Duration: 1st January – 31st December 2021
Number of books: 28
Hosted by: Reading Women Podcast

All books read for this challenge must be by women or people of other historically marginalized genders who are comfortable being included in feminine-coded initiatives.

1. A Book Longlisted for the JCB Prize
   • The JCB Prize for Literature is an award presented each year to a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian author.
   • The prize aims to celebrate Indian writing and to help readers across the world discover the very best of contemporary Indian literature. It also makes significant awards also to translators, without whose work no reader can appreciate the scale and diversity of a literature written in over twenty languages.
   • Find out more over on the prize’s website.
2. An Author from Eastern Europe
   • Eastern Europe is, as the name says, the eastern part of Europe. According to the United Nations Statistics Division, countries within Eastern Europe are Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, and the most-western part of the Russian Federation.
3. A Book About Incarceration – Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam
4. A Cookbook by a Woman of Color
   • You do not have to read every word of the cookbook.
   • Making a recipe from the cookbook is encouraged but not required.
   • If you are triggered by food, please feel free to read a book about cocktails, tea, coffee, olive oil, cocoa beans, or anything else food adjacent.
5. A Book with a Protagonist Older than 50
   • Bonus points if the author is also over 50!
6. A Book by a South American Author in Translation
   • As with all of our translation prompts, you can read in any language you like as long as the book has been translated from one language to another.
7. Reread a Favorite Book – Grave Witch by Kalayna Price
8. A Memoir by an Indigenous, First Nations, Native, or Aboriginal Woman
   • This prompt is inspired by Erin and Dani’s Book Club, which is focusing on Indigenous memoirs this year! Head over to their instagram page to find more information.
9. A Book by a Neurodivergent Author – The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
10. A Crime Novel or Thriller in Translation
    • As with all of our translation prompts, you can read in any language you like as long as the book has been translated from one language to another.
11. A Book About the Natural World – Born Free by Joy Adamson
12. A Young Adult Novel by a Latinx Author
13. A Poetry Collection by a Black Woman
14. A Book with a Biracial Protagonist – Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (Alex)
15. A Muslim Middle Grade Novel
16. A Book Featuring a Queer Love Story
17. About a Woman in Politics
    • Bonus points for reading about a woman in politics from a country that’s not your own!
18. A Book with a Rural Setting – Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
19. A Book with a Cover Designed by a Woman – Kissing Tolstoy by Penny Reid
20. A Book by an Arab Author in Translation
    • As with all of our translation prompts, you can read in any language you like as long as the book has been translated from one language to another.
    • The Arab World consists of twenty-two countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
21. A Book by a Trans Author
    • This includes trans women and nonbinary trans authors comfortable being included in feminine-coded initiatives.
22. A Fantasy Novel by an Asian Author
23. A Nonfiction Book Focused on Social Justice – Lucky Child by Loung Ung
24. A Short Story Collection by a Caribbean Author

BONUS

• A Book by Alexis Wright
• A Book by Tsitsi Dangarembga
• A Book by Leila Aboulela
• A Book by Yoko Ogawa