Oh I did love for you and what did you do for me

OK, so my final count was 84. Not exactly a huge total. Less than ten per cent of the total books. So, are there any conclusions for me to draw?

Well, of course, the whole thing is pretty arbitrary and you could probably ask another group of people to make up a list of 1000 Novels You Should Read and you would get 1000 totally different books (well, maybe not 1000, but there would still be a big difference). But I've realised a few things.

I haven't read a lot of the books that English graduates are supposed to have. I've read no Austen at all, for example. And only one Dickens.

I have no problem at all starting a book but not finishing it. This I think is a good thing or at least not necessarily a bad thing.

I really ought to read some William Faulkner.

I don't read a book straightaway. Some of the books that are still on my shelves have been there for years. I have to be in the mood to read a book.

I am stagnating to a certain extent in my reading habits.

So, an interesting exercise. And it has energised me to read some of the books that have been on my shelves. Plus, I am going to work on my list of books that I think people ought to read. Not 1000. Perhaps I'll be a little less ambitious and work on 50.