The Book Riot 2015 Read Harder Challenge

For the last few years I've taken part in the Goodreads annual Reading Challenge. There have been some arguments for and against reading challenges, but I find it beneficial to participate. I've met (and exceeded) my goals, but I've also fallen short of my goal. In the end, though, having a challenge goal keeps me motivated, encourages me when I've fallen behind, and gives me an additional sense of satisfaction when I keep on reading. My goal for the coming year will be the same as this year's, to read a book a day (as you may have noticed, I read a lot of picture books and graphic novels, which makes this goal "easier").

Not increasing my goal this year, in some sense, defeats the purpose of a challenge. According to dictionary.com, a challenge is a "difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it." Reading as I always do is not a difficulty, nor is it stimulating. I recently saw a challenge on Book Riot that could help me with this: the 2015 Read Harder Challenge. My main reading interests are children's literature, fantasy, and graphic novels. I occasionally dabble in "grown up" nonfiction and mystery. It's easy to fall into a reading rut and I think it would be challenging to read outside of my comfort zone.

There are 24 tasks for this challenge, and as much as I would like to fulfill each task with a separate book, there may be some tasks that will be checked off with the same book (these are denoted with an asterisk *):

A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25

• Halfway Home: Drawing My Way Through Japan by Christine Mari Inzer*

A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65

• As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (Flavia de Luce #7) by Alan Bradley (January)*
  

A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people)

• Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones (January)
• Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant (March)
• District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, DC by various (May)

A book published by an indie press

• Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann (August)* --> Drawn and Quarterly

A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ

• George by Alex Gino (June)
• Wandering Son by Shimura Takako, translated by Matt Thorn (ongoing series)*

A book by a person whose gender is different from your own

• The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown (June)

A book that takes place in Asia

• Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back by Janice P. Nimura (August)
• Wandering Son by Shimura Takako, translated by Matt Thorn (ongoing series)*

A book by an author from Africa

• Anna Hibiscus' Song by Atinuke, illustrated by Lauren Tobia (February)

A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture (Native Americans, Aboriginals, etc.)

• The Blind Boy and the Loon by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril 
• Rabbit's Snow Dance by James Bruchac and Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Jeff Newman (October)

A microhistory

• The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin (February) 
• Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno (October)

A YA novel

• Vango: Between Sky and Earth by Timothée de Fombelle (April)
• Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee (June)*
• Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (July)
• Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George (July)
• A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (October)
• A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry (December)

A sci-fi novel

• The Fog Diver by Joel N. Ross (August)

A romance novel

• Wolf Bride by Elizabeth Moss (March)*

A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade

• We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (2014 Man Booker Prize nominee) (April)

A book that is a retelling of a classic story (fairy tale, Shakespearean play, classic novel, etc.)

• The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman (the version illustrated by Chris Riddell) (September)
• Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood (July)

An audiobook

A collection of poetry 

• Flutter and Hum / Aleteo y Zumbido: Animal Poems / Poemas de Animales by Julie Paschkis (October)

A book that someone else has recommended to you

• Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley (August)
• Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins (November)
• House Arrest by K.A. Holt (November)

A book that was originally published in another language

• Mikis and the Donkey by Bibi Dumon Tak (January)
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō, translated by Cathy Hirano (February)*
• The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami, translated by Ted Goossen (February)
• Vango: Between Sky and Earth by Timothée de Fombelle (April)
• Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann (August)*

A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind (I read quite a few ... not all of them are listed here)

• Halfway Home: Drawing My Way Through Japan by Christine Mari Inzer*
• Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince
• Displacement: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley
• Last of the Sandwalkers by Jay Hosler (May)*
• The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer by Sydney Padua (July)
• Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann (August)*
• Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #5) by Nathan Hale (September)
• Fall of the House of West by Paul Pope, J.T. Petty, David Rubin (December) 
• Wandering Son by Shimura Takako, translated by Matt Thorn (ongoing series)*  
• Princeless by Jeremy Whitley (ongoing series)
• Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, Brooke Allen, Maarta Laiho (ongoing series)
• Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (ongoing series)
• The Sixth Gun by Cullen Bunn, Brian Hurtt (ongoing series)

A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure (Read, and then realize that good entertainment is nothing to feel guilty over)

• Wolf Bride by Elizabeth Moss (March)*

A book published before 1850

A book published this year

• As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (Flavia de Luce #7) by Alan Bradley (January)*
• American Ghost: A Family's Haunted Past in the Desert Southwest by Hannah Nordhaus (April)
• Where You Go Is Not Who'll You Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania by Frank Bruni (May)* 
• Last of the Sandwalkers by Jay Hosler (May)*
• The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (May)
• Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee (June)*
• Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (August)

A self-improvement book (can be traditionally or non-traditionally considered “self-improvement”)

• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō, translated by Cathy Hirano (February)*
• Where You Go Is Not Who'll You Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania by Frank Bruni (May)*

As you can see, I got off to a head start and finished a few of these tasks over the weekend. I'll endeavor to keep updating this post as I fulfill a task. Book Riot began a Goodreads page for the challenge, which links to the original post, lists the tasks and reading suggestions for the tasks, and allows for participants to share what they're reading. They encourage people to use the hashtag #ReadHarder on social media.