My Favorite Books I’ve Read for the 2024 Read Harder Challenge (So Far)
It’s June, which means it’s closing in on the halfway mark for 2024! Can you believe it? Now is a good time to look back at how the reading year is going so far. Are we accomplishing our goals? Have we been enjoying what we’ve been reading? Should we adjust our reading habits and TBRs in order to reach those goals or to better enjoy the books we pick up? There’s still plenty of time to course correct if needed.
As for me, I’ve been really enjoying making my way through the 2024 Read Harder Challenge. Some have been books I likely would have picked up regardless, while others encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone. I’ve done 17 of the 24 tasks, which I feel very good about — but it’s worth noting that I’ve saved the most difficult and out-of-my-wheelhouse tasks until the end.
Here are seven of the books I’ve read for this year’s Read Harder Challenge that I’ve enjoyed the most. Let me know in the comments what your favorite books are (so far) that you’ve read for tasks!
The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle by Kent Monkman and Gisele Gordon
I have to start by talking about the two volumes of The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle I read this year. This is a queer, Cree telling of the history of Turtle Island, particularly “Canada.” It’s funny, heartbreaking, and educational, packed full of citations but told through the fictional figure of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, a shapeshifting queer form who guides us through this history. Interspersed are paintings by Kent Monkman, like the one on the cover. I read one volume for task #4: Read a history book by a BIPOC author, and one for task #10: Read a historical fiction book by an Indigenous author. This is a new all-time favorite.
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
I’ve heard such great things about this book, but I was still blown away when I actually read it. The artwork is stunning, and I loved that this wasn’t just about Tien trying to come out to his mother, but also about his mother’s experiences as an immigrant from Vietnam. I read this for task #13: Read a comic that has been banned. It’s a beautiful graphic novel that I think is a new classic.
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Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter by Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner
I often have a difficult time getting into poetry, so the first book I picked for task #7 — Read an indie published collection of poetry by a BIPOC or queer author — went over my head. I wanted to give the task another try, so I picked up this collection and loved it. It’s very accessible for those of us who don’t read a lot of poetry, and it weaves together personal writing as well as information about the history and present-day reality of the Marshall Islands, including the ongoing effects of the nuclear weapons testing that was done there as well as the threat of climate change putting the islands underwater.
Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun
This one I read both because I enjoyed Cochrun’s Kiss Her Once for Me as well as for Task #14: Read a book by an author with an upcoming event (virtual or in person) and then attend the event. This task was a stretch for me because I don’t usually attend author events. I ended up loving this book and really enjoying the chance to learn more about it, though. I even got to ask the author a question in the Q&A period. If you want my full thoughts on this one, here’s my review. Here We Go Again also works for task #19. During the event, Alison Cochrun was interviewed by Mazey Eddings, which leads me to…
Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings
I had two reasons for picking this one up: the cover — which may be my favorite romance cover of all time — and the impression I got of the novel based on Eddings’s event with Alison Cochrun. It turns out that they’re both sapphic romances between neurodivergent characters! So, this one also works for task #19: Read a romance with neurodivergent characters. (One character is autistic; the other is undiagnosed neurodivergent.) I really liked their dynamic, and their sometimes conflicting communication styles tied to their neurodivergence made the miscommunication much more believable and organic than in most romance novels I read.
Finna by Nino Cipri
For task #5: Read a sci-fi novella, I picked up one I’ve been meaning to read for a while. This is about two employees of a not-quite-Ikea furniture company who are working together when a portal opens up and swallows a customer, an elderly woman. Management makes them go through after her to retrieve the customer. It’s bad enough that they’re risking their lives for a retail job and gift cards, but they also just broke up with each other. This is a wacky sci-fi adventure with a solid emotional grounding in their relationship.
The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught
And finally, my pick for task #1, Read a cozy fantasy book, was this YA graphic novel. It also works for task #1: Read a YA book by a trans author. This is perfect for fans of The Tea Dragon Society by K. O’Neill. It follows two friends on a low-stakes fantasy adventure as they look for rare ingredients to complete a recipe. This has a nonbinary main character and a cute queer romance.
What’s your favorite book you’ve read for the 2024 Read Harder Challenge so far? Let’s chat in the comments!
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