July 2025
July Read More Reading Challenge: This or That
Summer is the perfect time to explore stories in new and unexpected formats. Whether you’re lounging outdoors or escaping the heat with a good book indoors, this month’s Read More Reading Challenge invites you to experience storytelling through visual imagination and artistic inspiration. July’s “This or That” theme gives you the option to dive into richly illustrated tales or uncover the layered narratives that surround artists and their work. Whichever path you choose, you’ll find that every story is a window into a different way of seeing the world.
A Graphic Novel
Graphic novels are more than just pictures on a page—they’re a unique and powerful form of storytelling. Whether you’re drawn to action-packed plots, supernatural twists, or emotionally resonant journeys, these titles offer a wide variety of narratives brought to life through art. If you’ve never explored the format before, this is a great opportunity to experience how visual storytelling can deepen a story’s emotional impact and pacing.
Check out these selections!
Alice in Borderland by Haro Aso
Genre: Graphic Novel, Action and Adventure Comics
Description: Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future feels like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.
Dandadan by Yukinobu Tatsu
Genre: Graphic Novel, Paranormal comics
Description: Momo Ayase strikes up an unusual friendship with her school’s UFO fanatic, whom she nicknames “Okarun” because he has a name that is not to be said aloud. While Momo believes in spirits, she thinks aliens are nothing but nonsense. Her new friend, meanwhile, thinks the exact opposite. To settle matters, the two set out to prove each other wrong—Momo to a UFO hotspot and Okarun to a haunted tunnel! What unfolds next is a beautiful story of young love…and oddly horny aliens and spirits?
Critical Role: Vox Machina by Matthew Colville
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy Comics, Action and Adventure Comics
Description: What does a flirty bard, a jolly barbarian, a naïve druid, and a pair of murderous twins have in common? One hell of a good time! Follow the group of adventurers as they team up for the first time, facing unexpected foes and picking up two new members as the origin of the acclaimed Critical Role cast rolls their way through the lands!
The Summer You Were There by Yuama
Genre: Graphic Novel, Romance Comics, LGBTQIA+
Description: Something isn’t right at Caseham High School. Last year, the school was rocked by scandal: a teacher was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student. Now, Addie is a pariah and will do anything to get through the year. More than that, she’s desperate to keep the truth from coming to light. Evie, a colleague of the disgraced teacher, is horrified to find Addie in her class. She knows the girl can’t be trusted and soon realizes she’s being watched — which is dangerous, considering she’s hiding something from her husband. But each has secrets about what happened last year. And someone in this school will do anything to keep them silent.
A Book Featuring Art or an Artist
This category celebrates the creative process in all its complexity. From fictional artists navigating personal and professional challenges to suspenseful stories where artwork plays a pivotal role, these books offer a rich look at the intersection of life and art. Whether you’re interested in historical fiction, literary classics, or contemporary thrillers, our selections explore how art can reflect truth, hide secrets, and even change lives.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Genre: Fiction
Description: In this richly imagined portrait of the young woman who inspired one of Vermeer’s most celebrated paintings, history and fiction merge seamlessly in a luminous tale of artistic vision, sensual awakening, and daily life in the Netherlands of the 17th-century.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Genre: Fiction
Description: An exquisitely beautiful young man in Victorian England retains his youthful and innocent appearance over the years while his portrait reflects both his age and evil soul as he pursues a life of decadence and corruption.
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
Genre: Horror
Description: Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job in the affluent suburb of Spring Brook, New Jersey, as a babysitter for five-year-old Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body. With help from a handsome landscaper and an eccentric neighbor, Mallory sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy-while coming to terms with a tragedy in her own past-before it’s too late.
The English Assassin by Daniel Silva
Genre: Crime
Description: An assignment to clean an Old Master at the home of a millionaire banker had led Gabriel Allon to a house in Zurich, and standing in the room now, he smelled the odor of salt and rust, felt the dampness of the carpet beneath his feet. He touched his fingers to the carpet and brought them to his face. He was standing in blood, and he knew his life would never be the same. **Any of Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series can be used for this category
Pick your path—This or That—and let your reading journey begin. Looking for more great reads? Check out our Staff Picks.