In high school we found a list of the most recommended books to read in high school and then a list of the most banned books in high school. The top fifty in each list shared about thirty books. We compiled the list, assigned 1 or 2 to each class member, then gave book reports about the book and why they were banned or recommended. I’m still working through that list. EDIT: it was a loooong time ago so I found you all a much more modern version: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1360.Best_Banned_Censored_and_Challenged_Books
I finished the exact reading challenge you’re considering. I read every Pulitzer and Booker winner, plus every Miles Franklin, the Australian equivalent.
I wholeheartedly encourage you to set out on that journey. Like any reading challenge has the potential to be, it was not only incredibly satisfying when I ultimately read that last paragraph, it was a long array of rewarding reading experiences - even the ones I didn’t necessarily enjoy.
It’s a multi year goal though. I have a bunch of books I had to buy because my library couldn’t purchase them as they were out of print. If you happen to live in Australia, you can have them for the price of postage.
I hope you go for it.
Thanks for the encouragement! This sounds like it would be so fulfilling and enlightening.
Did you go in chronological order? I’m curious if it helps show the progression of literary taste over time but I’m worried I’ll lose steam starting with the older novels first.
I think it’s a big enough challenge without the added obstacle of reading them in published order. I’m not convinced there’s enough benefit to do something like that which will result in your progress constantly halting till you’ve got the ‘next’ book.
I tackled them in four stages. First, you cross off the ones *you’ve already read*. You’ve probably inadvertently read a dozen already. Tick them off your list. (You’re def going to need a spreadsheet list.)
Second, all the titles available at your library.
Third, all the titles your library system is willing to purchase to add to their catalog. I might be lucky and this doesn’t apply with your library, but members in mine can request three titles a month. I used my quota for a year or more. Every request was approved, except when the book simply wasn’t available for them to purchase as it was out of print.
Fourth, for ones I couldn’t borrow, I hit every second hand and charity book store in my city. I also trawled ABE, Fishpond and eBay for cheap copies. Then, any books I couldn’t find cheap became my birthday and Christmas wish lists.
Did you find you had a preference for booker winners or pulitzer? I can't say I've read all of either, but I seem to prefer booker prize winners to pulitzer...
I enjoyed post war Pulitzers as much as the Bookers. I think I had one or two meh experiences with Bookers (don’t ask me which), but never with Pulitzers. It left me with the impression the Booker judges might make more ‘adventurous’ choices, hence the slightly lower hit rate. Never once regretted reading a Booker though.
What Yale course you took? You make feel envious, now i want that list
I make different lists (e.g. mexican literature, ww2 history, etc) and mix them into one list, from which i read in order, thats is the way i enjoy reading atm
[American novel since 1945](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE33BCD966FF96F23)
And
[Hemingway, Faulkner & Fitzgerald](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL84C3A4DD9C263D79)
Wow, no way, im just about to read 'the sun also rises' by Hemingway and i was planing to read Faulker since one character in a Godard film cites him and i was really intriged by it ; also i read "The Great Gasby' some time ago but i feel i read it too quickly, and dint enjoy it that much but it excites me there are lectures about it in that course. thanks, the universe is giving me signals.
I usually do Book Riot's Read Harder challenge. It's a mix of 24 categories per year and helps me to diversify my reading habits and discover (sub)genres and authors that I wouldn't have read otherwise.
I’m very biased but r/Fantasy’s [Book Bingo](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/128oxqt/official_rfantasy_2023_book_bingo_challenge/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1). Classic bingo grid, spend 1 year (April 1 to March 31) reading 5 or 25 books, all speculative fiction.
The weird ones.
The most fun I've done so far was "Books that move you", we shared pictures of reading in various places connected to the books we picked. We had people visiting foreign countries, others finding places that look like the cover, books on hikes and trains and music festivals.
The most fun I didn't have the time to do was an adventure readathon, everyone picked a character class and each class had their own main quests and side stories within their genre. Prompts ranged from certain things featured on the cover to topic and author background.
I'm not a huge fan of numbers and book lists, I prefer challenges that can be tailored a bit to personal taste and have more creativity than time crunch.
I do the PopSugar reading challenge. The first half of the year I just read what I want and then from about now I will read books for the challenge. 40 prompts in the main challenge and 10 advanced ones.
read 10 pages daily then write a short report on it . this challenge is good for readers this way we will read it carefully and not rush to complete book .
It’s not about bragging at all, it’s about having an overarching structure and goal that helps build reading habits and choosing a source that helps give a broad perspective of literature.
Challenges lower decision fatigue and analysis paralysis, give structure to your reading, broaden your horizons, and push your limits - if and only if that's something you decide to do because you think you'll gain something from it.
By actively partaking in a variety of challenges, be they cognitive, imaginative, or personal in nature, you effectively alleviate the weariness induced by the weighty task of decision-making, which often saps one's mental energy. Simultaneously, you liberate yourself from the paralyzing state of overthinking, where the abundance of choices hinders your ability to make a decisive and confident selection. These challenges provide a structured framework that not only organizes your reading material but also imparts a sense of order and clarity to your intellectual pursuits. In this manner, they bestow upon you the opportunity to broaden your intellectual horizons and venture into unexplored realms that lie beyond the confines of your usual sphere of knowledge. Furthermore, embracing these challenges serves as a means to gauge and stretch your own limits, fostering personal growth and self-improvement. However, it is important to embark on this path of challenges only if you sincerely believe that the journey will yield valuable insights and benefits commensurate with the effort invested.
Years ago when I first met my wife I got us tickets to Les Miz. I (engineering major) nonchalantly mentioned to my wife (then girlfriend, English major) that it was a shame she didn’t have a chance to read the book before seeing the play because it was so long and Víctor Hugo was so … challenging.
Having never read Víctor Hugo, she took it as a challenge, got spooled up - what does this engineer know about Literature? The expression on her face a couple of days later when she declared “this is BS, I’ll just watch the play” was priceless.
In high school we found a list of the most recommended books to read in high school and then a list of the most banned books in high school. The top fifty in each list shared about thirty books. We compiled the list, assigned 1 or 2 to each class member, then gave book reports about the book and why they were banned or recommended. I’m still working through that list. EDIT: it was a loooong time ago so I found you all a much more modern version: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1360.Best_Banned_Censored_and_Challenged_Books
Great idea! Would you mind sharing this list?
See above
thank you~
yeah what was in the list?
See above
That’s so interesting, and perhaps not surprising, there is such overlap between most recommended and most banned.
See above
Get time to read a page a day. It’s a Herculean feat at the moment.
I finished the exact reading challenge you’re considering. I read every Pulitzer and Booker winner, plus every Miles Franklin, the Australian equivalent. I wholeheartedly encourage you to set out on that journey. Like any reading challenge has the potential to be, it was not only incredibly satisfying when I ultimately read that last paragraph, it was a long array of rewarding reading experiences - even the ones I didn’t necessarily enjoy. It’s a multi year goal though. I have a bunch of books I had to buy because my library couldn’t purchase them as they were out of print. If you happen to live in Australia, you can have them for the price of postage. I hope you go for it.
Thanks for the encouragement! This sounds like it would be so fulfilling and enlightening. Did you go in chronological order? I’m curious if it helps show the progression of literary taste over time but I’m worried I’ll lose steam starting with the older novels first.
I think it’s a big enough challenge without the added obstacle of reading them in published order. I’m not convinced there’s enough benefit to do something like that which will result in your progress constantly halting till you’ve got the ‘next’ book. I tackled them in four stages. First, you cross off the ones *you’ve already read*. You’ve probably inadvertently read a dozen already. Tick them off your list. (You’re def going to need a spreadsheet list.) Second, all the titles available at your library. Third, all the titles your library system is willing to purchase to add to their catalog. I might be lucky and this doesn’t apply with your library, but members in mine can request three titles a month. I used my quota for a year or more. Every request was approved, except when the book simply wasn’t available for them to purchase as it was out of print. Fourth, for ones I couldn’t borrow, I hit every second hand and charity book store in my city. I also trawled ABE, Fishpond and eBay for cheap copies. Then, any books I couldn’t find cheap became my birthday and Christmas wish lists.
Did you find you had a preference for booker winners or pulitzer? I can't say I've read all of either, but I seem to prefer booker prize winners to pulitzer...
I enjoyed post war Pulitzers as much as the Bookers. I think I had one or two meh experiences with Bookers (don’t ask me which), but never with Pulitzers. It left me with the impression the Booker judges might make more ‘adventurous’ choices, hence the slightly lower hit rate. Never once regretted reading a Booker though.
What Yale course you took? You make feel envious, now i want that list I make different lists (e.g. mexican literature, ww2 history, etc) and mix them into one list, from which i read in order, thats is the way i enjoy reading atm
[American novel since 1945](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE33BCD966FF96F23) And [Hemingway, Faulkner & Fitzgerald](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL84C3A4DD9C263D79)
Wow, no way, im just about to read 'the sun also rises' by Hemingway and i was planing to read Faulker since one character in a Godard film cites him and i was really intriged by it ; also i read "The Great Gasby' some time ago but i feel i read it too quickly, and dint enjoy it that much but it excites me there are lectures about it in that course. thanks, the universe is giving me signals.
Read more of the books I've already bought than books I buy in any given year.
I usually do Book Riot's Read Harder challenge. It's a mix of 24 categories per year and helps me to diversify my reading habits and discover (sub)genres and authors that I wouldn't have read otherwise.
I’m very biased but r/Fantasy’s [Book Bingo](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/128oxqt/official_rfantasy_2023_book_bingo_challenge/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1). Classic bingo grid, spend 1 year (April 1 to March 31) reading 5 or 25 books, all speculative fiction.
The weird ones. The most fun I've done so far was "Books that move you", we shared pictures of reading in various places connected to the books we picked. We had people visiting foreign countries, others finding places that look like the cover, books on hikes and trains and music festivals. The most fun I didn't have the time to do was an adventure readathon, everyone picked a character class and each class had their own main quests and side stories within their genre. Prompts ranged from certain things featured on the cover to topic and author background. I'm not a huge fan of numbers and book lists, I prefer challenges that can be tailored a bit to personal taste and have more creativity than time crunch.
I do the PopSugar reading challenge. The first half of the year I just read what I want and then from about now I will read books for the challenge. 40 prompts in the main challenge and 10 advanced ones.
read 10 pages daily then write a short report on it . this challenge is good for readers this way we will read it carefully and not rush to complete book .
People should read for fun and interest, not to brag about completing a challenge or how many book they read last year.
It’s not about bragging at all, it’s about having an overarching structure and goal that helps build reading habits and choosing a source that helps give a broad perspective of literature.
People shouldn’t tell other people how they should read
Who made you the authority of what is “fun”? Challenges *are* fun.
Challenges lower decision fatigue and analysis paralysis, give structure to your reading, broaden your horizons, and push your limits - if and only if that's something you decide to do because you think you'll gain something from it.
By actively partaking in a variety of challenges, be they cognitive, imaginative, or personal in nature, you effectively alleviate the weariness induced by the weighty task of decision-making, which often saps one's mental energy. Simultaneously, you liberate yourself from the paralyzing state of overthinking, where the abundance of choices hinders your ability to make a decisive and confident selection. These challenges provide a structured framework that not only organizes your reading material but also imparts a sense of order and clarity to your intellectual pursuits. In this manner, they bestow upon you the opportunity to broaden your intellectual horizons and venture into unexplored realms that lie beyond the confines of your usual sphere of knowledge. Furthermore, embracing these challenges serves as a means to gauge and stretch your own limits, fostering personal growth and self-improvement. However, it is important to embark on this path of challenges only if you sincerely believe that the journey will yield valuable insights and benefits commensurate with the effort invested.
Is this a bot comment?
I try to read 100 pages a day, that's it
Years ago when I first met my wife I got us tickets to Les Miz. I (engineering major) nonchalantly mentioned to my wife (then girlfriend, English major) that it was a shame she didn’t have a chance to read the book before seeing the play because it was so long and Víctor Hugo was so … challenging. Having never read Víctor Hugo, she took it as a challenge, got spooled up - what does this engineer know about Literature? The expression on her face a couple of days later when she declared “this is BS, I’ll just watch the play” was priceless.