Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
2019 Read Harder Challenge
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Task #15: A book of mythology or folklore
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Book Riot
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Dec 17, 2018 09:40AM

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I second this!

That’s what I’m reading.


This will be my choice as well!




I definitely think it fits, and since the protagonist has ADHD and dyslexia, it would also work for a book about a person who identifies as neurodiverse. (Rick Riordan's son also has ADHD and dyslexia, and I've heard from many professionals that the portrayal is done well.)
I would like to go outside of the Greek/Roman, Egyptian, and Norse traditions for this and have been meaning to read Akata Witch, which I think fits.




It is also set in the 17th century and is about a love story (so it could fit into task #16 with a little stretch) and has only 9 reviews on goodreads.









The Autobiography of Red is loose retelling of the myth of Geryon and Heracles written in beautiful verse. It’s short and lovely.

I'd be inclined to count it since the stories are also pretty close to a lot of our "real" folklore (one of them is essentially the little mermaid)

Me too! Also meshes with a personal goal to read more anthos/collections because I've accumulated so many of them.

Since the book deals primarily with organised religion rather than mythology/folklore I don't think so. Though I would recommend reading it anyway - maybe use it for the humour book category?

/list/show/1...

And the sequel, The Kingdom of Copper, comes out this month!

Me too... I had it for several months and just started it, and didn't have high expectations but I'm really enjoying it thus far!

In what other category will Circe count? It's at the top of by TBR pile and double dipping is a plus!

Would you say that Jules Verne- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea would count for this? I've never read the original text, so I figured now would be a good chance! Thanks!

Lavinia, Ursula K. LeGuin
Galatea, Madeline Miller
xo Orpheus, Kate Bernheimer, ed.
The Penelopeiad, Margaret Atwood
Alcestis, Katharine Beautner
But I'm also thinking I might lean into the "folklore" part of this and read Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver, which I wanted to read last year but didn't get to.
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter would be a cool choice for feminist re-tellings of fairy tales.
Daniel Ortberg's The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror (pubbed as Mallory Ortberg prior to the author's transition), would also appear to fit this challenge as well as the humor challenge.
If you are looking for a romance read that might meet this category, there's a LOT. There are countless romances that are re-tellings of fairy tales, classic folklore, and mythology. It's almost a whole genre unto itself.
If you are looking for folklore that feels kind of like old school fantasy, look at Robin McKinley's many fairy tale re-tellings.

I'll second that!

Cassandra and Medea by Christa Wolf fit here as well, and they would also count for the "translated book written by and/or translated by a woman" task.
Books mentioned in this topic
Gods of Jade and Shadow (other topics)Brown Girl in the Ring (other topics)
The Immortals of Meluha (other topics)
The One Hundred Nights of Hero (other topics)
A Thousand Ships (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Silvia Moreno-Garcia (other topics)Nalo Hopkinson (other topics)
Natalie Haynes (other topics)
Madeline Miller (other topics)
Tanya Taimanglo (other topics)
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