This didn't quite work. It's a romance novel where one of the characters is aromantic. Or so he *tells* us, but what the author *shows* is a guy who is clearly in love, just has a problem with the word. Either "aromantic" wasn't defined well in the book, the writer didn't write it well, or it's just not possible to write an aromantic romance novel.

#ReadHarder #ReadHarder2021 -romance by a trans/nonbinary author

This was lovely and the short passages between chapters were hilarious.
Perfect nice easy read.
#ReadHarder #ReadHarder2021 - a fat-positive romance

It was ok? I guess?

#ReadHarder #ReadHarder2021 -book by or about a non western ruler

Decent memoir/nonfiction about OCD in general and the author's experience. It isn't quite organized and he doesn't weave the generic and specific quite seamlessly and there are a few too many anecdotes that are present more for shock value than because that actual support the point. But it's ok.

#ReadHarder #ReadHarder2021 - demystifies a common mental illness

I don't relate to food the way the author relates to food. (Food is food. Stories are stories. An interesting chef doesn't make things taste better. He'd disagree. See the quote) Also, not that into food memoirs. So to me, the book was boring and self indulgent. A few recipes I might try. But it's not bad, just not for me at all.
#ReadHarder #ReadHarder2021-food memoir by an author of color

Amazing book. Engrossing, well written, deeply researched. The author digs deep into the Great Migration by explaining larger trends and faces while focusing on three people whose stories typified the journeys many took.
My great-grandparents were part of the GM. I never knew them. Reading this gave me insight into their lives and how their choices influenced me.
Highly recommend

#ReadHarder #ReadHarder2021-Investigative non-fiction by an AoC

I'm enjoying this book much more than I expected to.

#ReadHarder #ReadHarder2021 - investigative non-fiction by an author of color.

It was not the book for me.
Part 1 was a typical memoir with parental and environmental neglect, abuse, and violence. Part 2 was the long version of one of the more obnoxious ancestry.com commercials. For me it switched between eyerolling and boring-i don't like memoirs, I didn't like the author as she described herself, and I didn't find her memories or her navel-gazing interesting.
#ReadHarder #ReadHarder2021 - Memoir by a Latinx author

Memoirs and biographies are simply not my favorite genres.

I think I have to get through two this year.

#ReadHarder #ReadHarder2021

I meant to do the Read Harder challenge last year, but I never got started... Here's hoping 2021 goes better.
I'm also looking for a reading challenge that tells you what to read... Any suggestions?
#ReadHarder #ReadHarder2021 #ReadingChallenge

Finished 2019s #ReadHarder challenge. A few books that I really loved (Binti, Punakau), a lot that I liked and otherwise never would have read. A few that is always meant to read and finally did... And yes, a few klunkers.

Will try again in 2020!!!
#ReadHarder2019

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads

The premise is silly (identical billionaire triplets find love in a small town). But I've enjoyed sillier. This just didn't work. The first was ok (w/a lot of suspended disbelief), the second had slightly unlikable protagonists, and the third I couldn't even finish. (Hero was a horse's ass. Heroine was a bitch. They might deserve each other; I don't deserve to read it happening.)

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - self published book

This was not a good book.
The plots are a mess, the main characters are semi-dimensional (the side characters are worse), there are multiple problems with POV.

Avoid

#ReadHarder - a book written in prison
#ReadHarder2019

Interesting.
Thought provoking.
But...

I'm not sure I read this as deeply as it requires. While reading, I had a few nitpicks with his presentation (there were placed where it felt like data was missing to make the comparison he needed to arrive at the result) and several with his conclusions. I definitely didn't end up where he did

But in general it was a very well structured, well written, thoughtful read.

Did you know that businesses work better when people aren't raging jerks? And therefore you should avoid hiring them?

Mind-blowing. Who could have imagined.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - a business book

Long book, long review.
Glad to be done with it.

#ReadHarder - a book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character
#ReadHarder2019

Loved this. Really interesting retellings of Maori myths and legends. I highly recommend it.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - OwnVoices Oceania

Go Read This Book Now!!

I'm not done, (50%ish) but so far, this book is amazing. Retellings of Maori myths by authors I need to read more of.

#ReadHarder - could work for mythology or OwnVoices Oceania

This book was full of really cool ideas. Those ideas need a much better writer or a much stronger editor. The structure didn't work. Too many scenes were there for no reason. Some pivotal moments were glossed over. The supporting characters were poorly integrated. The author has a tin ear for dialogue & has difficulty mixing tones. And the denouement is aggressively stupid. The end, merely trite.
#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 -trans/nonbinary author

Start of the prologue of my next #ReadHarder book. It's a good start.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019

This was really difficult for me to read. A lot of the main character's hard/"bad"/uncomfortable moments and thoughts hit *way too close to home*.

It's a good read. And I recommend this one.

#ReadHarder2019
#ReadHarder - A book by or about someone that identifies as neurodiverse

Wow.
This is the story of how usually smart men with too much money for conned out of a ton of it. And a bit about the woman who conned them. And sadly not enough about the people who actually got hurt as a result. Still- great book. It read much more cleanly than most nonfiction (a lot less dithering) and I really enjoyed reading it. Recommend.

This was interesting.
I loved the main characters, especially the narrator. It's an era & POV & characters that aren't "the usual" which made it difficult in some ways. (I was expecting a reveal that was intentionally not there).

I think a kid who reads this needs to discuss it, because there's a lot to unpack, especially for someone who doesn't already know the historical context.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019-Diversity award winning book

The ways we explain our world when we're younger....

I've been fortunate enough to do some traveling, and this is one of the best parts. When I first saw the Colosseum, I turned into an actual slack-jawed yokel. This thing I'd read about was really real, and I was really there, really seeing it. It was amazing.

Above picture is the dampener in Taipei 101. Not quite the Colosseum, but still books-to-reality cool.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019

Break from the book challenge because this book looked somewhat interesting. It wasn't. About 1/5 was decent, if not novel, advice. Over a half was obviously recycled advice blog posts*, strung together to kind of form a point of view. The rest was gimmicky filler. All of it was **TRYING TOO HARD** to be edgy or relevant or millenial or something.

Basically, someone got a contract for a 250 page book and only had 30 pages of content.

I'm not there audience for this ... I'm a little too old and a little too "square" to really get it.
But it's s good book. I'll recommend it - especially if you're younger and cooler than I am.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - A comic by an LGBTQIA creator

I hate dreams like that. They always make me feel really awful about myself and my failure to realize my potential.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019

Not sure it's not true...

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019

Free Comic Book Saturday is this Saturday, so I'm going to the comic book store to pick up my free ones and to get something for #ReadHarder - A comic by an LGBTQIA creator.
I think Lumberjanes would work, but are there any other suggestions?
#BookRiot @bookriot
#ReadHarder2019

Just started this as my next #ReadHarder book. It's strange and it'll take a while to get my head around it... But in the meantime, there are some very nice turns of phrase

#ReadHarder2019

Well, that was dreck. Almost every common criticism of romance novels in one book.

Pity, as I was really looking forward to the idea of this one.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - An historical romance by an AOC

I liked this one. Chic-lit/coming of age, but from a slightly different perspective and background than the "usual" one. And that specificity let it to being unique whole still making some of the themes very relatable. The main character has a distinct voice that for in with her background and added to the story.
I liked this one.
#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - A book by a woman and/or AOC that won a literary award in 2018

So true

I'm not a cozy mystery person (gave them a try one summer. Just not my genre.) But this is a solid one. Relatable main character, love interest, quirky best friends, etc. If you like this type of book, you'll like this book. If you're me, it's still a pretty nice read.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - a cozy mystery

I liked it, I think.
It started strong and then went somewhere weird and then mostly came back... But a bit too quickly and I'm not sure that I came back with the main character or the book.
Still, interesting for anyone who is feeling out of step with "normal."

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman

Where was this book when I was a teenager???!?!?!!!

This was lovely. Everything I want in a good sci-fi. I don't want to give anything away, so nothing about the plot. Just a strong recommendation.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - book by an AOC set in space

Actually, I read the whole series, because this want to much of a stretch for me.
The first three were solid. Not great, life changing literature, but pleasantly good, enjoyable books.
The fourth was not. The story was ok, but the structure didn't work. It feels like the author didn't understand the media she was imitating (text messages, Facebook, Amazon, newspaper etc). Stop after the third book.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 -an epistolary novel

Remember that book of myths that you found in the library in 4th (or 7th) grade? Not the assigned reading, but the storytelling one? This is that book.

It isn't until the end that it feels "new" in any way. But they are good stories, well told, and it was a perfectly nice read.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - a book of mythology or folklore

I don't know what I think about this book. It would be a great book club book and prompt a lot of discussion as to what it was about and whether it was about anything or just navel gazing.
It switches perspectives and time periods and storylines and realities so that you are never quite sure where you are. And then it ends.
And now... Let me know what you think.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America

I really liked this one. The writing style worked for me.
It is rambling road trip travelogue told by a deeply unreliable narrator. And it has amazing energy and momentum.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - A book by a journalist or about journalism

Another out of context quote...
But that's the feeling of the whole book. The writing has so much energy. Even the moments of reflection aren't still and quiet, they're bursting with thought and motion.
I'm really enjoying this

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019
A book by a journalist or about journalism

It was clever, but not really laugh out loud funny.
I would have liked to see the ideas flushed out a tiny bit more, so they weren't just the punchline, but the entire story.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019 - a humor book

I appreciate poetry; I don't really love it. This collection didn't change my mind. And yet I've posted three quotes. And it did make me laugh and cry and think - which is, I guess, what you ask from a book of poetry.

So while it is not my thing, it is good. Some of his lines are startlingly beautiful.

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019
A collection of poetry published since 2014

#ReadHarder
#ReadHarder2019
A collection of poetry published since 2014