The Read Widely Challenge

The Read Widely Challenge is all about expanding our reading world to include material we may not consider a favourite - whether we are talking about genre, writing style, author, or even the story structure. It's about opening up to the possibilities we may discover in something outside our comfort zone.

I am a loud and proud fan of all things fantasy and science fiction. I also love comics and graphic novels. If I had nothing else to read for the rest of my days, I would be quite content in my comfortable reading box with the magic and the wonderful art. For a little while.

Variety is good! So to challenge myself, I have decided to dive into Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. Why? For me, this is definitely adding some variety to my reading life. This book is historical fiction by a Russian author, translated from the original Russian, and was published as a novel in 1869. It is 1215 pages long, and tells the story of the French invasion of Russia under Napoleon in 1812, a point in history I don't know much about. I'm sure I will learn a lot by reading this book!

I hope you'll join me in the Read Widely Challenge! You don't have to read War and Peace - or anything nearly as long. If you normally read graphic novels, try a novel. If you normally read novels, try a novel in verse. If you normally read action thrillers, try a romance. You never know, you might just discover a new favourite along the way.

I will post about my progress every Wednesday on Instagram @hadley_pwhs_library - feel free to follow along there, and let me know what you've decided to read!