July brings two genres I myself am not very familiar with! I tend to stick to my fantasy books so this challenge is a great way for me (and you!) to discover different genres and authors.

This month, our genres are:

Alternate History
This genre of fiction focuses on stories in which one or more historical events happen differently. These books deal with a lot of “what if” scenarios related to crucial points in history and present outcomes that aren’t part of the history we know. What if Hitler didn’t succeed? What if JFK wasn’t assassinated? What would our present be like today? Goodreads has list of books under this genre and some that come to mind include 11/22/63 by Stephen King, the Temaraire series by Naomi Novik, and Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin.

For this genre, I’m planning to read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. I’ve been meaning to read this book for months so this is the perfect time to do it!

Slipstream Fiction
I didn’t even know this genre existed before I started doing research for this challenge but this genre is well-known for crossing boundaries between sci-fi/fantasy and mainstream literary fiction. Say whaaaat? I know! According to Wikipedia, Slipstream “falls between speculative fiction and mainstream fiction” and not all novels use elements of sci-fi/fantasy.

Not knowing anything about this genre, I consulted good ol’ Goodreads for some recommendations. Here’s a list of popular slipstream books if you’re as lost as I am. A number of Haruki Murakami’s books are on the list, along with Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughter-house Five. As for me, I’m thinking of picking up Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.

Do any books come to mind when you think of these genres? I’d love to know if you’re planning to participate!

Are you ready for another month of the Colour Me Read Challenge?! Your genres for this month are:

Western Fiction
Books in this genre are set in the American Old West and are typically set between the late 18th and 19th centuries. If you’re looking for recommendations, I found this list of the 12 Best Darn Western Books of All Time. Goodreads also has a longer list if none of the 12 books catch your interest!

Space Opera
Books in this genre often emphasize romantic, often melodramatic adventures, set mainly or entirely in outer space. These stories usually involve conflict between opponents possessing advanced abilities, weapons, and other technology. Think Star Wars or Dune! Goodreads also has a list you can check out.

I’m personally not a reader of these genres, so this will be extra challenging for me! Ideally I’d like to read a book for each category, but we’ll see how doable that is given other books I want to read this month. 🙊  My picks are True Grit for Western fiction and The Promise of the Child for Space Opera.

Are you an avid reader of these genres? I’d love some recommendations!

The Colour Me Read Challenge turns 1 YEAR this month! I can’t believe it’s been a year already but I’m so thankful to each and every one of you who have joined me on this journey. If you’ve consistently participated each month, you would have read 12 different genres in the past year! If you’ve read books from BOTH genres each time, that’s 24 unique genres. This project has been quite fun for me and I’ve enjoyed learning more about other genres I didn’t even know existed. So far we haven’t had repeats and I’m going to see how long we can keep that going!

This month, your genres are:

Time-Travel Fiction
This one is pretty straightforward – if it has time-travel, it fits! Some books that come to mind are The Time Traveller’s Wife, All Our Wrong Todays, Outlander, and 11/22/63!

Translated Fiction
This genre focuses on books originally written in another language and translated to English! Examples include War and Peace (Russian), The Shadow of the Wind (Spanish), The Book of Heroes (Japanese), and The Impossible Fairy Tale (Korean).

I think I’ll go for a translated fiction book this time! I still have War and Peace to finish and I recently ordered The Impossible Fairy Tale because I personally know the translator.

Which genre will you pick?

How did you do for March’s Colour Me Read Challenge? I managed to read my memoir pick, When Breath Becomes Air and pretty much cried in the end. 😭 I’m still hoping to write a review for it, but I definitely recommend it!

Picking genres is probably one of the more challenging (ha) aspects of this reading challenge but I always get so excited once I’ve decided on them! I try to choose two genres that are quite different from each other and I’m pretty happy with April’s genres. 😍

Humour
This one’s straightforward – if it has humour in it, it works for the challenge! This can be fiction or non-fiction and can cross with other genres. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams comes to mind, as well as Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari.

Nautical Fiction
Love pirates, sea adventures, or books set on the sea? I do too! I first fell in love with this genre when I read Robin Hobb’s The Liveship Traders trilogy. This month I’ll be reading Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch and if I’m lucky, I’ll also squeeze in Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller.

Have any books come to mind yet? I’d love to know!