2016 Reading Challenges

I'm going to attempt two challenges this year, mostly because these seem more doable than last year's Book Riot Challenge. As much as possible I won't choose picture books to fulfill the challenge but I will double (or triple) up if a single book meets multiple challenges; these books are denoted with an asterisk.

My local public library system's reading challenge:

A book by a local author or set in the DC / MD / VA area:

• Cook Korean! A Comic Book With Recipes by Robin Ha (July)*

A book from a genre you don't typically read:

• The Sympathizer by Viet Than Nguyen (April)*
• The First Fifteen Lives of Henry August (June)*
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (August/September)
• The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore (October)*
• Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell (Simon & Schuster Audio) (October)*
• Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley (November)*

An audiobook (CD, e-audio, etc.):

• After the Funeral by Agatha Christie (Harper Audio) (July/August)
• Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell (Simon & Schuster Audio) (October)*

A graphic novel or comic book:

• Human Body Theater by Maris Wicks (January)*
• SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki (March)
• Trashed by Derf Backderf (March)*
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 2: Squirrel You Know It's True by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (March)
• Manifest Destiny, Vol. 3: Chiroptera & Carniformaves by Chris Dingess, Matthew Roberts, and Owen Gieni (March)*
• Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda (ongoing, reading single issues as they come out)*
• Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos (ongoing, reading single issues as they come out)*
• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (volumes 1, 7, and 8 in English, volume 2 in Japanese) by Hayao Miyazaki (April)*
• Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson (April)*
• The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks (April)*
• Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley (May)*
• Space Battle Lunchtime by Natalie Riess (ongoing, reading single issues as they come out)
• Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier (read the ARC in May)*
• Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean by Maris Wicks (May)*
• Templar by Jordan Mechner, LeUyen Pham, and Alex Puvilland (May)*
• Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova (June)
• Lumberjanes, Volume 3: A Terrible Plan by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Carolyn Nowak, Maarta Laiho, Aubrey Aiese, Brittney Williams, Aimee Fleck, Faith Erin Hicks, Rebecca Tobin, Felicia Choo, and T. Zysk (June)*
• Lumberjanes Gotham Academy by Chynna Clugston Flores and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell (ongoing, reading single issues as they come out)
• Princeless, Volume 3: The Pirate Princess by Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, and Ted Brandt (June)*
• Saga, Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (July)*
• Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci (July)*
• Cook Korean! A Comic Book With Recipes by Robin Ha (July)*
• Princeless, Volume 4: Be Yourself by Jeremy Whitley, Emily Martin, and Brett Grunig (July)*
• Lumberjanes, Volume 4: Out of Time by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen (July)*
• Sweaterweather: & Other Short Stories by Sara Varon (July)
• Ms. Marvel, Volume 4: Last Days by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona (August)*
• Ms. Marvel, Volume 5: Super Famous by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, Adrian Alphona, and Nico Leon (August)*
• New Super-Man by Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic (ongoing, reading single issues)*
• Kingsway West by Greg Pak and Mirko Colak (ongoing, reading single issues)*
• Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, Issue #1 by Julie Benson, Shawna Benson, and Claire Roe (September)
• Compass South by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock (September)*
• The Worrier's Guide to Life by Gemma Correll (September)
• Mirror, Volume 1: The Mountain by Emma Ríos and Hwei Lim (October)*
• NewsPrints by Ru Xu (read the ARC in November)*
• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (November)*
• Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson (December)*
• Rutabaga the Adventure Chef, Book 2: Feasts of Fury by Eric Colossal (December)*

A book by an author whose race, religion, or ethnicity is different from your own:

• My Name Is Jason. Mine Too.: Our Story. Our Way. by Jason Reynolds, Jason Griffin (April)
• Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson (April/May)*
• Princeless, Volume 3: The Pirate Princess by Jeremy Whitley, Rosy Higgins, and Ted Brandt (June)*
• Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci (July)*
• Princeless, Volume 4: Be Yourself by Jeremy Whitley, Emily Martin, and Brett Grunig (July)*
• Tru & Nelle by G. Neri (August)*
• Ms. Marvel, Volume 4: Last Days by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona (August)*
• Ms. Marvel, Volume 5: Super Famous by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, Adrian Alphona, and Nico Leon (August)*
• How to Build a Museum: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture by Tonya Bolden (September)*
• Ghost by Jason Reynolds (October)*
• The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi (October)*

A book published this year:

• Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo (read the ARC in January)*
• Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale by David Kudler (read the ARC in January/February)*
• The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman (March)*
• When Friendship Followed Me Home by Paul Griffin (read the ARC in March)
• The Inn Between by Marina Cohen (March)
• Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers (March/April)
• Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson (April)*
• The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks (April)*
• When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin (read the ARC in April)*
• The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kell (April)*
• Poison is Not Polite (Wells and Wong #2) by Robin Stevens (May)
• Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley (May)*
• Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban (May)*
• Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier (read the ARC in May)*
• Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean by Maris Wicks (May)*
• Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach (read the ARC in May)*
• Lumberjanes, Volume 3: A Terrible Plan by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Carolyn Nowak, Maarta Laiho, Aubrey Aiese, Brittney Williams, Aimee Fleck, Faith Erin Hicks, Rebecca Tobin, Felicia Choo, and T. Zysk (June)*
• Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd (Flavia de Luce #8) by Alan Bradley (read the ARC in June)
• Saga, Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (July)*
• Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White by Melissa Sweet (read the ARC in July)*
• Cook Korean! A Comic Book With Recipes by Robin Ha (July)*
• Lumberjanes, Volume 4: Out of Time by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, and Brooke Allen (July)*
• Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (read the ARC in July)*
• Weekends with Max and His Dad by Linda Urban (July)*
• Tru & Nelle by G. Neri (August)*
• Ms. Marvel, Volume 4: Last Days by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona (August)*
• Ms. Marvel, Volume 5: Super Famous by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, Adrian Alphona, and Nico Leon (August)*
• Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley (August)*
• The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye (August/September)*
• Compass South by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock (September)*
• The Blackthorn Key #2: Mark of the Plague by Kevin Sands (September)*
• Mirror, Volume 1: The Mountain by Emma Ríos and Hwei Lim (October)*
• Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey (October)*
• Ottoline and the Purple Fox by Chris Riddell (October)*
• The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore (October)*
• Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky (October)*
• Ghost by Jason Reynolds (October)*
• The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi (October)*
• Up From the Sea by Leza Lowitz (November)
• Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley (November)*
• You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words--and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras (read the ARC in October/November)*
• Appetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain (November)*
• Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels from Cleopatra to Lady Gaga by Jennifer Croll and Ada Buchholc (read the ARC in November)*
• Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson (December)*

A nonfiction book:

• Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don't You Grow Weary by Elizabeth Partridge (February)
• The Tortoise and the Soldier: A Story of Courage and Friendship in World War I by Michael Foreman (March)
• Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean by Maris Wicks (May)*
• Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach (read the ARC in May)*
• The World of PostSecret by Frank Warren
• Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci (July)*
• Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White by Melissa Sweet (read the ARC in July)*
• Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (read the ARC in July)*
• Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson (August)*
• How to Build a Museum: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture by Tonya Bolden (September)*
• Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky (October)*
• Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell (Simon & Schuster Audio) (October)*
• You're Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words--and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras (read the ARC in October/November)*
• Appetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain (November)*
• Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels from Cleopatra to Lady Gaga by Jennifer Croll and Ada Buchholc (read the ARC in November)*

A memoir, biography, or autobiography of someone who is still alive:

• Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik (February)*
• Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley (May)*
• Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci (July)*
• Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (read the ARC in July)*

A book that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, children to adults:

• Human Body Theater by Maris Wicks (January)*
• Puppy Pool Party!: An Underwater Dogs Adventure by Seth Casteel (read the ARC in April)
• When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin (read the ARC in April)*
• Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean by Maris Wicks (May)*
• Cook Korean! A Comic Book With Recipes by Robin Ha (July)*
• Hot Pink Flying Saucers and Other Clouds by Gavin Pretor-Pinney (August)
• How to Build a Museum: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture by Tonya Bolden (September)*
• Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky (October)*

A book that has been made into a movie:

• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (volumes 1, 7, and 8 in English, volume 2 in Japanese) by Hayao Miyazaki (April)*
  

A book recommended by another person or organization (like your library!):

• Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik (February)*
• Trashed by Derf Backderf (March)*
• When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin (read the ARC in April)*
• Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxane Orgill and Francis Vallejo (April)
• Space Battle Lunchtime, Issue #1 by Natalie Riess (May)*
• Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban (May)*
• Templar by Jordan Mechner, LeUyen Pham, and Alex Puvilland (May)*
• Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White by Melissa Sweet (read the ARC in July)*
• Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (read the ARC in July)*
• Weekends with Max and His Dad by Linda Urban (July)*
• Ghost by Jason Reynolds (October)*

An award winner:

• The Sympathizer by Viet Than Nguyen (April)*
• Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson (April)*
• Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson (April/May)*
• The First Fifteen Lives of Henry August (June)*
• Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson (August)*
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (August)
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (August/September)*
• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (November)*

BONUS: A book that takes place in the future:

• New Super-Man by Gene Luen Yang and Viktor Bogdanovic (ongoing, reading single issues)*

Book Riot's 2016 Read Harder Challenge:

Read a horror book:

• Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda (ongoing)*

Read a nonfiction book about science:

• Human Body Theater by Maris Wicks (January)*
• Coral Reefs: Cities of the Ocean by Maris Wicks (May)*
• Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach (read the ARC in May)*
• Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky (October)*

Read a collection of essays:

Read a book out loud to someone else:

Read a middle grade novel:

• Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo (read the ARC in January)*
• Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale by David Kudler (read the ARC in January/February)*
• When Friendship Followed Me Home by Paul Griffin (read the ARC in March)
• The Inn Between by Marina Cohen (March)
• Nooks & Crannies by Jessica Lawson (April)
• When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin (read the ARC in April)*
• The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kell (April)*
• The Blackthorn Key (The Blackthorn Key #1) by Kevin Sands (April)*
• Poison is Not Polite (Wells and Wong #2) by Robin Stevens (May)
• Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban (May)*
• Lou Lou and Pea and the Mural Mystery by Jill Diamond and Lesley Vamos (read the ARC in June)
• Weekends with Max and His Dad by Linda Urban (July)*
• Tru & Nelle by G. Neri (August)*
• Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong by A.J. Low, Adan Jimenez, Felicia Low-Jimenez, and Drewscape (September)
• The Blackthorn Key #2: Mark of the Plague by Kevin Sands (September)*
• Ottoline and the Purple Fox by Chris Riddell (October)*
• Ghost by Jason Reynolds (October)*
• First Class Murder (Wells and Wong #3) by Robin Stevens (November)
• Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami (November/December)
• My Happy Life by Rose Lagercrantz (December)
• The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue (December)

Read a biography (not a memoir or autobiography):

• Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik (February)*
• Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White by Melissa Sweet (read the ARC in July)*
• Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson (August)*
• Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell (Simon & Schuster Audio) (October)*

Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel:

• Mirror, Volume 1: The Mountain by Emma Ríos and Hwei Lim (October)*

Read a book originally published in the decade you were born:

Listen to an audiobook that has won an Audie award:

Read a book over 500 pages long:

• Stiletto by Daniel O'Malley (August)*
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (August/September)*
• The Blackthorn Key #2: Mark of the Plague by Kevin Sands (September)*

Read a book under 100 pages:

• The Story of Diva and Flea by Mo Willems, Tony DiTerlizzi (May)
• How to Build a Museum: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture by Tonya Bolden (September)*

Read a book by or about a person that identifies as transgender:

• I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings, Shelagh McNicholas (April)
  

Read a book that is set in the Middle East:

• Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci (July)*

Read a book that is by an author from Southeast Asia:

• The Sympathizer by Viet Than Nguyen (April)*
• The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kell (April)*

Read a book of historical fiction set before 1900:

• Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix (January)
• Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale by David Kudler (read the ARC in January/February)*
• The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman (March)*
• The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands (April)*
• Templar by Jordan Mechner, LeUyen Pham, and Alex Puvilland (May)*
• The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye (August/September)*
• Compass South by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock (September)*
• The Blackthorn Key #2: Mark of the Plague by Kevin Sands (September)*
• Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey (October)*

Read the first book in a series by a person of color:

• Ghost by Jason Reynolds (October)*
• The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi (October)*
• NewsPrints by Ru Xu (read the ARC in November)*

Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years:

• Manifest Destiny by Chris Dingess, Matthew Roberts, and Owen Gieni (ongoing)
• Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda (ongoing)
• Mirror by Emma Ríos and Hwei Lim (ongoing)*
• Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos (ongoing)
• Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson (April)*
• The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks (April)*
• Goldie Vance, Issue #1 by Hope Larson, Brittany Williams, and Sarah Stern (April)
• Space Battle Lunchtime, Issue #1 by Natalie Riess (May)*
  
• Kingsway West by Greg Pak and Mirko Colak (ongoing, reading single issues)*
• Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson (December)*
• Rutabaga the Adventure Chef, Book 2: Feasts of Fury by Eric Colossal (December)*

Read a book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie. Debate which is better:

• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (volumes 1, 7, and 8 in English, volume 2 in Japanese) by Hayao Miyazaki (April)* 
  

Read a nonfiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes:

• Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik (February)*
• Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley (May)*
• Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky (October)*
• Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels from Cleopatra to Lady Gaga by Jennifer Croll and Ada Buchholc (read the ARC in November)*

Read a book about religion (fiction or nonfiction):

• Templar by Jordan Mechner, LeUyen Pham, and Alex Puvilland (May)* Kind of?

Read a book about politics, in your country or another (fiction or nonfiction):

• The Sympathizer by Viet Than Nguyen (April)*

Read a food memoir:

• Cook Korean! A Comic Book With Recipes by Robin Ha (July)*

Read a play:

Read a book with a main character that has a mental illness:

• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (August/September)*