodunit are exactly what you need right now.

Are you an author, bookseller, rabbi, scholar, or other person who has a unique point of view to share about Jewish genre books? We would love to interview you! Please contact us to talk further.

Are you a book influencer or Jewish influencer? Perhaps a Jewish book influencer? If so, please help get the word out about the Jewish Genre Challenge! The more people who participate, the more fun the challenge will be, and the more hidden gems of Jewish genre literature we'll be able to uncover and share. You can find us here on Instagram. Please contact us if you need any materials or information to share.

We need mods for our Goodreads and Facebook groups, please contact us if you're interested. Being a mod is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of the community.

If you have book suggestions to add to our database, we would love to hear from you. You can also head over to Goodreads and add them to our booklists. If you spot a book in our database that doesn't actually have a Jewish main character, definitely let us know. If you notice a book in our database that you feel is an antisemitic or stereotyping portrayal of its Jewish character(s), we want to hear that so we can let potential readers know as well. If you feel a book's genre has been mislabeled, or has additional genres to tag, please share that. Genres are the heart of the Jewish Genre Challenge so we do want to get those right.

Frequently asked questions

What is a reading challenge? Why do a reading challenge?

What is the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge?

How does the Jewish Genre Reading Challenge actually work?

I love this idea, are there other ways I can support the Jewish Genre Challenge project?