and the finalists are…

I’ve finally selected the books I’m planning on reading for the 2020 Read Harder Challenge. As I’ve said before, I’m not too excited by this year’s categories, so I may end up choosing other books to read depending on how this goes. But here’s what I have so far.

I will say that there are a few gems in here I can’t wait to dig into. The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath has been on my reading list for a few months and since it is gigantic (700-something pages?), I’ve needed a push to pick it up. The “doorstopper” category is just what I needed.

I’m also really looking forward to reading My Friend Dahmer, a graphic novel by a guy who knew Jeffrey Dahmer growing up. Fascinating.

Some other stand-outs: the food book Fire and Ice about Nordic cooking is so beautifully designed that I want it just because it’s beautiful. The Lost Words is a dictionary in verse of all the words that kids might stop using because of their disconnection from nature. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a favorite book of mine and I look forward to reading it again.

An interesting addition to the challenge this year is to read an edition of a literary magazine. I love the idea of encouraging people to read outside of books (maybe they’ll find they like reading more if they find a new medium that works better for them), and in the past we’ve read zines and chapbooks, so reading a literary magazine is another great entre into reads beyond just books. I haven’t picked mine out yet, but I’m leaning towards Glimmer Train (awesome for short fiction) or Zoetrope: All-Story, Francis Ford Coppola’s lit mag known for publishing the work of some bigger names in literature.

So that’s it! 2019 challenge completed, 2020 challenge accepted.