Friday 9 January 2015

New Projects: 1001 Books


Last week, I read this post on Iris' lovely blog about how she is intending to read books from 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, partly because she has a son who she wants to share wonderful books with.  And it really inspired me - I have my childhood favourites, but I want to be able to share as many great books as possible with Giles, to recommend to him a wide range of things, so he can find that part of the bookish world that he is going to love.  

Then I was thinking about how I can make sure that I actually read the books I intend to.  I'm terrible at TBR lists and challenges, with the one exception being the classics club, which I have stuck to for over two years, and am on track to finish.  So I've decided to apply the principles of the classics club to 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up and 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.  

Here's what I am going to do:
  • Over the next few days, I'll post a list of books from each title that I want to read.
  • Books that I own will automatically make the list, but aside from that I'll be looking for diverse reads, books in translations, and books from authors I haven't read yet.
  • I'll make my lists tabs on my blog, then update with reviews when I finish each title.
  • I'm not going to set myself a deadline, but I'm aiming to read one book a month, which can come from either list.
As I'm not intending to buy books at the moment, I'll probably start by reading the ones I already own, then I will be fully utilising the library hold system.  Books that I read and love will be purchased and added to my collection.

I'm really excited to start these projects, and to spend some time looking through the books and choosing my titles.  Anyone who wants to join in is more than welcome, mutual encouragement might help me get through the books!

20 comments:

  1. Sounds like you've got a great plan in place. And how wonderful must it be to be starting a new human being down to the road to loving books and reading!

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    1. I'm excited for Giles to get into books and discover what part of the bookish world he fits into when he gets older.

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  2. What an exciting project! I will pay close attention to your children's books list. I am thrilled that my kids seem to grow into being active readers, and I love sharing my childhood books with them and discovering new ones.

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    1. How great that your children are turning into active readers, fingers crossed mine does as well :)

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  3. Sounds like an excellent plan. I must look for these two books...I just love book lists.

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    1. I think the lists are available on the internet, although the actual descriptions and reviews of the book are only in the physical copies. I've almost finished my lists, looking forward to getting started :)

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  4. This sounds like a lovely project. I wish you luck with it.

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  5. Those books sounds lovely and such a good idea! I hope that when I'm a parent I can inspire my children to love reading as much as I do :)

    Holly - www.hollypocket.co.uk x

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    1. Me too, I hope that growing up surrounded by books will turn Giles into a reader.

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  6. This is wonderful! Good luck with your project, Sam :)

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    1. Thank you :)
      I've read one book already, so I'm off to a good start!

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  7. This is such a wonderful project, Sam! I love it, and I love it even more that you want to pass your love for books to your handsome and lovely son. Giles is one lucky boy! Best of luck with this project, I hope I can fit in some Sherlock in there for Giles. There's nothing like Sherlock for anyone teenage years :)

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    1. I have no Sherlock on my list, sadly I am not a fan, and I've already read the main ones. However, I won't let my bias show - Giles can make up his own mind about them!

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  8. I'm curious to see what titles you are going to pick to read.

    Great idea!

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  9. Good luck! I love doing projects like these - I am just very bad at keeping up with them. I will be looking forward about to hearing the books you are going to read.

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    1. I'm normally terrible, but I've made it almost half-way through my classics club list, so I'm pretty sure I can give these at least a good go :)

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  10. This sounds like a great project, Sam. I look forward to keeping up with this and hearing all about the books you choose.
    :-)
    Bits & Bobs

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  11. I love this project! I have browsed both books from the library in the past and ended up purchasing a copy of the children's one. I kind of want to read all the books in the children's edition, but that is super unrealistic, so I really like your idea to choose titles and make a list. I gave up on any notion of reading through the adult "list" because it just seemed too daunting, but I'm now reconsidering -- I may take another peruse at some point and make a list myself :)

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