The Fill in the Gaps: 100 Project Reading Challenge

I am so excited to join this challenge, which was started by MoonRat, and which has been mentioned on numerous blogs.

It works like this: You compile a list of 100 books that you have sitting in your To Be Read ("TBR") pile, and you give give yourself five years to complete the challenge. Allowing for a leeway of 25%, you should consider that you have succeeded in this challenge if you finish 75% of your list.

My challenge will end on May 28, 2016.

2016 UPDATE: I didn't do very well on my five-year challenge! When I wrote this post in 2011, 2016 seemed so far away! A lot has happened in my personal life since that time, so reading and blogging took a back-burner. As a result, I only read four books on my list of 105:

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander, Book 1)
2. The Road by Cormac McCarthy 
3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter, Book #1) 
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter, Book #2)

So, I am keeping the same list and extending for another five-years to May 28, 2021! Let's hope that I make better progress than just four books!

If you want to join me in the challenge, click HERE.

I had a really hard time narrowing down my list to just 100. My TBR pile is HUGE! I could have easily just made an entire list of classics that I want to read, but I thought that might be too daunting! I tried to mix it up a bit.

I ended up paring down my list to:

• Classics that are on the top of my TBR list.
• Popular books that were on bestseller lists.
• Recommendations from others.

My lists runs to 105 because I needed to get the entire Outlander series in there, and I could not figure out which five books to eliminate!

If I manage to get through this list, I clearly will need to start another one!

Wish me luck! This list is in no particular order, other than grouping authors/series together. I do not pledge to read them in this order.

1. Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive by Lauren Hillenbrand
2. Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 
4. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
5. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
6. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
7. Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie
8. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
9. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
10. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
11. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
12. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
13. Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 1)
14. The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 2)
15. The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 3)
16. The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 4)
17. Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 5)
18. The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 6)
19. Merrick by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 7)
20. Blood and Gold by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 8)
21. Blackwood Farm by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 9)
22. Blood Canticle by Anne Rice (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 10)
23. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
24. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
25. Dracula by Bram Stoker
26. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
27. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
28. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
29. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
30. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (Robert Langdon Series, Book 1)
31. The da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Robert Langdon Series, Book 2)
32. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Robert Langdon Series, Book 3)
33. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
34. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
35. ‘Tis by Frank McCourt
36. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
37. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
38. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
39. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
40. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
41. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, Book 1)
42. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, Book 2)
43. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, Book 3)
44. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series, Book 3)
45. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series, Book 4)
46. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series, Book 5)
47. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series, Book 6)
48. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter Series, Book 7)
49. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
50. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
51. Emma by Jane Austen
52. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
53. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
54. Persuasion by Jane Austen
55. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 1)
56. The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 2)
57. The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 3)
58. The Plains of Passage by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 4)
59. The Shelters of Stone by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 5)
60. The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel (Earth’s Children Series, Book 6)
61. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
62. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
63. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
64. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
65. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
66. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
67. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
68. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
71. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
72. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
73. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
74. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Little Women Series, Book 1)
75. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (Little Women Series, Book 2)
76. Joy’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott (Little Women Series, Book 3)
77. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 1)
78. Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 2)
79. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 3)
80. On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 4)
81. By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 5)
82. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 6)
83. Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 7)
84. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 8)
85. The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 9)
86. On the Way Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 10)
87. West from Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House Series, Book 11)
88. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
89. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
90. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
91. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
92. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
93. Lord of the Flies by Sir William Golding
94. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Millennium Series, Book 1)
95. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (Millennium Series, Book 2)
96. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest by Stieg Larsson (Millennium Series, Book 3)
97. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series, Book 2)
98. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series, Book 3)
99. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series, Book 4)
100. The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series, Book 5)
101. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series, Book 6)
102. An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series, Book 7)