Here I am 19 months into Simon’s 12-month challenge to read one book for each year of the 20th century, and I still have 12 books to go. In January I had 38 left to read. If I had any kind of discipline I would be done by now. After all I have read 61 books already this year. But I found that that kind of discipline is nothing but an invitation to reader’s block for me. Back in 2012 I limited myself to the ACOB list and it really cut back on my desire to read. This year mixing the list up with whatever catches my fancy has been a much better recipe for progress.
Here are the 12 books I have left to read:
1934 – Burmese Days by George Orwell1936 – The Thinking Reed by Rebecca West1939 – And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie1942 – Clark Clifford’s Body by Kenneth Fearing1947 – Not Now, but Now by M.F.K. Fisher1963 – The Old Man and Me by Elaine Dundy1965 – Of the Farm by John Updike1971 – Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller1972 – Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl 1973 – After Claude by Iris Owens1977 – Golden Child by Penelope Fitzgerald1979 – The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer
Would I be foolish to say that I am going to try and finish these by the end of August? Probably, but maybe I will say it anyway. I am, after all, unemployed at the moment. Should be a breeze right? Since about January I have been reading the list in chronological order. I wonder if I Should I stick to that? It is kind of fun to see how style and content evolve or how some books are either ahead of or behind their times. But forcing myself to read them in order does sometimes slow me down as well.
Here is the whole list. It is amazing how much the books have changed since I posted the very first iteration. When I finish the whole century I plan on doing a bit of a comparison to show how the list evolved as I jettisoned some titles in favor of others that were more readable.
[Updated 09/02/13]
1900 – Claudine at School by Collette1901 – Claudine in Paris by Collette1902 – The Immoralist by Andre Gide1903 – The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers1904 – Peter Camenzind by Hermann Hesse1905 – The Duel by Aleksandr Kuprin1906 – Young Torless by Robert Musil1907 – The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad (ML100)1908 – Love’s Shadow by Ada Leverson1909 – Martin Eden by Jack London1910 – Clayhanger by Arnold Bennett1911 – Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm (ML100)1912 – The Charwoman’s Daughter by James Stephens 1913 – T. Tembarom by Frances Hodgson Burnett1914 – Penrod by Booth Tarkington1915 – The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela1916 – Under Fire by Henri Barbusse1917 – Gone to Earth by Mary Webb1918 – Patricia Brent-Spinster by Herbert George Jenkins1919 – Consequences by E.M. Delafield1920 – Queen Lucia by E.F. Benson1921 – Dangerous Ages by Rose Macauley1922 – The Judge by Rebecca West1923 – The Ladies of Lyndon by Margaret Kennedy1924 – Some Do Not by Ford Madox Ford (ML100)1925 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald1926 – Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne1927 – Rhapsody by Dorothy Edwards1928 – Quartet by Jean Rhys1929 – Passing by Nella Larsen1930 – Angel Pavement by J.B. Priestly1931 – The Square Circle by Denis Mackail1932 – Year Before Last by Kay Boyle1933 – Ordinary Families by E. Arnot Robertson1934 – Burmese Days by George Orwell1935 – A House and Its Head by Ivy Compton-Burnett1936 – The Thinking Reed by Rebecca West1937 – Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson1938 – Princes in the Land by Joanna Cannan1939 – And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie1940 – Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather1941 – The Castle on the Hill by Elizabeth Goudge1942 – Clark Clifford’s Body by Kenneth Fearing1943 – Gideon Planish by Sinclair Lewis1944 – Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp1945 – The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford1946 – Every Good Deed by Dorothy Whipple1947 – Not Now, but Now by M.F.K. Fisher1948 – The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh1949 – Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford1950 – Our Spoons Came from Woolworths by Barbara Comyns1951 – A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor1952 – The Far Country by Nevil Shute1953 – Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis1954 – Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins1955 – The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith1956 – The Flight from the Enchanter by Iris Murdoch1957 – Angel by Elizabeth Taylor1958 – A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym1959 – The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley1960 – The Bachelors by Muriel Spark1961 – Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (ML100)1962 – A Clockwork Orange by A. Burgess (ML100)1963 – The Old Man and Me by Elaine Dundy1964 – The Garrick Year by Margaret Drabble1965 – Of the Farm by John Updike1966 – The House on the Cliff by D.E. Stevenson1967 – My Friend Says It’s Bullet-Proof by Penelope Mortimer1968 – Sarah’s Cottage by D.E. Stevenson1969 – The Waterfall by Margaret Drabble 1970 – 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff1971 – Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller1972 – Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl 1973 – After Claude by Iris Owens1974 – House of Stairs by William Sleator1975 – Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Crucial Conversations by May Sarton1976 – The Takeover by Muriel Spark1977 – Golden Child by Penelope Fitzgerald1978 – The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym1979 – The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer1980 – The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco1981 – Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (ML100)1982 – Wish Her Safe at Home by Stephen Benatar1983 – Look at Me by Anita Brookner1984 – Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner1985 – Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson1986 – Anagrams by Lorrie Moore1987 – Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher1988 – The Temple by Stephen Spender1989 – Passing On by Penelope Lively and Summer People by Marge Piercy1990 – Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman1991 – The Translator by Ward Just1992 – Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells1993 – While England Sleeps by David Leavitt1994 – The Longings of Women by Marge Piercy1995 – Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson1996 – Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood1997 – Grace Notes by Bernard MacLaverty1998 – The Book of Lies by Felice Picano1999 – Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
hogglestock 
Of course it would be foolish. That's why you should do it. Like one August we read a ridiculous pile of novellas. Ridiculous is fun! And everybody needs more fun. Go ahead. I'll be rooting for you!
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If my TBR lists are anything, they are always ridiculous! I haven't been getting to the computer much the past couple of weeks due to a level of busyness beyond my control (I'm opting to read books vs. screens when I can lest I go insane – I don't do “busy” well). I'm due to start school back up Monday week with the kids and I'm getting frantic about all that I want to have read before then. That is the truly ridiculous thing for me – it's not like I won't continue to read. Don't know why I set such lofty reading goals for myself…like you, I tend to instantly start warring against them. That said, I will be with Frances cheering you on.
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You'll be finished in time for me to start my second century! I'm hoping to do it again in 2014. And if you find Summer Will Show anywhere near as dull as I did, then set aside quite a while for it… although, in turn, it wasn't as dull as The Corner That Held Them. I love Lolly Willowes, and I love STW's letters, but I'm going to stop there with her.
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Don't worry, you are way ahead of me, there are still so many empty spaces on my list.
But I wish you good luck with your reading.
Marianne from Let's Read
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I think you are being too hard on yourself. 26 out of 38 books is in 7 months is nothing to sneeze at! I made a modified TBR dare at the beginning of the year to read at least 10 books from my shelves by April 1 and only managed 5. It’s true, reading challenges can make other books look oh so attractive.
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Thomas: I know you have already written a book (bravo to you!) but I think you should consider writing a book about your adventures in reading. Realizing, of course, that you have written quite a bit on your blog already, but having all that compiled into one pretty book would be quite the treat.
Kim
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My list is going slowly but it is going. I have only posted up the years and then find the books to slot into them. If I were to list the actual books for each year I'd go off them before I read them. I prefer the continual surprise of finding a book and thinking, “Hey this will fit into 19..whatever”. More spontaneous. At least you're ahead of my list. Enjoy.
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You are doing so well with this! Keep on, you do have until the end of the year… I'm thinking of starting this project in 2014 — at first thought to do it all in one year, but I like the 2 year idea better, simply because I agree that room is needed for all the other books I'll want to read. And to allow for the 'going off' books in a list effect, of course…
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Frances: It does at least feel less daunting than the AOTN madness.
Susan: I think list making is something we like to do that is bookish without actually having to read something.
Simon: I have read enough plodding books as part of ACOB that you have now officially scared me off of Summer Will Show. I chose The Thinking Reed by Rebecca West instead. So far, so good.
Marianne: Good luck with your list. Don't let it box you in.
Ruthiella: I guess the grass is always greener.
Kim: If only I had the drive.
Pam: I definitely get the point of not choosing a list ahead of time, but I wanted to maximize reading from books I already owned and that took a fair amount of prep. Plus there are some years that have so many good books I didn't want to do too much overlapping.
Mel: I would definitely like to finish it well before the end of the year.
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