Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Me!!!!

I am so excited. I am going challenge crazy in 2020. I am ready. If your interested in doing ATY Challenge the 2020 prompts are out. Over at Pop Sugar they are dropping a sneak preview prompt daily till the 2020 prompts are released. There is a lot of activity happening on those sites.

I'm not too antsy but I was thinking that it would be great to hear people's ideas for 2020 challenge tasks. Anyone have ones you've come up with?

Sherri wrote: "I am so excited. I am going challenge crazy in 2020. I am ready. If your interested in doing ATY Challenge the 2020 prompts are out. Over at Pop Sugar they are dropping a sneak preview prompt daily..."

What is ATY? I am going to check out Pop sugar previews as it will be my 3rd year doing that one. I was not impressed with BR this year--I thought some of them were way too specific and also there was a lot of annoying things about own voices, just because it's a hash tag that someone made up and basically said there are no guidelines for.

Stephanie wrote: "Sherri wrote: "I am so excited. I am going challenge crazy in 2020. I am ready. If your interested in doing ATY Challenge the 2020 prompts are out. Over at Pop Sugar they are dropping a sneak previ..."

It is a prompt based reading challenge like Popsugar or Book Riot.

Here is a link to the Group page:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

They also have a Google Sheet that lists all the prompts:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Mercedes wrote: "Is anyone out there feeling antsy about next year's challenge?

I hope there'll be one. I realize that it's probably four weeks until it'll be published, but I'm ready.

Cheers!"

I won't get antsy until I finish this year's challenge -- I have 3 books to finish!!

I agree with Stephanie’s comment about not being happy with BR’s challenge this year. Each year the tasks have gotten more and more specific and I think it’s getting to the point where it almost takes the enjoyment away for me. If it continues, I doubt I will continue to participate. For example, if you’re not big into romance, finding a book that you can enjoy that falls under a vague category like romance is much easier than romance by person of color. I get the feeling they are trying too hard not repeat categories from prior years and that’s why this is happening. But it is becoming much less enjoyable for me.

Bookish.com also does an annual prompt based reading challenge. They also have bingo challenges. Just type challenges into their search and you can see the past challenge offerings. Their annual challenge is usually posted mid December.

Pauline wrote: "I agree with Stephanie’s comment about not being happy with BR’s challenge this year. Each year the tasks have gotten more and more specific and I think it’s getting to the point where it almost ta..."

Good point about maybe why it's happening! I am trying to read The Things She's Seen (Oceania OV) and not really feeling it because a bunch of it is in verse. So I'm not sure if I'm going to get to that category this year even though I do want to read diversely and I go out of my way to do so.

Heidi wrote: "Bookish.com also does an annual prompt based reading challenge. They also have bingo challenges. Just type challenges into their search and you can see the past challenge offerings. Their annual ch..."

I am going to check this out!

The Changeling by Victor Lavalle is considered a romance, but doesn’t feel like one at all.

I agree. I hope they release it soon. I’ll be doing ATY popsugar and RH if I can manage it!

Looks like it might drop on Tuesday at 1PM?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9Okt...

Erin wrote: "Looks like it might drop on Tuesday at 1PM?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9Okt..."

I really hope this is right!

It’s already out. Book Riot posted it on their website over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Looks like they posted it and took it down again but you can see the cached version if you Google. Thanks, Frozen!

Here's the PDF: https://bookriot.com/wp-content/uploa...

Won't lie, it looks like I'll be doing the PopSugar challenge instead this year.

Katie wrote: "Looks like they posted it and took it down again but you can see the cached version if you Google. Thanks, Frozen!"

Thanks for posting the list. I saw they had created the page but it was down by the time I saw it. I didn't know you could access the cached version.

Katie wrote: "Here's the PDF: https://bookriot.com/wp-content/uploa...

Won't lie, it looks like I'll be doing the PopSugar challenge instead this year."

Yeah.... not impressed by the list. I'm all for trying to get people to branch out, but these are overly specific. The audiobook, picture book and magazine ones are really making me think I won't do it next year.

I'm definitely out on it this year. PopSugar's list is much more appealing to me. I'll still look at recommendations for these ideas, though.

I'm gonna attempt to do both. We'll see...

Yeah, this looks like it’s going to be a nightmare.

I’ll try it, but I’m also doing RWC, ATY and Popsugar next year.

I like the list -- I only do one challenge, I like to read books I want to read, and do one short challenge because it forces me to read things out of my comfort zones (litfic, memoir, romance, social science and legal nonfiction.) Also, after years of saying I was going to read it, I am finally going to read A Little Life for one of the prompts!

Tanvi wrote: "Yeah, this looks like it’s going to be a nightmare.

I’ll try it, but I’m also doing RWC, ATY and Popsugar next year."

Is RWC the Reading Women Challenge? I usually try to do the four of them with as many crossovers as possible

Zoe wrote: "Tanvi wrote: "Yeah, this looks like it’s going to be a nightmare.

I’ll try it, but I’m also doing RWC, ATY and Popsugar next year."

Is RWC the Reading Women Challenge? I usually try to do the fou..."
Yep, that’s the one :)

Yeah, I need to cut down the amount of challenges I do per year, so I might leave this one out.

Tanvi wrote: "Yeah, this looks like it’s going to be a nightmare.

I’ll try it, but I’m also doing RWC, ATY and Popsugar next year."

I've never done the ATY challenge, but I'm doing the other two. The worst category for me is a book about a type of cuisine you've never eaten, I'm pretty adventurous in my eating. If there's a cuisine I haven't eaten, it's probably because I can't I'm allergic to the chemical that makes spicy foods spicy. So I've never eaten some cuisines like Cajun or Ethiopian and I probably never will. But now I have to read a book about a food I can't eat? Meh.

Oh, damn, that’s annoying!

Yeah, I want to do a lot of Aussie and Kiwi authors for the other challenges, so I might duck out of this one, since it’s hard to square and a lot of the prompts don’t appeal to me (e.g. plays).

I like the range and variety in the prompts, but agree that the food one seems mostly impossible. I can't think of a cuisine I haven't tried at some point, at least once...

i have the same issue with cuisine. 3 days ago I went to a Uighur restaurant, and I have to say that was a first, so maybe I can find another.

They are really specific this year, aren't they? I am probably not going to do it and will concentrate on Reading Women. I didn't finish GoodReads the previous time there was an audio book challenge, because they send me to sleep!

Wow, it looks like I will not be doing this one for the 2nd year now. Which is shame since I loved last years challenge.

Oh, wow, I was expecting bad things given people's reactions, but it looks amazing to me! Cuisine looks tricky, though... Although there are a lot I haven't tried, they all revolve around meat (I'm vegan and so have sampled a very wide selection of meat free cuisines from around the world) and so are of no interest to me to read...

I have never eaten authentic Japanese (though I have eaten Americanized NC versions, I am thinking authentic Japanese is a whole other thing) so I am doing Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. It'll knock out the flora or fauna author name on the PopSugar challenge as well.

Jenny wrote: "Oh, wow, I was expecting bad things given people's reactions, but it looks amazing to me! Cuisine looks tricky, though... Although there are a lot I haven't tried, they all revolve around meat (I'm..."

For that one I'm reading Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe as I've never had them or any "authentic" southern cuisine - I think you can get away with a book that merely mentions a food of the cuisine in the title?

How about
My Year of Meats (Meat/Japanese food)
Where the Crawdads Sing (Crayfish/Cajun food)
Gooseberries (Gooseberries!/English desserts!?)

Zoe wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Oh, wow, I was expecting bad things given people's reactions, but it looks amazing to me! Cuisine looks tricky, though... Although there are a lot I haven't tried, they all revolve ar..."

I guess I could use Fried Green Tomatoes, too, as I'm half way through it? And I've eaten a lot of goosberries in my time :D

Zoe wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Oh, wow, I was expecting bad things given people's reactions, but it looks amazing to me! Cuisine looks tricky, though... Although there are a lot I haven't tried, they all revolve ar..."

I just realized I am headed to Bulgaria in spring, so I can read about that cuisine in advance. I don't think it differs a lot from your standard Turkish food, but I am using it anyway.

Another suggestion -- for people outside of cities with significant Chinese populations, you may not have had many of the cuisines in China. I know when I lived in Atlanta there was very little Northern Chinese food to be found -- most everything was fake Chinese (like General Tzo's and egg rolls -- things that don't exist in China), Cantonese and Szechuan. I don't think there is a single Manchu or Shandong place in the American South.

This cookbook is great reading -- lots of history along with recipes https://www.amazon.com/All-Under-Heav...

Wow. Most of these are very specific, but I will give it a try. If I don't finish, that's fine with me. Besides, I will most definitely NOT complete one of the tasks involving a horror book. I do NOT do horror! :) I relented and read one for an IRL book club this year and swore to never do it again!

The list looks amazing. The only one I'm hesitant about is 15, read a book about climate change. The topic is interesting, I think it's important and relevant, but I've been postponing reading one on this topic because it gives me major anxiety attacks. And I have only so many spoons a day to function. I'll see what I can do with that one.

I'm very happy that there are many books on my TBR that fit one or several prompts. Especially the horror novel and Native/First Nations/Indigenous one. I wanted to read a First Nation Horror Novel soon, so this is destiny. Also there's a graphic memoir by a person with a disability to that book fits at least two prompts.
Honestly, I can't wait and I find the specificity appealing.

For anyone interested:
First Nation horror: Moon of the Crusted Snow
and The Marrow Thieves
Graphic memoir by a person with a disability: A Puff of Smoke

Gretel wrote: "The list looks amazing. The only one I'm hesitant about is 15, read a book about climate change. The topic is interesting, I think it's important and relevant, but I've been postponing reading one ..."

Yes, I'm exactly the same with the climate change one! It terrifies me so much! I have This Changes Everything by Naomi Klien but so scared to read it!

Gretel wrote: "The list looks amazing. The only one I'm hesitant about is 15, read a book about climate change. The topic is interesting, I think it's important and relevant, but I've been postponing reading one ..."

If you want to read fiction, the YA fiction book Dry isn't too anxiety inducing.

Bonnie G. wrote: "Zoe wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Oh, wow, I was expecting bad things given people's reactions, but it looks amazing to me! Cuisine looks tricky, though... Although there are a lot I haven't tried, they al..."

I've never heard about General Tzao's, since I've never been to the US... So I realized that food created by immigrants in other parts of the world might be something other people haven't tried, too!

Other ideas:
historical cuisines - for example Around the Table of the Romans: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome, The Pharaohs Kitchen: Recipes From Ancient Egypt's Enduring Food Traditions, A Hermit's Cookbook: Monks, Food and Fasting in the Middle Ages

fantasy & scifi cuisines: A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Companion Cookbook, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, Lost Recipes ~ The Unofficial Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Cookbook

Susanne wrote: "Bonnie G. wrote: "Zoe wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Oh, wow, I was expecting bad things given people's reactions, but it looks amazing to me! Cuisine looks tricky, though... Although there are a lot I have..."

These are great suggestions -- food for thought, if you will. I too am pretty excited about the challenge this year, but already was feeling a bit stuck about the cuisine item.

Susanne wrote: "Bonnie G. wrote: "Zoe wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Oh, wow, I was expecting bad things given people's reactions, but it looks amazing to me! Cuisine looks tricky, though... Although there are a lot I have..."

Great suggestions! General Tzos is standard US Chinese. They have it everywhere here, though I never saw anything like it in years of living and working in China. I personally hate it, but I am not big on peanuts in my food (peanut butter, yes, peanuts no.) I do like a couple of American Chinese dishes - immigrants really do come up with some cool fusion.

I'm definitely going to be seeking suggestions for the cuisine task. But as a literary journal editor, I'm so excited about the literary journal task.

So here's my plug for task #23: https://tahomaliteraryreview.com
We even have a SoundCloud page, where about half of our contributing writers record themselves reading their poems, stories, essays, or flash pieces: https://soundcloud.com/tahomaliterary

Mercedes wrote: "When's the actual challenge being released? I'm ready, even though at first I was hesitant... this happens to me each year."

Here it is:
https://bookriot.com/wp-content/uploa...

Lynn wrote: "Wow. Most of these are very specific, but I will give it a try. If I don't finish, that's fine with me. Besides, I will most definitely NOT complete one of the tasks involving a horror book. I do N..."

The horror book is also my least favourite prompt... I was looking for a light option for this, and found this list on Book Riot:
https://bookriot.com/2018/10/20/13-ho... :)

I wasn't sure I was going to do it this year after last year as I felt some of the categories were hard to fill especially when trying to keep costs down by going with mostly library reads. I love diversity and branching out. I don't love when my top 100 choices only have two books avalaible in my country. This list seems less restrictive.

I eat a lot of different foods but I'm sure I can fond something regional that will fit the bill. I don't love horror or romance but these are the point of branching out. Everything else is pretty cake.

Susanne wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Wow. Most of these are very specific, but I will give it a try. If I don't finish, that's fine with me. Besides, I will most definitely NOT complete one of the tasks involving a horror..."

Oh, I found my choice! Things to Do When You're Goth in the Country: and Other Stories

Mercedes wrote: "The literary magazine Granta, has a number of articles online. I just read one on Ursula K. Let Guin, it's superb. I'll be reading that emag."

That does look good. Thanks for the suggestion.