Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
2018 Read Harder Challenge
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Task #7: A western
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I admit, I’ve never been particularly drawn to westerns. Thanks to the Read Harder Challenge for opening up a new genre for me. I’ve read Days Without End, O Pioneers!, and Epitaph recently and was drawn into all of them. Beautiful prose, searing descriptions, meticulous research, and meaningful insight into sections of our history. I would recommend all of them.
Barbara wrote: "I admit, I’ve never been particularly drawn to westerns. Thanks to the Read Harder Challenge for opening up a new genre for me. I’ve read Days Without End, O Pioneers!..."O Pioneers is a favorite book of mine (every Willa Cather book is amazing) so I will try the others. Thanks for the recommendation. I am also not really drawn to westerns, but read Lonesome Dove for the challenge and loved it. The best part of this challenge is discovering wonderful books you would not have otherwise read in a million years.
Bonnie wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I admit, I’ve never been particularly drawn to westerns. Thanks to the Read Harder Challenge for opening up a new genre for me. I’ve read Days Without End, O P..."</i>I agree.....Willa Cather is amazing. I’ve also enjoyed [book:My Ántonia and Death Comes for the Archbishop by her. I have Lonesome Dove in my TBR stack and look forward to sinking into it.
Barbara wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I admit, I’ve never been particularly drawn to westerns. Thanks to the Read Harder Challenge for opening up a new genre for me. I’ve read [book:Days Without End|30212..."Enjoy! The first 100 pages are a little slow as you get to know the characters but not a lot happens, and the next 845 race by.
Bonnie wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I admit, I’ve never been particularly drawn to westerns. Thanks to the Read Harder Challenge for opening up a new genre for me. I’ve read [book:Days W..."Thanks! I, too, have found so many wonderful books by participating in the challenge. And what fun researching books for the categories. The “hunt” is almost as much fun as the “read”.
Karen wrote: "I was very impressed with River of Teeth, which was not only a fun alternative history, but had some fantastic representation of POC and LGBTQA folks too. It was a quick read, so I recommend it eve..."I read River of Teeth too. I'd be interested to know what other people thought of it. It was a lot of fun, and a good attempt at representation of some minority demographics, although for me the use of the epicene third-person pronoun was sometimes confusing, felt a little forced and perhaps a tad anachronistic. I wondered if anybody else felt this way?
Tom wrote: "Karen wrote: "I was very impressed with River of Teeth, which was not only a fun alternative history, but had some fantastic representation of POC and LGBTQA folks too. It was a quick read, so I re..."I also read River of Teeth! My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The use of the pronouns did throw me off at first, but I think it's because I'd never seen the singular "they/them" used in a book before. But I did enjoy the story and the diversity of characters, and I especially appreciated that a pregnant lady had a pretty badass role in the gang - and that her condition was not treated as a detriment to her capabilities - as I currently find myself in the same state.
Allie wrote: "Tom wrote: "Karen wrote: "I was very impressed with River of Teeth, which was not only a fun alternative history, but had some fantastic representation of POC and LGBTQA folks too. It was a quick r..."Congratulations!
Bonnie wrote: "Allie wrote: "Tom wrote: "Karen wrote: "I was very impressed with River of Teeth, which was not only a fun alternative history, but had some fantastic representation of POC and LGBTQA folks too. It..."Thanks Bonnie! :)
I didn't see anyone mention Butcher's Crossing (John Williams.) Now published as an NYRB Classic, it was originally published in 1960. One of my IRL book clubs is reading it now, so I'm using it for the challenge. I've been bowled over by it and definitely didn't expect that to happen.
Could In the Spirit of Crazy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and the FBI's War on the American Indian Movement by Peter Mathiessen count for this category? I'm really struggling with something for this one and would prefer to read something by an Indigenous person or inclusive of an Indigenous perspective, if possible.
I read
The Shootist for this challenge. I saw and loved the film years ago. The book is a bit grimmer but very well written, a pleasure to read though far from the type I would usually pick up.
I read Percival Everett's Half an Inch of Water. It's so wonderful! A modern, slow reading kind of a western, written by a black man in a contemplating sort of way. As a fan of Westerns and of books about relationships, I loved these stories and will read them many more times.
Darlene wrote: "This is a tough category for me. I found a 2018 release that is a horror/fantasy/western: Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman. I have no idea how it is yet, but that's th..."That's the one I'm reading! I loved Bird Box, so I was looking forward to this one. It's good so far, but not as creepy as Bird Box. It does have a mild Stephen King vibe.
If you want to include more graphic novels in your challenge this year, you could read Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike. It's what I used for this category.
I just finished Six-Gun Snow White and while I used it for a different challenge, I think it would fit here and be a good choice for someone who doesn’t like standard westerns. It definitely has an old west flavor in the setting and dialog, but mixes in some magical realism, allusions to the fairy tale, and feminism. I loved it, and it has the added benefit of being quite short if that helps anyone!
Hey all, I recently read Rebecca Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning. It’s a post apocalyptic fantasy, but other than it being set in the future I think it could qualify as a Western... it’s set in New Mexico on a Navajo reservation, has people wielding guns and shotguns, Law Dogs, saloons...What do others think? Do the fantasy elements disqualify it as a Western? I see others read River of Teeth so it seems fantasy isn’t automatically disqualified.
I'm thinking about reading East of West, Vol. 1: The Promise because it's a sci-fi/dystopian Western comic series and that sounds awesome. If I decide to branch further from my comfor zone, I might read True Grit or All the Pretty Horses
I read Tempest by Beverly Jenkins for this. I think I originally got this for #10 (romance by or about a POC), but this is set in what would become Wyoming in the late 19th century, so I'm counting it here. This also ended up being a one-sitting book (#15), but I already had that one covered.
Westerns really aren't my genre of choice. I ended up just paging through the western tag on my library's Overdrive. Most of them seemed to be romances set in the West. But in that tag I found Dark Alchemy which is a sort of urban fantasy western. I liked it pretty well, although I thought the quasi-romance in it was unnecessary.
I read House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle. I am not reading any books by white men for my Read Harder books and this was a challenging category for that but challenge accepted! Tingle is Choctaw and the book's narrator is a Choctaw woman reflecting back on her childhood in what becomes Oklahoma.
Maddie wrote: "I read House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle. I am not reading any books by white men for my Read Harder books and this was a challenging category for that but challenge accepted! Tin..."Maddie..... I am so glad you decided to share what you chose to read for this task ! I avoid westerns at all cost so I was really dreading this task but now I'm actually kind of excited. I think I will try this book out as well !
The Western I read is also by a woman, and it was excellent: Doc, by Mary Doria Russell. It's about Doc Holliday, and is a complex portrait of a skilled dentist, a pianist, an educated and often generous man--but also a drinker, kind of a snob, and a gambler. Russell takes on issues of race, women's rights in the West, and the history of the time.
Maureen,Was that Doc or its sequel Epitaph? Mary Doria Russell is an author to seek out, whether she's writing science fiction The Sparrow, or its sequel Children of God, westerns or one- off historical fiction like, A Thread of Grace.
Doc! I haven't read Epitaph, but I will check it out.
Westerns are also not my genre of choice but I recent finished The Revenant and really liked it. It is fiction but based on a true story of determination in the face of terrible adversity. I haven’t seen the Leonardo DiCaprio movie, but I understand that it added some things (like a son) for dramatic interest, even though I think the book was dramatic enough as is. A really good book that I highly recommend.
Annette wrote: "Westerns are also not my genre of choice but I recent finished The Revenant and really liked it. It is fiction but based on a true story of determination in the face of terrible adversity. I haven’..."Totally forgot about this story !!! Well now I feel like I have a choice !!! Or maybe I'll just have to read both .... House of Purple Cedar and the Revenant !!
I’ve read both Doc and Epitaph and enjoyed them both. Looking forward to The Sparrow by Mary Doris Russell.....a different genre, but with great reviews.Maureen wrote: "Doc! I haven't read Epitaph, but I will check it out."
Julia wrote: "Maureen,
Was that Doc or its sequel Epitaph? Mary Doria Russell is an author to seek out, whether she's writing science fiction [book:The Sparrow|33417..."
For those of us that like feminist and graphic takes on genres, I'd like to recommend Coyote Doggirl! It's a quick read but by turns fun and deep. Great for fans of Bojack Horseman, which the author works on.
The Searchersthe book the John Wayne movie was based on, is based on the years-long search for Cynthia Ann Parker.The Homesman
Fallen Women. Sandra Dallas is awesome. Her books are basically western women's fiction. The Chili Queen was also really good.
Silver Lies. Ann's books are similar to Sandra Dallas's.
Jeff Guinn has a series of Western novels, as well as very interesting non-fiction that wouldn't fit for this challenge.
New book alert: The Removes looks excellent.
This is non-fiction but I love this book. It was integral in the research for my own Western: Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.
Another non-fiction that may or may not fit this challenge A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains. Bird was quite a character.
I'm currently listening to Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West so that will count as mine for this year.
Thank you for the suggestions, Melissa! :)Melissa wrote: "The Searchersthe book the John Wayne movie was based on, is based on the years-long search for Cynthia Ann Parker.
The Homesman
Fallen Women. Sandra ..."
Oh man!! I could've read Brokeback Mountain, that would've been fabulous!! This is NOT a genre that i am interested in reading, I don't really have an answer why, it just doesn't appeal to me. I do want to read Lonesome Dove at some point, but this is not the year while I'm juggling multiple challenges. My initial choice wasAll the Pretty Horses, however, my book club just chose Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West as our September read, so I am about halfway through this book. I like it more than I thought I would. I found researching the history behind the story made me want to read it more, and it isn't as violent ( so far) as I was expecting it to be. ( This has been a year of violent books for me, maybe I'm just desensitized?). I will say that the writing is beautifully descriptive, but the in some parts almost too descriptive. And the lack of punctuation is taking some getting used to. A surprising read for me though, I should be done by the end of the week unless it starts to really pull me in and I decide I can't put it down and leave it at my planned 2 chapters a day.
For those of you who hate westerns, you might like The Blue Tattoo by Margot Mifflin. One could argue that it isn’t a western in the strictest sense, but it has massacres, assimilation, and “rescues”. It is the story of Olive Oatman who was assimilated into the Mohave in the 1850s after her family was killed in a fight with the Yavapai. Me? I’m following another poster’s lead and trying Col. Potter’s favorite author’s Riders of the Purple Sage.
Can I count the Little House books for this prompt?
Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
True Grit (other topics)All the Pretty Horses (other topics)
Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West (other topics)
Lonesome Dove (other topics)
Brokeback Mountain (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Portis (other topics)Jeff Guinn (other topics)
Mary Doria Russell (other topics)
Mary Doria Russell (other topics)
Beverly Jenkins (other topics)
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The Vengeance of Mothers by Jim Fergus was super intense but my book club loved it!