It begins...

“It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys.”
-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Greetings, readers! I've decided to read through a list of the top 100 novels and blog about it. I just saw the movie "Julie and Julia", and I was inspired. If you think I'm nothing but an unoriginal, boring copycat, feel free not to read this blog. No one's forcing you!

First things first. I chose a user-generated voter (up/down) list of classics, as I wanted a list from readers, not any particular party or group. It seems the original link is now dead. Apologies! There are many of these types of lists out there, and I'm sure if I did the project again today, the list would be quite different. 

The list is also located on the 'Conquering the Classics - The First 100' page. 

For those of you wondering how I chose this list, here are my reasons for choosing it.

(1) I considered choosing a list compiled by critics, but the critics seem to think that "Ulysses" is the best novel written. I think that a book which is impossible to understand without the help of structured academic study is hardly accessible to the public and is therefore disqualified. Or, at the very least, demoted. It made this list, but was knocked down a few pegs.

(2) I wanted a list that included the public's favorites, but wasn't too preachy. Another list I found contained several L. Ron Hubbard books, and though my mother pointed out rather heatedly that they seem a little "doctrine-heavy", and it does please me from time to time to spar with her, I must admit that I'm inclined to agree. The list I chose seems to include a good mix of new and old, fantasy and "classic" (not that fantasies can't be classics, but they're not always included in the use of the term). In fact, I liked that both Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings made the list, and I look forward to re-reading both series. [Note: I support the fictional world of Potter but not Rowling's TERF-Y opinions.]

But really, a list, an order, no matter how "scientifically" created, is still an arbitrary ordering of objects. So it only seemed fitting that my choice of list was just as arbitrary.

Thus, I begin with 1984.