Reading Challenge 2020

[miss_marissa]

On 1/6/2020 at 8:33 AM, WolfDreamer said:

Finally put together a list of books I want to try to read this year. I likely won't get through the entire list, and the list may grow over time, but this is a great place to start if you want to add more diversity to your reading habits.

 

Read More Diverse Books List

Are you accepting recommendations? I've been attempting to expand my reading a lot lately to include more authors of color, women, and LGBTQ+ authors. Recently I've enjoyed:

Ted Chiang - short stories, mostly science fiction

N.K. Jemisin - currently working through the Broken Earth Trilogy, but she has another trilogy as well

Roxane Gay - nonfiction/memoir

Charlie Jane Anders - science fiction

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ( I see you have another book of hers on your list - I haven't read that one yet)

And I'm going to plug this book by a fellow NF nerd, because it was one of my favorite books I read last year

 

I read mostly science fiction and graphic novels, so if you are looking for more recommendations, a solid 50% of my to-read list is science fiction by a creator from a marginalized community.

 

19 hours ago, Scalyfreak said:

 

Embarrassingly, the idea that my goal to get rid of books I don't want to read will require me to stop reading them, had not occurred to me. I keep clinging to the hope that if I tough it out, maybe the next chapter will be better...!

THE DILEMMA!

 

14 hours ago, fitnessgurl said:

If it makes you feel better...I have more in my unread piles than you do. Not sure that's a good thing...😕

Best of luck to us both!

 

13 hours ago, Aquarii said:

Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday

Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday (because why not start the year with a hefty dose of stoicism)

Curious to know your review once you read this! My brother read recently and recommended them to me.

[Inazea]

I started rereading the Harry Potter books last year but didn't finish 6 and 7. Now that I'm currently bedridden I have plenty of time to read and finished Half-Blood Prince in 3 days. That's book 1/30 for this year! And with that I should add something to my challenge: No rereads (except for the 7th HP book...), I have a giant pile of unread books and told myself to not buy any new books until it is gone, I've been successful with that for the past few months but yeah...

[Harriet]

16 hours ago, SMintYoongi said:

Finished my second book of the year today. 

Oooh, you're on top of things. Way to go!

[Mad Hatter]

46 minutes ago, miss_marissa said:

Are you accepting recommendations? I've been attempting to expand my reading a lot lately to include more authors of color, women, and LGBTQ+ authors. Recently I've enjoyed:

Ted Chiang - short stories, mostly science fiction

N.K. Jemisin - currently working through the Broken Earth Trilogy, but she has another trilogy as well

Roxane Gay - nonfiction/memoir

Charlie Jane Anders - science fiction

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ( I see you have another book of hers on your list - I haven't read that one yet)

And I'm going to plug this book by a fellow NF nerd, because it was one of my favorite books I read last year

Well at least I'm always accepting recommendations! I LOVED the Broken earth trilogy and enjoyed All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders. Roxane Gay's Hunger was not exactly a fun read, but it was a useful one. I'll check out the others too!

 

As an aside, the Dresden files is the only detective story I've liked (movie or book really). To me it reads more like a comedy action fantasy than a classic detective story. They're not the greatest books from a literary point of view, but I find them entertaining reads.

[Jupiter]

9 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

As an aside, the Dresden files is the only detective story I've liked (movie or book really). To me it reads more like a comedy action fantasy than a classic detective story. They're not the greatest books from a literary point of view, but I find them entertaining reads.

 

Yeah, that's how it reads to me too. It's a great series.  

[NeverThatBored]

1 hour ago, miss_marissa said:

Ted Chiang - short stories, mostly science fiction

 

 

I'm reading his book Exhalation right now! 

 

If you like short stories, I HIGHLY recommend Ken Liu's The Paper Menagerie too! It's amazing. 

[miss_marissa]

2 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Well at least I'm always accepting recommendations! I LOVED the Broken earth trilogy and enjoyed All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders. Roxane Gay's Hunger was not exactly a fun read, but it was a useful one. I'll check out the others too!

 

As an aside, the Dresden files is the only detective story I've liked (movie or book really). To me it reads more like a comedy action fantasy than a classic detective story. They're not the greatest books from a literary point of view, but I find them entertaining reads.

The cool thing about books is that they don't have to be elite from a literary perspective to be good, or enjoyable, or useful to someone   That's why there are so many great genres and authors and books out there.

[Mad Hatter]

9 minutes ago, miss_marissa said:

The cool thing about books is that they don't have to be elite from a literary perspective to be good, or enjoyable, or useful to someone   That's why there are so many great genres and authors and books out there.

So very true!  

[Grumble]

Currently listening to the Audiobook of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

 

I am enjoying it far more than i expected to. May have something to do with Jim Dale narrating.

[Scaly Freak]

18 minutes ago, miss_marissa said:

The cool thing about books is that they don't have to be elite from a literary perspective to be good, or enjoyable, or useful to someone   That's why there are so many great genres and authors and books out there.

 

In my experience, the opposite is more likely to be true. I recall being forced to read a lot of "elite literature" at various stages in life, that wasn't enjoyable at all.

[nianjufe]

5 minutes ago, Scalyfreak said:

 

In my experience, the opposite is more likely to be true. I recall being forced to read a lot of "elite literature" at various stages in life, that wasn't enjoyable at all.

 

I can commiserate! Ugh, HS English anyone?? Though I guess it's all in the timing, Anna Karenina was not interesting in HS. Not interesting last year either, but I understood more of it, which made it better.

[Jupiter]

24 minutes ago, nianjufe said:

 

I can commiserate! Ugh, HS English anyone?? Though I guess it's all in the timing, Anna Karenina was not interesting in HS. Not interesting last year either, but I understood more of it, which made it better.

 

LOL they have better reading material in college (in my opinion, but it really does depend on the class), but after 2 degrees in English lit, I have to admit I'm all literature-d out LOL. 

[Scaly Freak]

What kind of high school inflicts Anna Karenina on its poor students?

 

[nianjufe]

The kind where they think Honors means AP, part of the reason I didn't stay in that program! And part of the reason I didn't pursue any degrees in English (sorry @Jupiter!!) Honestly with our state's education ranking, I'm surprised anyone had heard of Tolstoy 😂

[Jupiter]

9 minutes ago, nianjufe said:

The kind where they think Honors means AP, part of the reason I didn't stay in that program! And part of the reason I didn't pursue any degrees in English (sorry @Jupiter!!) Honestly with our state's education ranking, I'm surprised anyone had heard of Tolstoy 😂

 

LOL no worries! Some of it can definitely be hard to get through.

[SMintYoongi]

20 hours ago, Defining said:

Or alternate 1 new - 1 old, back and forth?  

 

that's actually a really good idea! i think i'm gonna attempt doing something like that (but while still just reading what i feel like most at the moment)

[Scaly Freak]

40 minutes ago, nianjufe said:

The kind where they think Honors means AP, part of the reason I didn't stay in that program! And part of the reason I didn't pursue any degrees in English (sorry @Jupiter!!) Honestly with our state's education ranking, I'm surprised anyone had heard of Tolstoy 😂

 

AP = ?

 

And after I made my post I remembered that my high school forced us to read Strindberg, so I have no room to talk... 😏

[Grumble]

49 minutes ago, Scalyfreak said:

 

AP = ?

 

And after I made my post I remembered that my high school forced us to read Strindberg, so I have no room to talk... 😏

Advanced Placement. It's supposed to be the college prep classes.

[Scaly Freak]

30 minutes ago, Grumble said:

Advanced Placement. It's supposed to be the college prep classes.

 

US high school is weird.

[Defining]

Waitwait, you guys did Leo Tolstoy in high school?!? Dude, we had to pick one of his to read in grade 8. Now I'm jealous. 😂

 

3 hours ago, Grumble said:

I am enjoying it far more than i expected to. May have something to do with Jim Dale narrating.

Narrators can make/break a book. I remember listening to the Myth Adventures series narrated by Tony Roberts when I was a kid; I'm still heartbroken that I can't find the complete set anymore, the only version I ever come across is narrated by Jeff Woodman.  

[Scaly Freak]

5 minutes ago, Defining said:

Waitwait, you guys did Leo Tolstoy in high school?!? Dude, we had to pick one of his to read in grade 8. Now I'm jealous. 😂

 

Nope. I read Crime and Punishment in 7th or 8th grade though

[Grumble]

5 minutes ago, Defining said:

Narrators can make/break a book. I remember listening to the Myth Adventures series narrated by Tony Roberts when I was a kid; I'm still heartbroken that I can't find the complete set anymore, the only version I ever come across is narrated by Jeff Woodman.  

Seriously. I have started picking my audiobooks by narrator and may have way too many that are Nick Podehl, Michael Kramer and/or Kate Reading. 

[Jupiter]

1 minute ago, Scalyfreak said:

 

Nope. I read Crime and Punishment in 7th or 8th grade though

 

I had to read it in high school. I hated this book LOL. 

[Scaly Freak]

8 minutes ago, Jupiter said:

 

I had to read it in high school. I hated this book LOL. 

 

I've always suspected that if the assigned reading in school wasn't forced on us, we'd appreciate at least some of those books a lot more. I remember genuinely enjoying any Jane Austen novel I've ever picked up, but if I had been forced to read any of them in school, I would probably have disliked them because I wasn't reading them by my own choice.

 

In hindsight, I am lucky to have had a high school English teacher who allowed us some choice. Instead of assigning one Victorian novel and one Romantic, of whatever, we were given a short list of three or four novels from the era in question, and were told to pick the one that looked the most interesting to us. I enjoyed almost all my English Literature reading in high school, and I firmly believe it was because I had some control over what I was reading.

[WolfDreamer]

On 1/6/2020 at 9:33 AM, WolfDreamer said:

Finally put together a list of books I want to try to read this year. I likely won't get through the entire list, and the list may grow over time, but this is a great place to start if you want to add more diversity to your reading habits.

 

Read More Diverse Books List

 

I've updated my list to include some of the Read Harder recommendations and criteria! The list is still growing and changing, so if you're interested check it out!

 

Right now, I am reading Go Tell It On the Mountain by James Baldwin, the Goldie Vance series by Hope Larson, and I'm listening to Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward.