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Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

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2022 Read Harder Challenge > #22 Read a history about a period you know little about.

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message 1: by Asakosophia (new)

Asakosophia | 19 comments Hey folks!
Do you think this is supposed to be "historical fiction" - ? Or is the idea that it can be Fiction or Non Fiction?

Apologies if this is a silly question but I don't know what "a history" book is as a genre. . . . .
:-)


message 2: by Kayleigh (new)

Kayleigh (kayebird) | 19 comments Asakosophia wrote: "Hey folks!
Do you think this is supposed to be "historical fiction" - ? Or is the idea that it can be Fiction or Non Fiction?

Apologies if this is a silly question but I don't know what "a histor..."


I studied history at uni and to me "a history" generally means a non-fiction book about a history of a place, people, person, event, etc. etc.


message 3: by Ilana (new)

Ilana | 32 comments Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital, by Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove


message 4: by Tricia (new)

Tricia (books2hooks) | 80 comments I'm going to read Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 1 - The Birth of Humankind. Definitely a time period I don't know much about!


message 5: by John (new)

John | 30 comments Tricia wrote: "I'm going to read Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 1 - The Birth of Humankind. Definitely a time period I don't know much about!"

Tricia, good suggestion!


message 6: by Bonnie G. (new)

Bonnie G. (narshkite) | 1413 comments Kayleigh wrote: "Asakosophia wrote: "Hey folks!
Do you think this is supposed to be "historical fiction" - ? Or is the idea that it can be Fiction or Non Fiction?

Apologies if this is a silly question but I don't..."


I second this. "A history" does not indicate fiction.


message 10: by Asakosophia (new)

Asakosophia | 19 comments Kayleigh wrote: "I studied history at uni and to me "a history" generally means a non-fiction book about a history of a place, people, person, event, etc. etc"

Ahh. thanks for the clarification :-)


message 12: by Tara (new)

Tara | 20 comments I'll read Heartbeat of Wounded Knee (David Treuer). I don't know much about U.S. Indigenous history and this prompt will help.

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer


message 13: by Tracie Margaret (new)

Tracie Margaret | 17 comments Rebecca wrote: "The Stonewall Reader or A Wild and Precious Life."

I listened to this one this year and it was great. The audiobook also has some of the people narrating their own stories.


message 14: by Rebecca (new)

Rebecca W | 17 comments Tip for the LGBTQ challenge: wikipedia has lists of LGBTQ historians and journalists:



message 15: by Dani (new)

Dani Pergola | 57 comments The easy part of this is that I know little about most periods of history. The hard part is I usually hate history books. Considering Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment or Controlling Desires: Sexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome


message 16: by Dani (new)

Dani Pergola | 57 comments Asakosophia wrote: "Hey folks!
Do you think this is supposed to be "historical fiction" - ? Or is the idea that it can be Fiction or Non Fiction?

Apologies if this is a silly question but I don't know what "a histor..."


History typically indicates nonfiction, but there are some fiction books that could be considered history - I know this is a juvenile book but magic treehouse comes to mind


message 17: by Ron (new)

Ron I've taken out the Hiroshima book I planned on and instead included either David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music or Dear John, I Love Jane: Women Write About Leaving Men for Women .

1.) I don't read a lot of books on music, hardly any. I just stumbled across this one on a book search for another book challenge and it seemed interesting.

2.) The second book sounded interesting, also on a random book search.

LGBTQ+ books are certainly not in my wheelhouse but that's what will be great in terms of challenging myself.


message 18: by Noel (new)

Noel | 1 comments Nothing Like It in the World by Ambrose. Nonfiction that reads like fiction, about the building of the transcontinental railroad. (more interesting than that sounds!) Or if you don't regularly read about the guilded age, Empty Mansions.


message 19: by Joshua (new)

Joshua (hitthefunkybeats) | 22 comments Because I know very little about history in general, I thought I would roll through a punch of periods at once; Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball. It's a subject I'm interested in and think this will help me get through a subject I'm very iffy on to begin with (History).


message 21: by Jak (last edited Dec 20, 2021 08:52AM) (new)

Jak (thismissfeminist) | 7 comments Tiffany wrote: "I have so many options for this prompt, it'll be a challenge to narrow it down. These are on my list: Triangle: The Fire That Changed America [book:How to Survive a Plague: The Inside..."


Thank you for posting your book options. It really helped me out! I'm going to try Escape from Camp 14.


message 22: by Juulna (new)

Juulna | 14 comments Okay, bear with me and it because it is a pretty long book and horribly sad, but Shake Hands With the Devil by Romeo Dallaire is one of the best recent history books I’ve ever read as a historian (though not of that era). He was the person in charge of the UN Peacekeepers on the ground in Rwanda and that perspective is just� wow.

Conversely, for those who dislike history and/or non-fiction, there is University Press� Brief History Of� series, some of which are available on Kindle Unlimited. I grabbed a well-reviewed Brief History of Afghanistan though I have yet to read it.


message 23: by Asakosophia (new)

Asakosophia | 19 comments Dani wrote: "The easy part of this is that I know little about most periods of history. The hard part is I usually hate history books."

LOL. This really speaks to me

I wonder if Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China counts? It definitely feels more memoir-ish, but is also a "Sweeping history of..."


message 24: by Ron (new)

Ron This one is something I didn't know of:

Nazi's during the Cold War in a borderland? I didn't even know this thing even happened!

Educating the Enemy: Teaching Nazis and Mexicans in the Cold War Borderlands


message 25: by JessicaMHR (new)

JessicaMHR | 11 comments I think I'm going to use Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for this since I had never heard of this.


message 26: by Ron (new)

Ron Jessica wrote: "I think I'm going to use Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for this since I had never heard of this."

I hope you like it. I read it a few years back and it was really good.


message 27: by JessicaMHR (new)

JessicaMHR | 11 comments Thanks Ron. I just finished it and it was great! I loved the way he wrote it, more like a story and not just facts.


message 28: by Ron (new)

Ron Jessica wrote: "Thanks Ron. I just finished it and it was great! I loved the way he wrote it, more like a story and not just facts."

That's what I enjoyed too.


message 29: by Asakosophia (new)

Asakosophia | 19 comments Jessica wrote: "I think I'm going to use Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for this since I had never heard of this."

Oooh that's a good one and it's been on my TBR for a while actually!


message 30: by Ron (new)

Ron Asakosophia wrote: "Oooh that's a good one and it's been on my TBR for a while actually!"

Hope you get to it at some point. I read it over a year ago and it still stayed with me.


message 31: by Reed (new)

Reed (reedster6) | 10 comments I'm reading War and Peace would that work for this prompt?


message 32: by Leona (new)

Leona (mnleona) | 13 comments Tiffany wrote: "I have so many options for this prompt, it'll be a challenge to narrow it down. These are on my list: Triangle: The Fire That Changed America How to Survive a Plague: The Inside..."</i>

[book:The Children's Blizzard
is one of the giveaways March 1-31. I saw it this morning.



message 33: by Tricia (new)

Tricia (books2hooks) | 80 comments What do you think about the Song of Achilles? Does Greek Mythology count as history? It's definitely a period I don't know much about, and I just finished this book and feel like I learned so much!


message 34: by Carm (new)

Carm | 2 comments Greek mythology acted as inspiration for the creation of the famous Parthenon, which was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the Hellenic period. As a visitor of Greece I think our tour guide pointed other famous landmarks, In Turkey is the famous Tomb. Haven’t read this book yet definitely going on the list.


message 35: by Jane (new)

Jane Miller | 28 comments What book are you referring to?


message 36: by Carm (new)

Carm | 2 comments Song of achilles


message 37: by Hannah (new)

Hannah Matsubara | 18 comments Que Vivan Los Tamales. it's one of my favorite books... teaches the history of Spain's colonization of Mexico by tracing the influence of race on food preferences.


message 38: by Kaia (last edited Mar 10, 2022 08:24AM) (new)

Kaia | 13 comments I read Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston for this one (the audiobook version).


message 40: by Metz (new)

Metz | 2 comments Ron wrote: "Jessica wrote: "I think I'm going to use Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for this since I had never heard of this."

I hope you like it. I rea..."


Thank you for the rec! I really never got into history, not even fictional history but I love a good true crime story. This sounds perfect for this part of the challenge.


message 41: by Tiffany (new)

Tiffany | 46 comments Does anyone know any good Partition history books between Pakistan and India? Found some fiction books but looking for nonfiction that isn't too dry.


message 42: by Bonnie G. (new)

Bonnie G. (narshkite) | 1413 comments Tiffany wrote: "Does anyone know any good Partition history books between Pakistan and India? Found some fiction books but looking for nonfiction that isn't too dry."

I recommend Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age. I confess it is the only nonfiction book I have read about that era so I can't compare to others, but I can say it was really interesting.


message 43: by Ron (new)

Ron Metz wrote: "Thank you for the rec! I really never got into history, not even fictional history but I love a good true crime story. This sounds perfect for this part of the challenge."

Cool. Yeah, I haven't read it in a while but it stood out and was really good.


message 44: by t � (new)

t ♡ (pearlescence) | 14 comments Asakosophia wrote: "Jessica wrote: "I think I'm going to use Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for this since I had never heard of this."

Oooh that's a good one an..."


Thank you for recommending this, it was a really good read


message 45: by Renee (new)

Renee (reneeww) | 122 comments I’m going on the assumption that a well researched historical fiction will work. I was a reading teacher.


message 46: by Sherri (new)

Sherri Harris | 233 comments I read Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am. I knew nothing about Pan Am or the airline industry.


message 47: by Maggie (new)

Maggie (m_rusnak) | 2 comments Metz wrote: "Ron wrote: "Jessica wrote: "I think I'm going to use Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI for this since I had never heard of this."

I hope you li..."


A little late to reply but Freedom at Midnight would fit this. It's a great story that reads like fiction.


message 48: by Janell (new)

Janell | 6 comments I'm reading The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh which is historical fiction about 1880s Burma. Definitely fits the "know little about" but since it's fiction not nonfiction I'm not sure if it qualifies as "a history of."


message 49: by Regan (new)

Regan Slaughter | 46 comments Janell wrote: "I'm reading The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh which is historical fiction about 1880s Burma. Definitely fits the "know little about" but since it's fiction not nonfiction I'm not sure ..."
I personally feel like if enough research went into historical fiction it can count as a history, especially if the emphasis is on the period itself. For example, the length of the works cited in Ruta Septys' I Must Betray You makes me feel comfortable counting it as a history, especially since it's at least as much about the Communist period in Romania as it is about the protagonist.


message 50: by Rebekah (new)

Rebekah (bekahbeth) | 6 comments I'm reading Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands, which focuses on the lead-up to the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century throughout the borderlands. It's a period of time I know little about, and also covers historical figures I knew embarrassingly little about, and it's a really well-written and fascinating book so far. Highly recommended!


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