5 Years of Read Harder

When the year began I was skeptical that I'd be able to finish the 2022 Read Harder Challenge.  As 2022 began I knew that we had a full, challenging year ahead and boy did it get even more full and challenging than expected.  I knew that we'd be packing up and leaving Italy after five years.  I knew that we'd be moving home to Arizona and starting new jobs.  I knew that we'd be living in a temporary situation as we prepared to close and build our new home.  Well, if you've read my recent posts, you know that the house we thought was coming in July 2023 actually came THIS July.  And everything we thought we had a whole year to do got packed into just a few short months.  But despite the life-changing move, house delivery, stress and hecticness, I managed to finish the Read Harder Challenge with two months to spare.  

Here are the 24 books I read for the challenge and below I've included some commentary on the books.  Five of the books also took care of some of my The Unread Shelf reading challenges and two are Onward Book Club selections.  Let me know if you've read any of these books or have decided to read one.  

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Read Harder 2022 Challenge

 

Read a biography of an author you admire: Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley.  I'm not a Jane Austen completest but I have read Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice, and I've seen many of the movie adaptations of her work.  She is definitely a writer I admire.  This book is a great survey of Jane's life that explores the homes she lived in and the influence they had on her writing life.  I always enjoy books that explore the creative life and give insight into an artist's creative process.   

Read a book set in a bookstore: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.  I think I first learned of this book from a talk that author Ann Patchett gave that I watched online.  I've heard other people mention it too over the years so I decided to take it on.  It's a meaty read but definitely worth it.  It's one of two books that I included in my book journal where I have a whole page of quotes from the book.  Here are just two:

"Destiny is usually just around the corner.  Like a thief, a hooker, or a lottery vendor: it's three most common personifications.  But what destiny does not do is home visits.  You have to go for it." (225)

"Life is waiting for us." (480)

Read any book from the Women's Prize shortlist/longlist/winner list: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.  This is an Onward Book.  You can watch Liz Gilbert's interview with Tayari Jones by clicking here.

Read a book in any genre by a POC that's about joy and not trauma: The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa.  For this challenge I figured romance was a good way to go.  This is my first Mia Sosa book and I really enjoyed it.  It is definitely very sexy and brings the heat.  It's also just a great story about family and finding love.   

Read an anthology featuring diverse voices: Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong

Read a nonfiction YA comic: Saving Sorya by Trang Nguyen and illustrated by Jeet Zdung

Read a romance where at least one of the protagonists is over 40: One Plus One by JoJo Moyes.  One note on this book.  I selected this book after doing some online searching for romances with characters over 40.  Turns out the characters are not actually in their 40s.  They are in their 30s but that doesn't come out until about 30 pages into the book.  I'd already started so I just kept going. 

Read a classic written by a POC: The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin.  This is a book I've been interested in reading for a while and this proved the perfect time to take it on.  This is the other book I included in my book journal with another page of quotes.  Here is one to consider:

"[Martin Luther] King [Jr] is entirely right when he says that segregation is dead.  The real question...is just how long, how violent, and how expensive the funeral is going to be." (145)

Read a book that's been on your To Be Read (TBR) the longest: The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston.  I first learned of Maxine Hong Kingston when I was in college.  Her books have been on my TBR list for 20+ years. 

Read a political thriller by a marginalized author (BIPOC or LGBTQIA+): American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson.  This is another Onward Book club pick.  You can watch Lauren's interview with Liz Gilbert here. 

Read a book with an asexual and/or aromatic main character: Loveless by Alice Oseman.  I had to look up asexual and aromatic when researching books for this challenge.  If you'd have to do the same, this is a great initial read. 

Read an entire poetry collection: The October Palace by Jane Hirshfield.  When I was in college for my undergrad, Jane Hirshfield came to my school and gave a talk.  I remember going to it and writing an article about it for my journalism course.   

Read an adventure story by a BIPOC author: Charlotte Spies for Justice by Nikki Shannon Smith

Read a book whose movie or TV adaptation you've seen (but haven't read the book): Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean.  It's been a very long time since I saw the film adaptation of this movie, which came out in 1996.  The movie follows Sister Prejean's experience as a spiritual advisor to a prisoner on death row.  The book actually focuses on her relationship with two prisoners and her work to bring an end to the death penalty in the State of Louisiana.  Not a comfortable topic but it's a conscious-expanding book.  Definitely worth reading.  

Read a new-to-you literary magazine (print or digital): Mirage 2013 published by Cochise College

Read a book recommended by a friend with different reading tastes: The Bees by Laline Paull.  This is probably one of the most unique books I've read this year.  My friend Christina read it and mailed it to me a few years ago.  It's a very creative exploration of the life cycle of a bee hive over one year from the perspective of one of the bees. 

Read a memoir written by someone who is trans or nonbinary: Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride.  In the book Sarah writes, "Vulnerability is often the first step on the path toward justice.  Vulnerability breeds empathy, empathy fosters support, support leads to action." (243).  If you're open to reading a book by a trans author, I would strongly suggest this one. 

Read a "Best ______ Writing of the Year" book for a topic and year of your choice: Best American Sports Writing 2020 edited by Jackie MacMullan.  I've read a few of these best of ____ books and I have to say this is hands down my favorite.  The variety of the topics covered is incredibly diverse.  Essays include a soccer team in Juarez, a deadly climbing season on Mount Everest, chess grandmasters, the massage parlor bust in Florida, a rodeo at Angola prison (the prison Sister Prejean went to), the pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick's dog fighting operation, and a promising basketball player who became a cloistered nun.  Those are only 7 of the subject matters of the 25 essays in the book.  This is a really good read! 

Read a horror novel by a BIPOC author: Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood.  Having horror as one of the read harder challenges is never a favorite for me but I was happy to find this Young Adult book that's kind of a gothic take on Jane Eyre. 

Read an award-winning book from the year you were born: The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson.  Winner of the National Book Award for Children's Literature in 1977.

Read a queer retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, folklore, or myth: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

Read a history about a period you know little about: Blood Washes Blood by Frank Viviano.  Frank's search to find out what happened to his great-great grandfather who was murdered in Sicily in the late 1800s ends up having roots in the birth of the Mafia.

Read a book by a disabled author: A Step Further by Joni Eareckson Tada and Steve Estes.  Joni broke her neck in a diving accident when she was young, leaving her a quadriplegic.  She is a Bible teacher and speaker who has written many books and does a lot of outreach with disabled people.  She is the author of one of my favorite devotionals, Diamonds in the Dust, which I keep in the office. 

Pick a challenge from any of the previous years' challenges to repeat: My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul for Read a book about books from the 2017 Read Harder Challenge.  The year before I started doing the challenge.  I wrote a blog post about this book earlier this year.  Here is the link if you want to go read it.

If you have questions about any of the books I read for the challenge please leave me a comment.  I'm happy to tell you what I though.  I'll be stalking the Book Riot website in early December waiting for the 2023 Read Harder Challenge to come out.