Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

I've found a CD by Kate Tempest for this prompt. I know some of her albums are thought of as music (she was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize last year), but this was on the audiobooks shelf at the bookshop, so I'll see / hear!

My library has The Voice of Langston Hughes, which is Langston Hughes reading some of his own work. It’s been a while but if memory serves, he’s got a great voice.



I also discovered Bull. It’s a retelling (in verse) of Theseus and the Minotaur. The author is white, so it doesn’t work as a double dipper with task #2. However there’s an audio version read by Lin-Manuel Miranda, which sounds like fun. :)

I did Milk and Honey because it was immediately available from my library on Libby and I have so many regrets! Do not recommend, even just to get the challenge completed!!

I also have regrets. I went with The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One and do not recommend it as an audiobook.

Dani wrote: "I did Milk and Honey because it was immediately available from my library on Libby and I have so many regrets! Do not recommend, even just to get the challenge completed!!"

Well, darn. I bounced off Brown Girl Dreaming bc I didnt think I could listen to another 2 hours of free verse, and I was going to try Milk and Honey next. I guess I'll see how it goes.

As soon as I read this challenge I instantly knew I would read The Poet X. The audiobook is actually less than 4 hours and read by the author. This book is next on my TBR for the month.

Update from the woman who had never listened to an Audiobook.... I figured out how to use my library Overdrive feature. My public library only had a few audio poetry selections available so I am going with the easiest and the shortest: Stardines Swim High Across the Sky: and Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky. I will listen on my laptop.

Also, I'm now able to complete one of the original tasks that I ignored from Read Harder 2016 -- An Audie award winner -- took a lot of digging, but finally found this Audie winning audio drama:Saint Joan with Amy Irving as the lead voice.

So glad Overdrive worked for you. I use 8t all the time for audiobooks and Kindle.

I just finished Lima :: Limón and it was wonderful. And that's coming from a non-poetry person.

Karen wrote: "Update from the woman who had never listened to an Audiobook.... I figured out how to use my library Overdrive feature. My public library only had a few audio poetry selections available so I am go..."

Jack Prelutsky is an excellent choice!

Cat wrote: "Dani wrote: "I did Milk and Honey because it was immediately available from my library on Libby and I have so many regrets! Do not recommend, even just to get the challenge complete..."

I loved Brown Girl Dreaming, but I read it rather than listening, and took a lot of breaks. For me, I can only read a few poems at a time, at least if it’s any good.

I tried Milk and Honey because I won it in a giveaway but I only got partway through. At least the first quarter is almost entirely poems about domestic violence and rape, which I was not expecting and am not currently in a place to read. I think it’s important for people to write about such things, but the whole book needs a content warning.

For something lighter I want to try my library’s audio recording of Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You, by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The hard copy is shelved with poetry, so apparently it counts for this challenge. :)

Mya wrote: "Cat wrote: "Dani wrote: "I did Milk and Honey because it was immediately available from my library on Libby and I have so many regrets! Do not recommend, even just to get the challe..."



Oof, thanks for the warning.
I liked Gmorning, Gnight, but it's best a few at a time. Do not attempt to listen to the whole thing on a 4 hour car trip like I did, lol.

I generally prefer novels in verse to poetry collections, and Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is one of the most gripping, brilliant things I've ever read (granted, I read it rather than listening, but I imaging it would be equally as good if not better as an audio experience). Also, I just finished Blood Water Paint (which is not 100% poetry if you're a stickler), and it is lovely and moving and beautifully written.

I ended up going with Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer. It's about an hour long, and I knew what I was getting with Maya Angelou, plus it was available on overdrive.

Oh, a good chance to pull up Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters!

Thanks Mya for the Lin-Manuel Miranda recommendation! I've bought it on Google Play as my library doesn't have it. I was worrying about this task, but I'm excited about this book!

which book are you referring to?

I listened to Shout for this task. It was ok, I gave it 3 stars. But it was a double dip and worked for the YA nonfiction prompt too.

I just got A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood by Fred Rogers from my hold list at the library. I can hardly wait to finish the book I’m currently listening to so I can start it!

Jane wrote: "which book are you referring to?"

If this was for me, I'll be listening to Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You. But I've now also found Brown Girl Dreaming on my library's Overdrive

thanks. I was trying to make sense of something I read a week or so ago. I thought someone said that Lin Manuel Miranda read Bull. When I tried to find it I couldn't.

I'm going classic with Sonnets by William Shakespeare. It's available from my library in both Overdrive and rbdigital. About time I read 'em, right?

One of the free choices for Audible subscribers for January is Classic Love Poems. Less than 30 minutes long. Knocked it out in the Caron my way to brunch this morning.

I've lost most of my hearing. What would be a good substitute for this one?

I listened to Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. I read it last year and really enjoyed it. Listening to Kaur reading her own work was a real treat.

Almost finished with The Poet X, a very strong, intimate voice. It's endearing and heartbreaking. As a father to four daughters, I'm become very aware of how my words and actions (or inactions) can have lasting consequences for my daughters' self-image and self-esteem.

Rebecca wrote: "The Poet X, read by the author Elizabeth Acevedo."
Thank you for this suggestion ! It was such a great listen!

Robin wrote: "I've lost most of my hearing. What would be a good substitute for this one?"

Can you read lips? Maybe you could have someone read a collection of poetry aloud to you? You could also read the poems aloud yourself. I love to read poetry out loud and do it often when I am alone.

Thanks, Jason, for some good ideas.

Robin wrote: "I've lost most of my hearing. What would be a good substitute for this one?"

If you sign, I've seen some ASL poetry performed on Youtube, which might work as a good alternative.

I've been on a poetry kick lately, so it's hard for me to select one for this challenge, but I'm going with Citizen Illegal by Jose Olivarez because A. It's great. B. It comes from a small press that emphasis spoken word, and some of his poetry has also been syndicated on npr (in audioform).

I listened to The Tale of Ragnar Lothbrok, a 13th century Icelandic saga. It's on Youtube.

Any ideas for poetry collections that are specifically great as audiobooks, e.g. with great rhythm and such? I was considering 'cheating' on this challenge and going with a written poetry book I already own and haven't read, that I could potentially read aloud to myself (I have a hearing loss so don't always love audiobooks),

However, I was inspired by the recent Writing Excuses podcast on Prose (https://writingexcuses.com/2020/02/09... - I do listen to podcasts) and they talked about reading vs listening to poetry and focused on Gwendolyn Brooks "We Real Cool" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poet... - big and interesting difference between my reading and hers.

Hence my question for poetry books that are specifically great when aloud.

The Snow Child

Ashley wrote: "The Snow Child"

It this a poetry book? I has not heard that, though many people have recommended it to me.

I am brand new to this challenge and Goodreads in general, and I was super excited to realize I already inadvertently completed one of these tasks.
I read Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. It isn’t stereotypically uniform rhyme and verse; it is much more free-flowing than that. She has a way of really capturing the memories of a childhood where she slowly comes to terms with who she is and how her brain works.

Danielle wrote: "I am brand new to this challenge and Goodreads in general, and I was super excited to realize I already inadvertently completed one of these tasks.
I read Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson...."

A favorite book of mine, but I love everything Woodson writes (other than this I stick to the things written for an adult audience, but friends who still have young kids say the children's books are great.)

I found Swing immediately available from my library so I'm going with this. There are so many incredible options and I think that this might be my new favourite way to enjoy poetry.

Jessica wrote: "Any ideas for poetry collections that are specifically great as audiobooks, e.g. with great rhythm and such? I was considering 'cheating' on this challenge and going with a written poetry book I al..."

I really enjoyed The Epic of Gilgamesh, but I listened to it years ago and can't recall which voice actor/translation I listened to.

Edit: I think it was this one: The Epic of Gilgamesh

I also recommend any audio book of poetry by Billy Collins. Some of his poems are quite funny, and he has great comedy timing when he reads aloud.

And FYI, there is a podcast called Poem of the Day, if you enjoy listening to podcasts and poetry.

Anything by Jericho Brown or Kevin Young. Both write magical powerful pieces and read them well.

This was one of a few prompts I struggled with. I do horrible with audio, so I initially decided to leave that out and just read a book of poetry ( Shout), but after checking that off the list I felt like it was too much of a cheat. My library only offered two options on Libby, so I listened to The Narrow Road to the Interior/Hojoki, which sounded beautiful, but I think most of it escaped me TBH.

I'm either listening to The Aeneid or Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson.

Bonnie G. wrote: "Ashley wrote: "The Snow Child"

It this a poetry book? I has not heard that, though many people have recommended it to me."

Bonnie G. wrote: "Ashley wrote: "The Snow Child"

It this a poetry book? I has not heard that, though many people have recommended it to me."

No, it is not a poetry book.

I used Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson for this prompt. It was excellent. The author narrated which I thought was great.

I listened to The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One by Amanda Lovelace for this prompt.

For this challenge, I read Milk and Honey, which I thought was... fine? I thought it covered some interesting topics, and hearing it made it sound like a set of short sayings rather than poetry, but I feel like it was ultimately too repetitive to fully justify itself. Still good, though.

I read (listened to) The Poet X, I highly recommend it. It's a novel written as poems, and the main character is getting into slam poetry which is usually performed. It felt very natural and accurate to be read out loud, I don't think I'd have appreciated it as much just reading it. It's also read by the author, who is a slam poet, so the delivery was excellent.

I love audiobooks -when possible I get both the audio and hard copy of the same book from the library so I can listen when walking/driving and read at home. But this was a challenge. I started listening toThe Odyssey and even got the hard copy from the library. But it was too difficult to concentrate when walking/driving. I then downloaded Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman and listened to it during my daily walks during these Stay at Home times. I didn't get as much out of it as I would from reading. But the nature themes were appropriate as spring is budding in my neighborhood.

I both listened to - and read - Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur for this, as the library had it available in multiple formats. It was not a good choice. Not because I disliked it - I actually really enjoyed it, and some of the poems were absolutely wonderful - but because of the illustrations. I'm not a big audio book fan, so I got a text copy so I could read along to the audio version - and if I'd only had the audio, I'd never have known that the book was illustrated with dozens and dozens of line drawings.

That's something audio just cannot convey.

I'm not an audiobook fan so am just getting around to looking for options for this prompt. I decided to just see what my library has available, and have decided on Shame Is an Ocean I Swim Across by Mary Lambert. I had to put it on hold but I listened to the sample and while she doesn't have my favorite speaking voice, it seems the whole book is accompanied by her music. (The selection I heard was piano, which may be all she plays but I'm not certain.) Listening to just a voice tends to put me to sleep (hence not being a fan of audiobooks) so hopefully the music adds another layer of interest. Will report back once I get to hear the whole thing, in case anyone else is still looking for ideas for this one.