Congratulations, y'all! We've made it halfway through 2024 and this year's Read With MLC reading challenge. We dedicated the month of July to reading a book published the year you were born. Sure, reading the latest bestseller can be really satisfying, but reading older books can be a rewarding experience as well. While doing research for a project in 2018, Emily Temple, the managing editor of Literary Hub, noticed that, just like today, the books that were the most popular weren't necessarily the ones that made the biggest impression on society, and therefore, aren't remembered as well. She collected the top ten best-selling booklists from 1918 forward and added in a sprinkling of "classics" from each year. The result is a kaleidoscope of titles of all genres and for all tastes. If you're interested in Temple's findings, here is her list of the most popular fiction and nonfiction books of the past century.
We asked our staff if they've read anything from the year they were born. Check out their thoughts below!
