is available for download as an XLSX or PDF, featuring the 2006 and 2008 editions The StoryGraph Challenge : For a digital checklist experience, the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die - All Editions challenge allows you to track progress online The StoryGraph Core Titles Often Found in These Lists
Tracking the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (edited by Peter Boxall) is a major project because the "official" list has changed across multiple editions (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2018). A comprehensive spreadsheet typically covers the 1,315+ unique titles 1001 books to read before you die spreadsheet
If you want to take your spreadsheet to the next level, consider adding a "Difficulty" column. is available for download as an XLSX or
Furthermore, the spreadsheet format inherently fosters a healthy, dynamic relationship with the concept of a “canon.” Traditional lists of great books often feel like decrees from on high—static, authoritarian, and Western-centric. While Boxall’s list has faced valid criticism for its biases, the spreadsheet encourages the user to rebel. One can add custom columns for “personal rating,” “key themes,” or even “should this actually be on the list?” This interactivity turns the act of reading into a dialogue. By tracking start and end dates, the spreadsheet also becomes a reflective journal of one’s intellectual life. Looking back, a user might recall that they read One Hundred Years of Solitude during a rainy March, or that Moby-Dick took them an entire summer. The grid becomes a timeline of personal growth, each completed cell a milestone in a lifelong education. While Boxall’s list has faced valid criticism for
: By entering your current age, the spreadsheet calculates a "Reading Velocity" (e.g., "13 books/year") required to complete the list.
If you are the type of person who gets a thrill out of color-coded tabs and the satisfying "thud" of a heavy hardcover, this post is for you.
Before you build it, you need the list. There are several versions of this list floating around the internet, as the Boxall book has been updated multiple times (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, etc.).