Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Reading Harder in 2019

So at the end of last year, I said I probably wouldn't continue on with the 2019 "Read Harder" challenge from Book Riot because I wasn't that thrilled with the guideposts set for this year. However, very quickly into the first week of January, I realized I was already reading books that fit some of the categories. Well, once the game was afoot like that, I knew I was hooked. Every time I thought I was out, they pulled me back in. (Okay, I'm done with random book/movie quotes now.)

I still maintain that some of this year's prompts are just plain dumb (Goodreads reviews are meaningless to me, for example), but some of them are interesting. Being a voracious reader of all types of books over many years, I think I have managed to read something that fits each of these categories before, but it's still fun to try out a challenge for the year.

Once again, my book tastes include children's, YA, graphic, and audio book titles. Every one of those is a valid reading choice, and I have no interest in those who want to argue otherwise. As always, I link to my LibraryThing reviews of each book; click on the titles for more on my thoughts and feelings for each title. Just because I include a title here does not mean I enjoyed it and/or recommend it.

 Some titles would fit into multiple categories but I tried as much as possible to contain them to one "best fit" category. However, I did put multiple titles under some challenges if they fit the category and were not used elsewhere.

In the end, I was able to meet all 24 of the 24 categories, which is the first time I've hit every mark with this challenge. And with time to spare! Helps to start early, me thinks.

Without any further ado, here are the 24 challenges and the titles I read to meet them in 2019.

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters

2. An alternate history novel
An alternate World War II is in both books, although it's a smaller subplot within the latter as opposed to being the whole basis for the former. 


3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018

4. A humor book
North by Northwest is not actually a book but a recording of a stand-up routine. However, I found it my library's audiobook collection and, hey, what are books but storytelling anyway? I'm counting it. Especially because Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat? was supposedly a humor book, but wasn't actually funny! Feminasty was a humor book but is one of those 'laughing-so-we-don't-cry' types of comedy. 
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism
By a journalist, and about journalism. 


6. A book by an AOC set in or about space
This is one of those "streeeetch" books. The main character is obsessed with astronomy and rocket science in particular. He does go to a rocket festival and meet folks with similar interests. He even has a dog named Carl Sagan, named after the person he repeatedly refers to as his "hero." However, it takes place here on Earth and is about a lot of down-to-earth problems.


7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America
The book never really specifies where it's set beyond "the city." I presumed that references Mexico City, where the author was born and currently lives.


8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania
This book is set primarily in New Zealand, with brief forays into Australia and Papua New Guinea.


9. A book published prior to January 1, 2019, with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads
I get that the idea is to the read an under-the-radar book instead of a buzzed about one (pardon my mixed metaphors), but I still think this is a dumb “challenge.” Who cares about Goodreads reviews?

In the end, I included one book just to tick this challenge off, but it was literally the one and only book I read this year that I bothered to look at the Goodreads number for (and I merely glanced at the number of reviews, didn't bother to read any). I was reading this book anyway at the time I decided to look at the Goodreads number, so it's not like this prompt actually challenged me in any way, shape, or form. What a waste of a "challenge."

And, for all I know, plenty of other books I read this year would have fit into this non-challenge. I just didn't care enough to look up any other titles via Goodreads.


 10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman
Written by a woman, and translated by a woman.


11. A book of manga
A manga series I actually like! Who knew? Not me, if I hadn't done this challenge!


12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character
Yup, I'm using the same series for two categories. Oh well. At least I am using different volumes. Chi is an adorable kitten who is the protagonist of this manga series.

Fox 8 was on Book Riot's list of recommended titles for this challenge and it sounded interesting to me, but it's worth noting that it's actually a short story, not a full-length book or even a novella. 
13. A book by or about someone that identifies as neurodiverse
In his memoir, Eddie Izzard discusses his dyslexia, amongst many other topics. As a nice compare and contrast, Fish in a Tree is a fictional account of a schoolgirl with dyslexia, written by an author was says "my own life inspired the story. Although I’ve never been tested for dyslexia, I have been suspicious that I have at least a touch of it. I was in the lowest reading group in grades one through six."

The Kiss Quotient is a romance novel with a protagonist who has Asperger syndrome; the author is also on the autism spectrum. Superstar is a middle-grade novel about a child on the autism spectrum; Rules also features a child with a diagnosis of autism, although he is the protagonist's younger brother.


14. A cozy mystery

15. A book of mythology or folklore

16. An historical romance by an AOC

17. A business book
I would not have thought of this as a "business book" (my mind conjured up tomes about how to run a corporation), but I'm glad that Book Riot had it on their suggested list because I loved it and told many other folks about the story it contained. 


18. A novel by a trans or nonbinary author
Technically, it's a book of short stories, rather than a novel. But it's still fiction, so I think it's close enough for this challenge.


19. A book of nonviolent true crime
I would not have thought of this book as a "true crime" book if I had picked it up independently, but Book Riot listed it as a suggestion for this prompt. It sounded interesting -- and it was!


20. A book written in prison
This was a bit of a stretch because she was out of prison when it was written, but she does discuss her time there, so I'm counting it as a close enough.
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator

22. A children’s or middle grade book (not YA) that has won a diversity award since 2009
  • Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (2016 Schneider Family Book Award Winner)
  • A Moon for Moe and Mo by Jane Breskin Zalben (2018 Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor Book for Younger Readers)

23. A self-published book

24. A collection of poetry published since 2014
This children's poetry anthology was published in 2018.


Here's to happy reading ahead in 2020!


*Begun in 2018 but finished in 2019.
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