The Sapphic Reading Challenge 2021 ended on December 31, 2021, but you can take a look at the most-read books of the reading challenge or join the Sapphic Book Bingo 2022!
After the popularity of last year’s F/F Fiction Crossword Challenge and the Lesbian Book Bingo in 2018, I decided to host a new reading challenge in 2021 that I hope will keep you entertained—and keep you reading all year!
What is the Sapphic Reading Challenge?
The Sapphic Reading Challenge is a fun, year-long event for readers of women-loving women fiction. It runs from January 1 to December 31, 2021. You can join any time you want.
Short version of the rules:If you don’t have the time or patience to read this entire blog post, here’s the short version of the rules: The goal is to read sapphic books that fit as many of the 50 categories listed below as possible. You can read ebooks, paperbacks, or audiobooks; and they can be new-to-you books or re-reads. I’ll post book recommendations for a new category once a week. Of course, you could also just read whatever books you want and then, afterwards, see what categories they fit into. Depending on how many sapphic books you manage to read in 2021, you can earn different badges and book prizes. For the longer version of the rules, a bonus level you could go for, and an explanation of the prizes you can win, read on. |
The levels and badges of the Sapphic Reading Challenge
The Sapphic Reading Challenge offers five different levels plus a bonus level, so you can pick whatever suits you best, depending on how much reading time you have. You can move up or down to a different level at any time.
Each level comes with a badge. Feel free to download the badges by right-clicking on them. You can display the badge you’ve earned on your social media and/or your blog or website, if you have one.
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Book Penguin:
The goal is to read 10 sapphic books in 2021. Each book has to fit one category listed below. |
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Book Squirrel:
The goal is to read 20 sapphic books in 2021. Each book has to fit one category listed below. |
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Book Bear:
The goal is to read 30 sapphic books in 2021. Each book has to fit one category listed below. |
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Book Dragon (level 1):
The goal is to read 50 sapphic books in 2021, one book for each of the 50 categories. |
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Book Dragon (level 2):
This is the level for our hardcore readers. The goal is to read 100 sapphic books in 2021, two books for each of the 50 categories. |
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Book Unicorn:
The Book Unicorn is a bonus level that you can pick either by itself or as an additional goal. The goal is to read 10 sapphic books from a list of 12 harder-to-find genres and themes. I’ll post book suggestions for one Book Unicorn category each month.
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The rules
- The reading challenge will run from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021. You can join at any time.
- Each book needs to have at least one main character who is a woman who loves women or a nonbinary character who identifies as sapphic.
- Each book needs to fit one of the 50 categories (for the Book Penguin, the Book Squirrel, the Book Bear, or the Book Dragon) or one of the 12 extra categories (for the Book Unicorn). You’ll find the list of categories below.
- Each book may be used only once, even if it fits several categories.
- Pick the level that you think will work best for you. If you later change your mind and realize you’ll be reading fewer or more books than you initially thought, you can switch to a different level any time.
- Every week, I’ll post a new category with a list of book recommendations. For the Book Unicorn, I’ll post reading suggestions for one category each month. You can either pick a book from those recommended reading lists or choose any other book that fits the category.
- Only books you started and finished in 2021 count.
- Books can be any format—ebook, paperback, or audiobook.
- It doesn’t necessarily have to be a novel. Novellas (usually around 17,500-40,000 words) count too, as do anthologies, short story collections, and graphic novels.
- Re-reads of books you’ve read before count.
The prizes
The real prize, of course, is discovering a lot of awesome books and new favorite authors.
But there’ll also be a big giveaway at the end of the year. Everyone who sends in their reading list and made one of the levels will be entered into the drawing. There will be 6 winners—one for each level—and each winner will get a book bundle of either 10 signed paperbacks or 10 ebooks (winner’s choice, provided international shipping has resumed normal operations by then).
Email me your filled-in reading list—either the filled-in PDF you can download below or a screenshot/photo of it—by December 31.
I’ll draw the winners on December 31, 2021, at 10 a.m. Central European Time, using a random numbers generator.
The categories for the Sapphic Reading Challenge
I’ll post a total of 50 categories, with a new post going up on my blog every Thursday. I put together a mix of popular genres and tropes as well as categories that’ll push you to try new books and diversify your reading. I encourage you to read diversely, from a wide spectrum of authors and genres.
Here are the categories for the Sapphic Reading Challenge (Book Penguin, Book Squirrel, Book Bear & Book Dragon levels):
You can download a PDF of the reading list here. Fill it in with the titles of the sapphic books you read in 2021. You can either type in the PDF or print it out and fill it in by hand.
- Enemies-to-lovers romance: The two main characters start out being enemies or rivals before falling in love.
- Character with an everyday job: The protagonist doesn’t have a glamorous job such as famous actress but an everyday job such as waitress, cashier, mechanic, etc.
- Return to hometown: A book in which the protagonist returns to her hometown after years away.
- Character is a journalist or reporter: The protagonist currently works as a journalist, reporter, or newsperson.
- From TLR’s “Best of the Best” list: Read a book from The Lesbian Review’s “best of the best” list.
- Only one bed: There’s only one bed, so the two main characters have to share it (although they’re not a couple).
- Character with a disability or mental illness: A book with protagonist who has a physical disability, a chronic illness, or a mental disorder.
- Character is a book lover: The protagonist is a writer, librarian, book editor, or an avid reader.
- One-night stand to forever: The romance starts with a one-night stand, a fling, or a friends-with-benefits arrangement.
- Speculative fiction: A book with strong fantastical, supernatural, or futuristic elements, e.g., sapphic fantasy, science fiction, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, superheroine fiction, or fairy tale retelling.
- Ice queen character: The protagonist comes across as cold, aloof, and prickly (at least in the beginning of the book—the ice queen sometimes thaws a bit after falling in love).
- Neurodiverse character: A book with a positive and realistic portrayal of a neurodivergent character, e.g., a protagonist who’s on the autism spectrum or has dyslexia, ADHD, dyspraxia, etc.
- Longer book: A book of at least 120,000 words. For an audiobook, that means 12 hours or more. Page numbers can be misleading since it depends on the font, the font size, the margins, page size, etc., but if you can’t find the word count, go for books that have 350+ pages.
- Character is a medical professional: The protagonist works in health care, e.g., a physician, dentist, nurse, chiropractor, paramedic or EMT, etc.
- Genre you don’t usually read: A book from a genre you normally shy away from. Here are 5 book recommendations for f/f fantasy, paranormal romance/urban fantasy, science fiction, mystery, historical fiction, and romcom/humor.
- Grumpy & sunshine: A romance in which a grumpy character falls for a character with a sunny, upbeat personality.
- Character is a teacher or professor: Just what the category name says—a book with a protagonist who’s teaching for a living.
- Coming out later in life: The protagonist is at least 30 years old and comes out as LGBTQIA during the course of the book, either because it took them longer to figure out they aren’t straight or because they were struggling to come out to friends and family.
- Historical fiction / historical romance: A novel that takes place at least 25 years in the past.
- Nerdy/geeky character: The main character qualifies as a nerd or a geek—meaning they are very enthusiastic about some kind of non-mainstream activity or specialized subject, e.g., a video games, science, technology, comic books, cosplay, collections.
- Age gap romance: A romance novel in which one main character is at least 8 years older than the other.
- Character of a different ethnicity, culture, or race than you: At least one of the main characters has to be of a different ethnicity, culture, or race than you. Please pick a book that is own voices, meaning the author shares the character’s racial background.
- Recommended by a friend: Ask a friend to recommend a book for you to read. Feel free to drop by my Facebook group for readers and ask for a book recommendation there.
- Character is a musician: The protagonist is a musician.
- Your favorite author’s favorite book: A novel that is one of the favorite books of one of your favorite authors.
- Character was adopted/in foster care: The main character was either adopted or grew up in the foster system.
- Shy or socially awkward character: The protagonist is shy or uncomfortable/awkward in social situations.
- Character rocks a power suit: A book about a main character who’s regularly seen and looking great in a power suit.
- Book starts with the first day of a new job: A book in which the main character starts a new job in the first three chapters.
- Mystery: A book that revolves around a murder or other crime to be solved.
- Friends-to-lovers romance: The two main characters already know each other at the beginning of the book and have been friends for a while, maybe even for years, before falling in love.
- Body-positive book: A book that celebrates women of all sizes and shapes, e.g., a plus-sized protagonist.
- Disguised or living as a man: The main character is a woman pretending to be a man or an AFAB genderqueer person living their life as a man.
- Character works in the food industry: The protagonist is a baker, chef, bartender, waitress, etc.
- Re-read a favorite: Re-read a book that is one of your all-time favorites.
- Road trip: A book in which the main characters take a trip together. They don’t necessarily have to take a car; any vehicle, including a plane or boat, will do.
- Bisexual or pansexual character: A book with a bisexual or pansexual protagonist. Note: A character who has slept with men in the past before she realized she’s a lesbian is a lesbian, not a bisexual/pansexual woman.
- Animal on the cover: A book that has some kind of animal on the cover.
- Girl-next-door character: The protagonist is the “girl next door” type—sweet, kind, and everybody’s darling.
- Adventure in nature: A book with a plot revolving around an outdoor adventure, e.g., hiking, kayaking, rafting, sailing, rock climbing, snow-shoeing, etc.
- Mistaken identity: A character is mistaken for someone else for at least a part of the book. Usually, it’s misunderstanding (or at least it starts out that way), rather than one character intentionally lying or disguising herself. The misunderstanding can be cleared up quickly or the other character can play along and start pretending to be someone she isn’t, but the situation didn’t start out as an intentional disguise.
- Set in a country you don’t live in: Choose a book that takes place in a country that you don’t currently live in.
- Part of a series: A book that is part of a series. It doesn’t have to be book 1.
- Character is a business owner: The protagonist owns her own business, which can be a big company or a small business.
- New-to-you author: A book by an author from whom you haven’t read anything before.
- Set in the 20th century: A book that takes place 1901-2000.
- Character who isn’t “Hollywood beautiful”: The protagonist doesn’t fit Hollywood beauty standards, e.g., they aren’t thin, toned, young, etc.
- Character works in STEM: The protagonist works in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.
- Forced proximity: The two main characters are forced to spend time together, e.g., because they are stranded or snowed in or stuck together for some other reason.
- Anthology, short story collection, novella: Read a book that is not a novel. It can be an anthology (collection of short story by different authors), a collection of short stories by one author, or a novella (17,500-40,000 words).
The categories for the Book Unicorn level:
If you’d like to challenge yourself and read books from harder-to-find genres & themes, here are the 12 Book Unicorn categories. I’ll post reading suggestions for one Book Unicorn category each month.
The goal is to pick books from at least 10 different categories.
You can download a PDF of the Book Unicorn reading list here. Fill it in with the Book Unicorn titles you read in 2021. You can either type in the PDF or print it out and fill it in by hand.
- Butch/butch pairing: A book about two butch women falling in love or being in an established relationship with each other.
- Time travel: The book’s plot revolves around the protagonist traveling through time.
- Character over 40: At least one of the book’s main characters is over 40.
- High fantasy: High fantasy is a fantasy story set in a fictional world that is entirely different from our reality (as opposed to low fantasy, which is set in our world with some fantastic elements added).
- Polyamorous relationship: The main character is in intimate, consensual relationships with more than one person.
- Thriller: A fast-paced novel with high stakes—if the protagonist doesn’t stop the villain, her life or even the fate of the world might be in danger.
- Sapphic nonbinary character: The character is nonbinary, genderqueer, or genderfluid person who is attracted to women or female-aligned nonbinary people. Ideally, pick a book written by a nonbinary, genderqueer, or genderfluid author.
- Steampunk or gaslamp fantasy: Both are speculative fiction books set in a Victorian-style setting. Gaslamp fantasy adds supernatural or magical elements, while steampunk centers around alternate developments in technology.
- Jewish character: The protagonist is Jewish. Ideally, pick a book that was written by a Jewish author.
- Horror: A book that intends to scare you.
- Character is a sapphic trans woman: The protagonist is a transgender woman who is attracted to women. Ideally, pick a book written by a trans woman.
- Dystopian, apocalyptic, or post-apocalyptic fiction: Post-apocalyptic fiction is set in the aftermath of a devastating natural disaster or war that made society as we know it collapse. In an apocalyptic book, we’re in the middle of that disaster happening. Dystopian fiction is set in a future society that is oppressive.
Sapphic Book Bingo 2022!
While the Sapphic Reading Challenge 2021 is over, there will be a new, year-long reading challenge in 2022. To make sure you don’t miss the Sapphic Book Bingo, which starts on January 1, 2022, subscribe to my blog!
Dragon (level 2) and unicorn? Are those separate?
Yes, they are separate. Dragon level 2 is 100 books from the 50 main categories, while the unicorn is 10 books from the 12 unicorn categories.
Might as well shoot for the sky, Dragon and Unicorn. :)
What an inspiring challenge! It sounds like a lot of fun. I can’t wait to get started. *grin* I’m thinking I’ll aim for either Book Bear or Book Dragon Lv 1.
Question though. Can we download the badge we’re aiming for before the end of the year? As inspiration and a goal?
Of course! Feel free to download and even display it as your reading goal for the year.
Thank you Jae for hosting this challenge
Love this!! Likely Dragon level…
Ooh, another dragon! That’s great.
Shooting for Dragon Lvl 2 and Unicorn but may settle for Dragon Lvl 1
It’s great that you are tackling the unicorn too!
I am aiming for Dragon level 2 and Unicorn level as well. I’m really looking forward to this. Great idea Jae…thanks!
Wow! Those are great goals. I hope you enjoy the challenge!
I’m with YOU, Carol! Let’s DO this! *high five, chest bump and all that* 😁😁
Oh goodie. Crossword puzzles are not my cup of tea.
Aiming for Dragon and maybe Unicorn. Hah. Started a new book today. Fitting in Stem or speculative – go go go
Oh, I like this challenge very much! Will aim for Dragon Level 1, but will probably go over the 50 books. After the drawing for the book journal, can you post the format of the pages so we can make our own journals ?
I’ll definitely do that! I’ll put it in the first post.
A great challenge:)
For the Unicorns
Just read at Xmas Jane Kolven, The Holiday Detour (BSB) – with a Jewish Lesbian. Fun can be had ::))
That one is on my to-be-read list too. I think it also has a road trip and a nonbinary character.
You are right on both counts and it was a fun read.
First and foremost happy and healthy new year 🤗
I love your challenges every year. I did complete one in 2018, last year was a mission impossible for me😱.
I’m gonna try to be a Penguin this year. Let the fun begin.
Keep up with all the great work 👍
Happy new year! I hope it’ll be a happy and healthy one for you. The penguin is cute, isn’t it?
Looking forward to reading books in genres I might not usually gravitate to like sci-fi and horror.
It’s great that you are willing to read outside of your comfort zone! Sounds as if you could even go for a Book Unicorn!
I think I’ll aim for Book Dragon level one and maybe the unicorn too.
Ooh! I hope you do both and find some amazing books!
Happy New Year Jae!
Do you have a link where we can buy copies of your reading challenge journal?
Unfortunately, I can’t sell it because the German tax office would then classify me as a business, with all the disadvantages and responsibilities that comes with that. All I can do is to give away as many as my wallet can afford (shipping is expensive since I’m in Germany), plus I’ll post the link to the PDF in case anyone wants to print it themselves.
I love doing reading challenges! It’s going to be interesting going out side my comfort zone. I think I’m going to aim for Book Dragon level 1 and Book Unicorn.
What a great idea it is !! I think i’ll go for the Book Dragon Lvl 2.
I’ll probably try some on the Unicorn list but I’m not that much into horror so not sure I’ll be able to do this one.
The good thing is that you only need to do 10 of the 12 unicorn categories, so you could leave out the horror & one other category of your choice.
Oh right I didn’t think of that. Well I’ll probably try the Unicorn too then. That’ll certainly allow me to discover plenty of new authors.
Great. I hope you enjoy it!
I’m going for Dragon 2. Since I read/listened to almost 200 books in 2020, I think I can make this level. Good luck to everyone!
You’re definitely a power reader and can do the Dragon 2, then! Happy new year!
This will be a tumultuous year for me so I will pick the Squirrel level and try for more. I love that you include recommendations for each category! I would have no clue where to go otherwise since I’m not involved in the lesbian community hardly at all where I live. Thank you!
Same here–most of my reader friends are online, not where I live. There’ll be some great books on each list, and I’m looking forward to reading as many as I can.
Cool challenge. I personally love anything that earns a badge. Reading more is on my 2021 must-do list but to keep things reasonable, I will shoot for Squirrel. This will be a lot of fun. Thank you!
Same here! I think the squirrel is doable, even with our own writing!
Love this! I currently have a very active 21 month old and am pregnant with twins so my goal is Penguin. Not sure how much time I’ll have to read but this will get me going!!! Thanks for doing this!
Twins! Wow! I can imagine you won’t have that much time for reading. Well, I’m a twin, and my mom always says my sister and I practically raised each other, so it’ll get better when they are older. All the best for this year!
Going for the unicorn. I am ready to branch out into some new genres. Thank you so much for doing this JAE!
Great! I hope you’ll discover some new favorite genres, books, and authors!
How exciting it will be planning the reads. I am secretly hoping to get past 🐿️ but will see how I do. Lol let’s see what my partner puts here 😁. Thank you 💜
I’ll be trying for the Squirrel too. It’s too cute!
Great challenge! I’m excited for it. Going for level 2 dragon and unicorn
I love you. That’s it.
Thank you so much
Hehehe! I hope you’ll have a lot of fun with the reading challenge and a great 2021!
Looks like another fun challenge. With the last two I found a lot of new books I actually really liked but probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
I’m going for the dragon level 2 and unicorn level
That’s exactly what I intended. Sometimes, we find great gems when we go a little outside of our reading comfort zone.
Happy New year. Dragon level 2 and unicorn for me. I’m excited to get started.
I will start with Dragon 1 and if I finish that I’ll add the Unicorn. Looking forward to reading new books.
Happy new year!
I have a question, is it ok to reread books that one already read sometime in the past? Or do they have to be entirely new ones?
Yes, definitely! Re-reads are allowed. If you scroll down to the “rules” section, it defines what is okay.
Ja, wer lesen kann ist klar im Vorteil 😂 Sorry
Kein Problem! Es ist ja wirklich eine Menge Text.
I am going for unicorn. I love reading and an awesome challenge. Thank you.
Oh, great. I hope you’ll enjoy it. There’ll be a new unicorn post with book recommendations for a new category every month.
Thanks for this! Looks like fun! Dragon 2 for me..and maybe Unicorn…
I love how many people add the unicorn to their goals! Hope you enjoy it.
This is awesome Jae. I am going for dragon 2 and unicorn. I need to diversify my reading. Thank you for this.
That’s a wonderful goal. I hope you enjoy it.
I’m looking forward to this! I’m going to shoot for the Book Dragon Level 1. It’s a bit daunting, but why not. Thanks for planning another great year for us.
If it turns out 50 is a bit too much, you can always claim the Book Bear. I hope you discover a lot of great books!
I think I’m gonna get Book Squirrel and Book Unicorn. Sci-Fi time-travel, fantasy and steampunk makes me happy😻😻. The problem will be horror 😖😢
You don’t have to read all 12 categories for the Book Unicorn. You can pick any 10 categories from the 12 Book Unicorn categories.
Happy new year one and all!
Jae, thank you for putting together this challenge. The excitement is palpable and it will be fun to share this experience together with everyone.
I am going to shoot for the Book Squirrel and Unicorn badges. I am looking forward to the Unicorn challenge introducing me to some new themes/characters/genres.
I’m going for the Book Bear and Unicorn 1. I read other genres of books so I have to divide and conquer. My wife will probably try Dragon 1 but end up with Book Bear since I am the one that brings all the books into the house.
Then you’ll be Book Bears together!
Just wanted to clarify. The book categories unless stating romance, aren’t necessarily romance?. Though have to be about a WLW as protagonist…
Any book with a woman-loving woman protagonist counts. The genre doesn’t matter. It could be a mystery with a female bisexual detective, a science fiction novel with a lesbian space pirate, or a fantasy novel with a pansexual witch. Some of the categories are tropes that are more common to find in romance, though, but otherwise, any genre is fine.
Sounds like a great challenge…think I’ll start at Book Bear level and increase to Book Dragon (level 1) if needed. Thanks for all your nifty ideas Jae, Happy, Safe and Healthy New Year.
Exciting! My goal is Dragon1. Thanks for organizing a great challenge.
I’m going for Dragon 2 and maybe Unicorn!
I’m aiming for dragon 🐉 level 1 and bonus unicorn 🦄 … so darn excited … thank you for this Jae 😍
My pleasure! Happy reading!
I so love this challenge! Forgive me if I don’t join. I’ll be too busy writing those books for all my penguins and unicorns!
Victoria Avilan
Dragon /unicorn
First, Happy New Year!
Holy smoke, Jae, this was a lot of work to put together. Thank you a million times over.
You’re very welcome! It is a lot of work, but soooo worth it!
I’m going to start with squirrel, ease into it. haha
Wow…. this will be my first time… so with life and all… i will try my best even for penguin to squirrel. But i’ll be happy if i manage the penguin. 😀😀😀😀
Oh and Happy New Year!!!!
Happy new year to you too!
What a great challenge and list! I’ll try for the level-1 Dragon, and maybe (just maybe) the Unicorn, if I run into suitable books
I’m looking forward to this! I’m going for Dragon level 2 and the Unicorn challenge. Looking forward to peoples recommendations.
There’ll be weekly posts with 15 book recommendations from me, plus people can leave additional suggestions in the comments of each post.
I’m going to attempt Dragon Level 2 and the Unicorn. I found many new books and authors doing the crossword puzzles.
I am going to try squirrel
Book Dragon Level 2/Book Unicorn!
I’m gonna try for Dragon level 1 and Unicorn
I think I’m going to do Book Bear!
Dragon 🐉 level 2
& Unicorn 🦄
This sounds fun. I’m going to aim for the Dragon level 1 and Unicorn. But if I feel I can do Dragon level 2 I’ll step it up.
I am ready for this one! some of the unicorn books I have read in the past. time to dust them off and re-read! Thanks Jae, and Happy New Year.
Happy new year and happy reading!
I want to be a Book Dragon and Unicorn as I love both of those creatures. I haven’t been reading a lot in the last few years but this sounds like a great challenge!
I hope it’ll inspire you to read more. Have a great 2021!
Book Dragon level 1 plus I’m going to branch out into Unicorn 🦄. Oh this will be a glorious endeavour. Genius, Jae! (Jenius Jae-ha ha!)
Hehe. I love how many people are going for a dragon and/or a unicorn!
Thanks for making reading even nicer. So looking forward to all the suggestions for new books to read. I am going for book bear.
You’re very welcome. I think it’s going to be fun.
Thanks for finding yet another way to encourage reading out of one’s comfort zone!
I am aiming for a Dragon badge, but will definitely go for Unicorn as well.
It’s wonderful how many people will be going for the Unicorn and are open to trying the less common genres and topics!
I am absolutely going for dragon level 2 and unicorn.
I’m so excited!!! I already have a list of books to read!! So many on my list for these categories!!! 💜💜 Your the greatest Jae! Now I just need the journal 😉😉 🤞🏻🤞🏻
I will go for Book Bear, as my reading speed has dropped dramatically these last 2 years. Thank you for all your hard work in giving us this wonderful challenge
Before I started writing my own books I’d have easily done the highest level and unicorn too. As it stands I’m going to go for Bear / Dragon level 1 and unicorn if I have time.
Happy New Year!
Another awesome challenge! Thank you for all the work you put in each year.
I’m going to go for Dragon Level II and then tack Unicorn on as an extra I hope I can also accomplish that too goal!
It’s great how many people are tacking on the Unicorn and cover some of the lesser known genres and themes. I hope you enjoy the reading challenge.
I loved the Book Bingo in 2018. I discovered some wonderful books that way. Thanks for creating another reading challenge. Can’t wait to see what I find this year!
Book Bear should be no problem to get to although Unicorn would be awesome to get
Going for the book squirrel to start.
Can a book be used for both the regular challenge and the unicorn challenge or do I have to pick it to go on one?
You have to pick. Each book can only count for 1 category.
hehehe..dragon level 1 to start
I’m going for squirrel to begin, but Unicorn might be an extra effort on my part.
Jae looking forward to this, less pressure than judging. I plan to meet the Dragon Level 2 challenge as well as the Unicorn challenge. Love reading your blog and staying in touch. Thanks and Happy New Year’s 2021, be safe.
Happy new year and happy reading :-)
Starting off with Dragon Level 1
I’m going for the unicorn. I’m calling it Retirement Reading😂😂
I hope you enjoy the books & retirement, then!
Sounds like fun! I wish this challenge was around last year since I read around 80 wlw novels.
I’m going to try and fill all the boxes (dragon 1 and unicorn) and see how it goes.
Hello, I have a few questions.
Do I have to read a book for each category or can I read more books of one category?
Do I have to announce my aim before or how is it verifiet in the end?
Count single short stories, too?
Thank you for this interesting challenge
Those are good questions. So here are my answers:
1) Do I have to read a book for each category or can I read more books of one category?
Of course you can read as many books for one category as you want. If you love enemies-to-lovers romances, for example, feel free to read all you can find. But one book is enough to check off the category. At the end, your reading badge depends on how many different categories you have covered. So you need 10 books from 10 different categories to get the Book Penguin, for example.
2) Do I have to announce my aim before or how is it verified in the end?
No, you can totally play it by ear and don’t have to decide now. Just count the number of categories you covered at the end of the year.
3) Count single short stories, too?
In general, I’d rather you read novellas or novels, but if you have a couple of short stories that fit a category, I’m not going to protest :-)
Thank you for your fast reply and for your answers.
This is great!!! I’ll go for Dragon 2 and Unicorn as well. Love the categories and am looking forward to this. I’m not into to crossword anything so I’m glad this is different.
Excited to get started. Dragon (level 1) seems like a good place to start. Thanks for putting this together Jae.
I’m thinking book bear but I’ll try for level one dragon and I’m going to try for the Unicorn also.
Hopefully this helps me get myself more strict on reading again. So I’m shooting for Penguin! My hopes are to meet that then strive for the next level!
Dragon Level 1
I’ll shoot for Book Squirrel and Book Unicorn.
I’m going for Dragon Level 2.
WOW – Thank you Jae. Your list of enemies-to-lovers novels was so helpful in selecting a book for this category. Such a pity we only need to read one – I’m loving this.
Aiming for one of the dragon levels and the unicorn. Thanks for putting this together!
A squirrel-bear hybrid. I’m not sure if authors can sign up for the prizes, but I’ll let you know how my reading goes. Thanks for putting this together.
Anyone can participate! Most authors are readers too.
Bear level
Thank you for once again arranging an exciting reading challenge. I think I’m going for Book Dragon 1and maybe Book Unicorn as well. Question though: I know you said we can read all genres but does that mean non-fiction as well?
Yes, nonfiction counts too, as long as it has a LGBTQIA-related theme.
Great. Thank you for your fast reply.
Wow, I guess I could have gotten Unicorn & Dragon level 2, if I submitted my list from 2020… easy to do when you’ve read over 175+ WLM books.
Dragon Level 1 with some Unicorn thrown in for good measure.
I think I’m going to aim for Dragon Level 2. Aside from work I’ve got nothing but free time and spend my days reading. Delving into new books within various categories will be great.
Definitely going for Dragon 2 and Unicorn. Read on!
This looks like fun! I would like to do the Squirrel one.
Extremely excited to do this challenge I’m not sure which badge I would go for i am just gonna read as much as I can just for the love of reading
I hope you enjoy the reading challenge and my book recommendations!
Definitely gonna get dragon 1. I’d like to see if I can stretch for dragon 2 and unicorn!
The good thing is you don’t have to decide now. You can see where the year takes you. Either Dragon 1 or Dragon 2 would be great.
I’m hoping to be a dragon, but I’m going to commit to being a book bear.
Great! If you realize you read more than 30 books, you can still switch to the Book Dragon later.
I’m going to try book dragon 1. It’s my first book challenge so I’ve no idea how many books I’m able to read in one year but that is my goal 😍😍😍
I hope you enjoy your first reading challenge!
Love to read & lots of time so going for Book Dragon 1 and Book Unicorn. Enjoy discovering new authors. All stay safe and well.
Extremely excited to do this challenge I am aiming for Dragon level 2.Love the categories and am looking forward to this. Now that I have all the time to read I can’t wait to discover new authors.
I’m aiming for the Dragon Level 2 and the Unicorn
Aim High! Dragon and Unicorn
I love to read so I will try for
Dragon Book 2 and Book Unicorn.
Great! I hope you enjoy the challenge!
Going for Dragon 2 and Unicorn. Thanks so much for this! I am in the midst of chemo and this is a lovely distraction.
Sending my best wishes for your health! I hope the reading challenge will provide a good distraction.
Thank you for a fun challenge! I’m hoping to get to the dragon one level with a try at unicorn.
I hope you enjoy it! It’s great to see so many avid readers participating and even being willing to try for a unicorn!
Hi Jae! Do you mind if I input the challenge on The StoryGraph.com? It’s a reading community where you can create custom challenges. I’ll link to the original blog post of course, if you allow me to do this.
That would be great! Let me know if you need anything–graphics, etc.
Here’s the link to the rules & categories post:
https://jae-fiction.com/sapphic-reading-challenge-2021/
Thanks so much! You should be able to view it without making an account. I did find that the badges were too big to include, but otherwise it looks good! https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/c528058d-4174-42e2-bc1e-003f6c66e29a
Book Dragon Level 1
Great goal! I hope you enjoy the reading challenge!
Well it’s Feb 2nd and I have read 22 books for the main challenge and 2 on the Unicorn list. This is awesome. Thank you so much for this!!! By the way I do work a full time job, but sleep is iffy.
Wow, that’s amazing! So you are a Book Squirrel already! Welcome to the scurry (which is the term for a group of squirrels).
Feb 4th and have 16 books already. ^ are from Unicorn so I am going to change from Dragon 1 to Dragon 2 Unicorn. Having great fun.
Argh 6 are from Unicorn not ^ lol.
Thank you for doing this. I am loving it & reading lots! Just wondering what is the most different categories one book could cover. I know each book can only can count once but I keep procrastinating over which category to tick off. What to do with the enemies to lovers, ice queen, over 40, age gap, coming out later story with an animal on the cover?
Most books I read this year so far cover at least a handful of categories. What I’m doing is writing them all down. I’ll decide later which book I’ll count for which category.
I’m doing the same thing, Jae. On my word-processing program (Pages) I type your list each week, changing the type to red for the titles of the books I’ve read, to green for the books I plan to use for the challenge, and to purple for the ones I’ve planned to use in other categories. Sometimes I have a major rearranging task to do, but I love it. I’m relatively new to lesbian literature, but have read close to 400 books since June of last year. (COVID-19 has had its uses.) Can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for organizing this challenge. Thanks.
400 books are amazing! I’m happy you are enjoying the reading challenge. I’m thinking of putting one together for next year too.
I’m going for the Penguin and the Unicorn.
I hope you enjoy the challenge. It’s great to see so many people go for a unicorn!
Aiming for Dragon Level 1. What a great idea to organize this challenge. I have already read or re-read so many this year. I’ll need to check the categories as some fit several.
Great that you found the challenge! I hope you enjoy it and find many new favorite books & authors!
Question on categorizing the book I read. One of the main characters is forensic investigator working in the coroners office and has OCD. I looked up the term neurodiverse and it wasn’t clear cut on whether OCD is included so I wanted to know if it would count for the Neurodiverse category and/or if it would count towards the STEM category? The book is Mind Games by Cara Malone
OCD is more commonly seen as a mental disorder, so I think it would fit better into category #7, character with a disability or mental illness.
It would also fit categories #14 (character is a medical professional), #32 (body-positive book) and #48 (character works in STEM).
Thank you
Just stumbled on the new challange a week ago, I really should check my email more!
Thank you Jae for yet again arranging another great reading challenge.
I loved the bingo, but sadly halfway fell out with the crosswords (work got in the way).
But it’s a new year with a new challange, so another chance to read some awesome books!
I’m going to aim for top dragon with maybe an alicorn on top! If Covid doesn’t make work more stressfull that is.
I’m looking forward to all the suggestions for new books to read (or to be dropped in my ever growing TBR pile).
But I have to say it’s still slightly frustrating to wait for all the recommendations in different categories each time =)
Thank you again for your great efforts in putting together this challenge and stay safe!
Oh wow! I just found out this challenge and I’m already a squirrel *YAAY*. Aiming Dragon and hoping to find free books on unicorn categories, living in Brazil makes it hard to buy worldwide books.
Amazing challenge! Thanks Jae and good luck everyone!
I hope you are enjoying the challenge and find many new favorite books!
I just found out about this challenge today. THANK YOU!!! I’ve been looking for something like this.
I’m going all the way – Book Dragon Level 2 AND Unicorn.
LOL!! Got some catching up to do. Wish me luck.
Welcome to the Sapphic Reading Challenge! I hope you enjoy it and find many great authors and books!
This is such a great idea! Even the description of some of the categories completely cracks me up whilst also communicating a lot about the world of lesbian fiction… :) Even though i just found this on Dec 6th, i read a lot (and keep a record) so i think i can probably retrospectively meet some of the targets. Mostly, im really interested to check out the recommendations…