The Intro

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers."

Charles W. Eliot

The purpose of this blog is to follow-through on a goal I've set for myself last winter. I've always enjoyed books and started reading before I began school. My childhood bedroom was a constant mess of stacks of books from all genres and periods. Once every few months, my mother would make me clean out from under my bed where there would invariably be twenty or more books that never made it back to the library or friends bookshelves (I've gotten much better at returning books - trust me). I would have to box up my books about once a year and donate or give away in order to make space for new books that would always come my way. As I got older, relatives began giving me boxes of books they or their children have outgrown and I was introduced to the romantic novel this way, which is sort of to blame for the creation of this project. Truthfully, I never cared for romantic novels and really only read them when I could find nothing else.

Over the past two years, I've had some health problems that led me to being unemployed and in and out of hospitals often. I had a lot of time on my hands and never being a huge fan of tv, I read more in the past two years than I ever have before. I would literally read an entire book in one day and start another right away. My vision became blurry, my back cramped but still I read anything I could get my hands on. Nurses were a great source of books - but usually only romance novels like Nora Roberts or Mauve Binchy. I suffered through them but also began forming an idea in my head that would eventually become this list. What if I composed a list of books that are considered classics, or must-reads for educated people? Books that will contribute to my outlook on life, my knowledge? Never having gone to University, I've always suffered from a sort of idiot-complex. I envy University students who sit through lengthy lit classes and have intelligent discussions about Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift and Hemingway. If I could research and put together a list of say, 150 books, and work on it for however long it took to read each one, I too could have some slice of knowledge that I could carry around with me, tucked away in some part of my brain. If ever a conversation about Jane Austen or Leo Tolstoy came up, I too could say something somewhat intelligent, or at least that I've read that book and yes, I liked it too.

So, I looked around on the internet and found several lists of books that are stated to be what people (educated or not) should read at some point in their life, removed the duplicates, as well as the books I have already read and limited it to 150. Of course, you will notice that there are actually more than 150 books on this list as some of the choices are a series of books that I felt it was important to read the whole series and not just the first book in the series written by the author. An example of this is The Lord of The Rings trilogy by J.R.R Tolkien.

I plan to keep a private "book journal" where I list what I thought of the book, length of time to read the book and whether I would recommend the book to others, some of that information, I will share here as well. Really, the list/journal is not for anyone else to take to heart, and I will be the first to say that I am in no way, shape or form, an expert with credentials to be forming such a list. However, I love to read and I also love to set goals for myself. Basically, this book list is a long term goal for me to accomplish. The blog is really a form of accountability for myself while working through my list. And if anyone happens to stumble across it and wants to agree/disagree with me or share their own list, that would be a perk to having the blog out there. 

I have not set a deadline for myself, but do think I will start at least one book per month. Some of the books on the list are over 1500 pages in length and may take longer than a month to read, depending on what else I have going on in my life at the time.

One rule I have set for myself is that I must give each and every book a fair chance. So, I'm setting a flexible "minimum chapters read". I should give the book at least 10 chapters to get me interested. If, after 10 chapters, I'm really not in sync with , or liking the book, I will mark it as unread and carry on with the next choice on the list.

The list has been alphabetized by title for organizational purposes and is not an indication of the order in which the books are to be read. Truthfully, the books will be read in the order of my personal interest and the ability to find the book at the library or online. None of the following books will be purchased. All will either be borrowed or downloaded. Audio books will also be acceptable substitutes.