A couple of weeks ago, I asked you, “What was your favorite book you read for the 2025 Read Harder Challenge?” Now, I have the results from the survey, including the two books named most frequently as well as the tasks that were mentioned most often.
The Most Popular Books of the 2025 Read Harder Challenge
There wasn’t a lot of overlap in your responses! You all have wide-ranging reading tastes. But there were two books that rose to the top and got mentioned by the most respondents.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
This one isn’t a surprise, because it’s one of the biggest books of 2025. Stephen Graham Jones was already a leading voice in horror, but this seems to have sent him into another level of popularity. Most Read Harder Challengers picked this up for Task 1: Read a 2025 release by a BIPOC author.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
It’s interesting that both the most popular books are horror! This one came out in 2024, so I was little surprised it got so much attention in 2025, but it did have a paperback release this year. Most people read it for Task 11: Read a work of weird horror, and this “gruesomely wholesome” horror novel/love story is certainly weird!
The Most Popular Tasks of the 2025 Read Harder Challenge
The most successful task of the 2025 Read Harder Challenge, in terms of connecting readers with a new favorite book, was Task 1: Read a 2025 release by a BIPOC author. 12% of respondents named this task as the reason they picked up their favorite read of the challenge.
In second place was Task 9: Read a book based solely on its setting, which I find a very pleasant surprise! It always feels like a risk to pick up a book without knowing much about it, so it’s fun that this one went so well. Maybe more of us are setting readers than we thought!
Tied in third place are Task 6: Read a standalone fantasy book, Task 7: Read a book about a piece of media you love (a TV show, a movie, a band, etc), Task 11: Read a work of weird horror, and Task 13: Read a nonfiction book about nature or the environment.
All Access subscribers, read on for more highlights from the survey.
Those were the most popular responses, but here are a few more highlights by task!
Task 4: Read a book about obsession: The Favorites by Layne Fargo
Task 13: Read a nonfiction book about nature or the environment: How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler
Task 14: Read a comic in translation: Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed
Task 15: Read a banned book and complete a task on Book Riot’s How to Fight Book Bans guides: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Task 18: Read a “cozy” book by a BIPOC author: The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
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