50 books to read before you die discussion

Hi everyone. I thought it would be fun to run a reading challenge as a group. I'm very excited for this, so hope some of you like this idea too :)

The challenge will run for all of 2023.
There are 23 reading prompts (see the list below) that I created inspired by the 50 books list and this group.
You can use any book for the challenge; it doesn't have to be from the 50 or 100 list.
You can use one book for multiple prompts, so you may complete the challenge with less than 23 books.

You will be able to officially sign up for the challenge on the group's homepage when it begins on January 1st 2023. Scroll down to the challenge section and you will see that you have to enter the number of books you want to read and a shelf name. The challenge will then create a shelf for you with that name and any books on that shelf will count for this challenge (remember to add the date read, to do this click ‘edit review’ and scroll down to where it says ‘date finished’). (I think you can change your total throughout the year so I'm guessing you could start with 23 and then if 1 book counts for 2 challenges change your total to 22 and so on.)

So now for the moment of truth, the list...

50 BOOKS 2023 CHALLENGE

read a book….
➤ from the barnes & nobles “50 books to read before you die” bookmark list (the origin of this group)
➤ from the “100 books they didn’t tell you about” list created by this group
➤ published in the 2000s / 21st century
➤ published in the 1900s / 20th century
➤ published in the 1800s / 19th century
➤ published in the 1700s / 18th century or earlier
➤ written by a female author but first published under a male pseudonym
➤ that was unfinished when the author died
➤ by an author from a different continent to you
➤ that is a translation from its original language
➤ that’s a retelling of a classic book
➤ that is a play
➤ that is a poetry collection
➤ that is a non-fiction or memoir
➤ shorter than 150 pages
➤ longer than 400 pages
➤ by an author you’ve never read before
➤ by one of your favourite authors
➤ from another “books to read before you die” list
➤ based on a real historical event or person
➤ recommended to you by someone in person
➤ about something you’re passionate about
➤ you’ve been meaning to read for a long time

Any questions let me know. You can use this discussion to ask for or share suggestions for books you think would fit the prompts. Or share any other thoughts. There is another discussion where we can all track what books we read for the challenge here - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/.... Good luck and happy reading!

Great challenge. I am aiming to read 40 books this year, and will make this a part of my challenge! Thanks.

Sophie wrote: "Hi everyone. I thought it would be fun to run a reading challenge as a group. I'm very excited for this, so hope some of you like this idea too :)

The challenge will run for all of 2023.
There are..."

As I said to Sophie already, this sounds great! I am happy to be a part of this community and this challenge. All the best to all of you! :)

This looks like a good challenge.

I like this challenge. I need a push so expand to ither genres. Thank you

Alright! I will try to my best!!

Happy to be part of this challenge :)

Happy to take up this challenge 😊

I will try to do this challenge!! I’m also very upset about the Barnes and Nobles by me closing so i will have to try to complete this challenge!

can any one tell me which book should i read next?
The Way of Kings or The Stand

Affan Tasnem Hemal wrote: "can any one tell me which book should i read next?
The Way of Kings or The Stand"

The Way of Kings! If you like fantasy, that book is so readable even though it’s so long. I’ve read it three times and will read it again one day. Brandon Sanderson is my favourite author and that series is probably my favourite of his so far (though it isn’t complete). I have never read Stephen King, maybe I should one of these days.

Fun!

I am all for this! However, I can not find the “100 Books they didn’t tell us about” any where. Can someone help me with that please?

Affan Tasnem Hemal wrote: "can any one tell me which book should i read next?
The Way of Kings or The Stand"

If you read The Stand, then read the original version and not the extended version. The original is by far better and not nearly as bloated. There is a reason authors need editors.

Heather wrote: "I am all for this! However, I can not find the “100 Books they didn’t tell us about” any where. Can someone help me with that please?"

Hi Heather, here's the link to the 100 list
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Hello All! I read ‘Spare’ (a book about a real person, also including real events) by Prince Harry. Loved it. Loved that he narrated his own book. Not getting into it too much, I’m glad I heard his version of personal events instead reading it from other people. It’s not about the royalty, it’s about never having the chance to be who he’d like to be; husband, father, son, grandson, etc.

Damn what a cool idea, just joined this group, I’ll see how I go trying to fill in the categories :D

I like this challenge. I'm aiming for 25 books.

Glad to hear people are liking the idea of this challenge :)

I love this idea. I cannot wait to complete this.

We're almost a quarter through 2023! How is everyone's challenge coming along? Made much progress? Any books you want to read for it soon?

I've read 12 books so far this year, I've counted 5 for this and have completed these five challenges so far:

-published in the 2000s / 21st century
-that is a non-fiction or memoir
-by an author you’ve never read before
-by one of your favourite authors
-about something you’re passionate about

I've just been looking at the 50 list and I'm thinking either Brave New World or The War of the Worlds will be my choice for the first challenge. A Prayer for Owen Meany is a possible as a book recommended to me by someone in person.

If you're looking for other "books to read before you die" lists, I've been looking through...
22 books from Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/th...
40 from The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...
1000(!!) from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...

Hey, I was wondering if there's a list anywhere of books that were unfinished when the author died

One can easily find several lists of unfinished novels online, but it's hard to say if those are all unfinished specifically because of their authors deaths.

Looking at works published posthumously might be a good place to start? Though some of them would have been finished in the author's lifetime, and just published after. But I think that counts for the challenge, depends on how strict you want to be.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

Interesting thought, Kayleigh.
On a similar train of thought, I am always struck by how the family of Stieg Larsson permitted the follow up novels to be continued by David Lagercrantz. Such a big responsibility and so expertly completed.

I’ve finished 14 so far! Right now I’m working on the one about something I’m passionate in.

I'm curious what people are going to pick for a book about something you’re passionate about. I haven't quite decided yet.