Another Tuesday, another Top Ten Tuesday. For those who don’t know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the book bloggers and list lovers, The Broke and the Bookish, and each week they post a topic for bloggers to respond to. This week’s theme is about admitting some of the books we still haven’t read although we completely intend to… at some point aka Ten Books That Have Been On Your Shelf (Or TBR) From Before You Started Blogging That You STILL Haven’t Read Yet.
I am the worst for this. Especially when it comes to classic literature with a capital L and The Canon. As an English literature graduate it’s not exactly surprising that most of the books on this list are considered “literary classics” which I probably should have gotten around to before now. I felt ashamed at times when I admitted I hadn’t read some of these alleged staples – my knowledge of particularly American literature, for example, is shockingly bad since my studies mainly focused on early modern (British) literature. I must correct this at some point in my life and, hopefully, by admitting some of these titles today, it’ll give me the kick up the bum needed to pick them up sooner rather than later.
Without further ado, here we go, here’s my list of shame:
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Maybe at some point I can stop lamenting over not having read these yet and just actually, you know, pick them up and read them and finally cross them off this list. That’ll be the day!
That was my list of Books That Have Been On My TBR From Before I Started Blogging That I Still Haven’t Read Yet – do any of these feature on your TBR list? Have you read any of the above and think I should make reading them a priority?
Comment below/link your own post below if you have one – I’d love to read it!
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The Terror of Knowing 
13 responses to “Top Ten Tuesday | Earliest TBR Books I Still Haven’t Read Yet”
I’m not great about reading the classics either, I like some of them but usually my taste leans more toward contemporary. The only book I’ve read on this list was ‘Of Mice and Men,’ which is a really short book plus I really liked it. I’ve been meaning to read ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ for ages, it seems like such a polarizing book but one just about everyone has read. My mom has a copy on her bookshelf but I keep putting it off for some reason. :/
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[…] Read!) Now, because this is practically the story of my (reading) life I’ve actually done this topic previously and the answers still remain pretty much the same, with the exception of Madame Bovary which I […]
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I would say that you should push The Alchemist to the top of your list, but I’m a firm believer that you can only read that book at the right time; the day you randomly pick it up and decide to read it will be that time and that’s when you’ll get the most out of it.
I loved Crime and Punishment and can highly recommend that; it’s a bit weird, but the psychological aspect of it is really interesting. I’ve read The Catcher in the Rye once many years ago, but I have to say it’s never really stuck with me; I honestly don’t know what the big deal is with that book. Maybe I’d think differently about it now, but I’m not going to be rushing out to read it.
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I’ll keep what you said in mind about The Alchemist, I’m sure one day I’ll be in the mood and pick it up. Buying or borrowing it from the library would probably be the first step towards that, haha.
I saw a web series (Classic Alice I think?) where the girl was reading/living Crime and Punishment and I found the moral dilemma presented really intriguing so I’m sure I’ll enjoy it even more when I pick up the book for real. :)
The Catcher in the Rye will always be one of those ‘I should probably read it’ books. It’s not that I’m NOT interested per say it’s just that there are plenty of other books I’ll probably want to get to before it. Still… some day!
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The Catcher in the Rye was a favorite of mine in high school, and I liked some of the other books on your list – but I’ve fallen totally out of the habit of reading “classics”.
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It’s easily done!
Since I stopped being assigned them at school/university, I’ve been so lax about reading classics. I think part of it is because (understandably) there’s so much buzz and chat in the book community about new releases but not as much about “classics” so it feels like I can’t take part in the fun of chatting unless I’m reading newer things?
I don’t know, it’s a complex issue, but I really do want to get back to these TBR classics! :)
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I’m quite shocked that you haven’t read Of Mice and Men. I thought that was a UK school necessity for anyone who showed up to an English class above the age of 12!!
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Nope, my school went with the frightfully British book Lord of the Flies, old chap! :P
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I haven’t read Lord of the Flies, so I can’t actually say you’re missing out, but….you’re missing out!
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Lord of the Flies is about school boys who genuinely say phrases like “Wacco! Wizard! Smashing!” Just saying :P
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Hmmm, OK then. I probably need to add it to my TBR haha. Because that list needed to grow longer
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I *hated* Slaughterhouse 5. Hated it with a passion! To the point I will not pick up that book ever again unless someone pays me somewhere in the 5 digit figures to do so. Maybe 6. Argh.
Haven’t read any of the other ones on your list.
My TTT.
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Ooh, yikes! It does seem to be a hate or love it kind of thing – I guess I’ll finally find out myself when I get around to reading it. :P
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