7 Books That Complete Multiple Read Harder Challenge Tasks
As the end of the year approaches, are you realizing that you’re behind schedule on the 2024 Read Harder Challenge? Don’t worry, you still have time to catch up. One thing you may not know about Read Harder is that you can use the same book to complete multiple tasks. That means careful planners can read far fewer than 24 books and still complete the challenge in full.
Some tasks are easy to combine—in fact, some would be difficult to complete without also checking off another one. For example, if you read a manga book (task #22), you’ll likely also be reading a book in translation. If you haven’t travelled to Japan, that will also check off task #8. You can ask a librarian (task #9) for a recommendation that completes any one of the tasks.
Other combinations are less straightforward but still doable. To help you supercharge the rest of your reading year when it comes to Read Harder, I’ve picked out several books that complete multiple tasks at once.
I’ve skipped task #24, Pick a challenge from any of the previous years’ challenges to repeat, because that’s a particularly easy one to combine with any others: we have 10 years of challenges to choose from; you can probably find one of those 240 tasks that line up with a book you’ve already read.
Now, onto the books, and good luck with the challenge!
The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World by Kyouka Izumi, Oumiya, and Reiko Sakurada
Task #1: Read a cozy fantasy book.
Task #8: Read a book in translation from a country you’ve never visited. (If you haven’t visited Japan.)
Task #20: Read a book about books (fiction or nonfiction).
Task #22: Read a manga or manhwa.
In The Savior’s Book Café Story in Another World, we meet Tsukina, a thirty-something woman who gets offered to be shipped off to another world. She isn’t interested in becoming this land’s savior though, so she turns the offer down. She is sent anyway, but instead of becoming their savior, she decides to open her own cozy bookstore/café where warmth and kindness will greet you immediately at its door. —Silvana Reyes Lopez
Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure by Lewis Hancox
Task #2: Read a YA book by a trans author.
Task #13: Read a comic that has been banned. (This was removed from shelves in Princeton ISD in Texas.)
Task #15: Read a YA nonfiction book.
In this graphic memoir, author-illustrator and British YouTuber Hancox attempts to take his young, reticent teen self, who had to go around as a teen girl, on a journey towards her future (note: the graphic memoir uses she/her pronouns for Hancox’s younger self). He knows all about the drama, healing, and pain it will take her to make her way to who they really are. Unfortunately, she’s too hurt and confused to receive his messages. But luckily, she has some really good allyship and support in her future. It’s a love letter to transness and growing into Hancox’s queer self, from body dysphoria to the perils of dating to disordered eating. —Leah Rachel von Essen
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Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert
Task #4: Read a history book by a BIPOC author.
Task #15: Read a YA nonfiction book.
Brandy Colbert is known for her YA novels like The Voting Booth and Finding Yvonne. In a diversion from her usual style, Colbert writes a gorgeously haunting account of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Early in the morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob in Tulsa, Oklahoma, marched into the predominantly Black Greenwood District, also known as the Black Wall Street, and within a matter of hours, burned 35 square blocks to the ground. There has been a lot of mystery surrounding this often-overlooked piece of our history, but Colbert was determined not only to find answers to those questions but to tell the story as well. —Nikki DeMarco
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
Task #12: Read a genre book (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) by a disabled author. (Talia Hibbert has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and is autistic.)
Task #19: Read a romance with neurodivergent characters.
I am a fan of the whole Brown Sisters trilogy, but this one is my favorite. Eve Brown is trying to prove to her family that she can take care of herself, so she applies for a job at a B&B. The interview goes disastrously, so she doesn’t get the position…and then she hits the owner with her car. Now Jacob’s arm is broken, so he needs Eve’s help. They butt heads constantly, but they also can’t deny their attraction. Jacob is autistic, and over the course of the novel, Eve realizes that she is, too. This is such a fun and steamy read—I may have actually swooned at one scene.
The Curse of Eelgrass Bog by Mary Averling
Task #3: Read a middle grade horror novel.
Task #6: Read a middle grade book with an LGBTQIA main character
Kess Pedrock lives in her family’s Unnatural History Museum. She spends her time searching for megafauna with her best friend, a talking demon head. But her life gets even weirder and more dangerous when a new girl comes to town looking to break a curse, and the two have to descend into the heart of Eelgrass Bog to find answers.
This is a Story by John Schu and Lauren Castillo
Task #11: Read a picture book published in the last five years.
Task #20: Read a book about books (fiction or nonfiction).
Task #21: Read a book that went under the radar in 2023.
This may be the fastest way to knock out three tasks at once! This 2023 picture book is about the power of books, libraries, and stories to make connections between people. It’s written by school librarian and literacy advocate John Schu.
Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
Task #2: Read a YA book by a trans author.
Task #12: Read a genre book (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) by a disabled author.
Free from the cult compound where he grew up, Benji finally has the opportunity to see the world for himself. Too bad it’s ending. Benji’s family believed wholeheartedly in the apocalypse—so much so that they ushered it in themselves. He takes refuge at a center for LGBTQ+ youth, where leader Nick is doing his best to keep everyone safe. It’s a place where Benji finally feels like he belongs, but he knows he hasn’t really escaped. You see, the cult infected him with a bioweapon that’s changing him from the inside out, and Benji isn’t sure how long he can fight it. —K.W. Colyard
How many tasks do you have left to complete in the Read Harder Challenge? And which books do you recommend that check off multiple tasks? Let’s chat in the comments!
Check out all the previous 2024 Read Harder posts here.
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