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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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!
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