Kindle Challenge Update--January 2021

 

(Image source) 

It was a wonderful surprise to open my email from Amazon with a Kindle Challeng in January. My goal is to read 35 books in 2021 and track my progress on Goodreads. So far I have finished 9 electronic book and 10 physical books. Earning badges still reminded me of National Novel Writing Month. 

I earned 9 badges out of 12. I was not going to unregister my Kindle device and risk issues with syncing my account, and I missed reading two days, so I did not earn the Read 30 days in January badge. Since I missed two badges, I did not earn the badge Overachiever because I did not get all of the badges for the January Challenge. Oh well.

 

My Earned Badges are as follows:

(Earned) Bronze Reader: Read 7 days in January

(Earned) Silver Reader: Read 15 days in January

Gold Reader: Read 30 days in January

(Earned) Goal Setter: Create a reading goal for 2021

Easy on the Eyes: Register a Kindle E-reader device

(Earned) I’m a Fan!: Follow an author

(Earned) Book-in-Hand: Purchase any Kindle eBook from Amazon

(Earned) Kindle Unlimited Reader: Borrow any title from Kindle Unlimited

(Earned) Series Starter: Start reading any series title

(Earned) Quitters Day: Read on January 19^th, the day most people quit on their New Year’s resolutions

(Earned) Finisher: Complete any Kindle eBook in January

Overachiever: Earn all available badges in Kindle Challenge

 

I will keep reading regardless. 

What are your reading goals for February 2021? How are you doing with your overall reading goals for 2021? What are you currently reading?

 

 

 

Kindle Challenge

 

(Image source)

It was a wonderful surprise to open my email from Amazon with a Kindle Challenge. My goal is to read 35 books in 2021 and track my progress on Goodreads. So far I have finished one electronic book from the library. I am intrigued with the Kindle Challenge quests. It reminds me of earning badges during National Novel Writing Month.

 

My Badges are as follows:

Bronze Reader: Read 7 days in January

Silver Reader: Read 15 days in January

Gold Reader: Read 30 days in January

Goal Setter: Create a reading goal for 2021

Easy on the Eyes: Register a Kindle E-reader device

I’m a Fan!: Follow an author

Book-in-Hand: Purchase any Kindle eBook from Amazon

Kindle Unlimited Reader: Borrow any title from Kindle Unlimited

Series Starter: Start reading any series title

Quitters Day: Read on January 19^th, the day most people quit on their New Year’s resolutions

Finisher: Complete any Kindle eBook in January

Overachiever: Earn all available badges in Kindle Challenge

I shall give an update in February of my progress. What are your reading goals for January 2021?

 

 

Reading Goals for 2021

(Photo Source)

I am amazed at how much I read this year, over 100 books. I was not expecting to read very many books for fun because of my required reading for grad school. Since I have read many more books than I expected, I hope to finish the year strong with a couple more books before midnight on the 31st.

2020 Reading Highlights in no particular order:

• Several by Jason Reynolds (so many good ones, it's hard to pick one)
• Radical Compassion by Tara Brach
• The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
• Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley
• Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
• Sing for Your Life by Daniel Bergner
• The Long Way to A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
• Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
• The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
• Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist
• The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
• Nothing Was the Same by Kay Redfield Jamison
• Trauma-Informed Treatment: The Restorative Approach by Patricia D. Wilcox
• The Wounded Healer by David Sedgwick

Books I intend to reread:

• How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit by Mary Frances Winters

I shall set my 2021 reading goals to include the books I want to reread, as well as another reading of The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. It is a book I have reread several times. 

What books do you intend to reread? What are your reading goals for 2021?

Q: What Are You Reading? A: Antiracism Books

(Racism Scale: Where do you fall? source: https://racismscale.weebly.com/)

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." –Stephen King

It is vital for writers to read. The best writing advice I have ever received was to read everything I could. One hundred books of what I wanted to write.

It is important in these times to educate ourselves on the meaning of words. What is individual racism? What is systemic racism? Are we using these words correctly? Do we truly understand what these words mean? Click here for more information on racism definitions and explanations. 

I am still learning, and as a writer, editor, and reader, I read to learn. What are you reading today? Currently on my nightstand are: White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism  by Robin DiAngelo, So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo, and Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad.

There are articles online, book lists, and sources available here to find book titles, authors, and more to learn about #WeNeedDiverseBooks and how to be antiracist. Here are a few.

 

The Antiracist Reading List

35 Must-Read Books About Racism

5 Black Children’s Authors and Illustrators You Should Know

A Diverse #SummerReading List For Kids

1000 Black Girl Books Resource Guide

Black Books Matter

AICL’s Best Books of 2018

Revisions to Racism in Books

28 great Black History Month books for kids

24 Children’s Books to Read to Your Kids In Honor Of Black History Month

75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice

158 Resources to Understand Racism in America

Books by or About People of African Descent

 

Check out OA’s recent blog posts on how you can support #WeNeedDiverseBooks

 

Authors and Videos of Support #WeNeedDiverseBooks 

Support Black Lives Matter

This blog post is part of a series called Q: What Are You Reading? by Suzanna Anderson on Operation Awesome. Please note that this book list is not comprehensive. This list is a starting point, an introduction to Antiracism titles. Suzanna reads a book and usually finds at least ten more books to read. Use this list as inspiration to check out titles at your local library, support your local bookstores with purchases, or wherever you get your books. Please do read, share, and write reviews (if you want to). Comment below what you’ve read and what you’re excited to read next!

What are you reading?

The Dirtiest Word in the Writing World

The dirtiest word in the writing world is plagiarism. Over the past couple of years, I've encountered multiple instances of plagiarism. From a friend whose novel idea was stolen by another writer to someone in my writing community having their work copied word for word and marketed under the offenders name. When I released my first book, I did a blog tour and one of the bloggers copied another blogger's review. This is every writer's fear. Someone steals a car--you can get a different one. A stolen idea is one of a kind and cannot be replaced. It's a huge violation.

Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as "an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thought of another author without authorization and the representation of the author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author."

Recently, I had a reader leave a question in the comments on Wattpad that she suspected me of copying another's work. I had never read the work in question, but had heard of the book because it belonged to a local author. I'd written this particular piece five years ago, so well before the release of the other book. I was taken aback. Any resemblance would be coincidence, but if they really were that similar, my reputation was at stake since the other book hit the public eye before mine. I knew the other author's editor and brought the matter to him. He told me that my story and the other were very different. So, I assured the reader there had been no misconduct and encouraged them to read further and see the differences for themselves.

I appreciated how gracious and polite the reader was about the whole matter. I also thanked the reader for asking the question for couple of reasons. Firstly, if I was plagiarising another's work, I should be called on it. Secondly, I'm glad the reader asked rather than making the assumption that I stole another's work. I believe this reader did the right thing and I hope in a similar situation, others would do the same.

Let's look out for each other. If you suspect plagiarism, bring it to the attention of the author. But always be very careful about hurling accusations.

**************

Melinda Marshall Friesen writes YA and adult science fiction. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with her children. When she's not writing, she's devising ways to avoid venturing out into the bitter cold.