So if anyone is interested, I just announced the categories for the 2026 Polymath Training Challenge :)
It's a nonfiction reading challenge that has been running for 11 years. This year, long-time participants have submitted topics, and the final list was decided by random draw.
This is a satire about fat shaming as policy. About coercion as a behavior modifying method. About the prison system. It takes aim both at the public and private sectors. But most of all it takes aim at the notion that fat people are less healthy and thin people shouldn't pay for their healthcare.
It is the story of one couple's struggle against a rigged system.
As a satire about obesity there are allot of landmines here. But the factoids about wait loss science help keep the reader grounded and make sure no one thinks the author endorses any of the methods used by the Calorie Reduction Centers.
I read The Fatness as part of the r/fantasy reading challenge on The StoryGraph.
A challenge intended to help you diversify your reading.
The prompt was:
Small Press or Self Published (962 added)
Read a book published by a small press (not one of the Big Five publishing houses or Bloomsbury) or self-published. If a formerly self-published book has been picked up by a publisher, it only counts if you read it before it was picked up. HARD MODE: The book has under 100 ratings on Goodreads OR written by a marginalized author.
Because of my low vision I only read audiobooks, and small press or indie books are often not available in audio.
There's a whole controversy about audio books read by AI virtual voices, with Audible / Amazon promoting it as a way for indie authors to get their books published in audio format for a lower price.
As someone who uses assistive tech, I cal already load an e-book into an app Like VoiceDream Reader and have it read to me by a TTS (Text to Speach) engine.
The trick was getting a book without DRM so I can choose what app I use to read it.
Here the Fediverse came to my aid. It was on the Fediverse that I learned about SmashWords, a DRM free e-book store and it was through the fedaverse that I follow Mark A. Rayner and know about his novels.
I've finished: The Simoqin Prophecies by Samit Basu
Self-aware and breaking the fourth wall, The Simoqin Prophecies makes fun of classic tropes from myth, fairy tale and fantasy. But it is not trying to be funny, it is deadly serious about its own high fantasy world.
While it is not perfect in all it's choices, as an experienced fantasy reader I enjoyed the references to classic tropes and their deconstruction. Satire can be better when it's not trying too hard to make you laugh.
I'm glad I found it through a Story Graph reading challenge prompt. Sometimes you find a book that was written for you 20 years after it was published and wonder where it's been all these years.
I love reading challenges with prompts that specify a type of book and let you choose the book you'll read for that prompt. You can also use these prompts to find novels other members think fit a prompt you like. I found The Simoqin Prophecies in the Speculative fiction genres challenge, under the prompt for Comic Speculative Fiction.
Toxic relationships are a significant aspect of Gailey's work. However, the levels of horror and generational trauma in Just Like Home were challenging.
It is a powerful story and I'm glad I made the effort to experience it to its conclusion.
I was looking for a Story Graph reading challenge for 2025.
I like challenges with prompts that specify an SFF subgenre and make you try and figure out where your books belong. It's a neat way to learn and think about what you read.
I've already covered the main subgenres and was glad to find a new challenge for books that subvert the main categories.
With prompts like:
Portal Anti-Fantasy:
Characters reject the fantastical world or question its morality.
Example: The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
Dystopian Satire:
Deconstructs traditional dystopian tropes through humor or irony.
Example: Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.
Post-Horror:
Downplays traditional scares for emotional depth and thematic exploration.
Example: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
This is a better list for long time SFF readers that are looking for novels that play with the main tropes of the genre.
I find that most of the authors I read today are working with established tropes but bend, reshape or subvert them.