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26 in '26 Reading Challenge

DeKalb County Public Library logo of a dogwood with 26 in '26 logo of a book

Take the 26 in ​‘26 Read­ing Challenge!

Make 2026 a year of read­ing with our 26 in ​‘26 Read­ing Chal­lenge! 

The 26 in ​‘26 Chal­lenge guides adult read­ers through a year-long read­ing adven­ture. The chal­lenge fea­tures 52 unique read­ing cat­e­gories designed to help you dis­cov­er new books and new authors. Read 26 books in 2026 to earn an exclu­sive enam­el pin, or keep going and com­plete all 52 cat­e­gories to unlock a spe­cial stretch goal prize. 

Stay inspired with librar­i­an-curat­ed book lists, progress track­ing, and vir­tu­al badges as you read. 

Ready to set your goal, turn the page, and earn prizes? Reg­is­ter at dekalbli​brary​.beanstack​.org today!

Here’s How it Works:

  1. Sign Up: Reg­is­ter for the chal­lenge at dekalbli​brary​.beanstack​.org. The chal­lenge runs from Jan­u­ary 1 — Decem­ber 31, 2026.
  2. Choose Books: Check out the list of 52 chal­lenge cat­e­gories. We’ve includ­ed sug­gest­ed read­ing lists to get you start­ed, or you can select your own book that fits the category.
  3. Track Progress: After you’ve read a book that fits a cat­e­go­ry, find the cor­re­spond­ing badge in Beanstack and mark it off by enter­ing your book title. Each book may be matched to only one cat­e­go­ry, and each cat­e­go­ry may only be com­plet­ed one time.
  4. Earn Prizes: Read books in 26 cat­e­gories to earn an exclu­sive enam­el pin, or keep going and com­plete all 52 cat­e­gories to unlock a spe­cial stretch goal prize. Prizes will be dis­trib­uted month­ly to your DeKalb Coun­ty Library loca­tion of choice for pickup.

Need Help Plan­ning Your Challenge?

Plan­ning Spread­sheet (Google Sheets)

26 in ​’26 Chal­lenge (The StoryGraph)

26 in ​’26 Prompt Hand­out (PDF)


You’ve got this. Ques­tions? Check out the FAQs below, or mes­sage us. Hap­py reading!

26 in ​’26 FAQs

The 26 in ​’26 Read­ing Chal­lenge is a year-long, cat­e­go­ry-based read­ing adven­ture. It invites read­ers to explore 52 unique read­ing cat­e­gories, read a book matched to each cat­e­go­ry, and dis­cov­er new authors, gen­res, and sto­ries along the way.

Sign­ing up allows you to join a com­mu­ni­ty of read­ers, earn prizes, and stay inspired with librar­i­an-curat­ed book lists. It’s the per­fect way to chal­lenge your­self and expand your read­ing horizons!

Vis­it dekalbli​brary​.beanstack​.org and click on the ​“26 in ​’26 Read­ing Chal­lenge” ban­ner to join. When you com­plete a chal­lenge, click on the cor­re­spond­ing badge and enter the name of the book you read.

This chal­lenge is for adults ages 18 and over. Non-card­hold­ers may par­tic­i­pate in the chal­lenge; how­ev­er if you win a prize, prizes must be picked up at a DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library loca­tion. Unfor­tu­nate­ly, we can­not mail prizes.

You may use what­ev­er for­mat works for you to keep track of progress; how­ev­er, you must log your reads in Beanstack to win prizes.

Inter­est­ed in keep­ing up with progress via Sto­ry­Graph? Add the chal­lenge here.

No. Each book may be matched to only one cat­e­go­ry, and each cat­e­go­ry may only be com­plet­ed one time.

Only books read from Jan­u­ary 1, 2026 through Decem­ber 31, 2026 will count for the chal­lenge. How­ev­er, if you start a book in 2025 and fin­ish it in 2026, feel free to count it!

Absolute­ly! All types of books work for this chal­lenge, includ­ing eBooks, audio­books, and books writ­ten for any age group. 

Any books read in 2026 count, even if you read them before you signed up for the chal­lenge. Feel free to match up your pre­vi­ous 2026 reads with prompts, and back­log those when you start the challenge.

We encour­age you to be cre­ative with your inter­pre­ta­tion of the prompts. If you think a book fits the prompt, it fits! 

Not at all! Feel free to com­plete in any order you choose.

Prizes will be sent month­ly to the library branch of your choos­ing. When your prize arrives, you will receive an email with pick­up instructions.