The cold January temperatures have sent me ducking into warm library stacks lately, where I’ve been reminded how much I loved seasonal reading challenges as a kid.
Reading Challenges were more than neon bookmarks with little gold stars at the end. They were about reading intentionally and aspirationally. Shooting for more than you would naturally, then amazing yourself when the summer ended, and you’d read a trunkload of books.
Why, then, did middle-aged me get a pit in my stomach when glancing at reading challenges online? The honest answer is that finding energy and attention to read at all is a challenge in itself these days.
This got me thinking about my ideal reading life. I need loose deadlines, not tight ones. I need book options, not prescriptions.
More than anything, I need my reading to meet me where I’m at. So I designed a reading “challenge” for myself — and moms like me — and I’m so happy to share it with all of you. I hope you join me in cultivating a new rhythm with reading. One that’s both sustainable and sustaining.
The Seasons Reading Challenge
The Seasons Reading Challenge is designed especially for mothers, one that accounts for the multidimensional life stage it is. It will include themes of homemaking, mental health, intellectual nourishment, food, family culture, and healthy development, among others.
Each season, I’ll choose one theme and share three book suggestions that explore it. You’ll have eight weeks to read one book, and at the end, I’ll share an essay reflecting on what the theme revealed to me.
Hopefully, it will be the start of a nourishing ritual for the season we’re all in.
Getting Started
This season’s theme is: “Home as a Place of Warmth”
Choose one book (or more) from the following:
- “The Cozy Life” by Pia Edberg – Amazon
- ABOUT THIS BOOK: An inviting guide to the Danish art of hygge — creating comfort, simplicity, and connection in everyday life. This book helps you find warmth and calm in the little pleasures that make a house feel like home.
- “An Everlasting Meal” by Tamar Adler – Amazon
- ABOUT THIS BOOK: Practical and poetic, this book is soul food. It shows you how to cook like a real human in a beautifully imperfect kitchen — and how to make nourishing meals with frugality and grace.
- “The Hidden Art of Homemaking” by Edith Schaeffer – Amazon
- ABOUT THIS BOOK: Invites readers to see home as a place of beauty, intention, and meaning rather than duty. Schaeffer reflects on the quiet significance of daily life — meals, rooms, rhythms, and relationships — and why small acts matter. Note: Though written from a Christian perspective, the book’s attention to beauty and everyday care will resonate with many readers regardless of faith.
Note: Some of these books are new to me! These are not recommendations as much as an invitation to read together.
If you decide to read along, I’d love to see which of the three books you choose! Share a photo of your book on the Dear Springfield Mama Facebook page this month, and you’ll be entered to win a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card.
DEAR SPRINGFIELD MAMA 
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