January 1-December 31, 2011
Susie of Useless Beauty is hosting The Book Masochism Challenge. She writes:
What would a person with a very mixed view of the world of literature (me) undertake to do in 2011? They would undertake the Book Masochism Challenge (I have just made that up, to reflect my mixed views on reading and the possible biting off more than can chew-ness of it all. Oh yes. Read on). And that is what I am going to do!
The Guardian published this list ages ago of the 100 best books . Lists of best books are difficult, aren’t they, and obviously probably the only person in the world who believes this is actually a list of the best 100 books is the person who made the list, but, this is the thing. I have read 27 of the books on that list (I have just counted), and apart from Jude The Obscure which is rubbish, they were all definitely worth reading. Definitely. So I feel there is a good chance the others might be good as well. And I am going to find out! And at the very least I think this list will introduce me to a couple of books I wouldn’t otherwise have read.
I am not going to read all the ones I haven’t read, because 73 is quite a lot. I am going to aim for 30, and see how I get on (some of the books on the list are quite long, {cough} Clarissa {cough}). I will make a page and list my progress on it and update you occasionally, perhaps once a month. Another bonus is that these are exactly the kind of books you would find in the library, or in the 50p bin at Oxfam, so I am not anticipating having to spend lots of money. Partner is excited because he thinks this means I will read Moby Dick, which is his favourite book Evah and we will be able to, I don’t know, form some kind of very small and exclusive Moby Dick admiration society. I have seen the length of Moby Dick and I don’t know how you could possibly talk about chasing a whale for that long. I may start with something shorter.
(I don’t expect anyone to join me in the Book Masochism Challenge, because that’s quite a lot of very long books and you all have busy lives. But if anyone does want to, you’re obviously more than welcome and I would add a Mr Linky to my monthly updates so we could encourage each other. You don’t have to go for 30, obviously, you could just set your own number. If I get to 30, though, I shall Buy Myself A Treat!).
What would a person with a very mixed view of the world of literature (me) undertake to do in 2011? They would undertake the Book Masochism Challenge (I have just made that up, to reflect my mixed views on reading and the possible biting off more than can chew-ness of it all. Oh yes. Read on). And that is what I am going to do!
The Guardian published this list ages ago of the 100 best books . Lists of best books are difficult, aren’t they, and obviously probably the only person in the world who believes this is actually a list of the best 100 books is the person who made the list, but, this is the thing. I have read 27 of the books on that list (I have just counted), and apart from Jude The Obscure which is rubbish, they were all definitely worth reading. Definitely. So I feel there is a good chance the others might be good as well. And I am going to find out! And at the very least I think this list will introduce me to a couple of books I wouldn’t otherwise have read.
I am not going to read all the ones I haven’t read, because 73 is quite a lot. I am going to aim for 30, and see how I get on (some of the books on the list are quite long, {cough} Clarissa {cough}). I will make a page and list my progress on it and update you occasionally, perhaps once a month. Another bonus is that these are exactly the kind of books you would find in the library, or in the 50p bin at Oxfam, so I am not anticipating having to spend lots of money. Partner is excited because he thinks this means I will read Moby Dick, which is his favourite book Evah and we will be able to, I don’t know, form some kind of very small and exclusive Moby Dick admiration society. I have seen the length of Moby Dick and I don’t know how you could possibly talk about chasing a whale for that long. I may start with something shorter.
(I don’t expect anyone to join me in the Book Masochism Challenge, because that’s quite a lot of very long books and you all have busy lives. But if anyone does want to, you’re obviously more than welcome and I would add a Mr Linky to my monthly updates so we could encourage each other. You don’t have to go for 30, obviously, you could just set your own number. If I get to 30, though, I shall Buy Myself A Treat!).
To join, go to The Book Masochism Challenge.
