Anisha’s Nonfiction Challenge 2026

📗📘📗📘📗📘


A log to keep track of this challenge.

I never thought I would say I like reading nonfiction. Discovering nonfiction books has been invigorating as well as intimidating (though I try and not think too much about the last bit).
Last few years I have been increasing my nonfiction reads but there’s many books that I want to get to but I haven’t quite worked out how yet as they are tough reads for me. So by doing this challenge I am hoping to get one step closer to these.



My Weekly Goals

To read:

• at least one book
  
• OR at least 50 pages of one or several nonfiction books. (Sometimes, in broadening my understanding I read pages of several different books, usually a reference book, but sometimes parts of a nonfiction book or essays.)
  
• OR at least 5 chapters from one or several nonfiction books. (Leaving it up to you to read the entire book in one week if you want.)
  
• OR at least 5 essays from one or several nonfiction books.

To update: my progress weekly.

Some Books Lined Up for 2026:
Colours of Film
Film Art: An Introduction
Science: A History 1543-2001
The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution
She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth

🎉- TᖇᗩᑕKIᑎG ᗰY ᑕᕼᗩᒪᒪEᑎGE - 🎉

To help me track my nonfiction reads, I am creating a score system.

1 nonfiction book read in the same month = 10 points

Read in in one day from 1 book:

• 1 chapter --- less than 30 pages read = 1 point *
  
• 50 pages --- 31 - 60 pages read = 2 points *
  
• 1 essay --- 61+ pages read in one day= 3 points *

* I've adjusted this score system as I work out how reading nonfiction fits me better. I started with a target of 30 each month, from July to Dec I have changed this. My bigger aim is to get to know my library.

 -- - Month ---| - Go To - | - Target - |- Score - | - Running Total -
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--- -- May -- | fr message 03 - 05 | --- 30 --- |--- 19 ---| ----- 19 -----
--- -- Jun -- | fr message 00 - 00 | --- 30 --- |--- 28 ---| ----- 47 -----
--- -- Jul -- | fr message 00 - 00 | --- 25 --- |--- 00 ---| ----- 00 -----
--- -- Aug -- | fr message 00 - 00 | --- 30 --- |--- 00 ---| ----- 00 -----
--- -- Sep -- | fr message 00 - 00 | --- 25 --- |--- 00 ---| ----- 00 -----
--- -- Oct -- | fr message 00 - 00 | --- 30 --- |--- 00 ---| ----- 00 -----
--- -- Nov -- | fr message 00 - 00 | --- 25 --- |--- 00 ---| ----- 00 -----
--- -- Dec -- | fr message 00 - 00 | --- 30 --- |--- 00 ---| ----- 00 -----

🎉- ᗰᗩY - 🎉

-- - Week --- -| - book - | - chapters - | - essays - |-- >50 pages -- | -- Wkly Goal - | - Running Total -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- 27 - 03 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- |---- 00 --- | ----- 00 ----- | ----- -- ----- | ----- 00 -----
 -- 04 - 10 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- |---- 00 --- | ----- 00 ----- | ----- -- ----- | ----- 00 -----
 -- 11 - 17 -- |--- 10 ---| ---- 00 ---- |---- 00 --- | ----- 02 ----- | ---- 📗✔️ --- | ----- 12 -----
 -- 18 - 24 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- |---- 00 --- | ----- 00 ----- | ----- -- ----- | ----- 00 -----
 -- 25 - 31 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- |---- 00 --- | ----- 00 ----- | ----- -- ----- | ----- 00 -----

Read

Books Read:

• Colours of Film: The Story of Cinema in 50 Palettes by Charles Bramesco I was expecting more from this but would make a nice coffee-table book, something to flick through, not too much writing and plenty of images of film stills that are shown with an RGB palette – which was my favourite part of the book, and it’s funny, one of the books it lists in ‘further reading’ is a book I have lined up to read this year.
  
  • this link https://www.quarto.com/books/9780711270312/colours-of-film shows a few pages from the book

> 50 Pages Read:

• started reading Science: A History by John Gribbin, more on my page: Reading A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking & More

- ᗰᗩY: week 4 -

-- - Week --- -| - book - | - 01-30 pg - | - 31-60 pg - |-- 61+ pages -- | - total - | - Running Total -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- 27 - 03 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 00 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | ---- ---- | ----- 00 -----
 -- 04 - 10 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 00 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | ---- ---- | ----- 00 -----
 -- 11 - 17 -- |--- 10 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 00 ---- | ----- 02 ----- | --- 12 -- | ----- 12 -----
 -- 18 - 24 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 02 ---- | ---- 02 ---- | ----- 03 ----- | --- 07 -- | ----- 19 -----
 -- 25 - 31 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 00 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | --- 00 -- | ----- 00 -----

Less than 30 pages – introductory essay from Penguin’s The Trial by Franz Kafka
Less than 30 pages – Hawthorne and His Mosses by Herman Melville
31 – 60 pages - Science: A History by John Gribbin
61+ pages - Letter to My Father by Franz Kafka

- ᗰᗩY: roundup-

19/30, yeah there's definitely room for improvement there.

I like the challenge, to get me thinking more of how I can balance my nonfiction with my non-nonfiction reads.

In June I'm hoping to get to 75% of Science: A History by John Gribbin.
I also have a couple of essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson to read, I did make a couple of attempts last month but I'm going to try again.
And I really want to make a start on Film Art by David Borwell and Kristin Thompson

Other reads are not as planned and I will slot in as I continue reading my other books.

- ᒍᑌᑎE: week 1 -

-- - Week --- -| - book - | - 01-30 pg - | - 31-60 pg - |-- 61+ pages -- | - total - | - Running Total -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- 01 - 07 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 02 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | ---- ---- | ----- 02 -----
 -- 08 - 14 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 00 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | ---- ---- | ----- 00 -----
 -- 15 - 21 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 00 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | --- 00 -- | ----- 00 -----
 -- 22 - 28 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 00 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | --- 00 -- | ----- 00 -----

31 – 60 pages - Science: A History by John Gribbin

so not a brilliant start, but still have 3 weeks this month

- ᒍᑌᑎE: week 2 -

-- - Week --- -| - book - | - 01-30 pg - | - 31-60 pg - |-- 61+ pages -- | - total - | - Running Total -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- 01 - 07 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 02 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | --- 02 -- | ----- 02 -----
 -- 08 - 14 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 04 ---- | ---- 02 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | -- 06 -- | ----- 08 -----
 -- 15 - 21 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 00 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | --- 00 -- | ----- 00 -----
 -- 22 - 28 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 00 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | --- 00 -- | ----- 00 -----

01 - 30 pages - Science: A History by John Gribbin x 3
01 - 30 pages - Self-Reliant by Ralph Waldo Emerson x 1 - second attempt was easier, the style of the essay came across mroe like a sermon
31 – 60 pages - Science: A History by John Gribbin x 1

I did better this week, and I'm really enjoying John Gribbin's book.

- ᒍᑌᑎE: week 3 -

-- - Week --- -| - book - | - 01-30 pg - | - 31-60 pg - |-- 61+ pages -- | - total - | - Running Total -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- 01 - 07 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 02 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | --- 02 -- | ----- 02 -----
 -- 08 - 14 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 04 ---- | ---- 02 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | --- 06 -- | ----- 08 -----
 -- 15 - 21 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 08 ---- | ---- 12 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | --- 20 -- | ----- 28 -----
 -- 22 - 28 -- |--- 00 ---| ---- 00 ---- | ---- 00 ---- | ----- 00 ----- | --- 00 -- | ----- 00 -----

This week the nonfiction I read:

01 - 30 pages - Science: A History by John Gribbin x 2
01 - 30 pages – An Introduction to Philosophy by George S Fullerton x 1
01 - 30 pages – History of Conflict Between Religion and Science by John William Daper x 1
01 - 30 pages – History of Philosophy by A C Grayling x 1
01 - 30 pages - Big Book of Physics: Simply Explained by DK x 1
01 - 30 pages - Big Book of Astronomy: Simply Explained by DK x 1
01 - 30 pages - Zoological Retrogression by H G Wells x 1

31 – 60 pages - Science: A History by John Gribbin x 2
31 – 60 pages – Big Book of Science: Simply Explained by DK x 1
31 – 60 pages - Science: A History by John Gribbin x 2
31 – 60 pages – The Poems of Sylvia Plath x 1