Read Harder Challenge: 24 Categories to Push Your Reading Further

Book Riot posted a challenge named Read Harder at the end of 2014. The idea of the challenge is to push regular readers out of their reading comfort zones and try new kinds of titles. I decided to attempt the challenge in January. My beginning pace was brisk but came to a dramatic halt with a 2 month failed attempt to read Infinite Jest. I’ve put that beast aside, am re-invigorated and attempting, once again to complete the challenge. Here are the outlines of the challenge and where I’m at with it so far:

1. Someone Under the Age of 25 – White Teeth by Zadie Smith
2. Written by Someone Over the Age of 65 – Jack of Spades by Joyce Carol Oates
3. Collection of Short Stories
4. Published by an Indie Press – The Transcriptionist by Amy Rowland
5. By or About Someone Who Identifies as LGTBQ – Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire
6. By a Person Whose Gender is Different from Your Own – Vieux Carre by Tennessee Williams
7. Takes Place in Asia 
8. An Author From Africa
9. That is by or About Someone from an Indigenous Culture – The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
10. A Microhistory
11. A YA Novel – Finding Paris by Joy Preble
12. A Sci-Fi Novel
13. A Romance Novel
14. National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer  – Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
15. A Re-telling of a Classic Story
16. An Audiobook – Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim
17. A Collection of Poetry
18. A Book Someone Else Has Recommended to You
19. Originally Published in Another Language
20. Graphic Novel – The Fade Out Vol. 1 by Ed Brubaker
21. You Would Consider a Guilty Pleasure – Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen
22. A Book Published Before 1850
23. A Book Published This Year – Vanessa & Her Sister by Priya Parmar
24. A Self-Improvement Book