1001 Books To Read Before You Die Challenge (Perpetual)

Have you ever heard of this book?

The book was originally released in 2006, and then updated versions were released in 2008 and 2010.

The book lists 1001 books that everyone should read before they die, and they give a little caption for each book explaining why the book was chosen.

With the 2008 and 2010 editions, some books were removed and some books were added. You can see a list of the original 2006 books HERE. In browsing this list, I see quite a few books on my "Fill in the Gaps" Challenge and also on my TBR list.

I figured, what the heck! This is a lifelong endeavour, so why not? I am the type of person who likes to challenge herself, so I am going for it!

Now, being the anal (what? me??) type of person that I am, I not only want to read the books on the 2006 original list but also the ones that were added in 2008 and 2010!

How do you keep track of that all, you ask? Arukiyomi (link to follow below) created a fantastic Excel spreadsheet that keeps track of it all! You can mark books as TBR (to be read), R (read), or W (wish list), and you can assign your star rating. The spreadsheet even has a handy-dandy formula where you plug in your age, country of residence (so it can calculate life span), sex, and the number of books that you read a month to determine how long it will take you to finish the entire list. You can choose whether to complete the 2006 list, 2008 list plus the 2006 books removed, 2008 list only, 2010 list plus 2008 books removed, all three lists, or the core books (the ones that were on the original 2006 list that have never been removed from either the 2008 or 2010 lists).

So, at my present age and at the rate of three books a month from this list, I am on target to finish the total 1,294 books and finish the plan when I am 75 years old!! Isn't that a hoot? I tried inputting only two books a month, and it told me that I needed to increase to three books a month in order to complete the challenge since I am likely to die in another 42 years when I am 82.

You can sort your books on this spreadsheet by author or title or even by rating, and each list of books is colour-coded. It keeps statistics for you to mark your progress!

You can also click on the book title or author, which takes you to a hyperlink (usually Wikipedia) to learn more about the author/title before you read.

I cannot rave enough about how cool this spreadsheet is! I wish I had something like this for all my books, LOL!

How can you get one, too? The Lite version of the spreadsheet is a free download, but you only get the 2010 list which it is not searchable or sortable and does not contain all the cool bells and whistles. The one that I am describing above is the Full version which is available by donation, and you choose the amount you want to donate, from £2 to £10. Pretty nominal charge, right?

Click on the button below:

If this has inspired you to take up your own challenge, let me know! I would love to hear from you!

I am keeping track of my progress below (here are the ones first up on my TBR list - reviews will be linked up as they are read:

1. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
2. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving 
3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Christmas Books, Book #1)
4. Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
5. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
6. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
9. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
10. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
11. Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 1)
12. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
13. Dracula by Bram Stoker
14. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
15. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
16. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
17. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
18. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
19. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
20. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
21. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
22. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
23. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
24. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, Book 1)
25. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
26. Emma by Jane Austen
27. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
28. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
29. Persuasion by Jane Austen
30. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
31. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
32. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
34. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
35. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
36. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
37. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
38. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
39. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Little Women Series, Book 1)
40. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
41. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
42. Lord of the Flies by Sir William Golding