Sunday, January 29, 2017

2017 Reading Challenge

2017 Reading Challenge

  1. Read a book about sports.
  2. Read a debut novel.
  3. Read a book about books.
  4. Read a book set in Central or South America, written by a Central or South American author.
  5. Read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative.
    Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbne. This was a tough book to read at times because it was set in the same time period as the financial crisis/fall of Lehman. The main characters are from Camaroon trying to make themselves a new life and family in the USA. The end of the book made me wonder whether it was supposed to be hopeful (the family was able to cash in on their money/earnings and start at a higher income level in Camaroon) or bleak (they were not able to make it in the US due to immigration policies)
  6. Read an all-ages comic.
  7. Read a book published between 1900 and 1950.
  8. Read a travel memoir.
  9. Read a book you’ve read before.
  10. Read a book that is set within 100 miles of your location.
  11. Read a book that is set more than 5000 miles from your location.
    No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai (Japan >6000 miles away from NY). I actually read this book because I'm currently watching an anime series called Bungo Stray Dogs that features Japanese literary personalities re-imagined as young men/women in a detective agency. One of the main characters is based on Osamu and his special ability (nullify other people's special abilities) is called "No Longer Human". Some of his crazy antics in the anime actually fit the main character from this book to a T.
  12. Read a fantasy novel.
    Golden Son (Red Rising book 2 of 3) by Pierce Brown. I also intend to finish the trilogy this year but wanted to take a quick break for some other books.
  13. Read a nonfiction book about technology.
  14. Read a book about war.
  15. Read a YA or middle grade novel by an author who identifies as LGBTQ+.
  16. Read a book that has been banned or frequently challenged in your country.
  17. Read a classic by an author of color.
  18. Read a superhero comic with a female lead.
  19. Read a book in which a character of color goes on a spiritual journey
  20. Read an LGBTQ+ romance novel
    I started Guapa by Saleem Haddad but didn't get a chance to finish. Will try to pick it up again since it had a strong start.
  21. Read a book published by a micropress.
  22. Read a collection of stories by a woman.
  23. Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love.
  24. Read a book wherein all point-of-view characters are people of color. (From Jacqueline Koyanagi, author of sci-fi novel Ascension)
    Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This book has such poetry, love, and anger that I do highly recommend it to everyone. It is written from the perspective of a father to his teenage son and chronicles various injustices around the US.

    Bonus:
    Some other categories I'd like to explore are
  25. Read a book about music (can be a musician/composer/rock star/instrumentalist/music period, etc)
  26. Read a book in Chinese (can be fiction or nonfic)
  27. Read a book related to mindfulness


This list will be updated throughout the year and may or may not be finished by end of 2017. For more background / context, please read my post on the intro https://azuleteats.blogspot.com/2017/01/intro-to-reading-challenge.html

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