Xanadu Reading Challenge 2021

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One of my book club friends has a fantastic Blog, Notes from Xanadu. For 2021, she has started a great reading challenge in which I think anyone can participate. I have looked at the various topics and I'm sure I'll find a book for every single month. 

For January it's "New Beginnings", I have decided to read a book by a woman who will start a new job this month, one no woman has had before, Kamala Harris, the new vice president of the United States. It should be an exciting book. This was a book I received for Christmas from my son, so it fits the second category but I think it fits the whole theme overall tremendously, don't you agree?

I will update this post monthly, so if you're interested, come back. And go to the Xanadu page and participate, if you like.

January - New Beginnings

• a book published in 2020 or 2021
• a book given to you as a present (or bought with a book token given to you) as a Christmas or other mid-winter festival present
• a book about a new hobby or interest
• a book to do with a New Year’s resolution
• a New Age book

Harris, Kamala "The Truths We Hold. An American Journey" - 2019

February - Spring Awakenings

• a book about nature
• a coming-of-age story
• a novel where the protaganists are animals
  

Sapolsky, Robert M. "Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst" - 2017

March - All Things Irish

If you are from Ireland:
a book as Gaeilge. Children’s books are fine, but try to challenge yourself.

Everyone else:
•    a book by an Irish author
•    a book about Irish history
•    a travel book about Ireland

Binchy, Maeve "The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club" - 2010

April - Mental Travelling

a book from an author from a country you have never visited and have no connection to
a travelogue about a similar country

•    a novel about a journey
•    a non-fiction book about the history or technology of one or more forms of transport
•    a non-fiction book about space travel

Andersson, Per J. "Take the train: on the track through history, present and future" (aka: From the Swede who took the train and saw the world with different eyes/Ta tåget: på spåret genom historien, samtiden och framtiden) - 2019

May - Music
•    a biography or autobiography of a musician or composer
•    a novel where music is one of the main themes
•    a book that teaches you how to play an instrument

Judd, Naomi "Love Can Build a Bridge" - 1993

June - Language
a book in a language with which you are familiar, but don’t read in very often, if at all.
(if you are monolingual):
•    a beginner’s "Teach Yourself" book in a language you are interested in.
•    a coding manual in a programming language you don’t know
•    a book about the history of language or linguistics

’t Hart, Maarten "The fury/rage/raging of the whole world" (Dutch: Het woeden der gehele wereld) - 1993

July - Science
•    a science fiction book
•    a popular science book
•    a science text book
•    a book about psychology
•    a biography or autobiography of a scientist

Masood, Ehsan "Science & Islam: a history" - 2009

August - Philosophy
•    a philosophy book
•    a philosophical fiction book
•    a biography or autobiography of a philosopher
•    a book about politics
•    a book about economics
•    a religious book

Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich "Das kommunistische Manifest" (The Communist Manifesto) - 1848

September - Fantasy
•    a classic fantasy book
•    a sword and sorcery fantasy book
•    a fantasy book written more that 100 years ago
•    a super hero/other non-realisticgraphic novel
•    a book of folk/fairy tales

Hetmann, Frederik "Traumklänge oder Das längste Märchen, das es je gab" [Dream sounds. or the longest fairy tale that ever existed] - 2004

October - History
•    a history book about the country you live in
•    a history book about a country you know very little about
•    a history book about a country where someone you know lives/comes from
•    a history book about a place that you would like to visit
•    a historical novel
•    an alternate history novel

Frankopan, Peter "The Silk Roads. A New History of the World" - 2015

November - Classics
•    any adult or children’s classic in any genre that you have never read before

Stoker, Bram "Dracula" - 1897
I have read all sorts of genre but this is probably one I have read least.

December - Comedy
•    a comic novel or book of short stories
•    a joke book
•    a biography or autobiography of a famous comedian or comic actor
•    a collection of comic strips

Trotter, Derek "Del Boy" (Family of John Sullivan) "He Who Dares" - 2015