Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday (#22): Books That Have Been on My Shelf for the Longest, but I've Never Read

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I fess up to having tons of unread books on my shelf on a regular basis, but I thought it would be interesting to take an even closer look at my collection and see which ones have been gathering dust the longest. I'm not quite sure if this will be more like rubbing salt in a wound or an exercise in motivation -- only time will tell! I don't keep any kind of exact records, but I can guarantee these have all been (unfortunately) neglected for more than a few years...

The movie trailer looked good so I bought the book...

Atonement, by Ian McEwan
P.S. I Love You, by Cecilia Ahern


I totally loved Oprah's book club, but never read half the books I picked up...

Historical
Daughter of Fortune, by Isabel Allende
The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet


Contemporary
Back Roads, by Tawni O'Dell
Open House, by Elizabeth Berg


Classics
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez
Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez


I snagged these from the bargain table of the B&N down the street from my college. I graduated in 2007... 

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova


I have a tattered copy of this one from my Mom that is probably older than I am. I can't even find a cover image for that edition...

Light a Penny Candle, by Maeve Binchy


I liked The Poisonwood Bible when I read it for a high school class, so I picked up this one too...

Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver


I freakin' love this series, but haven't read the latest installment because I knew the wait for the next one would be soooo long when I got it. And it's still not published yet...

An Echo in the Bone, by Diana Gabaldon

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What un-read books have been on your shelves the longest?

24 comments:

  1. I have so many un-read books that have sat on my shelf for years that it's almost embarrassing! The Monk by Matthew Lewis has definitely been there since I was about 17...I'll get round to it one day, maybe.

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    1. It definitely can be embarrassing! What stands out about these titles for me is the fact that I've had them the longest and actually haven't gotten rid of them (donated, gave away, traded-in, sold, etc.)! I hope you get to that book of yours that's been lingering :)

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  2. I did a similar list this week! From your list, the only ones I've read are Light A Penny Candle (LOVE Maeve Binchy!), Atonement, and Open House--all were good.
    (I like the wallpaper on your blog!)

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    1. My grandma, aunts, and mom all like Maeve Binchy & I've been meaning to jump on the bandwagon...I just hasn't happened yet!

      Thanks for stopping by :)

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  3. Interesting topic. I actually don't have many very old books on my shelves that I want to read; I mean there are but there's a bunch that has just kinda come to me (I haven't bought them myself) and I know I'm not going to read them all. There are a few books though, like Douglas Adams' The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, which is a big brick consisting of all the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. And a book of Chinese tales in Estonian, which I've been reading for years now. A tale in three months or so :))

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    1. I have a tendency to wait an "appropriate" amount of time before passing along gift books I know I never will read. As for books I buy myself, my reading tastes have changed a lot in the last 10 or so years, so I'm kind of amazed I actually have some books from that long ago that I still want to read -- most have been passed along in one way or another by now, and they definitely didn't accumulate as fast back then! I've been meaning to read more of my anthologies bit by bit, like your Chinese tales, but other books tend to pull me away!

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  4. PS I love you is so good! The movie is totally different and the book is 1000X better!

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    1. It really annoys me when they butcher a book to make a movie -- good to know they are very different -- I'll probably like the book better too!

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  5. I only have one, a hand-me-down from my mom she thought I would enjoy but I haven't been motivated to pick it up.

    Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is one I've been recommended I don't know how many times, but I've tried to read it twice, and neither time I could get into it. Maybe third time will be a charm?

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    1. Maybe! I've heard very mixed reviews which is probably why I've held onto it, but haven't managed to actually give it a try yet. The page count is not a big motivator either when I'm not quite sure how much I will really like it...

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  6. Oh, I loved Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and The Historian. READ them!! :)

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    1. Thanks for the recommendations...sometimes it's hard to know where to start!

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  7. Great pick, my pick was similar to this. I have far too many books on my shelves that I haven't read yet. I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes and buys a book if the film trailer looks good. Nice list :) My TTT.

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    1. No you're definitely not the only one! Thanks for stopping by :)

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  8. In your defense, Love in the Time of Cholera was sitting unread on my bookshelf from at least September 2008 until June 2011. :-)

    I think the only physical book I have that is unread for more than a few months is the Peter Pan that I've had since forever. Everything else is less than a year old. My Kindle on the other hand has dozens of unread books that I've had since before I even had a Kindle.

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    1. Ah ha, so you're unread books are "hidden"! We will never be lacking something to read :)

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  9. Christine! that is so funny how you are holding off on the Gabaldon book because of the wait for the next novel. I just might take you up on this challenge to out my unread bookshelf. Perhaps if I post it on my blog like you, I will get off my butt and read some of them. I am happy to see I am not alone in the unread dread!!
    Belinda

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    1. Nope, you're definitely not alone! That would be a great idea for a post and might be good motivation :)

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  10. Oh Christine..my tbr pile is down right scary..upwards of 500 books..yeah I am an addict. I have whole series..that I own and haven't read and yet I read 300 books a year but add 4 or 5 new ones each week on my own, not to mention what pubs send me. I did read all of the Oprah books, but I was a stay at home Mom, and would watch the show and read for the discussions episode.

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    1. Oh Kimba, if YOU have that many unread books with the pace you normally read, I will admit I feel a little bit better about all my unread books! Though I think if we were both to try reading through our unread shelves, you'd finish a lot quicker than me :)

      I have read a few of Oprah's books, but never got around to the ones I listed here -- I did always watched the book episodes with my mom though, even if I didn't read the book!

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  11. I am an Outlander fan myself--Echo in the Bone is not my favorite of her books, but you have to read it! I am rereading the first book right now, getting ready for the Starz mini-series this summer.

    It took me two tries to get into The Historian, and I ended up listening to it and liking it. I finally gave up on Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell -- never really enjoyed it so stopped reading about half way throug.

    I read Prodigal Summer not too long ago and loved--Kingsolver is one my favorite living authors.

    Atonement is a fantastic book--thought about it for weeks after finishing it. A must-read in my opinion!

    I think the book that has been on my shelf the longest is The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone, about Michelangelo. I still want to read it but never prioritize it!

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    1. I know, I really need to catch up on Outlander in anticipation of the TV series, and for the newest book now that its publication date is finally on the horizon! Of all the ones I listed here, that and Atonement are definitely ones I want to get to the most, so glad to know you enjoyed them :)

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  12. Daughter of Fortune was a great read. Love in the Time of Cholera I tried then I gave up about 25 pages in and rented the DVD. Great movie! LOL! I am making a point this year to read the books that I have had the longest. Legend is still collecting dust. ARGH! One day.

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    1. I'm glad to hear you liked Daughter of Fortune -- when I make lists like this, I usually don't know where to start!

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I'd love to hear what you think :)