The Literary Mixtape

A mixtape is a curated collection of songs, typically compiled for a specific mood, theme, or person. It originated in the cassette era, where people would record songs onto a blank tape to create a personalized music experience.

Similar to a music tape, a literary mixtape takes readers on a curated journey. Instead of songs, I’m using books, passages, and challenges—organized into Side A and Side B to create a flow and experience.

This isn’t just a reading list. It’s an interactive exploratory challenge—a literary scavenger hunt where books and passages act as waypoints, clues, and creative catalysts.

How It Works:

• Read each selection, but don’t just read—engage with it.
• Wander beyond the words. Each reading comes with an exploratory challenge.
• Notice something new—connections, hidden patterns, the way words shape your world.
• Create—respond to the reading in a way that bends reality just a little.

The Tracks (Reading + Challenge Pairings):

Track 1: The Book You’d Never Pick Up

📖 Challenge: Go to a bookstore or library and choose a book entirely at random. Close your eyes, spin around, or grab something from a genre you never touch.

🔍 Why? This forces you to step outside of your reading habits and find something completely unexpected.

Track 2: The Found Sentence

📖 Challenge: Open a random book to page 42. Read the first full sentence on the page. Find a book that feels like it would fit that sentence as a title.

🔍 Why? This creates unusual connections between books, helping you discover titles in a completely new way.

Track 3: Steal Like a Reader

📖 Challenge: Ask a friend (or even a stranger) what book changed their life. Read that book, no matter what it is.

🔍 Why? Expands your TBR with deeply personal recommendations that might never have been on your radar.

Track 4: Read a Book Backward

📖 Challenge: Instead of starting from page one, flip to a random section and begin reading. Then go forward or backward as you see fit.

🔍 Why? Forces you to experience the book differently, paying attention to details in a non-linear way.

Track 5: The Mysterious Stranger’s TBR

📖 Challenge: Find a random annotated book—a used bookstore copy, a library book with marginalia, or an online forum where someone shares book notes. Read that book as if the annotator left it for you.

🔍 Why? Adds an extra layer of mystery and connection to the reading process.

Track 6: Judge the Book by Its Cover

📖 Challenge: Pick a book solely based on its cover, without reading the back or inside flap.

🔍 Why? Forces you to embrace instinct and aesthetics in choosing books, leading to unexpected reads.

Track 7: The Chain Reaction Read

📖 Challenge: Pick a book from your shelf. Look up a random review of it online. Find another book mentioned in that review—and read that one instead.

🔍 Why? Expands your reading list in a completely organic, unpredictable way.

Track 8: The One-Sitting Book

📖 Challenge: Choose a book that you can read in a single sitting—a novella, a short story collection, or a short nonfiction book. Dedicate a day to reading it straight through.

🔍 Why? Changes the pacing of your reading, making the experience feel immersive and cinematic.

Track 9: The Mixed Media Pairing

📖 Challenge: Read a book alongside a related movie, album, or visual art piece. Example: Read The Great Gatsby while listening to jazz from the 1920s,

🔍 Why? Enhances the sensory experience of reading and creates deeper connections.

Track 10: The Secret Book Swap

📖 Challenge: Swap books with someone else—either a friend, a coworker, or a stranger via a book exchange (Little Free Library, an online swap, etc.). Read whatever you receive.

🔍 Why? Introduces randomness, social connection, and an element of surprise to your TBR.