Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

You snooze you lose BookRiot I’m making the topics now. Use this space to discuss your plans for this task

Dani wrote: "You snooze you lose BookRiot I’m making the topics now. Use this space to discuss your plans for this task"
I was seriously getting ready to do the same thing! Thanks for being proactive and helping out the rest of us!

I'm waiting to see what Book Riot Recommends, but I've penciled in
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley for this prompt

Here is a pretty sizeable list of 'literary biographies' that Book Riot published in 2019: https://bookriot.com/literary-biograp...

Kristen wrote: "Here is a pretty sizeable list of 'literary biographies' that Book Riot published in 2019: https://bookriot.com/literary-biograp..."

If you like the writer Jean Rhys then The Blue Hour: A Life of Jean Rhys by Lillian Pizzichini will not disappoint. That's some list.

Oscar Wilde by Richard Ellman

I was leaning towards "I know Why the caged burden sings" by Maya Angelou, but wasn't sure if it would count since it's an autobiography. Then again, who would know besides me?

Brian wrote: "I was leaning towards "I know Why the caged burden sings" by Maya Angelou, but wasn't sure if it would count since it's an autobiography. Then again, who would know besides me?"

Well know we ALL know 😜 If you are including "autobiography" in "biography" that should work.

Brian wrote: "I was leaning towards "I know Why the caged burden sings" by Maya Angelou, but wasn't sure if it would count since it's an autobiography. Then again, who would know besides me?"

I want to do an autobiography too, so if anyone questions it I got your back

Autobiography works for me! All the biographies I've considered are over 500 pages. This is the one reason I don't like to read biographies.

I think I'm doing "... Caged bird" Maya Angelou too :-)

I think I might do Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Has anyone read it?

I'm going to read Louis MacNeice. Stallworthy is excellent, and I love MacNeice's poetry. He was the subject of my MA thesis, as a matter of fact.

Marcy wrote: "I think I might do Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Has anyone read it?"

I haven't read it yet but its definitely on my list of possibilities. I've heard a few booktube reviews and they've all been glowing reviews. Still, 1000+ pages is intimidating.

Amy J. wrote: "I'm waiting to see what Book Riot Recommends, but I've penciled in
Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley for this prompt"

This was really good, def recommend

Disappointed that Ursula Le Guin biography is taking so long to come out. She can be so underappreciated, there should be a couple of books about her out by now with her influence.

Virginia Woolf: An Inner Life by Julia Briggs

Can anyone help me with a biography of an LGBTQIA+ author?

Priscilla wrote: "Can anyone help me with a biography of an LGBTQIA+ author?"

I would recommend

Oscar Wilde: A Life
Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own
A Great Unrecorded History: A New Life of E. M. Forster

Bonnie G. wrote: "Priscilla wrote: "Can anyone help me with a biography of an LGBTQIA+ author?"

I would recommend

Oscar Wilde: A Life
[book:Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lesso..."

Thank you so much!

Priscilla wrote: "Can anyone help me with a biography of an LGBTQIA+ author?"

I'll add to the ones Priscilla mentioned:

Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry
Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde
Marguerite Yourcenar: Inventing a Life

Thinking about reading:

'Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston' by Valerie Boyd

or

'Jane Austen at Home: A Biography' by Lucy Worsley

Just finished this task, which will also count for #9, on TBR the longest (20 YEARS):

_Out of Isak Dinesen in Africa: Karen Blixen's Untold Story_, by Linda Donelson

Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin

Ome other LGBTQI bios:

TRULY Wilde by Joan Schenkar (About Dolly Wilde, Oscar's equally queer, equally outrageous sister)

Colette: Secrets of the Flesh by Judith Thurman (National Book Award Finalist, also basis for movie Colette with Kiera Knightly.

Wild Heart (Natalie Cliffor Barney, Left Bank Paris 1920s) by Suzanne Rodriquez

Trials of Radclyffe Hall by Diana Southami (not a full bio,but focuses on the obscenity trial over The Well of Lonlieness.).

Marcy wrote: "I think I might do Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Has anyone read it?"

Yes, it's excellent! One of the best books I read last year. It's long but worth it!

I recently did one of those 'blind-date-with-a-book' and this was what I ended up with:

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

It's perfect since I've read a couple of Sherman Alexie's books so this is one I'm certainly looking forward to.

This is probably the hardest challenge to do with the bonus task! I’ve been searching for a while and the best lead is the Lamda Awards. I’m probably going to pick Warrior Poet about Audre Lorde by Alexis De Veaux or The Wind Is Spirit: The Life, Love and Legacy of Audre Lorde by Gloria Joseph.

Some other options for people doing the bonus task are

Brad Gooch wrote biographies on Flannery O’Conner, Frank O’Hara, Rumi, and several singer-songwriters.

Lyle Leverich won with Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams

Benjamin Moser wrote Sontag: Her Life and Work

Jim Elledge wrote Henry Darger, Throwaway Boy (bit of a stretch since it’s more admiration for his art, but to write I do admire him writing a 15k page book)

The end was cut off. Meant to say I respect him for writing a 15k page book.

my hold has just come through for Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever. He's not a classic literary figure but indeed a writer whose works I enjoy. Do you think it counts?

that was the book I chose Alana. I love Bourdain's writing and the oral history is fantastic. I have a couple other literary bios I would like to get to, but I totally counted this.

While not really by an 'author' perse, but I do plan to read Jennifer Lopez's biography: True Love

Hi, I just wanted to share the book, Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion. I have mixed feelings about it and put them in my review of the book, but I really think it is a good thing to read as folks will have to go through this experience for themselves at some time. I am still working through it for myself and my mom. Talking with my dad the other day and he sounded more like his own self again. I am so happy for that. Nothing to do with the book, except it is what it is about and somewhat like too.

Good article on Bustle for this: https://www.bustle.com/p/13-biographi... (sorry I can’t link on mobile I don’t think?)

I’m really not a fan of this task as it’s non-fiction, biographies at that, and I get enough of that crap as a historian. *rolls eyes* (For the one about history of a time/place you know little about I went with University Press’ Brief History series which is excellent. Maybe there are some short biographies I can use my uni skimming skills to get through. ;)

I’m sad there isn’t a biography of Robert Jordan (hopefully yet) though.

I'm planning to read the new Lorraine Hansberry biography for this prompt, and was delighted and astonished to see that a paper I wrote in grad school got mentioned in a footnote!

I'm having a hard time with this one.

So many books I find by authors I like are autobiographies.

*****

Since I can't find biographies I'm going to stick with a memoir instead.

Miss Memory Lane: A Memoir

I read Capote: A Biography. When I read this prompt I thought hard about the wording. I decided there isn't an author I admire. There are a lot I like & I have favorites. Like & admire mean different things to me. I don't admire Truman Capote at all. To me there wasn't much to admire there. I find him fascinating & his relationship with Harper Lee is one of my favorite literary relationships. I have had this book on my kindle queue since March 2017. I figured this is as close as I will get to filling this prompt so I read it.

I am reading Girl Sleuth Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her.

These books were a huge part of my childhood and I feel that this meets the challenge well.

I just finished a wonderful biography of Octavia Butler, Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler. It's written in a combination of prose and verse and includes reproductions of some of her earliest writings (like from age 10!). I didn't realize until the end that the intended audience was children (though I did think it was odd when the book would define things like communism and the cold war) because I was learning so much in such an enjoyable way. It's also nice and short, which was perfect for me as my attention span for nonfiction is also pretty nice and short.

Thank you for recommending this one! I was having a hard time with this prompt because biographies are generally so long, and there aren't many available for my favorite authors. I love Octavia Butler, though, so this will be a perfect fit.

Lailah wrote: "I just finished a wonderful biography of Octavia Butler, Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler. It's written in a combination of prose and verse and inc..."

Kaia wrote: "Thank you for recommending this one! I was having a hard time with this prompt because biographies are generally so long, and there aren't many available for my favorite authors. I love Octavia But..."

Yay! That's awesome. I had been in the same boat - not wanting to grind through a long biography, and not having many authors who spring to mind as people I admire - when I thought to check if there were any for Butler. There are a couple, but this one had the prettiest cover, and once I got it I discovered what a quick and enjoyable read it was.

I read Nicholas Shakespeare's biography of Bruce Chatwin but found I admired him less the more I read!

I may still admire his writing, but he wasn't always the nicest of people.

"Miss Memory Lane" by Colton Haynes comes out on Tuesday! So excited to get started on this one.

will read Jane Austen: A Brief Life

I read Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature for this prompt.

I'm thinking of reading "Monster, She Wrote," for this prompt, but it might not technically fit, since it looks at the writing lives of several people, rather than the "full" life story of one person.

I am halfway through Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry by Imani Perry and it is PHENOMENAL. I highly recommend this book, even if you’re not super familiar with Hansberry’s writing beyond A Raisin in the Sun. It is written in a way that feels like the equivalent of sitting down with your kindest friend who tells you a story about someone they love who just so happens to be a a badass supreme radical lesbian named Lorraine Hansberry. *swoon*

I read Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley which was a SLOG.

I enjoy reading Scorpio 2023 Horoscopebiographies that are similar to my own life, but the finest fiction transports me to fantastical settings with oversized characters. chaotic, scandal-filled, and peril-filled lives. engrossing, rich, and conflict-filled lives. Lives that result in works of literature like Frankenstein, Native Son, The Bell Jar, Lolita, A Rage in Harlem, etc.