2022 Reading Challenge: Travel Edition
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Howdy everyone tuning in for my FIRST BLOG POST OF 2022!!!! Wow, okay, let’s take a second to let that sit? It’s been almost five (FIVE?!?!?) years since I’ve started The Awkward Traveller blog, and even now I still feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. But…also I don’t mind because it’s not like I need to know what I’m doing. One thing that I always come back to, whether on this blog or in life in general, is my love for writing – and enjoying another’s writing. Aka reading. So as with most years, I’ve come up with a little 2022 Reading Challenge for myself.
Not because I necessarily need to be…persuaded to read.
But I also don’t want to get too comfortable reading what I already know I like.
Similar to travel, I think reading outside of what I’m naturally drawn to not only broadens my exposure to new writing techniques, but also other cultures. Yeah, you can get a glimpse of culture through reading! So, especially if you aren’t planning to travel in 2022, I hope you join me in my 2022 Reading Challenge, or even get inspired to start your own!
Table of Contents
What Prompted These Categories?
If you didn’t read my 2021 Reading Challenge –
Go do that.
Kidding, I can quickly summarize here.
I wasn’t really planning on traveling internationally during 2021. Due to a LOT of life things, and also like the global pandemic and all. I just…didn’t want to deal with the extra hoops and whistles just to eat a bad (but free) hotel breakfast.
I could do that in Orlando.
But I digress.
With very domestic plans in 2021, I still craved the feeling of experiencing new cultures and perspectives. And while there are certainly different cultures and perspectives across the USA…it’s not quite the same as being in a land with a completely unattached history than your own. So I made it a mission to read books from different countries, different demographics of authors, AND different themes. It basically boiled down to location, culture, and theme categories, about ten of each.
After reading aboutttt 50 books in 2021 (I’m too lazy to count them exactly), I had a few learnings from that experience.
The first thing you will notice that is different in my 2022 Reading Challenge list is that I completely got rid of the “culture” category. These were mostly focused on the author themselves, or the main character, and something they possessed that I wanted to read more of. For example, LGBTQ+ main characters from a different country, or a book written by an Indigenous (to Turtle Island) author, or a main character with disabilities that AREN’T the plot of the story.
While I do want to continue reading perspectives outside of my own, I actually found that having this as a separate category was unnecessary – at least for me. Most of the novels I read for this category overlapped with the other categories, and then it got me thinking about the Target book displays.
You know the ones that have a “best fiction book” award and then right next to it a “best diverse book” award?
Those never really…sat right with me. While I get the sentiment…idk I just don’t vibe with it. I could probably touch more on that, but I’m trying to keep this short haha. SO BASICALLY – I’m doing away with my own “diverse” category. I sought them out anyway, I’m going to read them anyway, soooo seemed idk redundant?
To me.
If you are still having trouble finding “diverse” books, I’d highly recommend following a few of my favie book influencers. They’ll promote some new stuff to you! I’ll drop them in at the end of this post.
The second thing you might have noticed that is different in this 2022 Reading Challenge is that…it’s a lot shorter. WHYYYY???? Am I planning on reading less in 2022??
No. Not at all.
But honestly it’s just easy to forget about challenge specifics. Coupled with the temptations of new releases and book hype throughout the year, sometimes the things I PLAN to read get put on the backburner. So I’m adjusting my 2022 Reading Challenge goals to account for spontaneous reading pleasure.
You’re welcome future Kay.
Location-Based
Aight Aight enough intro, let’s just get down to business, yeah? The first category in my 2022 Reading Challenge is going to be based on location. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. I feel like this is usually what most of the 2022 Reading Challenge lists (from other travel people) are going to revolve around because…well, the fundamental of travel is GOING somewhere.
But…eh, I want to spice this category up a little for 2022. I am purposely leaving “location” vague this time around simply because…yo, it’s hard to get books these days!! Especially with supply chain issues and boats not able to dock at ports, I want potential books you think of for this location category to be easily found in whatever local bookstore or library that may be near you.
And also – how many times are you going to see “read a book from every continent” on travel themed 2022 Reading Challenge lists?
No shade, I had it on my 2021 list hahah. BUT, again, trying to spice it up for ’22.
Indie-book set in your homebase
My hope for 2022 is to read more novels by indie authors. Whether they self-publish, or get picked up by smaller indie publications, I want to support them! I mean, hey, I’m an indie author myself (*cough you can read an exerpt of my novel “TW: Flatine” here cough*).
Being an indie author or a self-published author doesn’t mean they aren’t “good enough” to be traditionally published or represented by a big publishing house.
For me specifically, that means finding an indie-novel set in either Oregon or the PNW. I have a few leads, so if you’re also in the area, these might be up your alley.
Usually, small bookstores have a section for “local” authors in the area. But I haven’t really found a concrete way to “filter by self-published authors” filters on any website. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments below!
MC travels to more than 3 countries
Having a character that just visits one country was wayyy too easy, so for the 2022 Reading Challenge, I’m upping the ante so the character has to travel to at least THREE other countries (not including the one they start in). I’m pretty excited for this one, though I’m not sure how many books there are out there that show the main characters as travelers.
Well, probably lots.
Does the Alchemist qualify? I still haven’t read it haha. Another good one would be Runaways by Rachel Sawden.
MC temporarily moves to a different country
Awww yeahhh expat life! I wanted to specify TEMPORARILY because I feel like there are so many novels about immigration (and they’re usually not…happy), but not as many about the expat experience. And, as an extra caveat for the 2022 Reading Challenge, I’m going to go out of my way to read a novel that features a main character that ISN’T from the USA, Canada, or Britain.
Cuz, yanno, the expat life isn’t just reserved for English-speaking westerners!!
I’m expecting this will be one of the harder ones to accomplish, but I have faith!
A piece of speculative fiction that explores a different culture
Ah yes, over the past year, I’ve become a huge fan of speculative fiction. This is one of the goals I’m most excited about for the 2022 Reading Challenge. But what IS speculative fiction? For those who don’t know, here’s the textbook deffie:
speculative fiction: a genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.
I left it open so that it doesn’t HAVE to be from a different country, necessarily, but even a different culture just takes speculative fiction (which is ALREADY on another level) TO ANOTHER LEVELLLL. Although it’s technically not another culture for me, I’m currently reading Dark Matter, which features speculative fiction from the African diaspora. Highly highly HIGHLY recommend.
Also like, anything by Stephen Graham Jones. He is one of my all time favorite authors (I featured him in my books by Native American authors post!). Honestly, I’ll probably pick up his latest work to complete this goal. I read his novel The Only Good Indians last year and ughhh still not over it. You’ll see what I mean.
Fantasy novel set in another world
This goal is always fun, and although I love fantasy, it’s never a genre I naturally gravitate towards so I’m always happy to include it in reading challenges. It’s pretty straightforward – read a fantasy novel that does not take place on Earth – or at least Earth as we know it. Last year I read Children of Blood and Bone!
There are a few that I have my eye on from last year that I never got around to, as well as upcoming releases, so I’ll list them below and maybe we can chat about it as we read!
Poetry by an author from a country you’ve never been to
Similar to fantasy, I never think to pick up a book of poetry. Unlike fantasy, however, I’m very picky when it comes to poetry, which makes finding a book I can actually finish. This is also the exact same goal from 2021 that I didn’t complete, which is why it’s on my 2022 Reading Challenge.
I am DETERMINED this year.
Here are the recommendations I had from last year that I never looked into hahah. Somebody hold me to it this year!!!
- All Things Other by Litvinova Natalia (Argentinian)
- The Careless Seamstress by Tjawangwa Dema (Botswanian)
- And After All by Rhina Espaillat (Dominican)
- The Undressing by Li-Young Lee (Indonesian)
- Think of Lampedusa by Josué Guébo (Ivorian)
- Crossfire: A Litany for Survival by Staceyann Chin (Jamaican)
- Sacrament of Bodies by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Nigerian)
- Born Palestinian, Born Black by Suheir Hammad (Palestinian)
- In a Language That You Know by Len Verwey (South African)
- Arabian Love Poems by Nizar Kabbani (Syrian)
- Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong (Vietnamese)
Theme-Based
Woooo, okay, moving away from goals strictly related to location and onto more “theme” based goals! I like theme-based because they really can be wild cards frfr. Like, it can be a rom-com, a horror novel, a screenplay…well okay, not actually a screenplay, but you get what I mean. For the 2022 Reading Challenge, I’m predicting that I won’t actually have to plan TOO much into achieving those goals, since I’ll probably pick something up that will fall into one of these organically.
But of course, if you have a great suggestion for any of them, please leave them in the comments below!
Culture-Clash Romance
I almost feel as though my default for romance (or rom-com) novels follow the culture-clash trope. Idk why I always seem to gravitate towards them haha.
Well, maybe it’s because I enjoy travel and seeing other cultures hahah.
This is another goal that I’m not really worried about completing.
Mythology that ISN’T Greek
So I read a LOT of Greek mythology last year. I love it, don’t get me wrong, but once I got into the mythology genre (or rather theme), when I tried looking for more mythology-based novels, most revolved around Greek mythology. SO – 2022 Reading Challenge, find something that ISN’T Greek.
I know, I know, that’s a high ask.
But, I’ve read a few, and I even have a couple on my TBR list, so I’m not too worried!
- The Witch’s Heart (Norse)
- Gods of Jade and Shadow (Maya/Mexican)
- A Spark of White Fire (Hindu)
- Wicked Fox (Korean)
- Trail of Lightning (Navajo)
- Tail of the Blue Bird (Ghanaian)
- The Candle and the Flame (Islamic & Middle Eastern)
- Wicked As You Wish (Filipino)
Book set during war times
I always read at least ONE of these a year, and no joke they usually end up being one of my favorite reads of the year. In fact, I’ve already got one picked out, set in Vietnam (by a Vietnamese author), and even from reading the first chapter I KNOW it’s gonna be a good one.
Long distance road trip
Okay, this might not SOUNDDD hard, but yo – it’s deceptively challenging. But, it’s not called the 2022 Reading CHALLENGE for nothing. This is a returning goal from last year, but unlike 2021, I’m committing to finding a road trip novel outside of the USA!
So uh…drop your suggesties in the comments please and thank you!!!
MC is a “third-culture kid”
I organically completed this goal last year, but both reads were graphic novels. It’s a little more challenging to find one in novel format.
For those who may not know, a “third culture kid” is someone who was raised in a culture other than their parents’ or the culture of their country/nationality, and also live in a different environment during a significant part of their child development years.
For example, someone of Anglo-ethnicity, whose parents moved the family to Nigeria to raise their kids. Or visa-versa. The first culture is represented by their parents/family, who have one (or more) ethnic and/or racial identity. The second culture is represented by the place of their upbringing, which has an entirely (or majority) different culture. Then the third culture is the balancing act these individuals juggle as they navigate blending the differences.
While I never lived abroad as a child, being a military brat definitely put me in situations where I had to adjust to the new cultures of the environment I needed to learn to live in, so I’m so happy to include this goal in the 2022 Reading Challenge.
So uh…again, I welcome any and all recommendies!
Explores food from another country/culture
Yanno, I never would have thought I would enjoy food/restaurant themed novels as much as I apparently do. Last year, two of my favorite reads happened to revolve around cooking: With the Fire on High and Arsenic and Adobo. Even when I did my list of books by Singaporean authors, a food-themed novel snuck its way in there!
Though, set in Singapore, are we really that surprised?
Anyways, I’m excited to see where this goal takes me this year!
2022 Reading Challenge: Bonus Markers
As you can imagine for someone who read 50 books, this 2022 Reading Challenge only has 10 goals, which relatively is not a lot. Granted, I plan on reading more than just what’s on this 2022 Reading Challenge BUUUUT, why not add in a few more that…might be more…troublesome to read.
At least, for me personally.
This category specifically is mostly to just challenge myself, both as a reader and a writer.
Aka – I’m probably not going to enjoy the process of reading these.
MC from another country that has the your worst traits
LOLLL JK EXCEPT THIS ONE.
I love seeing myself in main character hahaha. I know I may seem absolutely perfect from the outside, and arbitrarily you wouldn’t be completely wrong, but I do have a few personal traits that I could….do without.
You don’t need to know about them.
SO, if I managed to stumble upon a novel where the main character LOUDLY has one of those less-sparkly traits of mine, this goal is completed. The challenge, however, is that the character (or at least the setting) needs to be from a different country.
Book set in your least favorite country
Oh boyyyyyy. Last year, I had a lot of goals about books and authors from my favorite countries, which were fantastically fun to read and really took me down incredible memory lanes.
For this 2022 Reading Challenge…I’m going to go down some not so great memories.
I don’t want to put any country on blast – or potentially risk getting barred from ever returning lol – so I won’t tell you which countries are my not-favorites….butttttt one of them is definitely the country that detained me at immigration lol.
Not looking forward to this one.
Travel memoir
This will be more of a chore than anything else, because lowkey I am not a fan of memoirs, biographies, or autobiographies – in general. Or at least physically reading them.
I’ll probably find one as an audiobook and go from there.
Book that explores a minority culture in another country
Aha – now this one, I’m REALLY curious about. And you know, I actually only thought about this particular goal for my 2022 Reading Challenge because I was looking up books about Mexico and stumbled upon a book about the Chinese-Mexican community. Which I DEFINITELY want to read, though I might push myself even further to find an additional one to read.
I’d love to read a novel about the Ainu or the Okinawans in Japan, or Aboriginal stories in Oceanic countries. Spoiler, Indigenous peoples also exist outside of the Americas!
Book Bloggers to Follow
Really quickly before I forget, if you need more suggestions on books to read that can offer perspectives outside your own, I highly recommend following book bloggers – specifically…ones with perspectives outside your own. They’re already reading those novels, and shout out the good ones they find! At least for me, I know their suggestions will be super helpful for this 2022 Reading Challenge! Check ’em out!
- Jemilabereadin
- Blackfulla Bookclub
- Rvareader
- Thunderbirdwomanreads
- Whataprilreads
- _hex_libris
- Ashandtheink
- Pardonmywritings
2022 Reading Challenge: Conclusion
If I read a book to complete every goal on this 2022 Reading Challenge, I will read AT LEAST 15 books this year. That’s…a LOT. So if you’re joining me, I want to primitively congratulate you on such an incredible and ambitious goal you’ve set for yourself!
Let me know in the comments below if you have any reading goals for the upcoming year, or if you’d like to join me in my 2022 Reading Challenge! I’ll put a printable checklist below!
Printout for 2022 Reading Challenge
