Read Harder Challenge 2015

I decided to take on Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge! The challenge is right up my alley in that it stretches my reading habits without cornering me into a specific book. There are 24 tasks, and while some can overlap (e.g. A collection of short stories from an indie press written by a man), I am going to try my best to have one book represent each task. You can join the challenge yourself, either online or off, through their Goodreads Group or by yourself. Or, keep me updated with your progress here in the comments!

Below is the challenge list, with some book ideas I have. I am going to try and read books I already own or have on my Goodreads list where possible, but some book may come along that gets me googly-eyed that I cannot resist. Please add your own suggestions or recommendations After all, that is one of the challenges!

1. A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25
     - White Teeth by Zadie Smith

2. A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion - read 7/10/2015

3. A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people)
The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison  - read 4/6/2015

4. A book published by an indie press
The Salinger Contract by Adam Langer - read 3/13/2015

5. A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ
The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai - read 8/9/2015

6. A book by someone whose gender is different from your own

7. A book that takes place in Asia
     - The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
     - A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

8. A book by an author from Africa (I am so excited for this one! I loved my African literature class in college)
     - The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah (Ghana)
     - Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan (Nigeria)

9. A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture (Aboriginals, Native American, etc.)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie - read 2/7/2015
    - The Round House by Louise Erdrich
  
10. A microhistory
     - Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
     - The Code Book by Simon Singh
     - At Home by Bill Bryson
     - Tulipomania by Michael Dash

11. A Young Adult Novel
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King - read 8/14/2015

12. A Science Fiction Novel
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer - read 2/20/2015

13. A romance novel
     - A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

14. National Book AwardMan Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade 

15. A book that is a retelling of a classic story (fairy tale, Shakespearean play, classic novel, etc)
Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi - read 7/19/2015

16. An audiobook
17. A collection of poetry
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson - read 3/22/2015

18. A book that someone else has recommended to you (In a Book Riot Quarterly Box)
The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon - read 8/17/2015
     - A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken, which Aaron got me for Christmas
     - Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder

19. A book that was originally published in another language
     - Something by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is most likely, possibly The First Circle or Cancer Ward. Or, Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera

20. A graphic novel, a graphic memoir, or a collection of comics on any kind
Shoplifter by Michael Cho - read 1/7/2015
     - Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
     - Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson

21. A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure (I think this one may be a reread. But of what? Ooh, the mystery!)

22. A book published before 1850 (I hear Penguin Clothbound calling...)
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - read 6/25/2015

23. A book published this year
Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the World's Greatest Art Heist by Stephen Kurkjian - read 8/9/2015
     - Second Life by S. J. Watson

24. A self-improvement book
     - You're Wearing That? by Deborah Tannen, which I've been borrowing for, oh, about 2 years now


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