We Read To Know We’re Not Alone.

Ocean Vuong's second novel is a luminous meditation on found family and the unexpected connections that save us. The story centers on Hai, a 19-year-old queer Vietnamese-American college dropout and painkiller addict who encounters Grazina, a Lithuanian-born elderly woman with dementia, just as he's about to jump from a bridge in East Gladness, Connecticut.

What begins as a suicide intervention becomes an unlikely caregiving arrangement: Grazina offers Hai housing in exchange for his help as an unofficial live-in nurse. When Hai takes a job at a diner to support himself and Grazina, his fellow workers become the family he didn't expect to find, united by desperation and circumstance.

This is a book about transient relationships—the people who find you when you're at your lowest, who don't fix you but show up anyway. It's a story about grace, connection, the unexpected, second chances, found family and how the small moments in life are the most profound. Following the cycles of history, memory, and time, The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life.

Told in moments, "The Emperor of Gladness" takes existentialism to a deeply intimate level, leaving the reader to contemplate what it is to live in a messy, complicated world. With his characteristic poetic prose, Vuong crafts a tender exploration of survival, dignity, and the revolutionary act of caring for one another.

A Year of Literary Discovery

Reading challenges often feel like homework—rigid lists that prioritize completion over connection. This challenge is different. It's designed for curious minds who want to expand their literary horizons without the pressure of arbitrary goals or forced genres.

The Philosophy

Instead of racing through a predetermined number of books, this challenge encourages intentional wandering through the literary landscape. Each month offers a gentle prompt designed to nudge you toward books you might not otherwise discover. There's no finish line, no badges to earn—just the quiet pleasure of following your curiosity wherever it leads.

Monthly Invitations

January: Read something that scares you (not horror—something that challenges your worldview) February: Pick up a book translated from a language you don't speak March: Read something published the year you were born April: Choose a book with fewer than 200 pages May: Read something recommended by someone under 25 June: Pick a book from a country you've never visited July: Read something that won an award you've never heard of August: Choose a book written by someone who shares your profession September: Read something that takes place in a single day October: Pick a book of essays or short stories November: Read something that's been sitting on your shelf for over a year December: Choose a book that someone you trust says "changed their life"

The Only Rules

1. Trust your instincts. If a book isn't working, put it down guilt-free.

2. Document your journey. Keep notes about what you discover, not what you complete.

3. Share discoveries. Recommend books that surprise you to others.

4. Be flexible. Skip months if life gets busy. Double up if you're inspired.

Why This Works

This challenge recognizes that meaningful reading happens when we're genuinely curious, not when we're checking boxes. By offering invitations rather than assignments, it creates space for serendipity—that magical moment when the right book finds you at exactly the right time.

The goal isn't to become a "better" reader or to impress anyone with your literary taste. It's to cultivate a more adventurous relationship with books, to remember that every story has the potential to teach us something new about the world or ourselves.

Getting Started

Pick any month, any prompt that intrigues you. Visit your local bookstore or library with nothing but curiosity. Let your eye wander across spines until something calls to you. Trust that instinct—it's rarely wrong.

Remember: the best reading challenge is the one that makes you fall in love with books all over again.