2021 Reading Goals #ReadHarder Challenge
It’s that time of year again. You know, when the year is almost over, and you somehow feel the urge to reflect on what you’ve achieved in your life thus far. I’m doing this right now.
I mean, yes, 2020 could have been better. Understatement of the year, I agree. But there’s not much I can do about the past. All I can do is be grateful for what I have now and look forward to the future.
I’m feeling ambitious this year. I have goals I want to hit by December 31, 2021, and I’m putting it all down here to let the Universe know (and the whole internet for that matter) what I want.
This post is just part 1.
Part 1: #ReadHarder Challenge.
If you follow me on Goodreads, I’ve read at least 124 books in 2020. Thank goodness for Scribd, Kindle Unlimited, and my local library as I would have otherwise spent at least $4000 on books alone!
I got most of my book recommendations from various podcasts by Book Riot and my good friend Rachel, who happens to be a librarian. This year, I’m going to expand my worldview through reading by doing Book Riot’s 2021 Read Harder challenge.
Here are the challenges along with the books I intend to read to complete them:
1.) Read a book you’ve been intimidated to read.
Dune by Frank Herbert. Might as well. The new movie should be coming out soon.
2.) Read a nonfiction book about anti-racism.
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson
3.) Read a non-European novel in translation.
The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar
4.) Read an LGBTQ+ history book
David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music by Darryl W Bullock
5.) Read a genre novel by an Indigenous, First Nations, or Native American author.
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
6.) Read a fanfic.
No Reservations: Narnia by Edonohana. Anthony Bourdain in Narnia? Yes, please!
7.) Read a fat-positive romance.
Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert.
8.) Read a romance by a trans or nonbinary author.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
9.) Read a middle grade mystery.
Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer. I most probably will read this before watching the Netflix movie.
10.) Read an SFF anthology edited by a person of colour.
Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker. I’m a fan of Zoraida Cordova’s Brooklyn Brujas series, and V.E. Schwab is also a contributor to this anthology. This one could be a home run!
colour
11.) Read a food memoir by an author of colour.
Eat a Peach by David Chang.
12.) Read a work of investigative nonfiction by an author of colour.
Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias by Pragya Agarwalcolour
13.) Read a book with a cover you don’t like.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
14.) Read a realistic YA book not set in the U.S., UK, or Canada
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay. Nice to find a Filipino author for this challenge.
15.) Read a memoir by a Latinx author.
Music to My Years by Cristela Alonzo
16.) Read an own voices book about disability
The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas
17.) Read an own voices YA book with a Black main character that isn’t about Black pain.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender. Two challenges in one! Awesome!
18.) Read a book by/about a non-Western world leader
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu. Why not?
19.) Read a historical fiction with a POC or LGBTQ+ protagonist
The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste.
20.) Read a book of nature poems.
A Thousand Mornings: Poems by Mary Oliver. Not the poetry kind of person so this one will definitely push my boundaries.
21.) Read a children’s book that centres a disabled character but not their disability.
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
22.) Read a book set in the Midwest
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. This one has been in m TBR for the longest while. I’ll finally read it this year!
23.) Read a book that demystifies a common mental illness
The Hilarious World of Depression by John Moe. The title got me.
24.) Read a book featuring a beloved pet where the pet doesn’t die
Devoted by Dean Koontz. I checked on doeshedogdie.com. There are several triggering scenes but at least the dog doesn’t die. They better be right!
Whew! That took a whole afternoon to put together. But at least my part of my 2021 TBR is up and running!
What are you reading for 2021?
