Winter 2023–24

In our busy lives, it can be difficult to find time to read for fun—or to read at all! Yet one of the most enjoyable parts of our work as historians is reading scholarship about the past and discussing that work with others.

That's why we're happy to announce the Winter Reading Challenge, the third iteration of our popular AHA Reads program. While previous AHA Reads challenges took place over the summer, we're hosting the Winter Challenge during the months of November, December, and January in honor of our upcoming annual meeting in San Francisco (January 4–7, 2024). That's also why, as you'll see below, the Winter Challenge tasks focus on California, the American West, and the Pacific Rim. 

To complete the challenge, participants complete one reading task between November 1 and January 31. For these tasks, we define “a history” as nonfiction of any length—a book, an article, a chapter. And you can fulfill them however you’d like. You define for yourself the parameters of each task.

• Read a history of a place on the Pacific Rim.
• Read a history by a presenter you’re excited to see on the AHA24 program.
• Read a piece of historical fiction (novel, story, poem, play) set in the American West.
• Read a local history of San Francisco or Northern California

And we’re hoping you’ll talk about how you’re fulfilling the challenge. We encourage participants to post about what they’re reading for this challenge on the AHA Member Forum or on social media using the hashtag #AHAReads.

Want a paper copy listing the tasks? Tear off the back cover of the November issue of Perspectives on History or download a PDF here.

Summer 2023

In our busy lives, it can be difficult to find time to read for fun—or to read at all! Yet one of the most enjoyable parts of our work as historians is reading scholarship about the past and discussing that work with others.

The AHA presents the second annual Summer Reading Challenge. To complete the challenge, participants complete a row on the bingo card (three reading tasks) in the months of June, July, and August. These tasks encourage you to read widely—outside your field, your areas of expertise, and your personal experiences. For these tasks, we define “a history” as nonfiction of any length—a book, an article, a chapter. And you can fulfill these tasks however you’d like. You define for yourself the parameters of a classic, a day job different from your own, or your identity group.

And we’re hoping you’ll talk about how you’re fulfilling the challenge. We encourage participants to post about what they’re reading for this challenge on the AHA Member Forum or on social media using the hashtag #AHAReads.

Want a paper copy? Tear off the back cover of the May issue of Perspectives on History or download a PDF here.

Want to play along with your children or your students? This year, we’ve also made a kids’ version! (Download a PDF here.)

For those who met the reading goals (completing a row on the bingo card), congratulations! We have a small token of appreciation you can download as a PDF.

Bookstore Partners

In summer 2023, the AHA partnered with DC-area independent bookstores. Participants picked up bingo cards at these locations.

• East City Bookshop
• Scrawl Books

The 2022 Summer Reading Challenge

Starting June 1, you were asked to complete three (or more) of the tasks below. Each one prompted you to read a work that met a certain criterion. You might have read a “classic” in your field or something written by a historian in a different identity group. What counted as a “classic,” or an identity group? We left that up to you. One task encouraged you to read historical fiction, others “a history,” which we defined as a nonfiction work of any length—it could have been a book, an article, a chapter. The AHA hoped that the variety of tasks would encourage you to read widely—outside your field, your areas of expertise, and your personal experiences.

Ideally, participants completed at least one task per month in June, July, and August.

We also hoped you would talk to other participants about how you fulfilled the challenge. You were invited to check in on how others were thinking about the tasks, to exchange recommendations, and to share your progress on the AHA Member Forum or post on social media using the hashtag #AHAReads.

The 2022 #AHAReads tasks were:

• Read a “classic” of your field that you’ve never read before.
• Read a history published in the past 2 years.
• Read a piece of historical fiction (novel, story, poem, play) set in the time or place you study.
• Read a history of the place you know the most about that takes place at least a century before or after your time period of expertise.
• Read a history written by a historian who works in a day job different from your own.
• Read a history of an identity group you don’t belong to.

You can get a handy PDF checklist of the tasks and instructions here. Happy reading!

For those of you who met the reading goals (completing three or more of the reading tasks below), congratulations! We have a small token of appreciation you can download as a pdf.