The Helmet Reading Challenge 2024

The Helmet Reading Challenge has cause to celebrate, as this year marks the tenth time that it has been published! This year, participants will be looking for books with photographs, magic, presidents and holiday celebrations.  

The Helmet Reading Challenge is kicking off for the tenth time this year! This playful challenge gives you 50 individual challenge items to help you explore the vast world of literature. Everyone is welcome to participate!  

As usual, the list includes a variety of different challenge items. The year 2024 marks 100 years since the birth of author Kirsi Kunnas, in celebration of which the Reading Challenge includes a children’s poetry book (12). The Finnish presidential election is also acknowledged with item 4, a book featuring a president. 

The 2024 Challenge will also have participants looking for authors from Mediterranean countries (28), books with jewellery in the title or on the cover (18) and books in which someone runs away (9). The double item (47–48) can be checked off by reading two books translated by the same translator.  

This year, the order in which you read books also matters, as item number 10 on the list is the tenth book that you read during the year. We hope that the Reading Challenge will once again offer new, fun and challenging items for both new and old participants! 

The Helmet Reading Challenge was put together by library professionals. The challenge items are based on proposals collected from challenge participants over the years.

If the full 50-item Reading Challenge feels too daunting, we also have a lighter option. As the name suggests, the Little Helmet Reading Challenge is a smaller reading challenge with a list of 25 items. The Little Reading Challenge is compiled of challenge items that are particularly well-suited to children, but readers of all ages are welcome to participate. All of the Little Reading Challenge items are also included in the Helmet Reading Challenge, so you can easily shift from one challenge to another, should you be surprised at how quickly you are making progress.

Five key points for successfully completing the Reading Challenge:

  1. The Reading Challenge is open to all readers. Everyone is welcome to participate.
  2. The idea is that the Reading Challenge should increase your joy of reading, not cause you stress. So find your own way to participate that you find inspiring! You do not have to set out to read a certain number of books.
  3. Everyone is welcome to participate in the Reading Challenge in their own way and make up their own rules. It is up to you to decide whether you want to use the same book to check off more than one item on the list, focus on a particular genre or only read books you have never read before. If you want to keep track of your progress in the challenge, tools for this purpose are available below the item list.
  4. As sharing multiplies the joy of reading, feel free to share your Reading Challenge experience with others! Join the Reading Challenge Facebook group (the discussion is mainly in Finnish, but you are also welcome to communicate in Swedish or English), discuss the Reading Challenge elsewhere on social media, or challenge your friends to participate, so you can discuss your reading experiences throughout the year.
  5. Help is always available! If you need help finding a suitable book, you can, for example, head to your local library and ask the staff for their tips. Tips on suitable books are also shared on the Reading Challenge Facebook group. Help is also available from the Ask a Librarian service.

Have a great reading year 2024!

The Helmet Reading Challenge 2024

  1. A book with a proper noun in the title  
  2. A book in which someone uses magic  
  3. A book that has won the Booker or Pulitzer prize  
  4. A book that features a president  
  5. A book whose author’s initials are not part of your name  
  6. A book set in the 1920s  
  7. A book in which someone falls in love  
  8. A book with a family member in the title  
  9. A book in which someone runs away  
  10. The tenth book that you read this year  
  11. A book with one of the four elements (air, water, earth or fire) on the cover or in the title  
  12. A children’s poetry book  
  13. A book set in a closed or enclosed space  
  14. A book in which someone engages in a hobby  
  15. A book with at least three authors or illustrators 
  16. A book with photographs  
  17. A book with an annoying character  
  18. A book with jewellery on the cover or in the title  
  19. A book in which Finland is mentioned  
  20. A book published by a small publishing company  
  21. A book that has been adapted into a TV series  
  22. A book recommended by an author  
  23. A Finnish detective novel or thriller  
  24. A book set in a capital city  
  25. A book involving the celebration of a holiday (such as Christmas or Midsummer)  
  26. A book with the word ‘book’ in the title  
  27. A book about rebuilding  
  28. A book by an author from a Mediterranean country  
  29. A book in which someone tells lies  
  30. A book without named or numbered chapters  
  31. A book that features a disabled person  
  32. A book originally written in a language that has no more than 10 million speakers  
  33. A book in which someone moves to the countryside  
  34. A book with an order or suggestion in the title  
  35. A book in which someone spends time in nature  
  36. A book written by an immigrant  
  37. A book that elicits strong emotions  
  38. A book with a hand or hands on the cover or in the title  
  39. A book that features a bisexual or pansexual person  
  40. A book in which the weather is very cold or hot  
  41. A book in which a child is born  
  42. A book with a subtitle  
  43. A book that does not have a main character  
  44. A non-fiction book written by a woman  
  45. A book in which people play games  
  46. A book with a predominantly black cover or a title with the word ‘black’ in it  
  47. Two books translated by the same translator  
  48. Two books translated by the same translator  
  49. A book published in 2024  
  50. A book recommended by a library employee 

Help with the Reading Challenge:

A printable version of the Reading Challenge (PDF)

Tables for monitoring your progress

Helmet Reading Challenge on Facebook

Materials for libraries, bloggers and the media

Text: Lotta Autio, Vantaa City Library & Riikka Utriainen, Espoo City Library