100 books you must read

So just to show that I haven't just been spending all my time wallowing in self pity lately, I'd like to talk to you about a little project I have started with mum this week.

I'm sure you've all heard of the BBC's list of 100 books, of which the average person has only read 6. I don't have the energy to post the entire list of books, but here is a link to someone else who has done all the hard work for me. (This is not where I got the list from originally, I found it on Facebook, which is probably where most people first heard of this list.)

Now I have read more than six of the books listed here (I have actually read 14 of the books) but this number is still incredibly unsatisfying for me given my absolute love of books. Unfortunately, a lot of this list seems to have come straight from a high school's English literature reading list, and given that I never took English Lit as I hate having to dissect books to find hidden meanings and metaphors in every sentence, I missed out on a lot of awesome books it turns out. So mum and I have written our own lists from this one of the books we haven't read but would like to, and we're going to start making our way down it at our own pace until we have read every book on our lists. Already this week I have read two from the list (Miss K gave me The Bell Jar for Mother's Day and I finished it that night, and this evening I finished reading Atonement) so I am well on my way to becoming better read, and more familiar with the classics. This is also an excellent excuse to start making regular excursions to our local library, something that I am looking forward to sharing with Miss K, as she is being taught the importance of reading, and has developed a love of books already.

So that's my exciting project of the moment, I'll update you with my progress as I go along, and hopefully any of you out there with a love of reading will feel compelled to read or even re-read some of these classics too.