Books I own but haven't read yet

[Thea]

This is a list of books that I already own but have not yet read. I wanted to get a feeling for what was in store for me, and I'm hoping to make my way through as many as possible over the next year. If you have any comments regarding any of the books listed, or want to post your own lists, go ahead! I'll understand, however, if you aren't as meticulous as I am and actually read your books instead of wasting time cataloguing them.

Current count: 98

>>Fiction<<

Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart
Iain Banks - The Wasp Factory
Greg Bear - Queen of Angels
Greg Bear - Darwin's Radio
Greg Bear - Darwin's Children
Charles Bukowski - Women
Charles Bukowski - Ham On Rye
Charles Bukowski - Factotum
Charles Bukowski - Post Office
Charles Bukowski - The Most Beautiful Woman in Town and other stories
Willa Cather - My Antonia (I've almost-read this one about seven times, but I never finish it)
Wu Cheng-En - Monkey
G.K. Chesterton - Father Brown
G.K. Chesterton - The Best of Father Brown
Wilkie Collins - The Moonstone
Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad - Lord Jim
Joseph Conrad - Nostromo
James Fenimore Cooper - The Last of the Mohicans
Thomas De Quincey - Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Leslie Dick - The Skull of Charlotte Corday and other stories
Stephen Donaldson - Illearth War
Stephen Donaldson - Lord Foul's Bane
Stephen Donaldson - The Mirror of Her Dreams
Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose
Charlotte Perkins Gilman - The Yellow Wallpaper and other stories
Joseph Heller - Catch-22
Thomas Hardy - Jude the Obscure
Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Ubervilles
Thomas Hardy - The Return of the Native
Hermann Hesse - Demian
Hermann Hesse - The Glass Bead Game
Hermann Hesse - The Prodigy
Hermann Hesse - Strange News From Another Star
Frank Herbert - Dune
Frank Herbert - Dune Messiah
Frank Herbert - Children of Dune
Aldous Huxley - After Many a Summer
Aldous Huxley - Ape and Essence
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying
James Joyce - Dubliners (I've read most of this but I keep putting it down and forgetting about it)
James Joyce - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Thomas Keneally - A Family Madness
Wally Lamb - I Know This Much is True
Sheridan LeFanu - In a Glass Darkly
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude (I'm halfway through this one)
Cormac McCarthy - Blood Meridian
Toni Morrison - Paradise (I read most of this two years ago, but never finished it.)
Toni Morrison - Tar Baby
Haruki Murakami - Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood
Peter Nadas - A Book of Memories
Jean Rhys - Let Them Call it Jazz and other stories
Arundhati Roy - The God of Small Things
Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children
Harriet Beecher Stowe - Uncle Tom's Cabin
J.R.R. Tolkien - The Fellowship of the Ring
J.R.R. Tolkien - The Two Towers
J.R.R. Tolkien - Return of the King


>>Poetry<<

Ted Hughes - Birthday Letters
Naomi Shihab Nye - Words Under the Words
Sylvia Plath - Ariel

>>Graphic Novels<<

Katsuhiro Otomo - Akira vol. 1
Joe Sacco - Palestine
Joe Sacco - Notes From a Defeatist
Chris Ware and Jonathan Cape - Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth

>>Non-Fiction<<

The Bhagavad-Gita (The last time I read this was in high school)
The Upanishads
Edwin Black - IBM and the Holocaust
Howard Bloom - The Lucifer Principle
Fritjof Capra - The Tao of Physics
Jung Chang - Wild Swans
Noam Chomsky - Hegemony or Survival
Noam Chomsky - Necessary Illusions
Aleister Crowley - Confessions
Betty Friedan - The Feminine Mystique
Arthur Guirdham - The Lake and the Castle
Graham Hancock - Fingerprints of the Gods
Hermann Hesse - Autobiographical Writings
Aldous Huxley - The Art of Seeing
Aldous Huxley - The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell
Douglas R. Hofstadter - Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
Cliff Jones - Another Brick in the Wall: The Stories Behind Every Pink Floyd Song
Jagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krsna Tirthaji Maharaja - Vedic Mathematics
Greg Palast - The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Richard Parker - Beneath the Equator: Cultures of Desire, Male Homosexuality, and Emerging Gay Communities in Brazil.
John Pilger - Hidden Agendas (I've read most of this)
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho) - A Cup of Tea
Erich Schiffman - Yoga
Todd Siler - Breaking the Mind Barrier
Judith A. Stanford - Connections: A Multicultural Reader for Writers
Nancy E. Stoller - Lessons From the Damned: Queers, Whores, and Junkies Respond to AIDS
A.N. Wilson - The Victorians
Robert Anton Wilson - Masks of the Illuminati
Robert Anton Wilson - Prometheus Rising
Gary Zukav - The Dancing Wu Li Masters

 

[magemanda]

Cool list, Thea!

I hesitate at posting my own list of books that I own but haven't read, since it is reaching approx 290 books now!

With the books that you have listed, I read Tess of the d'Urbervilles as a school text and was surprised to find that I thoroughly enjoyed it, although it can be depressing at times. Part of my enjoyment came from the extra exercises we did as we read the book - I've not re-read it since.

Tolkien's book are controversial . Some people will tell you they're the best three fantasy books ever. Other people think his writing is dull. What I will say is that the world he created and the language are utterly stunning. And it should always be remembered that he is the grand-daddy of modern fiction - it is doubtful whether the whole genre would be as popular as it is without his influence.

I wish you much joy with your reading!

 

[Thea]

Thanks magemanda. I can't believe you have 290 unread books!

I wouldn't normally be interested in reading Tolkien, but my husband loves him and has read the LoTR trilogy about ten times. He bought me a set for my birthday two years ago and I still haven't read it. I did get 11 pages into The Fellowship of the Ring but found it boring and stopped. I do want to read them eventually though.

 

[Michael H]

Man, that's quite a list.

Things Fall Apart- I read this in high school, as per requirements of the class. It was a long time ago, but I remember it being a good book, it not a little dry.

Dune- Great sci-fi. Herbert does a great job of setting political maneuverings against the sci-fi background. I really should read more of the Dune series.

After Many a Summer- More reading for school. Literarture with a capital L. A good read, though, with an interesting story.

Lord of the Rings- Some of my favorite books of all time.


Good luck with your list. Man, I felt bad having about five books I haven't read yet... you made me feel better.

 

[magemanda]

Yeah, I can't believe it either *dry*. I discovered the joy of eBay and secondhand bookshops at approximately the same time, and it wasn't unknown for me to buy up to 20 books all at once. My pace of buying far exceeded my pace of reading

Now, however, I'm just making a list of the books that I want to buy and only getting them when I reach a milestone on my 'to-read' list e.g. ten books read.

Tolkien's worth a read - if only to say that you've done it.

 

[Thea]

Man, I felt bad having about five books I haven't read yet... you made me feel better.

Likewise, magemanda has made me feel a bit better too. There's always someone worse off than you!

 

[Thea]

I discovered the joy of eBay and secondhand bookshops at approximately the same time, and it wasn't unknown for me to buy up to 20 books all at once.

Half of the books on my list were purchased over the past holiday season. I visited a friend in Switzerland in November who knew about an amazing discount book store that was selling the classics for 4CHF (about 1.7GBP). Over Christmas, in Edinburgh, my husband and I discovered the best used bookshop either of us had ever seen. At one point we looked at each other and he said to me "We're going to spend lots of money here" but because it was the best book store ever, we bought about 30 books for about 50 quid. Not bad at all.

 

[magemanda]

Likewise, magemanda has made me feel a bit better too. There's always someone worse off than you!

It's strange, because I don't see it as a bad thing at all

After all, I'm never stuck for anything to read!

 

[Thea]

I don't feel bad that I have so many books, but that I keep buying them when I haven't read the ones I already have. I should probably start a system like yours and only buy new ones when I've read ten or so of the old ones.

 

[novella]

Hi magemanda,
Such a broad list! I've read lots on it, other titles or exceptions where indicated: the Achebe, Bukowski (some), the Cather, Conrad (HoD, Secret Sharer), the Eco, the Heller, all Hardy, Hess (Sidhartha), Huxley (only BNW), all Faulkner, all Joyce, the Marquez, McCarthy (All the Pretty Horses), Morrison (Jazz, didn't go for it), and the Plath and Hughes, plus others.

Out of the whole list here, the book that stands out as something I carried in my head and heart for a long time is As I Lay Dying, which has a surreal plainness in the imagery and characters, but builds a moving picture of destitution and obligation.

Jude the Obscure is another on this list that I've gone back to more than once, mostly because Hardy draws one into the psychology of the characters like no one else. BTW, I think Hardy is mor the progenitor of the modern novel than Tolkein, just my opinion.

Some of these are relatively lightweight and if you're just looking to knock a few off the list, you could probably read Achebe, Heller, and McCarthy quickly. Personally, I think their language is straightforward and relatively easy reading, compared to Joyce or Faulkner, or even Morrison, who is not one of my faves.

Lots to enjoy here, though!



On my owned-but-not-read-yet list are:

Bandbox--Thos. Mallon
Monkeys--Susan Minot
Some Day the Ice Will Reveal All Its Dead--Clare Dudman

plus others I can't think of right now . . .

Novella

 

[novella]

Friedan

Oh yeah, just also wanted to say that although I don't read lots of nonfiction, I have read the Friedan and would say that it's, at this point, outdated as an activist tract and interesting now mostly as a portrait of post-WWII society than as a current feminist treatise--but of course it is still seminal in the development of the feminist movement.

Novella

 

[magemanda]

Ah, Thea's is the original list you've commented on, Novella!

My 'to read' list doesn't look half as intellectual as that . A lot of mine comprises chick lit and fantasy novels, although Heller and Marquez are two that do feature. My Heller 'to read' novel is Something Happened. I was read an excerpt from this during my graduation ceremony and it sounded very witty!

 

[Thea]

Hi magemanda,

Psst, it's my list!

Thanks for your response. Bukowski is my favorite poet but I haven't read much of his fiction yet, only a few stories in The Most Beautiful Woman in Town. If you've only read Siddhartha by Hesse I suggest you also read Steppenwolf. It's amazing, and I plan to reread it. I've already read Siddhartha a few times.

I'm sorry you don't like Toni Morrison, because she is one of my favorite writers. I think of her as a goddess of descriptive writing, and The Bluest Eye and Beloved are both fantastic. What I've read of Paradise is also impressive. I could only dream of being able to write that way, but I don't find her books too dense, certainly not as dense as Joyce can be. However, I have not read Jazz.

I think you are the only person I've spoken to who recommends As I Lay Dying. Everyone else seems to hate it! When I finish it I'll let you know what I think.

 

[Wabbit]

OK, my list.

Midnight's Children - Salmon Rushdie
Redemption Gap - Alastair Reynolds
Redemption Arc - Alistair Reynolds
Romeo and Juilet - Shakespeare
Timoleon Vieta Come Home - Dan Rhosdes
The War of Don Emanuels nether parts - Louis de Bermoeres
Senor Vivo and the Coco Lords - Louis de Bermoeres
Memoirs of a Geisha -Arthur Golden
Dandilion Wine - Ray Bradbury
Something Wicked this way comes - Ray Bradbury
In the Ocean of the Night - Gregory Benford
A song for Arbonne - Guy Gavriel Kay
Heart Readers -Kristine Kathryn Rusch
My Name Is Red = Orhan Pamuk
Day of the Bees - Thomas Sanchez
Coastliners - Jonne Harris
Once... - James Herbert
The Doomsday Brunette - John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem
The Chrysalids - John Wyndham
Duende - Jason Webster
The Piano Tuner - Daniel Mason

That's it for the moment... but it is sure to keep growing

As for your list I liked your list! You have some great books there and you have inspired me with many of them! You have added to my WANT list now, you bad women

Some comments on your list

Iain Banks - The Wasp Factory <-- Read this, and it's fantastic! Very dark and twisted. I liked it a lot because of it's dark twisted air and it's great surprise ending. Also, prose is great. Banks can throw together some wonderful poetic sentences!

Jung Chang - Wild Swans <-- this one was fantastic. Very moving in places. It follows the life though 3 generations of Chinese women. The bits where Mao was in power were very powerful. I liked it very much. The parts of her grandmother right at the start were also very interesting. Women were basically property in those times. Whole book was very good look into the lives and times of China. The big picture and the little picture of 3 strong women just trying to get by btw, umm, this is non fiction, you know?

Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness <-- Can't say that I liked this one. I was pretty disappointed in this book. I think it's one of those classic novels that I was expecting so much from. It's very short and you can read it in a day, easy. I found the prose a bit dry and the whole book a bit dull, personally. I get the whole metaphor thing but just didn't find it engaged me at all.

Frank Herbert - Dune <-- read this a LONG time ago and liked it. Very dense novel with great characters and atmosphere.

Aldous Huxley - Brave New World <-- WONDERFUL! Another short one that you can read very quickly! I really liked this a lot. Very powerful with a very powerful message to it. I very much liked the end. Shocking.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude (I'm halfway through this one) <-- BEAUTIFUL AND A WORK OF GENIUS! 100 years flow by you in a river of perfect and beautiful prose. This novel left me breathless. After I finished that 100 years slammed into me with the force of a mountain falling on my heart. I felt myself age 100 years! Wonderful novel and would be in for my vote of my top novel. Ever. I hope you like it!

Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children <-- Got this but have not read it yet!


J.R.R. Tolkien - The Fellowship of the Ring
J.R.R. Tolkien - The Two Towers
J.R.R. Tolkien - Return of the King <-- all three. Read it. Was very bored

and lastly magemanda, 250 books????? I wanna see the list!

 

[magemanda]

Sillywabbit,

On the day I have nothing to do, I will type up my to read list for your viewing pleasure. However, with the amount of books I have to read, there is never a day when I have nothing to do!

From your list, I have read Memoirs of a Geisha and thought it was a touching and very real book. I really enjoyed it.

I've also read A Song for Arbonne and thought that was brilliant.

So, if you have similar taste to me, you've got a couple of treats in store

 

[Freya]

Does it not upset you having piles of books you haven't read? My biggest fear is that there'll be a fire and I'll lose all my books - it would be even worse if I'd never even got any use out of them!

 

[Thea]

Jung Chang - Wild Swans <-- this one was fantastic. Very moving in places. It follows the life though 3 generations of Chinese women. The bits where Mao was in power were very powerful. I liked it very much. The parts of her grandmother right at the start were also very interesting. Women were basically property in those times. Whole book was very good look into the lives and times of China. The big picture and the little picture of 3 strong women just trying to get by btw, umm, this is non fiction, you know?

Whoops! I was expecting someone to point out a mistake like that eventually. I'll move it to the Non-Fiction section immediately.

I haven't picked up 100 Years of Solitude for a couple weeks. I got halfway through and wasn't sure I could take any more of it. I'm finding it difficult to relate to any of the characters because they all

Spoiler

turn into complete assholes and then die horribly

but I think that's partially the point of the book. However, my husband assures me it's worth finishing, so I'll be plodding along with it.

Thanks for your comments. I'd do the same with your list but I haven't read any of those books either (I will be looking them up on Amazon and probably adding some to my wish list, as if I need any more books).

 

[Thea]

Does it not upset you having piles of books you haven't read? My biggest fear is that there'll be a fire and I'll lose all my books - it would be even worse if I'd never even got any use out of them!

I love having piles of books I've never read, especially when I'm going on holiday and always have at least a few I can take along with me for those long journeys.

 

[magemanda]

Freya,

It doesn't upset me, no. Well, the thought of a fire leaves me with a feeling of icy dread, but I've paid extra on my insurance to cover them, so I'd have the fun of buying them all again (in the same format - I currently have some series that start in paperback and complete in hardback. Grrr).

Having a pile of books that I haven't yet read pleases me, because I have something new to read depending on any mood I might be in. I have serious literary treats; new fantasy trilogies; chick lit; classics; horror, thrillers - you name the genre, I've probably got a book waiting to be read that belongs in it. To me, that is a thing of great joy and future entertainment.

 

[novella]

Oops! Got the name wrong, Thea. Apologies. Surprised to hear your acquaintences generally disliked As I Lay Dying. Not a book with broad appeal, but a beautiful book for those attracted to tragedy.

Just getting used to this site. I'm not seeing the thread when I reply, so I'm trying to keep the names and posts in my head. Is there a way to keep the thread in view while replying?

magemanda, I've read my share of chick lit, too. It just isn't on the list here, so didn't reply re that. I think, though, that I won't be buying any in the near future. Read Bridget Jones, it was so-so, not very amusing, but definitely light. Also The Nanny Diaries, which I thought was pretty awful, almost just a catalogue of Upper East Side products and tastes. But quick.

I'll read almost anything, except maybe fantasy or nonfiction polemics. For light reading I particularly love Simenon, Eric Ambler and the like.

I suspect many of us would be in the poorhouse without all the great secondhand bookstores around.

Novella