Read Harder Challenge mid-year-ish recap

A slightly-past-mid-year summary of my progress in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge.

Tasks completed (15/24):

A collection of short stories: Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri
A book that someone else has recommended to you: The Green Mile, by Stephen King (recommended by my boyfriend)
A romance: Lila, by Marilynne Robinson
A YA novel: Red Rising, by Pierce Brown
A self-improvement book: Reading Like a Writer, by Francine Prose
A graphic novel: Watchmen, by Alan Moore
A sci-fi novel: The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
A book by a person whose gender is different from your own: Five Short Stories, by Anton Chekhov
A book by an author from Africa: Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers
A book published this year: Akaela, by E.E. Giorgi

A book published by an indie press: Fairy Keeper, by Amy Bearce 

A book that was originally published in another language: Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A book published before 1850: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bronte
A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ: Lair of Dreams, by Libba Bray 

Other books read: 6

Tasks to go (9/24):

A book that is a retelling of a classic story (currently in progress!) 

A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65 

A book that takes place in Asia
A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture
A microhistory
A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade
An audiobook
A collection of poetry
A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure

How the challenge has affected my reading life:

I've discovered authors that I might not have found otherwise (Jhumpa Lahiri, Chimamanda Adichie, Marilynne Robinson), and I've also been motivated to read stuff that I'd been meaning to for years (I'd never read Margaret Atwood or Stephen King before, and I finally got through Crime and Punishment in its entirety).

This is also the first year that I've tried the literary lottery that is NetGalley, and luckily two of my acquisitions from there could fit into this challenge (Fairy Keeper and Lair of Dreams).

In terms of writing reviews, I'm still reviewing every book I read, and this year I also started this blog to keep track of my other book-related thoughts.

And finally, not necessarily a result of this challenge but an interesting change that has taken place anyway: since late 2014, I've been reading a lot (by my standards) without buying a lot, which are two things I'd never really done at the same time before. Most of my books come from the library, and I've gotten a few free ARCs and some gifts from wonderful people (including a Kindle, which is incredibly useful). Still, I never pass up a chance to go to a bookstore.