Read Harder

I am not the most disciplined of people.  This doesn’t really bother me much.  I always find a way to get done what I need to.  One thing is true; I do better with a specific goal on the horizon.  Something to aim for.  Even better if there is a timeline attached.  Within this framework, I’m good to go.

Some years back, I set a goal to read 50 books in a year.  It was a challenge for me.  In 2015 I’m at it again. This time, for fun, I’ve added a twist.  Always on the hunt for new reading material, one of my favourite sites is Book Riot.   Recently, I noted the hashtag, #readharder trending.  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge is to read 24 books, from various categories in one year.  Here are the selections:

Some of these will be easy for me.  Others (graphic novel???) will be real tough.  I still want to achieve the 50 book goal this year, but to be able to diversify my selections using the Read Harder Challenge sounds like my kind of fun.  I’ve already found a few books on my shelves that I have wanted to tackle, that will fit nicely into one category or another.  Goodreads has set up a reading group, which I’ve joined so I can track my progress.  So you can follow along here. The original Book Riot challenge can be found here, with links to suggested books for each category.   

There has been a lot of talk in the publishing industry of late about diversity in writing.  Every time a short list for one of the big writing prizes is announced, comments abound regarding the predominance of white male writers.  My reading tends to split evenly between men and women authors, but I do not read as widely a selection of writers from various cultures as I would like.  I tend towards historical and contemporary fiction and poetry.  I don’t read much sci-fi or short story work.  I never pay attention to the age of an author.  So this challenge will be interesting for me. 

2015 is the year I expand my reading choices.  Care to read harder with me?