Book Riot's 2026 Read Harder Challenge - Announcement & TBR

Happy Sunday everyone!  2026 is almost here(!) and that means it's time to share my plans for Book Riot's 2026 Read Harder Challenge.  Anyway, just like 2017-2025, one of my 2026 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 TBR.  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 queer picture book

My choice: Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino - I spotted this on Libby and it looks very nice. Also, that dress is very tangerine.

Pick a challenge from any of the previous years’ challenges to repeat!

My choice: Starcourt Mall Escape (Stranger Things #8) by Jennifer Brody - These tie-in novels for this show have been pretty good, so I'm looking forward to this.  I can't believe the show will be all over in just a week and a half.  Also, season three is one of my favorites since Robin is introduced and I really enjoyed her friendship with Steve.  Both of them better survive the finale!

February

Read a microhistory

My choice: The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson - Caste was outstanding and I need to read this.  February seems like an excellent month to check it out.

Read a book about a cult or cults

My choice: How Bad Things Can Get by Darcy Coates - This author is one of my favorites and I'm dying to read this one!

March

Read a book recently adapted for film, TV, or musical

My choice: Killing Floor (Jack Reacher #1) by Lee Child - I'm hoping to start watching Reacher soon.  The books and the show have been recommended to me so many times.  I recently watched Rebel Ridge on Netflix and really liked it and I've heard it's considered pretty similar to Reacher so that's a good sign.

Read a book featured on a ‘best book covers’ list

My choice: Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker - I've really liked what I've read from this author already and I need to try more.

April

Read a nonfiction book about resistance

My choice: Madame Fourcade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy Network Against Hitler by Lynne Olson - I've been eyeing this at my library for awhile now, so it's time to give it a try.

Read a nonfiction comic

My choice: Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh - This has been on my radar forever.  It looks like it will be good.

May

Read a romantasy book with a queer and/or BIPOC main character

My choice: A Rival Most Vial: Potioneering for Love and Profit (Side Quest Row #1) by R.K. Ashwick - I just found out about this and it sounds really cool.

Read a work of magical realism or fabulism

My choice: White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi - This is another one that's been on my TBR for a very long time.  It's time to check it off.

June

Read a novel with a main character who uses they/them pronouns

My choice: Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens - In Deeper Waters was delightful and I'm looking forward to read more from Lukens.

Read a sports book by a woman, trans, or nonbinary author

My choice: Ana on the Edge by A.J. Sass - I don't often read sports books, but I do like figure skating.

July

Read a book by a d/Deaf author

My choice: True Biz by Sara Nović - This YA contemporary sounds really good.

Read a nonviolent true crime book

My choice: A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan - So I was reading a books about Buckeye Lake, Ohio awhile ago and found out that it had ties to the KKK and this story in a way, so I'll have to check it out.

August

Read/try a recipe from a cookbook about a culture whose food you’ve never eaten

My choice: FUSÃO: Untraditional recipes inspired by Brasil by Ixta Belfrage - I don't think I've ever had Brazilian food before.

Read a book by a librarian

My choice: A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff - This sounds like one I'll need, honestly.

September

Read a nonfiction book about AI or social media

My choice: Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater - This is another one I've been eyeing at the library. Plus, I've really liked this author's work so far.

Read a book by an intersex author

My choice: Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon - I've been meaning to read more from Solomon for ages now.

October

Read a classic from the Zero to Well-Read podcast: This is a podcast by Book Riot that can be found on most major platforms as well as their website. It started recently, so there are not many books eligible for this prompt, however, that number will increase as the year goes on.

My choice: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones - This sounds like it's practically a modern classic.

Read a gothic novel published in the last 10 years

My choice: Lucy Undying by Kiersten White - I really loved the Elizabeth Frankenstein book and this sounds excellent too.

November 

Read a book set in space

My choice: Defiant (Skyward #4) by Brandon Sanderson - I've been loving this series and I need more.

Read a YA book by a Latine author

My choice: This Is the Year by Gloria Muñoz - Another one I've been eyeing at the library.  It sounds like it will have a lot of potential. 

December

Read a genre (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) book in translation

My choice: The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir - This sounds like it will be right up my alley.

Read a book by an African author

My choice: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - I think I should have read this ages ago.

Have you read any of these books? Will you be participating in this challenge? As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!