Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the 8th Read Harder task.

I am between The Tradition, Here Is New York and Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems. Wondering if anyone has read any of these.

Since modern poetry rarely works for me, I am thinking about listening to an epic poem, maybe The Aeneid or The Faerie Queene or maybe something else. This is also a good choice because there are a number of epics available on audiobook from the library. (You can always go with The Iliad or The Odyssey though I've audiobooked both already fairly recently).

Button poetry has started publishing audiobooks! I'm debating between Nothing Is Okay, If My Body Could Speak, and Depression & Other Magic Tricks

The Poet X, read by the author Elizabeth Acevedo.

YouTube has a lot of free audio-books.

Think I’m just going to read a digital or physical book of contemporary poetry for this prompt.

Just last night I found what appears to be Ilya Kaminsky reading his 2019 "Deaf Republic" on YouTube, here: https://youtu.be/byWDZqFJlBU , which might be my pick.

Rebecca wrote: "The Poet X, read by the author Elizabeth Acevedo."

I agree Rebecca The Poet X is a great choice. Also Helium by Rudy Francisco. He is also on YouTube.

I'm much better at reading with my eyes than with my ears, but I do enjoy audiobooks, so I try to read at least 2 per year. I'm currently almost finished (will finish before 2020) my longest ever by a lot (Ron Chernow's Hamilton biography, which is 35 hours). I have about a half dozen that I haven't read, and none of them are poetry, but I'd still like to do this challenge as one of my picks, especially since so many collections are so short.

Hoopla's audiobook poetry section isn't great, but I've found a decent handful that appeals to me that I haven't already read.

On my maybe list are:

-Many Things Invisible by Carrington MacDuffie (and read by the author, which is great, because she is fabulous, and honestly improved the mess of a book I heard her read a year or two back)
-American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes, read by the author (and I've wanted to read his work for a while now, I read dozens of poetry collections every year, but my local library doesn't have any of his)
-A Fortune for Your Disaster by Hanif Abdurraqib, read by the author
-Lima :: Limónby Natalie Scenters-Zapico, read by Kyla Garcia

Brown Girl Dreaming is a memoir in verse, and was a lovely listen. I’m excited for 1919 which is coming soon to Libro.fm.

Years ago I noticed my public library has an audiobook of The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, by Michael Ondaatje, and I've been wanting to listen to it while reading along in my paper copy. The book is a collage of many different genres, but a large percentage of it is poetry and poetic prose, so I hope it counts for this challenge.

I have absolutely no idea how to listen to an audiobook. I have never listened to a book on audio. I do not want to subscribe to anything. Perhaps I will be able to use the Ilya Kaminsky link above. Thank you.

Karen wrote: "I have absolutely no idea how to listen to an audiobook. I have never listened to a book on audio. I do not want to subscribe to anything. Perhaps I will be able to use the Ilya Kaminsky link above..."

You can get audiobooks online from most libraries, or on cd if you still have one and prefer that. If you have Prime there are also free options there. You can subscribe to Audible or another service, of course, but there are lots of free options. https://bookriot.com/2016/09/15/11-we...

Bonnie G. wrote: "Karen wrote: "I have absolutely no idea how to listen to an audiobook. I have never listened to a book on audio. I do not want to subscribe to anything. Perhaps I will be able to use the Ilya Kamin..."

I almost exclusively use the Libby app from my library to listen to audiobooks - It's great!

Tracy K. Smith (Poet Laureate of the United States for 2017–2019) has a beautiful speaking voice and is the narrator for her collections of poetry. I think Wade in the Water: Poems is the most recent one with an audiobook, but at least three others have audiobooks as well. If you have access to Hoopla through your library, there's a good chance several of her collections will be available to you as audiobooks there.

The audiobook of the Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander translation of The Inferno is read by Dominic Hoffman, and the preview sounds wonderful!

Catie wrote: "Tracy K. Smith (Poet Laureate of the United States for 2017–2019) has a beautiful speaking voice and is the narrator for her collections of poetry. I think Wade in the Water: Poems ..."

Wade in the Water is what I will be listening to. I luckily ordered it from the library before this challenge was even posted, and will be getting it in 10 weeks. Works out perfectly.

Does Kwame Alexander count? The samples on Audible crack me up!

Karen wrote: "I have absolutely no idea how to listen to an audiobook. I have never listened to a book on audio. I do not want to subscribe to anything. Perhaps I will be able to use the Ilya Kaminsky link above..."

Your local library most likely has an audiobook subscription already. Libby, Overdrive, RBDigital, and Hoopla are the ones I'm most familiar with. If you need any help, let me know!

/librarian out

Since it's the only poetry audiobook at my library (and I'm challenging myself to only books at my library or in my home), I'm going with The Voice of the Poet: American Wits: Ogden Nash, Dorothy Parker, Phyllis McGinley.

I noticed Under Milk Wood in my library's Libby collection... I know it's not strictly poetry but I think it might work..?

Hello! Our rec post for this task is now live. https://bookriot.com/2019/12/13/best-...

I bought Clint Smith’s Counting Descent on Audible. For those who buy their audiobooks, it was $3.45 with the sale this week (through 12/19/19).

Amadei wrote: "Karen wrote: "I have absolutely no idea how to listen to an audiobook. I have never listened to a book on audio. I do not want to subscribe to anything. Perhaps I will be able to use the Ilya Kamin..."

In the Uk we also have Borrow Box from our public libraries.

/Another librarian out

Liz wrote: "Just last night I found what appears to be Ilya Kaminsky reading his 2019 "Deaf Republic" on YouTube, here: https://youtu.be/byWDZqFJlBU , which might be my pick."

Great poet, great book.

I might do New Hampshire by Robert Frost for this. It's available to me on Hoopla.

Anything by Amanda Lovelace. I plan on listening to The Mermaid's Voice Returns in This One.

Jocelyn wrote: "Does Kwame Alexander count? The samples on Audible crack me up!"

I'm sure Kwame Alexander counts. Solo was a GR Choice nominee for poetry in 2017 and BookRiot listed several novels in verse on their recommendation post. I think I am going to choose Solo or Swing for this task.

This is going to be so difficult for me as I'm not into poems in general, any suggestion for someone like me?

Maryam wrote: "This is going to be so difficult for me as I'm not into poems in general, any suggestion for someone like me?"

Try listening to a prose poem. Poet X or Brown Girl Dreaming are both good middle/YA options.

That sounds good! Thanks 🙏🏼

Maryam wrote: "That sounds good! Thanks 🙏🏼"

Hope you enjoy! BTW, I don't double dip, but if you do Brown Girl Dreaming would also work for YA nonfiction (and it is a beautiful book.)

I don’t do double dip either normally but it’s good to have it just in case :)) on the other hand I found that Dante’s Inferno is on audio too and it has been on my tbr List forever. I might try that too. It’s not going to be easy though.

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices and I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices both byPaul Fleischman are great listens.

Maryam wrote: "I don’t do double dip either normally but it’s good to have it just in case :)) on the other hand I found that Dante’s Inferno is on audio too and it has been on my tbr List forever. I might try th..."

If you're not into audio books much, you could try following along in print while listening. It can be tough with some editions not matching up, but if you want to be sure not to miss anything, it could be enjoyable for you. And libraries are a wealth of audio recordings. :)

I'd also recommend YouTube for those not in the audiobook world. If you don't have a CD player, it can be a whole process/learning curve with apps and services which you may not want to get into.

My rec is an ASMR Soft-Spoken Reading of "Milk and Honey" - it's only 24 minutes long and the book's pages are shown in the video so you can read along as you listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M0fL...

If you *do* have a CD player, I recommend Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems by Billy Collins. He's often amusing and occasionally hilarious. He's done several public readings of "The Lanyard" and it always puts the audience in stitches.

I'll be listening to John Lithgow reading his latest, Dumpty.

I think I’ll try Beowulf as read by Séamus Heaney.

Laurie Halse Anderson’s new memoir SHOUT is written in free verse. I’m going to listen to that book for this prompt.

Poetry is probably my least favorite thing to read, sorry if I offend. I'm going to listen to Shout because it has tons of reviews and over four stars. Maybe I will like it.

If you're not a fan of poetry, try reading/listening to John Cooper Clarke--he's quite fun and anarchistic.

Tamara wrote: "If you're not a fan of poetry, try reading/listening to John Cooper Clarke--he's quite fun and anarchistic."

Thank you!

Tamara wrote: "If you're not a fan of poetry, try reading/listening to John Cooper Clarke--he's quite fun and anarchistic."

OMG I can already tell I am going to love this!

I read Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur for a laugh and it was actually pretty good! And this is coming from someone who doesn't like poetry. I don't know how to tag books on mobile; I'm sorry.

Spent the first day of the new year listening to American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassins, by Terrance Hayes. Beautifully written and read.

Katrisa wrote: "Jocelyn wrote: "Does Kwame Alexander count? The samples on Audible crack me up!"

I'm sure Kwame Alexander counts. Solo was a GR Choice nominee for poetry in 2017 and BookRiot listed several novels..."

I've started listening to Solo. I'm not far in, but it's an interesting listening experience because any time the MC is singing a song is a legit song on the audiobook.

Thanks for the suggestion for Wade in the Water: Poems! I ended up listening to this yesterday. The poems were gorgeous and it was great to hear the author herself read them.

Maryam wrote: "This is going to be so difficult for me as I'm not into poems in general, any suggestion for someone like me?"

Someone above mentioned Amanda Lovelace. I "hate" poetry, but read The Princess Saves Herself in This One for a challenge last year and was not sorry.

I just finished American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassins by Terrance Hayes and read by himself. It's a fantastic introduction to the author, it's a wonderful collection. It was cool to hear it the way the author intended it to be read, but I did miss getting to linger over particularly good passages, which I tend to do a lot with poetry.

I'm going to give the other ones I planned a try as well, I think. I figure if I try out four (the originals I planned in total), then I'll have decently dipped my toes into poetry on audio.

I absolutely agree with those who said to use your library app for audio. I do this and it syncs with bluetooth in my car so I can "read" on the go. Items are free. And in this day and age when people are doubting the relevance of libraries, your library gets credit for the audiobooks read through their app, so it boosts the statistics. My library uses libby and there are currently many selections under the poetry subject, both classic and current.