Last year, a small group of friends and I did a Reading Challenge of 25 books, The 2019 PolyWogg Reading Challenge, based on a five-by-five grid like a reading bingo game. It was open season for the year, you could pick any square at any time. While people enjoyed it, they had views for the new year:

1. More choice (almost like they could read anything they wanted, but not necessarily in order to get to a goal of a specific number of books per year);
2. A few specific ideas about themes (we added Indigenous, locations, etc.); and,
3. They want badges (I kept wanting to say, “We don’t need no stinkin’ badges”, but as moderator of the small but mighty band of intrepid readers, that seemed discouraging).

So, with those changes in mind, here is the grid for 2020! (Pssst, don’t ask about the blue bands, that is a FB viewing thing).

Here’s how it’s going to work

In advance, you know from the grid above that for January you can read a “mystery, thriller or adventure” book or “any book of the reader’s choice”. Which sounds like you can read anything you want, right? Nope, there are two catches. The badges. You have to earn them.

Each month, I’m going to name some four options of specific titles (Group A, named books) that fit the first category. — two adult titles and two young adult titles (that way, Jacob and Paige can play along too!). You can also read a title from the second category (Group B) or reader’s choice (Group C). There will also be a monthly “challenge book” (Group D). But which ones you read will determine which badge you can get for the month.

• A orange copper badge will be awarded if you read one book of choice; from Group A (named), B (open), or C (open);
• A green bronze badge will be awarded if you read one named book; from Group A (the named list);
• A yellow silver badge will be awarded if you read two books, any combo; from Group B (open) and C (open);
• A blue gold badge will be awarded if you read two named books; from Group A (named) and C (open); and,
• A red platinum badge will be awarded if you read three books of any combo or the challenge book; , , one from Group A (named), one from Group B (open), and one from Group C (open).

I’ll post each month with the named books for that month , both here and in the FB group.

Some resources to help you choose other books if you don’t like the named ones for the month

A. Master Lists

There is a website called The Greatest Books which is a compilation of lists of great books — 2073 titles in total. Should keep you going to start.

B. Award winners

• Governor General’s awards (Canadian)
• National Book Awards (American)
• Pulitzer prizes (American)
• Man Booker awards (English-speaking)
• Agatha awards (mystery)
• Shamus awards (mystery)
• Macavity awards (mystery)
• Edgar awards (mystery)
• Hammett awards (mystery)

C. Curated lists

• Abe Books’ list of Top 100 Fiction Books to Read in a Lifetime
• Radcliffe Publishing’s 100 Greatest Novels
• Modern Library’s Fiction or Non-fiction lists
• BBC’s 100 Greatest British Novels
• Guardian’s 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All-time or 100 Best Novels Written in English
• Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Novels
• NY Times Best-Seller list

 D. Sources other than Amazon or your library

A non-fiction self-help (or business) book.

• Project Gutenberg (United States, Canada)

Feel free to ask me to suggest a title or share with me other resources you think should be here too!

1. The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
2. Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley
3. Zap! by Martha Freeman
4. Winterhouse by Ben Guterson
5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
6. Read and Buried by Eva Gates
7. Where The Light Comes In by Sara Donati
8. The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
9. Me by Elton John
10. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
11. Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling
12. New Spring by Robert Jordan
13. The Last Librarian by Brandt Legg
14. The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
15. One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde
16. A Meeting At Cornvallis by S.M. Stirling
17. The Mark of the Plague by Kevin Sands
18. Crush by Tracy Wolff

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
3. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
4. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
5. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
6. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
7. Newberry: The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill
8. The Case of Windy Lake by Michael Hutchinson
9. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
10. Tears in the Grass by Lynda Archer
11. The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman
12. Hindsight by Iris Johansen
13. Beating About the Bush by M.C. Beaton
14. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
15. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
16. Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
17. The Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson
18. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
19. Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
20. From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle
21. Radicalized by Cory Doctorow
22. The Winterhouse Mysteries by Ben Guterson
23. Endling The Last by Katherine Applegate
24. Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore
25. The Perfect Girl by Gilly MacMillan
26. Long Bright River by Liz Moore
27. The Outlandish Companion vol 1 + 2 by Diana Gabaldon
28. A History of the Canadian Peoples by J.M. Bumstead
29. Long Range by C.J. Box
30. Blueberry Island by Susan Mallory
31. Elevatory Pitch by Linwood Barclay
32. What time is the 920 bus by Lucinda Hage
33. The Wheel of Time: Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
34. The Sunrise Lands by S.M. Stirling
35. In the Frame by Dick Francis
36. Heartberries by Terese Marie Mailhot

1. The Vagina Bible by Jen Gunther
2. The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
3. We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib
4. Galaxy Girls by Libby Jackson
5. The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind by William Kamkwamba
6. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
7. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
8. In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
9. Ford Abomination by Linwood Barclay
10. The Artful Goddaughter by Melodie Campbell
11. The Goddaughter Caper by Melodie Campbell
12. Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
13. Murder at Hawthorn Cottage by Betty Rowlands
14. The Twelve Apostles by William Coughlin
15. The Huntress by Kate Quinn
16. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil Degrasse Tyson
17. Educated by Tara Westover
18. All Systems Red by Martha Wells

1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
2. Masked Prey by John Sandford
3. Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
4. Poet by Michael Connelly
5. Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
6. The King’s Justice by Susan Elia MacNeal
7. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
8. 52 Small Changes for the Mind by Brett Blumenthal
9. The Wheel of Time: The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
10. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
11. To Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
12. The Body by Bill Bryson
13. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
14. Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
15. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
16. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
17. Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown
18. Taking back what was stolen by n/a
19. When The Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress by Gabor Maté

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
2. The Wheel of Time: The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan
3. The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
4. Camino Island by John Grisham
5. From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle
6. Hit List by Stuart Wood
7. 5 Ways to Disappear by RM Greenaway
8. Pumpkin Spice Peril by Jenn McKinley
9. One for the Books by Jenn McKinley
10. Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon
11. Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon
12. Seven Stones by Diana Gabaldon
13. In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
14. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
15. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
16. Murderbot ? by Martha Wells
17. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
18. Conquistador by S.M. Stirling
19. Of A Linear Circle by Flamethrower
20. Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz

1. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
2. Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor
3. Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor
4. The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows
5. Behind Closed Doors by J.A. Paris
6. The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee
7. The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee
8. Rivals in the City by Y.S. Lee
9. Fair Warning by Michael Connelly
10. Benefit of Hindsight by Susan Hill
11. Postmark Berlin by Anne Emery
12. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
13. No Great Mischief by Alistair Macleod
14. Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner
15. Grudge Match by Mike Lupica
16. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
17. Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
18. Breath of Snow by Diana Gabaldon
19. Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
20. With My Body by Diana Gabaldon
21. Option B by Sheryl Sandberg
22. Cemetery Road by Greg Iles

1. Heroes of Olympus 1 by Rick Riordan
2. Heroes of Olympus 2 by Rick Riordan
3. Heroes of Olympus 3 by Rick Riordan
4. I Am Number 4 by Pittacus Lore
5. The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore
6. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore
7. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore
8. The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore
9. The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore
10. United as One by Pittacus Lore
11. Educated by Tara Westover
12. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman
13. The Malta Exchange by Steve Berry
14. The Lion’s Game by Nelson de Mille
15. An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
16. Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon
17. Exile by Diana Gabaldon
18. And the Answer Is by Alex Trebek
19. Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves
20. Telling Tales by Ann Cleeves
21. Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves
22. Silent Voices by Ann Cleeves
23. The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves
24. Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves
25. The Moth Catcher by Ann Cleeves
26. The Seagull by Ann Cleeves
27. A Dagger Before Me by Jeanne M. Dams
28. The Evil that Men Do by Jeanne M. Dams
29. Sins out of School by Jeanne M. Dams
30. Crisis at the Cathedral by Jeanne M. Dams
31. Far North by Will Hobbs
32. Hello Summer by Mary Kay Andrews
33. Dying to Celebrate by Lynne Calhoon
34. Immoral by Bryan Freeman
35. How to Add Value to your House by Scott McGillvray
36. The Sport and Prey of Capitalists by Linda McQuaig
37. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton
38. The Queen’s Secret by Karen Harper
39. Le Noel d’Agatha by MC Beaton
40. Anne’s House of Dreams by Lucy Maud Montgomery
41. Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner

1. Celestial Bodies by Johka Alharthi
2. Calypso by David Sedaris
3. The Only Woman in the Room by Eileen Pollack
4. Untamed by Glennon Doyle
5. Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen
6. Find Your Fire by Terri Broussard Williams
7. The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper
8. The Answer Is… by Alex Trebek
9. This Is Ohio by Jack Shuler
10. Calm the H*ck Down by Melanie Dale
11. Wheel of Time: The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
12. Theodore Boone: The Fugitive by John Grisham
13. The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
14. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
15. The Dressmaker’s Diary by Meredith Jaeger
16. The Four Legendary Kingdoms by Matthew Reilly
17. Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump
18. The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore
19. Three Secret Cities by Matthew Reilly
20. How To Survive the Loss of a Love by Harold Bloomfield
21. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore
22. The Hive by Gillian Hornby
23. The Martian by ?
24. The Sun is Also A Star by ?
25. Everything Everything by ?
26. The Night Gardener by ?
27. The Force of Nature by Jane Harper
28. Natchez Burning by Greg Iles
29. A Week At The Shore by Barbara Delinsky
30. It’s Not All Downhill from Here by Terry McMillan
31. A Day Late and a Dollar Short by Terry McMillan
32. I Almost Forgot About You by Terry McMillan
33. 28 Summers by Elin Hildebrand
34. The Secret Life of Bees by Drew Monk Kidd
35. Such A Fun Age by Kelly Reid
36. The Orphan Thief by Glynis Peters
37. Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fine
38. Three Hours in Paris by Cara Black
39. Bombshell by Stuart Woods
40. The Prince of Risk by Christopher Reich
41. The Sleeping and the Dead by Ann Cleeves
42. A Bird In The Hand by Ann Cleeves
43. Half Moon Bay by Jonathan Kellerman
44. The Art of Racing the Rain by Garth Stein
45. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaeffer and Annie Barrows
46. The Lion’s Game by Nelson de Mille
47. Trumpocalypse by David Frum
48. Key Lime Crime by Lucy Burdette
49. Unlocking Season by Gail Bowen
50. Outsider by Linda Castello
51. Trump bio by Mary Trump
52. Calypso by David Sedaris
53. Down to This by Shaugnessy Bishop-Stahl
54. No Girls Need Apply by Kelly Thompson
55. Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins
56. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Petersen
57. Braving the Wilderness by Brenee Brown
58. The Gifts of Imperfection by Brenee Brown
59. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore
60. The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore
61. The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore
62. United as One by Pittacus Lore
63. Shanghai Girls by ?
64. The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
65. Ridgerunner by Gil Adamson
66. How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
67. Here the Dark by David Bergen
68. Polar Vortex by Shani Mootoo
69. The Bone Tree by Greg Iles
70. Boy from the Woods by Harlen Coben
71. All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny
72. The Enduring Vision by x
73. The Last Trial by Scott Turow
74. Alaska Cruise Guide by Ocean Cruises
75. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
76. Anxious People by Fredrik Beckman
77. Third To Die by Allison Brennan
78. Deadly Anniversaries by CWA
79. The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
80. Dead Man Walking by Sr. Helen Prejean
81. While Canada Slept by Andrew Cohen
82. Choppy Water by Stuart Woods
83. The Friendship List by Susan Mallery
84. Bound Scream Murder by Ginger Bolton
85. Christmas Cupcake by Joanne Fluke
86. Bound for Murder by Victoria Gilbert
87. Needled to Death by Annelis Ryan
88. Night Shift by Annelis Ryan
89. Lighthouse Mystery by Vicky Delaney
90. Silent Bite by David Rosenfelt
91. The Malta Exchange by Steve Berry
92. Deep in the Alaskan Woods by Karen Harper
93. How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan
94. Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan
95. Mississippi Blood by Greg Iles
96. The Missing by C.L. Taylor
97. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton

1. The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter
2. Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark
3. The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
4. Normal People by Sally Jenkins
5. Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
6. Theodore Boone: The Scandal by John Grisham
7. A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold
8. Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
9. What Would I Tell You: One Mother’s Adventure with Medical Fragility by Julie Keon
10. Ladies No 1 Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
11. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
12. Morality of Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
13. Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
14. Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
15. Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
16. Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
17. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith
18. the Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith
19. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
20. Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
21. Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith
22. Limpopo Agency of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith
23. Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith
24. Handsome Man’s Deluxe Café by Alexander McCall Smith
25. the Woman who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith
26. Collected Works of Ogden Nash by Alexander McCall Smith
27. Collected Works of Robert Service by Alexander McCall Smith
28. Clanlands by Sam Heughen & Graham McTavish
29. B team by Melodie Campbell
30. Tea and Treachery by Vicky Delaney
31. Call the Pharmacist by Elizabeth Roderick
32. The Dry by Jane Harper
33. Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
34. Then She was Gone by Lisa Jewell
35. The Order by Daniel Silva
36. Lantern Man by Ellie Griffiths
37. Still Life by Val McDermid
38. Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves
39. Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich
40. Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child

1. A Mothers Reckoning by Sue Debolt
2. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
3. Silent Wife by Karen Slaughter
4. One by One by Ruth Ware
5. The Expendables by Jeff Rubin
6. Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand
7. American Dirt by Jeanne Davis
8. The House of Kennedy by James Patterson
9. Trouble in Paradise by Elin Hildebrand
10. Precious and Grace by Alexander McCall Smith
11. House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith
12. Colours of Cattle by Alexander McCall Smith
13. Land of Long Lost Friends by Alexander McCall Smith
14. How to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith
15. My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith
16. Surprising Case of Moderate Extremists by Alexander McCall Smith
17. High-End Finish by Kate Carlisle
18. This Old Homicide by Kate Carlisle
19. Crowned and Mouldering by Kate Carlisle
20. Deck the Hallways by Kate Carlisle
21. Eaves of Destruction by Kate Carlisle
22. Wrench in the Works by Kate Carlisle
23. Shot Through the Hearth by Kate Carlisle
24. Premeditated Mortar by Kate Carlisle
25. The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly
26. Love and Other Crimes by Sara Paretsky
27. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
28. Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser
29. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
30. Theodore Boone: The Accomplice by John Grisham
31. Women Talking by Miriam Toews
32. Marie Calumet by Rodolphe Girard