Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
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Sent e-mail a few days ago, but no reply yet.Wanted to buy some stuff today as there's free shipping
Ditto on the email & free shipping. I'm always a day late & a dime short.
Sorry to hear that I am not the only one waiting for that 30% discount.
I finished today (12/18) and can't wait for Read Harder 2016. This challenge led me to read books I never would have read otherwise. Enjoyed it thoroughly.
Got my discount code after bothering the CEO on Twitter. I already ordered my mug.
I got my discount within a day or two, wondering why it is taking so long for you? I used mine for a mug too!
First reading challenge I have ever done and thoroughly enjoyed it! I had done away with my TBR pile a few years ago and really loved the search for interesting books to fulfill the tasks.I would suggest that you organize the task discussions better -- set up one for each task now with the task number and a short heading and keep them in one section.
I finished the tasks a few days ago, and have posted a list of the books over on my blog. I actually read way more than the 24 required, once I got going on audiobooks I couldn't be stopped. :) I probably read more than 70 books all things considered that qualified for various tasks. (I've read 104 this year.) Favorites include Between the World and Me, The Martian, and Romancing Mister Bridgerton. Least favorite was Indie press A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing. Stretches were graphic novel Jane, the Fox, and Me and short stories Get in Trouble.https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
I'm reading my last book this week! I'm finishing it up with the Pulitzer Prize winning A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. This challenge opened my eyes to author's I may not have tried without it and pushed my reading boundaries to the limit! I enjoyed this challenge and plan on doing the next one! I think my favorite book on my list was The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer. It was fantastic! I especially liked the audio version of the book!
I finished on December 13th. I really enjoyed this challenge. I discovered it in April and am very glad I participated in it. I read mostly paranormal romances and urban fantasies, so a number of the tasks were outside of my comfort area.The tasks I found most daunting were the micohistory one, the self-help one, the poetry task, and the audiobook one. As it turned out, these tasks got me to read books I wouldn't have otherwise, and I really enjoyed most of what I read. :-)
Unfortunately, the 2016 challenge doesn't look like it will be nearly as fun for me. At first glance, I actually had the thought that maybe I'd pass on it. But I'm going to try. After all, this time around I'll have the full year to work on it. And I'm hoping to find some books I enjoy in at least some of the hard-for-me tasks. :-)
Here's my 2015 shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list....
And here's my plan for 2015: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/....
Jen, I thought the same when I saw the 2016 challenge, but I've already assigned books to almost all the tasks. Hope I'll get around to reading all the books, as some are really outside my comfort zone, but the same happened for this years challenge and I enjoyed most of the new genres a lot. I think except for the graphic novel, all were very good reads.
Pia wrote: "Jen, I thought the same when I saw the 2016 challenge, but I've already assigned books to almost all the tasks. Hope I'll get around to reading all the books, as some are really outside my comfort..."
At first glance, most of 2016's tasks look to be not only outside of my comfort zone, but way outside it. But like you, though not fully, I've assigned books to the first three tasks. After looking at the links Book Riot shared in the task folders, I found a few that look like something I'll hopefully enjoy. I'm hoping that looking at the links in the other task folders will make them not seem so daunting, too.
I just finished the last book in the challenge - self-improvement with Kathryn Schulz, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, a book I thoroughly enjoyed and whose insights I will try to use in my work as a teacher. I had too many favorites. I loved most of what I read. finally read a bunch of books that were on my shelves (or audiobook verison of the same) for a long time. Skippy Dies; Borrowed Finery: A Memoir; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; Stone Butch Blues; and Chris Abani's GraceLand. Rereading Pride and Prejudice with my husband was a treat as well.
The romance category was my biggest stretch, and I liked the book I read fineTrust Me on This. I did learn that romances have changed since the days of Harlequin.
My biggest surprises were Good Kings Bad Kings and Miranda July, The First Bad Man. I thought the first would be too depressing and earnest and instead found it both nuanced and funny, and the second I had thought would be annoying and pretentious, but instead it was also funny and bizarrely gripping.
I just finished today!!I'm glad I read Nevada by Imogen Binnie, Saga vol. 1, The Shore by Sara Taylor, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely the most.
Other books on this challenge didn't work for me. Jane Eyre and Code Name Verity for example.
Also, ever since I had to do an audiobook for this challenge, I listen to audiobooks in the car or while I perform household chores, something I never did prior.
Very excited to start a fresh challenge in 2016! I plan on staying in and reading my under 100 pages challenge book on that day to kick things off.
I have just accepted that I will not finish this year. But I was only short like 5 categories. I still fulfilled the nature of the challenge by reading things I never would have read before and I have become addicted to learning more and more and more. I am so excited for 2016 and I am having trouble waiting until the official start of 2016 to get started!
And done!! It only took me close to three months to finish the last book, LOL. The book I most enjoyed was Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. The book I least enjoyed was....oh heck, I don't even want to figure it out. The book that was most important to have read was The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer. And best of all, practically half of the books were already in my piles, which is why I did the challenge in the first place. Another portion were read in my F2F book club this year. This was most enjoyable and I am so looking forward to 2016!
I just finished the last book for my challenge with 4 days left of the year! I actually can't believe I stuck with it all year. I tend to trail off of long reading projects. This was a hard year for me, personally, so I'm extra impressed with myself. 2016 here I come!
Adrienne wrote: "I just finished the last book for my challenge with 4 days left of the year! I actually can't believe I stuck with it all year. I tend to trail off of long reading projects. This was a hard year fo..."Congratulations!
I just finished my graphic novel to comp,tee the challenge. It was mostly fun but there were a couple of the tasks that were difficult( the graphic novel and especially the romance novel, as I choose to make a second try at Pride and Prejudice, which still is stupifingly boring to me). Looking forward to the 2016 Read Harder challenge which my wife and youngest son have agreed to do as well
I finished the challenge on Dec. 27th. I had decided at the end of Dec 2014 that I wanted to get out of my comfort zone with reading in the next year. Not long after deciding this I discovered BookRiot.com and the Read Harder Challenge. Thank you for putting this together!! It was a great experience and while I didn't necessarily like every book I read I was glad that I read it and discovered new things through reading each book.
Can't wait for the 2016 challenge!!
Dana
I am finishing today. It is a good feeling to have completed this challenge, although I cannot attest to it having stretched my comfort zone much since I participate in multiple groups and challenges. Perhaps the poetry; yet, in the past, my husband and I have read poetry to each other - so it is not even a new genre, just one I do not engage in much.
Hey! I emailed my completed list in yesterday, was wondering if I'm meant to receive a confirmation email or something?
Just finished! Great challenge. I enjoyed some categories a lot more than other, but that was probably due to my book choices. Here is my list. Looking forward to the 2016 Read Harder Challenge!A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people)-The Stories of John Cheever
A book that takes place in Asia-People Who Eat Darkness
A YA novel-The Book Thief
A microhistory-Gulp, Mary Roach
A book that was originally published in another language-The Beast
A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure (Read, and then realize that good entertainment is nothing to feel guilty over)-50 Shades Darker
A romance novel- Fifty Shades of Grey
A book by a person whose gender is different from your own-The Leftovers
A book published this year-The Girl on the Train
An audiobook-most talkative, Andy Cohen
A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade-Wolf Hall
A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ-The Price of Salt
A self-improvement book (can be traditionally or non-traditionally considered “self-improvement”)-Lean In
A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65-In the Unlikely Event, Judy Blume
A book that someone else has recommended to you-Crazy Rich Asian
A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind -Persepolis
A book published by an indie press-The Empathy Exams
A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture (Native Americans,
Aboriginals, etc.)-Krakatoa, Simon Winchester
A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25-White Teeth, Zadie Smith
A sci-fi novel-The Martian
A book that is a retelling of a classic story (fairytale, Shakespearian play, classic novel, etc.)-Boy,Snow,Bird
A book published before 1850-Sense and Sensibility
A book by an author from Africa-The Boy who Harnessed the Wind
A collection of poetry-Leaves of Grass
I am not going to make the challenge (I'm missing prizewinner & pre-1850) in the remaining 24hours mainly due to participation in the altTOB (it's great!) however this and PopSugar managed to get me to pay closer attention to my range so I thought I would share! I read 86 books and 62(!) graphic novels this year, with approx. 80/20 fiction/non-fiction split. Overwhelming fantasy genre. I'm almost exactly split between male and female but very little foreign, translated or person of color authorship so my goals in 2016 are targeted especially in those areas. What were your favorite reads? - too many!
Brown Girl Dreaming (recommended), Blue Lily, Lily Blue (YA), The Last Policeman (sci-fi), Crimson Bound (fairytale retelling),Sweetland (published 2015),Man Tiger (Asian setting),The Marco Effect (translated),Ms. Marvel (graphic novel)
What stretched you the most?
Poetry is always one I fail to seek out. The Dream of a Common Language was excellent and a reminder to hunt more down. Between the World and Me (published 2015) was difficult to handle emotionally but SO SO good! Also the microhistory Just My Type:A Book about Fontswas interesting but a tad tedious.
What did you like that you didn't expect to?
The audiobook. My fears were confirmed in fiction A Darker Shade of Magic which had irritating voices for all children and females, but the memoir Yes, Please was amazing and much better than the print experience!
Finished 12/30/2015 with Persuasion as my last book! I only found the challenge in the fall, but I was already doing the Pop Sugar Challenge and had read a bunch of side reads (maybe about 7) that fit this challenge so I took this on too :) Finished the Pop Sugar Challenge a few days ago too! What a great year of reading! 92 books compared to only 17 in 2014!
Yay! Done! I blended this challenge with the larger Goodreads challenge and read more this year than I have in over a decade. Favorite book: Behind the Beautiful Forevers--a book that takes place in Asia. Most disappointing was the Booker Prize choice--The Sense of an Ending (despite one incredibly beautiful scene). Most surprising discovery--Heap House by Edward Carey (YA). Toughest challenge--The Illiad, by this guy named Homer. Damn, that's one bloody book. Looking forward to 2016.
Nothing like waiting until the last minute, but I am finished! Here they are:1. A book written by someone under 25 "This Side of Paradise"
2. A book written by someone when they were over 65 "Counterfeit Lies" Oliver North
3. A collection of short stories "The Unamericans: Stories"
4. A book published by an indie press "The Wallcreeper" (did not like this book)
5. A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ "The Hours"
6. A book by a person whose gender is different from your own "Dead Wake"
7. A book that takes place in Asia "The White Tiger"
8. A book by an author from Africa "Americanah"
9. A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture "The Sex Lives of Cannibals"
10. A microhistory "One Summer: America, 1927"
11. A YA novel "Paper Towns"
12. A sci-fi novel "Authority"
13. A romance novel "After the War is Over"
14. A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner "Sophie's Choice"
15. A book that is a retelling of a classic story "Boy, Snow, Bird"
16. An audiobook "Private London"
17. A collection of poetry "One Soul"
18. A book that someone else has recommended to you "Nobody's Cuter Than You"
19. A book that was originally published in another language "A Paris Affair"
20. A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind "Miss Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel"
21. A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure "Private Games"
22. A book published before 1850 "Mansfield Park"
23. A book published in 2015 "At the Water's Edge"
24. A self-improvement book "The Life-Changing Magic of a Tidying Up"
I just finished the 2015 Read Harder Challenge today. December 30th. My resolution for the 2016 challenge is not to wait til the last day of the year to finish my books. I would not have read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (micro history) but am so glad I did. The Handmaids's Tale frightened me. Loved Pride and Predjudice.
I have one more book to finish to complete the challenge , Emma. I am in the last 20% of the book with just about 12 hours left in the year. It is seriously the hardest challenge of them all for me. I have taken a serious dislike for this book after feeling bored by it for the majority of my time with it. I want to finish it today, but probably won't read any Jane Austen in the new year.
I finished the challenge last week when I finished reading my microhistory, which I predictably (for me) left for last. This challenge made me more aware of what and who I am and am not reading. It pushed me out of my recent YA dystopian comfort zone and kept me reading consistently throughout the year, even when I didn't feel like it. Looking forward to the 2016 challenge!What were your favorite reads? My favorites were my YA (The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend, Bone Gap, Beauty Queens, If I Ever Get Out of Here, Ready Player One) and MG (The Crossover, El Deafo, Brown Girl Dreaming) books and the Neil Gaiman books (American Gods, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch).
What stretched you the most? The microhistory, Rain: A Natural and Cultural History, filled a void in my reading life. Researching the prompts stretched me and led me not only to the books I chose for this challenge but also to others that I read this year or will read in the future.
I finished Christmas Eve, my last book was the microhistory (The Secret History of Wonder Woman) and it was the one that took me the longest - it was so completely outside of what I'd normally pick up and took me ages to get into, but I did thoroughly enjoy it in the end.
I finished today! I did read some books I would never had picked by myself, wich was exactly the point of starting this challenge so....I really lovedThe Poisonwood Bible and The Magicians the trilogy. Even as a jaded fantasy reader this one suprised me. I was putting of reading the far pavillions by m.m. kay for years but used it for the romance part of this challenge. No regrets there also. I'm looking forward to the next challenge
A question for BookRiot or any other challenge participants: Do you tjink i can count a book i started in dec 2015 but finished the last 25% on jan 1 2016? I've been listening to an audiobook for that task and time just got away from me!
Ashley wrote: "A question for BookRiot or any other challenge participants: Do you tjink i can count a book i started in dec 2015 but finished the last 25% on jan 1 2016? I've been listening to an audiobook for t..."The thing about this challenge is that it's about YOU as a reader and expanding/diversifying your reading during the year. I think that if it works for you, apply that book to the 2016 challenge. That said, you may find a book that you read later in the year that applies to that task. Use that second one if you want to. Or don't :) The thing that's great about this challenge is that you can do it it the way that works best for you. Sounds to me like you've got your first task done :)
I completed the 2015 Read Harder Challenge on December 30! Love this challenge. Excited for next year. A book by an author under 25: White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
A book by an author over 65: Dog Songs by Mary Oliver
A collection of short stories: Books of Blood Vol. 1 by Clive Barker
Indie press book: Bitch Planet Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick et al.
LGBTQ: No Me Voy a Disculpar by Mila Martinez
Different gender: Ghost Story by Peter Straub
A book placed in Asia: A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oe
A book by African author: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A book by or about someone from indigenous culture: The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich
A microhistory: The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
A YA novel: Clariel by Garth Nix
A Sci-fi novel: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
A Romance novel: Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
An award winner from last decade: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
A retelling of classic tale: Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
An audiobook: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
A collection of poetry: Prelude to Bruise by Saeed Jones
A recommendation from someone else: Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder--From Childhood Through Adulthood by Edward M. Hallowell
A book originally published in another language: Norweigian Wood by Haruki Murakami
A graphic novel: Saga Vol. 5 by Brian K. Vaughan et al.
A guilty pleasure: Dengeki Daisy Vol. 1 by Motomi, Kyousuke
A book published before 1850: The Unknown Masterpiece by Honore de Balzac
A book published this year: Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
A self improvement book: How to Be Alone by Sara Maitland
Thanks for the response! I was actually asking if i could count it towards my 2015 challenge, not 2016. I'm just being kinda ocd about it :)
Ashley wrote: "Thanks for the response! I was actually asking if i could count it towards my 2015 challenge, not 2016. I'm just being kinda ocd about it :)"In that case...and despite my do-what-works-for-you post, I too can get OCD about my reading challenges, lol (I'm trying to be better about that)...I would say yes, count it toward 2015 because you read/listened to the majority of it before the clock struck midnight :) So count is as your LAST task of 2015!
Hah, thanks Lorraine! I appreciate the pep talk and feedback. I hope (and plan) to be more on the ball for this year's challenge. Looking forward to seeing you at the next finish line! Happy reading!
I wasn't able to read the last 24% of my final task until after the New Year deadline, but I still completed the list and consider it a win. :D Now to get started on the 2016 challenge!What were your favorite reads?
Ready Player One, Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, and Rat Queens... though I don't think I disliked anything from this challenge.
What stretched you the most?
Microhistory, because I'm usually not a history person, and an Indie press; I didn't expect it to be so difficult to find something from an independent press.
What did you like that you didn't expect to?
The self-improvement book, Moonwalking with Einstein. I keep referring back to it and likely annoyed my boyfriend by constantly sharing anecdotes from the book. It's been a month since I finished reading it and I can still remember the list for the author's first challenge!
Completed List
01. A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25 - Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
02. A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65 - The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
03. A collection of short stories - The Poison Eaters and Other Stories by Holly Black
04. A book published by an indie press - And Then There Were Nuns: Adventures in a Cloistered Life by Jane Christmas
05. A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ - Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
06. A book by a person whose gender is different from your own - 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
07. A book that takes place in Asia - The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
08. A book by an author from Africa - Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
09. A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture - The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
10. A microhistory - Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone
11. A YA novel - Paper Towns by John Green
12. A sci-fi novel - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
13. A romance novel - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
14. A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade - Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
15. A book that is a retelling of a classic story - The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler
16. An audiobook - Yes Please by Amy Poehler
17. A collection of poetry - Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices by Walter Dean Myers
18. A book that someone else has recommended to you - How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran
19. A book that was originally published in another language - The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
20. A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind - Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe
21. A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure - Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
22. A book published before 1850 - Oedipus the King by Sophocles
23. A book published this year - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
24. A self-improvement book - Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
I didn't finish the challenge, but here is the list of the tasks I did complete and my assessment of the challenge. What were your favorite reads? My favorite read was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. . It was just a fascinating story.
What stretched you the most? the graphic novels and comic books task. I haven't read a comic book in years. And though Ive heard how wonderful the genre is I just hadn't gotten around to reading one.
What did you like that you didn't expect to? The graphic novel. I read Fun Home for the LBTGQ task and it was just so good.
1. A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25: The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht Only made it half way through this before the 31st.
2. A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65:
3. A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people): The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susannah Clarke.
4. A book published by an indie press: The Bishop’s Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison.
5. A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBT: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel.
6. A book by a person whose gender is different from your own: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.
7. A book that takes place in Asia: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.
8. A book by an author from Africa: Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes who is from South Africa.
9. A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture (Native Americans, Aboriginals, etc.): The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich.
10. A microhistory: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.
11. A YA novel: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.
12. A sci-fi novel: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin. Only made it half way through it before the 31st.
13. A romance novel: A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean.
14. A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade: The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht. This book won the Orange Prize in 2011, so it should count, right?
15. A book that is a retelling of a classic story (fairytale, Shakespearian play, classic novel, etc.) When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James.
16. An Audio Book: I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron.
17. A collection of poetry: The Desiderata of Love by Max Ehrmann.
18. A book that someone else has recommended to you: Soulless by Gail Carriger.
19. A book that was originally published in another language: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. By Maire Kondo.
20. A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind (Hi, have you met Panels?): Wytches by Scott Snyder and Jock.
21. A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure (Read, and then realize that good entertainment is nothing to feel guilty over): Never Judge a Lady by her Cover by Sarah MacLean.
22. A book published before 1850:
23. A book published this year: The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler (published in August).
24. A self-improvement book (can be traditionally or non-traditionally considered “self-improvement”): The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. By Maire Kondo.
Finished! 23 days late and a dollar or two short, but finished. I enjoyed the challenge - as many others have said, it took me outside of my comfort zone on many tasks. Still don't understand what a Micro-History is though! :)2015 Read Harder Challenge
24/24 tasks completed
A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25
Finished The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton 2/15/15
A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65
Finished Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr 3/20/15
A collection of short stories
Finished Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes: Stories byPer Petterson 5/26/15
A book published by an indie press
Finished Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith, Tin House Books 3/10/15
A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ
Finished Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz 1/3/15
A book by a person whose gender is different from your own - male
Finished Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer 1/17/15
A book that takes place in Asia
Finished The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill 1/2/15
A book by an author from Africa
Finished The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition by William Kamkwamba 1/9/16
A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture (Native Americans, Aboriginals, etc.)
Finished Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith (About the Cherokee Indians and their part in the American Civil War in the midwest) 7/13/15
A microhistory
Finished Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story, from Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris by Michael Allin 9/13/15
A YA novel
Finished Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli 6/5/15
A sci-fi novel
Finished 1984 by George Orwell 3/8/15
A romance novel
Finished Hideous Love: The Story of the Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein by Stephanie Hemphill 2/9/15
A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade
Finished All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr read by Zachary Appelman - Pulitzer Prize 2015 11/12/15
A book that is a retelling of a classic story
Finished Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson (YA retelling of the fairytale, "Les Fées" or "The Fairies" by Charles Perrault). 1/14/15
An audiobook
Finished I Always Loved You by Robin Oliveira narrated by Mozhan Marno 1/26/15
A collection of poetry
Finished Dog Songs by Mary Oliver 1/23/16
A book that someone else has recommended to you
Finished A Parcel of Patterns by Jill Paton Walsh 8/8/15
A book that was originally published in another language
Finished The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby - French 2/19/15
A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind
Finished Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh 2/6/15
A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure
Finished Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good by Jan Karon 4/26/15
A book published before 1850
Finished May by Karel Hynek Mácha first published in Czech in 1836 1/10/16
A book published this year
Finished A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler 2/26/15
A self-improvement book
Finished Breathing Room: Open Your Heart by Decluttering Your Home by Lauren Rosenfeld 10/27/15
Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (other topics)Stones for Ibarra (other topics)
Breathing Room: Open Your Heart by Decluttering Your Home (other topics)
Ashes in My Mouth, Sand in My Shoes: Stories (other topics)
Glaciers (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Alexis M. Smith (other topics)Harriet Doerr (other topics)
Per Petterson (other topics)
S.E. Hinton (other topics)
Lauren Rosenfeld (other topics)
More...
What were your favorite reads?
I think all the books that took me away from my regular life - I am thinking of the travel books. I went to Rhodesia, Viet Nam, and Paris. I had great fun.
What stretched you the most?
I ended up reading three different poetry books for this challenge. I love poetry, but that was a stretch.
What did you like that you didn't expect to?
I wasn't sure about my graphic novel because of the subject matter. But it turned out great.
I am looking forward to the next challenge.
A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25
It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65
Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads by Paul Theroux
See my review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people)
Redeployment by Phil Klay
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book published by an indie press
Icon by Amy Scholder (Editor),
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ
Adam by Ariel Schrag
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book by a person whose gender is different from your own
The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris by John Baxter
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book that takes place in Asia
Eating Viet Nam: Dispatches from a Blue Plastic Table by Graham Holliday
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book by an author from Africa
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture (Native Americans, Aboriginals, etc.)
Extra Indians by Eric Gansworth
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A microhistory
Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century by Lauren Slater
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A YA novel
Skellig by David Almond
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A sci-fi novel
Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1) by Jeff VanderMeer
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A romance novel
The Duchess War (Brothers Sinister, #1) by Courtney Milan
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
See my review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book that is a retelling of a classic story (fairytale, Shakespearian play, classic novel, etc.)
The Girls at the Kingfisher Club
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
An audiobook.
Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A collection of poetry
Moon Crossing Bridge by Tess Gallagher
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book that someone else has recommended to you (recommended by my mom)
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book that was originally published in another language
View With a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems by Wisława Szymborska
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure (Read, and then realize that good entertainment is nothing to feel guilty over)
The Martian by Andy Weir
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book published before 1850
One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A book published this year
The Anatomy of Curiosity by Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff, Tessa Gratton
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A self-improvement book (can be traditionally or non-traditionally considered “self-improvement”)
Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman
See my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...