Book Riot 2019 Read Harder Challenge

[Gemma]

This is an "expand your usual reading list" challenge - an honor system challenge to read things outside of your box. If you finish all 24 tasks in the year, you can e-mail your completed list to Book Riot for a discount at their store. If you don't finish it, you've still exposed your brain to new reading material, and that counts as a win!

 

The Book Riot site and Goodreads will both have places where people post what they have found for each category, and we will do that here as well, so plenty of places to get suggestions if you have trouble finding something for a task.

Direct from the Book Riot site:

Just as in years past, there are 24 tasks, averaging two per month over the course of the next 12 months. You may count one book for multiple tasks or read one book per task. I’ve said it the last three four challenges, so it bears repeating: “We encourage you to push yourself, to take advantage of this challenge as a way to explore topics or formats or genres that you otherwise wouldn’t try. But this isn’t a test. No one is keeping score and there are no points to post. We like books because they allow us to see the world from a new perspective, and sometimes we all need help to even know which perspectives to try out. That’s what this is—a perspective shift—but one for which you’ll only be accountable to yourself.”

 

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters -
2. An alternate history novel
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018
4. A humor book
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania
9. A book published prior to Jan 1 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman
11. A book of manga
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character
13. A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse
14. A cozy mystery
15. A book of mythology or folklore
16. An historical romance by an AOC
17. A business book
18. A book by a trans or nonbinary author
19. A book of nonviolent true crime
20. A book written in prison
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator
22. A children's or middle-grade (not YA) book that has won a diversity award since 2009
23. A self-published book
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014

[Mad Hatter]

Ooh cool challenge! I’ve been wanting to expand my reading, count me in.  

[Arkania]

I'm SO in!

(Have my own reading challenge of one book a week to get my sub smaller, but this one fits also).

[Arkania]

So can I pick what I want or do I have to do it in order?

[CourtnieMarie]

3 hours ago, Arkania said:

So can I pick what I want or do I have to do it in order?

pick what you want and when you want to read them! for me, in 2018, it all depended on availability of the books at the library  

[Gemma]

I love it when right off the bat I find something that meets more than one category.  My friend* R.V. gave me a copy of his latest, Time Zone, for Christmas - and it definitely has less than 100 reviews on Goodreads. In fact, it currently has zero. It is also self-published.

 

I read Paladins: Anointing in 2018, so I can't count it for this challenge, but it would meet either or both of those challenge elements. It currently only has two reviews on Goodreads, one by the author and one by me.  Also, the author is our fellow Nerd, Ranger @Broba Fett   I recommend it; it was fun.

 

*(In all the years I've been talking about writing a book, and starting-but-not-finishing who knows how many - my buddy and occasional missions partner has actually written and self-published nine. I'm neither bitter nor jealous. Most days. You would think this would motivate me to get off my butt, huh?)

[Arkania]

2 hours ago, Gemma said:

I read Paladins: Anointing in 2018

Oh thanks, will read it. And nice, it's Kindle Unlimited.

[Gemma]

Okay, here's what I'm planning so far (like last year, all subject to change at any moment):

 

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters - The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela READ
2. An alternate history novel - I'll probably just go with Alvin Journeyman here, since I've been sloooowwly working my way through this series anyways 
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018 - Maybe A Moonless, Starless Sky (PEN Open Book Award, 2018)
4. A humor book - 
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism - The Professor and the Madman 
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space - NInefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire #1)
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America - Like Water for Chocolate CURRENTLY READING
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania - 
9. A book published prior to Jan 1 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads - Time Zone READ
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman - Like Water for Chocolate CURRENTLY READING
11. A book of manga - Phoenix, Vol 1
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character - Lovelock  READ
13. A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse - 
14. A cozy mystery - A Caribbean Mystery (Miss Marple) READ
15. A book of mythology or folklore - The Celtic Twilight CURRENTLY READING
16. An historical romance by an AOC - The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo 
17. A business book - 
18. A book by a trans or nonbinary author - Born on the Edge of Race and Gender 
19. A book of nonviolent true crime - The Cuckoo's Egg  READ
20. A book written in prison - The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela READ
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator - On a Sunbeam 
22. A children's or middle-grade (not YA) book that has won a diversity award since 2009 - I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark
23. A self-published book - Sight in the Dark READ
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014 - 

[Mike Wazowski]

I am totally here for this!!! I almost certainly will *not* get through all 24 tasks, but I'll consider this a good inspiration point as I'm looking for new books to pick up (besides all you rockstars filling up a giant list of fiction for me to check out, too).

[Scaly Freak]

I completely failed to do this in 2018. As much as I would like to blame Main Stress Monster, it's more accurate to say that Procrastination is the one who really is responsible for hardly any of the reading actually getting done. So I'm making a second attempt because the quote in my signature says that if I learn from failing at something it's actually progress.

 

So here I am. I am officially signed up, but will have to pick books some other day/time when I am less in need of mental detox and relaxation. But I'm here, and like the gym, getting here is half the battle.

[miss_marissa]

Following!!!! I'm going to try to take some time over the next 24 hours to attempt to put a list together.

[Grumble]

I ended up getting about half the list done. Which isn't bad, i guess. Gonna give it another go this year.

[Mike Wazowski]

Placeholder for my list as I build it - nothing currently on it and not quite sure where to start yet.

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters -
2. An alternate history novel
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018
4. A humor book
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania
9. A book published prior to Jan 1 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman
11. A book of manga
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character
13. A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse
14. A cozy mystery
15. A book of mythology or folklore
16. An historical romance by an AOC
17. A business book
18. A book by a trans or nonbinary author
19. A book of nonviolent true crime
20. A book written in prison
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator
22. A children's or middle-grade (not YA) book that has won a diversity award since 2009
23. A self-published book
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014

[CourtnieMarie]

1 hour ago, Mike Wazowski said:

Placeholder for my list as I build it - nothing currently on it and not quite sure where to start yet.

These lists on goodreads were really helpful for me!

 

 

Here's where I'm at...

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters - Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions; The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society; Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) 
2. An alternate history novel -  Karen Memory; Insurrecto; The Underground Railroad 
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018 - Exit West 
4. A humor book – A Short History of Nearly Everything; Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine; Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood 
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism - The Library Book
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space - The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1); Binti
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America – Like Water for Chocolate
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania - Telesa: The Covenant Keeper
9. A book published prior to Jan 1 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads -  Chosen Soldiers
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman – Confessions; Dragon Sword and Wind Child
11. A book of manga – Monstress vol. 1
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character – The Chapel Perilous
13. A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse – Turtles All The Way Down; Criminal (Will Trent book 6)
14. A cozy mystery - A Conspiracy in Belgravia (Lady Sherlock, #2)
15. A book of mythology or folklore - The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1) 
16. An historical romance by an AOC – Under a Painted Sky; The Perilous Sea
17. A business book – Den of Thieves; Crucial Conversations
18. A book by a trans or nonbinary author - The Only Harmless Great Thing
19. A book of nonviolent true crime - Invisible; The Library Book
20. A book written in prison - 
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator - Relish: My Life in the Kitchen 
22. A children's or middle-grade (not YA) book that has won a diversity award since 2009 - I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark 
23. A self-published book - 
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014 - The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1) 

[Mike Wazowski]

57 minutes ago, CourtnieMarie said:

These lists on goodreads were really helpful for me!

 

Yesssssssss yet another reason for me to spend more time on goodreads. I half-seriously want to track my social media time and make sure I'm spending no more time on Instagram than I am on goodreads (and ideally, less on both of those than reading actual books on my reading app).

[CourtnieMarie]

8 minutes ago, Mike Wazowski said:

 

Yesssssssss yet another reason for me to spend more time on goodreads. I half-seriously want to track my social media time and make sure I'm spending no more time on Instagram than I am on goodreads (and ideally, less on both of those than reading actual books on my reading app).

it's definitely a balancing act! i can while away hours going through goodreads books/reviews 

[Gemma]

4 hours ago, CourtnieMarie said:

These lists on goodreads were really helpful for me!

 

Yep, I am getting tons of good ideas from there, too. 

 

If you do read Insurrecto, I'm dying to know what you think of it. I adored it, but I also think that it might be a little bit too weird for most of my IRL readerpals. 

 

I just added The City of Brass to my TBR based on a Goodreads recommendation, super excited about this series! 
 

2 hours ago, Mike Wazowski said:

 

Yesssssssss yet another reason for me to spend more time on goodreads. I half-seriously want to track my social media time and make sure I'm spending no more time on Instagram than I am on goodreads (and ideally, less on both of those than reading actual books on my reading app).

 

LOL, Goodreads is my principal social media obsession, I spend more time there than on either Instagram or Twitter. Beware, it is a potentially serious timesuck. You've been warned. Here be dragons. 

[Arkania]

My list:

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters - "Nerdmännchen"
2. An alternate history novel - "Paralellwelt"
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018 - "nichts, was uns passiert"
4. A humor book - "Die Känguruh-Apokryphen"
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism - "Lass mich die Nacht überleben"
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space - Binti 1
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America - "The hate u give"
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania - "Whale rider"
9. A book published prior to Jan 1 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads - "Paladins: Anointing"
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman - "Whale rider"
11. A book of manga - "Legacy of the ocean" or "Pretty guardian Sailor Moon"
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character - "Friedhof der Kuscheltiere"
13. A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse - "The Kiss Quotient"
14. A cozy mystery - "How to bake a murder"
15. A book of mythology or folklore - "Folklore & Mythology"
16. An historical romance by an AOC - "The Governess Affair"
17. A business book - "Lebe und arbeite nach deinen eigenen Regeln"
18. A book by a trans or nonbinary author - "George"
19. A book of nonviolent true crime - "Der Mann, der den Mond gestohlen hat"
20. A book written in prison - "Die vergitterte Welt"
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator - "Chilling adventures of Sabrina"
22. A children's or middle-grade (not YA) book that has won a diversity award since 2009 - "George"
23. A self-published book - "Paladins: Anointing"
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014 - "FATUM"

[Scaly Freak]

Place holder, to be filled out in the next few days.

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters -
2. An alternate history novel
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018
4. A humor book
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania
9. A book published prior to Jan 1 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman
11. A book of manga
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character
13. A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse
14. A cozy mystery
15. A book of mythology or folklore
16. An historical romance by an AOC
17. A business book
18. A book by a trans or nonbinary author
19. A book of nonviolent true crime
20. A book written in prison
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator
22. A children's or middle-grade (not YA) book that has won a diversity award since 2009
23. A self-published book
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014

[CourtnieMarie]

17 hours ago, Gemma said:

If you do read Insurrecto, I'm dying to know what you think of it. I adored it, but I also think that it might be a little bit too weird for most of my IRL readerpals. 

ha! your review actually made me hesitant to choose it... i don't need my reads to be all tied up nicely but i do like to be able to follow them. I read Fates and Furies in 2016 and had no idea what was going on. most of it went wayyyy over my head.

 

17 hours ago, Gemma said:

I just added The City of Brass to my TBR based on a Goodreads recommendation, super excited about this series! 

can't remember where i got the suggestion from but it's been on my TBR for a year - excited to get to it as well!

[Gemma]

Ooooooooooooh <excited squee> I just realized that "The Cuckoo's Egg" is a nonviolent true crime story! I actually bought this a couple of months ago, Cliff Stoll is way high on my 'favorite humans' list, but I hadn't got around to reading it yet. <repeat squee> <acknowledge that I might be overcaffeinated> <shrug, squee again>

 

I'm sure some of y'all nerds know who Cliff Stoll is, but in case you don't, he is the oh-so-perpetually-excited crazy-old-uncle type mathematician from Numberphile, the Klein Bottle fanboy, possibly the happiest nerd on earth ... I so very much love him and really kinda want to be just like him (only maybe not the hair. Maybe.) 

 

 

[CourtnieMarie]

TBH - I think you could probably rock the hair too

[miss_marissa]

I don't think the two books I have read/am reading yet so far fall into any of these categories. Dang, should have looked in detail at this sooner.

 

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters -
2. An alternate history novel
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018:  Hunger by Roxane Gay
4. A humor book
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space - The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania
9. A book published prior to Jan 1 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads: Salvagers
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman Au Haru Ride by Io Sakisaka 
11. A book of manga - Full Metal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa 
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character
13. A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse
14. A cozy mystery
15. A book of mythology or folklore
16. An historical romance by an AOC
17. A business book - The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell or Mindset by Carol Dweck
18. A book by a trans or nonbinary author: All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
19. A book of nonviolent true crime: The Bling Ring by Nancy Jo Sales
20. A book written in prison
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator - ALL OF THEM PLZ AND THANK YOU
22. A children's or middle-grade (not YA) book that has won a diversity award since 2009 - Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O'Neill
23. A self-published book - Legend of the Stone Keepers by NF NERD J.L. Trepanier
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014

 

purples are completed

[CourtnieMarie]

14 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

I don't think the two books I have read/am reading yet so far fall into any of these categories. Dang, should have looked in detail at this sooner.

SAME but it's still doable with the remaining year and also fun to get through just some of them  

[CourtnieMarie]

UGHHHH i saved all my choices in a draft email but my work just migrated to office 365 and apparently recent drafts are gone? now i'll have to go back through and re-choose my prison and self-published books. grumble grumble grumble.

 

In any case, i'm about halfway through A Short History of Nearly Everything but I would not consider it a "humor book" as i had hoped it to be. definitely interesting but there's no way i'd put it in humor. it's light and somewhat humorous for a textbook but still an accurate history of science discoveries.