We aren’t the only ones making literary resolutions for 2015. Book Riot has introduced #ReadHarder, a list of personal reading challenges. We’ve included them below with some suggestions from Blair and our distributed lines. Click on the cover images for more information. Feel free to comment and leave suggestions for the categories where we haven’t provided a title.
A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25
A hilarious hirsute history.
A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65
Record-breaking award-winner from Lookout Books.
A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people)
Russell’s latest collection of spooky tales.
Just one of Eno’s “27 Views” of North Carolina cities.
26 authors from the pages of Lookout Books’ sister publication, Ecotone Magazine.
A book published by an indie press
Anything we publish or distribute comes from a Southern indie press!
A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ
Pre-order this spring 2015 title by MacArthur “genius” Tiya Miles.
From the chef and co-owner of Winston-Salem’s famed Sweet Potatoes Restaurant.
A book by a person whose gender is different from your own
If you identify as female, consider Jeremy B. Jones’ place-based memoir.
If you identify as male, Judy Goldman’s heartbreaking memoir about the bond between sisters is for you.
A book that takes place in Asia
Though the titular ship travels all over, many of the stories in this collection focus on its time in Japan and the Asian Pacific.
A book by an author from Africa
A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture (Native Americans,Aboriginals, etc.)
A stunning collection of eyewitness accounts from our Real Voices, Real History (TM) series.
Another collection of personal accounts, these from the women of the Cherokee Nation.
A unique community in South Carolina with deep roots in West Africa and an often overlooked influence on American life.
A culinary tour of North Carolina by one of its favorite foodie sons, Bob Garner.
A YA novel
A girl in the mountains of Georgia moves into the repressive home of her fire-and-brimstone grandparents after her father dies in an accident.
As close as we’ve come to true sci-fi, this techno-mystery involves the government, biophysicists, terrorists, and a girl with a preternatural ability.
Not your typical romance, the late Shivers’ novella is sure to get your heart racing.
A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade
Although it didn’t win, Binocular Vision was a National Book Award finalist and did take home the National Book Critics’ Circle Award.
A book that is a retelling of a classic story (fairytale, Shakespearian play, classic novel, etc.)
We’ll call this a “reimagining,” as the mythical Minotaur makes his way through the South.
An audiobook
Fathers, grandfathers, music, and Memphis.
A collection of poetry
From distributed line Hub City, a tribute in verse to the working class.
A book that someone else has recommended to you
A book that was originally published in another language
A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind (Hi, have you met Panels?)
A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure (Read, and then realize that good entertainment is nothing to feel guilty over)
A staff favorite for its great cover and its genuine spookiness.
A book published before 1850
The infamous “biography” of the Swamp Fox.
A book published this year
A baker’s dozen from Blair and our distributed lines are coming out this spring.
A self-improvement book (can be traditionally or non-traditionally considered “self-improvement”)
Because you ma’am are perfect just the way you are.
John F. Blair, Publisher 