It’s a new year, and the perfect time for new reading goals, habits, and intentions. Here are 24 challenges (that’s two per month) to help you read more and diversify your audiobook-listening this year—all while supporting your local bookstore with Libro.fm!
Take the 2023 Listening Challenge, and keep us updated on how it’s going all year long!
CHALLENGE #1
Listen to a bookseller-recommended audiobook.
Booksellers at our 1,900 partner bookstores are always recommending audiobooks they’ve enjoyed. Browse our Bookseller Picks page to get the latest book recommendations from indie booksellers!
CHALLENGE #2
Listen to a banned book.
Check out frequently banned and challenged audiobooks, the majority of which are by or about BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ persons. Want to learn more? Take a listen to our podcast episode with Traci Thomas, host of The Stacks Podcast, Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy, Nicole Lintemuth, owner of Bettie’s Pages bookstore, and Martha Hickson, a high school librarian in Annandale, NJ.
CHALLENGE #3
Listen to at least ten minutes of an audiobook every day for a month.
Taking ten minutes to listen each day—while you’re doing chores, on a walk, or commuting—might be all it takes to finish an audiobook (or several!) in a month.
CHALLENGE #4
Listen to an audiobook by or about someone with a disability.
Gain new perspectives by listening to audiobooks on disabilities in any genre.
CHALLENGE #5
Pre-order an anticipated audiobook.
Support your favorite author by pre-ordering their audiobook. Pre-orders serve as an early indicator of a book’s success, which helps increase orders from bookstores and retailers. Plus, you’ll wake up to the audiobook in your Libro.fm library on release day!
CHALLENGE #6
Listen to a new (to you!) genre.
Go wild and pick up an audiobook in a genre you haven’t tried just yet.
CHALLENGE #7
Listen to an audiobook by a Black author.
If you’re not sure where to start, we’re here to help! Try these recommendations, check out middle-grade and YA picks, or find picks for kids here.
CHALLENGE #8
Listen to an award-winning audiobook.
We rounded up some of the biggest book awards along their corresponding nominees and winners to help you find a lauded audiobook to listen to.
CHALLENGE #9
Listen to an audiobook by an API author.
Not sure where to start? Check out these recommendations.
CHALLENGE #10
Try a new listening speed.
Our free iOS and Android Libro.fm apps allow you to set a custom listening speed that works best for your reading.
CHALLENGE #11
Listen to an audiobook from an independent press.
Having more small and independent publishers in the book industry is key to making sure new stories—and new voices—make their way into the literary world. Browse our Indie Press Audiobooks playlist and find even more audiobooks from indie presses here!
CHALLENGE #12
Listen to an audiobook by an Indigenous author.
Not sure where to start? Check out these recommendations.
CHALLENGE #13
Listen to a book published the year you were born.
There’s a whole world of backlist titles out there—why not try one from your birth year?
CHALLENGE #14
Recommend an audiobook on social media (and tag us @librofm!).
We love sharing listener recommendations on our social channels, so make sure to tag us so we see it.
CHALLENGE #15
Listen to an audiobook read by a celebrity.
Check out this list of celebrity memoirs or these audiobooks read by celebrities to get started.
CHALLENGE #16
Listen to an audiobook by a transgender author.
Try listening to one of these stellar audiobooks by trans authors.
CHALLENGE #17
Listen to an audiobook with a full cast of narrators.
Audiobooks can offer unique reading experiences—sound effects, musical interludes, etc.—and full-cast narration is one of our favorites.
CHALLENGE #18
Listen to an audiobook by a Latine/Latinx author.
Not sure where to start? Check out these recommendations.
CHALLENGE #19
Start a new-release audiobook the day it comes out.
Browse new releases (and filter by genre, length, and more) —and challenge yourself to start a new release on its book birthday!
CHALLENGE #20
Listen to an audiobook by an Arab American author.
Explore audiobooks by Arab American authors in this curated playlist.
CHALLENGE #21
Finish an entire audiobook in one weekend.
Try a short read to finish an audiobook fast.
CHALLENGE #22
Choose an audiobook solely based on a narrator you enjoy.
Part of the joy of audiobooks is listening to talented narrators. Follow your favorite across genre lines and into new territory—you might surprise yourself! Or check out our list of must-listen narrators here.
CHALLENGE #23
Listen to an audiobook by or about a LGBTQIA+ person.
From romance to sci-fi, memoir and more, choose an audiobook by or about a LGBTQIA+ person. Browse LGBTQIA+ fiction and LGBTQIA+ nonfiction to get started.
CHALLENGE #24
Start an audiobook recommended by a friend.
Your friends have great taste! Put your reading fate in their hands, and let them pick your next audiobook.
Are you looking forward to the year in reading?
Let us know in the comments below!
2 thoughts on “Libro.fm’s 2023 Audiobook Listening Challenge”