The Helmet Reading Challenge 2023
Maps, lost ways of life, health care, small towns and Ukraine – we will be looking for these themes and many others in the Helmet Reading Challenge 2023!
Join us for an expedition into literature! The Helmet Reading Challenge gives you 50 different criteria for choosing what to read next. The reading challenge will continue throughout the year and you can get started at any time!
As usual, the list of 50 challenge items includes topics and ideas ranging from one end to the other. The events of 2022 are reflected in challenge items 14 and 34 that include books related to health care and Ukraine. This year, we are also looking for books including lost ways of life (37), small towns (8), maps (1) and optimistic descriptions of the future (43). This year’s item pair includes books that are set in the same city or surroundings (47–48). In addition, for the first time ever, we challenge you directly to read a science fiction book (21).
The Helmet Reading Challenge was put together by library professionals. The challenge items are based on proposals collected from challenge participants over the years.
If the full 50-item Reading Challenge feels too daunting, we also have a lighter option. As the name suggests, the Little Helmet Reading Challenge is a smaller reading challenge with a list of 25 items. The Little Reading Challenge is compiled of challenge items that are particularly well-suited to children, but readers of all ages are welcome to participate. All of the Little Reading Challenge items are also included in the Helmet Reading Challenge, so you can easily shift from one challenge to another, should you be surprised at how quickly you are making progress.
Five key points for successfully completing the Reading Challenge:
- The Reading Challenge is open to all readers. Everyone is welcome to participate.
- The idea is that the Reading Challenge should increase your joy of reading, not cause you stress. So find your own way to participate that you find inspiring! You do not have to set out to read a certain number of books.
- Everyone is welcome to participate in the Reading Challenge in their own way and make up their own rules. It is up to you to decide whether you want to use the same book to check off more than one item on the list, focus on a particular genre or only read books you have never read before. If you want to keep track of your progress in the challenge, tools for this purpose are available below the item list.
- As sharing multiplies the joy of reading, feel free to share your Reading Challenge experience with others! Join the Reading Challenge Facebook group (the discussion is mainly in Finnish, but you are also welcome to communicate in Swedish or English), discuss the Reading Challenge elsewhere on social media, or challenge your friends to participate, so you can discuss your reading experiences throughout the year.
- Help is always available! If you need help finding a suitable book, you can, for example, head to your local library and ask the staff for their tips. Tips on suitable books are also shared on the Reading Challenge Facebook group. You can search for tips on the Helmet website Tips. Help is also available from the Ask a Librarian service.
Have a great reading year 2023!
The Helmet Reading Challenge 2023
1. A book with a map
2. A book about a child and grandparent
3. A book with a title that includes a plant
4. A book you were going to read last year
5. A book set underground
6. A book with a cover that includes a piece of clothing or a title that includes a garment
7. A classic book from Sweden, Norway or Denmark
8. A book about a small town
9. A book by an author belonging to a minority, and the book is about the same minority
10. A book with instructions and advice
11. A book by an author whose name includes the same number of letters as your name
12. A book with a title that is connected to water
13. A book with a colourful cover or title
14. A book about health care
15. A book with a title that includes the word ‘and’
16. A book in which someone is writing a book
17. A book that is a collection of essays, articles or columns
18. A book that was originally published in Chinese, Hindi, English, Spanish or Arabic (the five most spoken languages in the world)
19. A book set in a place you have visited
20. A book about a woman who is travelling
21. A science fiction book
22. A book about a topic you have read a lot about
23. A big book
24. A book about an athlete
25. A book with a title that includes a day of the week or a month
26. A book that is challenging for you to read for some reason or another
27. A book with a character who is looking for a solution to the climate crisis
28. A book that is set in the same season as when you are reading it
29. A book with a first-person narrator
30. A book that has been nominated for a literature award
31. A book with a cover that includes sky or the word ‘sky’ in its title
32. A book about something you dream about
33. A book you can read in one sitting
34. A book about Ukraine
35. A book in which someone does work that is familiar to you
36. A book by an author towards whom you have prejudice
37. A book about a way of life that no longer exists
38. A book with a plot based on a myth, story or legend
39. A book that was recommended to you on media or social media
40. A book in which someone abandons something
41. A book by an author born in the 1990s
42. A book with a title that includes at least three words
43. A book that describes the future optimistically
44. A book in a genre, or literature type, that you do not usually read
45. A book fitting a challenge item for which you have already read another book
46. A book with an unusual man or boy
47.–48. Two books with stories set in the same city or environment
49. A book published in 2023
50. A book recommended by library staff
Help with the Reading Challenge:
A printable version of the Reading Challenge (PDF)
Tables for monitoring your progress
Helmet Reading Challenge on Facebook
Book tips
Materials for libraries, bloggers and the media
The Reading Challenge in other languages:
Lukuhaaste suomeksi
Helmet Reading Challenge in simple Finnish
Läsutmaning på svenska
Литературный вызов по-русски
Helmet Lese-Challenge
Helmeti raamatukogu lugemise väljakutse
Helmet Reading Challenges in 2015–2022:
2015 (not available in English), 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Other Helmet Challenges:
Little Helmet Reading Challenge
Helmet Music Challenge
Helmet Game Challenge
Helmet Film Challenge
Little Helmet Film Challenge
Text: Riikka Utriainen, Espoo City Library