2025 Read Harder Challenge
This is my third year participating in reading challenges, and they’ve been a huge success for me in the past. I didn’t complete every prompt, but they helped me read a lot more backlist titles than I would have on my own. I’m committing to Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge again this year, and I’m really excited about the titles I’ve selected for some of these prompts.
So far, I’ve completed 7 out of 24 prompts.
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2025 Read Harder Challenge
1. A 2025 release by a BIPOC author.
Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon
Notes: A rivals-to-lovers romance about saving a Korean coffee shop in Seattle. This one is unusual in that it’s told entirely from his perspective. I enjoyed the banter and character development. Definitely a fun one.
Published January 7, 2025 | My Review
2. Reread a Childhood Favorite
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Notes: I read this for the first (and many subsequent times) in elementary school. The tension in this high seas adventure is phenomenal. Even though I was familiar with the story, I still got lost in it all over again.
Published October 27, 2015 (Orig. 1990) | My Review to Come
3. A Standalone Fantasy Book
15. A Banned Book.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Notes: I can’t believe it took me almost ten years to read this book. From start to finish, it took me less than 24 hours to read this one. I am not sure I put it down at all once I started reading. The story is completely engrossing. Definitely a book worth reading.
Published September 29, 2015 | My Review to Come
17. A Book About Little-Known History
Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band by Christian Staebler, Sonia Paoloni, and Thibault Balahy
Notes: An enthusiastic recounting of a Native American rock band and Native American civil rights movement in America. This is a perfect blend of music history and Indigenous history. Really nicely done.
Published October 28, 2020 | My Review to Come
19. A Queernorm Book
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
Notes: Wow. This one hit hard for me. The constant analyzing, doubting, hoping, circling that Frankie does as she tries to figure out how to make her relationship with Laura Dean work resonated. I’ve so been there. This was well done.
Published May 7, 2019 | My Review to Come
Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jairgirdar
Notes: I’ve read and loved solo projects by each of these authors, so I feel no surprise at how much I enjoyed this book. I loved the arc of the story and the way that community and art feature in the book.
Published June 4, 2024 | My Review to Come
2025 Read Harder Challenge Prompts
I’ve completed the prompts in bold.
- A 2025 release by a BIPOC author.
- A childhood favorite (reread).
- A queer mystery.
- A book about obsession.
- A book about immigration or refugees.
- A standalone fantasy book.
- A book about a piece of media you love (TV show, band, etc.).
- Literary fiction by a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or disabled author.
- A book based solely on its setting.
- A romance book that doesn’t have an illustrated cover.
- A work of weird horror.
- A staff pick from an indie bookstore. (Preferably from your local store.)
- A nonfiction book about nature or the environment.
- A comic in translation.
- A banned book (and complete a task on Book Riot’s how to fight book bans guides.).
- A genre-blending book.
- A book about little-known history.
- A “cozy” book by a BIPOC author.
- A queernorm book.
- The first in a completed young adult or middle grade duology.
- Read a book about a moral panic.
- Read a holiday romance that isn’t Christmas.
- Read a wordless comic.
- Pick a 2015 Read Harder Challenge task to complete (Read a short story or poetry collection.).