Last year I decided to create a Reading Challenge to broaden my selections based on genre and general prompts. I especially wanted to create an opportunity to explore a more diverse range of cultures and topics. This year, I am excited to continue with a similar challenge and hope that you will find this list … Continue reading 2021 Reading Challenge Overview
Title: The Fault in our Stars Author: John Green Publisher: Dutton Books Page Count: 313 Publication Date: 2012 Category/Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Coming of Age Good Reads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.20) My Rating: ★★★★☆(4.0) Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final … Continue reading December 2020 Reading Challenge: The Fault in our Stars by John Green
Title: The Romanovs: 1613-1918Author: Simon Sebag MontefiorePublisher: W&NPage Count: 657Publication Date: 2016Category/Genre: History, Non-Fiction, Cultural, Russia, PoliticsGood Reads Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.95)My Rating: ★★★★☆(4.0) The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world’s surface for three centuries. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world’s greatest … Continue reading November 2020 Reading Challenge: The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Title: How We Disappeared Author: Jing-Jing Lee Publisher: Hanover Square Press Page Count: 350 Publication Date: 2019 Category/Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, War, Cultural, Asia, Good Reads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.18) My Rating: ★★★★☆(4.0) Singapore, 1942. As Japanese troops sweep down Malaysia and into Singapore, a village is ransacked, leaving only two survivors and one tiny child. In … Continue reading October 2020 Reading Challenge: How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee
Title: The Bird King Author: G. Willow Wilson Publisher: Grove Press Page Count: 403 Publication Date: 2019 Category/Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy Good Reads Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.75) My Rating: ★★★★☆(4.0) New from the award-winning author of Alif the Unseen and writer of the Ms. Marvel series, G. Willow Wilson Set in 1491 during the reign of … Continue reading September 2020 Reading Challenge: The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson
Title: A Long Petal of the Sea Author: Isabel Allende Publisher: Ballantine Books Page Count: 336 Publication Date: 2020 Category/Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Cultural, Hispanic, War, Romance Good Reads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.08) My Rating: ★★★★☆(4.0) In the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of … Continue reading August 2020 Reading Challenge: A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
Title: Reasons to Stay AliveAuthor: Matt HaigPublisher: Penguin BooksPage Count: 272Publication Date: 2016Category/Genre: Non Fiction, Science, Mental Health, Health, Pyschology, Memoir, Autobiography, Self HelpGood Reads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.16)My Rating: ★★★★☆(4) Matt Haig’s accessible and life-affirming memoir of his struggle with depression, and how his triumph over the illness taught him to live. Like nearly one … Continue reading July 2020 Reading Challenge: Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
Title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz Publisher: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers Page Count: 359 Publication Date: 2012 Category/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction, Romance, LGBT, Fiction Good Reads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.34) My Rating: ★★★★☆(4.0) A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire … Continue reading June 2020 Reading Challenge: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Title: The Mortifications Author: Derek Palacio Publisher: Tim Duggan Books Page Count: 320 Publication Date: 2016 Category/Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Cultural Good Reads Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.22) My Rating: ★★★★☆(3.8) Derek Palacio’s stunning, mythic novel marks the arrival of a fresh voice and a new chapter in the history of 21st century Cuban-American literature. In 1980, … Continue reading May 2020 Reading Challenge: The Mortifications by Derek Palacio
Title: Man’s Search for Meaning Author: Viktor E. Frankl Publisher: Beacon Press Page Count: 165 Publication Date: 1946 Category/Genre: Memoir, Autobiography, Non Fiction, Psychology, Self-Help Good Reads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.36) My Rating: ★★★★☆(4.0) Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for … Continue reading April 2020 Reading Challenge: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
