a lofty endeavor

For about 2 years I've had this link in my bookmarks on my laptop but I haven't really done much with it. It's a list (2 actually) put together by the Modern Library Association (the folks who brought us the MLA style of in-text citations) and it's readers of the top 100 Novels. I have no idea what this criteria is, but it seems fairly comprehensive and expansive. The endeavor I am undertaking is to read all of the books on the three lists on the website (the one put together by the MLA Board, the one by it's Readers and the rival list put together by the Radcliff Publishing Group.) I'm in the midst of typing up an excel spreadsheet (which I can only do at work since my laptop doesn't have excel) to mark off my progress.

Perhaps your top question is, how long is this going to take you?? And a good question it is. I have no idea. There seems to be a lot of overlap between the three lists, so it's not really 300 books; which leans in my favor. Also, I've already read many of these, and the ones that are too long to read again, or I've read quite recently (I listened to Animal Farm on my way out to Phoenix this summer) I will omit.

Much of this burden will be greatly lightened by a wonderful website called DailyLit. In one glorious nutshell, you search the database for a book you want to read, you sign up for the book with your email, tell them how frequently you want to receive your installments and at what time each day and then they send you portions of the book in manageable pieces (you can read them in about 5 minutes). A few summers ago when I was working at the CSU library I received installments of A Room with a View (incidentally one of the books on the list) and it was lovely. I am currently subscribed to A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. Sometimes this service makes it much easier to read potentially long and boring books.

This endeavor could potentially take me a long time because I'll inevitably get side tracked with other "fun" books. I should come to terms with the fact that I might not get this done before I die.

In other news, I've loaded up my i-Pod with Christmas music! I'm pretty excited for that. Also, I'm going to be driving out to Queen Creek to visit with my friend Emily. Emily served her mission in Cleveland at the same time I was baptized (can you believe it was more than 5 years ago??) Through the wonders of technology we've stayed in contact (sporratic) and she's in AZ visiting her mom for Thanksgiving. It looks like a beautiful day for a road trip. The sky is blue, there's a chill in the air (60's!). This should be fun!