The Reading Challenge Group discussion

Decade Challenge

This will run all year.
The idea is to try to read and record ONE book originally published in each decade listed. Your end result should be a list of the 22 decades posted here, with one book you've read beside each decade. (Feel free to cut and paste the template below to get started.)

Some members will have posted a mockup of this challenge in their personal goal threads, for ease of organization. This is the official thread for posting lists and sharing ideas about how to complete this challenge.

Also, GR does a "Best Books of ____" by decade, which is really helpful. You can access through LISTOPIA or Google "Best Books of (decade/year)" to get to them.

I really love the way this challenge forces me to read beyond my comfort zone.

Decade Challenge
(Original publication date)

1800-1809:
1810-1819:
1820-1829:
1830-1839:
1840-1849:
1850-1859:
1860-1869:
1870-1879:
1880-1889:
1890-1899:
1900-1909:
1910-1919:
1920-1929:
1930-1939:
1940-1949:
1950-1959:
1960-1969:
1970-1979:
1980-1989:
1990-1999:
2000-2009:
2010-2017:

Reserved for Updates

Decade Challenge
(Original publication date)

1800-1809:
1810-1819:
1820-1829:
1830-1839: Eugene Onegin
1840-1849: The Old Curiosity Shop**
1850-1859:
1860-1869: Framley Parsonage**
1870-1879:
1880-1889: The Woodlanders**
1890-1899:
1900-1909: The Jungle**
1910-1919: The Good Soldier**
1920-1929: A Passage to India**
1930-1939: Little House in the Big Woods**
1940-1949:
1950-1959: A Town Like Alice**
1960-1969: The Bell Jar**
1970-1979: The Neverending Story**
1980-1989:
1990-1999:
2000-2009: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress**
2010-2017: Life After Life**

** indicates finished

I want to try this again this year as I couldn't finish it last time I tried.

I will try this challenge this year.
1800-1809 - Tales from Shakespeare by Charles Lamb
1810-1819 - Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
1820-1829 - The Misfortunes of Elphin by Thomas Love Peacock
1830-1839 - Count Robert of Paris by Walter Scott
1840-1849 - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
1850-1859 - The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne
1860-1869 - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
1870-1879- Le Tour du monde en 80 jours by Jules Verne
1880-1889 - A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
1890-1899 - Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
1900-1909 - Phantastes by George MacDonald
1910-1919 The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
1920-1929 Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
1930-1939 The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
1940-1949 The Chestry Oak by Kate Seredy
1950-1959 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
1960-1969 Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
1970-1979 Le città invisibili by Italo Calvino
1980-1989 Babe: The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith
1990-1999 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
2000-2009 Roma Eterna by Robert Silverberg
2010-2017 In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner

Camille wrote: "I want to try this again this year as I couldn't finish it last time I tried."

I think it's a very challenging challenge. I tend to choose from the same periods over and over.

I think I'll try this again. See what I have that will fit. I don't think I'll finish, cause I am gong to try and be good and read stuff I own. See how long that lasts LOL!

Will see how far I get:

1800-1809:
1810-1819: Emma by Jane Austen - 1815
1820-1829:
1830-1839:
1840-1849:
1850-1859: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
1860-1869: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell - 1865
1870-1879:
1880-1889:
1890-1899:
1900-1909:
1910-1919: My Ántonia by Willa Cather - 1918
1920-1929: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1930-1939:
1940-1949:
1950-1959: My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
1960-1969: 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke - first published 1968
1970-1979: Light Years by James Salter - first published 1975
1980-1989: The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike - first published 1984
1990-1999: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable about Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny by Robin S. Sharma - 1996
2000-2009: Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs - first published 2006
2010-2017: A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White - first published 2010

Renee wrote: "Camille wrote: "I want to try this again this year as I couldn't finish it last time I tried."

I think it's a very challenging challenge. I tend to choose from the same periods over and over."

Yes, that was my problem!

Mo's Decade challenge for 2017

1800-1809: 1800 - The Crimes of Love: Heroic & Tragic Tales Preceded by an Essay on Novels
1810-1819: 1811 - Sense and Sensibility *READ 7 Jan 17*
1820-1829: 1821 - Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
1830-1839: 1836 - The Atheist's Mass *READ 3 Jul 17*
1840-1849: 1848 - The Tenant of Wildfell Hall *READ 26 Jan 17*
1850-1859: 1859 - A Tale of Two Cities *READ 31 Mar 17*
1860-1869: 1861 - Silas Marner *READ 20 Mar 17*
1870-1879: 1874 - Far from the Madding Crowd *READ 26 Sep 17*
1880-1889: 1886 - The Mayor of Casterbridge *READ 25 Feb 17*
1890-1899: 1897 - The Invisible Man *READ 21 Aug 17*
1900-1909: 1906 - The Book of Tea *READ 31 Jan 17*
1910-1919: 1915 - Of Human Bondage *READ 14 Jan 17*
1920-1929: 1927 - The Life of a Stupid Man *READ 17 Apr 17*
1930-1939: 1934 - Tender is the Night *READ 14 Feb 17*
1940-1949: 1942 - Chess *READ 13 Apr 17*
1950-1959: 1953 - The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan *READ 24 Jan 17*
1960-1969: 1969 - Slaughterhouse-Five *READ 31 Aug 17*
1970-1979: 1975 - Three Plays - Absurd Person Singular, Absent Friends, Bedroom Farce *READ 22 Aug 17*
1980-1989: 1988 - The Graveyard Apartment *READ 7 Jul 17*
1990-1999: 1996 - Malice *READ 26 Jun 17*
2000-2009: 2001 - Rumpole Rests His Case *READ 10 Jul 17*
2010-2017: 2015 - Love May Fail *READ 7 Feb 17*

I will see how far I can get with this as well.

Good Idea!
Decade Challenge
(Original publication date)

1800-1809:
1810-1819:
1820-1829:
1830-1839:
1840-1849:
1850-1859:
1860-1869:
1870-1879:
1880-1889:
1890-1899:
1900-1909:
1910-1919:
1920-1929:
1930-1939:
1940-1949:
1950-1959:
1960-1969:
1970-1979:
1980-1989:
1990-1999:
2000-2009:
2010-2017:

I'd like to try this one again, too! I found it too late in the year and did really well with 1900-2016, but know I need to beef up my reading in the 1800s to make it work for me this year!

1800-1809
1810-1819
1820-1829
1830-1839
1840-1849
1850-1859
1860-1869: Little Women (1862)
1870-1879: Around the World in Eighty Days (1872)
1880-1889: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)
1890-1899
1900-1909: The Wind in the Willows (1908)
1910-1919
1920-1929: All Quiet on the Western Front (1929)
1930-1939: Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
1940-1949
1950-1959
1960-1969: One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967)
1970-1979: Karnak Café (1974)
1980-1989: The XYZ Affair. (1980)
1990-1999: Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began (1991)
2000-2009: Ella Minnow Pea (2001)
2010-2017: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (2012)

Decade Challenge (Original publication date)

I'm only challenging myself to the nineteenth century, as this is what I don't really read at all

1800-1809:
1810-1819:
1820-1829:
1830-1839:
1840-1849:
1850-1859:
1860-1869:
1870-1879:
1880-1889:
1890-1899:


but guess I might read a few from the others at some point as well!!

1900-1909:
1910-1919:
1920-1929:
1930-1939:
1940-1949:
1950-1959:
1960-1969:
1970-1979:
1980-1989:
1990-1999:
2000-2009:
2010-2017:

This sounds interesting. I started a list 2 years ago for the reading for each year of your life. I didn't make that much progress but found a source for getting books from assorted decades so I will do some reading from that pile.

1800-1809:
1810-1819:
1820-1829:
1830-1839:
1840-1849:
1850-1859:
1860-1869:
1870-1879:
1880-1889:
1890-1899:
1900-1909:
1910-1919:
1920-1929:
1930-1939:
1940-1949:
1950-1959: Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith; Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
1960-1969:
1970-1979: Chamber Music by Doris Grumbach
1980-1989:
1990-1999: The Alienist by Caleb Carr
2000-2009:
2010-2017:
Of course, most of the 50 books I will read this year are published more in the 2000 years but I did start noting what year a book is published so I can work on this some more.

Camille's Decade Challenge

1800-1809:
1810-1819:
1820-1829:
1830-1839:
1840-1849:
1850-1859:
1860-1869:
1870-1879:
1880-1889:
1890-1899: The Awakening and Selected Stories (1899)
1900-1909:
1910-1919: Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages (1900)
1920-1929: A Country Doctor's Notebook (1925)
1930-1939: Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
1940-1949:
1950-1959: The Chrysalids (1955)
1960-1969: Chocky (1968)
1970-1979: Barefoot Gen, Volume Two: The Day After (1973)
1980-1989: The Handmaid's Tale (1985)
1990-1999: Toto l'ornithorynque et le maître des brumes (1998)
2000-2009: Postman Bear (2000)
2010-2017: History of Wolves (2017)

I might have thought about doing this challenge before joining the group, using the lists. It is time to make it happen!

1800-1809:
1810-1819:
1820-1829:
1830-1839:
1840-1849:
1850-1859:
1860-1869:
1870-1879: Black Beauty
1880-1889:
1890-1899: The Time Machine
1900-1909:
1910-1919:
1920-1929:
1930-1939:
1940-1949: Animal Farm (1945)
1950-1959:
1960-1969:
1970-1979: Bridge to Terabithia
1980-1989: Mort (1987)
1990-1999:
2000-2009: The Graveyard Book (2008)
2010-2017: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two (2016)

I think it's interesting to scroll back and look over how everyone is doing with this challenge after a few months. Like me, many challenges show how we tend to gravitate toward certain periods in our reading. It's one of my favorite challenges because it really pushes me out of my comfort zone.

I will have a go, but don't really expect to complete the challenge in the time left!

Decade Challenge
(Original publication date)

1800-1809:
1810-1819: Nightmare Abbey (1818)
1820-1829:
1830-1839:
1840-1849: A Christmas Carol (1843)
1850-1859:
1860-1869:
1870-1879:
1880-1889: A Study in Scarlet (1887)
1890-1899: Dracula (1897)
1900-1909: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902)
1910-1919: Xingu (1916)
1920-1929: Good-bye to All That (1929)
1930-1939: Address Unknown (1938)
1940-1949: Madonna in a Fur Coat (1949)
1950-1959: The End of the Affair (1951)
1960-1969: Hons and Rebels (1960)
1970-1979:
1980-1989: Fair Play (1989)
1990-1999: Written on the Body (1992)
2000-2009: The Diaries of Kenneth Tynan (2002)
2010-2017: The Outrun (2016)

It looks like you should be able to complete the 20th century, Paula. Good luck.

Thank you, Rosemarie. Yes, I just need the '50s and '70s to complete the 20th century. You've cheered me up considerably! :-)

Incidentally, doesn't this remind you of children collecting sets of Pokémon cards or whatever it is they do now (it was football/soccer cards in my day). Such a pity we can't exchange titles to complete the set!

My 6 and a half year old grandson was into Pokemon last year in kindergarden. I wonder if it will be considered old-fashioned in Grade 1. When I was 12 and 13 we had Beatles bubblegum cards. I bought a lot of gum that year.

I finished the challenge- see message 6.
It was fun.

Great stuff! Well done, Rosemarie. 😀

Thanks.

way to go rosemarie and Maureen