Project Read All Of Atwood

So, earlier I mentioned that I would be starting a new project on the blog based on James Smythe’s mission to read all of Stephen King’s books in chronological order. Well, I thought the idea was fantastic so have brazenly stolen the concept, but I will be exploring an author that I have never actually read. She is one of the best living writers and has a plethora of books behind her. It is, of course (as the blog post title suggests) Margaret Atwood.

I’m not all that sure why I haven’t read any of Margaret’s books before. I only got back into reading (after a very long break) at the end of 2010 and before that I led a very sheltered bookish existence. I didn’t know of such wonderful authors or never had the chance to experience amazing classics. I chose Atwood for this project because her work has intrigued me for the last couple of years. I, in fact, own five of her books and have always thought of saving them for just the right moment.

The way Margaret explores so many differing themes throughout her writing is another thing that appeals to me and she delves within one of my favourite genres – speculative fiction. Of course, it will take me some time to read all of her work so I have some rules.

• I will only be reading her fiction – novels and short story collections.
• I will only read one book per month, so as not to get in the way of the rest of the TBR and review copies.
• I will talk about each book here once I’ve read them.
• I will, of course, be starting with her debut and ending on her most current work at that moment.

I urge you to join in if you want to. I will be keeping a tally of the books in the sidebar on the right –> So if you fancy reading along with that month’s book then please feel free. I’m not an expert on Atwood or her work, obviously, so the list below (those in bold, I already own) that I’m attempting to read is taken from the ever (un)reliable Wikipedia – if any die hard Atwood fans want to correct my list, then please feel free to comment below.

1. The Edible Woman (1969)
2. Surfacing (1972)
3. Lady Oracle (1976)
4. Dancing Girls (1977) [Short Stories]
5. Life Before Man (1979)
6. Bodily Harm (1981)
7. Murder in the Dark (1983) [Short Stories]
8. Bluebeard’s Egg (1983) [Short Stories]
9. The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) 
10. Cat’s Eye (1988) 
11. Wilderness Tips (1991) [Short Stories]
12. Good Bones (1992) [Short Stories]
13. The Robber Bride (1993)
14. Good Bones and Simple Murders (1994) [Short Stories]
15. Alias Grace (1996)
16. The Labrador Fiasco (1996) [Short Stories]
17. The Blind Assassin (2000) 
18. Oryx and Crake (2003) 
19. The Penelopiad (2005)
20. The Tent (2006) [Short Stories]
21. Moral Disorder (2006) [Short Stories]
22. The Year of the Flood (2009)

Depending on the success of this reading project I would love to explore Margaret’s non-fiction, but as fiction is more my bag I thought I’d dedicate my time to that, first. I have ordered the first book from [A POPULAR ONLINE BOOK RETAILER] and hope to read it in the next couple of weeks as the book for May.

You can follow Margaret Atwood on Twitter HERE and if you do feel like joining in with this utterly bonkers but probably amazing journey through Margaret’s fiction writing career, then do let me know in the comments below.