Books you've been meaning to read...

[electricpenguin]

If all goes well I'll be graduating from my MA this December, and, browsing the bookshelves at the library this morning, I suddenly realised (very excitedly!) that once all my work is handed in I'll finally be able to start reading all those books I'd previously marked out as "To-Read" but had never gotten round to because of uni work. I can't WAIT!

Examples (just the tip of the iceburg!):

Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Golden Notebook - Iris Murdoch
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thomson
The Picture of Dorian Grey - Oscar Wilde
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Beowulf
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare

Has anyone else got a list of books they've been meaning to read? What are they? What's been holding you back, and when do you think you'll finally get round to it?

EP

[Lynne50]

If all goes well I'll be graduating from my MA this December, and, browsing the bookshelves at the library this morning, I suddenly realised (very excitedly!) that once all my work is handed in I'll finally be able to start reading all those books I'd previously marked out as "To-Read" but had never gotten round to because of uni work. I can't WAIT!

Examples (just the tip of the iceburg!):

Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Golden Notebook - Iris Murdoch
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thomson
The Picture of Dorian Grey - Oscar Wilde
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Beowulf
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare

Has anyone else got a list of books they've been meaning to read? What are they? What's been holding you back, and when do you think you'll finally get round to it?

EP
Hi, electricpenguin.. I work in a school everyday, so I will have to wait until June to start my To Be Read List. I think I want to read some more of Thomas Hardy. I read Tess of the D'Urbervilles years ago, so I may want to reread that one first. What book do you just want to read for fun?

[kasie]

This Year, Next Year, Sometime, Never....

Not so much a list as teetering piles in most rooms in the house as I am a compulsive book buyer - I may never see that title again, so-and-so said they really enjoyed that, I keep reading about that on the Forum, oh, so-and-so's new book is out in paper-back, oh, that looks interesting, etc,etc

Come to think of it, Frankenstein is in one of those piles....

When I had finished my Finals I did not want to see another book of any description for a very long time - mental indigestion - then someone gave me Turgenev's Fathers and Sons and I was off again.

Enjoy your regained freedom to read as your fancy takes you! :)

[DeTamble]

Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells.

That's the only one I can think of at the moment...very intellectual, haha.

[electricpenguin]

What book do you just want to read for fun?

Those ARE my fun books!! Especially Fear and Loathing... it's been on my book shelf calling to me for MONTHS now, but I refuse to begin it when I'm still so busy because I know I'll only get part-way though before something else more urgent comes up. I can't WAIT to settle down with that one!

But also, thinking about it, it will be nice to get back into poetry again. I read poetry voraciously pre-university but not so much in recent years. That's another one to lok forward to.

Kasie - I keep buying books too, even though I know I have no time! I recently left my old job, and they gave me BOOK VOUCHERS! You can imagine my excitement...!!!

[kasie]

....they gave me BOOK VOUCHERS! You can imagine my excitement...!!!

Nobody gave me Book Vouchers for my birthday. :bawling: But they did give me Garden Vouchers which will be very useful as all my pots and containers were damaged by the frost. :)

I still have Christmas' Amazon vouchers to spend - but I can't get as excited over Amazon as I can in a book shop - I need to be focused and go there with a list, it's not as much fun as impulse shopping!

[Remarkable]

I've been meaning to read "A Tale of Two Cities" but the beggining is simply so boring...

[bounty]

one of my very favorite books is thomas hughes' tom brown's schooldays and just last year, i got the sequel (a hundred and something yr old copy for five dollars!) tom brown at oxford. but i loved the original so much and the sequel looks markedly different...i might just want to leave tom in boarding school and not go on with him to college.

other than that, i was just recently given, as a gift, catriona, which is the sequel to another of my favorite books, kidnapped. i guess i share a bit of the same reluctance there too but i am going to give that one a shot soon.

[blp]

Most of Plato, though I've read some of it.

I've got a Dutch book, The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch, on my shelf, which I happened to find second-hand while out with a Dutch friend who told me it was great. On the same outing, I found The White Hotel by DM Thomas and also look forward to reading that.

Down and Out in Paris and London and The Road to Wigan Pier by Orwell.

Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.

[Thoreauness]

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

[Lokasenna]

I've been promising myself for three years that when I graduate, I'm going to temporarily dump the intellectual gumph, and read some Terry Pratchett. I can't wait!:lol:

[Zee.]

I'm on a Stephen King... high

Finishing up The Green Mile
gonna then read Misery, Carrie and IT.

And slip a re read of East of Eden in there.

[Marmelodov]

Don Quixote. I gave up on it and now I'm just going to start over. My attention span is pretty bad.

[wessexgirl]

This Year, Next Year, Sometime, Never....

Not so much a list as teetering piles in most rooms in the house as I am a compulsive book buyer - I may never see that title again, so-and-so said they really enjoyed that, I keep reading about that on the Forum, oh, so-and-so's new book is out in paper-back, oh, that looks interesting, etc,etc


:lol: Same here Kasie! I have so many books to be read I don't know where to start. I have so many good intentions, but not enough time.

One of my "must-reads" is "The Suspicions of Mr Whicher" which I had heard so much about, so I promptly bought it, and it's just sitting there unstarted. It's not lonely however, as it is surrounded by many others waiting to be plucked from the ever-growing piles. I need some new bookshelves, as all the available space is taken in the ones all around the house.......the books are spreading all across the floor now.....they're creeping up on me, trying to grab my attention as the next one to be plucked from obscurity! Oh well, Easter hols coming up, perhaps I can make a start :D.

[Wilde woman]

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

Me too! I just bought it this weekend.

Also, Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I've been meaning to get to this for as long as I can remember because it's probably the one (sorta) Arthurian book with a sense of humor. :D

[Hank Stamper]

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson

Read it now! forget about the MA :D


Don Quixote. I gave up on it and now I'm just going to start over. My attention span is pretty bad.

I have been planning on tackling this badboy for about three years now - every summer I think, right, this year... but then I think how many other books I could read in the same amount of time, and bottle it

I'm planning to read it again this summer and am fairly confident I wont

[crystalmoonshin]

I've been buying books by Brian Jacques since last year but I haven't read any of them except perhaps for "Redwall" which I read when I was in high school and which I just finished a while ago. I decided to read it again to refresh my menory.

Here are some of the books I'm planning to read this summer:
1. Mossflower (I'm already past page 100)
2. Mattimeo
3. Mariel of Redwall
4. Salamandastron
5. Martin the Warrior
6. Pearls of Lutra
7. Triss
8. The Long Patrol
9. Salamandastron
(1-9 by Brian Jacques)

10. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
11. The Prince (Machiavelli)
12. The Apothecary Rose ( Candace . Robb)

I just hope I won't get distracted much by anime. :D

[electricpenguin]

4. Salamandastron - I remember reading this book as a kid and loving it! I should definately revisit my old childhood reads again.

Hank - Don't tempt me! The adaptation is my favourite film and on the basis of that I can't see how I could possibly NOT adore the book. I'm excited. I think it's going to be the first non-uni thing I read. WOO! PS/ How on earth did you post a reply quoting from TWO posts? I can't figure it out...

Wilde Woman - What about T.H. White's The Once and Future King? I had to read a part of it for a class once an remember thinking it was pretty jaunty. Also, The Bell Jar... that's my number 2 I think!

Lokasenna - Horray for Terry Pratchett! I've only read one of his books myself but was prety amused by the character of Death. HE SPEAKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS. Sheesh. It still amuses me. I need to grow up :D!

[Wilde woman]

Wilde Woman - What about T.H. White's The Once and Future King? I had to read a part of it for a class once an remember thinking it was pretty jaunty.

Actually, I've already read The Once and Future King three or four times. If you look in my profile, you'll find it's listed as my all-time favorite book. I still pick it up once in a while if I'm reading something Arthurian and want something (more accessible than Malory) to compare it to.

As for Redwall, I think my favorites were Martin the Warrior and Lord Brocktree (I love the badgers). I stopped reading after Loamhedge, though I think Jacques has published several more.

[jakobmuller]

For the record, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a pretty crazy book. Fun read.

[jakobmuller]

I read quite a few of the Redwall books.

My favorites were the ones with otters, so pearls of lutra and the like.

[higley]

It's like a queue on Netflix-- you see something you figure to watch sometime, but then you keep finding movies that you want to see pronto and adding them to the top of the list so that the stuff at the bottom of the queue never quite makes it very high.

You lot have got me boosting The Once And Future King closer to the top, though ;)

[ClaesGefvenberg]

If all goes well I'll be graduating from my MA this DecemberGreat. :thumbs_up I hope everything goes according to plan.



Has anyone else got a list of books they've been meaning to read? Errrrr... No: I have the opposite problem: I keep depleting my stash of reading matter at a rate that keeps pushing me to roam the library and bookshops. Finding myself without anything to read would drive me bonkers.

This, as a matter of fact, is one of the reasons to why the LitNet is so valuable to me. I get tons of hints and suggestions here. :D another major reason is all the nice people I find here. How could you beat theat combination?

/Claes

[Hank Stamper]

PS/ How on earth did you post a reply quoting from TWO posts? I can't figure it out...

I didn't... I replied twice - I suppose a moderator must have put them both together...

yeah you will love the book if you love the film.. in fact the film is pretty much the book verbatim

It's my favourite film too - altho I'm a massive Hunter S Thompson fan so I'm probably a bit biased!

[Scheherazade]

How on earth did you post a reply quoting from TWO posts? I can't figure it out... If you would like to quote from a post, please click on the http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/3341/quotevv0.gif (http://imageshack.us) image on the bottom right corner of that particular post.

If you would like to quote more than one posts in your reply, please click on the http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/999/multiquoteoffyn2.gif (http://imageshack.us) images on the bottom right corner of those posts (they should turn red when they are selected) and then click on the http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9721/replyls6.gif (http://imageshack.us) button on the bottom left of the page.

You can cut the quotes by adding [ quote] before a quote and [ /quote] after it (without the spaces).

[Mathor]

I was reading The Brothers Karamazov, but recently my schoolbooks have been replacing it. Luckily I've already read it, but at my nearest convenience i'm gonna pick it back up! Ah I HATE BOOK GUILT!

[MissScarlett]

Hi, electricpenguin.. I work in a school everyday, so I will have to wait until June to start my To Be Read List. I think I want to read some more of Thomas Hardy. I read Tess of the D'Urbervilles years ago, so I may want to reread that one first. What book do you just want to read for fun?

I love Thomas Hardy. I'm on a Thomas Hardy reread now, now trying to get through The Return of the Native. I love it, it's just that I'm so busy.

I've been meaning to read Crime and Punishment for the longest time and never seem to do it. Really, I must. I want to have read that book.

[Mariamosis]

I've been meaning to read "A Tale of Two Cities" but the beggining is simply so boring...

'A Tale of Two Cities' is definitely worth reading, so struggle through if you must.

I have been meaning to read 'Confessions of an English Opium Eater' by Thomas DeQuincey.

[The Comedian]

Two come to mind: Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. Novels dealing with manners, who's going to marry whom, and is-he-a-good-guy in their plots always give me a hard time. But maybe this summer, I can handle them.

[Lynne50]

I love Thomas Hardy. I'm on a Thomas Hardy reread now, now trying to get through The Return of the Native. I love it, it's just that I'm so busy.

I've been meaning to read Crime and Punishment for the longest time and never seem to do it. Really, I must. I want to have read that book.

Yes, I've been wanting to read Dostoyevsky (sp?), too. Which should I read first, Crime and Punishment or Brothers Karamasov?

[electricpenguin]

Actually, I've already read The Once and Future King three or four times. If you look in my profile, you'll find it's listed as my all-time favorite book. - As suggested I've had a look and found The Once and Future King at the top of your list! Along with Catch-22... a fantastic book and one of my favourites too.


Great. :thumbs_up I hope everything goes according to plan. - THANK YOU! Only two more submissions to go... the pressure's on!


I didn't... I replied twice - I suppose a moderator must have put them both together... - Check out the multi-quote post! I've got The Great Shark Hunt on my shelf as another one of these been-meaning-to-read books, along with Hells Angels. Is Fear and Loathing his best? What would you suggest for a first-timer?


If you would like to quote more than one posts in your reply, please click on the http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/999/multiquoteoffyn2.gif (http://imageshack.us) images on the bottom right corner of those posts (they should turn red when they are selected) and then click on the http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9721/replyls6.gif (http://imageshack.us) button on the bottom left of the page. - THANKS for the tip! A very useful process indeed. Although I may be overusing it now...?!

EP :D

[Hank Stamper]

- Check out the multi-quote post! I've got The Great Shark Hunt on my shelf as another one of these been-meaning-to-read books, along with Hells Angels. Is Fear and Loathing his best? What would you suggest for a first-timer?


I'm not sure you can really compare them to say one is better than the other, but I would probably start with Fear and Loathing

Fear and Loathing is probably the best example of his twisted imagination - and also the way he used language as a musical instrument.. those words sing!

Hells Angels was the book that made him famous.. and is as about as good as investigative journalism gets

The Great Shark Hunt shows how his writing evolved from the early days and after the Fear and Loathing/Rolling Stone era and is an insight into just how volatile/unpredictable/insane a character he was.. the story about the Kentucky Derby is one that has always stuck in my mind.. nuts..

I would also recommend The Rum Diary (fiction) and Songs of the Doomed, but you can't go wrong with any of his work really... I've read pretty much everything now but Better Than Sex - Confessions of a political junkie, which I've finally managed to get a copy of.. am going on holiday next week so gonna read it then

[crystalmoonshin]

As for Redwall, I think my favorites were Martin the Warrior and Lord Brocktree (I love the badgers). I stopped reading after Loamhedge, though I think Jacques has published several more.

I love Lord Brocktree, too. I love Jacques' badgers in general coz they're so strong and really nice creatures. I find Matthias more interesting than Martin, though.


I read quite a few of the Redwall books.

My favorites were the ones with otters, so pearls of lutra and the like.

I haven't read my copy of "Pearls of Lutra" yet but one of my favorite characters in the Redwall series is Skipper, an otter in the book "Mossflower". I also love squirrels, especially Silent Sam!

[PositiveEnergy]

I've been meaning to read Devil in the White City. I tried it before and could not focus to get through it, but have heard good things about it so would like to try again. Years ago, I had a great book on existentialism by Jean-Paul Sartre, but lost it during a move. Would like to spend a rainy week in a cabin with that one.

[Don Quixote Jr]

HI EP

I've been meaning to read War and Peace for years, but other stuff by Dan Brown, Walter Mosely, Martin Cruz Smith, Raymond Chandler & the late Michael Crichton always seemed to get in the way. I figure reading War & Peace should equal reading about a half-dozen normal size novels...
On your list, I've read The Old Man and the Sea once (2 thumbs up) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas several times. In fact, I try to read that and Candide once a year. I've also read Frankenstein, and to quote the immortal Eric Cartman (from South Park) it SUCKS *** (unless you're suffering from insomnia).

[Jeremiah Jazzz]

I've been meaning to read The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann and The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.

Right now I am caught up in a battle between Don Quixote and Gravity's Rainbow, so I do not think these will be coming my anytime soon. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[Dark Lady]

I've been meaning to read The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann and The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.

I started The Divine Comedy ages ago but uni work pushed it to the side. I'm also graduating this year and then I can read whatever I like!!! I have been using 'revison' as an excuse to read a few things that I've been meaning to. For instance read Hemingway's Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises the other day and justified it to myself by claiming it was studying for my Modern American Literature exam. Also read The Taming of the Shrew, which I've been meaning to read for ages and said it was for my Shakespeare exam. I'll be good now, though, as I don't have much longer before exams and then I'll be free.

I will finish The Divine Comedy and also get through other books that have been sat on my bookshelves for a long time like:

Defoe's Robinson Crusoe
Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities
Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Homer's Odyssey
Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
R. L. Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Amongst others. Then I can start buying books again. I wouldn't even know where to begin listing all of those!

[biberkopf]

Remembrance of Things Past. I've been wanting to finish that for years. I've only read Swann's Way and Within a Budding Grove so far.

[mona amon]

I've only read (and know) Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, Coriolanus, Julius Ceasar, Anthony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear- I think that's it, maybe I've forgotten one or two, anyway I've been meaning to read the rest for the past 25 years or so...:lol::blush:

[Amethyst2010]

I haven't read any of those Russian great classics. I don't know Russian, and I will like to read the English translation of War and peace, Anna Karerina, Crime and Punishment, Father and Sons, Eugene Onegin, The Brothers Karamazov,

[Apocrypha75]

Don Quixote. I gave up on it and now I'm just going to start over. My attention span is pretty bad.

Snap! I've got to hit that one too. The other is probably Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

Both have 'love it or hate it' written all over them. :)