#readharder

[msarlenefinnigan]

#ReadHarder challenge 15: pick a challenge from any of the previous years (a celebrity memoir, 2018) Hope you all had a good Mother's day. #currentlyreading📚 #bookstagram (at Boundary Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqBfNS0LBXZ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[godobe]

The most banned book in America is a work of profound honesty, vulnerability, and grace. 📚 #amreading #MaiaKobabe’s #GenderQueer #graphicmemoir #readharder #bookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CpMHFG6r0QJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[kjlamon]

Bound by a Sicilian Secret by Lela May Wight

Welcome back to Lamon Reviews. Today, I will review Bound by a Sicilian Secret by Lela May Wight. You can also use the links below to grab yourself a copy. *I received a free copy of this book from Rachel’s Random Resources to review honestly on the blog tour. All opinions are my own and unbiased.* Bound by a Sicilian Secret by Lela May Wight Bound by a Sicilian Secret The proof of their…

[welcharchive]

@betweentwobooks love you guys. #readhard.

Jul 5, 2014

[truenchantment]

Book. #165 Henry Hamlet’s Heart. Queer coming of age, friends to lovers, end of year 12. Way to make me miss Brisbane HHH. This book is really sweet, the characters were great, the banter was sublime and the writing was like poetry. …. “It’s one of those perfect blue winter-Brisbane days–bright grass, sun-ruffled trees and wind on the river–of which we only get about three each year.” …. “There’s so much history in his face. The square set of his jaw, the golden brows, the way his teeth grip the right side of his bottom lip. I can picture him when we were five, when we were eleven, when we were sixteen. How can I think of him like this? (How can I not?)” …. “I avert my eyes again. ‘Because … it just doesn’t make sense, I guess.’ ‘What doesn’t?’ he whisper-yells, exasperated. ‘Shh, God. For you to want me … that way!’ I burst out, my fingers twisting together between us. ‘I don’t get it.’ I breathe in. This is the big one, the thing that’s bothered me since the start. ‘Even more than the other stuff, I don’t get … What I am, to you.’ Len’s face shifts, a rolling thunderstorm. He leans in. Closer and closer, until he’s got me pinned between him and the wall. ‘You’re half of me,’ he says, his voice soft and serious. ‘What else is there?’” …. #ReadHarder #Bookstagram #AustralianAuthors #RhiannonWilde #QldLiteraryAwardWinner #BookstagramMadeMeReadIt #QueerRomance https://www.instagram.com/p/CfVxuYKvhSw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[kitchentablelit]

"ignorance is bliss, it's the know that's foolish/she need not know how you prayed yourself to wings" t'ai freedom ford is a gift to us all. #blackwomenpoets #blackwomenwriters #poetry #poetrymonth #buypoetry #readpoetry #booksonbooksonbooks #books #bookstagram #poetsofinstagram #poets #booklovers #booklover #readharder #readmore #kitchentablelit #wereadhere #wewritehere https://www.instagram.com/p/B_nCbAxAfEp/?igshid=1id7h2q9pslr3

[delaneyreads]

I know I’m a few months late but I decided to join the Bookriot Read Harder challenge! I want to expand my horizons more, and I have some TBR recommendations that will cover some of the challenges so I’m looking forward to it!

[alittlebitheather]

18/?: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo. Holy bejesus. If you haven’t read this book, please, go and pick up a copy this instant. It’s a beautiful illustration of the human condition and absolutely everyone needs to read it. This book completes the #readharder challenge prompt #18: Read a novel by a #trans or #nonbinary author. #readingchallenge #bookstagram #amreading #ifiwasyourgirl #YA (at Changing Hands Bookstore) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt2ZO-UluaY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=k46lq0o1r4bt

[readandreviewedbyrj-blog]

The Boat People by Sharon Bala

No. of Pages : 352 Genre            : Literary fiction/Multicultural fiction Published in : January 2018

A year ago I had received an ARC for The Boat People by Sharon Bala. For inexplicable reasons, there it lay on my Kindle, gathering some virtual dust.

It is my first read of 2019, and I know I am going to remember this book for years to come.

The Boat People is the story of a refugee cohort that arrives at the cold shores of Canada, escaping the brutalities of a civil war raging their home country. To the 500 member strong group, this is a fresh start to life- the thought of freedom is exhilarating.

Except, they don’t quite anticipate the contentious nature of their arrival- Canadian bureaucracy views them with suspicion and worry, and transfers the group to prison buildings doubling as detention processing centers. A long, tortuous asylum process begins, during the course of which the reader gets to know some of the main characters better.

At the centre of the story are Mahindan and his son, hoping to start afresh in Canada; They are aided by Priya, a second-generation Srilankan Canadian, who was reluctantly roped into representing the refugees. Grace, a third-generation Japanese Canadian adjudicator is assigned Mahindan’s case, among many others.

Through their alternating perspectives, the reader gets to piece together images of a war-torn Srilanka. Living in the Indian subcontinent, I was already aware of the facts that have inspired this story- but Sharon Bala succeeds in putting a human face to the crisis. She delves into the psyche of immigrants and refugees alike, fleshing out their identities, aspirations and consciousness.

A sense of poignancy envelops many of the narratives that have gone into this novel- in particular Mahindan’s life and and how he survives the war along with his son. Sharon Bala’s prose stares the violence marring Srilanka in the eye, and displays it bare. She also includes narratives from Canada’s own violent history, giving one pause.

Overall, I thought it was great storytelling and sensitive handling of a rather complex issue. As I was reading this book, I kept thinking of how most nation-states have had violent histories, and how the cycle continues.

My gratitude to Doubleday books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[brandrithandvalandtiffandphoebe]

My reading spread for 2019, ready just in time for the new year--! I strongly recommend the Read Harder challenge from @bookriot , it's a great list for broadening your reading horizons while still allowing a lot of flexibility. And my @goodreads challenge is 75 this year; my 2018 is currently sitting on 61. Drawing 75 books took forever but gosh I do like how it looks! My journaling is mostly with Staedtler triplus fineliner pens, in a very pretty blue Leuchtturm1917, and I promise I won't repeat that on every #bujo post this year. #bulletjournal #bookstagram #booklr #readharder https://www.instagram.com/p/BsEYiBrF_om/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rbmbe62zitwh

[msarlenefinnigan]

#ReadHarder challenge 14: a social horror, mystery, or thriller novel. Borrowed from @oldham_libraries via BorrowBox. #currentlyreading📚 #bookstagram #lovelibraries📚 (at Royal Oldham Hospital) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpNSfQeK0G7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[godobe]

A trans violin prodigy discovered by a teacher who’s sold her soul to the devil wooed by an intergalactic captain running a Los Angeles donut shop. I 👏 Love 👏 This 👏 Book! 👏 📚 #amreading @rykaaoki’s #LightFromUncommonStars #readharder #bookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CqJcza2vI-u/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[furiousinks]

✨ Hello everyone!✨ Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating! It's been such a great day with family today. (Haven't gotten my Eidi yet, but I've heard that patience is a virtue). Today I'm thrilled to be sharing with you all my Read Harder Challenge TBR for this year. The #ReadHarder Challenge is an annual reading challenge hosted by @BookRiot every year. We get 24 prompts that we have to complete, and it motivates you to expand and diversify your reading choices and step out of your comfort zone. The prompts are so interesting this time, and there are so many books that I wouldn't have discovered, let alone read, if not for these prompts. I have already completed a few, and i will be updating my reviews for those later this month. This is a really fun challenge, and i encourage anyone who's interested in broadening their reading tastes, or just read more purposefully- to try out this challenge. More information can be found on Book Riot's website. QOTD- What's a genre/topic you would like to read more of? #bookstagram #bookstagrammers #bookstagrammersofindia #booksbooksbooks #booklist #bookblogger #booksonbooks #booklover #yabooks #reading #reader #books #bookrecs #fantasybooks #adultfantasy #bookbloggers #pocbookstagrammer #evelynhugo #diversebooks #redpalace #readingchallenge #ReadHarder2022 #thestationaryshop #themagicfish #translatedbooks #graphicnovel #elifshafak ​ https://www.instagram.com/p/CdGWcT3PGMi/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[kjlamon]

Reading Update Week 1 |January 2022

Welcome back to Lamon Reviews. I hope everyone’s holiday and new year has gone well. Happy Monday! Let’s start this new year off strong. “A new year … a fresh, clean start! It’s like having a big white sheet of paper to draw on! A day full of possibilities! It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy … let’s go exploring!” – Bill Watterson, It’s A Magical World: A Calvin And Hobbes…

[truenchantment]

Book #146 All The Bright Places - Jennifer Niven Everyone should read this book. But also don’t, because you will fall in love with Finch. A story about a girl learning to live from a boy wanting to die. …. “For once, I don’t want to be anyone but Theodore Finch, the boy she sees. He understands what it is to be elegant and euphoric and a hundred different people, most of them flawed and stupid, part asshole, part screwup, part freak, a boy who wants to be easy for the folks around him so that he doesn’t worry them and, most of all, easy for himself. A boy who belongs—here in the world, here in his own skin. He is exactly who I want to be and what I want my epitaph to say: The Boy Violet Markey Loves.” …. “I can drive away right now. If I drive away, Theodore Finch is still somewhere in the world, living and wandering, even if it’s without me. My fingers are on the ignition key. Drive away.” …. “You make me happy, Whenever you’re around I’m safe inside your smile, You make me handsome, Whenever I feel my nose just seems a bit too round, You make me special, and God knows I’ve longed to be that kind of guy to have around, You make me love you, And that could be the greatest thing my heart was ever fit to do.… I am crying—loud and hiccuping, as if I’ve been holding my breath for a very long time and finally, finally can breathe. You make me lovely, and it’s so lovely to be lovely to the one I love.… I read and reread the words. You make me happy … You make me special … You make me lovely …” …. #ReadHarder #Bookstagram #SadBookBender #JenniferNiven #AllTheBrightPlaces https://www.instagram.com/p/CeqjwWRPbCM/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[kitchentablelit]

"How I felt your presence/each day I blossomed/my body perfect for the first time/round where I had been flat/wide where I had been narrow./I thought I would burst with your fullness." - JP Howard "Say/Mirror" is a collection of poems and histories. So, so good. . . . #blackwomenpoets #blackwomenwriters #poetry #poetrymonth #buypoetry #readpoetry #booksonbooksonbooks #books #bookstagram #poetsofinstagram #poets #booklovers #booklover #readharder #readmore #kitchentablelit #wereadhere #wewritehere https://www.instagram.com/p/B_nCxxVAKCI/?igshid=1d0rw7iehm2y0