Looking for something good to read this year, or maybe just through those cold winter months? How about a reading challenge?

The theme of this year’s reading challenge at Homestead on the Range is nature. One of the key tenets of sustainable agriculture is to work in sync with nature. Another, closely related rule of thumb is to mimic nature’s systems. A good way to start is to read up on the subject.

To complete the reading challenge, you must read 12 books by the end of the year, or an average of one book every month. Each book will be in a different category. This year’s categories are as follows:

1. A book about plants.
2. A book about animals.
3. A nature-themed photo book.
4. A book about a specific ecosystem.
5. A book about weather or the atmosphere.
6. A book about water.
7. A book about habitat restoration or conservation.
8. A book about how to observe nature.
9. A book about agricultural practices that benefit nature.
10. A book about outdoor recreation or skills.
11. A book about an endangered species.
12. A book about an extinct species.

A few rules:

• Books in electronic formats count.
• Both fiction and nonfiction books count.
• You can work through the categories in any order.
• Books cannot be counted twice, even if they fit into more than one category.

Need some help finding the books? Check out The Homestead Bookshelf to browse our favorite titles. Then sign up for On the Range, your free weekly country living update (learn more here). At the end of every month, we’ll suggest a book for one of the categories.

Let us know what you decide to read! We’d love to hear from you!