Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Hey y'all! Sorry if there is already a thread like this. I searched high and low for one and couldn't find any.

I have a questions: I found a copy of The Shape of Water on the lucky day shelf at the library yesterday and started reading it.

Does anybody know if it counts for a prompt?

Thanks!

I could see a case for this one:
10. A romance novel by or about a person of color

I have not read the book, but did see the movie and would call it romance.
Guillermo del Toro, from Mexico, makes it "by" a person of color.
The heroine (I think she is) Elisa Esposito may be too? I don't think her origin was given in the movie, but more likely in the book? So it could be "about" as well.

Not to mention the amphibious creature she's romancing is certainly not white and of European decent. ;)

Krista wrote: "I could see a case for this one:
10. A romance novel by or about a person of color

I have not read the book, but did see the movie and would call it romance.
Guillermo del Toro, from Mexico, make..."

Elisa is Italian, I believe. The book isn't super specific about her origin because she was abandoned as a baby and presumed to be an orphan.

I can definitely see your point! Thanks for the help!!

If del Toro writes in Spanish it would be a work of genre fiction (horror, romance) in translation. But it looks as if he collaborated with American English-speakers for both the book & the movie. I'm skeptical that these particular Americans speak Spanish fluently enough to translate. Since del Toro is bilingual (at a minimum), I suspect he wrote in English. I couldn't find any clear information on this.

I did find an interesting piece on the way the book & the movie were developed as connected-but-different:

https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-shape-of-...

Hello.. i am currently reading There there by Tommy Orange and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. Can someone help on which tasks these would fulfill?

I think There There would fit in the postcolonial category. I haven't read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry so can't help there.

Storied Life of A.J. Fikry to me is a lit contemporary, and a fantastic book. It makes me cry every time I read it so I hope you enjoy it. I think it fits with:
10. A romance novel by or about a person of color

Zevin herself is of Russian-Jewish & Korean decent (Wikipedia). A.J. is Indian.

Hello. I'm currently reading the call of the wild and other stories (sea wolf and white fang) by jack london. Is it fulfilled some of the prompts?

Khurin wrote: "Hello. I'm currently reading the call of the wild and other stories (sea wolf and white fang) by jack london. Is it fulfilled some of the prompts?"

Call of The Wild could qualify as a children's classic published before 1980, a book about nature, possibly a book you didn't like or finish for school (I remember reading CotW in eight grade), or maybe a classic in a genre. Hope this helps :D

thank you @brandy shark, I'll put it on books about nature then 😀

Martha wrote: "I think There There would fit in the postcolonial category. I haven't read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry so can't help there."

I would agree about There There; it deals directly with the lives of Native Americans and how colonialism is still affecting (effecting?) them. I'm planning on reading Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers because that focuses on the life of a native Hawaiian and how the natives are not living the 'life of leis and luaus' which is of course because of the take over of Hawaii.

Hi all:
I am trying to find out ifThe Gun Seller would fall into any categories.
Thank you.