I know that 2017 isn’t over yet, but it looks like I won’t be able to complete Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge. I’ve decided I’d rather mark this project as incomplete than miss a day of NanoPoblano, so I’m sharing my results.
- Read a book about sports: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (also a debut novel)
- Read a debut novel. Dietland by Sarai Walker
- Read a book about books: The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (also a fantasy and a debut novel)
- Read a book set in Central or South America, written by a Central or South American author. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- Read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative. Lucky Boy by Shanti Sekaran
- Read an all-ages comic: Volumes 1 and 2 of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
- Read a book published between 1900 and 1950. The Complete Adventures of Curious George by Margret and H.L. Rey
- Read a travel memoir. My Holiday in North Korea: The Funniest/Worst Place on Earth by Wendy E. Simmons
- Read a book you’ve read before. The Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series by Deborah Crombie
- Read a book that is set within 100 miles of your location. Takeover (also a debut novel), Evidence of Murder, and Trail of Blood by Lisa Black (featuring Theresa MacLean, a forensic scientist, in Cleveland, Ohio)
- Read a book that is set more than 5000 miles from your location. In the Shadow of the Banyan Tree by Vaddey Ratner (also a debut novel)
- Read a fantasy novel. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
- Read a nonfiction book about technology. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Woman Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
- Read a book about war. The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan
- Read a YA or middle grade novel by an author who identifies as LGBTQ+. Boy Meets Boy (also a LGBTQ+ romance) and Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan (also frequently challenged)
- Read a book that has been banned or frequently challenged in your country. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
- Read a classic by an author of color. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
- Read a superhero comic with a female lead. Jessica Jones: Alias Volumes 1 – 4 by Brian Michael Bendis and Velvet, Volumes 1 -3 by Ed Brubaker
- Read a book in which a character of color goes on a spiritual journey: Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- Read an LGBTQ+ romance novel : Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat and Carol: The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
- Read a book published by a micropress: didn’t find one!
- Read a collection of stories by a woman: Everything that Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor
- Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love: too lazy to complete!
- Read a book wherein all point-of-view characters are people of color: Midnight Taxi Tango (Bone Street Rumba #2 ) by Daniel Jose Older and Black Panther #1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Day 28!
that cynking feeling 
I love the diversity of the challenge. What did it bring you, to purposely read these works within one year?
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I discovered books I would otherwise never have sought out. Some of them I did not like and wouldn’t recommend to others. Others, I’m glad I had the opportunity to explore authors, genres, and styles I would otherwise have missed. I also had fun trying to find overlap in the tasks. For example, I tried to find as many debut novels as I could for others tasks.
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This is a very impressive list. I most enjoyed how you tried to incorporate the overlap of genres mentioned above, especially with many debut novels, as that is very kind to help out new authors in this way. I think that it was a great idea to put this in a blog post because even if you didn’t complete the whole challenge, you have certainly demonstrated your willingness to read a variety of genres and broaden your horizons 🙂 I want to take on a Reading Challenge but I currently have a massive reading pile to get through for fellow authors first. Not that I’m complaining but I’d rather clear my backlog first. I feel like you have to break free sometimes though and read what you want every so often to stop reading from becoming a chore, which is the last thing I would ever want.
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