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110 Books I Have Every Intention of Reading Next: Part Deux

3/5/2012

19 Comments

 
Just like the vast majority of reading addicts out there, my to-read list is completely out of control. I always admire those readers who can sort their lists into specific categories and move through them with methodical determination.  Me, I like to treat mine like a sort of shapeless, bottomless sack.  Like a book-bag of holding, if you will. Whenever I come across a book that looks interesting (at library book sales, thrift stores, the library, amazon, book blogs, goodreads…), I’ll just chuck it in there.

And then I inevitably forget all about it.  Months later, I’ll come across the same book mentioned in a review from someone I trust and go to add it…only to realize that it’s already on my list (and has been for over a year).  Or alternately, I’ll attempt for once to use my to-read list for its intended purpose and realize that I don’t remember adding about twenty of the books on there.  And that is why I desperately need help.  

So, in an effort to get myself on track and follow in the footsteps of The Readventurer’s own Flannery, I will now attempt to organize the 110 Books That I Have Every Intention of Reading Next (Part Deux).

First up: curse-breaking. These are the books that I’ve attempted to read - not once, not twice, but a few times.  Each time I think, yes this is it!  This is the time that I make it through!  And then I don’t.  And then they just go back to languishing on my shelf.  And it’s not that I don’t enjoy them while I’m reading them.  I do!  I enjoy them quite a lot!  But something always interferes.  Something mysterious and out of my hands and not at all to do with my book promiscuity.  I don’t want to alarm anyone, but I believe the following books are cursed!
1.  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
2.  The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
3.  The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
4.  David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
5.  White Fang by Jack London
6.  The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse
7.  Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon (it’s not even a full length novel!  It’s a novella!!  The audiobook is even narrated by Andre Braugher!  And yet.)

Next, I’d like to finally get to those other books.  I’ve read one or two or three books from these authors, but I haven’t read all.  These are their other books – the ones I haven’t gotten to yet.  I’m really hoping that most of these will end up on my favorites list in the future.
Anna Karenina cover
The Glass Bead Game cover
White Fang cover
The Brothers Karamazov cover
8.  Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
9.  Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
10.  The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
11.  Thirsty by M.T. Anderson
12.  Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge
13.  Dragons of Darkness by Antonia Michaelis
14.  Beloved by Toni Morrison (her most famous work and it’s the one that I haven’t read!)
15.  American Gods by Neil Gaiman
16.  The Death of Sweet Mister by Daniel Woodrell
17.  Affinity by Sarah Waters
18.  In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente
19.  Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
20.  Kraken by China Mieville
21.  Embassytown by China Mieville
22.  Killbox by Ann Aguirre
The Death of Sweet Mister cover
In the Night Garden cover
Alias Grace cover
Fly by Night cover
Since my two daughters have come into my life, I’ve been setting aside children’s, middle-grade, and young adult books for them to read when they’re ready.   Here are some that I’d like to get to (possibly in mother-daughter readalongs).  And before you ask – no, I seriously haven’t read any of these (seriously)!
23.  Heidi by Johanna Spyri
24.  A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
25.  Stuart Little by E.B. White
26.  The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
27.  Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
28.  The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
29.  The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
30.  Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
31.  The Lottie Project by Jacqueline Wilson
32.  The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Picture
As you can probably tell, I love my daughters more than anything on this planet…that being said, here’s a list of books that I’d happily trade one of them in for*  It won't exactly be hard for me to remember that I want to read this group.

33. Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta
34. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
35. The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi
36. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
37. Broken Harbor by Tana French
38. The Queen’s Thief #5 by Megan Whalen Turner
39. The Queen’s Thief #6 by Megan Whalen Turner (why not?  I can dream!)
40. Blackout by Mira Grant
41. Sorrow’s Knot by Erin Bow
42. Chasing Magic by Stacia Kane
43. Night Beach by Kirsty Eagar
44. All the Rage by Courtney Summers

*No take backs!! Ha!  You thought I was going to say that I was kidding didn’t you?**
Bitterblue cover
Blackout cover
Days of Blood and Starlight cover
Chasing Magic cover
Broken Harbour cover
Night Beach cover
I love getting recommendations from the Queens of YA Reviews on goodreads (you know who you are). Here are some that I haven’t gotten around to yet:
Five Flavors of Dumb cover
Gone, Gone, Gone cover
My Beating Teenage Heart cover
Pink cover
Tales of the Madman Underground cover
45. Crazy by Han Nolan
46. House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
47. Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moscowitz
48. Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John
49. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
50. Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden
51. Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick
52.My Beating Teenage Heart by C.K. Kelly Martin
53. A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd
54. Split by Swati Avasthi
55. Sister Mischief by Laura Goode
56. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
57. The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein
58. Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link
59. Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick
60. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
61. Tales of the Madman Underground 1973 by John Barnes
62. Underdogs by Markus Zusak
63. Pink by Lili Wilkinson
64. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey (I’ve actually had this on my wishlist for over a year, and only noticed it after a mass readalong about a month ago.  I fail.)
65. The entire Tomorrow series (except book one) by John Marsden
Of course, I am actually 30 years old so I do like to read adult literature occasionally.  Here are some great recommendations I’ve gotten for adult books (50% of which are from Tatiana…the woman is kind of a genius at recommendations):
66. Killing the Rabbit by Allison Goodman
67. Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
68. Among The Living by Jordan Castillo Price
69. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
70. Atonement by Ian McEwan
71. Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
72. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (I hear this has a talking cat!)
73. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
74. Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
75. Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

I’ve also been making a conscious effort in the past few years to catch up on sci-fi and fantasy and here’s a few that are still on my list:
Killing the Rabbit cover
Oscar and Lucinda cover
Let Me In cover
The Master and Margarita cover
76. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
77. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
78. Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack
79. Gifts by Ursula K. Le Guin
80. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
81. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
82. The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay
83. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
84. Schismatrix Plus by Bruce Sterling
85. The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

And here are a few that I’d love to read for The Year of the Classics:
The Mists of Avalon cover
The Demolished Man cover
Foundation cover
The Last Unicorn cover
86. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
87. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
88. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
89. Middlemarch by George Eliot
90. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
91. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
92. The Stranger by Albert Camus
93. The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
94. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
95. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
96. The Blue Castle by Lucy Maude Montgomery
97. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
98. The Professor by Charlotte Bronte
99. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Middlemarch cover
The End of the Affair cover
The House of Mirth cover
Vanity Fair cover
The Stranger cover
Two genres that I rarely read anything from are nonfiction and graphic novels, and in the next few year(s) I’d love to try and expand my horizons a little bit.  Here are a few that interest me:
100. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
101. Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes
102. Bugs in the System by May R. Berenbaum
103. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (True crime counts, right?)
104. The Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin (Yes…I’ve never read this.  Oh the shame.)
105. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (Does humor count? I’m going with yes.)
106. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
107. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Sartrapi
108. V For Vendetta by Alan Moore
109. Blankets by Craig Thompson
110. The Sandman, Vol 1. by Neil Gaiman (This is the third Neil Gaiman on my list, if anyone's been counting.)

And there you have it!  I'm not usually one for challenges or lists, so this might take some getting used to for me but I am going to make a real effort to keep up with Flannery on this challenge and finish all of these by March, 2015 (I predict that we're both speed reading for the entire month of February, 2015). 
Age of Wonder cover
In Cold Blood cover
Age of Wonder cover
Sandman cover
Persepolis cover
Maus cover
And now that these have all been taken out and organized...my bottomless sack is looking a bit more shapeless than usual.  Bring on the recommendations!  What did I miss?  Go on and tell me.  I'll chuck them in and forget them...until April of 2015 when I inevitably do this all over again.

**And yes, I was actually kidding there. 
Readventurer C Signature
19 Comments
Regina link
3/5/2012 12:49:18 am

Catie what a great list! I am guessing that at first when you completed it you felt very relieved and excited! I propose you start with Alias Grace. I have a list that for through August, but it is a constantly changing list and it is largely shaped right now by my netgalley addiction. And that addiction is now calling in its dues!

When you read Alias Grace let me know. I'd love to buddy read it with you as my reread.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/5/2012 04:22:21 am

Thanks! Yes, it is very nice to get them all down in one place. I really want to read Alias Grace - I've had it on my shelf for years! And I know that I'll love it.

I will let you know!

Reply
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
3/5/2012 12:53:32 am

Book to add: Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey.

Of course, I have a few suggestions on what to remove (*cough*Wide Sargasso Sea*cough*), but I will restrain myself (again).

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/5/2012 04:23:51 am

Yes Ma'am! :) Well, I know that I won't love everything on this list...but I'm such a Jane Eyre fan. I'm definitely going to give it a shot. Thanks Tatiana!

Reply
Maggie (Young Adult Anonymous) link
3/5/2012 02:09:15 am

No take backs! LMAOOOO, Catie!

I love that you have books set aside for them. Wait til they get to Marchetta age! :) I started calling my 3 year old niece Isaboe, and she was like, No, call me Princess Izzy. I was like, Isaboe is a QUEEN. Yeah, that's right, I showed that 3 year old who's boss.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/5/2012 04:25:47 am

Awwwww, Isaboe! You've gotta start the brainwashing young, Maggie. ;) They're definitely going to be reading The Gorgon in the Gully soon...mwa hahahaha.

Reply
Laurie C link
3/5/2012 03:16:32 am

Wow! Very impressive! That's some organization! I put together a 10-book list for a 2012 challenge to books I've been meaning to read for years, and I keep seeing others I wish I had put on the list, but I think a long list like yours would overwhelm me with anxiety. ;)

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/5/2012 04:27:19 am

I am really not used to making lists either, Laurie. This will be new for me! I hope I can stick with it! (But I'll probably cheat on the list a fair amount. Who am I kidding?)

Reply
Sam link
3/5/2012 03:33:22 am

Blimey. See, I could never ever make a list like this as it would remind me of just how many books I have yet to get round to. I have plenty 'other' books on my reading list, especially from authors like Melina Marchetta who I LOVE but can't seem to find the time to try all their books.

Good luck with this! ;)

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/5/2012 04:29:13 am

I actually like to save up "other" books sometimes. They're like (almost) guaranteed loves. I save them up until I need a really good read. But I can't believe you have Melina Marchetta's left!!! I would have cracked on that long ago. ;)

Reply
VeganYANerds link
3/5/2012 05:11:12 am

I love seeing other people's to-read lists, especially when organised into categories like this! I have a few books that I have tried to read 2-3 times and given up on, maybe I should give them another go!

And yes to reading more YA! I loved Pink and I can't wait for Night Beach.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/6/2012 02:40:20 am

Some of my favorite books have been former "cursed" books...I guess that's why I keep trying! I'm glad to hear that you loved Pink. I need to read that soon!

Reply
Jasprit
3/6/2012 12:51:34 am

That is an amazing list Catie! So many books I've never heard of, but sound so awesome. My sister who isn't much of a reader but is doing English as an A-level (She hates me recommending books all the time, but she decided to pick English :-/ ). Anyways she had to read Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea for an assignment and she absolutely loved Wide Sargasso, she read it over a weekend and wouldn't stop harping on about it. So I'm sure you should get around to it sharpish, especially if Tatiana recommended it!

I love these lists. You guys have definitely inspired me to make a list of my own! Good luck with your challenge! :)

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/6/2012 02:42:34 am

Oooh, Jasprit you should definitely make a list! I want to see what you come up with!

I hope I liked Wide Sargasso Sea. I've always wondered what things were like from Bertha's POV.

Reply
Maja link
3/6/2012 04:49:08 am

Behemoth is the talking cat in The Master and Margarita, and he shocks the entire city of Moscow by trying to pay for his own bus ticket. I'm surprised that you remember that, Catie!

Oh, and I'm so excited about seeing Killbox (that's where the action starts) and Gone, Gone, Gone on your list.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/6/2012 11:53:00 am

All three of those recommendations are from you, my dear! I love talking cats. I'm quite a connoisseur. :) And I can't wait to finally read the next two Sirantha Jax books. I've really missed her (and Vel).

Reply
Chachic link
3/6/2012 02:50:06 pm

I bet your little girls would love Harriet the Spy, that's one of my favorite books as a kid. LOL I love that you listed both #5 and #6 in the Queen's Thief series. I can't wait to read both of those as well as Bitterblue, Days of Blood and Starlight and Night Beach. :) I also want to read The Blue Castle but I'm having a hard time looking for a copy. So glad to see an EWein novel in your list, I hope you get to read one of her book soon.

Some of my favorites that are in your list: Howl's Moving Castle (which Flann is reading and enjoying right now) and The Blue Sword.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/7/2012 01:54:34 am

Thanks Chachic! I'm so ashamed that I've never read Harriet. It's a favorite of so many friends of mine. I guess that's one of the great things about having children - you get a second chance at children's literature! I really want to read Howl too. I've loved the movie for so many years. And I'm also excited to read The Winter Prince. I'm pretty sure that recommendation was from you (whether you realized it or not :)).

Reply
Chachic link
3/13/2012 10:44:28 pm

Okay then, I can look forward to reading more children and middle grade novels IF I ever get married and have kids. :P Yay, you added EWein to your list based on my recommendation! You do know that even MWT is a fan of her work? :)




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