9: Read a book that you've read before: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

I read this one aloud to my son, who had listened to it once before when he was smaller and obsessed with the original Disney film. He's just rediscovered it and this week we celebrated Book Week by painting the roses red.

Things I've had to try and explain (with varying levels of success) are: What is a Dodo? What is a Caucus Race? What is a Hookah? What is Croquet? Why is he the Mad Hatter? Why does the Queen say "Off with their Heads" all the time? What is a Trial?

Sometimes it's easier just to sit back and watch the movie!

6. Read an all-ages comic: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

I think I have a new favourite superhero. Her name's Doreen Green, she's studying Computer Science (yay!) and she's part squirrel. She likes eating nuts and kicking bad guys' butts.

My dear husband picked this one up from the library and insisted that I read it - and it's great! It's funny, sweet and smart. Sure, Doreen and her army of squirrel helpers can definitely beat up the bad guys, but she's also smart enough to talk them out of their evil plans.

If you like Spiderman, then go check out Squirrel Girl. She's unbeatable!

11. Read a book that is set more than 5000 miles from your location - Leviathan Wakes, James S.A. Corey

The Read Harder Challenge is supposed to be about stepping outside your reading comfort zone, and picking books that you normally wouldn't read. So I consider this entry to be a bit of cheating on my part, because "Book With Spaceship On The Front" is exactly what I normally like to read. But it's set in the Asteroid Belt between Earth and Mars, and last time I checked, that was definitely more than 5000 miles from Sydney, Australia.

I was overjoyed when I was informed on Twitter that the TV series The Expanse is based on the novels by James S.A. Corey (actually two writers, who write alternate chapters). The Expanse is one of the better science fiction series on TV, mostly because there's an interesting range of characters.

I'm not sure I quite liked the book as much as the TV series, but it was enjoyable enough that I'll keep reading the series.

(EDIT: C'mon Netflix, where is Season 2!?)

One thing though, I'm getting a bit tired of the format "One Character Per Chapter". I didn't really enjoy it in Game of Thrones either. I find it disruptive! 

I'd be interested to find out if anyone else feels the same way.

7. Read a novel published between 1900 and 1950 - Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie

I always enjoy catching a Poirot movie with the wonderful David Suchet. But this is the first Agatha Christie book I've read. I acquired this book through a book swap/clean out at a friend's house. It's been sitting on my bookshelf for a few years - all I needed was a bit of encouragement to read it.

I found it a little difficult at the start, the dialogue is peppered with French, and I had to take notes of things to translate. After the first few chapters I realised that it didn't really matter, as there was usually enough context provided.

Now I know whodunit, and now I'm keen to read some of the other books still sitting on my shelf. The ending was less obvious than I was expecting!

1. Read a book about sports: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami

Please indulge me for a moment while I talk about my own running.

On 2nd November, 2013, I attended my first parkrun. I was not a runner. I remember desperately trying to keep up with the pack at the start, only to have to stop and walk, gasping for air, after a pitiful 250m. I wanted to cry at the thought that I still had thousands of metres ahead. I walked and jogged the rest of the way, berating myself for being so stupid for thinking that such an activity was suitable when I was clearly so hopeless at running. I was exhausted afterwards, my feet hurt and I was embarrassed that I was 96th out of 100.

But by the next Saturday, I'd recovered enough to have another go. And then another. I found some free training programs to help build up my stamina. I met fellow "back of the pack" runners who, like me, were slow, but persistent. They supported and encouraged me.

Since then...

107 parkruns (PB time is just on 35 minutes)
10km fun runs
14km City2Surf
Two Half Marathons (21.1km)

I am a runner and I like running, even if I run like a tortoise in peanut butter!

For Christmas last year, I bought myself a copy of Matthew Inman's The terrible and wonderful reasons why I run long distances. It's an honest, and hilarious look at long distance running for fun. In it, there are several references to Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, and luckily for me, my sister (who is a much more accomplished runner than I) had a copy on her shelf.

In truth, this book could easily count as a travel memoir, or even a book about books, as it is a collection of Mr Murakami's thoughts on how running helps his work as a novelist. He runs the New York and Boston marathons, triathlons in Japan, and relaxed training runs in Hawaii.

This book doesn't preach the virtues of a running lifestyle, or give instructions on how to be a better runner. There are no podium finishes, glorious victories or crushing defeats. Just quiet reflection on training and reaching your goal, even if that goal is a small one, like finishing a race without walking. It was a delight to read and I'd recommend it to anyone.

12. Read a Fantasty Novel - Stardust, Neil Gaiman

I loved Stardust, and I have no idea why it's taken me until now to read it. I'm rather keen now to see the film, and there's also a really good radio play adaptation currently streaming on BBC Radio 4.

After I finished reading it on the ferry, I went to see Amanda Palmer at the Opera House. During the show, Neil Gaiman performed Leonard Cohen's Democracy as a piece of spoken word poetry.

That was a pretty good day.

Read Harder Challenge 2017

Hello!


This year I'm participating in the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge. It's pretty simple - read 24 books in a year, choosing books that are outside your reading comfort zone.


The books I usually read have considerably narrowed - mostly science fiction, a bit of fantasy and the odd drama. Part of this is due to becoming a parent and spending most of my book budget (time and money) on reading with Mr NearlySix, who reads like a champ. In fact, we have the problem now that he wants to read everything, and we have to be a bit careful to make sure he's still getting books that are appropriate for his age (even Roald Dahl can be a bit too scary at the moment).


But nothing helps encourage a small person to keep reading than seeing big people reading for fun, so this challenge is as much for him as it is for me. In fact, I wonder if I can find books for him that fit the same categories? Let's find out!


So here's to 2017 being the year of trips to the library, reading good books, writing and sharing.