New year, new book ideas: Here are the categories for the 2025 #ReadICT Challenge
When I created the #ReadICT Challenge nine years ago, I never imagined it would take off the way it has or that the unveiling of each year’s new categories would elicit so much excitement from readers around the world.
But here we are, ready to launch the 2025 challenge — a partnership of KMUW, The Wichita Eagle and the Wichita Public Library — and I’m tempted to break into a chorus of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
For our ninth annual challenge, we’ve kept the concept the same: Read 12 books from 12 different categories over the next 12 months.
It’s designed to help you expand your reading, stretch your bookish comfort zone and commune with a vibrant — and now global — community of readers. And once again, we made the challenge flexible enough to be interpreted loosely, so you can read fiction or nonfiction to fulfill the various categories.
Ready to see the 2025 categories? Here we go:
1. A book with a flower or plant on the cover
2. A popular book you have never read
3. A book by or about a person with a disability
4. A graphic novel book adaptation or memoir
5. A book set on a different continent
6. Cozy mystery, romantasy, or true crime: Pick one!
7. A book featuring a strong woman
8. A book with two or more points of view
9. A book featuring group dynamics
10. A book that scares you
11. A book with a month in the title
12. A book recommended by KMUW or your local library
Every year as we finalize this challenge, I scan my home library and my ever-growing TBR (to-be-read) list to compile a list of titles that might fulfill the various categories.
Most are self-explanatory, but here are some thoughts on how you might interpret the others:
Category No. 3 — a book by or about someone with a disability — is a nod to next year’s Wichita Big Read: “Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body” by Rebekah Taussig. The Big Read kicks off March 14 and will feature six weeks of programs and special events that will explore the lives of people with disabilities in Wichita, as well as those who care for and advocate for them.
A graphic novel book adaptation or memoir (Category No. 4) refers to any illustrated, graphic-novel style version of a book — like “The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel” or “Slaughterhouse-Five: A Graphic Novel Adaptation” — or a story of someone’s life, like “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” by Alison Bechdel or “Stitches: A Memoir” by David Small.
Category No. 6 is something of a free-for-all, where you can pick one book from any of three popular genres — cozy mystery, romantasy, or true crime. I might finally read Travis Baldree’s cozy “Legends & Lattes,” or Erin Morgenstern’s “The Night Circus,” which gives classic romantasy vibes.
A book featuring group dynamics (Category No. 9) could be a novel like the one I read recently — “Search” by Michelle Huneven — which follows a group of Unitarian Universalist congregants who serve on a church committee charged with finding a new minister. Or it could be a nonfiction story about a sports team, like Thomas Fuller’s “The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory.” It could even be a business or leadership book that focuses on group dynamics.
Before you ask, Category No. 10 (a book that scares you) does not have to be a horror novel — although that’s great for readers who appreciate the genre. It could be a classic you’ve been meaning to read, a long book you’re hesitating to begin, or any book on a topic that feels intimidating.
And finally, Category 12 — a book recommended by KMUW or your local library — is wide open. For ideas, be sure to check out NPR’s Books We Love, a searchable database with thousands of titles. You can also check out my weekly book reviews on KMUW, Beth Golay’s author interviews on “Marginalia,” or our monthly “Books & Whatnot” podcast.
The Wichita Public Library offers personalized book recommendations, staff picks, and ever-changing displays of new and backlist titles.
Our #ReadICT Challenge group on Facebook has more than 8,000 members from all over the world, and it’s a wonderful place to chat about the challenge and get book recommendations.
Over the coming year, we’ll be hosting #ReadICT meetups, book swaps and other special events related to the challenge.
The first one from 6 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 16 at KMUW, 121 N. Mead. We’re inviting all our #ReadICT friends to our office to mix and mingle and talk about the new categories. Or, you can just bring a book, say a quick hello, and find a quiet place to sit and read. No judging either way. Bring your own beverage and/or a snack to share.
If you’re participating in the challenge, visit the Wichita Public Library’s #ReadICT Challenge page, where you can track your progress online and be eligible for monthly prizes.
Happy new year, and happy reading.
Suzanne Perez writes about education and books for KMUW and the Kansas News Service. She created the #ReadICT Challenge in 2017 while a staff member at The Wichita Eagle.
