Mr Anthony Kane, Chemistry Teacher and Deputy Head of Fletcherites, is the first person to complete the Charterhouse Reading List: The 99.
The 99 challenges pupils (and staff!) to read the entirety of the 99 recommended books during their time at Charterhouse. With categories ranging from STEM to Post-2000s fiction, there are books for everyone.
Mr Kane shares how the challenge presented the perfect opportunity to rediscover the joys of reading and push the boundaries of his literary comfort zone:
What inspired you to participate in The 99 Reading Challenge?
A couple of years ago I realised that I had only read four books in the calendar year, and I was a bit embarrassed. So, in 2023 I set myself the target of reading 50 – hoping that even if I didn’t manage it, I’d have read many more than four. Conveniently this coincided with the launch of The 99, so I started reading from the list because I had confidence in the recommendations of the library and staff who contributed. Being an old Carthusian, a significant factor was the promise of a tie at 90 books.
Were there any particular genres or authors you discovered or revisited as part of the challenge?
The great thing about the list is that it is so broad in scope, genre, and author – I’ve really appreciated reading books that are written from or about experiences which I lack. For example, Ta-Nehisi Coates essays Between the World and Me, about being Black in the United States, or The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, from the perspective of children in India. It is easy to (unintentionally) end up reading predominantly white, male, European authors, so I am grateful that the list was intentionally designed to break that.
What was your favourite book you read during the challenge, and why?
Well, there are a couple of books on the list partly because I recommended them, so I’ll skip over Catch-22 and The Alchemy of Air which are two of my favourites. I read Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf and Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin because they were on the list so I think I would say them – Mrs Dalloway came particularly recommended by one of my tutees, Defne Onursal (F24), and was one of the first books that I read and really appreciated as Art more than as story, narrative, or information. Giovanni’s Room I picked up, being totally honest, because it was one of the shorter books on the list – but after about 4 pages I was completely hooked (you’ll know the paragraph I mean when you read it for yourself).
Did any book surprise you or change your perspective on something?
I think every book you read changes your perspective on something, maybe a few examples: Born a Crime, Trevor Noah’s autobiography taught me more about apartheid era South Africa than I knew, Rebecca Skloot’s great book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a great exploration of medical ethics, and Displacement by Kiku Hughes is a YA graphic novel about Japanese-American internment camps, which many younger readers may not know about.
Anyone who says that they don’t like reading just hasn’t found the right book yet. We have an absolutely amazing library, not to mention a fantastic team of librarians, who can help you find your sort of thing.
You’re often seen walking around campus reading a book, what’s been your most surprising reaction to that?
Another one of my tutees, Anna Antignac Mira Costa (F24), would regularly try and stand in my way to see if I’d walk into her – I had to explain the concept of peripheral vision… mostly pupils are surprised that I don’t walk into things, but after 5 years as a pupils myself and my sixth year as a teacher, I know my way around fairly well. Mostly I enjoy the conversations with staff and pupils alike who want to know what I’m reading, how many books I’ve read, and if there are any I’d recommend.
If you could have dinner with one of the authors of the books you've read and discuss their work with them, who would it be and why?
An interesting question to be sure – I think it would be meaningful to be able to speak to Anne Frank and tell her about the enduring legacy that her diary has, its message of hope despite everything, and how many teenagers’ lives have been positively impacted by it, although she might be mortified that people read her diary at all. Professor Lady Sue Black’s book All That Remains I listened to as an audiobook, which she read herself, so that already felt a little like having dinner with her and was a nice experience. I think Kurt Vonnegut (author of Slaughterhouse Five) would probably be my top pick for an enjoyable, funny, serious conversation.
Mr Kane adds: 'Reading is just so clearly good for you, and that anyone who says that they don’t like reading just hasn’t found the right book yet. We have an absolutely amazing library, not to mention a fantastic team of librarians, who can help you find your sort of thing. I’d encourage people to give the 99 a go – I started with the shortest books, the quickest reads – and then you’ll find which books you do and don’t enjoy over time. A lot of pupils say to me that they couldn’t read as much because they are really slow readers, but I try to tell them that you speed up with practice. I’m always happy to try and recommend books to pupils who are stuck!'
