I believe in the power of stories. Whether genre or literary, fiction or non-fiction. I believe that a story has the power to save lives, or to create lives for people that they never imagined they could have. I believe a story has the power to speak to the soul, to demolish barriers and build connections. To nourish the heart. To inspire greatness and nobility. To instill ideals.
I believe that a made up story can become part of us in ways that real events sometimes cannot.
I also believe that reading is one of the most important activities children can participate in, at any age. Whether by being read aloud to (which is crucial), or by picking up books themselves. Even if those books are genre fiction. Even if they’re stories with few “merits” outside of their entertainment value. Those stories are often gateways to a vast array of more challenging literature. Whatever it takes to create a reader, is worthwhile.
Because reading is so important to me, I decided to set myself a challenge. This year, before 11:59pm on December 31st, I intend to read 100 books.
I didn’t invent this challenge, there’s a SparkPeople group, a GoodReads group and I’m sure a dozen other groups of valiant book lovers setting out to do the same thing. Will some of us fail? Yes. Will there be injuries, perhaps even deaths? I can’t rule that out.
In addition to the merits of reading for my own pleasure, as a parent, I believe that anything I want to teach my children must be modeled. If I want them to read willingly and to love reading, I have to show them that I read willingly and love reading.
There are three things you can do to support me.
Firstly, insofar as I generally read the books that I want to, when I want to, my backlog is pretty small. I could use some suggestions on what to read. To that end, a comment below recommending a book or books will be helpful. Unless I’ve already read it, I will read the first book in your comment, whether or not it seems like something I would like. Caveat! If I feel that you’re suggesting “War and Peace” or some other horrific, 1,900 page long piece, I will accuse you of cruelty and I will probably decline to read it. Other than willfully attempting to make me fail through sheer magnitude, nothing will cause me to decline a First Pick. Consider this your chance to share something you love.
Secondly, consider this an opportunity to commit to reading along with me. You don’t have to read a hundred books. I will be providing weekly posts on my progress and I would love to get comments about what you’re reading in those posts.
Finally, I’m putting (some of) my money where my mouth is. If I successfully complete the challenge, I will donate $1 per read book to a reading-related charity. If I fail, I will donate $3 per read book to a reading related charity. I have yet to choose a charity, and if there are any reading or literacy driven charities that you’re aware of, support, or are involved with, I’d love to know about them.
If you want to further motivate me, you could commit a dollar-value-per-book-I-read-to-the-reading-charity-of-your-choice(TM). Like a Jog-a-Thon…or a Read-A-Thon! It’ll be on your honor to make any of these donations, at the beginning of next year, since I have no desire to handle your money. Sorry. Money is filthy.
[Parents: While digging up some of the links for this post, I found this awesome reading Milestones graphic]
Outcast, Star Wars, Fate of the Jedi 1 (because I want you to tell me if it's good)
2001: A Space Odyssey
2010: Odyssey Two
2061: Odyssey Three
3001: The Final Odyssey (yes I read all of these, you should too)
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Starship Troopers (I like Heinlein's other stuff, tell me if this is good too)
The Andromeda Strain/The Terminal Man
The Worthing Saga (three books I think)
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
The Book of Lost Things
World War Z
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
ok I'm done… for now
Try reading 'The Anubis Gates' by Tim Powers if you haven't already read it. I'm currently enjoying Bill Bryson's 'Home'
Cinder – Marissa Meyer
>.> I shall join you in this interesting challenge.
You should read:
Hunger Game Trilogy
Ender's Game
City of Thieves by David Benoff
Power to you!! You have my full support!
Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis
Rubicon, by Tom Holland (a fascinating history of the decline of the Roman Republic)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (to get ready for the new BBC production!)
Planet Narnia, by Michael Ward
Against Christianity, by Peter Leithart
How to Read a Poem, by Terry Eagleton
There. That should hold you for a while. =D
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. One of my favorite books and it is a classic!
I will likely read 100 books this year, mainly because I generally read 2-3 a week anyway (~300pgs).
Great challenge, way to go.
The empire trilogy by Raymond Feist are a great read.
Daughter of the Empire
Servant of the Empire
Mistress of the Empire.
Good luck.
Nemesis by Philip Roth (best book I managed to read last year).
Besides that, here's some others:
Blood's A Rover by James Ellroy
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Libra by Don DeLillo
Drood by Dan Simmons
The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (you've probably already read it, but hey, it's always worth re-reading).
http://colt-leasure.livejournal.com/
Welllll…not knowing anything about you, I don't know what kinds of books you usually like/read, but I will suggest three of my favorites in both fiction and non that I read last year, and hopefully one of these will be something you haven't read and of interest:
Fiction:
The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins
Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout
Good Omens – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (Incidentally, I got here via Neil's RT)
Non-Fiction:
The World Without Us – Alan Weisman
The Wordy Shipmates – Sarah Vowell
The Spirit Level – Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
The Moor's Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (and sequels)
House of Leaves (pretty long but still definitely recommended)
"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. Was the most kind and heartwarming book i've read last year.
A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving- a really astounding book. It is a classic but not overly long.
But, failing that, Veronika Decides To Die by Paulo Coelho.
I applaud your love of reading- I will join your year's plan and do the same on my blog. (I will not leave my URL here as I have a blog than is unsuitable for children.)
Another Country by James Baldwin- best book I know of on the politics of human relationships.
This seems like fun! (says the reading nerd) Okay, I don't know what your reading tastes are as I was linked here. So I'm going to suggest The Book Thief. One of my favorites. I'm going to attempt this challenge.
Impressive challenge! I have tried to read more in the past year or two and can suggest a few possibly offbeat titles: The Year of the Hare (short!), Broken Glass (short!), and 2030 (not as short — but worthwhile!). Looking across the room, I have a banker's box full of accumulated, unread tomes, so I will be joining you, though not with a numerical goal. I also offer one cautionary tale, described on my blog this past year (link to follow). Good luck! Bob W. http://mytwoinnings.blogspot.com/2011/06/neverread.html
Sabriel by Garth Nix (I read it in less than 3 hours)
The Hunger Games Trilogy (three books, quick read, brilliant)
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (another read-in-a-day, simply because it is so good)
Try some mysteries, e.g., anything by Jo Nesbo, Poet by Michael Connelly, any Lincoln Rhyme mystery and, to combine SF and Mystery/Detective genre, The Caves of Steel by Asimov. This is just a beginning.
I commend you, good sir and shall strive to do the same!
At the moment, only a few books come to mind off the top of my head; they're not any genre in particular as I do tend to read quite broadly:
"Ender's Game" and "Songmaster" by Orson Scott Card
)
"Five Quarters of the Orange" by Joanne Harris
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" – Ken Kesey
"Street Boys" – Lorenzo Carcaterra
"Neverwhere" – Neil Gaiman (for that matter, try the whole "Sandman" series – 11 books in total, and it accomplishes about 10% of your goal!
"Fahrenheit 451" – Ray Bradbury
"To Kill A Mockingbird" – Harper Lee
That's all that I can think of on the spur of the moment.
I'll get started on my own list now.
If it weren't so long, I'd say Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Shelve that one until 2013 if you must, though.
Barring that, The Golden Compass/Northern Lights by Philip Pullman.
Ghosts of a Tired Universe, by Jonas Samuelle. It's a literary acid-trip, but pretty well done.
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Saphique by Catherine Fisher (sequel to Incarceron)
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block
Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
Foxfire by Joyce Carol Oates
Here via @neilgaiman retweet.
Tried to keep away from series and thick books – and if I suggested something long it's because I inhaled it because it was so good. My recs are all over the place because I like to read everything.
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
Prince Ombra by Roderick MacLeish
The Power of One by Bryce Courtney
Afterage by Yvonne Navarro
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
The List of 7 by Mark Frost
Eric by Terry Pratchett
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Thor by Wayne Smith
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
the diving bell and the butterfly- jean-dominique bauby
Nausea- jean-paul sartre
hmm, i must like the french
Something by Tamora Pierce. Take your pick. She's wonderful.
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz
Great challenge, I'll join you too!
If you love books you will love Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair and the rest of his Thursday Next series. But if you're done with that, his book Shades of Grey is a great read too!
Perfume by Patrick Suskind. It's quite a short book and so beautifully written you'll be through it in no time.
I would also second the recommendation by Banya for Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. If you believe in the power of a book to speak to the soul and nourish the heart, you have to read this book.
František Moravec (autobiography): Master of Spies, 1975, ISBN 0-370-10353-X.
(I'm reading it right now, it's like spy novel, only the stuff really happened)
Day of the Triffids
)
Baltimore or the Tin Soldier and the Vampire
Any Hellboy title (Comics count as books
Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind
George R R Martin's A song of Ice and Fire series – starting with A Clash of Kings
Steven Brust's Taltos books
Robin Hobb's trilogys (she has many and they are equally wonderful)
Good Luck, Reading Dad!
(please don't read) 1984 (don't do it!, unless you already have. It's a let down)
Cat's Eye Dreaming by Jordan Pennington (only available in digital formats)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Face of Deception by Iris Johanson
Interesting challenge:
American Gods Neil Gaiman
Watreship Down Richard Addams
The Stranger Albert Camus
I, Robot Isaac Asimov
Something Wicked This Way Comes Ray Bradbury
The Happy Prince and Other Tales Oscar Wilde
those are a few of my favorites:)
"The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" by Sherman Alexie
this will take maybe a day or two.
Or for something fatter, "Indian Killer" also by Alexie.
And don't get so much in a hurry reading that you forget to savor the words in any of the books you read.
I think I'll join you. Let's start 2012 very well!
I hate to recommend books and then find out that people didn't liked it, so I'll stop doing it. So, good luck and know that there is somebody in the world also trying to read a hundred books.
Just begun a re-read of Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock. Not the best written story in the world but surely one of the most original and beautiful. Recommend it.
In no particular order:
Skallagrigg by William Horwood
Wyvern – A. A. Atanasio
Bogwoppit – Ursula Moray Williams
To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Down and Out In Paris and London – George Orwell
The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco
The First Chronicle of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever – Stephen Donaldson
Robin Hobb's entire back catalogue
Terry Pratchett's entire back catalogue
Heat and Dust – Ruth Prawer
To Have and Have Not – Ernest Hemingway
Silas Marner – George Eliot
Rats and Gargoyles – Mary Gentle
The Box of Delights – John Masefield
Far From the Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
Atlas Shrugged – Aine Rand
Redwall – Brian Jaques
The Stainless Steel Rat series – Harry Harrison
Who Needs Men? – Edmund Cooper
I could list dozens more but these I haven't read for years and would happily go back to them. I'll have a think and compile another list of books I want to read but never have the time to. If that would be helpful.
Dirt: the Ecstatic Skin of the Earth by William Logan
The Eye of Night by Pauline Alama
The Forms of Water by John Tyndall (available for free online at the internet archive, b/c it's old and hard to find.)
i'm in
i'll try to finish at least a hundred books this year 
some suggestions
count of montecristo (it may be thick, but a good read
les miserables
pride and prejudice
the old country by Mordicai Gerstein
stardust by neil gaiman
the thief lord by cornelia funke
sabriel by garth nix
fire and hemlock by diana wynne jones
jackaroo by cynthia voigt
wringer by jerry spinelli
the chocolate war by robert cormier
animal farm by george orwell
twelfth night by shakespeare
tom's midnight garden by philippa pierce
the thief by megan whalen turner
deerskin by robin mckinley
whirligig by paul fleischman
just some of my favorites
enjoy!
Great idea!
- Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
- The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
- Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (essay collection) by David Foster Wallace
- The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Great idea! Some suggestions:
Tales of the City – Armistead Maupin
Wyrd Sisters – Terry Pratchett
Over Sea, Under Stone – Susan Cooper
Round Ireland with a Fridge – Tony Hawks (NOT Hawk)
Dracula – Bram Stoker
My Life in France – Julia Child
The Handmaid's Tale – Margaret Atwood
Fiddling with Disaster – Ashley MacIsaac
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies – Sonya Sones
They're all books I came up with off the top of my head, and I finished all of them quite quickly. If you like travel, or reading about travel, I would move Hawks' book to the top of the list. Otherwise, have at it. Enjoy!
Lords of Discipline by Pat Conrad
Anything by Neil Gaiman is great, but my favorite of his is (w/ Terry Pratchett) Good Omens.
Raymond Feist's The Magician (and others).
Anything by Robert Jordan and/or Brandin Sanderson, particularly The Wheel of Time (starts with The Eye of the World).
On a similar note, Tolkein. Start with The Hobbit, and keep reading as long as it's fun.
Anything by Dave Barry. You will hurt from laughing.
I'll second anything by Douglas Adams (Hitchiker's Guide) or Robin Hobb (Farseer Trilogy is her best imo).
If you can get it for free, I'll also recommend Ender's game. It's a great story, but Orson Scott Card is virulently homophobic and still very much politically active; as such, I can't recommend giving him money.
Wow you have a lot of comments/followers… Good job!
Same one I suggested to Jenn! The Pale Blue Eye – Louis Bayard
Since you didn't go to "real school":
The Giver – Lois Lowry
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
Catcher In The Rye – J.D. Salinger
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
The Illuminatus Trilogy (long, but not super long)
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
)
Ubik by Phillip K. Dick
The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
A Fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Dune by Frank Herbert (My favorite book of all time)
The Count of Montecristo by Alexandre Dumas (second favorite
Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, and Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov
And I'll stop there, maybe I'll stop by later with a few more books
"Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut (I've read lots of books by this author, who keeps surprising and amazing me, would recommend all his books, but this one is my favourite)
I would also recommend anything by Frank Herbert, Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman.
I should warn you that I read mostly sci-fi and fantasy, so what I'm suggesting falls into those genres.
Just Kids – Patti Smith. (I Just finisehd reading it and it was a beautiful experience!)
Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami
The Book Of Sand – Jorge Luis Borges (or any book written by Borges, they're all amazing)
Bag of Bones – Stephen King
i love your idea by the way, good luck!
Dirt Music by Tim Winton. Anything by Terry Pratchett, especially the ones in the Discworld series. I already read well over 100 books in a year (teacher with lots of holidays ) so I'll commit to reading 100 books by authors I've never read. Will donate to an indigenous reading charity ( will have to remember what it's called). I'll use the suggested books here too. Good luck, and thanks for the idea! Karen P
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
The Dhammapadda
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment by Thaddeus Golas
And the Ass saw the Angel by Nick Cave
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
From @UnderTheYoke
Stiff – Mary Roach
I would have said American Gods, but someone else did.
I have a similar goal on goodreads.com. Cheers! Good luck.
Oooh, anything and everything by Philip K Dick, as a starter obviously "do androids dream of electric sheep?" ^_^
His books aren't long at all, apart from the 5 compilations of his shorts (but they are amazing too! So many cool stories, if only they counted as individual books *hint hint*!)
Good luck on your quest!
The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea
The best children's novel I have ever read, you'll fly through it. It's beautifully written and very funny.I'm amazed it's not more widely known.
I would definitely recommend reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy, or if you've read that one then no country for old men was also good! You should finish either in no time!
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman and Baudolino by Umberto Eco.
Also +1 for Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey, Watership Down, anything Gaiman and Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (books 1-3 should keep you occupied)
Stories by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio
A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin (start with Game of Thrones!)
Next by Michael Crichton
The Chronicles, The Legends and The War of Souls trilogies from Dragonlance by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis
Everything from Neil Gaiman. Seriously.
Have fun! Hope I can join you; waiting for your FINAL LIST to come out!
Best of luck to you! It is a lovely goal.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Richard Bach (short but one of the best books I know)
The right hand of darkness – Ursula K Le Guin
The brothers Lionheart – Astrid Lindgren
Dogsbody and Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones (or just about anything else by her)
Don't Move-margaret mazzantini
midnight's children-salman rushdie
Love in the time of cholera-gabriel garcia marquez
Stardust-neil gaiman
I've just started ' the crimson petal and the white' and I really want to read 'IQ84' by haruki murakami because I love him.
'ella minnow pea' was recently recommended to me, sounds good.anything by georges perec or alain de botton.
BBC's Big Read 100.
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilc
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
"Gilead," Marilynne Robinson. I love many of the other suggestions here, too! Especially "The Hunger Games" series and "Infinite Jest." Although I don't recommend trying to tackle "Infinite Jest" with a time limit.
The Life of Pi, Yann Martel
Mr Vertigo, Paul Auster
The Stranger, Albert Camus
Wind Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami
Blindness, Jose Saramago
The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
i think i might favorite this page, just cause there are so many great suggestions!
if you're into fantasy, i recommend the dresden files series by jim butcher. 13 books in all (though i believe the 13th doesn't come out until later this year), and although they're about 500 pages each, they're a quick and fun read.
i also whole-heartedly agree with all the gaiman reccs–though, to be fair, i did come here via his twitter page.
Wow, great idea. I hope you manage it. I thought I'd drop you some rec's, though I see you've been given enough to see you through the next few years a couple more can't hurt.
The Traitor Game by BR Collins – it's a shortish, YA book which not enough people have read, it's awesome.
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith. – I've not read it yet myself, but my best friend told me yesterday that I had to read it because it changed her life, which is a good enough reason for me.
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly – anything by him is good actually.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman – I saw it recommended above, but seriously it's one of the best books of all time.
The Secret Country by Pamela Dean – can't recommend this one enough.
The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett — the books aren't too long and there are 40 of them, so you could knock out a good chunk of your 100! (note: may be quite addictive!)
Game Change by John Heilmann and Mark Halpern
Ender's Game (and/or the series, which I think is 4 or 5 books) by Orson Scott Card
And if you're interested in a series to chew through (700-800 pgs each), try the Inheretance Cycle Series by Christopher Paolini
Good luck with your reading — I just might have to try it myself!
Read "The Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind. I read all 11 books in 22 days.
Anything by Paulo Coehlo (my favorites are Veronika Decides to Die and Eleven Minutes) and Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (a comedy about the end of the world is fitting for 2012, yes?)
Good luck! This is a fantastic idea!
only a hundred books? i guess if you're into the ilk of pyncon or murakami, sure… most of the suggestions above are quick, good reads (oi, except some on that BBC list!). good luck with your task!
I do recommend the George Martin series–in between being unable to put it down and putting it down, I've read 10 books whilst in the middle of the second book. There's a need for a break from rape, pillage, and war with 'lighter' reads. It could make your task easier.
I did this last year (and again this year), here is my list, made 114, hopefully inspire/encourage you, possibly annoy you…
J V Jones – A Man Betrayed
J V Jones – Master and Fool
Stuart Macbride – Dark Blood
Markus Zusak – The Book Thief
Tom Fletcher – The Leaping
Martin Millar – Lux The Poet
Robert Jackson Bennett – Mr Shivers
Simon R Green – The Good, The Bad and the Uncanny
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Empire in Black and Gold
Luke Haines – Bad Vibes
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Dragonfly Falling
Gary McMahon – Pretty Little Dead Things
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Blood of the Mantis
John Connolly – The Gates
Christopher Brookmyre – Pandaemonium
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Salute the Dark
Cody Mcfadyen – Abandoned
Peter Straub – A Dark Matter
Suze Rotolo – A Freewheelin' Time
Lawrence Block – A Walk Among the Tombstones
John Twelve Hawks – The Traveller
Mark Billingham – From The Dead
John Twelve Hawks – The Dark River
Bret Easton Ellis – Imperial Bedrooms
John Twelve Hawks – The Golden City
Kate Atkinson – Case Histories
Chris Wooding – The Weavers of Saramyr
Kate Atkinson – One Good Turn
John Connolly – The Whisperers
Andrew Martin – The Necropolis Railway
Chris Wooding – The Skein of Lament
Alan Warner – Morvern Callar
Lawrence Block – Everybody Dies
Chris Wooding – The Ascendancy Veil
Lawrence Block – Hope to Die
Steven Gould – Jumper
Lawrence Block – All the Flowers Are Dying
Steven Gould – Reflex
Peter Robinson – Bad Boy
Steven Gould – Jumper: Griffin's Story
Chris Wooding – The Fade
Andrew Pyper – The Killing Circle
Brian Ruckley – Winterbirth
Chelsea Cain – Heartsick
Brian Ruckley – Bloodheir
PJ Tracey – Play to Kill
Chelsea Cain – Sweetheart
John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Jonathan Maberry – Patient Zero
Eoin colfer – Artemis Fowl
Bob Woodward – Wired
Eoin Colfer – The Arctic Incident
Christopher Fowler – The Victoria Vanishes
Chris Brookmyre – Where the Bodies Are Buried
Brian Ruckley – Fall of Thanes
Chelsea Cain – Evil At Heart
Eoin Colfer – The Eternity Code
Chris Wooding – Retribution Falls
Lawrence Block – A Drop of the Hard Stuff
Guillermo Del Toro – The Strain
Eoin Colfer – The Opal Deception
Guillermo Del Toro – The Fall
Chris Wooding – The Black Lung Captain
Craig Russell – The Long Glasgow Kiss
Chris Mooney – The Soul Collectors
Eoin Colfer – The Lost Colony
Kate Atkinson – When Will There Be Good News?
Chris Wooding – The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray
Craig Robertson – Random –
Terry Brooks – Bearer of the Black Staff
Stephen King – Full Dark, No Stars
Felix J Palma – The Map of Time
Tom Fletcher – The Thing on the Shore
Eoin Colfer – The Time Paradox
Brian Ruckley – The Edinburgh Dead
Ben Mezrich – The Accidental Billionaires
Simon R. Green – From Hell With Love
Karen Campbell – The Twilight Time
Douglas Hulick – Among Thieves
Mark Billingham – In The Dark
Chris Wooding – Poison
Robert Jackson Bennett – The Company Man
Ben Aaronovitch – Rivers of London
Chelsea Cain – The Night Season
Eoin Colfer – The Atlantis Complex
John Connolly – The Burning Soul
Guy Gavriel Kay – Ysabel
Craig Russell – The Deep Dark Sleep
Jasper Kent – Twelve
Richard Montanari – The Echo Man
Tad Williams – Shadowmarch
Oliver Stark – American Devil
Simon Green – Ghost of a Chance
Tad Williams – Shadowplay
Oliver Stark – The 88 Killer
Kate Atkinson – Started Early, Took My Dog
Tad Williams – Shadowrise
Ian Rankin – The Impossible Dead
Glen Duncan – The Last Werewolf
Haruki Murakami – 1Q84 Book 1
Haruki Murakami – 1Q84 Book 2
Chris Wooding – The Iron Jackal
Haruki Murakami – 1Q84 Book 3
Martin Millar – Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me
Tad Williams – Shadowheart
Lawrence Block – Out on the Cutting Edge
Lawrence Block – A Ticket to the Boneyard
Christopher Fowler – Bryant & May On The Loose
Stephen King – 11.22.63
Caitlin Kiernan – Threshold
N.K. Jemisin – The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Mike Shevdon – Sixty-One Nails
N.K. Jemisin – The Broken Kingdoms
Joe Hill – Horns
"Throat Sprockets" by Tim Lucas
"Last Days" by Brian Evenson
The Eyre Affair – Jasper Fforde
Wonderful, funny and filled with an insane number of literary references, the whole series of books is great
I don't know how old your children are, but if you're looking for some young adult works to read along with, The Wizard of Earthsea series (4 books) by Ursula K. Le Guin is wonderful, as is the Percy Jackson series… For more adult reads, Wish You Well by David Baldacci is one of his non-mysteries (maybe his only?), and absolutely wonderful. It's also a fast read
Another wonderful book is Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie.
Meanwhile, this was the first year in ages that I fell short of 100 books, but I've vowed to make it to 100 this year! I admire all that you wrote in your original post too–if you're still looking for a charity project, you might consider the 826 Valencia Project at http://www.826valencia.org–they're an org. started by Dave Eggars, with centers in various cities (5 I think) to help kids with reading and writing, and get people excited about reading.
My number one pick for you to try, if you haven't is, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I found it on the best 100 books list. Short quick, thoughtful read.
Anything else on said list is a good option also.
Enchantment! I'm going to read it again soon, you should too!
I'm in! Here's my offering for your reading list:
One For The Money by Janet Evanovich
Why? Because your brain needs a little vacation reading after taking on some of the list above… and it made me laugh.
Revenge by Stephen Fry
-"Westmark" (and, if you like it, the other two in the trilogy) by Lloyd Alexander
-"Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder
-"Weetzie Bat" by Francesca Lia Block
"Mr. Timothy" by Louis Bayard
I'm not setting a number of books to read this year, but I usually read a chapter a day of whatever I'm currently working through. So depending on the number of chapters a book has, I can either read tons of books in a year, or about 10.
Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake.
And Abarat by Clive Barker.
A Language Older Than Words By Jensen, Derrick
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Also, for bonus points read Three Men in a Boat, to Say Nothing of the Dog by Jerome K Jerome.
I could list over a hundred so I've picked some that have a wider appeal but have something special:
World War Z by Max Brooks
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (or Mistborn)
Nation by Terry Pratchett (or any Discworld novel)
The Pawn of Prophesy by David Eddings
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
NeverWhere by Neil Gaiman
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Dune by Frank Herbert
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Good Luck, I'll be counting with you!
This is fantastic. I'm aiming for 100 as well — via GoodReads. One down already — only 99 more to go!
The first recc in my comment, huh?
Kage Baker, "Black Projects, White Knights."
Best of luck!
I'm also in for 100 … 104 actually (2 x week) … although since I only read 82 in 2011 it's a bit of a long shot.
Scanning the list, I don't see a lot of books we typically classify as books for young readers on the list … so here are some of my all-time favorite for children of all ages:
1. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
And then here are four other fiction titles of enduring awesomeness:
2. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
3. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
4. Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
5. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King
And five non-fiction titles for the road:
6. Whipping Girl by Julia Serano
7. Stargazing by Peter Hill
8. The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You by S. Bear Bergman
9. Clover Adams by Natalie Dykstra (Feb 2012)
10. Nonviolence by Mark Kurlansky
I am reading and enjoying The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch. It would be easier to make a suggestion if you listed some thing you've read and enjoyed!
Shepherding a Child`s Heart – I have been wanting to read this one so let me know what you think.
Since we just talked about these things tonight, I recommend the following:
Graceling – Kristin Cashore (it has another story that goes along with it called Fire)
The Mortal Instrument Series – Cassandra Clare (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels and City of Lost Souls is coming out in May) *both of the above mentioned book sets are young adult, but good easy reads.
The Paddington Bear books (you could read these with the girls)
The Giver – Lois Lowry (I agree with Sarah, this is an excellent read)
and that is all I can think of right now that I know you haven't read… we talk about and read too many of the same books for me to be able to give you many suggestions
My goodness, there's a lot of suggestions already. I read 72 books last year and considered myself rather accomplished, but here's to the 2012 One Hundred! You've inspired me to attempt it along with you.
I don't have the audacity to choose a book for you or even my own favorites, so I'll just toss out some titles from my 2011 reading journey.
The Places In Between by Rory Stewart (nonfiction)
Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones (YA fiction)
The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar (adult fantasy)
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (adult fiction)
I wish you all the best!
Last year I was a 'giver' on World Book Night, giving out Philip Pullman's Northern Lights at a children's hospital in Cambridge, UK (highly recommended) & set myself the challenge of reading all top 25 books. This year I'm doing the current top 25 + the 100 long list!
Must read – if you haven't already – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
They're launching WBN in the US,why not check it out… http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/
If you like a fast and very fun read please try Terry Pratchett and the Discworld series. There are 37 books about this realm. Good Luck!
Love the idea
River God – Wilbur Smith
Thanks! I've got Colour of Magic on my list
I've read River God! I love Wilbur.
I can't wait to read this one.
Awesome!! Thanks for the recommendations. How are you doing with your reading goal?
I will! It's about time I did.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Love the blog