Your Favorite Books of the 2024 Read Harder Challenge
Back in November, I sent out a survey about your experience with the 2024 Read Harder Challenge, including your favorite book you read for the challenge. A couple weeks ago, I shared some of those results, including pie charts and bar graphs for the data nerds. If you want to know the most and least popular tasks as well as how many books Read Harder Challengers read in a year, check out that post too!
Today, though, I’m sharing your answers to my favorite question on the survey: What’s your favorite book you’ve read for the 2024 Read Harder Challenge, and which task does it check off? The vast majority of the titles mentioned came up only once, but I’ve put together a list of the most frequently mentioned books and which tasks they fulfilled.
I’ve omitted the books that I already mentioned in the results of the halfway check-in survey, so click through to find even more popular Read Harder books of the year!
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Task #5: Read a sci-fi novella.
Murderbot is the reigning monarch of sci-fi novellas, so it’s no surprise it was one of the favorites of this task! This has won the biggest awards in SFF, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus. All Systems Red is the first book in the series, and it follows a security android who has reprogrammed themselves and mostly just wants to be left alone to watch TV—relatable. Unfortunately, Murderbot keeps getting pulled into human conflicts, and now they’re reluctantly trying to find out what went wrong in a neighboring mission.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Task #23: Read a “howdunit” or “whydunit” mystery.
In the post for this task, I recommended another book by this author, Deacon King Kong, but The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store ended up being the more popular read for this task. This one follows the residents of Chicken Hill after a skeleton is unearthed at the bottom of a well and the investigation brings the town’s secrets to light.
Dear Mothman by Robin Gow
Task #6: Read a middle grade book with an LGBTQIA main character & Task #16: Read a book based solely on the title.
I love this as a pick for task #16! It’s certainly an intriguing title. It follows a young trans boy, Noah, who is devastated when his friend Lewis—the only other trans student in school—dies in a car crash. He starts writing to Lewis’s favorite cryptid, Mothman, to try to process this loss, until he is compelled to search the woods to find this figure who may not exist.
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell
Task #8: Read a book in translation from a country you’ve never visited.
I recommended A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories by the same author and translator pair for this task, but it was their novel that was the most popular choice. Mariana Enriquez is one of the biggest names in Latin American literature right now, and this horror novel set between 1960s London and the years of Argentina’s military dictatorship was one of the buzziest and most critically acclaimed books of 2023.
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, translated by Alison Watts
Task #9: Read a book recommended by a librarian, Task #8: Read a book in translation from a country you’ve never visited, and Task #20: Read a book about books (fiction or nonfiction).
Cozy books, books about books, and Japanese books in translation have all been popular recently, so What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is a perfect fit for the year. It’s about a librarian who has a magical ability to match people with the books they need.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
Task #12: Read a genre book (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) by a disabled author.
This quirky book has been a surprise hit of 2024. Shesheshen is a shapeshifting monster who has taken on a humanlike form to hide from hunters who badly injured her. She’s nursed back to health by Homily, who seems like the perfect person to lay her eggs in. Soon Shesheshen realizes two unfortunate truths: she’s falling for Homily and doesn’t want her young to eat her alive. Also, Homily and her family are the hunters looking for a shapeshifting monster.
James by Percival Everett
Task #14: Read a book by an author with an upcoming event (virtual or in person) and then attend the event.
James is arguably the book of 2024, so of course it would end up on this list. I am, however, extremely envious of those of you who went to an event with Percival Everett! This reimagining of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective won the Booker and Kirkus prizes and is currently being adapted into a movie directed by Steven Spielberg.
Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun
Task #19: Read a romance with neurodivergent characters.
This “lesbian romcom about death” was one of my favorites of the year, too! Logan and Rosemary used to be childhood best friends, but now they’re rival English teachers at the same school. When their shared mentor’s dying wish is to be driven to his cabin in Maine, they reluctantly agree to go on a road trip with him together. They’re total opposites: Logan is messy and out of control, Rosemary is the model teacher and is always in control. They soon learn they have a lot more in common than they thought, though, including that they both have ADHD. I loved every part of this.
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
Task #5: Read a sci-fi novella.
This was the second most popular title of the survey! If you’re a fan of cozy fantasy, you need to pick up this Hugo award-winning cozy sci-fi duology. Hundreds of years ago, the robots of Panga retreated to the forest, slowly fading from the memory of humans. Until, that is, one reappears to check in with humanity. They find a tea monk and ask, “What do people need?” Together, they’ll try to find the answer.
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
Task #23: Read a “howdunit” or “whydunit” mystery.
And finally, this was the most popular book of the 2024 Read Harder Challenge! This author is the #1 name in howdunit and whydunit mysteries. Silent Parade, book four in the Detective Galileo series, combines elements of whydunit, howdunit, and whodunit, but you can also start with book one. The Devotion of Suspect X begins with Yasuko killing her abusive ex-husband and her neighbor helping her to cover it up. Then we meet Detective Kusanagi, who suspects Yasuko, but is having trouble finding a hole in her alibi. This is a perfect example of a howdunit mystery.
Recommendations for 2025 Read Harder Challenge tasks will begin in January, but there’s still time to wrap up your 2024 Read Harder Challenge before then!
Did your favorite book you read for the challenge this year make this list? Let’s chat in the comments!
Check out all the previous Read Harder posts here.
The comments section is moderated according to our community guidelines. Please check them out so we can maintain a safe and supportive community of readers!
Leave a comment
Join All Access to add comments.