Penguin Books has just released the next 50 books in their Popular Penguins series.

I love these books. The retro simplicity of the covers and the knowledge that when I pick one up and I know that I am holding a small piece of the literary heritage of readers everywhere, part of the literary global consciousness.

Hmm. That does sound a trifle dramatic. For those turned off by such things, think of it more as knowing that the book will contain quality writing.

The recent Twitter competition by @PenguinBooksAus to celebrate their 2000th follower led me to the Penguin website and on to the Popular Penguins page. There are now 99 titles available and in a rush of blood to the head, I thought that a Popular Penguins Reading Challenge would be a great idea.

Follow this link to find the current list of 99 Popular Penguins books with all relevant information. I have also put together a spreadsheet listing all the Popular Penguins. Download a copy to keep track of your reading progress. **Note – I have updated the Popular Penguins spreadsheet to include the 75 titles added in 2010**

This will be a perpetual challenge, since it is not even within the realms of possibility that I would work my way through this list in the near future. I’d love for you to join me on this reading odyssey. You can count any titles that you have already read.

Sign Up for the Popular Penguins Reading Challenge

If you wan to join me, sign up with the Mister Linky box below. Make sure you link to your initial Popular Penguins Reading Challenge post. Feel free to copy the image above and add it to your blog with your Popular Penguins Reading Challenge posts.

Popular Penguin Reading Challenge Book Reviews

Once you’ve signed up, come back and link to any Popular Penguin Reading Challenge reviews using this Mister Linky. Include the book title in brackets after you name if possible. I’ll list mine here too as SusanRUD: