The 7th Annual Book Riot Read Harder Challenge

Looking for something new to read or ready to step out of your comfort zone with your reading selections? Summer reading season is a great time to visit Book Riot’s “Read Harder Challenge 2021.”

What is the Read Harder Challenge? Every year, Book Riot publishes a list of 24 reading tasks for readers who want to expand their reading habits and challenge themselves. However, these aren’t just any tasks. There are 24 specifications on genres, authors, and tropes of books that are usually not super mainstream. For example, this year some of the challenges are to “Read a realistic YA book not set in the U.S., UK, or Canada” and “Read an own voices book about disability.” 

Reading List

While the list is usually geared towards an adult audience, teens can easily participate in the challenges too! For more information and the detailed list of challenges, as well as book recommendations, visit Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge 2021 page. And of course, you can get all the books (and audiobooks) you will need for the challenge through the Library!

1. Read a book you’ve been intimidated to read
2. Read a nonfiction book about anti-racism
3. Read a non-European novel in translation
4. Read an LGBTQ+ history book
5. Read a genre novel by an Indigenous, First Nations, or Native American author
6. Read a fanfic
7. Read a fat-positive romance
8. Read a romance by a trans or nonbinary author
9. Read a middle grade mystery
10. Read an SFF anthology edited by a person of color
11. Read a food memoir by an author of color
12. Read a work of investigative nonfiction by an author of color
13. Read a book with a cover you don’t like
14. Read a realistic YA book not set in the U.S., UK, or Canada
15. Read a memoir by a Latinx author
16. Read an own voices book about disability
17. Read an own voices YA book with a Black main character that isn’t about Black pain
18. Read a book by/about a non-Western world leader
19. Read a historical fiction with a POC or LGBTQ+ protagonist
20. Read a book of nature poems
21. Read a children’s book that centers a disabled character but not their disability
22. Read a book set in the Midwest
23. Read a book that demystifies a common mental illness
24. Read a book featuring a beloved pet where the pet doesn’t die

Use this fillable PDF to track your progress.