This week, Broke and Bookish asked the question: What books have been on your TBR {To Be Read} since before you started blogging?
I’ve had this little blog for about 3 years now so what are some books that I’ve been wanting to read for at least that time? Hmmm. Lots of classics. Lots of important books, at least in my mind.
- Don Quixote/ Miguel Cervantes I finally started reading this book over the weekend but it’s a daunting page number. I’m reading it on my Kindle app so I can read a page or two between activities or events. I hope to be done in a few weeks (maybe).
- Crime and Punishment/ Fyodor Dostoevsky To date, I’ve only read one Dostoevsky novel – The Idiot – back during a summer vacation in college. I planned to read more of his writings and haven’t gotten to it yet.
- Anna Karenina/ Leo Tolstoy I’ve owned this book for about 5 years and still haven’t cracked the spine. Same reason as above. I need to get on it and finally get this one off my TBR list.
- Angela’s Ashes/ Frank McCourt About 6 years ago, I listened to the Teacher Man audiobook read by Mr. McCourt in his strong Irish accent and I’ve been wanting to read this Pullitzer Prize-winning book of his ever since then.
- Beloved/ Toni Morrison I am a little embarrassed that I’ve never read this. I finally bought a copy last week so I will be reading it soon. I hope.
- A Tree Grows In Brooklyn/ Betty Smith This is considered a Book of the Century. It’s the book everyone’s read except me, or so it seems. I should fix that.
- Atlas Shrugged/ Ayn Rand When I was in college, I thought about applying for a scholarship that was awarded based on essay responses to this book. Since then, I’ve been planning to read it but it’s a whopping 1168 pages. I just haven’t been able to muster up the courage to start.
- The Autobiography of Malcolm X/ Alex Haley No. I’ve never read this. I don’t know why. It’s been a part of my dad’s library from before I learned to read. I chose to read Haley’s Roots instead, which changed my perspective on life, but I still haven’t gotten to Malcolm X yet.
- A Tale of Two Cities/ Charles Dickens This is another book that lived on my parents’ bookshelves during my childhood that I just didn’t get to. I bought my own copy about six years ago in my classics-buying phase but still haven’t gotten around to it.
- The Odyssey/ Homer A brand new (secondhand) copy of this book sits on my bookshelf. Every so often, I take it out, look at it, and say to myself, “Self, you should read this soon.” Then I dust it off and put it back on the shelf. One of these days, I will.
That’s just 10 of the books I know I should read soon and have been saying that for years.
A few months ago, I ran across the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge that also has a lot of books that I want to read over the next few years. You might be interested in taking the challenge yourself.
Or try this list of 100 books everyone should read. How many of them have you read?
RUN WRIGHT 
A good list except when I read these lists, it makes me think of a thousand other books. I spent six months working in the US in 1974 and travelled a lot, too. On that trip I met a lot of interesting people. One gentleman who gave me a ride (I traversed the US, hitchhiking) from Cleveland to Philadelphia, gave me a book about a young African American who grows up in Harlem but gets out, leaves behind the criminal life he’d begun, becomes a jazz musician in the ‘Village, goes to night school and generally makes a good life for himself. It wasn’t a sugar coated story. In fact, it was brutally honest, I thought, and quite uncompromising. The paperback he gave was well worn when I got it and soon fell apart. I can’t remember the name of it but it’s a book, like Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Dickens’ Great Expectations, Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle, Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five or Flann O’Brien’s At Swim Two Birds, that are the foundations of my love of reading and writing. If you know the book, let me know. I’ve read George Jackson, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Robert Beck but I’ve never found that book. I don’t remember the name of the writer or the book but I know, when I had it, I couldn’t put it down.
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I should know the book. I live in Harlem myself now. I have to think about it and get back to you.
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I would love to read it again. It was set in the late ’50s, early ’60s. The guy becomes a drug dealer as a teenager but educates himself out of it
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We had to read Don Quijote de la Mancha and Angela’s ashes for school. Angela’s ashes was so depressing.My TTT.
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I love your list! Lots of classics. I read the Odyssey in school, and a teacher actually read us A Tale Of Two Cities aloud. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have gotten around to it. My hubby’s on a Leo Tolstoy kick right now. We watched the BBC’s War and Peace and now we’re collecting his work. -Vonze’s Reader Blog
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I’ll check out that BBC war and peace presentation too. Sounds like a good way to get into the story
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Now that I’m older, I’ve appreciated The Tale of Two Cities more than I did in high school. I hope you get time to read it. I also liked Atlas Shrugged, but a lot of people are iffy on it. I still need to read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. I almost picked it up last week 🙂
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Yes. Absolutely. I think some of the themes in these books would have been lost on me if I’d read them when I was younger.
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These kinds of books are really my thing, but I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
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Even though I have a BA in English, I have a really hard time with classics! Most of them are just sooo boring. I plowed through CRIME AND PUNISHMENT and ATLAS SHRUGGED because I wanted to be able to say I’d read them, not because I actually enjoyed them. A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, though, I loved. I also liked BELOVED and ANGELA’S ASHES. I’d say those three are worth the read. The others I either haven’t read or didn’t care for. Good luck with these!
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Thanks. Beloved is a short read so that alone bumps it up to the top of the list 😀
Some of the others are so long, I have to save them for a trip or something
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So many great books on this list! It took me ages to finish Anna Karenina (not really worth it imo), but Tale of Two Cities is absolutely amazing!
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Thanks Julia. Anna Karenina is considered the best novel ever written but I can’t imagine that it will suit every reader’s taste. Thankfully, it’s not the ONLY novel ever written.
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We have several in common. 🙂 A Tale of Two Cities and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are favorites!
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Yes! Hopefully I’ll get to them soon 😀
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I had to read The Odyssey in High School. I was very intimidated, and thought I was going to hate it, but in the end I really enjoyed it. Hopefully you can get to it soon! 😀 My Top Ten Tuesday!
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We totally have similar TBR’s!! You have a great reading list and some really great works headed your way.
http://decoratethesoul.blogspot.com/
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Angela’s Ashes have been on my list forever too. So too Atlas Shrugged and A tree grows in Brooklyn. Nice picks. Here’s my TTT: http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2016/08/ten-books-that-have-been-on-your-shelf.html
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I haven’t read any of these except Atlas Shrugged and The Odyssey. Atlas Shrugged is so difficult to get through, but WORTH IT! I love that one. 😀
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I’ve been meaning to read Anna Karenina for ages but oh my goodness what an undertaking! Maybe one of these days..
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Anna Karenina and Beloved are both excellent. Happy reading!
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Thanks so much, Lauren
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Oh my, what a daunting list you have there. Best of luck to you with it. Angela’s Ashes is another I should have added to my list.
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Thanks, Melissa. I would like to read more Pulitzer Prize winners in general. I’ve been compiling a list of them too. So far, I’ve only read about 4 😕 Is that something you go for?
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Those are some pretty dense reads! I admit, I often balk at what most people consider ‘required’ reading. Thanks for checking out my Top Ten list! ^_^
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You’re right some of these are a little off putting but I am still interested enough. Some are books that are referenced in pop culture so I like having that reading background too 😀
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This is quite the list to tackle! I have read the Odyssey twice, one in high school once in college, and it’s a lot of fun to study if you like Greek mythology.
Thanks for stopping by The Local Muse
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I would like to know more about Greek mythology. I’ve read a couple books about it but I could stand to learn the subject better – even if only to prepare for when I get on Jeopardy someday.
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I love Angela’s Ashes so much. So very much. It also has one of the best last lines ever (no peeking!).
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I won’t peek. I’m too afraid it will ruin the ending. But now I’m intrigued to read it. Thanks for that boost.
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Achievement unlocked! 😉
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This is such a great list of books! I hope you get to read them soon.
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I’ve actually read several of these, but many years ago. Crime and Punishment, Atlas Shrugged, Anna Karenina, Angela’s Ashes, and A Tale of Two Cities.
I still want to read Beloved and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Thanks for sharing your list, and for visiting my blog.
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We are book kindred spirits! Literally all of these are on my list 🙂 I just picked up crime and punishment – don’t see it as being a in-one-go kind of read though 🙂
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Yes we are! So great to share that with someone. Nah almost none of these are light reads.
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