Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Monica wrote: "The Book of Dog by Lark Benobi checks 4 tasks:

4. A humor book

9. A book published prior to January 1, 2019, with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads

12. A boo..."

Thank you for this recommendation; I just read this yesterday and it was great!!

I read George thanks to you mentioning it!

Ava wrote: "George by Alex Gino works for 18. A novel by a trans or nonbinary author and 22. A children’s or middle grade book (not YA) that has won a diversity award since 2009."

Stine wrote: "A have a three-for:
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness

Checks boxes for:
A translated book written by a woman
A book of manga
A comic by a LGBTQIA creator . . .”

This was also very good! Thank you!

Would Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith count as a collection of poetry (#24) and a book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018 (#3, won The Forward Prize for Best Collection in Sept. 2018)? Is a collection of poems a "book"?

Marie wrote: "Juliet wrote: "Man in the High Castle will tick off #2 and #13"

How so? I'm planning on reading this for alternate history but I'm not seeing how it relates to the neurodiverse task."

Did Philip K. Dick have schizophrenia?

The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo

I haven't read it yet, but as far as I can tell, it checks off:
1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters
16. An historical romance by an AOC
23. A self-published book

Rebecca wrote: "Stine wrote: "A have a three-for:
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness

Checks boxes for:
A translated book written by a woman
A book of manga
A comic by a LGBTQIA creator . . .”

This was also ve..."

No problem. I also think this can check the box for the neurodiverse prompt. The author does certainly have some psychological issues, like compulsive disorder and depression. Maybe social anxiety also.

Both of these will fulfill:

Task 23: a self-published book and
Task 9: a book published prior to Jan 1, 2019 with less than 100 reviews on Goodreads

Time Zone

Paladins: Anointing

Angela wrote: "Would Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith count as a collection of poetry (#24) and a book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018 (#3, won The Forwa..."

It sounds like that would work. I've been wanting to read that one too.

Marie wrote: "Juliet wrote: "Man in the High Castle will tick off #2 and #13"

How so? I'm planning on reading this for alternate history but I'm not seeing how it relates to the neurodiverse task."

I've read that Phillp K.Dick did have a number of neurological conditions. Many of his writings, while fictional, were actually inspired by either real life events or theories that he had about the world. It is said that at times he believed that reality was not real or that his memories were faked.

I read, Glass Houses (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #13) by Louise Penny for prompt # 14 Cozy Mystery. It would also work for prompt # 3 A book by a women that won a literary award in 2018. It won the Anthony Award for best novel 2018,Lefty award for best mystery novel 3018.

De Profundis works for tasks 1 and 20.

A People's Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40...

Haven't looked at this super closely but think it might count for a couple of the challenges. Excited to read it regardless.

Things We Lost in the Fire

5) A book by a journalist
10) A translated book written by AND translated by a woman

The Mrs. Murphy series by Rita Mae Brown is fun. It would could count for task #12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character AND #14. A cozy mystery

It looks like Lucy and Linh might work for both an epistolary novel and an Oceania #ownvoices. Got it from the library the other day and looking forward to starting it!

I might need to get in on the double dipping with how much I'm trying to read this year...though currently am in the middle of "An Unkindness of Ghosts" which I feel could count for 13. A book by or about someone that identifies as neurodiverse, 6. A book by an AOC set in or about space, and 3. A book by a woman and/or AOC that won a literary award in 2018. Good to know that option is there!

Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple. A book becoming a movie in 2019. A book with a question in the title. A book told from multiple POVs.

Sherri wrote: "Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple. A book becoming a movie in 2019. A book with a question in the title. A book told from multiple POVs."

I'm afraid you are mixing up your challenges. You could edit this to say the other challenge(s) you are doing in case it applies to other folks- and this book counts as epistolary for the RHC 2019. Also, good to know it's becoming a movie!

Loving Che by Ana Menendez is fiction and counts as a book by a journalist, a book with fewer than 100 reviews, and perhaps epistolary depending on how strict you are. It is mostly composed of short "letters" from a mother to her daughter. They are more like diary entries, but that would still count. The beginning and end is narrative from the daughter's perspective. I thought it might count as historical romance by AOC, but it's not technically a romance. This book is not my favorite, but it has nice use of language and was memorable enough for me to reread it!

I have no problem with double dipping. I'm just proud of myself for not only reading more since I found this challenge last year, but also trying new things. Here are my double and triple dippers this year:

An Unkindness of Ghosts:

6. A book by an AOC set in or about space and/or 13. A book by or about someone that identifies as neurodiverse and/or 18. A novel by a trans or nonbinary author

The Girl Who Thought in Pictures

22. A children’s or middle grade book (not YA) that has won a diversity award since 2009 and/or 13. A book by or about someone that identifies as neurodiverse

What it is and how it is done - Crispin Glover

9. A book published prior to January 1, 2019, with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads and 23. A self-published book

Three Bags Full - Leonie Swann

12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character and/or 14. A cozy mystery and/or 10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman

Ask Anna by Dean Koontz's dog Anna is a hilarious advice column "by" a dog for #4 and #12, and may even fulfill #1 as it is a series of "letters" between dogs.

Ask Anna by Dean Koontz's dog Anna is a hilarious advice column "by" a dog for #4 and #12, and may even fulfill #1 as it is a series of "letters" between dogs.

Sirena: A Mermaid Legend from Guam, by Chamorro authors Tanya Taimanglo, meets 4 tasks. It works as:

#8: an #ownvoices book set in Oceania (the Chamorro are the indigenous people of Guam & the author & illustrator are both Chamorro)
#9: a book published prior to January 1, 2019, with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads
#15: A book of mythology or folklore
#23: A self-published book

The kindle version is ~$3 on Amazon.

I'm also double dipping Conversations With Myself by Nelson Mandela.

Highly recommend Slices and Stitches by Hillary Kaitlyn Walsh for
2) A book published prior to January 1, 2019, with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads
25) A self-published book
26) A collection of poetry published since 2014
... hits 3 things, it's lovely heartfelt writing, and I'm not at all biased by being friends with the author :) (and it's free on Kindle Unlimited!)

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon is an amazing book that fits four of the challenges:
A book by an AOC that won a literary award in 2019: Lambda Literary Award for SciFi and the Stonewall award
A book by an AOC set in outer space: it's set aboard a generational space ship
A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse: the main character is on the spectrum
A book by a trans or non-binary author: Solomon is non-binary and gender and sex in the story are not super rigid

Content warning for sexual assault (not shown in scene but heavily referenced) and violence.

Laura wrote: "Allie wrote: "Oh! The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela also work for both epistolary and prison writing!"

As does De Profundis by Oscar Wilde! :)"

I got really interested in this idea of letters from prison (challenges 1 & 20) and also came up with
Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
In the Belly of the Beast: Letters From Prison by Jack Abbott
Letters and Papers from Prison by Dietrich Bonhoeffer - some editions are translated by women (challenge 10)
I Have Waited for You: Letters from Prison - also self published before 2019 & fewer than 100 reviews (challenges 9 & 23)"

I tried to read Mandela's Prison Letters but it was too much of a commitment for me at 640 pages. So then I got interested in diaries written in prison. Here's some of what I found:

Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven by Jeffrey Archer
A Stranger in My Own Country: The 1944 Prison Diary by Hans Fallada
Selections from the Prison Notebooks by Antonio Gramsci
The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I also found PEN America's PRISON WRITING AWARD WINNERS ARCHIVE

Depending on how you define a few things, and which edition you read, one of Don Marquis' Archy and Mehitabel books could count for at least 5 categories, by my count (as many as 7, depending on definition). Archy is a poet who's been reincarnated as a cockroach, Mehitabel is his cat friend.

#1 - Epistolary (it's written as a series of messages from Archy to "Boss")
#4 - Humor (I thought they were funny at times, anyway)
#5 - Don Marquis was a journalist, "Boss" is also
#8 - Archyology II (the Final Dig): The Long Lost Tales of Archy and Mehitabel and others have fewer than 100 reviews
#12 - Archy is a cockroach

#20 - If you consider "stuck in the body of a cockroach" as a prison
And even #13, if you consider "reincarnated as a cockroach" as a form of neurodiverse, which is probably a stretch.

This list is GREAT!!

I recently discovered several more.

The Murmur of Bees by Sofía Segovia is the translated work of a female author (translator appears to be male), that may also be an #ownvoices work for Mexico. (#s 7 & 10)

About the Night is a translated work by a female author. Anat Talshir is also a journalist. (#s 5 & 10)

Most or all of Courtney Milan's historical romances (most of her work) are also self-published. (#16 & 23)

Author J.Y. Yang is nonbinary. Their book The Descent of Monsters is also an epistolary novel. It is mostly diary entries, reports for work, & a few letters. It's 3rd in the Tensorate series. I recommend reading the previous 2 books for the most satisfactory experience. However all the books are novellas, so they are quick reads. Highly recommended if you enjoy speculative fiction - it's a fascinating world. (#s1 & 18)

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is a book by a female author of color that won an award in 2018. It's also a work of poetry released after 2014. (#3 & 24)

The Travelling Cat Chronicles is from the point of view of an animal, & it's the translated work of a female author. (The translator is named Peter so I'm assuming it was translated by a man.) (#s 10 & 12)

New Poets of Native Nations is an anthology of poetry published after 2014. It also includes a poet who is Hawaiian, & one who is Chamorran (the indigenous people of Guam), so can be counted for #ownvoices of Oceania. (#s 8 & 24)

De Profundis is a 50,000 word letter written by Oscar Wilde over several months while he was imprisoned, thus meeting tasks #1 & #20. Bonus points because it is short, & so should be a quick read if I'm not bogged down by the florid language.

Also, Wilde was eilther bisexual or gay, if that helps it meet tasks in any other challenge.

Mya wrote: "Sirena: A Mermaid Legend from Guam, by Chamorro authors Tanya Taimanglo, meets 4 tasks. It works as:

#8: an #ownvoices book set in Oceania (the Chamorro are the ind..."

I just noticed I am seriously behind on this challenge, and since these are four categories I have not started yet... at 32 pages long... I may just go this route to get caught up... :)

Rebecca wrote: "Monica wrote: "The Book of Dog by Lark Benobi checks 4 tasks: ...

Thank you for this recommendation; I just read this yesterday and it was great!! "

Glad you enjoyed it!!

Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson, works for both #2 (award winning author of color) and #24 (poetry). But it may push the timeline for the poetry - the ebook was published in 2014. I don't know when it was *first* published.

I read this last year and was really glad I had. Several of the poems resonated with me.

Halfway through the year, here are the double dippers I've read so far, all of which I've enjoyed:

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou - Tasks 5, 17, 19 A business book by a journalist
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon - Tasks 6, 13, 18 A book by a nonbinary AOC who identifies as neurodiverse set in space
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel - Tasks 7, 10, 16 A translated historical #ownvoices romance set in Mexico by a woman AOC
In the House of My Father by Hiwot Adilow - Tasks 3, 9, 24 A collection of poetry by an AOC that won an award in 2018, with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads

and I've almost finished Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi for Tasks 1 & 20. I've found very interesting as a book written in prison, but, despite the title, it's not really written in an epistolary style. I may supplement with another book that more accurately reflects a series of documents

Just saw that [An Unkindness of Ghosts] by Rivers Solomon is $2.99 for the Kindle version right now.

Spanish speakers! (readers)

I've double-dipped on La Ciudad Vertical

A book by an AOC set in or about space
and
A book published prior to January 1, 2019, with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads

Is this available in English?
thanks

I love seeing all the input from the double dippers, and it give me great ideas to use on one challenge. Love y’all

Stephanie wrote: "The Bride was a Boy

may count for 9 (depending when you get there), 11, 18, and 21."

I read this one (soooo cute and sweet!) thinking it would count for #18 as well as the manga category. But when I went to track it, I saw #18 refers to *a novel* by a trans/non-binary author. I can't quite tell if this is more of a "based on a true story" fiction or memoir/personal history.

I'll slot it in for now and if I have time will find another book to read for #18.

Allie wrote: "Angela wrote: "Would Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith count as a collection of poetry (#24) and a book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018 (#3..."

Ohh, its so good. I don't even like poetry but after reading my library's copy, I went out and bought myself a copy. Also check out youtube for him reading his poems. It really comes alive!

"Catch and Kill" by Ronan Farrow satisfies "A novel written by a journalist/ about journalism" and "A novel about a nonviolent true crime".

Tanyka wrote: ""Catch and Kill" by Ronan Farrow satisfies "A novel written by a journalist/ about journalism" and "A novel about a nonviolent true crime"."
I would consider rape to be a violent crime

There absolutely is violence in "Catch and Kill."

I am getting down to the nitty gritty - all of those hard prompts that I couldn't find books for! Then, I realized The Eve of Our September by P.R. Keys, which I downloaded from Amazon Prime Reading for free to cover the Historical romance by an AOC covers two other categories - A self-published book and A book published prior to Jan. 1, 2019 with fewer than 100 Goodreads reviews. Whew! This will make my end of year wrap-up a lot easier!