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Every month, I will share what I read for the Reading Through the Decades Challenge for 2026 here.
I love this challenge so much! I have found so many new favorites, and I expect this year to be no different.
Please share in the comments what you are reading, what decade it was from, and whether or not you liked it. I’d love to know!
A Book Published from 1900 to 1909
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
I loved this book so much that I not only gave it five stars, but it might go down as one of my all-time favorite books! If you’ve seen the musical or one of the movies based on this book, you may already have an idea of the plot: There’s unusual activity going on at the Paris Opera House, which has the managers flumouxed, and when Christine Daaé’s childhood friend Raoul shows up hoping to court her, he finds that she’s under the spell of the Phantom of the Opera (Erik), whom she thinks is her Angel of Music sent by her father after he died. There’s two story lines going on: one has to do with how the Phantom’s presence affects the opera house, and the second focuses on the dynamic between Christine and Erik and Raoul.
The main narrator comes across almost like a reporter investigating the story, and I really enjoyed this type of story telling.
Some things that are different from most plays and movies you see based on this book:
- Christine Daaé is often portrayed as having dark hair, which would make sense if she were French, but she’s actually from Sweden and described as having blonde hair.
- The Phantom is usually played by some handsome actor (i.e., Gerard Butler), but his face is described as skeletal and people recoil at the sight of it.
- I was surprised how much humor there is in the book. (Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a dark side to it too, but I wasn’t prepared to literally laugh out loud at some parts (especially in the first half of the book).
Find more books published from 1900 to 1909 here.
Where to Buy:
A Book Published in the 1910s
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodson Burnett
I often say not to hesitate to choose a children’s classic for this challenge, especially if there’s one you’ve never read. There’s something about reading a children’s classic as an adult — I think you get all the nuances that I think are easy to miss as a child. At least, that’s been my experience.
I loved this book! This is a book about belonging, family, grief, magic, and what happens to rich kids when they are spoiled and neglected by their parents (the two seem to go hand in hand). It’s also a story about how you make seemingly dead or dying things come alive. This book might go down as one of my favorites of the year. What’s interesting about this book is that it definitely has some gothic elements. It takes place in an English manor where there are strange sounds coming from a part of the house that the protagonist, Mary, isn’t allowed to go. While this book often shows a girl on the cover; there are actually two boys in this book that also play a prominent roll. While some children’s books are pretty simple, this one has a lot more complex and interesting themes going on than what is typical. I listened to this one on audio, and this version that Audible has is excellent! I highly recommend picking this one up. If you do, let me know what you think.
Find more books to read that were published in the 1910s here!
