[#CEDUReadingChallenge2023] My To Be Read Stack In Time for UAE’s Reading Month in March

Myra here.

I am very excited to share with everyone that our college is gearing up for a month-long Reading Festival in March, in time for UAE’s Reading Month, with the theme: Teachers and Leaders as Lifelong Readers. I am so thrilled to be working with such a stellar group of people who are avid readers themselves, and are committed to making this a memorable event for faculty, university students, and our community at large.

I am also thrilled that our Reading Festival Committee is hosting a Reading Challenge from February 6 until March 17, 2023. The great thing about this reading challenge is that it’s absolutely open to anyone who may be keen on joining – not just our university students and faculty. So please do consider signing up here.

We were also very strategic in coming up with these categories to tap into the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the fact that 2023 has been declared as the Year of Sustainability for the whole country.

Follow our college Instagram account ( @cedureadingchallenge), specifically created for this reading challenge, for updates on what we are reading. I would also be posting semi-regularly here to share my reading progress.

My TBR Stack

I was very excited to hunt around in my bookshelves to find titles that would fit across the categories in our reading challenge. It makes perfect sense to also link the titles to our overarching reading theme at GatheringBooks: #DecolonizeReading2023.

(1) About People Of Determination: Mallko And Dad by Gusti (Amazon | Book Depository)

(2) A Collection Of Poetry In Arabic Or English: & Until The Dreams Come by Danabelle Gutierrez (Amazon | Book Depository)

(3) A Book With Tea On The Cover: Teatime Around The World by Denyse Waissbluth and Chelsea O’Byrne (Amazon | Book Depository)

(4) About Sports Or An Athlete: Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer’s Historic Boston Marathon by Kim Chaffee and Ellen Rooney (Amazon | Book Depository)

About Sports Or An Athlete: Yusra Swims by Julie Abery and Sally Deng

(5) About A Teacher: The Joy Of Reading by Donalyn Miller and Teri S. Lesesne (Amazon | Book Depository)

(6) About Climate Change: How To Confront Climate Denial by James S. Damico and Mark Baildon (Amazon | Book Depository)

About Climate Change: We Move The World by Kari Lavelle and Nabi H. Ali (Amazon | Book Depository)

(7) About Peace And Hope: Infinite Hope by Ashley Bryan (Amazon | Book Depository)

(8) About Poverty and Hunger: The Best Meal Ever! by Sindiwe Magona and Paddy Bouma (Amazon | Book Depository)

(9) A Book Set In The Desert: The Wooden Camel by Wanuri Kahiu and Manuela Adreani (Amazon | Book Depository)

(10) About Life Below Water: Solving The Puzzle Under The Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor by Robert Burleigh and Raul Colon (Amazon | Book Depository)

About Life Below Water: Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Revealed the Ocean’s Biggest Secret by Jess Keating and Katie Hickey (Amazon | Book Depository)

(11) A Book On Female Scientists Or Mathematicians: Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating and Marta Alvarez Miguens (Amazon | Book Depository)

A Book On Female Scientists Or Mathematicians: Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, The First Paleontologist by Linda Skeers and Marta Alvarez Miguens (Amazon | Book Depository)

(12) A Book Set In The UAE: The Harbor And Other Stories by Mohamed Sultan AlOwais (Amazon | Book Depository)

(13) About Your Dream Job (a translator of a variety of languages and a silver-worker creating match-pairs to manipulate the workings of the universe – what can be a better job, right?): Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang (Amazon | Book Depository)

(14) About Artists Or Creatives: Frida Kahlo: An Illustrated Life by María Hesse and Translated by Achy Obejas (Amazon | Book Depository)

(15) A Book On Being Brave: How To Stand Up To A Dictator by Maria Ressa (Amazon | Book Depository)

(16) A Book On Fantasy Or Science Fiction: The Labyrinth by Simon Stålenhag (Amazon | Book Depository)

(17) A Book Of Your Own Choosing (Naturally, it would have to be one of the books I need to read as part of our #DecolonizeReading2023 challenge, one of the titles in This Is The Canon: Decolonize Your Bookshelf In 50 Books): A Brief History Of Seven Killings by Marlon James (Amazon | Book Depository)

So there are still a few categories that I would need your help in. Remember that we have less than a month to complete the reading challenge, so quick recommended reads would be ideal.

---

How about you? Are you joining or hosting any reading challenges this year?