How many 2026 Read Harder Challenge tasks have you completed so far?
There is a wide range of answers to this question, although the most common response was 12: On track to complete all 24 tasks by the end of the year! However, the trend seems to be that most of us are a little behind, which is a change from last year’s answers. Is the Read Harder Challenge more difficult this year, or are we collectively going through something? (It can be both.)
Which task was or will be the most challenging for you to complete?
There was no debate about the hardest task this year, though: 25% of you said #12: Read/try a recipe from a cookbook about a culture whose food you’ve never eaten. I’d love to hear what makes it so hard! I imagine that if you’re an adventurous eater, it can be difficult to find a cookbook from a culture whose food you’ve never tasted.
The runners-up for hardest tasks were #18: Read a nonfiction book about AI or social media and #19: Read a book by an intersex author. However, almost all works, except #2, #16, and #23, were nominated at least once.
Which task was or would be the easiest for you to complete?
There was a lot of variation in the answers to this question. The top pick was #20: Read a book set in space, followed by a tie between #10: Read a book recently adapted for film, TV, or music and #24: Choose one of last years’ challenges to repeat!
However, once again, most tasks were named as easiest at least once, even as some tasks were mentioned most often as most difficult. The exceptions are #3, #19, #22, and #23.
