Summer Reading Challenges!

On the same day I found summer reading challenges from both the local library (Aloha) and the local book store (Powell's). 

I have a hard time resisting a challenge. I also had lots of other things to read, but there were some of them that I could make fit.

I completed both, though a lot of the books were disappointing.

Powell's challenge was set up like a Bingo card: 25 spaces with different requirements, though the middle space was free. Well, "free" meant that that it could be any type of book, not that a blackout was really only 24 books. 

The library had three rows of four books. Combined that would have been a total of 37, but some did double duty. I also read some books that didn't fit anywhere. (There were about twenty of those, though most of them were children's books and some comics.)

They are all listed below with some notes, and I have underlined the books that did double duty.

The most important thing came up with reading a friend's favorite book. I put out an open call on Facebook, sure that I was going to get Outlander. (I did not.)

Nine friends responded. Most of them responded with multiple books, though that wasn't a surprise. 

Remember, I am trying to connect more. I picked a book (the shortest one), but it did not feel like enough. 

Anyway, my Book Sections document has a new column: Friends. 

I will get to them all. Will we then meet and discuss the book? What if I didn't like it? I don't know. I am just reading more books, knowing that they have meaning to people I know.

As always, you can find more on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1734486-gina?shelf=read

Aloha Community Library Adult Summer Reading Challenge

Read a non-fiction book: Fevered Lives: Tuberculosis in American Culture since 1870 by Katharine Ott (6/18-6/22)

This was referenced in a book from my 2017 Native American Heritage Month reading, Separate Beds by Maureen Lux. I felt like there was a lot more to know about tuberculosis, but not from this book, which meanders painfully and inconclusively.

Read a book adapted into movie or TV show: The Egg and I by Betty McDonald (7/10-7/12)

I originally got this because it was a Pacific Northwest author, and I liked Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. I kind of don't anymore, which is sad. I tried watching the movie, and it was even worse.

Read a book by an Oregon author: Before They Were Artists: Famous Illustrators As Kids by Elizabeth Haidle (8/4-8/7)

This was just luck. I am slowly working my way through the works of illustrator Jerry Pinkney. This was pretty well-done, and gave me a new illustrator to look up (Yuyi Morales), but also Haidle is based in Portland.

Read a book of poetry: Tripas Poems by Brandon Som (7/14-7/15)

Som could fit into two different heritage months, but when I needed a prize-winner for Powell's, I found him as this year's winner of the Pulitzer for Poetry.

Read a book set in another country (Denmark and Australia): The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland (8/4-8/7)

This had struck my interest for a mention of grief, but it was overly precious bloviating with some really unhealthy relationships. It did show me how much easier it is to write expound on what you don't like about a book, which is a little disappointing.

Read a book with a one-word title: Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd (8/5-8/8)

This is from https://images.dawn.com/news/1192543, 20 books for you to read about Palestine. I am only at 4. Feelings run deep.

Read a book by an indigenous author: Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining the Future by Patty Krawec (8/20-8/21)

This was one of my favorites from the challenge. It was one of three books that Julie got off of a list and wanted to read herself, but assumed I would too. This added extra pressure to my reading goals, but two of them met challenge requirements, and this one was good. Recommended.

Read a book translated from its original language (from German): Heidi by Johanna Spyri (8/26-8/27)

This is an old favorite, my equivalent of a "cozy" book. The other option was Jane of Lantern Hill, but that was written in English.

Read a book recommended by a friend or family member (my friend Cathy): An Italian Education by Tim Parks (7/4-7/10) 

Parks is more unaware of his sense of British superiority than I can be, which was annoying. However, it was set in places that were familiar to me, which was interesting. It had also been on my Italy reading list.

Read a book with a color in its title: Acting White: The Curious History of a Racial Slur by Ron Christie (7/20-7/24)

This was on my Black History month reading list. I wish I could remember why I added it, because it was terrible. He starts with Maxine Waters criticizing his political choices, leaving him grievously martyred for his principles, which makes me love her more. For all the cherry picking of what to include, he should have been able to make a point that at least looked stronger.

Read a book with an unreliable narrator: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (8/9-8/10)

I could not think of anything with an unreliable narrator on my existing reading list, but an internet search brought this up. Shirley Jackson is a good writer, generally about unpleasant things. I may decide to just read everything I haven't read by her someday, maybe next October.

Read a book by a debut author: The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide by Steven W. Thrasher (6/17-6/21)

This was mentioned in my spotlight on Alice Wong, but also really well-written with important things to know. Recommended. 

Powell's Summer Reading Challenge

Banned/Challenged: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (6/29-7/2)

This could go with my Pride reading and it was mentioned with my APAHM reading. His prose is poetic, but it is also bleak. 

Award Winner (2024 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Poetry): Tripas Poems by Brandon Som (7/14-7/15)  

Also under the library challenge. I should mention it's pretty good too. In some ways it reminds me of Gloria Anzaldúa's writing.

Released in 2024: My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future by Alice Randall (6/10-6/17)

This really enriched my Black Music Month listening and taught me a lot. Recommended.

Funny: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (8/22-8/23)

Maria saw this recommended and requested it for me, even though I had decided not to read it. It is well-written, and I guess it's funny in a dark way, but it makes me glad I am not trying to publish anymore, and think even worse of Yale.

BIPOC Author/Protagonist: The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide by Steven W. Thrasher (6/17-6/21)

Also under the library challenge. Recommended.

An old favorite: Heidi by Johanna Spyri (8/26-8/27)

See under the library challenge.

Graphic Novel: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen (6/22-6/23)

This came up as a suggestion under some things for Pride reading. The art is beautiful, and looking at traditional tales with their similarities and differences was interesting. I did want to slap a priest.

Non-Human Protagonist: School for Extraterrestrial Girls #1: Girl On Fire by Jeremy Whitley and Jamie Noguchi (7/26-7/27)

This was from https://bookriot.com/underrated-graphic-novels/ and really good. I may check out the rest of the series. (Although this list also recommended Cosmic Pizza Party and that was just really for kids. Sometimes when they say for kids AND adults, they are wrong.)

Disabled Author/Protagonist: Say Hello by Carly Findlay (6/23-6/27)

Findlay has ichthyosis. A lot of my reading this was remembering this girl I knew in the dorms, and realizing I had not known much about her condition. I hope she is doing well.

PNW Author: The Egg and I by Betty McDonald (7/10-7/12)

Can see under library challenge, but it was not great.

Not "Your Style": Acting White: The Curious History of a Racial Slur by Ron Christie (7/20-7/24)

Can see under library challenge, but it was not great. 

Poetry: Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd (8/5-8/8)

Can see under library challenge. It was good, and it is important to know more about Palestine. 

Your Choice: We Are Not Free by Traci Chee (6/22-6/24)

This came up as a suggestion looking at things related to interment of Japanese-Americans in WWII. It was really good. 

A Friend's Favorite Book (Casey): Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (8/12-8/13)

There are things I don't like about it, but it gave me another view on Steinbeck that helped clarify some things for me about other works I have read.

Set in the Summer: The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland (8/4-8/7)

Can see under library challenge, but it was not great. 

Written before you were born (1951): The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson (7/12-8/2)        

I wanted to love this, but it was a bit too ponderous. That could be easy to blame on the ocean itself for being so vast and mysterious. There is some of the beauty of Silent Spring, but it gets weighed down.

Nonfiction/Based on true events: Fevered Lives: Tuberculosis in American Culture since 1870 by Katharine Ott (6/18-6/22)

Can see under library challenge, but it was not great. 

Book with red on the cover: Clockwork Curandera #1: The Witch Owl Parliament by David Bowles, Raúl the III, Stacey Robinson (7/2-7/3)

This was from a different list of comic recommendations, https://bookriot.com/most-underrated-comics-according-to-goodreads/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us. While I am sure I will read more on the list, I thought this one sucked. Unbelievable characters and dialogue and too much telling instead of showing. For all of the steampunk/magic/alternative history, it really shouldn't be so flat.

Set in Oregon: The Enduring Legacy of Portland's Black Panthers: The Roots of Free Healthcare, Free Breakfast, and Neighborhood Control in Portland by Joe Biel (8/15-8/22)

I read an article about this and bought the book, but hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. It's a little amateurish, but there were some good sources listed, including a graphic novel about the Black Panthers that I will probably read this weekend.

Mystery/Adventure: Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from  North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden (8/23-8/25)

I have had this on my APAHM reading list for quite a while, but decided to get to it before writing up this last round because of another book, A River in Darkness. That was also about an escape from North Korea. That escapee had not been in a prison, except to the extent that the entire country is a prison which it kind of is. Harden's book is pretty good but also frustrating.

Memoir/Biography: Gentle on my Mind: In Sickness and Health with Glen Campbell by Kim Campbell (8/25-8/29)

I stumbled across a music video that led to a documentary that led to this book, due to my very personal interest in dementia. An easy (and very religious) read about a hard subject.

Has magic in it: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (7/16-7/18)

This was the library's September selection for their Shameless Romance Book Club. Given that, it was pretty fun and only a little annoying. Faint praise, but praise nonetheless.

About love or friendship: Three Keys: A Front Desk Novel by Kelly Yang (7/28-7/29)

A sequel to a book that came from reading challenged books, but also fit with APAHM reading. I enjoy Yang's writing in general, and sometimes when something seems unrealistic, it turns out it really happened.

Set in a place you've never been to (Bhutan): Radio Shangri-La: What I Learned in Bhutan, the Happiest Kingdom on Earth by Lisa Napoli (8/8-8/11) 

Pretty interesting, but a smidge self-satisfied, and didn't really tell me as much about Bhutan as I'd hoped when I put it on my APAHM list.

 A how-to book: The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet by Leah Thomas (8/13-8/15)

This was from the same list as Becoming Kin. The problem was that it (and the one that didn't fit, Emergent Strategy, Brown) is that it seems to be written for the Tumblr/oral history generation, where things shift back and forth and repeat and might even have a strobe effect. It makes some good points, but it probably makes them better to someone younger than me.