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Sunday, May 29, 2011

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

8 comments:

  1. Hi!
    Thanks for following me, I'm following you! Good luck with your challenge - I can't believe you haven't read Harry Potter series yet! lol
    I should compile a list like this too, I have so many books I need to read eventually..they just pile up so fast!

    April @ My Shelf Confessions

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  2. Hi, April! Thanks for stopping by.

    I actually did read the first Harry Potter book when it first came out and I loved it! So, that one will be a re-read for me. Then I started on Chamber of Secrets, and I thought to myself that this would be the type of book that I would love to read with my kids one day. So, I closed the book and forced myself to not read any further or see the movies!

    I am currently reading the Philosopher's Stone with my girls, and they are Harry Potter crazy! We can't wait to read the whole series! It is so nice sharing this with them!

    I know what you mean about the books piling up! My TBR list is HUGE! I had a hard time narrowing it down.

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  3. Hi Darlene - I'm like you...still new to Book Blogs and learning my way around. Just wanted to let you know I really like your blog and have joined. You would recognize me as Janet Beasley or JLB Creatives - but for some reason I can't find on my Google account where to default it to my JLB Creatives account, SO I show up here in the followers list as Don and Janet. Thanks for building such a cool blog! Have a great day!
    http://jlbcreatives.blogspot.com

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  4. Thanks for visiting, Janet! I'm so happy you stopped by! Your photography is just beautiful!

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  5. Darlene, I've read a bunch of these books, and so many of them are my favorites! I read all the Harry Potter books aloud to my boys--a great family experience! Good luck with all your challenges. My blog is A Book A Day

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  6. Hi, Mary! Thanks so much for visiting. I am following you as well. I noticed from your blog that you enjoy Young Adult novels. You might be interested in taking a look at the books in the 101 Fantasy Reading Challenge found here: http://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.com/2011/05/101-fantasy-reading-challenge-perpetual.html.

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  7. This challenge looks cool! I'll have to think about which books to include.
    Thanks for following and I'm following you back.

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  8. Thanks, Lauren B! Hope you'll join the challenge!

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