Nov
02
2009
Welcome to 10 Million Words
My wife thinks I’m a little bit crazy, I’m sure of it. During eleven years of marriage I’ve done a lot of things that have led her to roll her eyes and sigh. I guess she is getting used to it, though, because even she is interested in what I am planning to do in 2010. I plan to read all of the New York Times bestselling books over the course of the whole year. Do the math and you’ll see that this will come in at somewhere around 10 million words.
While the project proper begins on January 1, 2010, in the months leading up to it, I will be attempting to read all of the current bestsellers to reassure myself that I can actually do this without losing my sanity. In so doing, I will be trying to “find my voice,” so to speak–finding the best way to deal with as imposing a project as this one, and looking for the cultural and worldview themes that I think will be so interesting.
I am hoping that you’ll join in as I do all of this–following along, perhaps reading a few of the books to share your reflections on them, and maybe leaving the occasional comment.
Why Are You Doing This?
Just ten years in, the twenty-first century has already been fascinating and complex. The potential for a Y2K disaster was averted but within two years America saw a completely unforeseen disaster that showed just how small the world has become and proved that America was no longer safe within her own borders. Since then we have seen protracted wars, the deaths of iconic celebrities, a massive economic downturn that brought the world to the brink of depression, and the election of the nation’s first black President. All this and the century has only just begun.
America’s bestselling books tell us, I’m sure, who America is, who her people are, at this time and place. Surely they will give me a glimpse into the world’s most powerful, the world’s most fascinating nation.
So why am I doing it? That is a fair question and one that does not offend me in the least. There are a few answers. First, I love to read and this project gives me an opportunity to read a lot. That, as I see it, is a good thing. Second, it is a challenge and I like to face a good challenge. I expect this project to involve at least ten million words of reading–break that down and you’ll see that it comes to at least three books per week over the course of an entire year. Third, I am interested in the cultural and worldview implications of all of these books. They will provide, I’m sure, a snapshot of where America is at as she enters a new decade. And for me, as a Canadian who spends a fair amount of time wandering the United States and who has family living in the United States, this stands to be particularly interesting.
Caveats
When I say that I will be reading all of the New York Times Bestselling books, I refer to non-fiction only. Yes, novels can also provide great cultural insight, but only in a less-pointed way. Plus, I hate novels. So non-fiction it is. I will largely ignore the non-fiction paperback list as well simply because most of the paperbacks have been previously published in hardcover. The plan is to track the Times list on a weekly basis (the new list is available on Friday of each week) and to update my reading list accordingly. I will post a review (of sorts) of each of the books, hopefully within a few days of it showing up on the list.
25 Comments
Tim,
I think this is a fabulous idea. While I could never pull it off, I look forward to traveling the journey with you and gleaning a few gems off of the list to read next year! God bless!
Glad to hear I’m not the only one who has caused my wife to roll her eyes and sigh. Very encouraging.
I’ve gotta say, you and Al Mohler are machines when it comes to reading! It’s mind-boggling just how much you both can consume in a short amount of time. Glad to hear you’re only reading the non-fiction on the list; I’m with you, I’d rather watch paint dry than read a novel.
Looking forward to your insightful posts here on this new site.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Welcome to the Gospel Coalition. This sounds like a huge under taking. I have been working on two non-fiction books a month for the past two years the critia is that they must be hard cover and printed prior to 1900 in the United States. When you read the old books we get a better view of history. I am looking forward to see where the pulse of the readers in American will be in 2010.
Looking forward to seeing the cultural trends, etc. of America’s world through your eyes, Tim. What a weighty and worthwhile undertaking!
Fascinating project!
I’d love to hear about the books you’re reading about reading, reviewing, and writing as well as the bestsellers you read.
I’ll be following your progress eagerly. Many blessings!
Challies: “I plan to read all of the New York Times bestselling books”.
All of the CURRENT books only, or all of the NYT bestselling books since the Times has created the list?
thank you!
Tim
Is the NYT a balanced view of culture? Or is slanted in one direction or another?
Tim you need to define what is ‘culture’? How broad or narrow is it?
Who reads the NYT? Are the readers a broad cross section of ‘culture’? How are best sellers lists manipulated by the publishers? Are they the bastions of culture??
Is culture shaped by what’s on a best seller list or by what’s being read at a university and academia level and then assimilated into what is taught at schools, practised in hospitals, what affects decision making by our politicians, architects, war makers, global warming theorists on either side, etc etc…. I would put it to you that culture indeed is shaped by what may not necessarily will be on a NYT best seller list…
Maybe a better task would have been to read what’s at a philosophical level from universities. Universities are the hotbeds of culture shaping..
Do you have a link to the NY Times list you are following?
YES!!!
so in essence, if I want a good summary/review of a book, I can go buy a couple million copies of it and count on you to read it for me? that’s a plan!
[...] Nano-Blog link here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/10millionwords/2009/11/02/welcome-to-10-million-words/ [...]
Ambitious! I think it will be very helpful with analyzing the culture. To be sure we are not speaking to characatures rather than what is really taking place.
[...] 3, 2009 by R. Scott Clark No, that’s not the length of the first post but rather the number of words he’ll read as he works his way through the NYT bestseller [...]
I am sorry to hear that you will only be reading non-fiction. One of my colleges had a father who was a well known pastor and professor of theology out west. He claims he was never able to respect his father (part of the reason he lost his faith) after he discovered that the great man had never read any books except the Bible and Theology. You are missing a lot and I think you would be much better off if you set the nonfiction books aside and concentrated on the novels.
God Bless
Steve in Toronto
Read on! Sounds daunting but doable, eh?
wow. blessings to you as you undertake this! you must have a separate book budget
Good luck my friend! I’ll be following along.
This is a very interesting proposition. I am looking forward to this resource. I assume that a link to the blog will be provided as soon as it is up and running.
Someone else should do the same with the fiction, would reveal a lot. But nothing stopping all of us reading at least some of what’s selling.
[...] Introducing 10 Million Words [...]
[...] Recently I ran across an article by The Gospel Coalition’s Tim Challies entitled ‘10 Million Words’. Challies has taken on a challenge to read every non-fiction New York Times best seller in 2010. Do [...]
I am very excited about your project and can’t wait to see what you learn. I’ve already added a book to my reading list because of your book review. Good luck!
Assuming you never sleep or do anything but read:
10,000,000 words per year = 27,397 words per day
= 1,141 words per hour = 19 words per minute.
[...] a comment » Deriving inspiration from this man (thanks to Wendy for sharing), I am going to attempt something utterly insane. Tim Challies is [...]