Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Progress Posts 2017
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8: A book written by a person of color
- What are you reading this week?Rich and Pretty
- Who is the book's author?
Rumaan Alam
- Do you read many books by people of color?
I try to.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Absolutely. It's important to me to understand different viewpoints.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Yes.
- What are you reading this week?Homegoing
- Who is the book's author?
Yaa Gyasi
- Do you read many books by people of color?
Honestly I don't know but I try to read books by authors from different countries and cultures
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
I like to read abut different cultures and about people with different opinions and ways to see the world. And I like to read books from various genres, so yes I guess it is.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
It was in the beginning but now my main reason is to discuss books.
What are you reading this week?The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Who is the book's author?
Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley.
Do you read many books by people of colour?
I read some, but I don't pay too much attention to the skin colour of the author when choosing a book to read.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, but I'm more concerned that my reading is so UK/US-centric, when I don't come from or live in either country.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
No, but it has certainly been a by-product of it. :)
What are you reading this week?A Thousand Splendid Suns
Who is the book's author?
Khaled Hosseini
Do you read many books by people of color?
A couple, but not as many as I originally thought...
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes! It will continue to be one of my reading goals in 2017.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Not exactly. But I have been exposed to a lot more diversity (and more aware of problems of diversity) in publishing because of ATY and some other back channels I have found through its members in the 2-3 years I have participated.
What are you reading this week?I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Who is the book's author?
Maya Angelou
Do you read many books by people of color?
Honestly, I don't know. In the past I've paid more attention to genre than to author ethnicity.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
It was not something I thought of until I started doing challenges (Jan 2016). Doing the 2015 and 2016 BR Reader Harders really widened my reading diversity.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Not really. After doing 2 Read Harder challenges in 2016, I knew just the one in 2017 would not be enough to challenge myself. So I looked at this one and Popsugar (both 52 books) to stretch myself. I found the ATY topics more intriguing.
- What are you reading this week? The Underground Railroad- Who is the book's author? Colson Whitehead
- Do you read many books by people of color? Probably not very many compared to my other reading.
- Is it important to you to read diversely? Yes
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge? Yes...reading all kinds of diversity by authors of many backgrounds from around the world,
What are you reading this week?Hidden figures
Who is the author?
Margot Lee shetterly
Do you read many books by people of color?
I realized while thinking about this category that I haven't read as many as I would have thought.
Is it important to you to read diversity?
Yes
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Yes I wanted to catch up on my reading list as well as expand my horizons more.
What are you reading this week?I am reading UnDivided
Who is the book's author?
Neal Shusterman
Do you read many books by people of color?
I honestly have no idea. I don't generally pay attention to who the author is, or what ethnicity or race they are.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, but I never think of that in terms of who writes the novels, more in terms of who or what the novels are about.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Yes! I need to expand my reading horizons in all sorts of ways!
What are you reading this week?Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More
Who is the book's author?
Janet Mock. Not only is she a person of colour, she is also a trans woman.
Do you read many books by people of color?
I try to. Lately I've been trying to be more aware of the authors I'm reading.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Yes! I want to add diversity in many different ways. Representation is so important.
What are you reading this week?The mothers by Brit Bennett
Do you read many books by people of colour?
I'm more conscious of reading diverse books in recent years, but I've always been interested in characters from different places (Ireland was pretty monocultural when I was young!)
Is it important to you to read diversely?
I read first and foremost for entertainment and fun. But I'm interested in the perspectives and experiences of people who are different from me. So win-win.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reason you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Absolutely. Goodreads challenges are fantastic for encouraging people to think about what they read. TY and keep up the good work!
What are you reading this week?The Underground Railroad
- Who is the book's author?
Colson Whitehead
- Do you read many books by people of color?
Yes, quite a few
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, reading for me is about losing myself in a book, being entertained but also about learning about new things, cultures, practices and ideas.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Absolutely, it has assisted me in considering books I may not of without participating in this challenge.
Progress Post:- What are you reading this week?
Just started The Underground Railroad
- Who is the book's author?
Colson Whitehead
- Do you read many books by people of color?
Now that I think about it, I have not.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes! I like learning about different cultures and lifestyles.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Definitely! I noticed that I will stick to certain authors and genres and not venture out into different ones.
What are you reading this week?Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center
Who is the book's author?
bell hooks
Do you read many books by people of color?
In total, no. However, I've been making more an effort to in the last year or so, last year I read 11 books by people of color, and this year I've targeted 20.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Absolutely, it's only since reading more authors of colour that I've realised how narrow by reading had been previously. And not just authors of colour, I want to read more from LGBT authors, authors with disabilities, different cultures, classes etc., it's really important.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Sure, I'm part of another group that does a specific "year of reading women of color" challenge, but the ATY challenge definitely encourages me to read a more diverse range of books in general; not just about diverse authors, but subject matter, types of books etc.
- What are you reading this week?Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
- Who is the book's author?
Mindy Kaling
- Do you read many books by people of color?
I don't particularly pay attention
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
No, I don't think it is important to pick a book based solely on a person's ethnicity, gender, or beliefs. I pick books that are interesting to me.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
No, I like the AtY Challenge because it's fun, and a good way for me to find new great reads.
- What are you reading this week? The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey- Who is the book's author? Walter Mosley
- Do you read many books by people of color?
I read different genres but I don't pay particular attention to the author.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
If I'm interested in a particular topic that involves diversity, then, yes I try to get a perspective from the people who would know first hand, but if I'm reading general fiction the author's race, gender, belief is irrelevant.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Not particularly, I like that the challenge includes a number of prompts that encourage participants to reads outside their own favourite genres and authors, to stretch a little bit.
What are you reading this week?Human Acts
Who is the book's author?
Han Kang
Do you read many books by people of color?
I don't often pay attention to the race of the author, or even the gender sometimes, so I probably don't read as many books by people of color as I'd like to think that I do.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, in some ways. I like to read diversely within the scope of things that interest me. I'm very interested in different national cultures, so I'm more likely to pick a book about a diverse culture than I am to maybe pick a book about another kind of diversity. I have very varied reading tastes, so I hope that I get a good amount of diversity from reading literary fiction & historical fiction & nonfiction, etc.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
No, my reason for participating in this challenge is largely that wonderfully exciting check-off-the-box feeling when I complete a category or the whole list. I am doing the Around the World Reading Challenge, which adds geographic diversity to what I read, which I'm really enjoying.
What are you reading this week?The Underground Railroad
Who is the book's author?
Colson Whitehead
Do you read many books by people of color?
Not as many as I should!
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Honestly, it's not my priority. I have so many books on my TBR that I would like to read that I just read what sounds interesting at the time. If it's by a POC, great! But I don't go out of my way to read diversely.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
No, I just like attempting reading challenges.
- What are you reading this week?Narrative of Sojourner Truth- Who is the book's author?Sojourner Truth
- Do you read many books by people of color? I don't really pay attention.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?It's not my.prority
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
I love doing this challenge
What are you reading this week? 
Who is the book's author?
Toni Morrison who is one of my favourite authors.
Do you read many books by people of color?
I don't usually pay attention to the race of the person. I guess looking through my recent read list I do though.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Absolutely. I never want to get in a rut of reading the same sort of books over and over again. I think it's important to read about all sorts of different points of views from around the world.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Definitely
- What are you reading this week?Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement
- Who is the book's author?
John Lewis
- Do you read many books by people of color?
I don't really pay attention to the author's race.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
I am trying to spread out more, so yea.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Definitely. It love this group for helping me branch out!
What are you reading this week?Two reads for this week: The Underground Railroad and Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Who is the book's author?
Colson Whitehead for first read
Barack Obama for second read
Do you read many books by people of color?
Yes, I do. But then, I'm a POC. I don't pick up books because they are written by other POCs, I like and am interested in and seek out fiction and nonfiction covering a wide range of topics, interests, and backgrounds, so any given month I usually have a good swath of nations, cultures, races represented. (Where I may be lacking is LGBT authors, as I certainly don't always know, label or care about a given author's sexuality, a less readily available (and rightfully so) biographical data point than someone's race or cultural group, and because of that LGBT authors might be underrepresented? But this didn't even occur to me until just now, so kudos for asking a thought provoking question!)
Is it important to you to read diversely?
I think it's very important in general to immerse oneself in someone else's shoes for a time, and getting a good variety of different ideas and characters and situations to inhabit, and I like to be informed or educated while reading. But my primary focus is always picking up books that seem interesting and entertaining. For me, diversity of experience and author and characters just dovetails with my interests anyway, so maybe I take it for granted?
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Yes, but not in the diversity = POC sense, more in an overall sense of embracing reading diversely across all genres and all subjects. And I love seeing what other people come up with for the same topics, to be exposed to more books for present and future reading.
I am reading Norwegian Wood.It's authored by Murakami.
It's not necessarily important to read books written by people of color. Good literature always stands out and it transcends the barrier of race and culture.
Its not the reason I chose to be a part of this challenge.
- What are you reading this week?
- Who is the book's author? Octavia E. Butler
- Do you read many books by people of color? I don't know, I don't tend to keep track.
- Is it important to you to read diversely? I don't think about it really. I pick books that I think will be good, what the author looks like doesn't usually factor into it.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge? Diversity in reading yes, diversity in race of author, no.
- What are you reading this week?Twelve Years a Slave
- Who is the book's author?
Solomon Northup
- Do you read many books by people of color?
Yes, though I read a lot of books, so inevitably that will happen unless I was trying not to.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, but not as a matter of color. I love to read books (especially memoirs) written by people who are quite different from me, as a way of seeing life through their eyes. But someone's color has no bearing on that. People could be very like me, while having a different skin tone, while other people with the same skin tone are unlikely to share my culture.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Nope, can't say it is.
What are you reading this week?The Sun Is Also a Star
Who is the book's author?
Nicola Yoon
Do you read many books by people of color?
I've never really kept track. I generally go by plot.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, but not as regards to race as much as subject matter.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Yes, but, again, not for issues of race. I mainly use the challenge to make sure I read more than just mysteries and romantic suspense and dystopias.
What are you reading this week? The Buddha in the Attic
Who is the book's author?
Julie Otsuka
Do you read many books by people of color?
yes, a lot. I
Is it important to you to read diversely?
yes, I like to learn about different countries and tradition
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
no
- What are you reading this week?
The Farming of Bones- Who is the book's author?
Edwidge Danticat
- Do you read many books by people of color?
I do my best to try and read authors from diverse perspectives. I don't think I read enough from author's of color but I've definitely made a conscious effort to increase my exposure.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Diversity is important in every aspect of life. It gives you exposure to many different ideas.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Yes.
What are you reading this week?The Sellout
Who is the book's author?
Paul Beatty
Do you read many books by people of colour?
This question prompted me to think back over my reading for the last couple of years and I realised the answer is actually 'no'. However as I haven't been reading a lot in recent years, although the number of books by people of colour I've read is quite small it's still a reasonable proportion of the books I've read.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, absolutely.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
It wasn't a primary motivation really. My reason for participating was primarily to give me a bit of motivation to start reading more. I also wanted to read a more diverse range of books, but I saw that more as reading different genres or authors I hadn't read before.
- What are you reading this week?Homegoing
- Who is the book's author?
Yaa Gyasi
- Do you read many books by people of color?
I honestly don't pay attention.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
I think it is important it read diversely on all subjects, not just race.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
It is, but diversity in genre, subjects, religion, among other things, not just authors. Plus I like the camaraderie, finding new books, and discussions!!
- What are you reading this week?Homegoing
- Who is the book's author?
Yaa Gyasi
- Do you read many books by people of colour?
I'm not really sure as I don't really pay attention.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, but I actually think it's more important that you read something that interests you. The advantage of reading is you can learn a hell of a lot, but at the end of the day, if you only want to read about 1 topic, that's fine too. It's all about enjoyment for me.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Not really.
What are you reading this week?I am reading Another Brooklyn.
Who is the book's author?
Jacqueline Woodson
Do you read many books by people of color?
I try to.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, I like to get other points of view from people of all walks of life. I learn so much.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY challenge?
Yes, I think the reading challenge encourages me to try reading things that I would not naturally pick up and read.
- What are you reading this week?The Palace of Illusions
- Who is the book's author?
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Do you read many books by people of color?
To be honest I dont pay much attention, but I would assume less than 50%
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, in order to widen your knowledge I believe so
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Yes, definitely
What are you reading this week?The Kite Runner
Who is the book's author?
Khaled Hosseini
Do you read many books by people of color?
It's not something I pay attention to.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
No. I read for enjoyment. Although part of the reason I enjoyed this book so much was that it showed me a country and culture I knew very little about.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Not at all, but it's a nice side effect.
- What are you reading this week?Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
- Who is the book's author?
Bryan Stevenson
- Do you read many books by people of color?
I feel like I do a good job, but my actual count says no. I read about 50% history/science nonfiction, and it seems like these are generally written by non-POCs.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes. I was lucky to grow up in a very diverse community, and I don't want to stop learning and educating myself as an adult.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Not necessarily - though I appreciate prompts like this one that force diversity. I'm also participating in Diversity Bingo, and it was interesting to see what prompts I had filled with other challenges and which I hadn't.
What are you reading this week?The Amazing Absorbing Boy
Who is the book's author?
Rabindranath Maharaj
Do you read many books by people of color?
I do not go out of my way to pick books by a persons colour, race, religion, etc.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Reading books that have differing points of view is important to me. It expands my knowledge and understanding of the world and my fellow man.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Not reallly. I was looking for a wider range of authors to read, not specifically for diversity as you are using the word.
- What are you reading this week?
- Who is the book's author? Nicola Yoon
- Do you read many books by people of color? I don't pay attention tbh
- Is it important to you to read diversely? Yes! I think it's important to have representation (also a plus if the book is #ownvoices)
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge? Not really, I was looking just for a challenge
- What are you reading this week?Claire of the Sea Light
- Who is the book's author?
Edwidge Danticat
- Do you read many books by people of color?
I have read far too few
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes. I enjoy a book much more if the plot line or setting or genre is new to me. For instance, I have read enough WWII books and YA and memoir for the time being. So I specifically look for historical fiction that is of another era and have added more non-fiction and new genres (to me) such as mystery, horror and steam-punk (!) to my TBR.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Yes. Mystery, horror, science fiction and steam punk would not be on my list at all if it were not for ATY.
- What are you reading this week? 
Shame- Who is the book's author?
Salman Rushdie
- Do you read many books by people of color?
No
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, but that's not restricted to ethnicity
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Maybe, but the main reason was to reduce my TBR
What are you reading this week? The Color PurpleWho is the book's author? Alice Walker
Do you read many books by people of color? Not consciously.
Is it important to you to read diversely? When I think of diversity in my reading I think of it more in terms of the genre rather than the ethnicity of the author. But having said that, yes.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge? Yes. That, and trying to reduce my TBR list. Which never happens.
-What are you reading this week? Brown Girl Dreaming- Who is the book's author? Jacqueline Woodson
- Do you read many books by people of color? Not Consciously. I choose books by the genre and if it looks interesting.
- Is it important to you to read diversely? This is the first book I have purposely read because the author was of color. Actually, I rarely would even know the ethnicity of the author, it is not something that I pay attention to.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge? Yes
What are you reading this week?The Color PurpleWho is the book's author?Alice Walker
Do you read many books by people of color? Yes I do, I like to read about all different people, places and cultures, and across all genres
Is it important to you to read diversely? The more you know the more you grow ;-)
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge? Yes, I am finding that my favorite thing about reading challenges is that encourages me to read out of my comfort zone and try books, authors and genres that I don't usually read.
What are you reading this week? Devil in a Blue Dress
Who is the book's author? Walter Mosley
Do you read many books by people of color?
I've been reading more in the past two years because of challenges.
Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes, definitely.
Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
Yes, I like to hear what other people are thinking and reading related to the issues of the day.
Marina H wrote: "- What are you reading this week?Homegoing
- Who is the book's author?
Yaa Gyasi
- Do you read many books by people of color?
Honestly I don't know but I try to..."
I love this book...happy reading!
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. My reading includes many reDers from different backgrounds. I'm doing this challenge to get more familiar with modern writers and different genres.
- What are you reading this week?I read Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- Do you read many books by people of color?
Very few. Not by choice, but as we discussed it, because books by white authors get more publicity.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes it is, because when you immerse yourself in another point of you than yours, you get to understand it better and it helps lower prejudices.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
At first it was to read more, but since I got on a good trend of 70 books a year, I now use it to read more diversely. I also took on the Read Diversely Challenge and started to try and read one book for every country in the world.
WEEK 8:A Book Written By A Person Of Color
PROGRESS POST
-What are you reading this week? I'm reading A Torch Against The Night (#2) by Sabaa Tahir.
-Who is the book's author? This was written by Sabaa Tahir.
-Do you read many books by people of color? Here's the thing, I don't tend to care. If the book sounds interesting to me, I'm going to read it. I don't tend to base my reading picks on whether the author is white, black, multi-colored, male, or female. I personally think that's a short-sighted way to pick books.
-Is it important to you to read diversely? No. It's important for me to read books and pick books that I think I'm going to enjoy. I read for fun, not to brag about what classics I read, or how many diverse books I read.
-Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge? Again, No. I'm participating in this challenge because I thought it would be fun. If I wanted to focus on reading just diverse authors or books, I would have participated in the Diversity BINGO challenge or something, where the main point of the challenge was just on reading diversely.
- What are you reading this week? Homegoing
- Who is the book's author?
- Do you read many books by people of color? I don't think so, I don't pay that much attention.
- Is it important to you to read diversely? I don't tend to make it a part of my decision making process, I tend to stumble into the diverse books I read but am often happy to have had the chance to read something outside of my norm. The last book I read was based in China and my favorite parts of the book was being given a peak into a world unlike my own I feel that Homegoing is going to be the same.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge? I would say that it is part of the reason I take participate - I appreciate that the challenge makes me look at books I might not otherwise.
The Secret of Magicby: Deborah Johnson
Who is the book's author? See above
- Do you read many books by people of color? I don't generally pay that close attention to the author of a book.
- Is it important to you to read diversely? I enjoy historical fiction, so diversity is inherent in that genre. You read in different countries and different time periods. You learn the good and not so good histories involved in making this world what it is today.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge? No. I participate in this challenge in order to try and fit the books I already own into the list and read off of my already too large TBR. This challenge makes reading my older books fun.
- What are you reading this week? Ikebukuro West Gate Park
- Who is the book's author? Ira Ishida (Japanese author)
- Do you read many books by people of color?
On the novel side, I read a few each year. I read also manga, so I read lots of Japanese authors/artists.
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
Yes and as I'm tracking more closely my reads this year, it's horrifying to see that most of my reads are by US authors. I'll try to balance that next year.
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?
No but being in a reading community helped me to discover more less known authors and to pay attention to these kinds of things.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Ceremony (other topics)Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High (other topics)
Knife Edge (other topics)
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. (other topics)
World After (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Leslie Marmon Silko (other topics)Melba Pattillo Beals (other topics)
Malorie Blackman (other topics)
Samantha Irby (other topics)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (other topics)
More...
For those reading in order: February 20 – February 26, 2017
Suggestions for this category: link
To discuss the book, don't forget to add it in the A-Z folders or join the existing discussion. Please, don't discuss the book here.
Progress Post:
- What are you reading this week?
- Who is the book's author?
- Do you read many books by people of color?
- Is it important to you to read diversely?
- Is adding diversity to your reading one of the reasons you participate in the ATY Challenge?