Read: 17 books
Fiction - 11
Nonfiction - 6
Books that counted towards the "Read Harder" challenge - 10
Here's a breakdown of the challenges completed so far, and how I felt about each book:
A classic of genre fiction: For this I read American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This was a re-read and I am pretty sure I liked it better the second time. I gave it 5/5 stars on Goodreads. I would not count this as one of my personal favorite books, but definitely as an important book and one that offers a lot to consider.
A comic written and illustrated by the same person: Adulthood is a Myth: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection by Sarah Andersen was funny and amusing and I did fly through it. I gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads because it did exactly what I expected and no more, but was still fun to read.
A comic written or illustrated by a person of color: Black Panther: World of Wakanda by Roxane Gay and Ta-Nehisi Coates was a short introduction to the world of Black Panther. I loved the movie, but gave the graphic novel 3/5 stars. It reaffirmed for me that I really don't care much for standard super hero comics, even when the super hero is non-standard.
A romance novel by or about a person of color: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan is both by and about a person of color. I was not impressed and gave it 3/5 stars. This frustrated me, in part, because there wasn't really any romance novel elements to it except that the main characters were supposedly in love with each other. I couldn't get behind the romance and I was frustrated by the excessive wealth that wasn't necessarily celebrated in the book, but certainly wasn't completely vilified either. I would probably watch the movie, but I won't finish the series as I found it kind of boring.
A children's classic published before 1980: I re-read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle for this challenge and found it truly boring...2/5 stars.
A celebrity memoir: I read Wake Up Happy by Michael Strahan for my workplace professional development bookclub, and found it fairly mundane and unhelpful. I honestly just didn't care and none of the advice has stuck with me beyond the cursory reading. 2/5 Stars.
A book of social science: For something that sat on my shelf since college, I was again not particularly enthused by A General Theory of Love by Thomas Lewis. The neuroscience was interesting, but the psychology I found largely boring and unhelpful. 3/5 Stars.
A one-sitting book: I didn't technically read The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande in one sitting, but I actually had to stop myself from doing so, as I was discussing it in sections with my bookclub. This was an incredibly interesting book with a very simple concept. I love Gawande's writing style and find it easy to get swept up in his prose and concepts. 4/5 Stars.
A book with a cover you hate: I have the movie tie-in copy of The Martian by Andy Weir, and I hate movie tie-in covers. The book was fun, but if you've watched the movie it was largely the same experience. 3/5 Stars.
A book with a female protagonist over the age of 60: I am a massive Ruth Bader Ginsburg fan, so My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a perfect pick for this challenge. If you're a poli-sci or legal/SCOTUS nerd, check this baby out. 4/5 Stars.
