This will be the 9th year for the Travel Reading List Challenge. I get excited for it every year, because I’m always looking for new books to read while I’m traveling.
The challenge was founded out of a love of reading and curiosity for the world, and as means of exploring new topics, writers and points of view.
The reading challenge is designed for those who love travel and who love to read. For people who have a curiosity about the world around them, those who are always looking for their next great read (whether picking it up in an airport bookstore or finding wi-fi to download to their Kindle), those who want more ideas about what to read, and those who want to explore the world in person and through a good book. We believe that a book is both a travel companion and a window to unexplored worlds.
The basic reading challenge has a pace of two books per month, for a yearly total of 24 books. The advanced portion of the reading challenge adds on another six books, bringing the yearly total to 30 books.
The challenge is self-paced. Read what you want, when you want. There’s no order you must follow. Feel free to interpret the list in any way you wish, choosing the type of books that you think you will enjoy. However, we also hope you’ll be encouraged to try some new authors, and genres, and will add new voices to your reading list – that’s part of the fun of the challenge, expanding your view of the world around you.
Your hosts for the 2026 reading challenge are:
Mary Jo Manzanares – Mary Jo is an avid traveler and reader. With a bag always packed, and a Kindle always full of books to read, she and her husband travel the world in search of value luxury destinations and experiences. She loves historical fiction, biographies, and debut authors, and enjoys the reading challenge as a way to discover new authors and books that wouldn’t typically be on her to-read list. She likes finding books set in places she’s been, and places she’s going to, and loves getting ideas from other book lovers in the Challenge Facebook group. Mary Jo is the author of Secret Seattle, and blogs at Traveling with MJ; she is the 2026 President of SATW (Society of American Travel Writers).
Carol Guttery – Carol is a first-class book nerd and a recovering bookseller. She helps avid readers and book clubbers find and discuss their next great read at Libro Maniacs. She believes that travel and reading are intrinsically connected and all her trips are paired with a reading list. She’s a big fan of fiction and she goes deep into sci-fi/fantasy, spec-fic, mysteries, and stories about people on a journey. Carol’s goal for the reading challenge is to stretch into some new genres and get ideas for her ever-expanding TBR (to be read) list.
Like you, both of us are starting the challenge from scratch and we’ll be tackling the challenge right along with you. We will be updating our selections here throughout the year, and providing suggestions and recommendations in our Facebook group.
For suggestions of what to read, discussions about our favorite books, and recommendations of what to take along on your next trip, please join our Facebook Group here. We are directing all discussions, comments, and questions about the reading challenge to that group. And don’t worry, we keep the talk general to avoid spoilers. Please join us!
You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter in the subscription box on the challenge home page. We anticipate monthly updates with recommendations on what to read, new releases, reading information and suggestions. We’ve gotten better about sending it our regularly.
Now let’s get to the list!
Basic Challenge (an average of two books per month)
- A book by an author from Oceania
- A book set in the Southwest
- A book set in Appalachia
- A book with a family member in the title (e.g., daughter, son, etc.)
- A book by a favorite author
- A book with a title that starts with the letter B
- A book with a yellow colored cover
- A book set in a destination on your travel bucket list
- A book set in a destination you remember visiting
- A book set in the future
- A book with a color in the title
- A book with cozy vibes
- A Reese’s book club book
- A book featuring a conspiracy
- A book with a nosy neighbor character
- A book with a character with a secret identity
- A book that is biographical fiction
- A book that has money or finance as part of the storyline
- A book recommended by someone in the TRL group
- A book set in a hotel, motel, inn B&B, etc.
- A book that is a police procedural
- A book about a character on a journey
- A book about the law or lawyers
- A book with an apostrophe in the title
Advanced Challenge (an additional six books)
- A book with short chapters
- A book with a neurodivergent character (or by a neurodivergent author)
- A book by two or more authors
- A book that is narrative nonfiction
- A book about an overlooked person in history
- A book that reminds you of childhood