Century of Books

The Century of Books Challenge is a hodgepodge of a few of the challenges I've seen floating around the blogosphere. I most closely follow the challenge as given by Simon at Stuck in a Book.

In my version, it's a goal to read a book published every year for a period of 100 years. Originally, I aimed for 1900-1999, keeping it to the 20th century. But...as time goes on, I realize that reading classics and older books is a big challenge (both to locate and to...occasionally...tolerate). So, as of 2018, I'm changing the dates. Since the oldest read as of January 1, 2018 was published in 1911, that will be my first year. The "century" I'll be following will be 1911-2010.

This one is definitely more challenging than some of the other challenges I'm taking on, so I'm giving myself some serious time to accomplish this one. I'll be starting this challenge on June 1, 2014 but then giving myself a whopping ten years to complete it. This means that I have until May 30, 2024 to have every slot filled.

62 / 100 Books Completed

As I complete my books, I'll be filling the years in down below. I'll also be updating the progress bar above.


1911 : Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

1912 :

1913 : Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter

1914 :

1915 : Anne of the Island by LM Montgomery

1916 :

1917 : Anne's House of Dreams by LM Montgomery

1918 :

1919 :

1920 : The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

1921 :

1922 :

1923 : Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery

1924 :

1925 :

1926 :

1927 :

1928 :

1929 :

1930 : As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

1931 :

1932 : Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

1933 : Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

1934 : Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

1935 : Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

1936 : Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

1937 : Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

1938 : Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

1939 : The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

1940 :

1941 :

1942 :

1943 :

1944 :

1945 : Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

1946 :

1947 :

1948 :

1949 : Shane by Jack Schaefer

1950 :

1951 :

1952 : Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

1953 : Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

1954 : Lord of the Flies by William Golding

1955 :

1956 : Night by Elie Wiesel

1957 :

1958 : Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

1959 :

1960 : Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

1961 : James & the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

1962 : A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

1963 :

1964 : Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

1965 : The Mouse & the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

1966 : The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

1967 : From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

1968 :

1969 : Porko von Popbutton by William Pene duBois

1970 : The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White

1971 :

1972 : Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

1973 : The Princess Bride by William Goldman

1974 : Carrie by Stephen King

1975 : Tuck, Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

1976 : Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

1977 : Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

1978 : A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle

1979 :

1980 :

1981 :

1982 : The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox

1983 : The Witches by Roald Dahl

1984 :

1985 : Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

1986 : Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

1987 : Beloved by Toni Morrison

1988 : The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

1989 : Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede

1990 :

1991 : American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

1992 : The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

1993 : The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

1994 : Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

1995 : High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

1996 : The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

1997 : Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

1998 : Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

1999 : Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

2000 : The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

2001 : River Town by Peter Hessler

2002 : The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin

2003 : P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

2004 : Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Brian Lee O'Malley

2005 : Looking for Alaska by John Green

2006 : On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

2007 : Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares

2008 : Paper Towns by John Green

2009 : The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart

2010 : Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce