A 12-Genre Reading Challenge for 2027: One Genre a Month

Most of us have a comfort zone on the bookshelf. You know the shelves you head to first, and the ones you walk past without looking. A genre reading challenge is a gentle way of changing that. The idea is simple: read one book from a different genre each month, and by December you've covered twelve kinds of writing, probably including a few you'd never have picked up on your own.

It's one of the easiest reading challenges to stick to, because it only asks for one book a month. And because you're choosing the genre rather than the exact book, you stay in control of what you actually read.

The 12 genres

You can take these in order or jump around, depending on your mood. If a month's genre doesn't appeal, swap it with another.

1. January: Mystery or crime. A tidy puzzle is a good way to ease into a new year of reading. A classic whodunit, a modern thriller, or a cosy mystery all count.
2. February: Romance. It's the month for it, and romance is one of the most widely read genres there is. If you've been dismissive of it, give one a fair go.
3. March: Historical fiction. Pick a time and place you know little about and let a novel fill in the world around it.
4. April: Science fiction. From big-idea classics to near-future stories, this is a genre that's often more about people than technology.
5. May: Fantasy. Epic or small-scale, dragons or not. If you usually read it, try something very different from your usual; if you don't, start with a standalone so you aren't committing to a trilogy.
6. June: Narrative nonfiction. A true story told like a novel. History, science, a single event, a person, or a place.
7. July: A classic. Something you've been meaning to read for years. Summer is a good time for it, when there's a bit more time to settle in.
8. August: Memoir or biography. Someone else's life, in their own words or someone else's. A great way to learn about a world you haven't lived in.
9. September: Literary fiction. Character-driven and often slower, it rewards a bit of patience, which September's back-to-routine energy suits well.
10. October: Horror or gothic. Time of year permitting, a ghost story, a haunted house novel, or something properly unsettling.
11. November: Poetry, essays or short stories. Short pieces you can dip in and out of when the evenings draw in and there's less time to spare.
12. December: A graphic novel or comic. A quick, visual, often surprisingly moving read to finish the year on a high.

A few rules that keep it fun

• You don't have to finish a book you hate. Give it a fair chance, but if a book isn't working, swap it for another one in the same genre. The goal is to sample the genre, not to endure it.
• Genre borders are blurry, so be generous. A historical mystery counts for either month. A sci-fi romance counts for either. Don't spend longer arguing about categories than reading.
• Mix in what you'd read anyway. This challenge is one book a month. The rest of your reading is yours, so it's fine to keep your regular favourites going alongside it.
• Ask for recommendations. Genres you don't read are exactly the ones where you don't know where to start. Ask a friend who loves that genre for their one favourite, and read that.

Not sure what to pick in an unfamiliar genre?

Starting a genre cold is the hardest part. A few shortcuts make it easier. Choose a book that's widely loved within the genre instead of a niche pick, since people who read it tend to agree on the starting points. Go for a standalone rather than the first book of a long series. And check the length: a shorter book is a low-risk way to try something new, and if you enjoy it, you can always read a longer one next time.

Make it a shared challenge

This one works well with other people. Pick the same genre each month with a friend or a partner, read your own books, and compare notes at the end of the month. Or swap: each person picks the book for the other. Our list of reading challenge ideas has a few more ways to do this, including letting a friend choose a book for you, no questions asked.

Tracking your twelve genres

A one-book-a-month challenge is easy to lose track of, especially around the busy months. It helps to log each book as you finish it so you can see which genres you've done and which are still to come. FolioStory's Reading Challenges support genre-variety goals alongside annual and monthly targets, and your progress updates as you log books. If you'd rather work out how big your overall goal should be first, here's a guide to how many books to read in a year. Prefer pen and paper? There's a printable 2027 reading tracker too.