Current read: This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens
Current Listen: Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
Happy New Year! If you've followed my reading for awhile, you might remember that for several years now I've done the PopSugar Reading Challenge. I love this challenge because it stretches me JUST ENOUGH so that I explore new genres, but I also don't feel like I'm reading for "homework." I still read exactly what I want to read. In 2021, I went a little crazy and decided to ALSO try the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge, which has fewer, but more challenging, prompts. Well--I did it! I completed both challenges! Will I do them both again next year? Um...probably not. I'll probably draw inspiration from them, but this year I'm pretty committed to reading whatever I want. We'll see. For now, though, enjoy my completed 2021 reading challenges! Let me know if you read and loved any of these, or if you have a reading challenge to recommend!
Book Riot Read Harder 2021
Read a book you’ve been intimidated to read: Native Son by Richard Wright
Read a nonfiction book about anti-racism: Waking Up White by Debbie Irving
Read a non-European book in translation: Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano
Read an LGBTQ+ history book: Queer History of the United States by Michael Bronski
Read a genre novel by an Indigenous, First Nations, or Native American author: Firekeeper's
Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Read a fanfic: Midnight Snowman by fandom_wh0re (Nathan/Youssef from Heartstopper)
Read a fat-positive romance: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
Read a romance by a trans or nonbinary author: The Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Read a middle grade mystery: Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow
by Jessica Townsend
Read an SFF anthology edited by a person of color: A Phoenix First Must Burn
edited by Patrice Caldwell
Read a food memoir by an author of color: Yes Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
Read a work of investigative nonfiction by an author of color: Locking Up Our Own
by James Forman Jr.
Read a book with a cover you don’t like: Loud Mouth by Avery Flynn
Read a realistic YA book not set in the U.S., UK, or Canada: Samira Surfs
by Rukhsanna Guidroz
Read a memoir by a Latinx author: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Read an own voices book about disability: Being Heumann by Judith Heumann
Read an own voices YA book with a Black main character that isn’t about Black pain:
You Should See Me In a Crown by Leah Johnson
Read a book by/about a non-Western world leader: The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
Read a historical fiction with a POC or LGBTQ+ protagonist: Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
Read a book of nature poems: Space Struck by Paige Lewis
Read a children’s book that centers a disabled character but not their disability: A Gentleman’s
Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Read a book set in the Midwest: The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson
Read a book that demystifies a common mental illness: How To Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole
Read a book featuring a beloved pet where the pet doesn’t die: Isn’t It Bromantic? By Lyssa Kay Adams
A book that’s published in 2021: Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
A genre hybrid: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
An Afrofuturist book: An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
A book set mostly or entirely outdoors: The Deep by Rivers Solomon
A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover: A Good Kind of Trouble
by Lisa Moore Ramee
A book with something broken on the cover: Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon
A book by an author who shares your zodiac sign: Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
A book by a Muslim American author: American Street by Ibi Zoboi
A dark academia book: Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
A book that was published anonymously: A Woman in Berlin
A book with an oxymoron in the title: Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title: The Final Revival of Opal and Nev
by Dawnie Walton
A book about do-overs or fresh starts: Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
A book where the main character works at your current or dream job:
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
A magical realism book: Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
A book set in multiple countries: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
A book that has won the Women’s Prize For Fiction: Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
A book set somewhere you’d like to visit in 2021: King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
A book with a family tree: The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
A book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality:
The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.
A bestseller from the 1990s: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
A book about forgetting: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
A book whose title starts with Q, X, or Z: Queerstory by Rebecca Strickson
A book you have seen on someone’s bookshelf: Aristotle and Dante
Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
A book featuring three generations: Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
A locked-room mystery: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
A book about a social justice issue: This Is My America by Kim Johnson
A book set in a restaurant: Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
A book in a different format than what you normally read: Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
A book with a black-and-white cover: A Promised Land by Barack Obama
A book by an Indigenous author: Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo
A book that has fewer than 1000 reviews on Goodreads: Somebody Give
This Heart a Pen by Sophia Thakur
A book that has the same title as a song: Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
A book you think your best friend would like: The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George
A book about a subject you are passionate about: What It’s Like to Be a Bird by David Alan Sibley
A book about art or an artist: Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
A book that discusses body positivity: Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai
A book everyone seems to have read but you: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
A book found on a Black Lives Matter reading list: Pushout by Monique W. Morris
Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR reading challenge (a book by two female authors):
You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar
Advanced:
The longest book (by pages) on your TBR list: African American Poetry:
250 Years of Struggle and Strong, edited by Kevin Young
The shortest book (by pages) on your TBR list: I Hate Men by Pauline Harmange
The book on your TBR list with the prettiest cover: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover: The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson
The book that’s been on your TBR list for the longest amount of time: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
A book from your TBR list you meant to read last year but didn’t: Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds
A book from your TBR list you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing: The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
A book from your TBR list chosen at random: What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
A DNF book from your TBR list: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
A free book from your TBR list: Stand Up Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim
