Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Can anyone tell me when the 2018 Read Harder Book Challenge list will be available? I like to plan ahead.

Thanks!

They published the 2017 list in early December 2016, so they’ll probably publish next years in about a month if I had to guess

Oooh oooh, can we guess what some of the categories might be though???

- a book in which the main character has a physical disability
- a book set in a country that your country has fought a war against
- a graphic history
- a book you give a second chance (ie something that you've put down before, or disliked in high school, something like that?)

What else?

Allie wrote: "Oooh oooh, can we guess what some of the categories might be though???

- a book in which the main character has a physical disability
- a book set in a country that your country has fought a war a..."

Good ones Allie. How about

A book about a religion other than your own

A mystery or procedural set anywhere other than the UK or US

An addiction memoir

A romance told from a male or gender nonconforming perspective

A play written in the 19th century

A nonfiction book about an age group or generation other than your own (I spend all day every day on a college campus so its not super surprising for me, but I am reading The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now and I keep wanting to lend it to everyone I hear grousing about millennials.)

A book about civics or political history in your own country

I like that idea of reading a book your country was at war with. although some countries will have more options than others...

Krys wrote: "I like that idea of reading a book your country was at war with. although some countries will have more options than others..."

I thought the same thing, but they I realized that nearly every country a has had wars (plural.) Just typing that makes me sad.

Alexa wrote: "They published the 2017 list in early December 2016, so they’ll probably publish next years in about a month if I had to guess"

Thanks, I'll be looking out for it :)

Bonnie wrote: "Krys wrote: "I like that idea of reading a book your country was at war with. although some countries will have more options than others..."

I thought the same thing, but they I realized that near..."

Same, that was my first thought - most countries* have had at least one war (I guess you could probably count civil wars too, in the countries that are smaller/newer/haven't had as many wars, but that wasn't my point).

*I did a quick Google, and found this: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wor... <-- and of the 10, I know at least two have been at war before.

I love the idea of a 19th century play and a gender-nonconforming romance novel!

A western
A spy novel
You've seen the movie; now read the book
A prison setting
A Hollywood or Bollywood story

The book that has been on your TBR pile/list the longest.

Janet wrote: "A western
A spy novel
You've seen the movie; now read the book
A prison setting
A Hollywood or Bollywood story"

I get it. My suggestions are too pedestrian. But do all the challenges have to involve diving into the backroom of an obscure publishing house. I live in a town of 300 in Montana. I have no money to buy books. And a book published by a micropress? Still looking. Microbrews are much easier to find here.

I did find a translated poetry book. That was a challenge, but I enjoyed what I found and sat and read in store.

A western is a great suggestion for folks who usually read sci fi.
A spy novel for those stuck in a pastoral rut.
A prison setting would be just the thing for those who typically read romance.
A Hollywood story would maybe take me out of my favorite genre.
See -- the idea is to get us reading more diversely. It does not mean every novel I read should be by someone who looks different than me.
I have been reading a quite diverse selection of books, but sometimes I want to read something I don't normally read.

Mercedes wrote: "Janet wrote: "A western
A spy novel
You've seen the movie; now read the book
A prison setting
A Hollywood or Bollywood story"

Check out Popsugar's challenge for these types of reading suggestions...."

Please no more books based on/turned into movies! No offense to the person who suggested it, but it's a prompt that has come up so many times in challenges (at least ones I've done) over the past few years, that I would dread seeing it again.

I tend to find Book Riot's list most challenging out of all the category-based challenges I participate in. They really seem to go out of their way to push people out of their comfort zones.

I agree with Janet though that it would be nice if they took into consideration accessibility of books. I found a book from a micropress practically impossible this year, and went for the next closest equivalent I could find.

Janet wrote: "A western
A spy novel
You've seen the movie; now read the book
A prison setting
A Hollywood or Bollywood story"

Just now saw this, I love the idea of a prison setting book! I can only think of two that I've read like this: The Green Mile (which was great) and the book that the TV show Orange is the New Black was based on (which was meh, IMO).

Janet wrote: "I get it. My suggestions are too pedestrian. But do all the challenges have to involve diving into the backroom of an obscure publishing house. I live in a town of 300 in Montana. I have no money to buy books. And a book published by a micropress? Still looking. Microbrews are much easier to find here.

I had trouble getting through the last few tasks (I'm STILL on my last two, even as I double up on other books) and this might belong in another thread, but: I was looking into Roxane Gay's task for the micropress, and was surprised to find that she operates one (Tiny Hardcore Press). I bought "So You Know It's Me" by Brian Oliu for $4.50 on Amazon and read it on my phone (and I think it took less than 40 minutes, if you're looking for a shorter read). I was trying to search for micropress books through my local library and using the Overdrive app in vain and thought it'd be nice to support her. If you have a device (phone, laptop, e-reader) you can read off of, can you borrow ebooks or audiobooks through your library? Free and straightforward to do. Good luck!

Excited for the 2018 list! I'd love to "win" this challenge for as long as I can (nanowrimo language on the mind...).

The micropress thing got people really upset, but honestly as a community of readers I think it is important to support small presses if we can. I have seen small press books for $6. It is doable for most. And for those of us who really can't afford a few dollars, most libraries have at least a few options. The idea is to go beyond the things we would not normally think to read, that is what makes it fun.

Bonnie wrote: "The micropress thing got people really upset, but honestly as a community of readers I think it is important to support small presses if we can. I have seen small press books for $6. It is doable f..."

Pauline wrote: "Janet wrote: "I get it. My suggestions are too pedestrian. But do all the challenges have to involve diving into the backroom of an obscure publishing house. I live in a town of 300 in Montana. I h..."

Janet wrote: "Janet wrote: "A western
A spy novel
You've seen the movie; now read the book
A prison setting
A Hollywood or Bollywood story"

I get it. My suggestions are too pedestrian. But do all the challenges..."

Everyone's library situation is different, but my library system let's you take out ebooks.. and one of the micropress books suggested was available to check out. I too tend not to buy books and use the library extensively (both print and ebooks).

Bonnie wrote: "The micropress thing got people really upset, but honestly as a community of readers I think it is important to support small presses if we can. I have seen small press books for $6. It is doable f..."

I obviously can't speak for everyone, but I have a very good public library system and still could not find a single micropress book that interested me. I like completing the challenge as it is written, but I also want to enjoy what I'm reading and I spent months for something that piqued my interest without any luck. All of the ones I found were poetry

I ended up choosing a book from a small and independent publisher, whose works are published through a crowdsourcing system so it seemed to be in the spirit of the prompt at least. I get the idea that the challenge is meant to push us outside our comfort zones a bit, but I don't want reading to feel like homework by picking something I have no interest in at all. The good thing about these kinds of challenges is that they are so open to our own interpretations, so we can always adjust what we would count toward each prompt to suit our interests.

Re: the micropress comments

A really fun place to look for something to complete this task is your local comic shop. A lot of indies get their start like this.

Janet wrote: "A western
A spy novel
You've seen the movie; now read the book
A prison setting
A Hollywood or Bollywood story"

This makes me realize that I don't think I've ever read a western. I find myself hoping this one does appear so I can remedy that!

Pauline wrote: "Janet wrote: "I get it. My suggestions are too pedestrian. But do all the challenges have to involve diving into the backroom of an obscure publishing house. I live in a town of 300 in Montana. I h..."

Thanks!

On the prison one, it would be great to advocate for reading books by current or former prisoners (and not just OITNB)

Rebecca wrote: "On the prison one, I would be great to advocate for reading books by current or former prisoners (and not just OITNB)"

I love this suggestion. I think everyone in the world should read Soul on Ice and Survival in Auschwitz.

I would also be interested in reading books by current or former prisoners....... please keep me informed & how to join this?...

Jean wrote: "I would also be interested in reading books by current or former prisoners....... please keep me informed & how to join this?..."

I recently read The Graybar Hotel: Stories, it's a collection of short stories set in a prison written by Curtis Dawkins, who is serving a life sentence. I would recommend it.

More ideas:
* A book written in prison
* Poetry by an Native/Indigenous person
* A book written more than 200 years ago
* A mystery written by an author from and taking place in a country you have never been. Maybe translated into your language.

Last year I read Shantaram (warning, I double/triple dip) it was a first novel, took place more than 5,000 miles away from me. For those who are interested in the prison genre, I recommend it.

Shakespeare Saved My Life is another good one.

Jean wrote: "I would also be interested in reading books by current or former prisoners....... please keep me informed & how to join this?..."

I really liked Life After Death. Damien Echols was the "ringleader" of the West Memphis three. The book is really interesting.

They've put the list out the past 2 years on December 15. I'm looking forward to doing it this year and actually keeping track.

Kristen wrote: "Janet wrote: "A western
A spy novel
You've seen the movie; now read the book
A prison setting
A Hollywood or Bollywood story"

This makes me realize that I don't think I've ever read a western. I f..."

Whether the category comes up or not, you should check out the Border Trilogy by McCarthy. Even if you just read All the Pretty Horses it works as a beautiful standalone book. It's not western in the sense of shootouts, train heists and cattle rustlers, but it's certainly a western and a fantastic one at that!

For those who have mentioned struggling to find something published by a micropress, one of the ones that Book Riot shared in their post about micro presses actually has some stuff ranging from free to $2.50 right now.

https://www.biglucks.com/store

Hello fellow Rioters! This year was my first year doing the Read Harder Challenge and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I didn't love every book I read but I've now read several memoirs, a genre I had never before dabbled in. However, this challenge helped to open my eyes in regards to my approach to reading the last 2 or 3 years. I've set Goodreads goals and been pleased when I surpass them every year but my reading goals and challenges have made me lean towards shorter books and shy away from ones longer than 600 or 700 pages. To help with this, I created a new group for people to set up a pages reading goal to potentially be done concurrently with one of the many other reading challenges available.

If you are interested, the link is below! Happy Reading!
src="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/..."

The last couple of years the challenge came out Dec 15, so if they follow the tradition it will FRIDAY. Fingers crossed

I got a Twitter answer of the 15th. So, there is confirmation. :-)

I am excited for the new challenge list to come out!

Me too. It's been the 15th for 14 hours where I live. I wish it would hurry up. I need to start planning.

https://bookriot.com/2017/12/15/book-...

Here's the link, everyone! Happy planning! :)

It’s here! It’s here! I’m so excited!

Yayyyy!

Yes! I'm pretty excited about these. The only one that makes me groan a little is 24, but I'll power through it.

Would an essay anthology be a book of essays all by the same author or different authors, or could it be either?

Rebecca wrote: "Would an essay anthology be a book of essays all by the same author or different authors, or could it be either?"

Either I think.

I love this year's list! So many interesting prompts. The romance one will be hard for me personally because that is not my favorite genre, but the one that will be really difficult is the assigned book you hated. There were so many books I had to read for school that I hated. How will I choose?

Jordan wrote: "Yes! I'm pretty excited about these. The only one that makes me groan a little is 24, but I'll power through it."

I'm glad 24 includes books you didn't finish ... there were only one or two I hated, but I almost never finished assigned readings in high school, so I've got a lot of options!

For 22, an essay anthology Still Foolin’ ‘Em by Billy Crystal. He says he wrote it as a book of essays. I used it as an award winning audio book a couple of challenges ago

yayyyyy!! so excited

I'm looking forward to seeing others' examples of #20, "Book cover you hate". Would "awesomely bad" count for this one, I wonder?

#24, assigned book you hated or never finished.
Does this mean I have to read Moby Dick? It was assigned (in college) and I could not finish it. Blech.