I sought to draw from every historical period and various genres. Yes, it would be most enjoyable to stick with my beloved Tolkien, Austen, Dickens and Hugo but this is about getting out of my comfort zone. For this Quest I am going to go off of the Great Books List here.
Greek Tradition
1. Homer’s The Illiad ~ Completed January 28
2. Plato’s Republic ~ Completed April 19
Roman Tradition
4. Virgil’s Aeneid ~ Completed April 25
Middle Ages and Renaissance
5. Augustine’s Confessions ~ Completed April 30
6. Dante’s Divine Comedy ~ Completed May 15
The Expansion of the Mind
7. Voltaire’s Candide~ Completed May 25
8. Paradise Lost ~ Completed June
Modern Perspectives
10. War and Peace
January 8, 2008 at 8:25 am
A comment moved here from the Bulletin Board:
LadyJeanne:
Hello again Natalie! I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to comment on the journal post about your book list for quest one. Anyhow, I’ll just post my question here: are the checkpoints dates when the participants should have completed a book, or just a time to share about what you’ve read so far?
I must admit, I’m drawn to the idea of tackling this. I am always in my own reading rut… Austen, Dickens, etc… and it’s time I start giving myself a broader range of food for thought. I pulled down one of my father’s many copies of the Iliad to see if I could really look it in the face before I decided whether or not to sign up. Still thinking.
Thanks again for all that you so beautifully share!
My reply:
But I’m about 50 pages in and it’s really not that bad at all. 
Jeanne,
Just to clarify, you don’t HAVE to read the Iliad to take part.
Checkpoints are just updates…and a point where you’d hopefully be done with at least one book.
Also you have to create a WordPress account to comment. This is to hopefully just encourage the site being “real” girls, even if they use a pen name.
January 8, 2008 at 9:12 am
Another great list is Mortimer Adler’s list of great books listed here: http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/grtadler.html
Instead of being given in order of ‘rank’ the books are listed chronologically by author. His book “How to Read a Book” is also a great treat.
Because I’m in college full time my list isn’t quite so difficult but it’s challenging for me. I almost completely stopped reading fiction a few years ago so this year that’s what I’m focusing on, particularly children’s fiction. I just finished reading Little Women and have started on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. After that will come Wind in the Willows, Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Tom Brown’s School Days and the Princess and the Goblin.
In Christ,
Lizzy
January 8, 2008 at 9:37 am
Thanks for getting my comment to the right place, Natalie! Today I apparently figured out how to login correctly.
Yes, I did understand that each girl’s booklist is up to her. Nevertheless I followed your suggestion and looked up the Great Books list for a guide. I actually came up with a personal list similar to yours without meaning to.
My dad actually has quite a collection of different versions/editions of the Iliad, and the Odyssey,(and the Bible, and Shakespeare– and…) but I’ve just never… well…
OK, I’ll try to get my booklist on here soon. I can do this!
Thanks for sending out the challenge, Natalie. I hope you know you are a continual source of encouragement– and I mean the kind that spurs others on to do more and be more.
January 8, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I decided to keep my list to Christian books for now. They are almost all books I already own and haven’t read. So, here’s the list:
-The Pilgrims Progress
-E.M. Bounds’ complete works on prayer
-Spurgeon on Prayer and Spiritual Warfare
-Religion, Reason, and Revelation (by Gordon H. Clark)
-The Confessions of St. Augustine
-A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael (by Elisabeth Elliot)
-Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
-George Mueller’s Autobiography
-Let Me Be a Woman (Elisabeth Elliot)
-Discipline (Elisabeth Elliot)
January 8, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I’m enjoying the links and ideas and lists! keep it up! Also look for your name on our member list. I am excited to hear how you all progress and what you learn from all the reading.
January 8, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Mary Jo, that’s a fabulous list. I’ve read all of those except the one by Gordon Clark and you will not be disappointed–they are so worth the investment of time. And almost all make great re-reads.
January 8, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I’m excited to read all the books…I think I’ll start with the one of the ones on prayer, since my prayer life is really not strong enough or disciplined enough. It’s an area I definitely need to grow in…and then I’ll go from there.
January 9, 2008 at 2:15 pm
My List:
The Iliad– Homer
The Republic– Plato
Canterbury Tales– Chaucer
The Aeneid– Virgil
Confessions– Augustine
King Lear– Shakespeare
Hamlet– Shakespeare
Don Quixote– Cervantes
War and Peace– Tolstoy
Walden– Thoreau
Once I got then all out and piled them up, it seemed doable! And you’re right, Natalie– the Iliad really isn’t so bad after all.
January 10, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Okay, here’s mine:
Confessions - Augustine
The Republic - Plato
The Divine Comedy - Dante
The Imitation of Christ - Thomas a Kempis
The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence
Pensees - Blaise Pascal
The Pilgrim’s Progress - John Bunyan
The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Miracles - C.S. Lewis
Celebration of Discipline - Richard Foster
I am also going to finish a few books I have already started:
Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
Prayer: The Heart’s True Home - Richard Foster
Decision Making and the Will of God - Garry Friesen
All of these books are from a book I have entitled : Book Lover’s Guide to Great Reading. My list of ten is mostly from the list in this book entitled “Ten Books That Every Christian Ought to Know,” but with a couple of substitutions for books I had already read.
January 15, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I would like to join! I am still working on my list, but I will post it soon.
January 15, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I’m not officially joining in for two reasons: I already have an intense reading list, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to acquire the books within this year (and I don’t read on the computer). But (assuming we’re only talking about the Great Books) here are some that are already on my list:
City of God and City of Man by St Augustine
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
The Divine Comedy by Dante
Piers Plowman by William Langland
The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser
Paradise Lost by John Milton
The Iliad and The Oddyssey of Homer
The Aenied of Virgil
History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth
King Alfred by Asser
The Practice of the Presence of God is wonderful. My brother and I read it as part of a study on imitating Christ last summer. Our pastor advised us to read it carefully, one letter/section at a time, instead of straight through; it’s really more beneficial that way.
Why isn’t Beowulf on anyone’s list? It’s definitely one of the great books, in more senses than one.
Emma (Really Emma, but not really Woodhouse)
January 16, 2008 at 7:24 am
‘thanks for sharing some of your books Emma! Beowulf is definitely one of the top books of all time–it is not on my list simply because I wanted to challenge myself with the longer pieces….that is one I love but also shorter and easier. I doubt it would be possible to make a list of all the must-read great books…..some are no-brainers but others vary so much depending on who is making the list.
Oh, and Glaspey’s book is one of my favorites!! We’ll definitely be bringing that up here at some point.
January 17, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I finally have my list!
Decision Making and the Will of God - Garry Friesen
Twelve Extrardinary Women - John MacArthur
Mere Chrisianity - C.S Lewis
After Darkness, Light - essays in honor of R.C. Sproul
Paradise Lost - John Milton
The Holy War - John Bunyan
Canterbury Tales - Chaucer
Of Plymouh Plantation - William Bradford
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
Beowolf
January 22, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I would LOVE to ’sign up’ for Quest One and I think I’ve FINALLY made my list - of Classics and other good books:
1 - The Complete Works of Shakespeare
2 - Lorna Doone - R.D. Blackmore
3 - A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
4 - North and South - Elizbeth Gaskell
5 - Jane Austen’s Letters
6 - Grace and Power - C.H. Spurgeon
7 - A Woman After God’s Own Heart - Elizabeth George
8 - Remarkable Women of the Bible - Elizabeth George
9 - Torah Story - Gary E. Schnittjer
10 - Between God and Man - Abaraham Joshua Heschel
These are all books that will - I believe - stretch me one way or another. I’m looking forward to getting started on them!
January 22, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Judith I am much impressed with your list! There are some on there I am wanting to read very much, including Elizabeth George and North and South. And how did you ever hear about the Torah Story?? That is not one I’ve seen anyone else ever want to read before. It’s soooo good though!
I’m adding you to the list of members!
January 23, 2008 at 11:34 am
Natalie, thank you for your kind comment! I felt my list was a bit inferior to some of the other lists, since it contains neither The Iliad or Foxe’s Book of Martyrs! :-> That said … I can’t wait to dive in and start reading!
I actually heared about The Torah Story on YLCF - in May last year! :->
I’ve been wanting to read it since I first heard about it and this seemed like the PERFECT opportunity to do so. I just ordered it from Amazon! I’m soooooo looking forward to reading it, thinking about it, etc.!
Yay! I’m an ‘official’ member now! :->
Judith
January 31, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Ok, I just saw this Quest and I decided to join. I am currently a student in a Library and Information Technology program. I have been trying to expand my “greatest books” repertoire. I like lots of different genres, though I must say one of my favourites would be historical fiction.
I’ve finally decided which books I would put on my list. I’m sure I’ll read more, but I tried to choose ones that I’d never read before.
1.Uncle Tom’s Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
2.A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
3.Jesus among other gods - Ravi Zacharias
4.Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
5.Pilgrims Progress - John Bunyan
6.Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer
7.Emma - Jane Austen
8.The Inheritance - L.M. Alcott
9.The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
10.The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkein
God’s Blessings to all as you read your books!
February 1, 2008 at 7:15 am
Kendra,
In fact, most of the books on your list are in my top favorites. 
Glad you are joining us! The Inheritance is one of my favorite Alcott books.
February 19, 2008 at 12:13 pm
I’m not sure where to post my progress on Quest One….forgive me, Natalie, if I’m missing the obvious.
I didn’t quite reach the Feb. 15th deadline for my selection of “Jane Eyre”, but did finish on Feb. 18th! An 8 hour flight gives a perfect opportunity and I was totally engrossed in Jane’s life, wondering what would happen next, and even cried at the end. I’m debating whether or not to give a review because there are some important climaxes that I would not wish to give away.
I will say that Jane’s character was very admirable. Her ability to keep emotions in check (at least outwardly) is something I lack. Yes, it’s good to be honest and open, but there are times when restraint is needed.
Now, off to selection #2! Which may depend on what is available at our library. :-)I try to save my eyes/posture and not read books online when possible.
April 23, 2008 at 9:25 pm
My list:
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Don Quixote - Cervantes
The Professor - Charlotte Bronte
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Eternity in their Hearts War and Peace
The Iliad
Immaculate Deception
Moby Dick
Middlemarch
April 25, 2008 at 8:24 am
Renee, You’ve got a lot of great reads there! And some long ones too.
I’ve read some of them and have a few on my list, so it’ll be nice to compare notes.
April 27, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Yes,I groaned after i posted the list and thought. What did I just say I was reading?
Which ones have you read?
April 27, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I’ve read Hamlet and Iliad, parts of Don Qui and Moby Dick, am going to be reading Les Mis and War and Peace.