Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

It is sort of cheating since it is a short story, but I loved Fox 8

I just finished Sea of Rust. A dystopian, science fiction novel that is told from a Robot's point of view. I really enjoyed it.

I'm giving My Name Is Red a shot, but it's such slow going so far! Incredibly dense. If I can't get into it soon I'm going to pick something else.

There's also The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog. It's a series. There's so many of them.

(I don't care for them personally but that's mainly because I don't care for books from animal's perspectives typically, but I think everyone else in the elementary school liked them when we were forced to listen to them.)

I was considering The White Bone for this, but I don't know. I've heard some mixed things. Has anyone read this?

I ended up going with The Art of Racing in the Rain since it's being made into a movie that is coming out later this year.

I wonder if anyone's considering The Overstory for this one?

I'm really (!!) not into talking animals, but I want to live up to the spirit of the challenge and get outside of a human-dominated narrative. I saw an article in the "Sierra Club" magazine that refers to this book has having been written "from a tree's point of view."

I'd love to hear what others think -- could this book fit the bill?

Watership Down all day every day

Meredith wrote: "I wonder if anyone's considering The Overstory for this one?

I'm really (!!) not into talking animals, but I want to live up to the spirit of the challenge and get outside of a hum..."

I would be curious to hear from anyone who has read this, too. A review I read about it says the author "has found a way to cast trees as central characters." I can't quite tell by reading the GR reviews. Wishtree seems pretty highly recommended on here and is a told from a tree's POV, I think.

Just read Semiosis which has a plant on an alien world as a main character. I'm going with that.

I'm not sure if Good Omens would apply for this...
We do get a dog's point of view but the narration is all omniscient so I've been torn

Planning to read The Book Of The Dun Cow.

I didn’t know what to do for this one. Then I remembered that Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London have been sitting on my shelf for ages. Problem solved!

I’ve chosen The Lucky Galah by Tracy Sorensen. Yes, POV is the galah! Slightly odd but also rather heartwarming. A very unusual read, I’m enjoying the novelty of it.

I read The Travelling Cat Chronicles and definitely recommend it for anyone who has felt a special bond with a cat.

I'm reading Way of the Cat and Black Beauty and will see which one I finish first. So far I am enjoying "Black Beauty" more. I also like the idea of Flush, but the library did not have that one.

LYNDSEY wrote: "Planning to read The Book Of The Dun Cow."

OMG. Loved this one! (Fantastic for reading aloud, too.)

I am going with Hollow Kingdom. It’s the zombie apocalypse from the view point of a wise cracking, Cheeto eating domesticated crow after his owner looses an eye,.

I read Animal Farm by George Orwell for this prompt.

I read Bewitched and Betrothed, a cozy mystery with a goblin/gargoyle mix familiar who transforms into a miniature pet pig around non-magical folk.

HOLLOW KINGDOM!!!!!

Hmm... would a catlike sentient alien be ok?

Janell, it's not how I would interpret the challenge. Lots of books have aliens whose form is reminiscent of various earth animals. That's not the same as being an inanimate object or an animal.

I read Raptor Red for this, which was better than I thought it was going to be. Husband picked it up at a paperback sale years ago.

I just finished another book for the Mount TBR challenge - The Rescue Team. It's a light hearted, happy ending, middle grade book that's a quick read. When I realized it was told from the point of view of a dog abandoned at an animal shelter, I realized it would fit this category too.

Would The Complete Maus count for this?

Sravani wrote: "Would The Complete Maus count for this?"

It may be a bit of a stretch, but I used it.

Hollow Kingdom all day every day.

Do you think an AI narrator counts for this prompt? I am thinking of counting "Thunderhead" by Neil Shusterman, since The Thunderhead (one of the narrators) is essentially a very intelligent computer program . For those who have read it, do you think this works, or is the Thunderhead too "human" for5 this prompt?

Heather wrote: "I am thinking of counting "Thunderhead" by Neil Shusterman, since The Thunderhead (one of the narrators) is essentially a very intelligent comput..."

I think this is a bit of a stretch given that The Thunderhead gets so few pages, but I'd count it because the plot can't move forward properly without those pages.

I can't see The Raven Tower here yet - it's absolutely marvellous.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

Tammy wrote: "Meredith wrote: "I wonder if anyone's considering The Overstory for this one?

I'm really (!!) not into talking animals, but I want to live up to the spirit of the challenge and get..."

I just finished The Overstory, and I don't think the trees qualify as POV characters. Sorry. I'll be using Song of Increase: Listening to the Wisdom of Honeybees for Kinder Beekeeping and a Better World instead. It's nonfiction, but the author includes the bees' POV.

i agree, i hate talking animals normally, too.
but...
try fox 8 by george saunders. even if it does not qualify for the challenge (i am not participating), it is short and great! the audible version is read by himself but cannot be a replacement for reading the book, but a great combination.

loved Fox 8 and it was what I used.

I don’t mind talking animals, but I enjoyed Jack London for this challenge, mostly because the animals are POV, but don’t talk.

I’ve read some of the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. These are wonderfully descriptive novels with animal characters. I absolutely love these books.