Remember when I told you about the Book Riot Read Harder challenge? Thanks to a number of lazy weekends, I’m done! You can see the 24 books I read below. Overall, I’m really glad I did this. I read a lot of books I wouldn’t normally read, and there were just a few I absolutely did not like (you can click on my reviews if you’re interested). There are still seven months left to do this if you haven’t yet. The only real rule is that you can’t use one book to satisfy multiple categories. Enjoy!
These are the books I read:
A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25:
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis (he was just 21 when he wrote this!)
(my review here)
A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65:
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt (published when he was 66)
(my review here)
A collection of short stories:
Half in Love by Maile Meloy
(my review here)
A book published by an indie press:
If Only You People Could Follow Directions by Jessica Hendry Nelson (Counterpoint Press)
(my review here)
A book by or about someone who identifies as LGBTQ:
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
(my review here)
A book by a person whose gender is different from your own:
The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
(my review here)
A book that takes place in Asia:
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
(my review here)
A b0ok by an author from Africa:
Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
(my review here)
A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
(my review here)
A microhistory:
Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation by Ammon Shea
(my review here)
A YA novel:
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
(my review here)
A sci-fi novel:
Above by Isla Morley
(my review here)
A romance novel:
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
(my review here)
A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize, or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade:
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (Pulitzer Prize 2014)
(my review here)
A book that is a retelling of a classic story:
Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer (Inspired by The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath)
(my review here)
An audiobook:
Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry
(my review here)
Note: This will probably be my last audio book. I truly hated this experience. Ha.
A collection of poetry:
Chasers of the Light by Tyler Knott Gregson
(my review here)
A book that someone else recommended to you:
Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
(my review here)
A book that was originally published in another language:
The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano (Italian)
(my review here)
A graphic novel, graphic memoir, or collection of comics:
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
(my review here)
A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure:
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
(my review here)
A book published before 1850:
Persuasion by Jane Austen
(my review here)
Note: I really, really struggled with this. I forgot how much I dislike 19th century Brit lit.
A book published this year:
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
(my review here)
A self-improvement book:
Tiny House Living by Ryan Mitchell
(my review here)