Book Riot's 2025 Read Harder Challenge - Announcement & TBR

Happy Sunday everyone!  2025 is just around the corner and that means it's time to share my plans for Book Riot's 2025 Read Harder Challenge.  Anyway, just like 2017-2024, one of my 2025 resolutions is to complete Book Riot's annual challenge.  It's a great way to challenge myself to read more widely, broadly, and out of my comfort zone.  There are twenty-four tasks to complete over the course of the year.  You can read one book to complete multiple tasks, or read one book per task.  In order to get the most out of this challenge, I will be reading one book per task with two books per month.  Here's the list of the twenty-four challenge tasks and my proposed reading list.  This year, rather than complete these in official task order, I'm going to change things up a bit.  Keep reading to see what I'm hoping to read in the coming year.

January

Read a book about obsession.

My choice: The Folcroft Ghosts by Darcy Coates -  I love this author and this one sounds perfect.

Read a book about a piece of media you love (a TV show, a movie, a band, etc).

My choice: Nuclear Time (Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #40) by Oli Smith - I do enjoy this show!  This book is set during season 5 and features the Eleventh Doctor with Amy and Rory.  

February 

Read a romance book that doesn’t have an illustrated cover.

My choice: A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen - I've noticed this is a fairly popular YA book at the library.  Plus, the two on the front are drinking boba and I do like boba.  It's also a Pride & Prejudice retelling.

Read a staff pick from an indie bookstore. (Preferably, from your local indie bookstore.)

My choice: The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix - This graphic biographic sounds like it could be perfect to me.

March

Read a wordless comic.

My choice: Here by Richard McGuire - I saw the movie adaptation which was pretty ambitious and a decent slice of life across different time periods.  I'd like to see what the original story looks like.

Pick a 2015 Read Harder Challenge task to complete.

My choice: Night Life (Nocturne City #1) by Caitlin Kittredge - The 2015 task I've selected is to read a book written by someone when they were under the age of 25.  This urban fantasy sounds series opener sounds like it has potential.

April

Read a nonfiction book about nature or the environment.

My choice: The Twenty-One: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the U.S. Government Over Climate Change by Elizabeth Rusch - I'm always on the lookout for YA nonfiction and this sounds like it will be a powerful read.

Read literary fiction by a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or disabled author.

My choice: James by Percival Everett - I'm on hold for this on Libby and I'm currently #829 on 71 copies so hopefully it will be coming in around April.   

May

Read a 2025 release by a BIPOC author.

My choice: Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan - This is going to be released on January 7th.  I'm really excited to read this one given how much I loved The Celestial Kingdom series.

Read a book based solely on its setting.

My choice: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Moribito #1) by Nahoko Uehashi - This was recommended to me recently and I have to say this Japanese YA fantasy adventure sounds amazing.

June

Read a queer mystery.

My choice: Bianca Torres is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans - This has been on my radar for quite awhile along with several books by this author.  This YA mystery sounds right up my alley!

Read a queernorm book.

My choice: In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens - This author's books just look like a lot of fun and this seems like a good place to start.

July

Read a book about immigration or refugees.

My choice: Sisters of the War: Two Remarkable True Stories of Survival and Hope in Syria by Rania Abouzeid - I've been eyeing this at the library and this is giving me a great excuse to pick it up.  Like I said earlier, I'm always on the look out for good YA nonfiction.

Read a standalone fantasy book.

My choice: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - This has been on my tbr for way too long given how much I loved Night Circus.

August

Read a comic in translation.

My choice: Days of Sand by Aimee de Jongh - I'm looking forward to trying this American 1930s Dust Bowl story which was originally published in French.

Read a genre-blending book.

My choice: Crownchasers (Crownchasers #1) by Rebecca Coffindaffer - I've been meaning to read this YA sci-fi fantasy series opener for far too long.  It's sounds really cool and it's been compared to things I've loved too.

September

Read a banned book and complete a task on Book Riot’s How to Fight Book Bans guides.

My choice: Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden - I work at a library so I'll be bringing attention to banned books during October's Banned Books Week.

Read the first book in a completed young adult or middle grade duology.

My choice: Even the Darkest Stars (Even the Darkest Stars #1) by Heather Fawcett - I absolutely loved this author's Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries and I'm looking forward to trying more from her with this YA fantasy.

October

Read a work of weird horror.

My choice: The Fisherman by John Langan - Well, I'm not really into fishing, but this sounds like it has a lot of potential.  Plus, the cover looks so atmospheric!

Read a book about a moral panic.

My choice: Digging Up Devils: The Search For A Satanic Murder Cult in Rural Ohio by Jack Legg - Reading about the Satanic Panic in October sounds like a perfect choice.  Plus, I also live in rural Ohio even if in a different part of the state, so this should definitely be interesting.

November

Reread a childhood favorite book.

My choice: Frog and Toad Are Friends (Frog and Toad #1) by Arnold Lobel - You can't go wrong with Frog and Toad. 

Read a book about little-known history.

My choice: The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt - This has been recommended to me several times and it sounds like it will be a fascinating read.  Plus, this author also wrote Rise of the Rocket Girls which was pretty great.

December

Read a holiday romance that isn’t Christmas.

My choice: Almost Midnight by Rainbow Rowell - I haven't read anything from this author in quite some time, but the two short stories featured here should be a nice way to slip back into her style.  Plus, one of the stories is set at a New Year's Eve party - and the other features Star Wars

Read a “cozy” book by a BIPOC author.

My choice: We'll Prescribe You A Cat (We'll Prescribe You A Cat #1) by Syou Ishida - Doesn't this just sound nice?


Are you taking part in this reading challenge? Have you read any of these books? As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!