2015 Decade Challenge

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

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. Good Luck, Everyone!

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Decade Challenge Template
(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
2010-2015

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Reserved for Updates

[Camille]

Camille's Decade Challenge - Female Authors

1800-1809
1810-1819: Persuasion (1818)
1820-1829
1830-1839
1840-1849
1850-1859
1860-1869: A Modern Cinderella (1860)
1870-1879
1880-1889: A Garland for Girls (1887)
1890-1899: The Yellow Wallpaper (1892)
1900-1909: Japanese Fairy Tales (1903)
1910-1919: O Pioneers! (1913)
1920-1929
1930-1939: Out of Africa (1937)
1940-1949
1950-1959
1960-1969
1970-1979: American Indian Stories (1976)
1980-1989
1990-1999: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (1991)
2000-2009: Another Time and Place (2008)
2010-2015: Winter Garden (2010)

[Holly, That Geeky One]

I used Goodreads's 'best of decade' pages and they're really good.

Would definitely recommend them!

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

LOL. Cross posting again. I was just editing to include that. Get out of my head, Woman! :D

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Renee's 2015 Decade Challenge- COMPLETED 12/31/15!!!


1800-1809: Tales from Shakespeare**
1810-1819: The Swiss Family Robinson**
1820-1829: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow**
1830-1839: Nicholas Nickleby**
1840-1849: The Betrothed**
1850-1859: The Warden**
1860-1869: Pauline's Passion and Punishment**
1870-1879: [book:The Haunted Hotel**
1880-1889: Bel-Ami**
1890-1899 : Heart of Darkness**
1900-1909: The Wind in the Willows**
1910-1919: The Return of the Soldier**
1920-1929: Queen Lucia**
1930-1939: How Green Was My Valley**
1940-1949: Cry, the Beloved Country**
1950-1959: The Crucible**
1960-1969: To Kill a Mockingbird**
1970-1979: Bridge to Terabithia**
1980-1989: Beloved**
1990-1999: Letter to My Daughter**
2000-2009: The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm**
2010-2015: The Cuckoo's Calling**

[Becca]

I put my plan in my personal challenge. Should I have put it here?

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Becca-
Many people will keep one in their Personal Goal thread for ease of reference and updating. This thread is for sharing and chatting, of course. It's where we can check out each other's plans, and get ideas.

For example, I have one in my PG thread which I will update as I complete each decade. (I put little stars when I finish a book. Others use strikethrough or bold, etc.) But, I'll also update here periodically. And then, of course, when I complete the challenge.

Minis are just more fun when we share and chat.

[Melissa]

Melissa's 2015 Decade Challenge


1800-1809 - Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth; published 1800;
1810-1819 - The Lady of the Lake by Walter Scott; published 1810;
1820-1829 - Ruslan And Ludmilla: A Novel In Verse by Alexander Pushkin; published 1820
1830-1839 - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge; Illustrated by Gustave Dore; 1834 edition of the poem; READ 4/8/15
1840-1849 - The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas; Boxall's 1001; Published 1843; READ 1/17/15
1850-1859 - Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell; published 1851;
1860-1869 - Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll; published 1965;1870-1879 - Middlemarch by George Eliot; published 1872;
1880-1889 - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson; published 1886; READ 12/8/15
1890-1899 - Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad; Boxall's 1001; Published 1899; READ 3/17/15
1900-1909 - A Room with a View by E.M. Forster; Boxall's 1001; published 1908; READ 2/11/15
1910-1919 - The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West; first published 1918; READ 2/23/15
1920-1929 - The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim; Published 1922; READ 4/22/15
1930-1939 - Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald; published 1933;
1940-1949 - Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton; Published 1948; READ 6/10/15
1950-1959 - Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin; published 1956; Boxall's 1001; READ 8/8/15
1960-1969 - The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath; published 1963; READ 3/25/15
1970-1979 - Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters; published 1975; READ 7/15
1980-1989 - Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian; READ 1/26/15 (1981)
1990-1999 - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant; Published 1998; READ 2/28/15
2000-2009 - March by Geraldine Brooks; Pulitzer in 2006; Published 2005; READ 1/16/15
2010-2015 - Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson; Published 2015; READ 4/15/15

[Holly, That Geeky One]

Okay, this is my plan. I'll either star them (totally stole that idea from Renee, thanks Renee!), or bold them or something when I read them.

1800-1809 - Faust: First Part
1810-1819 - Pride and Prejudice
1820-1829 - Don Juan
1830-1839 - The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave Narrative (Uni)
1840-1849 - Wuthering Heights (Uni, Womens)
1850-1859 - North and South (Uni)
1860-1869 - Goblin Market (Uni)
1870-1879 - A Doll's House
1880-1889 - Life on the Mississippi
1890-1899 - Tess of the D'Urbervilles
1900-1909 - The Cherry Orchard
1910-1919 - My Ántonia
1920-1929 - A Room of One's Own (Uni)
1930-1939 - Murder on the Orient Express
1940-1949 - I Capture the Castle (Womens)
1950-1959 - On the Road
1960-1969 - One Hundred Years of Solitude
1970-1979 - The Driver's Seat (Uni)
1980-1989 - The Color Purple (Uni, Womens)
1990-1999 - Tuesdays with Morrie
2000-2009 - Fingersmith

[[deleted user]]

I'll update my plan when I figure out what I want to read!

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: Gone with the Wind (currently reading)
1940-1949
1950-1959
1960-1969
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000-2009
2010-2015: UnSouled

[Leo]

I'm hoping to combine this challenge with another from a second messageboard, thus getting it more selective but also perhaps yielding new and interesting reads. What I have so far:

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: Looking For Alaska by John Green (Also: "the book that was in the New York Bestseller list's top 5 of its category the week you started it")
2010-2015: Bum Luck by James Mullaney (Also: "the book that was published no more than a year from when you started reading it")

[Odette]

Ha, this sounds like an interesting challenge and hopefully allows me to strike a few books of my TBR pile :D I hope I can finish this one seeing as I'm also doing another reading challenge.

1800-1809:Tales from Shakespeare
1810-1819: Pride and Prejudice
1820-1829: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
1830-1839: Père Goriot
1840-1849: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
1850-1859: Bleak House
1860-1869: The Moonstone
1870-1879: Anna Karenina
1880-1889: Bel-Ami
1890-1899: The Picture of Dorian Gray
1900-1909: The Scarlet Pimpernel
1910-1919: Howards End
1920-1929: The Age of Innocence
1930-1939: And Then There Were None
1940-1949: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
1950-1959: Lord of the Flies
1960-1969: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
1970-1979: Watership Down
1980-1989: The Pillars of the Earth
1990-1999: The Perks of Being a Wallflower
2000-2009: The Lovely Bones
2010-2015: The Museum of Extraordinary Things

Holly, just out of curiosity, why do you have behind some of your titles 'Uni' and/or 'Womens'? Is it for other reading challenges?

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

That's a really great list, Odette. You've got some fabulous reading ahead if you! (Holly is including some of her books from University classes.)

[Lisa]

1800-1809 - The Crimes of Love
1810-1819 - Pride and Prejudice
1820-1829 - Confessions of an English Opium Eater
1830-1839 - The Little Mermaid
1840-1849 - The Raven
1850-1859 - The Scarlet Letter
1860-1869 - Les Misérables
1870-1879 - Anna Karenina
1880-1889 - Life on the Mississippi
1890-1899 - Dracula
1900-1909 - The Call of the Wild
1910-1919 - The Secret Garden
1920-1929 - The Great Gatsby
1930-1939 - Gone with the Wind
1940-1949 - The Diary of a Young Girl
1950-1959 - East of Eden
1960-1969 - A Clockwork Orange
1970-1979 - Watership Down
1980-1989 - The Handmaid's Tale
1990-1999 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
2000-2009 - The Kite Runner
2010-2015 - Clockwork Angel

[Odette]

Thanks Renee! And wow, that makes of course a lot of sense, can't believe I blanked out on that one... -__-

[Holly, That Geeky One]

Thats an amazing list, Lisa!

[Gareth]

This is my plan. A few may change but not too drastically. It's kind of a belated New Years Resolution to read more classic literature.
1800-1809 Faust: First Part
1810-1819 Frankenstein
1820-1829 Don Juan
1830-1839 Faust, Part Two
1840-1849 The Raven **
1850-1859 A Tale of Two Cities
1860-1869 Les Misérables
1870-1879 Around the World in Eighty Days
1880-1889 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1890-1899 The Picture of Dorian Gray **
1900-1909 The Phantom of the Opera
1910-1919 The Metamorphosis
1920-1929 The Great Gatsby
1930-1939 Brave New World
1940-1949 1984
1950-1959 Casino Royale
1960-1969 Dune
1970-1979 Roots: The Saga of an American Family
1980-1989 The Silence of the Lambs
1990-1999 Fight Club
2000-2009 A Thousand Splendid Suns
2010-2015 Delirium

Not too sure about 2010-2015 yet. I'm sure something will be published later on in the year that I pick up and love but it's good to have a plan!

[Gareth]

It's because I'm lazy that I've done a list, it means I don't have to put much effort into thinking when I get further into the list

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

I think it's fun that we have both "planners" and "free spirits" represented here. ;-D

[Melissa]

Four books finished in this challenge....so that is 1/6th completed or 22 books to go. :)

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Oh my, you really are a planner. :D

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Nice job! And some of those were Chunksters! You're really cranking along!

[Melissa]

Iasa, you are cookin'!!!

[Monique]

Thought I'd give this a go. It'll encourage me to try and get some more classics under my belt.


1800-1809
1810-1819
1820-1829
1830-1839
1840-1849 The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe READ Feb 27th
1850-1859
1860-1869 The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins READ Apr 10th
1870-1879 Carmilla by Lefanu READ Mar 10th
1880-1889
1890-1899 Dracula by Bram Stoker READ Feb 27th
1900-1909 The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle READ Mar 28th
1910-1919 Greenmantle by John Buchan Read 21st June
1920-1929 The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie READ 28th Apr
1930-1939 Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie READ Jan 10th
1940-1949
1950-1959 Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie READ Mar 8th
1960-1969 The Rose of Tibet by Lionel Davidson READ 21st Apr
1970-1979 The Deep by Peter Benchley READ Feb 11th
1980-1989 La Prisonniere by Malika Oufkir READ Jan 4th
1990-1999 Drink with the Devil by Jack Higgins READ Jan 27th
2000-2009 Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir READ Feb 6th
2010-2015 Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey READ Oct 20th

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Nice! I read Dracula in October and thought it was fabulous.

[Melissa]

Me too!!!

[Monique]

Totally agree ladies Dracula is a great read, going to try Frankenstein as well, I love looking at what everyone else is reading to magpie some ideas!

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

We read both as group reads. You might find it amusing to locate the discussion folders in the 2014 Archives. You can even add your own thoughts, even though they're technically shelved, we made the decision to keep an archive the could be revisited.

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

I take it back! The old Group Reads are not Archived. You can find them right in the Group Read folder. (Which makes more sense)

[Monique]

Read the threads, makes interesting reading. Doing this challenge made me realise how many years difference there was between Dracula and Frankenstein being written didn't realise Frankenstein was so early in the 19th century.

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Yes! It is surprising that they are so different in time and style. After I read Frankenstein, I listened to Paradise Lost on audio. I thought Shelley echoed Milton a great deal. Whereas, Dracula was more of an adventure story. You might also try Camilla by Sheridan LeFanu. Seriously awesome creepiness with that undercurrent of seduction which I initially expected from Dracula.

[Holly, That Geeky One]

I 100% recommend Carmilla (and the current webseries they based off Carmilla). Who doesn't Iove vaguely lesbian vampires written hundreds of years ago?

(Okay, maybe that's just me, but seriously, it's a great novella, and packs a punch, especially for its length.)

[Monique]

Thanks I'll check it out

[Becca]

Current status of my decade challlenge. So excited to see that two of this month's group reads are on my decade list.

1800-1809 Wilhelm Tell--25 Feb 2015
1810-1819 Persuasion--17 Jan 2015
1820-1829 The Last Day of a Condemned Man
1830-1839 Oliver Twist
1840-1849 The Count of Monte Cristo
1850-1859 Uncle Tom's Cabin
1860-1869 The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County--01 Feb 2015
1870-1879 Middlemarch
1880-1889 She
1890-1899 Heart of Darkness
1900-1909 The Jungle
1910-1919 Howards End
1920-1929 To the Lighthouse
1930-1939 The Big Sleep
1930-1949 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1950-1959 A Murder Is Announced--12 Jan 2015
1960-1969 The Agony and the Ecstasy
1970-1979 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
1980-1989 Lonesome Dove
1990-1999 A Fine Balance
2000-2009 Looking for Alaska
2010-2015

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

All hail, Iasa!! You made quick work of this challenge!!! Nice job!

Will you go again?

[Melissa]

WOW! That was a big job and in TWO MONTHS! WOOT! WOOT!
and can you here the *CHEERING!*

[Monique]

Well done Iasa that's amazing, how do you manage it?

[Kassandra]

Amazing job Iasa!!

[Odette]

Wow Iasa, congrats! I'm officially jealous, I wished I could read so much right now.

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Awesome!

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

I saw several plays from that decade which looked interesting so I left it open for now. Thanks for the recommendations. :)

[Monique]

Iasa wrote: "Thanks everyone!

@ Renee, I think I will try it again

@ Monique, my job allows me to listen to my ipod so I can get in audiobooks whilst I work. I'm also working on a personal challenge to read ..."

That's great, maybe I can magpie some ideas !

[Monique]

Holly wrote: "I 100% recommend Carmilla (and the current webseries they based off Carmilla). Who doesn't Iove vaguely lesbian vampires written hundreds of years ago?

(Okay, maybe that's just me, but seriously, ..."

Monique wrote: "Thanks I'll check it out"

Have decided to take you up on your recommendation ladies and am reading Carmilla, the blurb sounds great.

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Can't wait to hear what you think.

[Becca]

I read Carmilla yesterday. I enjoyed it. It's interesting that the older vampire stories aren't as violent as some contemporary ones.

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Yep. Most of the carnage happens off page. So depending on your personality, it could be worse.

[Monique]

I enjoyed Carmilla, it wasn't dreary or long winded. In fact I wished the book had been longer; it seemed to finish far too soon and am pretty sure the plot could have had longer legs. I am hoping to get a copy of either The Woman in White or Uncle Silas next, both sound like good psychological thrillers...

[Renee, Mistress of the Mini-Challenge]

Argh! Yeah that's so frustrating!