We readers are always after the new hardback shiny, eyes ever pinned to the horizon of new releases. And who can blame us? Buying books is our love language. It’s how we show authors our gratitude and appreciation; it’s how we dote on friends and comfort ourselves.
But in all our gazing out into the abyss of ever-published new stories, all those books we loved the years before get buried in the TBR grave. We miss out on wonderful experiences hiding right under our noses: backlist books. These are older books from publishers that are still in print and have been out in the world for at least a year.
And so, I’ve created the Adult SFF Backlist Books Challenge to dive into the burial mounds of stories we’ve forgotten. But it’s more than just digging in the past for good reads; it’s a challenge to shift all that love, gratitude, and appreciation towards the works of authors already out in the world. More specifically, it’s a challenge to read adult fiction and find joy in stories we’ve overlooked for the high of new shiny books.
Welcome to the challenge, Valkyries ♥
Table of Contents
The Guidelines
This challenge will run from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022; you can join at anytime before December 1, 2022.
Books must be categorized as adult; category crossovers do not count for this challenge.
Books should primarily fall under science fiction or fantasy, but so long as the story has strong elements of these, genre crossovers and expanding to thriller/horror count towards the challenge.
Books must have been published before 2022. So 2021, 2020, 2019, and all years prior are fine.
Re-reads, ebooks, audiobooks, and short stories all count.
Everyone is welcome to participate 😀 A blog is not required; you can link to other sites like Storygraph. Just be sure to let us know in the comments where we can politely stalk you 😀
No matter where you post, please share which book you selected for each month and how it relates to the theme/why you picked it!
Use the hashtag #ASFBB22 to chat with other readers doing this challenge and to share your reviews, reactions, recommendations, etc
To officially sign up, leave us a comment letting us know where to find you and what you plan to read.
Monthly Themes
To keep things as simple, yet still subjective, as possible, we’ve left each monthly theme open to interpretation. This gives you the freedom to read whatever you’re genuinely drawn to so long as you can relate it to the theme in some way in your post. It’ll be interesting to see how other readers interpret the themes and which books they select to read! With each theme below will be about 2-3 examples, but we’re also including a suggestion list of Adult SFF stories to check out if you’re stuck. It’ll be added in a week or so. Without further ado, here are the monthly themes for 2022!
Please note: not all the images below contain links; AWS is down, which means every website that uses them is also down. I’ll add links as soon as everything is back up and running.
January — Winter
January’s theme is winter, which is our favorite season of the year. This theme can be interpreted literally, with a winter setting in the story, but it doesn’t have to be. A cozy cover, a retelling from a snowy region, a nuclear winter apocalypse, a village in the mountains, etc can all count under this theme. And if your story nails this theme for a different reason, we’d love to know. That’s part of the fun here.
February — Time
Time is everything, and it can be interpreted as anything: a date on the cover, a specific era in the book, the ability to travel through time, lost pieces in time, broken memories, an alternate history, and so on.
March — Oaths
Oaths and promises: two things no main character should swear lightly. And yet, many do, sometimes without realizing it. As with the other themes, interpret this as you will, but remember: an oath can be a declaration, a haunting, the giving of a precious item for safe-keeping, an ideal, the kiss of revenge, or a secret buried deep.
April — Hidden Places
April’s theme is one of our favorites: HiddenPlaces. Curiously, this doesn’t only apply to physical spaces in our world *wink*.
May — Starlight
May’s theme is starlight; this can be anything that reminds you of starlight, whether it be a place or type of magic or symbolism.
June — To Sea
June’s theme is To Sea. This can be interpreted in so many ways, from water magic to pirates to places/people/objects claimed by bodies of water. Water is symbolic, so loose associations are fun here 🙂
July — To Sky
July’s theme is To Sky. This can be interpreted in so many ways, from air/elemental magic to steampunk airships to sky pirates to animorphism. The sky is your limit, pun totally intended 😀
August — Sacrifice
August’s theme is Sacrifice. As with all other themes, it’s open to interpretation. Check out the examples below!
September — Fire
Fire is hugely symbolic, so it’s meaning can be anything from literal fire or a kind of magic to revenge or a burning desire. It can represent a creature, like the phoenix, or even the tiniest bit of hope. This theme is truly whatever you make of it 🙂
October — Ritual
October’s theme is Ritual. This can be interpreted as things we do to comfort ourselves, magic rituals, the vulnerabilities rituals pose, the roles of those who perform rituals, cults and religions, and so much more.
November — Forest
December — Omens
Reading Suggestions
Looking fo suggestions? We’re currently compiling a shelf on Goodreads for you to check out if you’re not sure where to start. We’ll also be linking to other resources for you to pillage for reading ideas. In the meantime, here is a list of stellar lgbt adult sffto check out 🙂 For other lists, stay tuned!
Spread the Word
If you like the idea of this Adult SFF Backlist Book Challenge, help us spread the word via social media using #ASFBB22. Please also add a link to this original post to your reviews, tweets, IG stories, or blog posts. You can also can tag us @bookishvalhalla on Twitter. In return, we will share your posts as well x
Countdown To the Adult SFF Backlist Books Challenge
[…] reading challenge for the year—Adult SFF Backlist Books—has garnered so many participants and supporters. I never expected it to bring this much joy and […]
[…] of Ice and Iron was my pick for the “winter” theme for January, in Bookish Valhalla’s TBR SFF 2022 challenge. I’ve read and liked Neumeier’s work before and I think she deserves more press — so I picked […]
[…] monthly themed challenge, this one was created by Bookish Valhalla. I like that where Womble’s themes are practical, Bookish Valhalla’s are subjective, but wide […]
[…] • Read more adult science fiction and fantasy. It’s no secret I’ve been shifting more towards adult SFF stories and away from young adult. This year, I want most of the books I read to be adult fiction, specifically speculative genres like science fiction, fantasy, horror, and thrillers. I’ve even made a challenge for this goal! […]
[…] has a picture prompt book bingo – I think the Ex Libris pic is my favourite – and Ari Augustine at Bookish Valhalla has a thematically based backlist bingo. Very much looking forwards to Fire and Ritual there. Hopefully I’ll see some of youse doing […]
This sounds like fun, even though I am challenge challenged, lol. I will include this in my goals post soon! Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…The Friday Face-Off: Top Read of 2021
[…] reading challenge that most stood out for me is 2022 Adult SFF Backlist Books Challange, which is hosted at Bookish Valhalla. They have offered some cool monthly prompts to make your TBR […]
Yep, I think I’ll join this one. Thanks for making our reading goals so much simpler and so much more fun! Lex @ Lexlingua recently posted…Favorite Books of 2021
[…] me feel stressed to the point of burnout. And so, the only reading goal I have is to read more adult SFF (that’s also the only challenge I’m committing to at the moment!). I’ve been […]
I’m a massive mood reader, so no idea what I’ll be reading next. But as I’m currently re-reading The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, I think The Girl in the Tower will likely be my read for Winter, as Morozko/Karachun is the Winter King!
Hey Jo! I can totally empathize with being a mood reader 🙂 That’s one reason why we left the themes open to interpretation. You can almost match any book with any of the themes 😀
Hey Robert! Joining is super chill and easy to do. You just drop a comment here with a link to where we can follow along. Each month, readers will post on what they’re reading for each theme 🙂 You can also announce it on Twitter using our hashtag and readers can follow along there. Alternatively, you can track your progress on Storygraph as well. We have an official challenge set up there AND you can see what others are reading 🙂
Sounds like fun – my standard diet is primarily adult SFF, but I will be focusing on backlist next year and it would be lovely to meet/chat with new likeminded readers as I go 🙂 imyril recently posted…Make Some Room: December
[…] (Created by Bookish Valhalla) […]
[…] (Created by Bookish Valhalla) […]
[…] (Created by Bookish Valhalla) […]
[…] reading challenge for the year—Adult SFF Backlist Books—has garnered so many participants and supporters. I never expected it to bring this much joy and […]
[…] of Ice and Iron was my pick for the “winter” theme for January, in Bookish Valhalla’s TBR SFF 2022 challenge. I’ve read and liked Neumeier’s work before and I think she deserves more press — so I picked […]
[…] monthly themed challenge, this one was created by Bookish Valhalla. I like that where Womble’s themes are practical, Bookish Valhalla’s are subjective, but wide […]
[…] • Read more adult science fiction and fantasy. It’s no secret I’ve been shifting more towards adult SFF stories and away from young adult. This year, I want most of the books I read to be adult fiction, specifically speculative genres like science fiction, fantasy, horror, and thrillers. I’ve even made a challenge for this goal! […]
[…] has a picture prompt book bingo – I think the Ex Libris pic is my favourite – and Ari Augustine at Bookish Valhalla has a thematically based backlist bingo. Very much looking forwards to Fire and Ritual there. Hopefully I’ll see some of youse doing […]
This sounds like fun, even though I am challenge challenged, lol. I will include this in my goals post soon!
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…The Friday Face-Off: Top Read of 2021
[…] reading challenge that most stood out for me is 2022 Adult SFF Backlist Books Challange, which is hosted at Bookish Valhalla. They have offered some cool monthly prompts to make your TBR […]
I’m looking forward to this. I like the themed monthly prompts. My list can be found here: https://curiousdaydreams.com/2022/01/03/2022-reading-list-challenges/
[…] Adult SFF Backlist Books Challenge […]
I can’t wait to start. I’ve been wanting to read Spinning Silver, so I guess I’ll start there!
Yep, I think I’ll join this one. Thanks for making our reading goals so much simpler and so much more fun!
Lex @ Lexlingua recently posted…Favorite Books of 2021
[…] me feel stressed to the point of burnout. And so, the only reading goal I have is to read more adult SFF (that’s also the only challenge I’m committing to at the moment!). I’ve been […]
Hi – this sounds awesome – I’m in! *scampers off to start matching books to themes*
Woot! The more, the merrier! We can’t wait to see what everyone chooses to read for each theme 😀
I definitely need this challenge.
Yes! You do! We ALL do!!
I’m in and looking forward to seeing what everyone is reading
Me too! I love seeing hidden gems and books I’ve never heard of before on people’s lists 🙂
This is awesome! I’ve just signed up, and you can find my sign up post here: https://www.onceuponabookcase.co.uk/p/2022-reading-challenges.html
I’m a massive mood reader, so no idea what I’ll be reading next. But as I’m currently re-reading The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, I think The Girl in the Tower will likely be my read for Winter, as Morozko/Karachun is the Winter King!
Hey Jo! I can totally empathize with being a mood reader 🙂 That’s one reason why we left the themes open to interpretation. You can almost match any book with any of the themes 😀
Those sound like awesome reads! 😀
[…] Adult SFF Backlist Books Challenge. Read adult science fiction and / or fantasy books published before 2022. […]
How exactly do I join? Or do I just start reading and logging myself?
Hey Robert! Joining is super chill and easy to do. You just drop a comment here with a link to where we can follow along. Each month, readers will post on what they’re reading for each theme 🙂 You can also announce it on Twitter using our hashtag and readers can follow along there. Alternatively, you can track your progress on Storygraph as well. We have an official challenge set up there AND you can see what others are reading 🙂
How dare you…. you know I can’t resist this. <3
Resistance is futile…
Join the Empire…
Sounds like fun – my standard diet is primarily adult SFF, but I will be focusing on backlist next year and it would be lovely to meet/chat with new likeminded readers as I go 🙂
imyril recently posted…Make Some Room: December
Can’t wait to join!