The Read Harder 2018 challenge from Book Riot is a fantastic way of expanding your reading tastes. It’s a list of twenty-four categories and the idea is to find a book that fits within each, then read it at some point during the year. Sounds simple? It isn’t!
I love this challenge and this will be the third year that I’ve attempted it. The first year I tried it I started in about September and last year I left it all to the last minute so I’m quite used to panicking about both Christmas and the huge reading list that I still have to get through. So this year I promised myself that I would PACE MYSELF and do what you’re meant to do by reading two books a month.
Let’s check out the 2018 challenge categories and my progress:
1. A book published posthumously
☑ Identified: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
– Status: Unread
2. A book of true crime
– Unidentified
– Status: Unread
3. A classic of genre fiction (i.e. mystery, sci fi/fantasy, romance)
☑ Identified: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
☑ Status: Read
4. A comic written and illustrated by the same person
☑ Identified: Tetris by Box Brown
☑ Status: Read
5. A book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, or South Africa)
– Unidentified
– Status: Unread
6. A book about nature
☑ Identified: Fingers in the Sparkle Jar by Chris Peckham
☑ Status: Read
7. A western
☑ Identified: The Waste Lands (Dark Tower 3) by Stephen King
– Status: Started (8%)
8. A comic written or illustrated by a person of color
– Unidentified
– Status: Unread
9. A book of colonial or postcolonial literature
☑ Identified: Brick Lane by Monica Ali
– Status: Unread
10. A romance novel by or about a person of color
☑ Identified: Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
☑ Status: Read
11. A children’s classic published before 1980
– Unidentified
– Status: Unread
12. A celebrity memoir
☑ Identified: My Life and Other Business by Dolly Parton
– Status: Started: (66%)
13. An Oprah Book Club selection
– Unidentified
– Status: Unread
14. A book of social science
☑ Identified: A Good Time to be a Girl by Helen Morissey
☑ Status: Read
15. A one-sitting book
☑ Identified: Women by Chloe Caldwell
☑ Status: Read
16. The first book in a new-to-you YA or middle grade series
☑ Identified: Everless by Sara Holland
☑ Status: Read
17. A sci fi novel with a female protagonist by a female author
☑ Identified: The Power by Naomi Alderman
– Status: Started (50%)
18. A comic that isn’t published by Marvel, DC, or Image
☑ Identified: Giant Days by Allison + Treman + Cogar
– Status: Unread
19. A book of genre fiction in translation
☑ Identified: 1Q84 Book Three by Haruki Murakami
– Status: Unread
20. A book with a cover you hate
☑ Identified: The Woman in the Window by A.J.Flynn
☑ Status: Read
21. A mystery by a person of color or LGBTQ+ authoras
☑ Identified: The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin
☑ Status: Read
22. An essay anthology
– Unidentified
– Status: Unread
23. A book with a female protagonist over the age of 60
☑ Identified: The Lido by Libby Page
☑ Status: Read
24. An assigned book you hated (or never finished)
– Unidentified
– Status: Unread
Ok, so that’s seventeen books identified and ten books read with three further books started. Not bad! Not quite on target but not too far off. For me, this is a minor miracle.
So, can anyone recommend any books for these outstanding categories?
2. A book of true crime
5. A book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, or South Africa)
8. A comic written or illustrated by a person of color
11. A children’s classic published before 1980
13. An Oprah Book Club selection
22. An essay anthology
24. An assigned book you hated (or never finished)
HEEEEELLLLLLP MEEEEEEEE!
For a children’s classic you could do The Secret Garden or a Little Princess (if you haven’t read them already) or there are anthologies right now of Winnie the Pooh stories, Madeline, and Beatrix Potter that are probably fairly quick reads. For essays Roxana Gay or Zadie Smith are both on my list. Good luck with it!
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Oooh some good ideas in there – thank you!
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Have you read much Roald Dahl? Some of his books are published before 1980.
If you like Neil Gaiman he has an Essay anthology called something like Life in the cheap seats.
As for True Crime, I’m planning to read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote or Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman.
You’re definitely doing better than I am, I think I’m about half done!!
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I think I’ve read all of Roald Dahls books but not since I was a kid so that’s a good shout. I read that Neil Gaiman book last year and don’t fancy re-reading (ironically I think I read it for 2017’s read harder challenge) so I’ll have to keep searching!
In Cold Blood is another great suggestion – I’m reading a very weird book about Truman Capote at the moment called Swan Song but I’m struggling to get into it.
Thank you for your help!
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No worries. Roald Dahl is always my go to for children’s books, or Narnia.
I think the Good immigrant classes as a collection of essays too if you haven’t read it?!
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Oooh I haven’t read that – thanks!
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There is also a really great short story collection called The Tsar of Love and Techno, it’s what I am reading for BRIC as they’re all interlinked stories taking places in different times and areas in Russia!
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Oooh that sounds like something I’d definitely be interested in! Thanks lovely!
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I recently posted on my progress too and got so many great suggestions. Here are mine: for a children’s classic, a Wrinkle in Time. For an oprah book, An American Marriage was excellent. And a comic, March or Ms. Marvel. True crime: Killers of the Flower Moon. I haven’t done essays or a classic I hated. This is my first year and I love the challenge. Good luck!
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Thank you so much for your suggestions! Really struggling with an essay collection or assigned book. I love the challenge too – it gets harder every year though!
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Oh cool l gosh there are so many for children’s books and I love a lot of the suggestions- but if you haven’t read them, you can always just go for classics like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. Also treasure island, secret garden (which I know has been suggested, but I just love) and Narnia all work 😊 I don’t want to punish you with assigned reading I didn’t like though!!
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I thought of the classics then I came across “A Letter for the King” which seems to be a…Scandinavian(?) classic that kind of missed the UK market so I’m reading that ☺ I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it but so far it’s really good – it’s like The Hobbit but has taken enough twists and turns to stop it being formulaic fantasy
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Sounds like quite the challenge! Good luck sweetheart!💜
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Thank you sweetie! 😘
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You’re welcome!💖
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