Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
2021 Read Harder Challenge
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Double Dippers
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Renee
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Dec 13, 2020 04:00PM
This is for those readers who enjoy the challenge of finding books that meet more than one challenge task. It’s harder than most people think. My personal best was 1 book that fit 6 challenges . If you choose not the double dip, please no need the comment, it’s your choice. But if you enjoy the mental challenge of the double dip, you are in the right place! Let the reading begin.
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Did a fast skim of what people are planning on reading; this one stood out for 2 & 12 Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth
I'm thinking 1Q84 for Task 1 (intimidating), but it should also work for Task 3 (non-European in translation).
In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado works for both Latinx memoir and set in the Midwest.Here The Whole Time works for both fat-positive and translated non-European.
Any of the Babysitters Club or Nancy Drew mysteries work well for middle grade mystery & cover you don’t like.
I don’t have any suggestions for a romance + pet who doesn’t die.
@Bonnie, which is the other prompt for Book Boyfriend? Fat-positive romance?Anyone But You by Chelsea M. Cameron (non-binary) would probably work as a double dip for romance by trans author + pet that doesn’t die.
Tanvi wrote: "@Bonnie, which is the other prompt for Book Boyfriend? Fat-positive romance?Anyone But You by Chelsea M. Cameron (non-binary) would probably work as a double dip for romance by trans author + pet..."
No double dip, sorry, I was just suggesting it for the one. I read the post and did not even realize what discussion thread i was on. Sorry!
Sean wrote: "I'm thinking 1Q84 for Task 1 (intimidating), but it should also work for Task 3 (non-European in translation)."For me it's a tripple dip, I don't like the cover so Task 13 is also covered.
Here the Whole Time by Vitor Martins fill 3 prompts! 3. Non-european translation: author is Brazilian
7. Fat-positive romance
14. Realistic YA not set in US, UK, or Canada: again, Brazil
You Should See Me in a CrownThis book fulfill tasks #17 - YA book with Black main character that is not about Black pain & #22 - book set in the Midwest (Indiana, in this case).
Turtles All the Way Down This book should work for tasks 22 (Read a book set in the Midwest) and 23 (Read a book that demystifies a common mental illness).
Get a Life, Chloe Brown could work for two prompts. It prominently features a kitten in the plot who doesn’t die in the end and it’s a fat positive romance. It also features a disabled main character but I’m not sure if the author is disabled for this to count as own voices...
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards is the first in a long series of cozy mysteries set in the Midwest (unnamed or fictional towns but strongly implied to be in the area of the Great Lakes) which feature beloved pets who don't die.
Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime could work for LGBTQ history, Latinx memoir, and investigative nonfiction by an author of color!
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus works for both middle grade prompts - the MC has a disability, and there is a sort of mystery at the center of the book.
Sarah wrote: "Get a Life, Chloe Brown could work for two prompts. It prominently features a kitten in the plot who doesn’t die in the end and it’s a fat positive romance. It also features a disabled main charact..."You're right, it should work for both! The main character, Chloe Brown, experiences chronic pain and the author based it off of her own experiences I believe... you can read more here!
https://ew.com/books/2019/03/20/talia...
Superior: The Return of Race ScienceThe author is a WOC and it is a scientific journalist so it counts for
12. Read a work of investigative nonfiction by an author of color
It's also about racism in science so it counts for
2. Read a nonfiction book about anti-racism
The Girl Next Door
24. Read a book featuring a beloved pet where the pet doesn’t die
8. Read a romance by a trans or nonbinary author
Chelsea M. Cameron is a non-binary author and the book features a dog that does not die and is beloved.
I used A Most Beautiful Thing by Arshay Cooper. I used it for a nonfiction book about anti-racism & a book set in the Midwest. The book is set in Chicago Illinois.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender fits #8 (romance by a trans or non-binary author) and #17 (YA book with a Black main character that isn't about Black pain).
Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in TranslationWorks for an SFF anthology edited by an POC and the works in the anthology are translated from Chinese so it works for a non-European book in translation.
I haven't read any yet this year that are double-dippers for Read Harder, but I also signed up for Reading Women, and a lot of books count for both.Actually, both this and last year I noticed there were a lot of prompts that were really similar on the two lists. I wonder if someone involved in making the RH challenge is also involved in the RW one.
I'm starting Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi today. I think it fulfills 2 (NF Anti-racism) and 12 (Investigative NF by a person of color).
Laura, I think you can count Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America as #1, intimidating, as well, so you have a three-fer.
For Canadian readers (or those who don't mind a Canadian book), I think The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole counts as both a nonfiction book about anti-racism, and a work of investigative nonfiction by an author of colour. Though I'm planning to read different books for each of these categories in any case. I also counted Elizabeth Acevedo's Clap When You Land as a realistic YA novel not set in Canada, the USA or UK because even though it's part set in NYC, it's also set in the Dominican Republic. However, it could also count as an Own Voices YA book with a Black main character that isn't about Black pain (in that while the characters are experiencing a painful situation, it's not related to their race, and I felt it was ultimately an uplifting book).
I read Here the Whole Time for #3, #14, and *maybe* #7 (the main character is bothered by his weight, but comes to be ok with himself).Get a Life, Chloe Brown for #16, #24, and #7
Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime for #4, #12, #15.
Angela wrote: "You Should See Me in a CrownThis book fulfill tasks #17 - YA book with Black main character that is not about Black pain & #22 - book set in the Midwest (Indiana, in this case)."
I am absolutely loving this book. Thanks for the rec!
Julia wrote: "Laura, I think you can count Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America as #1, intimidating, as well, so you have a three-fer."Thanks! I was thinking that, too. It was a lot to fit in around my schedule but I'm so glad I read it.
The Reckless Kind (which comes out soon, I read an ARC) is a YA historical non-fiction that takes place outside of the US. With queer characters. It’s also an own voices book featuring characters with disabilities. And the beloved pet doesn’t die in the end. SO, I think it covers 3 or 4 categories.
Books mentioned in this topic
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (other topics)You Should See Me in a Crown (other topics)
Here the Whole Time (other topics)
Get a Life, Chloe Brown (other topics)
Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime (other topics)
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