#The Jax Stacks Reading Challenge is Back!

We've got 16 shiny new categories for 2025 - along with some great book recommendations to get you started. Choose the categories that interest you most and see how far you get! 

New to Jax Stacks?

Jax Stacks is Jacksonville Public Library's year-round Reading Challenge for adults! If you read just one (related) book this year, you're a Jax Stacks reader! To officially complete the challenge (and win), we just ask that you read at least 12 books from 12 of the 16 categories listed below. The challenge runs January 1 - December 31, 2025. Get the complete rundown at jaxlibrary.org/jaxstacks.

#2025 Challenge Categories

1. A book by a 2025 Lit Chat author

Lit Chat Interviews and Author Talks bring authors from far and near to talk with you about their books and writing process (as well as some delightful tangents)! Check out the events calendar to find all the authors coming this year and then, grab a book by one of them to read!

• We'll Always Have Paris: A Mother/Daughter Memoir, by Jennifer Coburn
• Cradles of the Reich, by Jennifer Coburn
• The Girls of the Glimmer Factory, by Jennifer Coburn
• Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins's Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany, by Rebecca Brenner Graham (book to be published January 21, 2025)

Note: We'll be announcing more 2025 Lit Chat authors soon at jaxlibrary.org/litchat.

Sign up for Lit Chat programs! 

2. A book read by a Library Book Club in 2025

Our Library Book Clubs read widely and bring together great folks for conversation and community. Check out our blog to see what’s coming up and pick out a book to read from the list. Then, go ahead and join us at a meeting to share your opinions!

• Zenith Man, by McCracken Poston (alternatively, "A book with a Neurodivergent character")
• 1979, by Val McDermid ("First book in a series" and "A mystery set outside the U.S.")
• 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton ("A mystery set outside the U.S.")
• Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead ("First book in a series" and "A book with a heist")

More Book Club Picks! 

3. A book from a Library display

Take a trip to your favorite Jacksonville Public Library location (or visit a new one) and check out a book we have on display! 

Post picks of your book hauls to Facebook or Instagram! Just be sure to tag @jaxlibrary so we see it. We'll post photos of our favorite book displays and our Jax Stacks winners throughout the year, too! 

4. A book by an author who shares your name or initials

Do great names think alike? Find a title written by an author with your same first name, same last name, or just your initials. Just make sure it is a book you will enjoy!

Sound daunting? Here are some common first names and corresponding authors:

Common male names

1. John (ex. John Sandford, John Irving, John C. Maxwell)
2. David (ex. David Baldacci, David Mitchell, David Eddings)
3. James (ex. James Patterson, James Rollins, James Agee)
4. Robert (ex. Robert Jordan, Robert Greene, Robert Harris)
5. Michael (ex. Michael Lewis, Michael Connely, Michael Peterson)
6. Paul (ex. Paul Theroux, Paul G. Tremblay, Paul Doirin)
7. Richard (ex. Richard Ford, Richard Powers, Richard Evans)
8. Chris/Christopher (ex. Chris Pavone, Christopher Pike, Chris Carter)
9. Dan/Daniel (ex. Dan Brown, Dan Wells, Daniel H. Pink)
10. William (ex. William Shakespeare, William Faulkner, William Boyd)

Common female names

1. Jan/Jane/Janet (ex. Jane Harper, Jane Green, Jane Yolen)
2. Mary (ex. Mary Stone, Mary Shelley, Mary Stewart)
3. Susan (ex. Susan Cain, Susan Isaacs, Susan Mallory)
4. Ann/Anne/Anna (ex. Anne Lamott, Ann Hood, Anna Todd)
5. Elizabeth (ex. Elizabeth Berg, Elizabeth Acevedo, Elizabeth Strout)
6. Laura/Lauren (ex. Laura Dave, Laura Scott, Lauren Groff)
7. Caroline/Carolyn (ex. Carolyn Hart, Carolyn Haines, Caroline Leavitt)
8. Judith (ex. Judith McNaught, Judith Guest, Judith Viorist)
9. Jennifer (ex. Jennifer Egan, Jennifer Vogel, Jennifer Ryan)
10. Barbara (ex. Barbara Kingsolver, Barbara Davis, Barbara Taylor Bradford)

5. A book published before 2000

Go back in time... no Delorean required! Pick up any Y2K or earlier written book. 

• Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury (1953)
• The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison (1970)
• Go Tell It On the Mountain, by James Baldwin (1953)
• The Giver, by Lois Lowry (1993)

Find More Published Before 2000! 

6. The first book in a series

This could be the beginning of a beautiful readership. Take a chance on a new series.

• The Duke and I, by Julia Quinn (Bridgerton Series)
• Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass Series)
• Get a Life, Chloe Brown, by Talia Hibbert (The Brown Sisters Trilogy)
• The Last Kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell (Saxon Stories)

More Series Starters! 

7. An anthology or book with two or more authors

An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or related fiction/nonfiction excerpts by different authors. 

• This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
• Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves: An Anthology (ed. Glory Edim)
• Marple: Twelve New Mysteries
• Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology (ed. Stephan Hawk)

More Collaborative Works! 

8. A retelling of another book or story

Revisit an old story, told from the viewpoint of another character or updated for a contemporary read.

• Circe, by Madeline Miller
• Sherwood, by Meagan Spooner
• Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Macguire
• Monster: A Novel of Frankenstein, by Dave Zeltserman

More Retelllings! 

9. An epistolary book or diary format

The use of letters or diaries is a wonderfully intimate method to tell stories.

• Where'd You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple
• Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler
• The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
• A Keeper, by Graham Norton

More Books With Letters and Diaries! 

10. A graphic novel, either in fiction or nonfiction

Graphic novels are similar to comic books because they use sequential art to tell a story. Unlike a single issue of a comic book, a graphic novel is longer-form, often stand-alone, and contains more complex plots (the same as any other novel). 

• Buddha: Vol. 1: Kapilavastu, by Osamu Tezuka
• Djeliya: A West African Fantasy Epic, by Juni Ba
• The Odyssey, by Gareth Hinds
• Harrow County: Vol. 1: Countless Haunts, by Cullen Bunn

More Graphic Novels! 

11. A book featuring a Neurodivergent character

This category focuses on characters with neurological differences such as ADHD or autism or those with developmental disorders. Like their real-world counterparts, these characters experience life differently because of the way their brains work. 

• The Maid, by Nita Prose
• Convenience Store Woman, by Sayaka Murata
• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon

More Neurodivergent Books! 

Some examples of neurodivergent people and characters in popular culture include Spencer Reid (from Criminal Minds), actor Dan Aykroyd (who played the Ghostbuster Ray Stantz), Julia (the Sesame Street muppet), and Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan).

12. A mystery set outside the U.S.

Use your library card as a passport and take a trip outside the United States to try to solve a mystery.

• How to Solve Your Own Murder, by Kristen Perrin (set in England)
• The Midnight Feast, by Lucy Foley (set in England)
• The Widows of Malabar Hill, by Sujata Massey (set in Bombay)
• Bad Tourists, by Caro Carver (set in the Maldives)

Find More Mysteries! 

13. A nonfiction book about a minority group or person

Your library has an amazing collection of books featuring stories and information written by and about people from varied backgrounds, races, ethnicities, life experiences, and viewpoints. 

• Before Night Falls, by Reinaldo Arenas
• The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
• Stoney the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow, by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
• Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner

More Minority Representation! 

14. A book about music

Feel free to pick a book about your favorite music style, musician, or a book with a musician or singer as a central character.

• On the Rooftop, by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
• The Plot Against Hip Hop: A Novel, by Nelson George
• Southern Gods, by John Hornor Jacobs
• Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente

More Books About Music! 

15. A book with a heist

A broad category, this can be a tale of a bumbling burglar, a professional crime ring, or something more outlandish like Bilbo and the dwarves taking back their treasure in the Hobbit. Hold your diamonds and clutch your pearls as you take a ride on a daring heist!

• Thick as Thieves, by Sandra Brown
• A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz-Age Rogue, by Dean Jobb
• The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession and the Natural History Heist of the Century, by Kirk Wallace Johnson
• To Have and to Heist, by Sara Desai

More Heist Books! 

16. A book written for children

Re-read a childhood or family favorite or borrow something new from the children's or teen department at your local library.

• The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson & The Olympians book one)
• New Kid, by Jerry Craft
• Song for a Whale, by Lynne Kelly
• Mr. Popper's Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater

More Children's Books! 

Make Your Plan

If you need help keeping track, pick up a Jax Stacks Reading Challenge bookmark - available at your local library. If you complete the challenge before December 31, 2025: Snap a picture of your completed bookmark and send it to jplprograms@coj.net to claim a prize!

Get Even More Book Recommendations

1. Find recommendations from other readers on the Jax Stacks StoryGraph Challenge.
2. Check out or add books to the group bookshelf on our Jax Stacks Goodreads Challenge!
3. Sign up for The Book Hookup and get book recommendations from popular genres.
4. See all Forthcoming Books, New Fiction and New Nonfiction on the Library's catalog.