Introductions: Who are you and what about this challenge caught you eye?

[andrea]

Hello! I'm Andrea, self professed book addict. BookRiot is my go-to site for book news, listicles, and thoughtful book world articles and info. I totally spaced on the 2015 challenge, but I'm all in for 2016! Hoping to use these challenges as a good way to clear out some of my TBRs and expand my reading horizons!

[Dani]

My name is Dani. I never finish challenges (reading, knitting, fitness, whatever) but I keep trying new ones! The Read Harder challenge appeals to me because I keep trying to break out of my reading rut. Because I have trouble dealing with the stress in my life these days, I've been sticking to calm choices in my entertainment. In reading, that means Christian romances set in America between 1867 and 1910. I know it is a little weird, but romances set in farming communities are soothing to me :-). I've been avoiding anything with difficult topics or any sense of melancholy, but I feel like I need to challenge my brain a little more. I doubt I will finish this challenge because books with difficult topics still negatively affect my mood, but I want to see how far I get.

[Patty]

Dani wrote: "My name is Dani. I never finish challenges (reading, knitting, fitness, whatever) but I keep trying new ones! The Read Harder challenge appeals to me because I keep trying to break out of my readin..."

Don't apologize for what you read. Thank goodness we all read different stuff. It makes the world interesting. Good luck with your romances and the challenge.

[Katie]

I'm Katie. I thought about doing the challenge last year but just didn't get in to it. I tried hard to read diversely and did a good job with that in regards to gender, ethnicity, and to some extent sexual orientation (probably lacked a little there) but this seems like a good way to expand further this year. I read a lot but don't do anything at all related to books for work and never majored in English or anything of the sort so I'm a bit of a bookish oddball.

[Meghan]

Hello everyone, I'm Meghan!
A friend who's in a BookClub with me told me about BookRiot just this past fall and so it was a little too late for start the 2015 challenge. Not to mention I was already trying to compete a challenge set out by my local public library (which I completed this past weekend... Yay!!) So I've been patiently waiting for the 2016 challenge to start.
I started a book club with some coworkers a couple of years ago because I had fallen out of reading for about a decade or so and had no idea what the up and coming authors and books were so I wanted some inspiration!
I'm super pumped about this list of books and I've set a reading goal of 75 books in 2016 so this challenge will help me with that and broaden my reading horizons! :)
Good luck everyone!

[Tammara]

Hello, my name is Tammara. I love to read. I heard about this challenge watching Rincey Reads on YouTube. This sounded like a great way to challenge myself and broaden my horizons reading books I wouldn't normally read.

Happy Reading :)

[Jinger]

Hello. I'm Jinger and used to be an avid reader. I fell off a bit over the last few years but am trying to read more.
I found out about the challenge on the BookRiot website and am excited to use it to both read more and get outside my preferred genres (I typically read horror, sci-fi, and fantasy).

[Olga]

Hello everyone, I'm Olga. This would be a first book challenge for me, I've found it on Bookriot site and I thought to myself: Why not try it? I usually read all kinds of books: YA and biographies, non fiction and fantasy, sci-fi and art history books. This challenge will provide me with different kind of books, as I'm prone to stick to one author or genre after I find one that I love. This is also great that other participants offer their books of choice for different tasks, thanks to them/you I already found the one I want to read for the first task :) (and for the 13th task too, but I'll guess it will have to wait a bit...)

[Sheila]

My name is Sheila. I found the 2016 challenge when I was reading a Facebook entry of one of my favorite authors...Peter Clines. I am an elementary school teacher and book addict. I have a Little Free Library in my front yard. It isn't a good weekend unless I've started and finished at least one book. I look forward to this challenge.

[Stormy]

Olga wrote: "Hello everyone, I'm Olga. This would be a first book challenge for me, I've found it on Bookriot site and I thought to myself: Why not try it? I usually read all kinds of books: YA and biographies,..."

This is my first challenge too, but from what I understand they don't expect you to go in order! It all seems very relaxed around here. :)

[Olga]

Stormy wrote: This is my first challenge too, but from what I understand they don't expect you to go in order! It all seems very relaxed around here. :)

Oh. And here I am, thinking what book to choose for the second task after I've finished "The Shining". Lol! Thanks for commenting, Stormy, I was 100% set to read the books in the prescribed order. I think if it's not required, it makes challenge a bit easier. Yay!

[Monica]

My name is Monica and I saw a brief discussion of this challenge in another gr group. I looked into it and I thought it might be a lot of fun and perhaps expose me to things I wouldn't ordinarily choose. I read nearly every adult genre (fiction and nonfiction) other than romance (every once in a looooonng while I sneak one in...long while). I read more SciFi than anything (a plurality not a majority), but it seems that the books I enjoy the most fall into the fiction category. There are a few tasks in 2016 that are definitely outside of my normal routine. It will be difficult for me to complete even with books that can apply to more than one task. But it will be fun to try...

[Patty]

It is so good to see all the new names on this challenge.

For me, just trying some new types of books will be good. If I manage to complete the challenge that will be even better.

[Ignaura]

I'm Ignaura and I's from Dominican Republic. I don't remember where I found the link to the challenge, but I was immediately attracted to the list. It was so different to every book challenge I've ever seen, the tasks are unique and original, and allowed to choose books that I wouldn't have thought about.

[Laura]

My name is Laura. I read a lot but I get stuck in reading ruts.

I'm also a teacher. I have created a classroom reading challenge similar to what I've seen on these challenges to expand my students' reading.

[[deleted user]]

I'm Brenna. Found the Read Harder and PopSugar challenges about this time last year and decided to try them as a way to break out of a mental rut. Sticking with challenges this year to keep from falling back into old habits. One thing I appreciate about the challenge lists is the altered perspective offered by books outside my literary comfort zone. As an added challenge this year, I'm trying to complete the list with titles from various reading lists I'm currently working through.

[Becky]

Hi, I'm Becky. This challenge appealed to me because it's offers up books that I wouldn't normally consider. I think it'll give me the jump start I need to try new things outside of my reading comfort zone.

[Fatima]

May peace be upon you all. My name is Fatima, I'm a newbie bookstagrammer from Pakistan. I am a med student. I am desperately trying to get out of my long reading slump . I want to experience a lot of new genres , I am kind of trying to find my groove and this challenge had so many options so it sounded perfect.
I hope this is one hell of a journey for you all

[Ashley]

Hi! I'm Ashley, an avid Book Riot follower for several years now. I saw the 2015 Challenge but wasn't sure I wanted to participate as I was working on another reading challenge already. As we gear up for 2016, I am interested in attempting the 2016 Read Harder Challenge as I hope to continue broadening my reading horizons. Book Riot has been pushing me outside my comfort zone for a while now and I want to keep that momentum!

[Ashley]

Andrea wrote: "Hello! I'm Andrea, self professed book addict. BookRiot is my go-to site for book news, listicles, and thoughtful book world articles and info. I totally spaced on the 2015 challenge, but I'm all i..."

Hi Andrea! Sounds like you and I are kinda on the same wavelength in terms of using BookRiot as a means for all things bookish, and utilizing this challenge to weed out the TBR shelf. Best of luck to you in your reading endeavors!

[Elena]

Hello, everyone! I'm Elena, I'm a writer, and I'm here because I saw the BookRiot challenge floating around Tumblr and thought, sure, I'm already doing two reading challenges, why not one more? I like this one because a lot of these tasks are well outside my reading comfort zone, and I've been trying to read more widely to help hone my writing skills.

[[deleted user]]

What other challenges are you doing?

[Elena]

Dom wrote: "What other challenges are you doing?"
The POPSUGAR challenge and one hosted by ReadsTheBooks on Tumblr. And, because I am perhaps overly ambitious, I'm not double-counting books for entries that overlap, which means I have 93 books to read. Since I managed 59 since joining GR in June this year (I didn't track how many I read before that) I think I can do it.

[Desiree]

Hi all! I'm Desiree. I was introduced to this challenge by a friend and her and I decided to do it together in 2016. I've already prepared for my first book that I can start on Friday when I'm just lounging around during the day for the holiday.

I wanted to join because I've been in a rut of just reading post-apocolyptic or dystopian and I want to branch out. That's why I'm combining this with the POPSugar Reading Challenge as well. And I want to try and use classics for many of these, as I own so many but haven't really sat and read them. I think I'm going to read Frankenstein for my horror novel. I'll have to branch out a little more but I'm excited to try this and see what everyone else is reading too.

[Jayanti]

Hello everyone. My name is Jay. I read a fair amount but my book purchasing has a tendency to outstrip my reading speed. Though I have reasonably catholic reading tastes I still have a 'comfort zone' that excludes most horror and dystopian fiction as well as most non-fiction. So a challenge like this is ideal - particularly since I will soon be out-of-range of both of my book clubs.

[Sarah]

I'm Sarah and I read about the Read Harder Challenge in a BookRiot newsletter. I love to read and since I am studying to be a librarian, I figure I should read things more outside of my comfort zone since I will have to be recommending books to patrons on the regular.

[Nicole]

Hi everyone! My name is Nicole, and I like to consider myself a voracious reader. I'm an avid book club member, and attend two regularly and always am searching for new ones to expand my reading. In the last few months, I've taken advantage of a number of library book sales, and have more books than I can think about. This challenge will encourage me to reach for books that I already have, as a good number fit the tasks!

[Mari-Ann]

Hi! My name is Mari-Ann. I haven't taken part in any reading challenges before. Actually, I wasn't really aware they were a thing before I stumbled upon this one. But I think that it's a great idea. I mainly read sci-fi and fantasy novels, but hopefully this challenge will get me out of my comfort zone, trying new things and discovering some great books along the way!

[Joy]

Hi, everyone! I am Joy, and I teach English composition and world literature at our local community college in Westen Pennsylvania, USA. I am a member of two book clubs and did the Popsugar challenge in 2015. For 2016, I am planning to do the Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge; in that group, members are discussing this challenge. Of course, when I looked into it, I was hooked, so here I am!

[Sooz888]

Hi I'm Sue, 62 and from England. I heard about the 2015 challenge on the Facebook Group, the Book Cafe and have been awaiting the new one. I read mostly nonfiction and hope to broaden my horizons a little to complete the Read Harder Challenge. I have only recently begun reading a lot and discovering mountains of excellent books. I feel rather like an eight year old who has just discovered the joys of reading!

[Rokkan]

Hi everyone! I'm Holly, and I came to the Book Riot challenge via NaNoWriMo. Someone in the facebook group for our local group of writers posted a link, and through some googling I also found the popsugar challenge, the helmet challenge and the Mountain TBR challenge, all of which I intend on trying out.

I mostly read fantasy, so some of the genres here have had me scrambling through the freebie sections of the kindle store. There are a couple of books on my wishlist to fill challenges after I get through other things, so I'm looking forward to a year of widening horizons!

[Rishika]

Hi, I'm Rishika. I discovered this challenge a few days ago and thought it would be a great way to break away from my go-to genres. I'm sure I'll discover some great reads thanks to the avid readers here! Book suggestions will be greatly appreciated :)

[Heidi]

Hi, I'm Heidi. I discovered the Book Riot Read Harder 2016 challenge via e-mail. I have only done the Goodreads reading challenge in the past, but this challenge will make me read outside of my comfort zone. I look forward to discovering books I would otherwise pass over. I am also going to do the Popsugar 2016 reading Challenge.

[May]

I'm glad I'm not the only one trying to do the Popsugar challenge also!! if anyone wants a new goodreads friend for support, please feel free to add me!

[Ashley]

May wrote: "I'm glad I'm not the only one trying to do the Popsugar challenge also!! if anyone wants a new goodreads friend for support, please feel free to add me!"

I, too, am doing the BookRiot and PopSugar reading challenges! I'll be eager to see what books you read for each task, and will happily share any recs or suggestions :)

[Sharon]

Hi, I'm Sharon and I live in Michigan, USA. I'm excited to join this challenge to share the joy of books and different perspectives with readers from all over the world. I'm as eager to learn what you all are reading and what you think about it as I am to read the books.

This challenge is also intriguing because it offers a chance to bring some order or priority to my out of control TBR list. I'm giggling at how many of you say you hope the challenge will reduce your TBR list. It has not been my experience that anything involving BookRiot has that outcome! :) Mine just grows and grows and grows....

The PopSugar challenge looks fun, too. Thanks for pointing that one out!

[Cheal]

I'm Cheal and I don't read enough. I have shelves full of books and a kindle with loads of titles on it as well and I never actually take the time to read. I love to read. I don't know why it's so hard for me to actually sit down and do! I'm joining this challenge with the hope it will motivate me to engage a part of my brain that is sorely unexercised!

[Margaret]

I'm Margaret. I joined this forum last year but never read a post nor contributed one, even though the concept of a guided list of types of books to read appeals to me. I describe myself as a full time fiction writer. I am 68 years old and live in central Pennsylvania. I read more in 2015 than I did in 2014, but my keeping track and talking about the things I read got sidetracked by family obligations. I'm drawing a line and starting over.

[Chickadee]

Hi I'm Colleen. This challenge appealed to me because the list has genres I ordinarily do not read and finding books that meet the criteria appeals to my creative side.

[Erica]

Just finished the 2015 challenge and looking forward to starting the 2016 one! I'm also planning on doing the Pop Sugar Challenge (which I also did this year) as well as the Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge, a Goodreads group that did the Pop Sugar Challenge this year but voted on our own categories for 2016 :)

[Niyati]

Hi, I'm Niyati. I'm a book editor, but I work in self-publishing so I'm reading bad manuscripts day in, day out. In the last 2 years that I've been working full-time, my reading has taken a backseat and I'm hoping that through this reading challenge, I will read books that aren't just bestsellers and widen my literary horizons. Super kicked about this!

[Maartje]

Hi! I'm Maartje from The Netherlands. I am busy working my way through Boxall's 1001 Book You Must Read Before You Die list, which means I read a lot of classics by white men. My TBR is filled with books I found through Book Riot though, that I usually don't get around to reading because I spend too much time reading the 1001 list. I figured this challenge would help me prioritize those non-list books and diversify my reading.

[Lola]

I posted in this thread when I started the 2015 Challenge, but figured I'd post again since it's a new year and a new challenge. I am an avid reader, the kid who read the back of the cereal box if that's all I had available. I found the challenge last year (and as a result Book Riot itself-to which I am now addicted...the podcasts! the Quarterly Boxes! All.Of.It.) when I Googled reading challenges at the end of 2014, looking for something beyond just the bare numbers challenge that I did for the previous two years here on GR. What I loved about the challenge is that it gave me a way to direct my reading-how many times I finish a book and despite having hundreds, can't decide what to read next!-and also plow through my constantly growing TBR (which Book Riot has contributed to in no small way). I am a pretty diverse reader and already read broadly in terms of genre, subject and voice, but the challenge did encourage me to pick up books I might not have otherwise. I am so glad BR decided to do this again in 2016! Happy reading, all!

[Patty]

Lorraine wrote: "I posted in this thread when I started the 2015 Challenge, but figured I'd post again since it's a new year and a new challenge. I am an avid reader, the kid who read the back of the cereal box if ..."

Happy Reading to you, too.

[Lola]

I forgot to mention that I live in Chicago where we are lucky enough to have a Read Harder group that meets on the 3d Thursday of every month here: http://www.roscoebooks.com

It's been great to meet fellow Riot fans and to talk not just about the challenge but also whatever books we're reading or want to read in the style of an Any Book book club. You can search the BR site and also Facebook to see if there's a group near you.

[Tina]

Lorraine wrote: "I forgot to mention that I live in Chicago where we are lucky enough to have a Read Harder group that meets on the 3d Thursday of every month here: http://www.roscoebooks.com

It's been great to me..."

I have been trying to get there since it started. I live just over an hour away & it seems as if something has comes up every month. I am crossing my fingers for January. Book Riot does so many good things & I hope this succeeds.

[Kathy]

I'm Kathy from Wisconsin, USA. I did the 2015 challenge and have started this challenge with Frankenstein as my horror book. Love the categories this year.

[Cristina]

I'm Cristina, a Spanish-American currently living in Spain.
I heard about this challenge when one of my cousins commented 2 weeks ago that she only had to finish up a trilogy to complete it, and I was intrigued! This same cousin got me using Goodreads actively, and taking the Reading Challenge, and I thought the 2016 Read Harder Challenge here would help increase the diversity of what I read! :)

[Kristen]

I'm Kristen. I found this challenge on the BookBub FB page. I've challenged myself to read a minimum of 25 books in 2016 on Goodreads and am trying to breakout of my reading rut. I am part of a fun book group so I may suggest this challenge to my group as well. Happy New Year and Happy Reading everyone!

[Sandra]

Hi everyone, I'm Sandra. I came across this challenge in a list of reading challenges, and thought this one looked fun and would be a good way to push myself to seek out books I wouldn't normally read.