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Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

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2023 Read Harder Challenge > Task #3: Read a book about activism.

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message 1: by Book Riot (new)

Book Riot Community (book_riot) | 457 comments Mod
Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the 3rd Read Harder task. Sign up for our new Read Harder newsletter to get recommendations for each task delivered straight to your inbox!


message 3: by Maryam (new)

Maryam (ardvisoor) | 66 comments I just finished Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves, I cannot read it in 2023 but if anyone else is interested it's a really good book.


message 5: by Angela N (new)

Angela N | 28 comments I think I'll read my book by Karen Walrond, that I bought over a year ago, and still haven't read.


message 6: by Dione (new)


message 7: by Heather (new)

Heather | 31 comments Anyone who has read "A People's History of the United States": do you think that title would fit this prompt?


Carly Really Very Normal (seullybwillikers) | 43 comments This has been staring at me from the library shelves for a couple of weeks now, so I'll use it for this challenge: "It Was Vulgar and it was Beautiful: How Aids Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic" by Jack LoweryIt Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic


message 10: by Sarah (new)

Sarah (pileofpoison) | 9 comments I highly recommend Being Heumann by Judy Heumann! She’s a pioneer in the disability rights movement & overall badass. I’m on my phone & don’t know how to link the book unfortunately.


message 11: by Elizabeth (new)

Elizabeth (elizabethlk) | 359 comments I have a few books on my kindle that would fit this task that I'm hoping to get to this year, but right now I'm leaning towards starting with We Do This 'til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame Kaba.


message 14: by Jane (new)

Jane (janojanojano) | 6 comments For an Australian Aboriginal perspective, try Sue Lawson, Freedom Ride (a YA book) or Ann Curthoys, Freedom Ride: A Freedom Rider Remembers.


message 15: by Karen (new)

Karen Soanes (ksoanes) | 14 comments This has been sitting on my to read shelf for too long and fits the prompt!
When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir


message 16: by Bridget (new)

Bridget Sundin Nowicki (bridgetsundin) | 11 comments I've had Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good on my shelf for a while now and am really excited to finally prioritize it.


message 19: by NancyJ (last edited Jan 17, 2023 03:55AM) (new)

NancyJ (nancyjjj) This is my favorite prompt in the entire challenge. It’s such a fresh and interesting topic. I only have two suggestions now, but I’m excited.

Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life - I have this planned for a disability prompt and a leadership tag.

Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe


message 21: by Audra (new)

Audra (themonkeygirl) | 101 comments I'm reading What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat. It's not the typical book I think of when I hear the word activism but now I'm intrigued.


message 23: by Kim (new)

Kim | 12 comments I got Shane Burley’s Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse a while ago for some reason (probably at the height of Trump’s election and the BLM protests) and I guess I’ll try reading it for this prompt. I’m trying to stick with books I own as much as possible, but this one is a little daunting in length. I’m afraid it’s going to be really preachy too, but I’ll give it a go. I haven’t looked at the goodreads reviews of this yet so if anyone can reassure me of it’s readability that would be great. 🫠


message 24: by Judith (new)

Judith Rich | 124 comments I've had The Road to Greenham Common: Feminism and Anti-Militarism in Britain Since 1820 on Mount TBR for at least 12 years so I think it's finally time to read it!


message 25: by Jenny (new)

Jenny (sapphicbookdragon) | 115 comments I think I'm going to go for Reform Or Revolution by Rosa Luxemberg. I expect it will be about activism, as she's such a famous activist, though of course I haven't read this one in particular before, I have read some of her works in the past


message 26: by Dani (new)

Dani Weyand | 17 comments I have a copy of Dorothy Day’s The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist and so I think that’ll fit nicely here 🥰


message 27: by Liza (new)

Liza (lizae) | 33 comments Fat Activism by Charlotte Cooper


message 28: by NancyJ (new)

NancyJ (nancyjjj) Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality. This bio looks good. It sounds like she deserves to be a household name.


message 29: by Karen (new)

Karen Witzler (kewitzler) | 173 comments Dani wrote: "I have a copy of Dorothy Day’s The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist and so I think that’ll fit nicely here 🥰"

Oh, that's a great suggestion.


message 30: by Bonnie G. (new)

Bonnie G. (narshkite) | 1413 comments NancyJ wrote: "Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality. This bio looks good. It sounds like she deserves to be a household name."

Thanks for letting me know this exists. I have a few books I plan to read that fulfill the prompt, but this is definitely going on the TBR anyway.


message 31: by Edie (new)

Edie | 27 comments Activism can occur in novels as well as all the great non-fiction titles mentioned. I will be reading Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. At its heart it is about activists fighting against oppression and censorship.


message 32: by Ginger (new)

Ginger | 6 comments Edie wrote: "Activism can occur in novels as well as all the great non-fiction titles mentioned. I will be reading Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. At its heart it is about activists fighting against oppressio..."

I would prefer a fiction book. I will look into this one. Can anyone else recommend good novels about activism?


message 33: by Jacob (new)

Jacob (jacobsbooks) | 4 comments I'm reading Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds for this challenge. It's been on my TBR for a long time. Absolutely loving it and wish I'd started reading it sooner!!!

Have heard great things about Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good too.

Also would recommend Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals


message 34: by Anna (new)

Anna (annaholla) | 80 comments Ginger wrote: "Can anyone else recommend good novels about activism?"

It's long, but I think The Overstory would work well here.


message 35: by Almudena (last edited Jan 05, 2023 02:15PM) (new)

Almudena (littlecitycorner) | 1 comments I'm not sure if the book I'm currently reading, Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? would work here.


message 36: by Jane (new)

Jane It's long, but I think The Overstory would work well here."

oo, I had that for my favorite author's (Barbara Kingsolver) favorite book


message 37: by Ryn (new)

Ryn (ryn_richmond) | 9 comments Heather wrote: "Anyone who has read "A People's History of the United States": do you think that title would fit this prompt?"

I'm not convinced as it's about history more than it is about anything else.


message 38: by Ryn (new)

Ryn (ryn_richmond) | 9 comments I'll probably read Revolting Prostitutes
The Fight for Sex Workers� Rights
by Juno Mac and Molly Smith if I don't read one on the abolition of prison system.


The Book Assassin (Marin) (thebookassassin_) | 12 comments I might go for Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life - Alice Wong, don't know if it counts?


message 40: by NancyJ (new)

NancyJ (nancyjjj) Anna wrote: "Ginger wrote: "Can anyone else recommend good novels about activism?"

It's long, but I think The Overstory would work well here."


I agree!


message 41: by NancyJ (new)

NancyJ (nancyjjj) Marinda wrote: "I might go for Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life - Alice Wong, don't know if it counts?"

It sounds great. I have it as a possibility too.


message 42: by Susanne (new)

Susanne | 55 comments "Year of the Tiger" was even in the list of suggested books for the prompt in Book Riot's Read Harder newsletter! :)


message 43: by Chris (new)

Chris Lott (chris-can) | 16 comments I am reading The Undocumented Americans which is not exclusively about activism but includes a lot of activism and activists as source material and I've decided it counts.


message 44: by TJ (last edited Jan 07, 2023 02:29PM) (new)

TJ | 1 comments I'll be reading "21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act"-- of particular importance to Canadians. /book/show/3...


message 45: by Robin (new)

Robin (grayeyed) | 67 comments I'm going with We Should All Be Feminists.


message 46: by NancyJ (new)

NancyJ (nancyjjj) �Paradise Falls: The True Story of an Environmental Catastrophe - by Keith O’Brien. 5 stars.

This is a riveting book about the Love Canal disaster (Hooker, Occidental Chemical) in Niagara Falls in the 1970s. Residents, scientists, and political aides fought to bring attention to the dangerous chemical waste seeping in their homes, schools and playgrounds. Lois Gibbs and others learned to be activists and their efforts brought change that benefited millions of others in subsequent years.


message 47: by Megan (new)

Megan | 12 comments Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity in This Crisis is already on my 2023 goals list, so there you go!


message 48: by Julia (new)

Julia | 165 comments Ginger asked:

I would prefer a fiction book. I will look into this one. Can anyone else recommend good novels about activism?

I read Attack of the Black Rectangles a mg novel about a sixth grader and his friends who discover the novels they are reading in literature circles are censored. Jane Yolen makes an apprearance!


message 49: by Monica (new)

Monica (monicae) Ginger wrote: "I would prefer a fiction book. I will look into this one. Can anyone else recommend good novels about activism?"

If you like near future speculative fiction Radicalized by Cory Doctorow is perfect for this.


message 50: by Carole (new)

Carole Lehto | 48 comments Just started All the Women in My Family Sing to complete this task. Been wanting to read this for a while and it finally arrived! I need to read more short stories and books of poetry!


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