With the delightful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish moving on to other things, TTT is now hosted by just one of their contingent, That Artsy Reader Girl . If you want to quadruple the size of your TBR AND find a bunch of great book blogs to follow head on over and check it out!
The topic this week is: Backlist Books I Want To Read
Which is kind of funny, because for me, it's more unusual to read books published in the past 12 months than books published before then. I read a lot more current work now as a blogger and reading teacher, but overall, I read a ton of backlist.
I'm dividing this week into two lists: the way-backiest of the backlist and the most urgent of the backlist.
Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (1722)
I haven't read a lot of 18th century literature, but I used to read a lot of classics, and feel that this is one I might enjoy.
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1849)
On the other hand, I have read a lot of Dickens, and I'm sure I've read parts of this, but I have no clear memory of finishing it. It seems that a Dickens aficionado should read his most autobiographical work.
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (1856)
I don't expect this to be FUN or anything, but hey, it is one of the original banned books.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck (1952)
After a lifetime of assuming I hated Steinbeck, I was swept off my feet by Grapes of Wrath about a dozen years ago. Ever since, I've meant to give this other major work a try as well.
Dodger by Terry Pratchett (September, 2012)
I love Terry Pratchett. I love Oliver Twist. I love re-tellings. I just might love this book if I ever pick it up.
The Story of Owen: Dragonslayer of Trondheim by E. K. Johnston (March, 2014)
I've had this checked out from the library for months. I started it once and it was absolutely wonderful, but then I got distracted by something else. Johnston is one of those writers who moves from genre to genre with ease, and I can't wait to read this story of an alternate history 21st century Canadian dragon slayer.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (May, 2014)
Am I the only person left who hasn't read this? My mother-in-law really liked it, and I think she finds it fishy that I haven't read it yet. "Sure, you like reading, Wendy. Sure, you're a real reader."
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (October, 2014)
I own this. To make matters worse, I own it because a teacher group I'm in did a book study with it last summer. I didn't even pick it up. YET.
A Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller (December, 2014)
Oooh, I own this one too. I had some sort of gift card for ME at the bookstore, so instead of getting something for my classroom, I got something I thought I'd like--but not fiction, because I have a thing about buying myself fiction. I like books about books and readers, so, yeah, I should have read it by now.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (April, 2015)
In my defense, I thought I'd read this for a really long time, but it turns out I read Rebel of the Sands instead. Okay, maybe that's not a very good defense.
Ruby on the Outside by Nora Raleigh Baskin (June, 2015)
A middle grade novel about a girls whose mom is in prison. I could read this in an evening. And I should. And I will. I just haven't.
The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork (January, 2016)
I can't believe I've only actually read one book by the wonderfully named Francisco X. Stork, because I think of him as one of my favorites. Time to test that theory.
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera (January, 2016)
It's set in Portland! And it's intersectional!
Still Life with Tornado by A. S. King (October, 2016)
I'll admit I was thrown by how hard I Crawl Through It was to read. I love King's trippy, surrealistic work, but I still need a coherent plot that my tired brain can follow. I need to give this one a shot.
Are there any books on either part of my list that you'd recommend--or warn against?
Which is kind of funny, because for me, it's more unusual to read books published in the past 12 months than books published before then. I read a lot more current work now as a blogger and reading teacher, but overall, I read a ton of backlist.
I'm dividing this week into two lists: the way-backiest of the backlist and the most urgent of the backlist.
Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (1722)
I haven't read a lot of 18th century literature, but I used to read a lot of classics, and feel that this is one I might enjoy.
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1849)
On the other hand, I have read a lot of Dickens, and I'm sure I've read parts of this, but I have no clear memory of finishing it. It seems that a Dickens aficionado should read his most autobiographical work.
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (1856)
I don't expect this to be FUN or anything, but hey, it is one of the original banned books.
Howard's End by E. M. Forster (1910)
I was in high school when the film adaptations of A Passage to India and A Room with a View were released, and that's how I discovered E. M. Forster. I've neither seen nor read Howard's End though, and I'd like to.
After a lifetime of assuming I hated Steinbeck, I was swept off my feet by Grapes of Wrath about a dozen years ago. Ever since, I've meant to give this other major work a try as well.
Dodger by Terry Pratchett (September, 2012)
I love Terry Pratchett. I love Oliver Twist. I love re-tellings. I just might love this book if I ever pick it up.
The Story of Owen: Dragonslayer of Trondheim by E. K. Johnston (March, 2014)
I've had this checked out from the library for months. I started it once and it was absolutely wonderful, but then I got distracted by something else. Johnston is one of those writers who moves from genre to genre with ease, and I can't wait to read this story of an alternate history 21st century Canadian dragon slayer.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (May, 2014)
Am I the only person left who hasn't read this? My mother-in-law really liked it, and I think she finds it fishy that I haven't read it yet. "Sure, you like reading, Wendy. Sure, you're a real reader."
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (October, 2014)
I own this. To make matters worse, I own it because a teacher group I'm in did a book study with it last summer. I didn't even pick it up. YET.
A Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller (December, 2014)
Oooh, I own this one too. I had some sort of gift card for ME at the bookstore, so instead of getting something for my classroom, I got something I thought I'd like--but not fiction, because I have a thing about buying myself fiction. I like books about books and readers, so, yeah, I should have read it by now.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (April, 2015)
In my defense, I thought I'd read this for a really long time, but it turns out I read Rebel of the Sands instead. Okay, maybe that's not a very good defense.
Ruby on the Outside by Nora Raleigh Baskin (June, 2015)
A middle grade novel about a girls whose mom is in prison. I could read this in an evening. And I should. And I will. I just haven't.
The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork (January, 2016)
I can't believe I've only actually read one book by the wonderfully named Francisco X. Stork, because I think of him as one of my favorites. Time to test that theory.
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera (January, 2016)
It's set in Portland! And it's intersectional!
Still Life with Tornado by A. S. King (October, 2016)
I'll admit I was thrown by how hard I Crawl Through It was to read. I love King's trippy, surrealistic work, but I still need a coherent plot that my tired brain can follow. I need to give this one a shot.
Are there any books on either part of my list that you'd recommend--or warn against?
I still haven't read Just Mercy and All the Light We Cannot See either, and it feels like I should have at this point. I own both on my Kindle even!
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know what to do for this topic because I pretty much only read backlist books. I read Madame Bovary, but it was so long ago that I barely remember it. I loved All The Light We Cannot See. It was my favorite book of the year a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I loved All the Light We Cannot See, but I haven't read any of the others, I'll have to check them out.
ReplyDeleteStill Life with Tornado was my first AS King book, and started me on my way to being a HUGE fan. I loved it! I thought the magical element was used brilliantly in that book, but King always uses that touch of magic well. I really enjoyed The Memory of Light too. The friendships and the handling of the mental health issues were done so well.
ReplyDeleteHow did I not know that Terry Pratchett had done an Oliver Twist retelling? This is going on my TBR immediately.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I am cracking up about An Ember in the Ashes! I have not read All the Light We Cannot See, and so no, we can be the last people on earth together. I really want to read Still Life with Tornado. I read Glory O'Brien's History of the Universe and fell in love- Idk why I haven't read any others yet!
ReplyDelete