Celebrate National Translation Month With These Books

September is National Translation Month! Books in translation are severely underrepresented in the English market, which means we’re missing out on some of the best writing in the world. The best way to counter this is to prove there’s a market for literature in translation. Here are seven excellent books in translation that also check off tasks on the 2026 Read Harder Challenge, including graphic nonfiction, a book set in space, genre books in translation, and more. Task #2: Read a book featured on a “best book covers” list I Deliver Parcels in Beijing by Hu AnYan, translated by Jack Hargreaves; design by Rodrigo Corral; illustration by Klaus Kremmerz Not only is that title amazing, the cover matches it nicely. There’s nothing secret here: it’s a person who delivers parcels out doing their thing. Corral and Kremmerz bring energy in their color choices and in the way they focus on the image instead of the font–we’re still in an era where font drives so many designs. The other thing that really makes this cover magic is what might be most unexpected for US readers: this is a work of nonfiction. Rarely does adult nonfiction or memoir see an illustrated cover outside of comics. This b...