The current reading approach introduced by experts is extensive reading. The aim of this approach is to build reading fluency. It suggests students to improve comprehension by reading in enjoyment and processing language faster. Therefore, an extensive reading program called Reading Date was implemented at an Islamic private university in Yogyakarta. This research was aimed at investigating the students’ perception on the benefits and challenges in joining the program. Descriptive qualitative was applied in this research in which the data were collected from four participants. The participants were one male student and three female students of English Language Education Department batch 2017 at an Islamic private university in Yogyakarta. The participants were freshmen when the program of Reading Date was implemented. In collecting the data, interview was used in this research. Based on the interview, the findings showed that there were eight benefits of joining an extensive reading program revealed by the participants. The benefits include increasing reading interest, learning to manage time, making new friends, strengthening friendship, increasing reading speed, increasing vocabulary mastery, improving grammar knowledge, and getting new knowledge. The findings also showed that there were five challenges revealed by the participants. The challenges include the challenge in time management, crowded situation, lack of language skills, book choosing, and reading mate.