Read Harder Retro: 2015 in 2016

[Theresa]

Krista wrote: "Aren't audiobooks just fantastic? If I'd ONLY read off the Riot list, I'd probably done too, and not duplicate anything. But my husband and I listen to audiobooks on our commute together (about 75 ..."

Audiobooks used to drive me crazy because my mind would wander, but this year I found some great ones so now I love them. I actually didn't use the BookRiot suggestions for more than 1-2 books. Half the fun for me was trying to find books to meet each challenge. I got lost in Google rabbit holes pretty often. I'm kinda dorky like that. :)

[Krista]

Theresa wrote: "Krista wrote: "Aren't audiobooks just fantastic? If I'd ONLY read off the Riot list, I'd probably done too, and not duplicate anything. But my husband and I listen to audiobooks on our commute toge..."

Oops! What I meant there was not that if I only read off the Book Riot suggestions (I only used a few as well). I meant that if I'd only read books that fit in the tasks I'd be done already. I've read 47 books so far this year, but only 32 of them were for the Read Harder challenges (18 for the 2016, and 14 for the 2015).

[Krista]

I got really sort of lucky when I stumbled onto the 2015 in Jan of 2016. And I'm so glad I'd already been using Goodreads to keep track of my reading. Turns out I'd completed about 8 of the tasks in 2015 without even knowing it.

[Jmegan]

For anyone still working on this one, I just discovered an #indigenousreads hashtag on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hashtag/indigenou...

[Krista]

Woo hoo! I'm finished!

Learned about it in January 2016, discovered I'd completed 8 in 2015. Finished the last one on 5 Dec. (and I only have one left for the 2016, which I've also been doing).

Author under 25: Eragon
Author over 65: Time Enough for Love
Collection Short Stories: A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories
Published by Indie Press: See No Color
By/About LGBTQ: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author of Opposite Gender: Star Wars: Kenobi
Takes Place in Asia: Memoirs of a Geisha
Author from Africa: Infidel
By/About Indigenous Culture: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
Microhistory: Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
Young Adult novel: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Sci-Fi Novel: The Dead Sun
Romance Novel: Nailed
National/ManBooker/Pulitzer from last decade: The Gathering
Retelling of a Classic Story: The Sleeper and the Spindle
Audiobook: Steel World
Collection of Poetry: Dog Songs
Book Recommended to You: The Name of the Wind
Originally Published in Another Language: Butterflies in November
Graphic Novel/Memoir: Hellblazer, Vol. 1: Original Sins
Book You Consider Guilty Pleasure: The Number of the Beast
Book Published Before 1850: Pride and Prejudice
Book Published This Year: The Aeronaut's Windlass
Self-Improvement Book: The Beginner's Guide to Meditation: How to Start Enjoying the Benefits of Meditation Immediately

[Patty]

Impressive! Doing two of these at once would have overwhelmed me.

[Diane]

Well done! I'm hoping to read at least one or two books for the 2017 challenge. I found your list interesting; a real achievement. The read harder challenge is very similar to something I attempted last year, that is, my "list of betterment". The only books I read, with pleasure, which were of "read harder" merit were as follows: "Middlemarch" by George Elliott and "My Year of Reading Dangerously" by Andy Miller. I started several difficult books such as Walden, Bleak House, and Don Quixote, without success. Joining in with a group challenge may encourage me to "read harder" this coming year.

[Belinda]

I have read 23/24, just a micro history left so that will have to carry it over to 2017

[Cm]

I found the 2015 RH challenge in Jan. 2016 and was able to apply some books I had read in 2015 to that year's challenge - then made up for the incomplete items in 2016, along with completing the 2016 challenge.
I really enjoyed researching books to fill the categories, and that has resulted in my TBR list becoming much longer, with all the great suggestions from these threads; it also helped me to pare down my TBR list and encouraged me to read books that I already owned, but likely would not have gotten to for another couple of years. It's been a win/win!
Looking forward to 2017!

1. A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25 - Lady Susan by Jane Austen
2. A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65 - According to Queeney by Beryl Bainbridge
3. A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people) - Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
4. A book published by an indie press – I’m Gone by Jean Echenez
5. A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ - Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith by Sara Waters
6. A book by a person whose gender is different from your own - An Evening of Long Goodbyes by Paul Murray
7. A book that takes place in Asia - Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan
8. A book by an author from Africa - The Last Resort, A Memoir of Zimbabwe by Douglas Rogers and Ahmed’s Revenge by Richard Wiley
9. A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture - Alaska's Daughter: An Eskimo Memoir of the 20th Century by Elizabeth Pinson
10. A microhistory - Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It by Gina Kolata
11. A YA novel - Jackaby by William Ritter
12. A sci-fi novel - The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1) by Jasper Fforde
13. A romance novel - Country Heaven by Ava Miles
14. A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade by Richard Flanagan The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Man Booker 2014)
15. A book that is a retelling of a classic story (fairytale, Shakespearian play, classic novel, etc.) - The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson (a cover of Shakespeare’s Winter Tale)
16. An audiobook - A Long Stay in a Distant Land by Chieh Chieng
17. A collection of poetry - Dead Man's Float by Jim Harrison,
18. A book that someone else has recommended to you - Sarah’s Key by Tatiana deRosnay
19. A book that was originally published in another language - Shadow Without a Name by Ignacio Padilla and The Little Paris Book Shop by Nina George
20. A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind - Fun home : a family tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
21. A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure (Read, and then realize that good entertainment is nothing to feel guilty over) - Dunstable Park House by Therese Stenzel
22. A book published before 1850 - Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathon Swift
23. A book published this year - Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
24. A self-improvement book (can be traditionally or non-traditionally considered “self-improvement”) Wheat Belly by William Davis MD

[Jmegan]

Done! I started in October 2016, and averaged a book per week. It was a real pleasure to learn that I actually DO have time for reading, as long as I plan for it!

Author under 25: I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Author over 65: Don't I Know You?
A collection of short stories: Stories for Airports
A book published by an indie press: Promised to the Crown
Author identifies as LGBTQ: You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams: And Other Stories
A book by a person whose gender is different from your own: Modern Romance
A book that takes place in Asia: Midnight's Children
A book by an author from Africa: Struggles of a Dreamer: The Battle Between a Dream and Tradition
A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture: The Break
A microhistory: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
A YA novel: Family Magic
A sci-fi novel: A Swiftly Tilting Planet
A romance novel: First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen
A prizewinner from the last decade: Hellgoing (*This is a Giller Prize winner - the national award for fiction in Canada. I decided it met the spirit of the challenge, if not the letter.)
A book that is a retelling of a classic story: Hag-Seed
A audiobook: A Christmas Carol: A Signature Performance by Tim Curry
A collection of poetry: Lawren Harris: Contrasts: In the Ward - A Book of Poetry and Paintings
Recommendation: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Translation: The Little Prince
Graphic Novel etc: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Guilty pleasure: Shades of Grey
A book published before 1850: Frankenstein
A book published this year: Do Not Say We Have Nothing
A self-improvement book: Parenting Through the Storm: How to Handle the Highs, the Lows, and Everything In Between

[Amber]

I didn't find the read harder challenge until september 2017. I contemplated just joining the 2017 one, but I like some of the prompts for the older ones so much, so I decided to just do all three of them at the same time. I decided that anything I had already read in 2017 that fit one of the categories would count (even if it's a book published in 2017 for the 2015 challenge). I'd say I'm about 1/3 through, but I'm not going to finish any of them before the end of the year. I'm personally fine with that, although I'm not sure whether I'll start juggling 4 challenges once 2018 rolls around or focus on finishing the 2018 one first.
Is anyone else still doing the older challenges? How are you going about it?