{"id":16882,"date":"2024-01-10T09:04:20","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T14:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/library\/?p=16882"},"modified":"2024-01-10T09:04:20","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T14:04:20","slug":"spring-2024-reading-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highpoint.edu\/library\/2024\/01\/10\/spring-2024-reading-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring 2024 Reading Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Reading challenges are a fun way to spice up your reading slump. This semester, HPU Libraries is offering two challenges to introduce some new books to your reading list and expand your literary interests. For each challenge completed, visit Smith Library to enter the Reading Challenge Raffle for a chance to win some free HPU merch.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Challenge One: The Eras Tour Reading Challenge<\/h3>\n

\"erastour\"Taylor Swift\u2019s 2023 Eras Tour was the highest grossing tour of all time. The reading challenge based on her tour features one book related to each era (or album). Each of the books are either directly referenced by Swift in a song from the album or the book is based on the same idea as the song. For example, in \u201cThe Outside\u201d Swift references the poem \u201cThe Road Not Taken\u201d by Robert Frost<\/a>. The poem is a bit of a motif in Swift\u2019s discography, with more direct references to it in \u201cIllicit Affairs\u201d from her Folklore<\/em> album and \u201cTis the Damn Season\u201d from her album Evermore<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Many of Swift\u2019s other songs also include direct quotes from famous works of literature. \u201cSo it goes\u201d from the Reputation<\/em> album directly borrows its title from Kurt Vonnegut\u2019s Slaughterhouse Five<\/em><\/a>. Likewise, the song \u201cLover\u201d borrows a line from the title of a Shakespeare play \u201cAll\u2019s Well that Ends Well\u201d<\/a>, and references to a \u201cbeautiful fool\u201d and a \u201cgreen light\u201d in the song \u201cHappiness\u201d allude to F. Scott Fitzgerald\u2019s The Great Gatsby<\/em><\/a>. This book is another of Swift\u2019s favorites to reference, with another appearance in \u201cThis is Why We Can\u2019t Have Nice Things\u201d from Reputation<\/em>; though, on this track, she references the character Jay Gatsby himself, singing \u201cAnd there are no rules when you show up here\/Bass beat rattling the chandelier\/Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year\u201d.<\/p>\n

Other references to fictional characters in Swift\u2019s songs include a mention of Peter and Wendy from Peter Pan<\/em><\/a> in the song \u201cCardigan\u201d and Romeo and Juliet from Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d<\/a> in her song \u201cLove Story\u201d. \u00a0She also references the legend of Achilles from Greek mythology in her song \u201cState of Grace\u201d on the Red<\/em> album. There are many versions of this story, the most famous being from Homer\u2019s Iliad<\/em><\/a>, but many modern retellings of Greek myths have enraptured readers lately, including Madeline Miller\u2019s Song of Achilles<\/em><\/a> which reimagines the story of Achilles for modern audiences.<\/p>\n

Some of Swift\u2019s songs are entirely based on the premise of a book, like \u201cWonderland\u201d from the album 1989<\/em>. It borrows the world of Wonderland and many characters and themes from Lewis Carroll\u2019s book Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland<\/em><\/a>, including the \u201cmadness\u201d the characters experience, the Cheshire Cat\u2019s smile, and the imagery of falling down a rabbit hole.<\/p>\n

Swift references other books less directly, copying a similar motif or style from the book in the delivery of her song. For example, Swift\u2019s song \u201cDear John\u201d is not a direct reference to the Nicolas Sparks novel<\/a> of the same name, but they both borrow the popular trope of the \u201cDear John\u201d letter to discuss the ending of a romantic relationship. Similarly, the song \u201cDear Reader\u201d from Swift\u2019s latest album Midnights<\/em> does not directly reference Jane Eyre<\/em><\/a>, but she utilizes the same delivery, addressing her audience as \u201creader\u201d throughout the song just as Charlotte Bronte does in her novel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Challenge Two: The #booktok Reading Challenge<\/h3>\n

\"2\"The social media app TikTok has had a profound impact on the publishing industry, booksellers, and libraries over the past few years. \u201cBookTok\u201d refers to a subset of videos on the app related to book reviews, recommendations, and discussions by both lay readers and industry professionals. Books featured in viral videos on TikTok tend to reach record sales that they likely otherwise would not have reached without the help of the social media juggernaut launching them into the limelight. As a result, books that are popular on the app are now frequently featured on display in bookstores and libraries, and these titles are bought in larger quantities by these institutions to meet the rising demand. Even books that were not published recently experience the BookTok Effect when they trend on the app, with many older books selling out of stores when their viral status creates a surprise surge in popularity.<\/p>\n

In this reading challenge, we\u2019ve highlighted a variety of books that have been trending on TikTok over the past year. Popular genres on the app tend to be Young Adult (YA), Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, and Horror. In the YA category, this challenge features Heartstopper<\/em><\/a>, a YA graphic novel. Fantasy novels on this list include Ninth House<\/em><\/a>, A Court of Thorns and Roses<\/em><\/a>, Fourth Wing<\/em><\/a>, Babel<\/em><\/a>, and Legends & Lattes<\/em><\/a>, which is a \u201cHigh Fantasy\/Low Stakes\u201d novel. This genre is also called “cozy fantasy” and is popular on TikTok with readers who want the escapism of a fantasy novel without the dark themes, gore, or violence that many other fantasy novels tend to explore.<\/p>\n

In the mystery\/thriller category, this challenge features The Housemaid <\/em>by Frieda McFadden<\/a> and Bunny <\/em>by Mona Awad<\/a>. While there is sometimes disagreement between critics and average readers about the quality of any given novel, Awad\u2019s Bunny<\/em> is notable for bridging the gap between the two audiences, receiving a Goodreads Choice Award along with being touted the \u201cBest Book of 2019\u201d by Time Magazine<\/em>, Vogue<\/em>, and The New York Public Library.<\/p>\n

Finally, the last book in this challenge, Daisy Jones and the Six<\/em><\/a>, was made popular both by the author\u2019s near-constant trending status on TikTok and by the Amazon Prime adaptation of the story into a miniseries.<\/p>\n

Whether you are looking for your next book obsession or simply want to peak into the psyche of popular fiction readers across the country, BookTok is the place to start.<\/p>\n

-Blog post by Kelly Jones, Wanek Center Librarian & Health Sciences Liaison<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Reading challenges are a fun way to spice up your reading slump. 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