Lyda here. The Reading on Discworld Challenge continues for your enjoyment. And it’s about time I blogged about the books I’ve read for this challenge.

So far I have completed the following parts of the challenge. (I already re-read the Terry Pratchett books mentioned. Of course.)

1. Read an autobiography or biography of someone who is still alive.

I read “Thinking In Pictures and Other Reports from My Life with Autism” by Temple Grandin. It was like seeing the world through someone else’s mind.

2. Read a book about an animal, or with an animal as an important character or plot point.

I read “Modoc: the True Story of the Greatest Elephant that Ever Lived” by Ralph Helfer, about an Indian elephant and his trainer. It’s an amazing  story of the friendship between a boy and an elephant, with lots of exciting twists and (I’ll just tell you now so you don’t worry) a happy ending. This one was given to me by a fellow book addict at work. I liked it a lot.

4. Read a book with an anti-hero or anti-heroine.

I read (re-read) “Good Omens” by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Excellent, funny, insightful book – as one would expect from these authors.  A not-so-demonic demon, plus the Antichrist.

5. Read a book of poetry, or a book that contains poetry (the whole book doesn’t have to be poetry).

I read “Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love and Revelation.”  It’s a collection of poems, and I have so many bookmarks in this book that it looks like a porcupine. Highly recommend this!

9. Read a book about politics. Or political history, or political theory, or political satire, or a biography or autobiography of a political figure.

 I read Barack Obama’s book “Dreams from My Father” which was terrific. It is well-written and deeply personal, and a great read. Highly recommended.

10. Read a book about a protagonist going through a mid-life (or later in life) upheaval. Or read, not an author’s first book, but one written later in their life.

I read “Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer to Near Death to True Healing” – powerful!

11. Read a book about the truth – a non-fiction book, in fact. Alternatively, read a book about reporting on the news, or about something that was once believed true but has been proved not to be true.

I read “Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity” by David Whyte. Beautiful, inspirational, and unusual book.

I also read “Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain.” Fascinating look into how the brain works, and a compelling argument for “I feel emotion, therefore I am.”

15. Read a book about a strong female protagonist.

I read the “Mistborn” triology, at the insistence of the Sith Master. Awesome books, with a wonderful strong female protagonist. All of the characters are great – I highly recommend anything by Brandon Sanderson .

That’s 8 out of 19 done, if you are keeping score.

I want to read new books, not re-read ones I’ve already read umpteen times. Because the point of a reading challenge – for me anyway – is to move out of the comfortable reading rut, explore new territory,  and hopefully  discover some new books to love.

I still have the following parts of the challenge to complete:

3. Read a book about something you’ve always wondered about.

6. Read a mythological book, or a book of myths, or a book about mythology.

7. Go to the library and wander into an aisle you do not usually frequent. Pick a book from the shelf and read it.

8. Read a book about money. I just got “The Prosperous Heart“. I love Julia Cameron’s books, so this will go quickly.

12. Read a book about a strange new land, or a travel book – fact or fiction.

13. Read a book about sex, sexuality, and/or sexual politics.

14. Read a book that most people would be embarrassed to read in public, because of the title, the content, or the cover art. And then read it in public.

16. Read a book with an inanimate object as a character and/or an important part of the plot.

17. Read a book that teaches you something. Something that will not come in handy in your everyday life. Learn something completely impractical.

18. Read something spiritual, mystical, mathematical, or amazing. Something that will remind you of how magic and unbelievable the universe and everything in it really is.

19. Read a detective novel, a crime story, a mystery, or a thriller.

Not that y’all are really keeping score, but so that I can keep it straight in my own head. Which is a rather chaotic place sometimes, so I need to see it written down where I can find it again – hence posting it on the blog.

But I digress…