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TBR Books You Have Been Putting Off Reading


Kylie

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Do you have books on your TBR pile that you have put off reading for some reason? Perhaps they are large and intimidating books that will seem to take an age to read, or maybe you are just not feeling inspired to read them?

 

Hopefully, through this thread, we might be able to encourage each other to bump those books up the list! :)

 

I try not to keep books around that I have lost interest in reading, but there are some I just can't bear to get rid of, even though I've had them for years and haven't come close to choosing them as my next read:

 

Gyles Brandreth Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders

Christopher Brookmyre The Sacred Art of Stealing

Glen David Gold Carter Beats the Devil

Charles Elton Mr Toppit

John Irving A Prayer for Owen Meany

John Irving The World According to Garp

Kate Mosse Labyrinth

Jed Rubenfeld The Interpretation of Murder

Kate Summerscale The Suspicions of Mr Whicher

Donna Tartt The Secret History

 

(If this topic seems familiar, it has been posted before, but we won't be merging threads. We have decided to reinvent some of the old threads, which will encourage discussion by new members as well as old-timers who had previously commented.)

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John Irving A Prayer for Owen Meany

Kate Summerscale The Suspicions of Mr Whicher

 

Kylie, these are the only two of yours I have tried and I couldn't get through either, I found Owen Meany far too wordy (and I quite like wordy) and Mr Whicher was too dull and non-fiction for me, but then I'm not great with non-fiction unless it covers a subject I am very interested in...

 

These are the books that have been on my TBR shelf for around a year or more, have read glowing reports on most of them on here and elsewhere and am slowly working my way through them, I'm so glad I am because Rebecca had sat there for a long while and it's probably one of my favourite ever reads now! :)

 

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi – Half of a Yellow Sun

Allende, Isabel – The House of the Spirits

Avey, Denis – The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz

Carter, Angela – Nights at the Circus

De Wall, Edmund – The Hare With Amber Eyes

Gaiman, Neil – American Gods

Haig, Matt – The Last Family in England

Hardy, Janice – The Pain Merchants

Juster, Norton – The Phantom Tollbooth

Lamb, Wally – I Know This Much is True

Larsson, Stieg – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest

Packer, Ann – The Dive from Clausen’s Pier

Shafer, Mary Ann – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society

Smith, Dodie – I Capture the Castle

Solomons, Natasha – Mr Rosenblum’s List

Truss, Lynne - Eats, Shoots and Leaves

Waters, Daniel – Generation Dead

Zafon, Carlos Ruiz – The Angel’s Game

Edited by chaliepud
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I have a fair few on my TBR, mainly classics really!

  • Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
  • Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
  • Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
  • Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
  • A Tale of Two Cities - Dickens
  • The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling
  • The Iliad - Homer
  • The Glass Wall - Carmen Caine
  • Hollowland - Amanda Hocking
  • The Crew - Douglas Brimson
  • A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin
  • The Falcon Dirk - Clark G. Vanderpool

oh and Kylie i did read A Prayer for Owen Meany and i just couldnt get into it and enjoy it :(

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Oh dear - two votes against Owen Meany! I'm rather glad actually; it sounds like an opportunity to reduce my TBR pile a little. ;)

 

Juster, Norton – The Phantom Tollbooth

Shafer, Mary Ann – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society

Solomons, Natasha – Mr Rosenblum’s List

Truss, Lynne - Eats, Shoots and Leaves

 

I have read and loved all of these. Guernsey and Rosenblum in particular are quick, light reads, if that helps!

 

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

A Tale of Two Cities - Dickens

The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling

 

I kind of hated The Jungle Book, but I think I'm in the minority there. I loved the rest, though!

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Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I read ALL the books I'd had on my TBR and it was down to zero a few months ago. :D (I wonder if I still have a smug look on my face? :harhar: I'm guessing that's a yes.) So I don't really have many outstanding books, and certainly none older than a few months. Just saying.

 

Gyles Brandreth Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders

Good book - had been hoping it might have made it through for the Reading Circle next month as it would have given me the excuse to read it again.

 

 

De Wall, Edmund – The Hare With Amber Eyes

Can't recommend this enough - thought I'd be bored stiff when I got given it for Christmas, but ended up being fascinated by it!

 

Shafer, Mary Ann – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society

Solomons, Natasha – Mr Rosenblum’s List

Truss, Lynne - Eats, Shoots and Leaves

Loved all of these too! Read them all, NOW!!! What are you waiting for? :lol:

 

 

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

These are lovely too - a couple of treats for you to look forward to Laura :)

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Hmm well I have a lot of books that I've been putting off, but the main one would be:

 

Leo Tolstoy - War and Peace

 

And also: Joe Haldeman - Peace and War

 

Other than that, most of my classics I've been putting off, for one because they are somewhat intimidating (don't read as easily as some ie. contemporary fiction I've got) and also because they're currently hidden behind other books on my book shelves.

 

Other books I've been putting off are certain fantasy and science-fiction books, for example the ones where I own an omnibus or hardcover version. Those are too heavy to take with me when I travel so I've been putting off reading them. I generally buy paperbacks, the reason I've got these books in hardback is because they were really cheap. The omnibuses are paperback but they are big and heavy, sometimes I didn't have a choice and had to get the omnibus instead of the individual books and other times it just worked out to be a lot cheaper.

 

Examples:

 

Christopher Paolini - Inheritance series (only read Eragon so far)

Terry Brooks - Shannara series

Dan Simmons - Hyperion Omnibus & Endymion Omnibus (re-read for Hyperion)

Peter F. Hamilton - Pandora's Star (and consequently also Judas Unchained but that's a paperback)

 

The Complete Novels of Jane Austen (this one's a classic and a big book)

 

Furthermore, there's the books I have in Dutch but that are originally written in English, mostly these are thrillers. I haven't read a thriller in ages, I'm not really into that genre much anymore. These days I also prefer the English original to the Dutch translated version, and don't buy any Dutch books anymore that are translations of English books.

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Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I read ALL the books I'd had on my TBR and it was down to zero a few months ago. :D (I wonder if I still have a smug look on my face? :harhar: I'm guessing that's a yes.) So I don't really have many outstanding books, and certainly none older than a few months. Just saying.

 

 

Good book - had been hoping it might have made it through for the Reading Circle next month as it would have given me the excuse to read it again.

 

Well, you have a right to be smug!

 

I was hoping it would get voted through too so it would give me the kick I needed to read it! :)

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I only have a couple that I have been putting off read and it's purely down to the size of them.

 

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

2666 - Roberto Bolano

Ulysses - James Joyce.

 

1 of the will be read this year though as I have decided that I've neglected them too long.

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Gyles Brandreth Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders I listened to it (I think) and liked it. It's very convincing.

Christopher Brookmyre The Sacred Art of Stealing

Glen David Gold Carter Beats the Devil This is probably my most ignored TBR - Alan keeps nagging me to read it - he says it's good (don't rely on it ;))

Charles Elton Mr Toppit I wanted to love it but in the end didn't - had potential though.

John Irving A Prayer for Owen Meany I really liked it :blush2: but it wasn't the easiest book to get into.

John Irving The World According to Garp Just been bought this for Christmas :)

Kate Mosse Labyrinth I didn't like it .. thought it was tedious.

Jed Rubenfeld The Interpretation of Murder

Kate Summerscale The Suspicions of Mr Whicher Intriguing and a good read .. true story and chilling.

Donna Tartt The Secret History I'm almost sure you'll love it .. out of all of these read this one :D

Books that have been on my TBR for too long. I don't know that I've been actively ignoring them but they've certainly been superseded by some younger .. just been in the house five minutes .. whippersnappers. I've not given up on reading them yet though.

 

Monica Ali - Brick Lane

Rosie Alison - The Very Thought of You

Margaret Atwood - The Blind Assassin

Amy Bloom - Away

Jesse Bullington - The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart

Amanda Craig - Hearts and Minds

Glen David Gold - Carter Beats the Devil

Sadie Jones - The Outcast

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Thoughts on your TBR chalie :)

Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi – Half of a Yellow Sun I liked it but I didn't love it.

Allende, Isabel – The House of the Spirits

Avey, Denis – The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz I'm quite interested in this so you must read it to tell me whether it's good :D

Carter, Angela – Nights at the Circus I've picked this up twice and started it but wandered off .. and yet I know it is probably good .. frustrating.

De Wall, Edmund – The Hare With Amber Eyes Though I didn't include it on my list I've had it for a while too.

Gaiman, Neil – American Gods I loved it and this is the time to read it because it's quite wintery. Very imaginative of course.

Haig, Matt – The Last Family in England frankie says this is brilliant - I have it too.

Hardy, Janice – The Pain Merchants

Juster, Norton – The Phantom Tollbooth Kylie says this is brilliant - I have it too :D

Lamb, Wally – I Know This Much is True

Larsson, Stieg – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest

Packer, Ann – The Dive from Clausen’s Pier

Shafer, Mary Ann – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society This was excellent and very readable.

Smith, Dodie – I Capture the Castle I love this, one of my faves but not to everyone's taste.

Solomons, Natasha – Mr Rosenblum’s List Lovely and gentle and quite emotional too as well as funny.

Truss, Lynne - Eats, Shoots and Leaves I've got this but you have to keep reading it for it to stick .. it hasn't stuck :blush2::D

Waters, Daniel – Generation Dead

Zafon, Carlos Ruiz – The Angel’s Game

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Can't recommend this enough - thought I'd be bored stiff when I got given it for Christmas, but ended up being fascinated by it!

Thanks Chesil, good to hear a recommendation as it looks so dull! :D

 

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Loved all of these too! Read them all, NOW!!! What are you waiting for? :lol:

Ok ma'am, I'll get to them pronto! :)

Edited by chaliepud
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I kind of hated The Jungle Book, but I think I'm in the minority there. I loved the rest, though!

 

Hehe I hope I enjoy it but I am quite put off by the language I think!

 

 

These are lovely too - a couple of treats for you to look forward to Laura :)

 

They are definitely one day books hopefully the one day will be this year!

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John Irving A Prayer for Owen Meany

 

Donna Tartt The Secret History

 

I've had A Prayer for Owen Meany on my shelf for about 15 years and have picked it up a few times but always end up putting it back on the shelf after a few pages.

 

I've read The Secret History twice and highly recommend it. It's the kind of book that should hopefully grab you from the first page, so it might just be a case of cracking it open and the rest will take care of itself. :smile:

 

Lamb, Wally – I Know This Much is True

 

I've had this on my shelf for 10+ years. I loved She's Come Undone, but the sheer size of this one scares me. :giggle2:

 

 

Peter F. Hamilton - Pandora's Star (and consequently also Judas Unchained but that's a paperback)

 

This one was a great read, but the paperback was the size of a brick (maybe two!) so I can imagine how big the hardcover is! It's not exactly the kind of book you want to haul around with you everywhere you go. I ended up buying another copy for my Kindle when it was on sale because it's a book I plan to revisit at some point.

 

Monica Ali - Brick Lane

Margaret Atwood - The Blind Assassin

 

Loved The Blind Assassin. Not sure if you have read any Atwood before, but it's a good one of hers to start with. Unfortunately I didn't take to Brick Lane at all and had to give up on it. I seem to be in the minority though and I really did think it was my kind of book but it didn't grab me.

 

My list of ones I've been putting off reading:

 

A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

I Know This Much Is True - Wally Lamb

Black House - Peter Straub and Stephen King

London - Edward Rutherford

Sarum - Edward Rutherford

Dune - Frank Herbert

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand

Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco

Sophie's Choice - Jostein Gaardner

 

 

There are quite a few more but these ones stand out as having been on my shelf for probably 10+ years. :doh:

Edited by bobblybear
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As encouragement to you all, can I just say that most of the books I'd put of the longest before reading, ended up being some of the most enjoyable books I read last year, so it's definitely worth dusting them off and giving them a go! :D

 

That is very encouraging, thanks! And I have to agree, although with only a few books for the moment, because I didn't read to Zero TBR like you did last year :blush:; I recently picked up The Secret Life of Bees and wasn't expecting to like it, because I'd started reading it a few years ago and hadn't gotten into it at all. And I loved it now! 5/5 :cool: I've also put off reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, and I'm regretting it now because I'm thoroughly enjoying it, it's not as serious as I thought it would be.

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I've also put off reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, and I'm regretting it now because I'm thoroughly enjoying it, it's not as serious as I thought it would be.

Wonderful!

I really like that book a lot :)

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Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand

 

I had this one on my TBR pile for quite a few years before I decided to tackle it (and only then because a book club TV show was planning on reading it). Despite it's length and subject matter, I found it quite readable and I read it extremely quickly (for me). :)

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I've had these since before 2010!

G K Chesterton - The Man Who Was Thursday
H Rider Haggard - King Soloman's Mines
Jane Austen - Sense and Sensibility
John Wyndham - The Chrisalids
John Wyndham - The Kraken Wakes
Robert Louis Stevenson - Treasure Island
Sebastian Faulks - On Green Dolphin Street
Virginia Woolf - The Common Reader

I'm not sure what it is about them! I intend to read Sense and Sensibility soon.

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Oh god, this thread sums up basically my entire TBR pile.

 

A quick scan of my pile includes the following guilty titles:

 

The Sawn Thieves

The Crimson Petal & The White

Quantum - Manjit Kumar

The Suspicions Of Mr. Whicher

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Alchemist

The Interpretation Of Murder

The Beach

Middlesex

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

 

That's only a very small selection, but I can't read the titles of the others from here. There are loads of great titles which I know I will almost certainly love, but their length or my being in the wrong kind of mood has held them at bay.

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I had this one on my TBR pile for quite a few years before I decided to tackle it (and only then because a book club TV show was planning on reading it). Despite it's length and subject matter, I found it quite readable and I read it extremely quickly (for me). :)

 

I think I bought it after reading The Fountainhead in my angst-ridden youth. :giggle: I've just picked up Atlas Shrugged off the bookshelf to have a look at it, and not only is it huge, but the writing is tiny!! I think it may be a while before I get to it. :hide:

 

A quick scan of my pile includes the following guilty titles:

 

The Crimson Petal & The White

The Beach

 

These two are great reads, with The Beach probably being the easier of the two to read. I liked The Crimson Petal and The White a lot more than I thought I would. I was quite daunted by the size of it but the characters soon reeled me in.

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I have a lot of books I'm putting off reading... I wouldn't know where to start. Some I keep putting off because I think they will be so great that I need to 'save them for last', like I do with candy: I eat the not so good ones first and then eat the best ones for last. I've tried to stop thinking like that, because who knows what happens in the future: I might lose my books in a fire, I might keel off tomorrow and be gone, etc..

 

Some books I keep putting off because I think they might be boring and I don't feel like reading them. Or I fear they might be too smart for me and I wouldn't 'get' them.

 

In the beginning of the year I decided it was time for me to read some of the books that have been on my TBR list the longest, and now I've read two books that I've kept putting off reading for years: The Secret Life of Bees and Uncle Tom's Cabin. I'm also currently reading The Beach which I haven't felt like reading in years.

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