2019 Read Harder

Hello! It is already nearly the end of February and I am still finishing my writing for 2018, shame on me! In any case, a lot has been going on, and I am trying to chug away at it as best I can. In the mean time, I want to make a little note to myself as I introduce the Book Riot 2019 Read Harder Challenge that I will be following again this year.

First of all, I (re)discovered Libby, an app that works with your library card to bring you e-books and audiobooks, and let me tell you that my work life is forever changed with the addition of audiobooks! I have already listened to so many, and it's only February! Because I have such a plethora of options available to me, I have made it a personal little challenge to increase the diversity of what I read, especially in terms of women, queers, and people of color. I have read enough white men for a while, and while a few may sneak back from time to time (looking at you, Stephen King) I want to prioritize other voices this year. I just finished We Were Eight Years In Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates (click here for a great review of it), and while it was very heavy, it is very very necessary and I have already stocked my Libby TBR pile with similar books for the coming months. White Fragility, When They Call You A Terrorist, Educated, Shrill, How Long 'Til Black Future Month....titles abound!

BOOK RIOT’S 2019 READ HARDER CHALLENGE

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters
2. An alternate history novel
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018: The Fact Of A Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

1. A humor book
2. A book by a journalist or about journalism
3. A book by an AOC set in or about space: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
4. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America
5. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania
6. A book published prior to January 1, 2019, with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads
7. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman
8. A book of manga
9. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character
10. A book by or about someone that identifies as neurodiverse
11. A cozy mystery
12. A book of mythology or folklore
13. An historical romance by an AOC
14. A business book
15. A novel by a trans or nonbinary author
16. A book of nonviolent true crime: Can You Ever Forgive Me by Lee Israel
17. A book written in prison
18. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator
19. A children’s or middle grade book (not YA) that has won a diversity award since 2009
20. A self-published book
21. A collection of poetry published since 2014

As of right now, I have a few books for the challenge under my belt, though I haven't written about any of them yet. I have to get back to my languishing partner, Writing, and treat her with the respect that is her due. It has been far too long!

Happy reading, 2019!