Challenge Accepted: Reading and Photo Challenges Explained
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Every year I make a list of reading goals, but like New Years Resolutions, I don't always stick to them. It's usually just read x-number of books and maybe more than last year. For 2016 I decided to have focus and make my hobby more memorable.
2016 Reading Goals
Read at least 20 books (more than last year).
Buy and read books exclusively by black authors to broaden my own perspective on blackness.
Celebrate womanhood by reading mostly books written by black women.
Learn about black history from the actual voices of the movements and not abridged commentaries (like news articles or mainstream history books).
Add novels to my repertoire because creative writing is another way to express ourselves.
Read and review children's books written by black authors. Children of color are underrepresented in publication and do not see themselves represented as "normal."
These goals lead me to start Black and Bookish. As I explain in an earlier post, my own miseducation of black literature prompted my #yearofblackbooks. Since then, I have had so much positive feedback, I thought I share some of my other challenges running in the background of the blog.
Reading Challenges
If you have a Goodreads account, you can take part in their reading challenge. This one is simple: just notate how many books you want to read and mark them read as you go. You can sign up or sign in via the web or their mobile app. Click here to see my own challenge or to create your own. As of this post, I've read 12 of my 20 books.
I also have a copy of the Popsugar Reading Challenge posted to my wall, because, why not? I needed a little push to read more diverse subjects, not just different authors. With this challenge, it gave me a chance to read a variety of books and feel accomplished at the same time. Examples include:
"A Book of Poetry" (Death by Comb)"
"A Dystopian Novel" (The Parable of the Sower)"
"A Book You Can Finish in a Day" (We Should All Be Feminist).
And because I'm book obsessed, I also have a copy of the Book Riot 2016 Read Harder Challenge hanging up too. If you complete this one, you can send in to get 30% off items in their online store. And who doesn't want to save money on books? Examples included:
"Read A Collection of Essays" (Bad Feminist)
"Read A Book About Politics" (United)
"Read A Book Under 100 Pages" (We Should All Be Feminist).
Photo Challenges
I have been branching out on Instagram and came across TWO June photo challenges to keep up with. I had been thinking of doing a photo challenge, so much so that I had been searching Pinterest for one to do. I came across #FullyBookedJune16 created by @celinereads and @twirlingpages. I reposted the photo and started to gear up for this adventure. From that post, I was contacted by @kalthoumdridi to participate in their photo challenge, #June2k16BookChallenge. Of course, I said sure and started to panic!
I worry I won't be able to find titles or themes for each daily challenge but I'm ready to show the versatility of black literature. The month of June will be an amazing adventure of curating titles to bring to you and add to my "to be read" pile. You can follow me on Instagram at @blackandbookishblog and see how creative I can get. Suggestions are always welcomed.