Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the eighth Read Harder task.

It's a wonderful comic about slavery in Brazil, with a beautiful art in black and white.

I'm a huge Ta-Nehisi Coates fan so I am going with Black Panther #1 for this one.

I'll read Embroideries or Black Panther #1.

I’m considering Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, Black Panther #1, The Best We Could Do, or March: Book One.

I decided on Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, as rec'd above.

If graphic novels count I'm leaning towards Boxers & Saints or The Arab of the Future - 2. If it's strictly comics, then I'll probably go with The Girl From The Other Side: Siúil A Rún, Vol. 4, but that feels like cheating since I've already read the 1st 3 volumes & have this on pre-order & will read it regardless of whether it satisfies a challenge prompt or not. I also have Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 2, but I didn't care for Book 1, so I've been avoiding Book 2. It will definitely be a challenge for me to pick it up, though. Haha!

Audra wrote: "I'm a huge Ta-Nehisi Coates fan so I am going with Black Panther #1 for this one."

Me too!

If Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too counts as a graphic novel, then I'm reading this. I've been meaning to read it for ages!

I choose Your Black Friend for this task.

Black Panther: World of Wakanda is great for Roxane Gay fans. Saladin Ahmed has been writing Black Bolt #1. He also has a new one coming in January called Abbott.

I regularly read both a bunch of Marvel comics starring superheroes of color, and so I'll continue to read them as they come out. Once Black Panther: Long Live The King (2017-2018) #1of6 by Nnedi Okorafor is collected into a volume, I'm reading it for sure. Same for America, Vol. 2 by Gabby Rivera.

Roxane Gay's Black Panther: World of Wakanda and Ta-Nehisi Coates Black Panther & the Crew: We Are the Streets are both enjoyable, and I liked them better than Coates's other Black Panthers, although I'll also read Black Panther Book 4: Avengers of the New World Part 1 pretty soon.

Aya, the book I'm reading for my non-Marvel/DC/Image comic would also work for this one.

Other recommendations I have are Deer Woman: A Vignette, The Best We Could Do and Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too.

Would Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening count for this task?

The Complete Persepolis, Embroideries, and Chicken with Plums are all very good.

I think I’ll read Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine (art by Valentine De Landro) for this task.

I am not interested in comic books in general but fortunately one of the few comics that I have on my TBR list fits all 3 comic categories. It's written and illustrated by the same POC and it was published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.

The Boondocks: Fresh for '01...You Suckas

I love The Boondocks! It's a great choice.

Tori wrote: "Would Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening count for this task?"

Yes. Both the writer and the artist are WoC. It's also an incredible story with stunning art, and I highly recommend it.

I think maybe The Best We Could Do, but I'm also very tempted with Ta-Nehisi Coates Black Panther #1.

Catie wrote: "The Complete Persepolis, Embroideries, and Chicken with Plums are all very good.

I think I’ll read Bitch Planet, Vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine..."

I'm reading Bitch Planet Vol. 1 for this task too! I was disappointed it doesn't fit the other comic tasks and was gonna read it outside of the challenge, but then discovered it fits this one. :)

I'm going to do Bitch Planet Vol. 1 as well. I'm trying to also read only books I already own, so this will be perfect.

I have a sort of general question about this: Are we counting graphic novels as comics, or should this be a comic in the sense of a serialized graphic narrative? I'm fine either way, I just wanted to be true to the spirit of the task.

Scarlett wrote: "I have a sort of general question about this: Are we counting graphic novels as comics, or should this be a comic in the sense of a serialized graphic narrative? I'm fine either way, I just wanted ..."

Yes, graphic novels are part of what BR means by comics.

I read an ARC of Pemmican Wars and I found it really interesting. The writer is Metis.

My library has both Coates and Gay so I guess I'll try them both.

I read March: Book One on New Year's Day and enjoyed it. It was a really quick read and I hope to get my hands on Book 2 and Book 3 soon.

I'm also reading March book 1 right now and liking it!

I'll be reading My Brother's Husband, Volume 1 by Gengoroh Tagame

I’ve read some interesting pieces about Iranian identity and whether Persian is white or people of color.

If there is a “right” answer, I don’t know what it is. Do you classify books by Iranian and Iranian-American writers as books by people of color?

Any of the Love and Rockets series by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez would fit this bill.

Do these HAVE to be in book format? I've found some great ones online for free.

Rebecca wrote: "I read March: Book One on New Year's Day and enjoyed it. It was a really quick read and I hope to get my hands on Book 2 and Book 3 soon."

I'll be reading March: Book Two for this one.

Amy wrote: "I’ve read some interesting pieces about Iranian identity and whether Persian is white or people of color.

If there is a “right” answer, I don’t know what it is. Do you classify books by Iranian a..."

I had the same issue last year. Ultimately I went with POC, because the memoir by an Iranian (Persepolis) that I was reading included several instances of racism against the author by white Europeans. "Race" is a social construct, so if a person is treated as a POC, then ultimately their experiences are of a POC.

But Iranian is right on the border of POC/non-POC, so make your own determination. If we're talking about a third-generation immigrant who self-identifies as white and doesn't experience racism, then it's probably not in the spirit of Read Harder's POC tasks.

Modysoul wrote: "Any of the Love and Rockets series by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez would fit this bill."

This looks like a good one! I may read this too.

I was planning on reading Victor LaValle's Destroyer for this one. I'll probably still read it, but this thread reminds me I actually also have a bunch of other comics in my possession that would fit the bill as well. And they all sound awesome, so it wouldn't hurt to read them all.

I read Noble Vol. 1: God Shots; it's the first book in the Catalyst Prime universe; they're following in the footsteps of Milestone, with diverse characters and diverse creators. I'll be checking out more of their books based on this.

I'm going to be reading Descender, Vol. 2: Machine Moon (art by Dustin Nguyen). I loved Vol. 1 - it was probably my favorite comic that I read last year, so I am pretty excited to continue the series.

I read Dragon's Breath: and Other True Stories. A series of vignettes about struggling through your twenties and thirties. It's also illustrated by the author and not published by the big two, if you're looking for a graphic novel to triple-dip.

Does manga count for this?

I think I'll be reading Sailor Moon, Vol. 1 for this, it has been sitting on my TBR shelf for ages. It would also count for the two other comics-task (non-DC/-Marvel/-Image comic, and a comic illustrated and written by the same person).

I'm going with Alex + Ada: The Complete Collection, I'm all about the sci-fi right now.

Would Trust No Aunty count?

I couldn't get into the Wakonda books, so my next attempt will be Boondocks.

I am going to read March: Book One, March: Book Two, and March: Book Three by John Lewis!

Siobhan wrote: "Would Trust No Aunty count?"

I think so!

Angel Catbird, Vol. 1 is illustrated by Johnnie Christmas

here's a handy little list I found -- http://www.artforourselves.org/review...

It cemented my plan to read The Complete Persepolis

I read Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates and didn't really enjoy it, like many others, though the art was amazing. I really admire Coates and will definitely give the second and third volumes a chance in a few months.

I read Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie M. Liu and illustrated by Sana Takeda. Really enjoyed it and loved the art!

I read Level Up, which was a nice quick read.

Rachel wrote: "I read Level Up, which was a nice quick read." Ahh -- Gene Luen Yang's other comics/graphic novels, in particular American Born Chinese would also be great for this prompt.