2025 Reading Challenge discussion

A DIVERSE EDUCATION
Duration: April 1 - June 30, 2021

Put your thinking caps on and break out your new pens and notebooks. It’s back-to-school time!

In this challenge, you will be increasing your Diversity bonafides by designing a curriculum of varied or specialized classes. Each class (book) is worth 3 credits. For every nonfiction class you take, you will get 4 credits (3 + 1 extra credit).

You are in control of your own learning plan. Want to read LGBTQ+ books from several different cultures? Awesome. Want to dip into various cultures by reading books from around the world? Sweet! Want to learn more about minority and marginalized groups in your own country? You can do that, too!

At the start of the challenge, declare your major (at least 9 credits/3 books) and decide how many credits ( or books) you’ll be going for. You can start out with a general major, deciding later if you want to specialize.

A few sample Majors
*Major-Translated Fiction. Credits-12
*Major-Trans and Nonbinary Authors and Characters. Credits-15
*Major-Indigenous Peoples Around the World. Credits-12
*Major-General Diversity (mixture of any topics). Credits-21

You can also switch it up by focusing on double or triple majors or adding a minor (6 credits minimum) over our three semesters (months).

Mix it up however you like. Three semesters could look like this:
*Major: Japanese Literature. Credits-12
*Major: Women Writers of the Caribbean. Credits-9
*Minor: History of LGBTQ+ Rights Credits-7 (+1 for non-fiction)

Once you pass the final exam by completing your challenge, you’ll be awarded your academic level.

Freshman: 3 credits
Sophomore: 6 credits
Associate’s Degree: 9 credits
Bachelor’s Degree: 12 credits
Master of Diversity: 15 credits
Doctor of Diversity: 18 credits
Dean of Diversity: 21+ credits

Regina, who created this challenge, will be our leader. Thank you, Regina!

Dean of Diversity:
Alison
Allie
Amy (Other Amy)
Audrey
Bailey
Carmen
Debra Diggs
Emma
June
Lynn
Margie
Mie
Navya
Rachael
Regina
Sara
Sarah
TerryJane
Ushashi

Doctor of Diversity:
Diane

Master of Diversity:
Suzanne

Bachelor's Degree:
Ashleigh
Claire


⭐Alison (msg 15) 30/30
⭐Allie (msg 21) 9/6
⭐Amy (Other Amy) (msg 27) 7/7
Armand (msg 86) 0/5
Ashleigh (msg 38) 4/6
⭐Audrey (msg 10) 7/4
⭐Bailey (msg 17) 7/5
⭐Carmen (msg 31) 43/36
⭐Claire (msg 26) 4/4
Cristina (msg 57) 0/6
⭐Debra Diggs (msg 6) 8/8
Diane (msg 8) 6/9
D.L. (msg 4) 0/4
Edward (msg 69) 2/5
⭐Emma (msg 50) 19/19
June (msg 5) 8/10
Lindsey (msg 35) 0/30
Lynn (msg 39) 37/40
⭐Margie (msg 14) 10/10
⭐Mie (msg 18) 13/12
Nathalia (msg 62) 0/12
⭐Navya (msg 33) 9/9
Nell (msg 9) 0/5
Nicole (msg 34) 0/20
oshizu (msg 12) 0/18
QueenAmidala28 (msg 68) 0/?
⭐Rachael (msg 16) 10/10
Raimondo (msg 56) 0/8
⭐Rebecca (msg 13) 10/20
⭐Regina (msg 3) 22/16
⭐Sara (msg 19) 15/15
⭐Sarah (msg 30) 22/22
Sheila (msg 36) 0/14
Suzanne (msg 58) 4/9
⭐TerryJane (msg 20) 32/31
Tracy (msg 37) 0/10
Tresdivas (msg 44) 0/7
⭐Ushashi (msg 25) 8/8
Zeejane (msg 7) 0/10

Progress: 22/16
68 credits

Female Voices: Women Writing Women
✅1. Bellwether
✅2. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
✅3. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
✅4. When the Emperor Was Divine
✅5. Black Narcissus
✅6. The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan
✅7. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
✅8. The Pursuit of Love
✅9. Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley
✅10. The Light Years
✅11. Tipping the Velvet


Female Voices: Women Writing Crime
✅1. Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham
✅2. The Stranger Diaries
✅3. Missing, Presumed
✅4. The Plot
✅5. The Expendable Man
✅6. The Dead Hour
✅7. Elephants Can Remember
✅8. The Postscript Murders
✅9. Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wykhadden
✅10. Slip of the Knife
✅11. Persons Unknown

Sounds like a great challenge. I want my Bachelor's Degree! TY.

A Diverse Eduction

Major: African-American Literature
Bachelor’s Degree: 12 credits / 4 books

Progress: 0/4

A Diverse Education

Major: Woman's Literature Across the World
Dean of Diversity : 30 credits / 10 books

Progress: 8/10
Credits: 24/30

North America
Barbados- Crime : The Vanishing Girls
SFF short stories: A Collection of Science Fiction & Space Opera Short Stories: Tales From Five Different Worlds

South America

Europe
Ireland- Crime The Trespasser
Germany- SFF : Shield of Kings
Italy- Lit fic: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

Africa
South Africa- SFF The Prey of Gods

Middle East
Iran: Memoir The Complete Persepolis

Asia
India- Historical mystery : The Widows of Malabar Hill
Malaysia SFF The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water

Oceania
Tasmania : Historical fiction : The Exiles : A Novel
Australia: Crime : The Lost Man

.
.
Dean of Diversity: 21+ credits

Books: 8/8
Credits: 26/26

Major: General Diversity. 12 credits
✔ 1. Doctor No by Ian Fleming
✔ 2. The Devil Rides Out by Dennis Wheatley
✔ 3. Steel Tiger by Stirling Silliphant
✔ 4. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Minor: Fairytale Retellings. 6 credits
✔ 1. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley
✔ 2. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

Minor: Nonfiction Memoirs. 8 credits
✔ 1. Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
✔ 2. 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin

I'll join for Dean of Diversity!

Goal
Books: 9/9
Credits: 27/27

Major: Literature in Translation
1. The Bat, Jo Nesbø (Norwegian)
2. The Keeper of Lost Causes, Jussi Adler-Olsen (Danish)
3. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie (French)

Major: Asian & Pacific Islander Studies
1. Severance, Ling Ma
2. Go: A Coming of Age Novel, Kazuki Kaneshiro
3. The Strange Library, Haruki Murakami
4. Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro

Major: LGBTQ+ Studies
1. If You Could Be Mine, Sara Farizan
2. Patsy, Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn

A Diverse Education
Bachelor's Degree - 12 credits

Credits earned: 15

Bachelor of Diversity = 12 credits
Master of Diversity = 15 credits

Fiction = 3 credits
Nonfiction = 4 credits

Credits earned = 12

Major-Around the World

Curriculum:
[Country]: [book] [date completed] [credits]

ATW 101. France: Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen 7/01/21 - 3 credits
ATW 102. Kenya: Love and Death Among the Cheetahs by Rhys Bowen 7/07/21 - 3 credits
ATW 103. Botswana: The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith 9/12/21 - 3 credits
ATW 104. Singapore: Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge by Ovidia Yu 9/20/21 - 3 credits
ATW 105. England: Copy Cap Murder by Jenn McKinlay 9/26/21 - 3 credits

General diversity 12 credits

Actually 13 credits. 3 fiction classes and 1 non-fiction class

Please sign me up for 18 books, Regina.
I'm still trying to figure out what I want/will be able to read.

Progress: 0/18

Women Authors of African Descent
*She Would Be King
*Clay's Ark
*The Kingdom of Gods
*American Spy

Transgender & Non-Binary Authors
*Dragon Pearl
*Tomboyland: Essays
*Confessions of the Fox
*River of Teeth
*Freshwater

Translated Fiction by Women Authors
*Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex
*Flights
*Tainaron: Mail from Another City
*Spring Garden

Minor: Indigenous Authors
*Trail of Lightning
*The Night Watchman
*The Swan Book

I will https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I want to sign up for 20 books, so probably 60 credits . I'm not sure yet what I want to major in, so right now I'll start as General Diversity.

Books: 10/20
Credits: 30/60

Major: Women from Diverse Cultural Heritages
Middle Eastern
1. Her Night with the Duke
5. Girl, Serpent, Thorn

Latinx
2. Night at the Fiestas
3. The Soul of a Woman

Asian
4. A Bollywood Affair
6. Home Remedies
7. In the Country
8. The Downstairs Girl

Caribbean
9. Everything Inside
10. How to Love a Jamaican

Thanks for another creative challenge, Regina. Please sign me up for 33 credits.

Progress: 33/33 credits, 10/10 books - Challenge Complete!

Major: Intro to Central Asia - 12/12 credits
✔︎1. Inside Central Asia: A political and cultural history of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Iran
✔︎2. The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia
✔︎3. Life at the Edge of the Empire: Oral Histories of Soviet Kyrgyzstan

Major: Indigenous Peoples of the Americas - 12/12 credits
✔︎1. The Break (Métis Nation - Manitoba, Canada)
✔︎2. Sabrina & Corina: Stories (Latina characters of indigenous ancestry - US/CO)
✔︎3. Even As We Breathe (Cherokee Indians - US/NC)
✔︎4. Winter Counts (Sicangu Lakota - US/SD)

Minor: Poetry for Beginners - 9/9 credits
✔︎1. Epiphaneia (British Virgin Islands)
✔︎2. The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion (Jamaica)
✔︎3. An American Sunrise (US - Mvskoke people)

Please sign me up for 10 books, Regina!

30/30 books read
90 credits earned
**As of 6/30/2021**...I am raising my total to 30 books :)
**Challenge Complete**

Major: Legal Maneuvers and Suspect Profiling (Mystery)...I earned 24 credits
√ 1. In Plain Sight
√ 2. The Trespasser
√ 3. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
√ 4. The Anatomist's Wife
√ 5. What Angels Fear
√ 6. Blanche on the Lam
√ 7. Along Came a Spider
√ 8. Well-Schooled in Murder

Major: Fantastical Beasts and Magical Arts (Fantasy)...I earned 24 credits
√ 1. Wizard and Glass
√ 2. Clockwork Prince
√ 3. Beneath the Sugar Sky
√ 4. The Wind Through the Keyhole
√ 5. Wolves of the Calla
√ 6. Clockwork Princess
√ 7. Song of Susannah
√ 8. A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

Major: Travelling with Women...I earned 42 credits
√ 1. The Library of Legends (China)
√ 2. The Wall (Austria)
√ 3. Jamaica Inn (England)
√ 4. Crimson Lake (Australia)
√ 5. A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder (Malaysia)
√ 6. The Alice Network (France)
√ 7. The Mercies (Norway)
√ 8. The Book of Unknown Americans (Delaware, US)
√ 9. The Unquiet Dead (Toronto, Canada)
√ 10. The Housekeeper and the Professor (Japan)
√ 11. Kintu (Uganda)
√ 12. Here with Me (Scotland)
√ 13. The Death of Vivek Oji (Nigeria)
√ 14. Burial Rites (Iceland)

Please sign me up for ten books (30 credits, 3 majors).

COMPLETED: 10/10 books | 30/30 credits

Major: Asexuality - 9 credits
✔️ Any Way the Wind Blows (author identifies as being on the asexual spectrum) finished 2 April, ⭐⭐⭐⭐ with review
✔️ Clariel (main character is ace) finished 27 June, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔️ Daughter of Smoke & Bone (appears on the Asexuality in YA Fiction Listopia) finished 8 June, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Major: Global Authors - 12 credits
✔️ The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (author was born in Australia) finished 9 May, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✔️ A Natural History of Dragons (author was born in the USA) finished 13 May, ⭐⭐⭐ with review
✔️ Rebel Rose (author was born in Canada) finished 19 May, ⭐⭐⭐⭐ with review
✔️ Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder: An Inquirers Mystery (author was born in South Africa) finished 22 April, ⭐⭐⭐ with review

Major: Empowering Women - 9 credits
✔️ The Coven finished 27 May, ⭐⭐⭐⭐ with review
✔️ The Book of Lost Names finished 23 June, ⭐⭐⭐⭐ with review
✔️ The Book of Longings finished 6 May, ⭐⭐⭐⭐ with review

I will sign up for a Master of Diversity! 22/15 Total Credits which puts me at a Dean of Diversity!!

Progress: 7/5 books COMPLETE

Major: Gender Studies (Women Authors) - 13/9 credits
✅The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls +3
✅Fifty Shades Darker +3
✅Treating Those with Mental Disorders: A Comprehensive Approach to Case Conceptualization and Treatment +4
✅Mexican Gothic +3

Minor: Women Main Characters - 9/6 credits
✅The Ten Thousand Doors of January +3
✅Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Vol. 1 +3
✅Into the Gray +3

Hi Regina, please sign me up for 12 books 🎓📚

13/12 - COMPLETE ✔️

Possibilities

History (historical fiction) ✔️
📗 Ikke at ville se (WWII)
📗 The Glass Castle (NF)
📗 St. Peter's Fair (12th Century)
📗 The Silver Pigs

Nordic studies (setting in/Author from Nordic countries) ✔️
📗 Mand uden ansigt (Denmark)
📗 Natmanden (Norway)
📗 Hvil i fred (Sweden)

Language class (read in English) ✔️
📗 Death Masks
📗 Exit Strategy
📗 Rogue Lawyer

Hogwart’s school of magic (fantasy) ✔️
📗 Assassin's Quest
📗 The Lost Hero
📗 I Am Number Four

Hi! I'll sign up for 15 books. 45 units total!

15/15

Major; LGBT Literature Studies - 36 units

American Hippo by Sarah Gailey (Rating ★★★★)

The Velocity of Revolution by Marshall Ryan Maresca (Rating ★★★★)

Salvation Day by Kali Wallace (Rating ★★★★★)

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire (Rating ★★★★★)

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Rating ★★★★)

Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire (Rating ★★★★★)

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe (Rating ★★★★★)

The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopulos (Rating ★★)

A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth (Rating ★★★★★)

Yesterday Is History by Kosoko Jackson (Rating ★★)

Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters (Rating ★★★★★)

Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald (Rating ★★)

Minor; Women Authors from Around the World - 9 units
(Swedish)
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten (Rating ★★★)
(American-Irish)
The Witch Elm by Tana French (Rating ★★★)
(British)
The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor (Rating ★★★)

A DIVERSE EDUCATION - Q2 Quarterly Challenge
Duration: April 1 - June 30, 2021
Progress: 9/12 Books | 33/42 Credits
New Goal: 32/31 Books | 104/100 Credits -- COMPLETE

Message 20

I am declaring a triple major this quarter and will read minority authors in the following areas: Native American, Non-Binary, or Black Conservative.
**June Update: I received an unexpected virtual grant -- and apparently have no social life -- so I've decided to take some additional credits in International Studies. 😉

📜 Native American Studies (4 books - 13/13 credits)

👩‍🎓 There There
👩‍🎓 The Removed
👩‍🎓 The Pale-Faced Lie
👩‍🎓 Flight

📜 Non-Binary Voices (4 books - 13/13 credits)

👩‍🎓 Over the Top
👩‍🎓 The Echo Wife
👩‍🎓 The Bone Witch
👩‍🎓 Dark and Deepest Red

📜 Black Conservative Voices (4 books - 16/16 credits)

👩‍🎓 Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation
👩‍🎓 Black Rednecks and White Liberals
👩‍🎓 A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties
👩‍🎓 From The Foster House To The White House

📜 International Studies (20 books - 62/58 credits)
👩‍🎓 The Breadwinner Afghanistan
👩‍🎓 Some Days Argentina
👩‍🎓 On the Jellicoe Road Australia
👩‍🎓 The Tiger's Wife Balkans
👩‍🎓 Larger Than Life Botswana
👩‍🎓 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos Canada
👩‍🎓 The Scent Keeper Canada
👩‍🎓 City of Ink China
👩‍🎓 I See You England
👩‍🎓 Magpie Murders England
👩‍🎓 Secrets of a Charmed Life England
👩‍🎓 White Teeth England
👩‍🎓 Conviction Italy
👩‍🎓 I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World Pakistan
👩‍🎓 Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Scotland
👩‍🎓 Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials Singapore
👩‍🎓 If I Had Your Face South Korea
👩‍🎓 Anxious People Sweden
👩‍🎓 The White Mirror Tibet (1708)
👩‍🎓 After We Fall Wales

Q2 Challenge
A Diverse Education
ill sign up for 6 books for Dr. of Diversity
Progress 9/6
Credits 29/20

Major: International Mystery 12 credits 21/12
✔️1 England The American Agent
✔️2 Italy The Temptation of Forgiveness
✔️3 IndiaThe Widows of Malabar Hill
✔️4 Canada Cold Mourning
✔️5 New Zealand Died in the Wool
✔️6 Greece A Thousand Ships
✔️7 Sweden The Fifth Woman

Minor: Non Fiction 8 credits 8/8
✔️1 Meditations
✔️2Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

Hi everyone! I meant to check in earlier, but I’ve had a couple of days. Tomorrow I’ll be getting the participant list sorted. I’m excited to get started!

Wow! Y’all have some great reading lists. I can’t wait to hand out some degrees. :)

Mie, this is so clever! I love how you’ve set up your courses.


Mie wrote: "Hi Regina, please sign me up for 12 books 🎓📚

Possibilities

Law school (legal fiction)
The Guardians
Rogue Lawyer
Sycamore Row

History (historical ..."

Margie, I love that you’re doing some poetry.


Margie wrote: "Thanks for another creative challenge, Regina. Please sign me up for 33 credits.

Progress: 0/33 credits

Major: Intro to Central Asia - 12 credits
1. [book:Inside Central Asia: A political and cul..."

Hi, please sign me up too. I will go for Dean of Diversity.

Progress: 8/8 Books, 27/26 Credits Completed

Major: Wars of the World
✅1) All the Light We Cannot See
✅2) The Book Thief
✅3) Half of a Yellow Sun

Major: Feminism 101
✅1) Bad Feminist
✅2) A Room of One's Own
✅3) Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics

Minor:LGBTQIA Literature
✅1) The Song of Achilles
✅2) When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain

I will join for a Bachelor's Degree.

Major: Nordic literature
1. The Ice Palace
2. The Wolf and the Watchman
3.. I Curse the River of Time
4. Anxious People

Challenge complete!

Oh, there are a thousand directions I'd like to go with this, but it's not good timing for me at the moment. I'll go with an Associate of General Diversity right now.

Update 5/4: Well, I'm changing my majors and degree program. (Really feel like I'm back at school now!)

Dean of Diversity: 21/21 credits COMPLETE
So I am going to do a little mini report on these as I go because I think it's important to reflect on what our classes teach us :-) (Spoiler tagged as they're getting kind of long.)

Major: Japan In Translation: (Still trying to decide if this is going to be all Japan or if I'm going to manage to read some other translated works. I have two more books translated from Japanese lined up at the moment, but also some other things.) Yeah, ended up with all Japanese works!

✔︎Almost Transparent Blue by Ryū Murakami, translated from Japanese to English by Nancy Andrew (finished 4/9/21) ☆☆☆☆★
(view spoiler)[I'm still actually giving a lot of thought to this book, and translation, and language as a whole. I reserve the right to bump that rating up later, is what I'm saying. This is a very well respected book, winner of the Akutagawa Prize in 1976, recommended by 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, and generally having received glowing reviews from serious people. So I did wonder if it was the translation that is obscuring the genius of it from me. But y'all: The translation is beautiful. Some of the language in this is absolutely haunting in English. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my hard nope on this is because the translation is so good. The visceral descriptions of unvarnished drug use, ugly sex, every bodily function, and smashed bugs were like a crap sandwich around the gorgeous center of the book, and in the end I didn't feel like it was worth it. A book being able to make you gag doesn't make it a great book. I need something really powerful to pin all that disgust on, and I didn't feel like there was any such thing in here. But at the same time, the gorgeous parts were really really gorgeous. And did I really understand what he was getting at with the bird thing? Or even the transparent blue? Isn't it all just "The horror! The horror!" all over again? Or is there more that I just can't know because the language eludes me. Argh! This book is going to bother me for a long time.

(I saw an interview with a bunch of authors yesterday (was it here on Goodreads?) and one of the questions was something like 'what superpower would you like to possess?' Almost every one of them said something along the lines of being able to stop time, and I have to admit that would be very tempting. But I think being able to understand every language would be a strong contender anyway. Who knows if I'd ever be able to learn all the languages even if I could stop time. Anyway, this has been an aside to say that I would like to be able to read this book in Japanese. And watch The Untamed in Chinese. And be fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, French, several kinds of Gaelic, and ASL. Is that so much to ask?)

Incidentally, this book crossed over a bit into queer studies, but the author's queerness wasn't a major source of conflict; he just is. I really liked that. (hide spoiler)]

✔︎Kitchen (finished 4/28/21) ☆☆★★★; deciding whether this fits with translation (Japanese again) or queer studies. Almost certainly bumping up my challenge. (Bumped!)
(view spoiler)[ This is another book where I would really, really like to read in the original because it doesn't quite come together for me and I don't know if that's the translation or the work. I think it's the work, but I would love to know. Parts of this are transcendent, but the stories as a whole just really do not land where I think the author was aiming. I am definitely going to read more of her stuff, though. (hide spoiler)]

✔︎First Person Singular: Stories (finished 5/1/21) ★★★★★; another work from Japanese! Do I know what I'm doing? No. (Changing my major is what I'm doing!)
(view spoiler)[I loved this and consequently feel like the translation was spot on! Funny how that works, isn't it? (hide spoiler)]

✔︎The Decagon House Murders (finished 6/2/21) ☆★★★★ (Japanese)
(view spoiler)[A really enjoyable murder mystery. I was interested to see mystery conventions in Japanese. The social aspect tracked surprisingly well with early modern British sensibilities about respectability and acceptability, so it felt very familiar. At one point a character was made to say 'y'all' which felt weird and wrong even though I know from video games that Japan has a rural dialect that is often translated as American rural Southern to convey the hillbilly feel, and I have all kinds of social and class opinions on that, but just from a strictly translation sense it always falls flat for me and throws me out of the story. Also, there was a bit about the kanjis for the character names and puns to their nicknames, which might not have worked out for the murderer but would have been really nice to have to second guess about in Japanese, but there is no way to catch that in a translation unless it's spelled out as it was in the one instance. Nice thinky things to think about on translation as a whole. (hide spoiler)]

Major: Queer studies:
✔︎The Drowning Girl (finished 4/5/21) ★★★★★
(view spoiler)[I did not even know what I was getting into when I grabbed this book at the library. I saw 'ghost story' and 'nature of stories' and it filled a prompt for the read-a-thon, so I went with it. Wow. Just wow. The POV character is a cis lesbian in love with two other women, one of whom is transgender, and men are so thoroughly sidelined that I think only two get (very brief) speaking parts in the whole book, although there are two major male artists who impact the lives of these women from the past, as well as the narrator's absent (condemned) father. So that makes this one of a very small number of WLW centered stories I have read, and one of an even smaller number of transgender experiences I have read. (At the time of writing, Kiernan identified as a trans lesbian and had transitioned to female; they have since come to the conclusion that gender fluid better expresses their identity.) It is one of the finest romances I have ever read an any genre of any identity. Miscommunications between the two main characters (and I hesitate to sideline the third but she was very much the outside agent in the story) served to illuminate the shape of gender, freedom, and accountability from a queer perspective. In addition, this work features a schizophrenic main character, and the impact of her illness, and the lack of social and economic support for mental illness in general but especially for queer people (due to ostracization from families and prejudice from society) threads the whole book with a major sense of extra vulnerability for the characters. Huge five stars; would absolutely recommend this to anyone, with the caveat of very big content warnings for violence and self harm especially. (See my review for an attempt at a better list of content warnings; there are a lot.) (hide spoiler)]

✔︎Across the Green Grass Fields (read 4/1/21) ☆☆★★★
I will write the essay on this one later.

✔︎The Empress of Salt and Fortune (read 5/3/21) ★★★★★
Still percolating on the essay for this one.

Dropping Indigenous voices for now, unless a couple of holds come in at the library amazingly fast.

************************************************
(I really hope you all consider bringing this back as an annual challenge sometime. This seems like a fantastically worthy undertaking. I know we have the Global Voices challenge and the TBR Jar challenge does have options for building your own challenge essentially, but I really just love the idea of choosing a curriculum and I think it would be a really great year long focus.)

I would love to see it again too. Either yearly or quarterly. I have gotten so many good ideas from other peoples posts.

Sign me up for Dean of Diversity

Major : LGBTQ+ Around the World.
Dean of Diversity : 22 credits(6 fiction classes and 1 non fiction class)/7 books

Credits-22/22
Books-7/7

CHALLENGE COMPLETED

✅1)Lived Experience: Reflections on Lgbtq Life(Non Fiction Book)(Multicultural)(13/4/21)
✅2)Exciting Times(Ireland and Hong Kong)(15/6/21)
✅3)Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe(Mexican American)(16/6/21)
✅4)Funny Boy: A Novel(Sri Lanka)(18/6/21)
✅5)Don't Let Him Know(Indian)(11/5/21)
✅6)Black Panther: World of Wakanda(Multicultural)(4/6/21)
✅7)Kitchen(Japan)(13/4/21)

Hola!
Regina, count me in please 😉

PROGRESS 👩‍🎓
Books: 43/36
Credits: 142/119

*Major - Latin American Literature. Credits-34 (30+4 for Non Fiction)
Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo (Mexico)✔
El coronel no tiene quien le escriba by Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia)✔
Las venas abiertas de América Latina by Eduardo Galeano (Uruguay) (NF)✔
Cuentos de amor de locura y de muerte by Horacio Quiroga (Uruguay)✔
Si Me Permiten Hablar. Testimonio de Domitila, Una Mujer de Las Minas de Bolivia by Moema Viezzer & Domitila B. De Chungara (NF) (Bolivia)✔
Me Llamo Rigoberta Menchu y Asi Me Nacio La Conciencia (NF)
El murmullo de las abejas by Sofía Segovia (Mexico)✔
Diarios de motocicleta: notas de viaje por América Latina by Ernesto Che Guevara (Argentina)(NF)✔
Las Historias Prohibidas del Pulgarcito by Roque Dalton (El Salvador)✔
Gabriela, clavo y canela by Jorge Amado (Brazil)✔
Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia by Elizabeth Burgos & Rigoberta Menchú (Guatemala) (NF)✔

*Major - African Literature. Credits-40 (36+4 for Non Fiction)
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)✔
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn (South Africa)✔
Devil's Peak by Deon Meyer (South Africa)✔
Johnny Mad Dog by Emmanuel Dongala (Congo)✔
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba(NF) (Malawi)✔
This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun (Morocco)✔
Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo (Zambia) (NF)✔
Singing Away the Hunger: The Autobiography of an African Woman by Mpho M'Atsepo Nthunya (Lesotho) (NF) ✔
Unbowed by Wangari Maathai (Kenya) (NF)✔
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)✔
Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter by J. Nozipo Maraire (Zimbabwe)✔
Return to the Enchanted Island by Johary Ravaloson (Madagascar)✔

*Major - Asian Literature. Credits-42 (39+3 for Non Fiction)
Life and Death are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan (China)✔
Funu: The Unfinished Saga of East Timor by José Ramos-Horta (East Timor)(NF)✔
My Father's Rifle: A Childhood in Kurdistan by Hiner Saleem (Kurdistan)(NF)✔
The Vegetarian by Han Kang (South Korea)✔
Syrian Brides by Anna Halabi (Syria)✔
Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino (Japan)✔
Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani (Palestine)✔
The Epic of Gilgamesh Anonymous(Iraq)✔
The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat (Iran)✔
This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Indonesia)✔
Gun Dealers' Daughter by Gina Apostol (Philippines)✔
I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali (Yemen)(NF)✔
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Japan)✔
El cielo es azul, la tierra blanca by Hiromi Kawakami (Japan)✔

*Minor - Inmigrant/Inmigrant descent writers. Credits- 23 (21+2 for Non Fiction)
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (India/USA)✔
They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan (NF) by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng & Benjamin Ajak (South Sudan/USA)✔
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Ghana/USA)✔
Los detectives salvajes by Roberto Bolaño (Chile/Mexico)✔
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (Korea/USA)✔
Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (England/India)✔
Paula by Isabel Allende (Chile/Venezuela/USA) (NF)✔

All right, I have our participants' list up. Please look it over and check the link to your sign-up post to make sure I haven't made any errors. I'm glad everyone is so enthusiastic! Now to figure out what I'll be reading, LOL.

Let's get reading!

Hi Regina! This challenge looks exciting - please sign me up for 9 books :)

Progress: 9/9 Books (32 credits): Challenge Completed!

✔️Major 1: Trans and Non-binary Authors Across Genres
1. Detransition, Baby (Fiction) (3 Credits)
2. Take Me with You (Poetry) (3 Credits)
3. The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures (Graphic Memoir) (4 Credits)

✔️Major 2: East Asian And Diaspora Authors Across Countries
1.Strange Beasts of China (China) (3 Credits)
2. I'm Waiting for You and Other Stories (South Korea) (3 Credits)
3. Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning (Asian America) (4 Credits)

✔️Major 3: Culinary Arts:
1. Knife: The Culture, Craft and Cult of the Cook's Knife (4 Credits)
2. The Kinfolk Table (4 credits)
3. Zaitoun: Recipes from the Palestinian Kitchen (4 Credits)

Would love to see this return as an annual challenge too, like Amy and Sara said!

Interesting Challenge!

I'm in for 3 Majors- all together, a goal of 60 Credits and 20 Books!

Major: Translated Fiction- Credits- 30
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 4: Includes vols. 10, 11 & 12
Love Me for Who I Am, Vol. 1
Don't Call Me Daddy
Don't Call Me Dirty
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 5: Includes vols. 13, 14 & 15
Knights of Sidonia, Volume 4
Knights of Sidonia, Volume 5
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 6: Includes vols. 16, 17 & 18
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 7: Includes vols. 19, 20 21
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 8: Includes vols. 22, 23 24
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 9: Includes vols. 25, 26 27
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 10: Includes vols. 28, 29 30
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 11: Includes Vols. 31, 32 33
Attack on Titan, Vol. 24
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 12: Includes vols. 34, 35 36
Attack on Titan, Vol. 25
Attack on Titan, Vol. 26
Attack on Titan, Vol. 27
Attack on Titan, Vol. 28
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 13: Includes vols. 37, 38 39
Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Blinding Darkness
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 14: Includes vols. 40, 41 42
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 15: Includes vols. 43, 44 45
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 16: Includes vols. 46, 47 48
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 2: Fearsome Womb
Bleach (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 17: Includes vols. 49, 50 51

Major: Women Writers of Asia- Credits-15
I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up
Fruits Basket Collector's Edition, Vol. 5
Saint Young Men, Volume 01
Goong: The Royal Palace, Vol. 1
Princess Jellyfish 2-in-1 Omnibus, Volume 1

Major: Trans and Nonbinary Authors- Credits- 15

Goal Met So Far: 96/60 Credits; 32/20 Books

I'm in - since it's a 3 month challenge my aim is high for majors/classes

Start: April 1, 2021
Finish: June 30, 2021

Goal: 0/30 books
Credits: 0/116

I plan on studying the following Politics, Fashion, Entertainment, Science Fiction (Marvel), Medical, Disney/Pixar, and Women's History.

Major - Politics: 20 credits

1. My Own Words
2. Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue: A Life's Work Fighting for a More Perfect Union
3. Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump
4. A Promised Land
5. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg



Major - Fashion: 12 credits

1. Jo Malone: My Story
2. The World According to Coco: The Wit and Wisdom of Coco Chanel
3. Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel, Nazi Agent



Major - Entertainment (Broadway, Movies, TV, Music) : 24 credits s

1. Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History
2. A Star Is Born: Judy Garland and the Film that Got Away
3. Hamilton: The Revolution
4. Tough Without a Gun
5. Live from New York: An Oral History of Saturday Night Live
6. Let Love Rule



Major - Marvel - Science Fiction: 12 credits

1. Marvel's Spider-Man - Homecoming Prelude
2. Spider-Man: Life Story
3. Loki: Agent of Asgard - The Complete Collection
4. Marvel Powers of a Girl



Major - Medical: 12 credits

1.Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism: My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician, and Autism Dad
2. Against Medical Advice
3. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness



Major - Disney/Pixar: 16 credits
1. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
2. The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History
cover
3. A Brief History of Walt Disney
4. A Disney Childhood: Comic Books to Sailing Ships - A Memoir



Major - Women's History: 20 credits

1. Forward: A Memoir
2. Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars
3. A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
4. Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter
5. GI Brides: The Wartime Girls Who Crossed the Atlantic for Love

Sheila signing up for this creative challenge. I’ll go for a dean of diversity, 21 credits with a double major in medical writings, possibly fiction and non-fiction, and another 21 in general diversity, for a total of 14 books. Thank you Regina for developing this.

Sign me up for a Sophomore's Degree please

Major: Authors around the World (6 authors from 6 different countries)

4/6

√1. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (Scotland)
√2. The Bone Season (England)
√3. Trust (Australia)
√4. The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees (USA)
5. The Slynx (Russia
6. TBD

A DIVERSE EDUCATION
Duration: April 1 - June 30, 2021

In this challenge, you will be increasing your Diversity bonafides by designing a curriculum of varied or specialized classes. Each class (book) is worth 3 credits. For every nonfiction class you take, you will get 4 credits (3 + 1 extra credit).

At the start of the challenge, declare your major (at least 9 credits/3 books) and decide how many credits ( or books) you’ll be going for. You can start out with a general major, deciding later if you want to specialize.

10/10 books as of April 19
Goal increased April 19:
20/20 as of April 25
Goal increased to 30 as of April 25
30/30 as of May 23
37/40 as of June 24

MINOR IN CONTEMPORARY FICTION
❌ Monogamy by Sue Miller
June 6 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

MAJOR IN FANTASY
❌1) The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
April 7 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌2) The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
April 19 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌3) Sebastian and the Troll by Fredrik Backman
April 24 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌4) Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
May 26 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

MAJOR IN HISTORICAL FICTION
❌1) Calico Joe by John Grisham
April 7 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌2) Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall
April 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌3) Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
May 9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

MAJOR IN JUVENILE LITERATURE
❌1) Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer (Theodore Boone #1) by John Grisham
March 25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌2) Saving Shiloh (Shiloh #3) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
March 28 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌3) A Shiloh Christmas (Shiloh #4) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
March 29 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌4) The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (adaptation by Devra Newberger Speregen, illustrated by Richard Lauter)
May 6 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌5) The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
May 26 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Along Came a Spider

MINOR IN MYSTERY>US setting
❌1) Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross #1) by James Patterson
June 13 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

MAJOR IN MYSTERY>International Setting (outside US)
❌1) Magpie Murders (Susan Ryeland #1) by Anthony Horowitz (Int'l-UK)
April 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌2) Death of a Gossip (Hamish Macbeth #1) by M.C. Beaton (Int'l-Scotland)
April 6 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌3) The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad #6) by Tana French (Int'l-Ireland)
April 12 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌4) Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (Int'l-Poland)
April 18 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌5) Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (Int'l-Sweden)
April 27 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌6) Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara (Int'l India)
May 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌7) The Handsome Man's Deluxe Café (No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency #15) by Alexander McCall Smith (Int'l-Botswana)
May 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌8) Whose Body? (Lord Peter Wimsey #1) by Dorothy L. Sayers (Int'l-UK)
May 16 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌9) Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha (Mrs. Pollifax #7) by Dorothy Gilman (Int'l-Hong Kong)
May 22 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌10) The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club #1) by Richard Osman (Int'l-UK)
June 22 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

MINOR IN NONFICTION
❌1) A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
March 28 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dementia Reimagined: Building a Life of Joy and Dignity from Beginning to End
Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime by Ron Stallworth
The Right To Be Cold: One Woman's Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet
The Yellow House

MINOR IN DARK ACADEMIA
❌1) The Secret History by Donna Tartt (Mystery, Dark Academia)
April 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌2) The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5) by Tana French
March 17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

MINOR IN ROMANCE
❌1) Oliver's Story (Love Story #2) by Erich Segal
April 6 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌2) Beauty by Susan Wilson
March 26 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌3) Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
May 13 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

MINOR IN SFF
❌1) Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1) by Orson Scott Card
May 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌2) First Meetings in Ender's Universe (Ender's Saga #0.5) by Orson Scott Card
June 24 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

MAJOR IN YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE
❌1) The Islander by Cynthia Rylant
March 29 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌2) Memories of Summer by Ruth White
March 30 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌3) Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli
April 25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌4) Dear Martin by Nic Stone
June 13 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
❌5) Skyward (Skyward #1) by Brandon Sanderson
June 20 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Welcome to Navya, Nicole, Lindsey, Ashleigh, Sheila, Tracy, and Lynn! I've added your names to the participants' list.

Update to #38

1/6

1. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

(My major is 6 authors from 6 different countries. Gail Honeyman is from Scotland)

Congratulations to Ashleigh for being the first to complete a book!

Just so everyone knows, I will be updating every Monday, starting tomorrow.

Update to message #6
1/8

This is fun! Thank you

Major: General Diversity- 15 credits (5 Books) 0/5
Minor: Asian American Studies - 6 credits (2 books) 0/2

Major:
The Yield Indigenous Australia


Minor:
The Making of Asian America: A History

Updated message 27, 1/3 books, with book report :-)

Welcome Tresdivas!

Updated to here with 3 readers completing books!

Sheila signing in with a change of major. I would like to earn a bachelor’s degree in dystopian/ post apocalyptic fiction, and a second bachelor’s in mystery fiction. Still planning to work on medical.

Update to message #6
5/8

update to message #15

4/10 books
12/30 credits earned

Major: Legal Maneuvers and Suspect Profiling (Mystery)
√ In Plain Sight

Major: Fantastical Beasts and Magical Arts (Fantasy)
√ Clockwork Prince
√ Beneath the Sugar Sky

Major: Travelling with Women
√ The Library of Legends (China)

]Hi I would like to sign up for 2 majors, 6 books in one= 18 credits , 9 books in the other= 27 credits and one minor with 4 books (12)=57credits
57/57

Minor: Japanese Literature 4 books= 12 points
1.Malice✅ 12 April
2.Bullet Train✅ 28 April
3.Before the Coffee Gets Cold✅ 19 April
4. They Called Us Enemy✅ 21 May

Major: Trans and non-binary authors/characters 10 books = 30 credits
1.Freshwater✅ 15 April
2.Tom Boy Land✅ 20 April
3.The Miseducation of Cameron Post✅ 22 April
4.Mary Ann in Autumn ✅18 April
5.The Danish Girl✅ 28 April
6.Upright Women Wanted✅ 1st May
7. Gender Queer ✅ 12 May
8. Sacred Country✅ 20 May
9. Felix Ever After✅ 21 May

Major: BIPOC authors 6 books
1. Firekeeper's Daughter 6 May ✅
2. LaRose 8 May ✅
3. Pachinko 9 May ✅
4. The Haunting of Tram Car 015✅ 12 May
5. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies✅ 16 May
6.Midnight at Malabar House✅ 21 May

Update to Message #21
Progress 1/6
Major: International Mystery Credits 3/12
1. England The American Agent

Update:
I read Bear Town for women’s studies and culture
Progress: 1/4

Update to message: 13

Progress: 3/20
Credits: 9/60

Major: Women from Diverse Cultural Heritages (9/60)
Middle Eastern
1. Her Night with the Duke

Latinx
2. Night at the Fiestas
3. The Soul of a Woman