In January of 2013 I created a reminder list of my top 20 books I had always meant to read but never did. As the year progressed I crossed them out and linked reviews as I worked through the list. With 2013 coming to a close I managed to read 9/20 on my list. For 2014, I'm adding 20 more books to this list and make this a perpetual working list.
As you might recall, with the exception of a handful of books, I do not save my books once I've read them (too many books to reread), so I'm trying to read and purge my shelves of mostly hardcovers first.
Below was my list 20 for 2013 (plus an additional 20 for 2014)
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky; Heidi Durrow(2010) - 4/5 (Nov-2014)- David Copperfield; Charles Dickens
The Chosen; Chaim Potuk (1967) - 4.5/5 (May-2013)- Excellent Women; Barbara Pym (2005)
- Sweet Thursday; John Steinbeck (1955)
Naomi; Junichiro Tanizaki - (1924) (2001)- 4.5/5 (Jan-2013)On Chesil Beach; Ian McEwan - 2007- 4.5/5 (June 2013)- Post Office Girl; Stefan Zweig (2008)
The Giant's House; Elizabeth McCracken (1997)- 3.5/5 (April-2013)- Passing On; Penelope Lively (1990)
- Mangus; John Fowles (1985)
The Garden of Eden; Ernest Hemingway (1986)3.5/5 - April 2013A Yellow Raft in Blue Water; Michael Dorris(2003) 3/5 - (Aug-2013)- The Lizard's Cage; Karen Connelly (2007)
In the Woods; Tana French (2007)- 4/5 (Jan-2013)
- The Girls; Lori Lansens (2006)
- By George; Wesley Stace (2007)
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne; Brian Moore(1922/2010) - 5/5 (Feb-2013)Half of a Yellow Sun; Adichie(2007) - 4.5/5 (Sept-2013)- Cassandra at the Wedding; Dorothy Baker (1962)
- The Broken Teaglass; Emily Arsenault (2010)
- Amigoland; Oscar Casaras (2009)
- Kings of the Earth; Jon Clinch (2010)
- One Vacant Chair; Joe Coomer (2003)
- My Cousin Rachel; Daphne DuMaurnier (1951)
- The Clock Winder; Anne Tyler (1972)
The Road Home; Rose Tremain(2008) 3.5/5- Flannery, A Life of Flannery O'Connor; Brad Gooch (2010)
- The Wilderness; Samantha Harvey (2009)
- N0S4A2; Joe Hill (2013)
- Mountains of the Moon; I.J. Kay (2012)
- Rush Home Road; Lori Lansens (2007)
- The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest; Stieg Larsson (2010)
- The Group; Mary McCarthy (1989)
- Stoner; John Williams (2006)
Trespass; Rose Tremain (2010) (April-2014)- The Violent Bear it Away; Flannery O'Connor (1960)
- Straight Man; R. Russo (1997)
- Random Acts of Heroic Love; Scheinmann (2009)
And Then There Were None; Agatha Christie(1922) Sept-2014
This is a great idea! I might have to put together a similar list that will incorporate the books I have with my challenges.
ReplyDeleteSome fantastic books here - The Woman in White & Half of a Yellow Sun especially. Good luck with your challenge Diane!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely read The Chosen. Post Office Girl is on my list this year too!
ReplyDeleteGreat list - I need to read many of them myself. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteFamily matters, Post Office girl and Women in white are my TBR as well. I thought The Bucket List is a great idea except I am not discipline enough to follow through a list. All the very best!
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea and list, Diane. I always think A Room with A View is older than it is. I hope you find the time to read many of these in the coming year.
ReplyDeleteProdigal Summer is one of my all time favorite books! So glad it is at the top of your list! I'm ready to read it again!
ReplyDeleteHA! Your list of what you wanted to read is way longer than my list of those I've read. I must do better!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your not-a-challenge! Half of a Yellow Sun was amazing!
ReplyDeleteThere are a few of my all time faves on your list and definitely must-reads! The Magus, The Woman in White, the Post-Office Girl and In the Woods. Hope u do get thread them in 2013 and looking forward to your reviews.
ReplyDeleteDo yourself a favor and start with In the Woods!!! : )
ReplyDeleteI've decided if it's been on the TBR list for three years already and I haven't been interested enough to pick it up and read it, it doesn't belong on the list. I looked at your list and found at least 6 that I've read and wouldn't recommend you spend time on, and another 5 or 6 that were probably at some time in the past on my "I should read these" list, but I've now decided that life is too short to spend time reading books I'm feeling I SHOULD read instead of books I want to. So I gave myself permission to give them away, or at least take them off the list.
ReplyDeleteI'd personally skip #3, 7,9,11, and 12 for starters....have read all but 9, but based on two others by Margaret Atwood who is one of my least favorite authors, #9 wouldn't be on my TBR list.
DeleteBUt that's what makes it so much fun. different people have different tastes. I was just trying to say that I don't want to feel compelled anymore to read something because somebody else thinks I should. Enjoy your reading whatever you choose.
In The Woods is one I will be reading soon! I enjoyed The Chosen and A Room With A View.
ReplyDeleteThere are some great books on this list, some that I hope to read soon too! I read the Mosquito Coast in high school and would love to hear your opinion on it so I can decide whether to read it again ever or not. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a list like that too. And last year I didn't even read one of them. Good luck with your list, I'm sure you'll do better than I did.
ReplyDeleteDiane, we've got one book in common and that's A ROOM WITH A VIEW! I am going to read it for my own personal project, The Italian Reading Challenge.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and happy reading!
I decided to read a lot of the books on my TBR pile this year also. I didn't make a list, I just have to look at my bookshelves, my Nook and my Kindle, and there are more books on my list than I will get read in a year. Why do I keep adding to them? I need to get busy and start reading!
ReplyDeleteFunny, two of the books on your list are my all time favorites -- A Room With a View and Cat's Eye. I also enjoyed Prodigal Summer. It's good to have a list of wishes... Hope you get to savor them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I've been thinking to make a similar checklist of some key TBRs on my shelf that I REALLY want to get to this year. I figure if I make it now, then I'll be more inclined to stick with it throughout the year without getting too distracted by new titles. Sort of an in-house TBR challenge.
ReplyDeleteAs for your list here . . . I've read Prodigal Summer and loved it. Woman in White was good too. I have Family Matters, Room With a View, Lizard's Cage, and Half of a Yellow Sun on my TBR shelf waiting for attention. Hmmm . . . you've given me some ideas for my own list.
Yep! I have a list of what I call HOPEFULS: 2013. The list is actually comprised of 2 categories: new-to-me authors and authors to revisit. This is my third year doing it and I love it. There's no pressure because I keep it personal. If I post them, it feels like a challenge to me. (I'm weird like that!) I hope you have great success in reading what you want to read in 2013!
ReplyDeleteI'm not tying myself to a list this year, but you have some great titles on yours!
ReplyDeleteI've read Prodigal Summer (great), Family Matters (very good), and The Woman in White (meh).
I want to read Half of a Yellow Sun, Excellent Women, & In the Woods.
I'll be eager to see what you think of them all.
I've read IN THE WOODS. Yes, read it because that's the first book in a series. But each book in the series is better than the last. IN THE WOODS is OK, the others are better.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea, Diane. You've got some great titles there. The Woman in White is such a great read as is In the Woods. I have The Lizard's Cage and Half a Yellow Sun in my TBR collection waiting to be read. Someday hopefully I will get to them both.
ReplyDeletethis is so smart! i should make a list like this too! good luck making it through the list and i'm looking forward to your reviews of them!
ReplyDeleteI've read 5 of the titles on your list! LOVED Prodigal Summer but it took awhile for me to realize how much I liked it.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these books, but I am hoping to read another Mistry book this year - A Fine Balance. I hope you get to read all these books this year!
ReplyDeleteI have read and enjoyed several Margaret Atwood books, but had somehow missed Cat's Eye. I read it last year and loved it!
ReplyDeleteI think the John Steinbeck book looks tempting; I haven't read that one.
I read The Chosen in high school; the release date should be 1967. There is also a sequel called The Promise that came out a couple of years later. They are both worth reading.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! I've read a few of them, but really liked Family Matters and The Giant's House.
ReplyDeleteI have a mental list but try not to make written lists anymore as the stress me out! ;) Prodigal Summer is one of those that has been on my shelf for years. I hope you enjoy it! And Woman in White is fantastic. I'd love to revisit that one. Enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteA few of those are on my meant to read list too. I think the only one I've read is Yellow Raft in Blue Water.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! I don't think you will be disappointed reading those. I've read a number of them. Excellent Women is excellent, Post Office Girl is really good, Cat's Eye is really good, Woman in White has one of the best villains ever in it, and In the Woods is one of those can't put down books. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of these and there are more that I would like to read too! Great idea to keep track of these!!
ReplyDeleteI've watched the movie of Room With a View and loved it so I'm sure the book would be better. It's been on my Nook too long. I think I'll put that on my list too. I hope you enjoy all of these.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! I adore Paul Theroux but hate E.M Forrester. Can't wait to see what you think.
ReplyDeleteI loved In The Woods when I read it a few years back!! And I'm interested to hear what you think of The Woman in White. This is a great list and I hope that you enjoy these :)
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time, but I really enjoyed Michael Dorris' Yellow Raft on Blue Water. I've actually read it a couple of times. In the Woods is also very good (love all of her books!). I recently gave up on Family Matters, but I sure did love A Fine Balance. Prodigal Summer was good, but not one of my favorites of Kingsolver's. Loved Flight Behavior, though.
ReplyDeleteI spent the past two weeks pulling books off my shelves, reading a dozen or so pages and making a stack to give away and another to read in 2013. I think a lot of us have the same goal. ;)
Elizabeth McCracken is one of my favorite writers and I loved The Giant's House. Good luck with reading through your list!
ReplyDeleteGreat list. The Chosen has been sitting on my shelf for way too many years too! I really liked Prodigal Summer and In the Woods.
ReplyDeleteYay for Sweet Thursday! It's one of my favorite Steinbeck novels!
ReplyDeleteLove this idea, and have read "The GIRLS", would happily reread it. But i have a bit of a scatter gun approach to my reading, read reviews, get sidetracked by trying new free authors on Kindle, or whilst downloading one, get enticed into best selling lists on amazon!
ReplyDeletePost Office Girl is on my list this year.
ReplyDeleteRoom with a View is one of my favourite books ever!
What a great idea. And the three books you've read so far have all been 4+! There's incentive to keep going. I haven't read many of your list. Margaret Atwood has been one of my favourite authors over the years, but Cat's Eye was one of my least favourite of hers, it was a while ago now, and I can't remember why.
ReplyDeleteWilkie Collins is on my list, too! Woman In White was Nora Ephron's favourite book, and I definitely trust her taste :)
ReplyDeleteThe Girls is something really special-- pulls you into a perspective that you wouldn't imagine on your own.
I have Woman In White on my "to be read" list too - perpetually it seems. Also The Three Musketeers never seems to quite get into my hands. I have a couple of friends who have become authors in the past two years and I drop all other books when a galley arrives in the mail and become completely disloyal to whatever I'm in the middle of! Shameful.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea. One of my goals for 2014 is to purge more books from my shelves too... they are starting to take over!
ReplyDeleteIf I make a list I never seem to read the books on it, so I try to avoid list-making!
ReplyDeleteYou're doing better with your list than I'm doing with mine. I still haven't crossed one off and now I'm ready to add a few more for the next year. Sigh.
ReplyDelete9 on 20 is a great ratio! Good luck on this challenge for next year too!
ReplyDeleteProdigal Summer and My Cousin Rachel are pretty enjoyable. I hope you get to them this year.
ReplyDeleteThis bucket list idea is a good one. I don't keep many books either. I read them and give them away unless they hit home with me and I'll be revisiting them often.
Excellent Women is on my Reading Bucket list too :) I loved Prodigal Summer, and Sweet Thursday is a gem of a book (to be read after Cannery Row!).
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
I adored Prodigal Summer and would wish to reread it many more times. I loved On Chesil Beach--an unpopular scenario among the reading public but one that is common in real life. I, too, need to read the last of the 3 Stieg Larsson books. That's coming up for me in the next few months. I admired your list!
ReplyDeleteJudith (Reader in the Wilderness)