2019 Reading Challenge

It’s 2019 and to keep me honest with my reading skills, I’ve challenged myself to read 60 books, tracked on Goodreads.

I don’t really have a strict rule about what I’ll be reading except that I should enjoy it, it should impact me in some way and I want to read at least one book by an African writer (an African on the continent) each month.

As I’ve started this blog at the end of February, here is how I am doing on my challenge so far:

Books read (61/ 60)

January Wrap Up:

Intruders by Mohale Mashigo (Paperback)
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown (Audible)
Atomic Marriage by Curtis Sittenfeld (Audible Original)
Power Moves: Lessons from Davos by Adam M. Grant (Audible Original)
Civil War II by Brian Michael Bendis (Marvel.com Graphic Novel)
Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan (Audible)

February Wrap Up:

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress #1) by Julia C. Dao (Paperback)
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (Paperback)
How Asia Works: Success and Failure in the World’s Most Dynamic Region by Joe Studwell (Audible)
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (Paperback)
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Audible)
Sprint: How to solve big problems and test new ideas in just five days by Jake Knapp (Audible)

March Wrap Up:

Creative Quest by Ahmir Questlove Thompson (Audible)
Measure What Matters by John Doerr (Audbile)
It doesn’t have to be crazy at work by Jason Fried (Audible)
Kingdon of a Blazing Phoenix by Julia C Dao (Paperback)
Miss Behave by Malebo Sephodi (Paperback)

April Wrap Up:

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Audible)
Coraline by Neil Gaiman (Audible)
Natives by Akala (Audible)
A Bantu in my bathroom by Eusebius McKaiser (Paperback)

May Wrap Up:

Radical Candor: Be a kickass boss without losing your humanity by Kim Malone Scott (Paperback)

June Wrap Up:

A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin (Audible)
The Other Story: A fireside chat with African Achievers by Dr Judy Dlamini (Hardvocer)
The Little Book of Skin Care: Korean beauty secrets for healthy, glowing skin by Charlotte Cho (Kindle)
The Zulus of New York by Zakes Mda (Paperback)
Little Leaders by Vashti Harrison (Paperback)
Internment by Samira Ahmed (Paperback)
Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertelli (Paperback)

July Wrap Up:

Natalie Tan’s book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim (Paperback)
Soft Magic by Upile Chisala (Paperback)
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson (Audible)
Rivals! Frenemies Who Changed the World by Scott McCormick (Audible Original)
The Game of Desire by Shannon Bhoodram (Audible)
Screwball by Simon Rich (Audible Original)

August Wrap Up:

Dark Matter by Black Crouch (Audible)
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes (Audible)
Hearburn by Nora Ephron (Audible)

September Wrap Up:

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (Audible)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Paperback)
Everything is Fucked: A book about hope by Mark Manson (Audible)

October Wrap Up:

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris (Paperback)

November Wrap Up:

The Dicothomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin (Paperback)
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell (Audible)
Coconut Kelz’s guide to surviving this shithole by Lesego Tlabi (Paperback)

December Wrap Up:

Good to Great by Jim Collins (Paperback)
Fluency Made Easy by Ikenna D Obi (eBook)
Everything I never told you by Celeste Ng (Audible)
The Mastery of Love by Miguel Ruiz (Paperback)
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (Audible)
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (Paperback)
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (Audible)
Yellow and Confused by Ming-Cheau Lin (Paperback)
The Little Book of Yes by Noah J Goldstein (Paperback)
Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C Dao (Audible)
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawyo (Paperback)
We should all be Feminists by Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi (Paperback)
Men without women by Haruki Murakami (Audible)
Bleach vol 2 by Tite Kubo (Manga – Paperback)
Bleach vol 3 by Tite Kubo (Manga – Paperback)
Patrice Lumumba by Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja (Paperback)

Continental African Authors (12/12)

Intruders by Mohale Mashigo (Paperback)
Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan (Audible)
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Audible)
Miss Behave by Malebo Sephodi (Paperback)
A Bantu in my Bathroom by Eusebius McKaizer (Paperback)
THE OTHER STORY, A Fireside chat with African Achievers by Dr Judy Dlamini (Hardcover)
The Zulus of New York by Zakes Mda (Paperback)
Soft Magic by Upile Chisala (Paperback)
Coconut Kelz’s guide to surviving this shithole by Lesego Tlabi (Paperback)
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawyo (Paperback)
We should all be feminists by Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi (Paperback)
Patrice Lumumba by Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja (Paperback)

Photo by iam Se7en on Unsplash

YARC 2019 (12/12)

So, I recently came across the amazing VickyWhoReads book blog and she has really opened up my eyes to new books in the YA realm.

This year, she and some friends of hers are running a YARC – Year of the Asian, reading challenge and I am here for it.

This will be where I keep track of my challenge. I will not be aiming higher than at least 1 a month as you know, I am trying to also read African written books and meet my Goodreads challenge of 60 books. So in order to not feel overwhelmed, I’m aiming for 12 books by Asians. They haven’t specified that the Asians be on the Asian continent so that is extremely helpful for me.

February 2019

As I only started this challenge this month, I am a month behind. I will have to read two Asian authors in March to catch up.

A Forest of a Thousand Lanterns – Julia C Dao.ººººº

I found this reimagining of the origin story of the Wicked Step Mother of Snow White to be so refreshing. To be fair, I haven’t read many adaptations but viewing the original story from an Asian perspective was an enlightening way to view her whilst learning about another world.

March 2019

Kingdom of a blazing phoenix – Julia C Dao.ººººº

This was part 2 of the series, now from “snow white’s” perspective or Jade in this version. Action filled, love from a mother, sister and partner. It was sweet, heartbreaking, exhilirating and paced perfectly.

June 2019

The Little Book of Skincare – Charlotte Cho ººº1/2

I read this book so that I could learn more about the 10 step Korean skincare process. I wanted to incorporate a better skincare regime into my life and to see if I could build something similar using African products for African skin. It was quite an informative read but at times a bit repetitive or long winded.

Internment – Samira Ahmed ºººººº

I had seen this book on bookstagram but I wasn’t ready for how amazing it would be. It is written in a style that keeps you wanting to turn the next page, which explains how I finished it in 2 days despite work. It’s a YA book that imagines how far the Trump administration can go after the Muslim ban and migrant camps, to where American citizens are captured and held in concentration camps for being Muslim. It touches on love, loss, fear, hope and courage in the face of imminent danger. It also makes a great case for why the youth really need to be more involved in positions of leadership. Absolutely phenomenal. A modern dat Diary of Anne Frank. Scarily possible to see such hate and violence in my life time.

July 2019

Natalie Tan’s book of Luck and Fortune – Roselle Lim ºººº

Another great suggestion by Vicky Who Reads. So surprisingly sweet yet intense. We follow the life of Natalie Tan who returns home to bury her mother, having failed at her desire to become a chef. She returns home ashamed at having turned her back on her mother and community and tries to make up for it the only way she knows how, through cooking.

It had me falling in love with food, love and community; and then getting mad at people. It made me reflect on my own journey in love and life; and had me reflecting on how I address my fears and approach relationships. I am also super keen to start cooking again, more out of love of food than as a career.

December 2019

Everything I never told you – Celeste Ng ºººººº

I can’t recall how I heard about Celeste by wow. The way that this book was written is pure genius. She tells a story that spans over decades and over a few months, all at the same time. We get to go over moments seeing the different perspectives from the stories we tell each other to the ones we keep inside.

It was such a beautiful story about relationships, the varying types. About how we hurt ourselves and each other when we keep things inside or make assumptions, inadvertenlty.

It takes pure talent to be able to show people as the world sees them, and then get to how they see themselves, but also the parts of themselves that are hidden or ignored. She does it without compromising any of the characters, building a richer story that many others would only base around one main character. Looking forward to reading her next book.

The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan ºººº

The Joy Luck Club was a little hard to get into initially but I’m glad I pushed through. It was a lovely tale that unfolded the lives of the women in the Joy Luck Club and the stories of their daughters. From their time in China as children or adults to their time in the US.

It was a sotry about life. The cruelties of it, the beauty of it and the confusion in between. I learnt a lot about China during it’s Japanese occupation. I learnt a lot about the various ways that Chinese immigrants came to the US and why. About culture, superstition, love, family. A truly beautiful story about life.

Little Fires Everywhere ººººº

Once again Celeste is brilliant at showing a story of different lives and perspectives connected to each other, yet disconnected. She has a talent for starting broad and narrowing things down without making a stoy convulated or boring. You find yourself loathing a character and then understanding them by the end.

This story travesed different timelines and families but in the end, she once again shows you how people live their lives no matter how ordinary or extraordinary they may seem on the outside.

Yellow and Confused ººº1/2

Growing up in an African country that is quite diverse yet highly polarised between two extremes, black and white. One tends to forget the other race groups and their experiences. It was lovely to be exposed to a different world, which had similarities to mine as a POC who is also a first generation South African, but it also showed the differences and point out ways in which I may have unintentionally been party to the discrimiantion that they felt (read the part about rock, paper, scissors).

It was an easy read and a delightful one; however there were parts of the book that were a bit repetitive. The golden thread between similar stories or themes was quite loose. There were also a chapter that was titled Interacial Dating that spoke more to their wedding and the chapter that explained the challenges faced in Interacial Dating was titled Mental Health Gymnastics which I felt would have been better titled Interacial Dating. I am being a little pedantic here, but this is why I have rated the book 3.5 instead of higher.

Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C Dao ºººº

Once again Julie C Dao takes us into her universe. I enjoyed how she incorporaed more Vietnamese culture in this one. The story follows a young man and his quest to save his life, find family and love.

There were moments when the story dragged a little for me, and moments when it felt a bit rushed (in particular at the end); however it was a highly enjoyable story.

Men without women by Haruki Murakami ºººº

A collection of short stories of the relationships that men have with the women in their lives. Murakami never disappoints with his unique writing style that makes you wonder about all that is unseen and blurs the lines between fiction and reality in a manner that makes you question your definition of it.

A great listen.

Bleach vol 2 ºººº

This is my first Manga. It was quiet a bit of reading and bent my mind in ways that were unexpected. Having watched some Anime, I could see why a lot of Manga is turned into Anime, I could also see why it is such a popular genre of comic book / graphic novel.

Bleach vol 3 ºººº

I couldn’t stop at just one volume and sadly they didn’t have the first nor the 4th volume available, otherwise I’d have gotten them as well.