Starting today I am committing to participating in The Tempest Challenge. The premise of The Tempest Challenge is:

Spend one year exclusively reading books by authors who come from minority or marginalized groups. And do so while still reading amazing fiction.

The Tempest Challenge was created by K. Tempest Bradford, and when I came across it last week, I decided that I would start the challenge after finishing the book I was reading. I think it’ll help me discover works by authors that I may not normally find, as well as think about a variety of topics in a different way.

I already own some unread books by authors that fit the challenge, which I am excited to prioritize in my backlog during the next year. Here are a few:

  • A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin — I have already read the first two chapters and am enjoying it. This is going to be my first book of the challenge.
  • The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin — A friend of mine shared how much they enjoyed this on Goodreads, so I bought it to read while traveling and relaxing during the upcoming holiday break.
  • Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit — I bought this book on a whim one day, read about half of it, and never finished it. Now’s the time!
  • Absolutely On Music by Haruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa — Haruki Murakami is one of my favorite authors, so I bought this when it came out last month. I haven’t started it yet, but I am looking forward to reading it.

Here are some of the books on my wishlist that I’d like to read during the challenge and beyond:

  • The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • A Personal Matter by Kenzaburō Ōe
  • Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto
  • The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
  • The Girls by Emma Cline
  • Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
  • Kindred by Octavia E Butler
  • The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
  • The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  • Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

I am looking forward to sharing updates about what I have been reading and how the challenge is going as I make my way through the next year.

Additional information about The Tempest Challenge: