It's here! We are finally diving into our 2021 Christian Reading Challenge! If you've followed along with us, you know this is our 5th year in a row issuing a reading challenge (and taking one on ourselves). This year we've changed it up a little bit to make it easier to use. You can check out our 2020 reading challenge to use as well if you want! One of the major changes you'll notice this year is that we've combined both challenges. In previous years we've issued a men's challenge and a women's challenge. This year, anyone can use the challenge to fit their needs. Listen to the Podcast: Listen in to my podcast episode from this week to find out more about why we developed this reading challenge, tips for following along, and the reasoning behind the books and categories chosen. Or skip the podcast and head down below for all the info ? And don’t forget to subscribe to my podcast in iTunes. Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer. What's New This Year Change #1: Like I mentioned above, we are combining the men and women's challenge all into one. Choose which books most interest you! Change #2: Instead of choosing actual books to put into the challenge, we are just adding in categories for you that you fill in with your books or find new ones! Change #3: We are adding a bunch of new books to the category lists below but also carrying our book recommendations from previous years. All NEW book suggestions (that haven't been highlighted in past challenges) will be bold. 2021 Christian Reading Challenge Here’s how it works:  You will find the reading challenge below. You'll see that we've given you two tracks - 13 books or 26! This is either reading one book every four weeks or one book every two weeks. If you want to do 52 books (one a week) you can easily adjust for that as well. A note about fiction: This year we've included fiction categories per your request! I think fiction is hard because all of us are going to have different tastes in what fiction we prefer. You can find some of our favorite Christian Fiction books here. But feel free to substitute any fiction books or series that you enjoy. Pick Your Level: I know each of us has different reading levels and time for reading, so I created two different tracks you can follow. 13 Books a Year – This works out to 1 book every 4 weeks. If you have no habit of reading right now or have no idea you will fit reading time into your busy schedule, then this is a great level to begin with. Pick one book every 4 weeks and commit to getting it down within that time. 26 Books a Year – If you want to tackle a bigger challenge, then this level will get you reading 1 book every two weeks throughout the year. It’s still a very doable reading track but will challenge you to stay on track! If you want to follow this plan, read one book from each list every month. So in January, read book #1 and book #14! This way everyone can read through and follow along with books #1-13 together. Here are the categories:  Christian Living Marriage Parenting/Family Life Theology Fiction Biography/History Spiritual Disciplines  Christian Classics Church History *If you are not a parent or are not married, then scroll down and fill in those spots with other fantastic book suggestions from the other categories. Book Recommendations Per Category: Christian Living: Everyday Faithfulness: The Beauty of Ordinary Perseverance in a Demanding World - Glenna Marshall  Growing Together: Taking Mentoring beyond Small Talk and Prayer Requests - Melissa Kruger A Place to Belong: Learning to Love the Local Church - Megan Hill God Does His Best Work with Empty - Nancy Guthrie Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans - Robert Elmer Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers - Dane C. Ortlund