via Instagram @pretty_x_bookish

It’s the new year and readers are taking on book challenges to spice up their reading life.

Book challenges are great for the ways they inspire readers to stretch their palate, delve into unexplored genres, embrace new styles, and explore books from unfamiliar parts of the world. A book challenge can also be a fun endurance test. Can you read two books a week for three months straight? Some book challenges fall on the whimsical side— like reading only books with blue covers or one-word titles. Points is, book challenges come in different forms and are fun.

In the next few weeks, we will keep our eyes out for book challenges that we think you might like.

To kick things off, we are featuring the #12booksbyafricanwriters book challenge presented by Nokukhanya Ntsabula a.k.a Pretty Bookish.

Ntsabula curates a stunning Instagram page (@pretty_x_bookish) full of graphics centered on books by African writers and the diaspora. If you don’t already follow, go here.

Ntsabula is inviting whoever is interested to read 12 books by African authors and journal about it. Go here to find out the 12 recommended books, as well as ideas on how to track progress.

Enjoy! And let us know how it goes.