2015 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge

I'm a sucker for challenges, particularly those involving lists or books. Generally they end up half finished at the end of the year, but I have a lot of fun trying, so I thought this year I would go ahead and pledge my commitment to the Book Riot Read Harder challenge. This challenge in particular caught my eye since it's focused on encouraging diversity in reading.

The challenge itself is pretty open ended, so I'm setting a couple of additional rules for myself. To start I'm counting one book for one task, unless the book is over 500 pages and fits in two different subcategories (e.g. genre and author, i.e. a scifi novel written by an African author). I've also added a couple of extra tasks: a book by a disabled author or about a disabled character, a nonfiction book, a book from my TBR bookshelf, and a TBR ebook. I've also divided up the National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade task into three separate tasks which gives me a total of 30 tasks.

I'll be updating this post with books as I read them. I'll also link any relevant reviews as I go along.

AUTHORS AND CHARACTERS
Author Age <25
Author Age >65
By LGBTQ Author/About LGBTQ Character Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Jeanette Winterson)
Nonfemale Author
African Author
By/About Indigenous person
Set in Asia How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia (Mohsin Hamid)
Translated Book The Girl Who Played with Fire (Steig Larsson)
By Disabled Author/About Disabled Character The Silkworm (Robert Galbraith)

PUBLISHING
Published before 1850 Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Published in 2015
Indie Publisher

MEDIUM/FORMAT
Short Stories
Audiobook The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Neil Gaiman)
Poetry
Graphic Novel/Comics

GENRE
YA Novel The Wee Free Men (Terry Pratchett)
SciFi Novel Warm Bodies (Issac Marion)
Romance Novel The Summer King (Alaya Dawn Johnson)
Microhistory
Guilty Pleasure Paper Towns (John Green)
Self Improvement
Nonfiction Coming Apart: The State of White America 1960-2010

ACCLAIM
National Book Award Winner
Man Booker Winner
Pultzer Prize Winner
Recommended book

MISCELLANEOUS
Retelling a Classic
TBR Book
TBR Ebook

Comments

Teaser Tuesday - April 14th

"My mother would never let the hearth die in her home," Margret said. She felt Agnes turn to look at her, but didn't meet her gaze. "She believed that as long as a light burned in the house, the Devil couldn't get in. Not even during the witching hour." Agnes was quiet. "What do you believe?" she asked eventually. Margret extended her hands towards the flames. "I think a fire is a useful thing to keep a body warm," she said. - Burial Rites by Hannah Kent Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading . For other contributions click here .

Teaser Tuesday - July 29th

Lack of perspective in literature (or in readers) often causes a contemporary condition I've heard referred to as "presentism"; that is, a disposition to judge all literature by the narrow standards of present time and present culture. This leads to the phenomena such as the denunciation of classic novels such as Huckleberry Finn , on grounds that they deal with issues such as slavery, women's civil rights, ect., in a way not consistent with the notion of present-day political correctness. - "Presentism" The Outlandish Companion by Diana Gabaldon Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading . For other contributions click here .

Vancouver 2014: Camping!

Camping is one of those things that's hard to share via picture, moving or still. It's so much about the experience, the stars overhead, the springy soft ground underfoot, the wind on your face, that first pure hint of morning light, meals cooked by fire and ember. Sure there are the stories you tell, the ones around the campfire and down at the lake, and the ones you tell after, but it's not the same. Stories can conjure memories and emotions but they can't make the sun shine or moths fall from overhead lights. Okay, maybe the last one, moths are sneaky, but the rest, these personal moments and experiences, they're a lot harder to convey. I'll leave it at I had an absolutely amazing time, despite the lack of nonrock based floors and comfortable chairs, I would have turned right around and done it again. The lack of technology was restful and the presence of that much nature was restorative. We mostly relaxed but I did get to see some amazing sights...

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