Every year, I set a goal to complete Book Riot’s Read Harder challenge. It’s a fantastic way to discover new kinds of books, read outside my comfort zone, and connect with other bookish people. I’ve read many fantastic books in the past few years thanks to Read Harder.
Since this blog is all about sharing books I love, I’ve decided to track the best books I read for each task right here. I hope these books will inspire you to do the challenge, and even if reading challenges aren’t your thing, that you’ll find a new book here you might have otherwise overlooked.
I often end up reading more than one book for each task–there are so many fantastic books out there and it’s easy to get overexcited. As the year goes on, I’ll keep updating this page with my favorites. Every book on this page is a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading and comes highly recommended. Links go to my full reviews.
A book published posthumously
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
- The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs
A book of true crime
- The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
- Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
A classic of genre fiction
A comic written and illustrated by the same person
- Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi
- Abandon the Old in Tokyo by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
- Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
A book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, or South Africa)
- A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee
- The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
- Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao
A book about nature
A western
- River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
A comic written or illustrated by a person of color
- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
- Incognegro by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece
A book of colonial or postcolonial literature
A romance novel by or about a person of color
A children’s classic published before 1980
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
A celebrity memoir
- Just Kids by Patti Smith
- As You Wish by Cary Elwes
An Oprah Book Club selection
- Wild by Cheryl Strayed
A book of social science
- White Rage by Carol Anderson
A one-sitting book
- The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
- The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri
- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
- Tin Man by Sarah Winman
The first book in a new-to-you YA or middle grade series
- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
- The Jumbies by Tracy Baptiste
- The Diviners by Libba Bray
A sci fi novel with a female protagonist by a female author
- A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
A comic that isn’t published by Marvel, DC or Image
A book of genre fiction in translation
A book with a cover you hate
- The Soldier’s Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian
A mystery by a person of color or LGBTQ author
- Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
An essay anthology
- Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines edited by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, China Martens, Mai’a Williams
- Radical Hope: Letters of Love and Dissent in Dangerous Times edited by Carolina De Robertis
- Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture edited by Roxane Gay
A book with a female protagonist over the age of 60
- Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk by Kathleen Rooney
An assinged book you hated (or never finished)
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
I didn’t hate it the first time around (when I was in high school), but I certainly did not appreciate it for the masterpiece it is.
Book Open 