Read a book in which the novel title contains a job title, military title, or title of nobility such as locksmith, lieutenant, or lord. This title can be something that is bestowed upon a character (such as “hero”) and it can include fictional titles that are only in the setting, such as Legendborn by Tracy Deonn*.*

Hard Mode: Not a title of royalty.

Story focuses on super powered individuals. You know, heroes and villains and capes.

Hard Mode: Not related to DC or Marvel.

Read one of the books that’s been on your To Be Read pile (TBR) the longest. If you do not keep a TBR, read one of the books that you have been meaning to read for the longest time but haven’t yet.

Hard Mode: None. Actually finishing a book you’ve been putting off for so long is already hard enough.

Read a book that portrays magical or unreal elements in an otherwise realistic or mundane environment. These books are often found on literary fiction shelves and book lists and not always shelved as genre fiction. This is a hard square to pin down as what makes something literary or magical can often come down to vibes, so use your best judgment. No saying A Game of Thrones is literary fiction since there aren’t a lot of magical elements. Check out this thread for further ideas and guidelines.

Hard Mode: Not one of the thirty books in the linked thread.

Read a book that was written for young adults.

Hard Mode: Published in the last 5 years.

The protagonist has a commonplace job that can be found in the real world (so no princes or monster hunters!). We are also excluding soldiers as they are already extremely prominent in SFF.

Hard Mode: Does not take place on Earth.

Read a book that was published between 2000 and 2009.

Hard Mode: Not in the top 30 of r/Fantasy’s Best of 2023 List.

Story must feature angels or demons or both in a prominent role.

Hard Mode: The protagonist is an angel or demon.

Any short SFF story as long as there are five of them.

Hard Mode: Read an entire SFF anthology or collection.

Read a book from the horror genre.

Hard Mode: Not Stephen King or H. P. Lovecraft.

Self-published or published through a small, indie publisher. If the novel has been picked up by a publisher, it only counts for this challenge if you read it when it was still self-published.

Hard Mode: Self-published and has fewer than 100 ratings on Goodreads, OR an indie publisher that has done an AMA with r/Fantasy.

Read a book that is set in the Middle East or in an analogous setting that is based on real-world Middle Eastern settings, myths, and culture. See these pages for more info on which countries and regions qualify: Wikipedia page for the Middle East, SWANA page. Example novels would include The Daevabad Trilogy by S. A. Chakraborty and The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad

Hard Mode: Author is of Middle Eastern heritage.

A book published for the first time in 2023 (no reprints or new editions).

Hard Mode: It’s also a debut novel–as in it’s the author’s first published novel.

Read a book in which the setting contains at least two universes, dimensions, planes, realities, etc. that characters within the book can travel between. Multiple worlds in the same physical plane of existence - such as planets within a universe - would not count for this square.

Hard Mode: Characters do not walk through a literal door in order to get to another world.

Author must be Person of Color.

Hard Mode: Novel takes place in a futuristic, sci-fi world. NOTE: this is now a recurring, yearly square but the hard mode will be changing every year to keep it exciting.

A book that takes place primarily (at least 50%) off planet. IE: on a spaceship, space station, asteroid, space whale, free floating in space, etc.

Hard Mode: Characters are not originally from Earth. It is acceptable for the characters to be descendants of Earthlings as long as they are not themselves from Earth.

Read a work of fiction of between 17,500 and 40,000 words.

Hard Mode: Novella is NOT published by Tordotcom Publishing.

Read a book that prominently features at least one mythical beast, meaning a creature that doesn’t exist in reality. See this Wikipedia page for an idea of what counts.

Hard Mode: No dragons or dragon-like creatures (e.g. wyverns, Draccus in Kingkiller).

Read a book that has elemental magic. The primary magic within the world deals with the classical elements: Earth, Wind/Air, Water, and Fire.

Hard Mode: Not V. E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series or Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera series.

Read a book that is based on a myth or preexisting story.

Hard Mode: Not Greek or Roman mythology.

A book set in a world where queerness is normalized, accepted, and prevalent within communities. Characters are not othered, ostracized, or particularly remarkable in any way for their queerness.

Hard Mode: Not a futuristic setting. Takes place in a time akin to ours, in the past, or in a fantasy world that has no science fiction elements.

Story features a major setting that is near or surrounded by the sea.

Hard Mode: The book also features sea-faring.

A book that heavily features druids. This can be a classic druid, a priest or magician in Celtic lore, or a magic user whose powers stem from nature.

Hard Mode: Not The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne.

Read a book that features robots, androids, clockwork machines, or automatons.

Hard Mode: Robot is the protagonist.

Read a book that is a sequel to another SFF book.

Hard Mode: Book 3 or on in the series.