Disability Reads: July 2025 reading challenge *Teams P.7*

Hello fellow Book Fiends!

We’re back with the July 2025 edition of the Book Talk Reading Challenge!

Since July is Disability Pride month, this will be our theme for the month: Different, not less.

“My disability exists not because I use a wheelchair, but because the broader environment isn’t accessible.”

– Stella Young, comedian, journalist and activist.

Those who are doing the Pride Prose challenge this month will know how this works.

Scroll down to know more.

Similar to this month, the reading challenge will have 2 parts:

Part 1: To participate in the regular reading challenge, sign-up on the thread telling us how many books you will be able to read in July, also mentioning if you can volunteer as captain.

1 to 5 books

6 to 10 books

11 to 20 books

20 to 35 books

More than 35 books (upto 50)

Only those who read a minimum of 200 pages will receive the participation (tiered) badge. We are adding 3 new badge levels starting this month which means more levels to get to the G.O.A.T level and more pretty collectibles for you!

Books in any language, any genre are allowed provided they are chapter books. Graphic novels, comics etc that are heavy on illustrations and low on text aren’t allowed. Books must be a minimum of 60 pages to qualify. Plays are okay, but we aren’t including poetry at this juncture.

We will also allow FFs/ Online fiction of 18,000+ words OR 60 + pages. Shorter fics can be allowed provided they are logged as the same entry. For eg:

If you read 3 FFs that are 6000+ words / 20 pages each, you will log them as one entry of 18000/ 60 pages.

Please note: You can log a maximum of 5 fics in this manner. Which means if you are reading only 10 page (or shorter) fics, they won’t qualify. You will have to read one longer fic so that 5 fics will total to 60 pages.

ARC and beta-reading will also be included. However, reading or proofreading your own work will not count.

All book formats will count: Physical books, e-books, and Audiobooks.

Moving on to the Disability Reads Themed part of the challenge!

In order to win this beautiful badge designed by Shibani, you will need to read a minimum of 500 pages of Disability themed fiction/ non-fiction.

These books can be included in your page logs for your team as well, so you stand to earn 2 badges should you participate in both the Disability Reads Challenge and the regular monthly Reading challenge.

This is an optional challenge.

You can choose to participate in only the July Reading Challenge OR only the Disability Reads challenge or both.

In addition to reading 500 pages, you will have to post a short review and 2 quotes highlighting how the book relates to the Disability theme in the Disability Reads Reviews thread.

tags & badge credit: oh_nakhrewaali

Log only the books you finish or DNF from July 1, 2025 to July 31, 2025. The logging will start and end at midnight whatever time zone you're in. The logging will officially stop at midnight PST July 31. (Pacific Time).

Log books within 3 days of finishing / DNFing them. Please DO NOT log pages that you intend to read or page counts of books that are in your TBR. ONLY FINISHED PAGES SHOULD BE LOGGED!

Add the book title/ author/ format and page count to the post you have reserved in your team’s thread (which will be posted by your captain). You will edit this post as you keep reading. You will also be adding the same page counts in the Google sheet that will be shared in your team’s thread.

Wherever possible, please use Amazon’s page counts for logging pages. For ebooks and audiobooks, use Kindle page counts. For paperbacks and hardcovers, use paperback page counts. If you cannot find the book on Amazon, you can use other legitimate sources.

For online fiction, use word count divided by 300 to log pages.

If you DNF, or if you are continuing a book from June, log only the pages you’ve read. You can use percentage read (at the point of DNF) for ebooks, actual page numbers for paperbacks and for audiobooks, log pages based on number of hours read (40 pages per hour at normal speed)

You are responsible for tracking your own reading. Please keep an accurate log of the books you finish. We trust you to be honest. And while we understand the spirit of competitiveness, please also remember that the Reading Challenge is designed to motivate you to read more and beat your own personal counts, so you are competing with yourself!

Lastly, have fun! This is not meant to stress you out, or cause a burn out, it's meant to nurture a love of reading. Read what you can, how much you can, when you can!

If you have any further queries about the Reading Challenge or the Disability Reads Challenge, feel free to ask on the thread and I’ll try to answer them in the FAQs below. But please do read the entire post and the FAQs first!

Otherwise, go ahead and sign - up!

Do I need to sign-up separately for the Disability Reads challenge? Is it different?

No. There is no sign-up required for Disability Reads. If you are in the Reading Challenge, you can count your Disability themed page logs as well. Just that for the badge, we ask that you post a review and a couple of quotes of the Disability themed books you’ve read this month.

Do I get a badge if I don’t read any Disability themed fiction this month?

Yes, if you are participating and have signed up for the July Reading Challenge, you will still receive a tiered participation badge (based on number of pages logged) if you log the minimum required 200 pages. But you will not receive the Disability Reads badge unless you log 500 pages of Disability themed fiction AND write a review in the Reviews thread.

Are FFs and online fiction allowed for the Disability Reads Challenge?

Yes, they are, but the same conditions will apply as that for the regular Reading Challenge i.e. 60 pages minimum in one log.

Do I need to keep track of my Disability Themed fiction separately? Can I add them in the same log as the Reading Challenge log?

As mentioned, whatever Disability themed fiction you read can be included in your reading challenge logs, just highlight them to indicate that it’s Disability themed fiction and post your review in the Reviews Thread.

What if I missed the sign-up for the Reading Challenge and am not included in any team? Can I still participate in the Disability Reads Challenge or is it only for those who sign up for the Reading challenge?

You can absolutely participate at any time in the month of July for the Disability Reads Challenge irrespective of whether you’ve signed up for the Reading Challenge or not. As long as you post a review/ quotes for the books you read any time in July & and log your minimum required 500 themed pages by month end, you will receive the Disability Reads Participant badge.

Can I Buddy Read a Disability themed book?

Absolutely! Feel free to partner up for a Buddy read or Read along with your team members/ fellow participants or even non-participants. Post your Buddy Read thread for the book of choice and tag me with the names of your reading buddies!

What do you mean by Disability themed?

You can read any genre, including non-fiction, as long as any of the characters are disabled or the book has a plot that explores disability-related themes. You will just need to highlight these in your review. If the Author is disabled, mention that too.

Note that Disability can mean mental or physical disability or illness that is defined as - anything that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. Eg: You can include books in which a character is battling PTSD, or a book where the protagonist is the main caretaker for someone who is disabled.

I’m not good at writing reviews. Will I still get a badge if I don’t post a long review?

The review does not have to be detailed or long. It can be just a couple of lines. Just mention what you liked, what you didn’t like, and highlight how it relates to the Disability theme. Post a couple of quotes from the book/ fic. That’s it.

What if I read more than 500 pages of themed fiction? Do I need to review them all?

500 pages is the minimum required to read & review in order to receive the Disability Reads Participant badge. You’re welcome to add reviews for more books, but it’s not a requirement. However you can highlight them in your log and you might win a siggy for reading the maximum number of themed pages!

Does the main character have to be disabled? Or can it be a side character?

It can be a side character that’s disabled but please bear in mind that they need to play a significant role in the story - it cannot be just a mention in a couple of pages i.e they cannot be a cameo character just mentioned in passing.

1. oh_nakhrewaali (11-20)

2. --Priyaa-- (1 -5)

3. Leprechaun (1-5)

4. heavenlybliss (1-5)

5. Queen0fdarkness (1 -5)

6. arya212002 (1-5)

7. Sambhavami (1 -5)

8. OfTheHeart (1 -5)

9. aryapdane (1-5)

10. Minionite (6-10)

11. Ramya_98 (1-5)

12. Nutmeg7 (1-5)

13. Swetha-Sai (1-5)

14. MissFiesty_69 (11-20)

15. Foreverlazy (6-10)

16. ssttuuttii (1-5)

17. Moonstique (1-5)

18. minakrish (1-5)

19. wallflowergirl (1-5)

20. Amru4krish (1-5)

21. Moodymango (1-5)

22. So-so (1-5)

23. Wildestdreams (6-10)

24. LizzynDarcy (1-5)

25. Bee222 (1-5)

26. Apsvenky (1-5)

27. LizzieBennet (1-5)

28. Gumnaamhaikoii (6-10)

29. DMGThings (6-10)

30. Leenaaa (1-5)

Tagging the usual suspects!

More tags! Sign up for July's reading challenge!

I will skip July

Sign me up🤍11 to 20 books

Sign me up pls ❤️

Lizzie, I won't be able to participate anymore in any of the upcoming months including July because I'll become busy. I want to say that I really enjoyed participating in the reading challenge. It helped me read much more than I usually do. I never thought I would be able to read 1000 pages in a month. But after participating in this reading challenge, I read more than 1000 pages in both April and May. So, I'm glad I participated. The theme of July is very good. Disabled people face several obstacles in their lives. Yet many of them gain a lot of knowledge and achieve success. That's commendable and inspiring!