This summer I have found that read-a-thons help me figure out what I should read next. My TBR piles have grown so much that they've started to overwhelm me, but read-a-thons give me specific criteria to help guide my next read. Thus, now that The Reading Rush is open to everyone, not just those with a BookTube channel, I was thrilled to sign up this year. I have an account on their website, but I thought I'd share my TBR with you all here, too. There are seven challenges to try to complete between July 22 and July 28.
1. Read a book with purple on the cover.
My Pick: If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan
This book has a beautiful purple cover, so of course it fit the bill. It tells the story of two teenage girls who are deeply in love each other and have been since they were children. But can they make their relationship work under Iran's ultra-conservative Muslim theocracy? Muslim women and female/female romance in a young adult novel? This is the kind of representation that we so desperately need in the world.
2. Read a book in the same spot.
My Pick: Go See the Principal by Gerry Brooks
I adore Gerry Brooks! By day, he is an inspirational elementary-school principal from Kentucky. He once said that as a child, he wanted to be a superhero. As he got older, he realized, "What better way to save children than to become an educator?" So sweet! He also makes truly hilarious YouTube videos about the funny, crazy, and often frustrating moments that teachers know all too well. I am beyond excited to read his book as a way of preparing myself for the coming school year.
3. Read a book you meant to read last year.
My Pick: Scandalous Women by Kerri Elizabeth Mahon
I was so lucky that, as a child, I read so many books about strong, incredible women, both real and fictional. As I've gotten older, though, I continue to seek out similar biographies in order to both get them circulating in public consciousness/sales circuits and so that I can recommend them to young girls in my life.
The book's objective is pretty much what it says on the tin: to explore the women who took whatever power they had and made something from it. I'm very excited to hopefully learn a few new facts.
4. Read an author's first book.
My Pick: Why Jane Austen? by Rachel M. Brownstein
I thought this book was Brownstein's first, since I could not find any other information about her work on the back cover. I have since discovered that it is the first book she's published under this name in about 20 years, so I think that still counts.
I received a signed copy of this book at an event that my chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America hosted five years ago, so I'm excited to see what reasons Brownstein gives as to why Jane Austen remains relevant in the modern world.
5. Read a book with a non-human main character.
My Pick: The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman
This series had been lurking at the back of my mind for at least a year as something that I wanted to read. I mean, the 1920s, an alternate reality, librarians, spies, dragons...what more could I ask for from a fantasy novel? So when I found it at the Strand's pop-up stand in Times Square, I had to buy it. I believe the two main characters are human, but it sounds as though the dragons are important characters, too, so I think, given my mainly non-fantasy TBR pile, it still fits this challenge.
6. Read a book with five or more words in the title.
My Pick: The Quest of the Fair Unknown by Gerald Morris
I discovered Gerald Morris' books when I was about ten years old and thought they were the best thing I had ever read. I don't think I had ever considered that medieval/Arthurian-inspired books could also be so funny! When I found this for $2.00 in a secondhand bookstore in New York City, I had to bring it home. After giving it a quick scan, it seems like it will be just as funny as Morris' other books were when I was little.
This book in the series focuses on Beaufil's search for his father, a knight in King Arthur's court. I can only assume that hilarious adventures follow.
7. Read a book-to-movie adaptation.
My Pick: Can You Ever Forgive Me? by Lee Israel
This memoir tells the story of how Lee Israel began life as a forger, faking letters from famous figures in history, then selling them as rare collectibles. I've been wanting to see this film since before its Oscar buzz, not because of Melissa McCarthy, but because of the literary aspects and Richard E. Grant. I'm going to take a wild guess and predict that Israel gets caught for her forging, but I still can't wait to see how she did it.
As I mentioned earlier, if you would also like to participate in The Reading Rush, you can go to their website to register. You can also participate on your own, but the website looks like such fun! There will be badges to earn, daily progress tallies, statuses to share with your friends, and possibly more. I'll be sure to share my final results with you in my July Wrap-Up, but until then, happy reading!