Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
Task Ideas/Resources/Discussions
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Task 4: A Book Published by an Indie Press
I've started Other Electricities by Ander Monson published by Sarabande Press. It's also a book of short stories so it would work for that task also. All the stories take place in Michigan's Upper Peninsula - of course it's constantly snowing.
Book Riot wrote: "1. Independently owned and operated (i.e., not owned by the Big Five. Big Five publishers are Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon and Schuster)2. Operated by a foundation or university
3. Long-time independents that became incorporated but operate autonomously and publish fewer than 50 titles a year. "
Thanks for this information. I didn't know what an indie press was either.
I read "Loitering" by Charles D'Ambrosio, published by Tin House. I love the Personal Essay genre, and think it should have been a category in this challenge. (Note to Book Riot folks: Next Year!) I chose this because: (1) several staffers at Powell's had it listed among their Top 5 books of last year; and (2) I noticed that nearly every book on my Book Riot Challenge list was written by a woman. Because I am taking this Challenge as an opportunity to expand beyond my usual reading appetites, I figured I'd achieve some "authorial gender diversity" by picking this. It was superbly written, and quite thought-provoking.
This one is very difficult! I just can't seem to find a book that qualifies AND appeals to me.
Adrienne wrote: "This one is very difficult! I just can't seem to find a book that qualifies AND appeals to me." I used "Citizen" by Claudia Rankine, for the Poetry category, but you could also use it for this category, because it is published by Graywolf Press. It is a quick but powerful read, shortlisted this year for the National Book Award. Here is a NYT article about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/29/boo...
Finished
by Gabrielle Zevin-- 4 Stars!!Loved this little gem of of a novel. This is a book for book lovers. When we have words, characters, and books-- we are never alone!
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
How does one know a particular book qualifies as Indie.I want to read Chat Love, but I am not sure whether it's Indie or not.
PSmith wrote: "How does one know a particular book qualifies as Indie.I want to read Chat Love, but I am not sure whether it's Indie or not."
Book Riot wrote: "1. Independently owned and operated (i.e., not owned by the Big Five. Big Five publishers are Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon and Schuster)
2. Operated by a foundation or university
3. Long-time independents that became incorporated but operate autonomously and publish fewer than 50 titles a year. "
Adrienne wrote: "This one is very difficult! I just can't seem to find a book that qualifies AND appeals to me."I read Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith a couple years ago and loved it. Would definitely recommend it for the indie book task.
I am thoroughly enjoying Nathan Filer's The Shock of the Fall.
Just finished Other Electricities: Stories by Ander Monson. If you have visited the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, you'll like this book. Relationships, snow, weather, snowmobiles, death, ham radios - written in a quirky way.
I'm half way through The Boy Detective Fails - Published in 2006 by Punk Planet Books and now on Akashic Books (which was linked by Book Riot).I would NEVER have discovered this book if it wasn't for the challenge. And I LOVE it.
http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/t...
Someone I know from zines self published a novel last year, I plan on reading their book for my indie pick. It will also work for reading an LGBTQ author (and characters):http://mostbeautifulrot.com/
Milkweed Editions is based in Minneapolis. I loved Driftless which I read near the end of last year so now I'll read the sequel Jewelweed for this challenge.
Rainey wrote: "I have Flat out Love 
in my TBR pile, as well as New Jersey Noir 
- leaning torwards New Jersey Noir I think."Oh, I have Haiti Noir on loan. Now I know I can use it for the challenge. Thanks!
I just read An Untamed State by Roxane Gay for this challenge. And, I'm still in book hangover. I loved it, but man is it intense.
I read Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing which was published by Mainstream Publishing in 1997; long before it was bought by Random House.(Although Mainstream Publishing is still listed in the Independent Publishing group website; so presumably still operates outside of the Random House scope)
I really enjoyed it; one of the great books on boxing - interesting author perspective having been in the sport for so long and showing is love/hate relationship with the sport.
First Challenge completed.
I'm reading The Remains of the Day and it was published by Faber & Faber. The wiki page says its independent, but owned by Macmillan, and I can't really find anything else about the publisher. Any thoughts?
E wrote: "I'm reading The Remains of the Day and it was published by Faber & Faber. The wiki page says its independent, but owned by Macmillan, and I can't really find anything else about the p..."I was just wondering the same as I own a copy of A Pale View of the Hills in my tbr pile and it's also published by Faber Limited.
Faber and Faber Inc. the American branch was bought by Macmillan but Faber and Faber Limited is still independently owned and has HQ in London.
Their website states: "Faber and Faber remains one of the last of the great independent publishing houses in London." So I'd say it's ok.
For this challenge, I will be reading "Song of the Shank" by Jeffrey Renard Allen and published by Graywolf Press.
I read Strings and Bones by Kim Talon and it was quite good - not really a mystery like the summary suggests, but it was a good story about trying to cope with this weird and unexplained "gift" and trying to find happiness along the way.
I am going to read
for this challenge, published by feminist press. I'm happy I was introduced to this publisher!
Does anyone know if Grand Central Publishing is indie? I've been looking for a book to read for this challenge and then looking up the publisher, but having a hard time finding out of they are indie or not.
Grand Central is a Hachette imprint/division.
Anyone know if Mariner Books is independent? Wiki says they're a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
I read Take One With You and wanted to count it for this, and can't find any info on the listed publisher "Valley of Saints" except a movie by that name. It looks like the author self-pubbed on Amazon since all of his social media links circle back to the Amazon page for the book. Anyone know who Valley of Saints publishing is?
I read Busy People's Fast and Frugal Cookbook by Dawn Hall and Published by Thomas Nelson.....not the book I had originally had in mind for this task....but it's completed. lol.
Is Regnery Publishing considered independent?
What about A Little Something Different? I understand it was crowd sourced by Swoon or something, but in Amazon it's sold by MacMillan which isn't an indie press...
What about A Little Something Different? I understand it was crowd sourced by Swoon or something, but in Amazon it's sold by MacMillan which isn't an indie press...
What are some indie comic presses?Is First Second Books an indie press?
Lisa wrote: "Is Quirk Books considered an indie press? http://www.quirkbooks.com/page/about
They publish only 25 books per year, but Penguin Random House helps with distribution."
Hi. Did we get an answer about Quirk Books? Are they indie?
I am reading Glaciers by Alexis Smith for this one.
Michelle (Shelley) wrote: "I am reading Glaciers by Alexis Smith for this one."I just finished Glaciers for this one - a really sweet, quiet book. I liked it.
I read "The Empathy Exams" for this category and it's the first book I read for this challenge (out of 11 books read) that I really did not care for... I should have read "On Immunity" instead as I've heard great things about that book.
Karen wrote: "Michelle (Shelley) wrote: "I am reading Glaciers by Alexis Smith for this one."I just finished Glaciers for this one - a really sweet, quiet book. I liked it."
I also read Glaciers for this task. It was a nice little read, finished it in a couple of hours. I liked the way the story was crafted.
For this task I read Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis by Alexis Coe.
Is Open House Media considered indie? I saw a list of some of their horror (horror books are kinda my thing right now) books that look really good.
Mod
Is First Second Books an indie press?"
Hey Kristine,
First Second is an imprint from one of the big five, so it might not fit the "indie" publishing category.
Mod
http://www.quirkbooks.com/page/about
They publish only 25 books per year, but Penguin Random House helps with distribution."
Hi. Did we ge..."
Go ahead and count Quirk Books towards this one!
Mod
Is First Second Books an indie press?"
Missed the second part of your question! Here's a good list from Wikipedia of indie comic presses that would fit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...
This task has been my least favorite so far! I was confused about what was considered to be an indie press, and the list the Book Riot gave did not appeal to me. I ended up getting "Murder By Misrule" for this task that I found on a list of the best indie books of 2014, but once I got it I determined it was self-published. Urrrr. So then I went with "The Last Horror Story in the History of the World." I didn't like it at all (and I am loving horror stories right now.) I didn't like the was it was written, it wasn't scary, and left me with questions. The best part was it was short and I was able to borrow it for free with my Kindle prime account. Whatever, at least I can check this difficult task!
Poverty Creek Journal by Thomas Gardner, published by Tupelo Press. http://www.imcpl.org/readersconnectio... Had earlier mentioned (on the big planned reading list) Song of the Shank by Jeffery Renard Allen, pub. Graywolf Press. http://www.imcpl.org/readersconnectio...
Well, I think read a book in this category and didn't even know it! Saw The Ice Garden by Moira Crone on a FB post by one of my favorite "small, independent" bookstores, Quail Ridge Books and Music, and ran right down to get it.
I hope Carolina Wren Press counts!
I'm planning on readin - Tales of Two Cities: The Best and Worst of Times in Today’s New York edited by John Freeman
Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Scott Martelle (other topics)Amy Rowland (other topics)
Gabrielle Zevin (other topics)
Gabrielle Zevin (other topics)
Elena Ferrante (other topics)
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I plan to read this. I had it on my shelf, and it fits.