Ready to turn a new page? Here are the categories for our 2021 #ReadICT Challenge
In times like these, when many of us are hunkered down and unable to visit friends and family, it’s great to have the company of books — and readers.
So I’m pleased to announce the continuation of a favorite annual tradition: the #ReadICT Reading Challenge.
For our fifth year, as always, the concept is simple and doable: Read 12 books from 12 different categories in 12 months.
We’ve once again partnered with the Wichita Public Library, where you can check out books, e-books or audiobooks to complete the challenge, as well as track your progress online at wichitalibrary.org/readict.
Ready to see the 2021 categories? Here you go:
1. A book with a one-word title
2. An “own voices” book
3. A book about animals or pets
4. A book about travel
5. An illustrated book
6. An untold story or history
7. A book by an author under 30
8. A book about local history
9. A challenged book
10. A book with an ugly cover
11. A book recommended by someone you admire
12. A book from the Kansas Notable Books list
We developed this year’s categories with help from local librarians, and we made them flexible to meet your personal reading preferences or goals.
An “Own Voices” book (Category No. 2), for instance, refers to works by authors from marginalized or under-represented groups writing from their own perspectives. Some examples: “There There” by Tommy Orange; “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas; or “Everything I Never Told You” by Celeste Ng.
An illustrated book (Category No. 5) could be a graphic novel or memoir (“Good Talk” by Mira Jacob), a collection of comic strips (“The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes” by Bill Watterson), a compendium of photographs, or an illustrated children’s book.
Category No. 6 — an untold story — refers to any topic that’s not widely known or talked about. Some authors let you know right there in the subtitle (“Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster”), but feel free to interpret this category broadly. It could include science books, such as Mary Roach’s “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers,” behind-the-scenes entertainment tales, such as “The War for Late Night” by Bill Carter, or micro-histories like Erik Larson’s “The Devil in the White City.”
A challenged book (Category No. 9) salutes efforts by the American Library Association and others to fight censorship and protect our freedom to read.
And Category No. 12 is a nod to the Kansas Notable Books List, an annual recognition of outstanding titles either written by Kansans or about a Kansas-related topic. Possible selections here include “The Topeka School” by Ben Lerner, “Navigating Early” by Clare Vanderpool, “Heartland” by Sarah Smarsh, or “The Good Lord Bird” by James McBride.
The Wichita Eagle #ReadICT Challenge group on Facebook, which has grown to more than 2,000 members, is a diverse community of readers who share their picks for the challenge categories as well as general recommendations, reviews and bookish links. If you’re not already part of the group, please join us.
In coming days, the Wichita library will distribute handy bookmarks listing the #ReadICT Challenge categories, and you’ll see displays at local libraries and bookstores of books that fit one or more of the categories.
Use the Beanstack app (available through your app store or online at wichitalibrary.beanstack.org) to log your books every month, and you’ll be eligible for great prizes throughout the year.
Remember: The challenge is meant to be fun and flexible. If you think a book qualifies for a particular category — David Grann’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” for local history, for example, because Oklahoma is local-ish? — don’t stress, just count it.
No rules, just read.
Whether this is your first time participating or you’ve been with us from the start, we hope the 2021 #ReadICT Challenge inspires you to consider new books, authors or genres, and to talk about books with friends and family members.
Here’s to a joyous, bookish new year.
This story was originally published December 27, 2020 at 1:50 AM.
