I read around 30 books last year, many of them during the later months when work became less hectic. The final 2016 list is front-loaded with a lot of science fiction before turning into a pretty scattershot collection of titles. Since I am one of those corny cheeseballs who theme their new years, I intend to turn 2017 into a time of balance — and that goes for my reading list, as well.
As an occasional reader of Book Riot, I’ve seen (but never attempted) their annual reading challenges before. Dubbed “Read Harder,” each year’s challenge prods participants to read outside their comfort zones and pick up books from authors, genres, perspectives they’d otherwise never checked out before. That’s a goal I can get behind, so I signed up for this year.
Here are the prompts and the books I plan to read for them. I tried to fill each prompt with books I already own but haven’t read yet. Titles subject to change!
1. Read a book about sports.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy3. Read a book about books.
The Novel: A Biography by Michael Schmidt
When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning
4. Read a book set in Central or South America, written by a Central or South American author.
The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas by Machado de Assis
5. Read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
6. Read an all-ages comic.
Princeless, Vol. 1: Save Yourself by Jeremy Whitley
7. Read a book published between 1900 and 1950.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
8. Read a travel memoir.
Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory by Peter Hessler
9. Read a book you’ve read before.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
1984 by George Orwell
10. Read a book that is set within 100 miles of your location.
Desaparesidos by Lualhati Bautista
11. Read a book that is set more than 5000 miles from your location.
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
12. Read a fantasy novel.
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
13. Read a nonfiction book about technology.
The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld by Jamie Bartlett
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzsold
14. Read a book about war.
The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman
15. Read a YA or middle grade novel by an author who identifies as LGBTQ+.
George by Alex Gino
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
16. Read a book that has been banned or frequently challenged in your country.
Noli Me Tángere by Jose Rizal
El Filibusterismo by Jose Rizal
17. Read a classic by an author of color.
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
18. Read a superhero comic with a female lead.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 1: Squirrel Power by Ryan North
She-Hulk, Volume 1: Law and Disorder by Charles Soule
19. Read a book in which a character of color goes on a spiritual journey
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova
20. Read an LGBTQ+ romance novel
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
21. Read a book published by a micropress.
Islamic Far East: Ethnogenesis of Philippine Islam by Isaac Donoso
22. Read a collection of stories by a woman.
The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector
23. Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love.
Li Po and Tu Fu: Poems
24. Read a book wherein all point-of-view characters are people of color.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang
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