The Top Ten Books I Can't BELIEVE I Haven't Read are:
1. Our Mutual Friend
, Charles Dickens. (a.k.a. anything by Dickens other than A Christmas Carol.) Sad. Shameful. I'm currently working on remedying this, thank goodness.
2. Mrs. Dalloway
, Virginia Woolf. (a.k.a. anything by Woolf--see what I'm talking about?) This has not only been on my shelf for years, but it's even been in my immediate reading pile quite often. Somehow it just keeps slipping away and landing back on my TBR shelf.3. Crime and Punishment
, Fyodor Dostoevsky. (a.k.a. anything by Dostoevsky. mmm-hmmm.) I justify this one by asserting that I've read Tolstoy's War and Peace
AND Anna Karenina
and hope that makes it sound like I'm getting to Dostoevsky just as soon as possible.4. A Room With a View
, E.M. Forster. (a.k.a. anything by...aw, nevermind. You get the point.)
I started reading this and then got swamped with book club books and ARCs I needed to finish. Time to give some ARCs a pass.5. Middlemarch
, George Eliot. Or Daniel Deronda
, which I might actually read first. Yes, George Eliot falls into the aforementioned author's club.6. Dubliners
, James Joyce. Need you ask? I simply picked Dubliners because that's the book of his I already own.7. The Grapes of Wrath
, John Steinbeck. I can NOT believe I didn't read this in high school.
8. The Lord of the Rings
, J.R.R. Tolkien. I was actually assigned to read this in high school and I just couldn't do it. Fantasy is generally not my friend.
9. Gone With the Wind
, Margaret Mitchell. This wasn't even on my TBR list until I actually watched the movie and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.10. Doctor Zhivago
, Boris Pasternak. I swooned over this movie as a teen, and watched it over and over 
again. And I still haven't read it. For shame.
I also haven't read much Woolf (ah, the shame), but love A Room of One's Own.
ReplyDeleteI have Gone with the Wind sitting on my shelf unread (yikes), and have wanted to read Doctor Zhivago ever since seeing Must Love Dogs. I haven't even seen the movie (of Dr. Z)... apparently I need to do this ASAP.
Ohh, you listed 7 books also on my bookshelf, unread. I have only read GWTW. Yeah, I have only read Christmas Carol too!!
ReplyDeleteReading Gone With the Wind is a very different experience than watching the film. Obviously there're a ton of plot elements missing from the film, but I think you also build a slightly different relationship with the characters. If you enjoyed the film you'll likely love the book.
ReplyDeleteThere's also a (slightly odd...) sequel to GWTW called Scarlett written by Alexandra Ripley. Margaret Mitchell's gave permission for/approved it and it actually is pretty true-to-style. I read it a couple years ago because I was too frustrated by the end of GWTW to leave it hanging forever!
I loved Lord of the Rings and Gone With the Wind and like AliBird, I've read Scarlett cause I didn't want it to end the way it did, I couldn't get closure. I actually liked it and the ending a lot.
ReplyDeleteI'm a member of the "read anything by Dickens except A Christmas Carol" club too. I never thought I'd like Mrs. Dalloway, but it really drew me in.
ReplyDeleteI'm from Oklahoma, and "The Grapes of Wrath" is not very popular there. That's partially got to do with the book's liberal politics (which I share), but for the most part they're tired of our Dust Bowl image. I'll read anyway, someday.
ReplyDeleteDubliners is excellent. Read it soon. They're some of the best short stories in English, especially "The Dead." LOTR is also one of my favorite books, but if you don't like fantasy you're never going to be able to slog through it, so don't force yourself.
I LOVE DUBLINERS. Great list ... I want to read Dr. Zhivago too.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read GWTW either! I keep meaning to pick it up! I also started Crime and Punishment but lost it. I was really enjoying it before I misplaced it somewhere in Europe! lol
ReplyDeleteWallace--I think Dr. Zhivago plays a big part in why I liked the movie Must Love Dogs. (and Christopher Plummer, that was a fun surprise.)
ReplyDeleteBook Quoter--wow, 7 of the 10 is quite a few. It makes me happy...misery loves company. :)
AliBird and Daisy--I think I might actually own Scarlett too...(hmm, LibraryThing said that I don't. what did I do with it??) Thanks for the heads up!
Hilde--there seems to be a pretty good group of people in that club. :)
ReplyDeleteIsaac--that's so interesting, I never would have thought of the different regional perception...although I guess it would get old being known only for your dust. Thank you for the thoughts on Dubliners and LOTR!
IngridLola--It's quite encouraging to hear such a good report of Dubliners, I'll definitely be moving it up on my TBR list.
Jamie--I am seriously not a fan of losing books. But C&P has probably enjoyed its time in Europe. At least it was enjoyable, I guess that makes re-starting it less painful.
I've never read Crime and Punishment, but I did read The Brothers Karamazov which I quite enjoyed (outside of a 30 page pointless stretch).
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how much I liked A Room with A View...
but most of your list I am right there with you.
I've not read any of the Big Thick Russian Books. Oh dear. Yet another Must Read to add to my list.
ReplyDeleteI tried to make it through LotR but it was such a tough slog. I loved the movies but I didn't think it was the same experience at all.
ReplyDeleteJulia--I figured I'd go for C&P first, seeing as how it's about half the size of The Brothers...a bit less of a commitment maybe. :)
ReplyDeletereaderbuzz--so many books needing reading!! I'm really glad I read War and Peace, it was fabulous, but I still have to convince myself to dive into another clunker.
Red--well that's good to know. I have actually only watched the first movie (twice). I enjoy it, but it wears me out enough that I'm not eager to jump into the next one. My 11 year old son keeps bugging me to do a LOTR (extended) movie marathon with him...maybe I'll do that and stop feeling guilty about not having read the books.
This list could basically have been my list, too! I actually own a few of Virginia Woolf's books and I still haven't read them. Not sure why, but it's nice to know I'm not the only one!
ReplyDeleteIs it really? Huh, I always thought that C&P was like on the same scale as War and Peace... clearly I just like to make up facts
ReplyDeleteKelly--I can't quite figure out why Woolf keeps slipping off my nightstand and back onto my shelf...maybe because I have the impression that it is going to be Work.
ReplyDeleteJulia--I thought the same thing until my brother gave me a copy of C&P. They are always mentioned hand in hand it seems, (like ReaderBuzz said "Big Thick Russian Books") so maybe that's why? Although making up facts can be an awful lot of fun...
Hahaha, you are like my reading twin but also my Not-reading twin - so many the same! Do we have to bother with Gone With the Wind though? The film's enough, surely...
ReplyDeleteI read Gone with the Wind earlier this year and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. The review is on my blog if you want a look :)
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