Discourse in a Digital Age discussion

Anne turned me on to the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge, and I'm going to participate this upcoming year. You may have noticed I'm now reviewing all of the books I read, and I look forward to noting my successes (and perhaps failures too).

I also took a look back at last year's and I'm proud to state that our book club fulfilled no less than twelve of the items without even trying, and possibly more depending on your interpretation. I'm glad I can contribute to you reading harder.

How about you? Did you achieve any reading goals this year?

I’ve got two to go for Read Harder 2017 (micropress and poetry translation—did we read one of those?!?!). For total books (goal is 52), I don’t think I’ll quite make it. I think I’m at 47. Might just read some comics to knock it out! Looking forward to planning and executing Read Harder 2018.

I Hate the Internet was published by We Heard You Like Books, which is a small press, but probably not quite small enough to qualify for the challenge. Sadly, I counted it in my original tally at first glance. It may be on the fence.

I read mostly science and history books. They don't fit anywhere on the Read Harder challenge. For example, I am currently reading a book about the events leading to World War I, the War that ended Peace. Also, recently read Neil deGraff Tyson's Astrophysics for people in a hurry. Also, recently finished Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science, which is about Roundup.

I think the list should include more non-fiction.

Read Harder has a few categories that ask for scifi or into which scifi could fit—and definitely non-fiction (nature, social science etc). I like both trying to find things I already wanted to read that fit the categories (like from book club/s) and having the guidance to push myself to read things I normally wouldn’t (poetry, romance).

I see your premise that the list appears tilted towards fiction. Leaving aside that the list is trying to stretch your reading horizons and take you out of your comfort zone, there are a lot of opportunities for nonfiction on this list. I also think it's intended that you go looking for books to fit the categories, and not just match books you are already reading to the categories. Finally, there's a lot of leeway for interpretation. Basically, if you think a book counts, it probably does.

Categories 2 (True Crime), 5 (BRICS Countries), 6 (Nature - could include Whitewash, in my opinion), 12 (Memoir), 14 (Social Science), and 22 (Essay anthology) offer very obvious opportunities to read things in your preferred genre, but it doesn't stop there. I'm not certain of your exact tastes, but here are some suggestions to consider. Some of these could even hit multiple categories.

1 (Posthumous) - Pioneer Girl, Laura Ingalls Wilder
4 (Comic written and Illustrated by the same person) - Climate Changed by Philippe Squarzoni
7 (Western) - National Geographic's The Old West by Stephen Hyslop, or any true story about cowboys or outlaws from that time period
8 (Comic by a person of color) - March, by John Lewis
9 (Colonial) - Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
13 (Oprah) - Night by Elie Wiesel
15 (One sitting) - Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli
18 (A third absurdly broad comic category) - Safe Area Gorazde or Palestine or anything by Joe Sacco
23 (Protagonist woman over 60) - What Happened by Hillary Clinton

That's 15 categories I'm very certain you'll find something that suits your reading preferences. The Read Harder Goodreads Group is a good place to look for suggestions, if you decide to take on the challenge.

Good list. I have read some of them. Seven Brief Lesssons on Physics; Guns, Germs, and Steel; Night.