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 ♥
[…] (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 […]
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[…] • 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! […]
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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!