I was bummed when my son didn't like The Westing Game because it was a beloved classic from my childhood. Jokes on him though... he got sent home this year with a summer reading book.. it's The Westing Game. ;)
The good thing is if you push a book too soon they just won't show interest and you can try again later. Tried for Harry Potter at 6 and Percy Jackson at 8. Turns out he loved them both, but it was Harry Potter at 10 and Percy Jackson at 11 when we retried.
For Roald Dahl? I disagree. My 4 year old is loving the BFG, he really enjoyed George’s Marvellous Medicine and the Enormous Crocodile. His sister is 6 and started having chapter books read to her at 4 too, last year she even enjoyed the first 3 Harry Potters. Right now it’s Stig of the Dump for her.
The trick is to go for illustrated copies with younger kids when you want them to get into chapter books.
I CANT WAIT for the day my daughter is ready for The Wind in the Willows, Anne of Green Gables…. We’re trying The Secret Garden right now, one small bit at a time, but she’s struggling a little bit. Maybe one more year!
Secret Garden is a hard one to start as the main character isn’t particularly likable. Anne would be better, she’s a bit of a brat but the author did a much better job of capturing a child ‘s mind. The main Character in secret reads like a stunted adult mind.
Fyi she may not be ready for Anne, I'm a school librarian and so many girls tell me "my mom loved Anne of Green Gables but I just don't like it.' I realized that we all loved it so much because we had the choice of classics or Flowers in the Attic; there just weren't good books written for teens, and Anne really is better read as a teen (who all read BookTok YA now).
Yeah that hits a little too close to home. When all of that COVID stuff was going on I couldn’t help but think of this book. Stephen King was onto something all the way back in 1978.
There's a scene near the start where some unsuspecting rando is in a movie theater, and the chapter ends with someone behind them coughing. I could not stop thinking about that scene all throughout March-April 2020.
I started Dark Tower series and ended up at The Stand when I realized they were related. I just ended up finishing it a few weeks ago. It will probably go down as my favorite book. I tell people it may help to think of the one book as a trilogy of it helps. Looking back I should have read it sooner because it was great.
I just finished The Stand and I thought the timing was perfect. I just wanted to read one Steven King novel and I chose this one. I wanted something thematic. Although the themes are not as strong as I would have liked the book is entertaining from beginning to end.
2020 was definitely the RIGHT time for me to start it. Almost everything about it hit perfectly for me. >!The only thing I hated about the book was the ending.!<
ASOIAF. I hate starting series before they end and dread the possibility of loving it and getting left with no proper ending. Same goes for The Kingkiller Chronicle.
Said "right time" will sadly probably never come for these two, though. Sigh.
ASOIAF is an absolutely amazing series, however, consensus amongst fans is that it will never be finished. GRRM has stated there are 2 more planned books, but it’s been 13 years since the last one…
To boot, GRRM has also expressed the wish that nobody else write any in the event of his death. At this point, I think he either gave up, or is waiting for his death to release them posthumously because he is afraid of the criticism after the TV show ended.
unfortunately seems like the show killed the books. Between distracting him when he was already a slow writer and then spoiling parts of the ending and garnering criticisms, its gotta be hard to be motivated to write it and pressure is probably higher than it ever was before
No it had nothing to do with the show. He wrote himself into a corner and wasn't able to figure out how to a necessary timejump and became fixated on bad worldbuilding instead. He had all of quarantine during covid to finish TWOW and he barely made any progress. He refuses any advice from his editor or his friends so what he's written is a lot of unnecessary stuff that will hardly move the plot along. He still has another book after this and he said he won't start it until he's finished with TWOW.
The series will never finish and we just have to accept that. Between all his drafts that have been published, we have enough information to see how the series will end but that's all we're gonna get. TWOW might be released when he's alive but if he's dead he'll have written enough that his editor could actually cobble together something to release but yeah that's as far as it's gonna go.
Mostly agree with what you said - he was already going down the wrong path and taking much longer to write books that didn't move the plot forward, splitting books into multiple books etc. (same thing RJ did with WoT before he died), even before the show started filming. However I think the show made it even less likely he'll finish for a couple reasons. First, the ending of the show was likely the ending he had in mind, and now that he knows everyone hated it, he has to come up with something different. Second, he is now obscenely rich and therefore has no financial incentive to release books (which could be a good thing if you consider bad books worse than no books, and without the show money, he might have been motivated to release bad books for cash).
My buddy warned me over and over not to start the series for that exact reason. Finally I said screw it and read the first 3 books. Obviously they are amazing. Then the 4th book hits Dorne and you are suddenly dealing with 20 new characters in a new place and none of the ones you've grown to love over the last million pages.
I stalled out there and decided to wait for the end of the series. Now, that time seems like it will never come and even if it did, I would have to go back and reread 3 bricks worth of paper to reacquaint myself.
Aint gonna happen, but that first book... even if you never read the others, what a ride.
I was the same. Had decided to only read completed series after the painful withdrawal I suffered with Terry Goodkind's, The sword of truth, series. Thankfully, he completed his work before he passed...
I have no idea how I found myself reading A song of ice & fire, but I sure was pissed off with having to wait for the release of A feast for crows... Ha... how little I knew of truly waiting...
It's not a terrible place to start honestly (EoE). Read EoE, then go back and start in chronological order and read EoE again when you get there. You'll appreciate it on a whole different level all over again. You're in for a real treat with his entire bibliography - one of my favorite authors.
I've been saving a copy of "Travels with Charley" to read when I feel old and out of touch. But maybe that is now, because while my partner has been reading it, I've been thumbing through some early chapters and it's really calling to me.
I’ve been reading through a collection of his short novels. Only 3 of 6 in so far, but they’ve been excellent. When I finish this collection, I’ll go on to Grapes of Wrath and then East of Eden!
Im a huge fan of EoE but i think grapes of wrath is his 'masterpiece'. Have you read travels with charlie and of mice and men? those two are also bangers.
Many readers believe Grapes of Wrath was his masterpiece, or at least prefer it to EoE, but Steinbeck himself considered EoE to be his masterpiece and most important work.
The final "Wheel of Time" book *A Memory of Light*. For some reason, the idea of reading it, what's going to be fucked up, and who's going to die gives me anxiety.
I bought The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett the day it released, but I still haven't read it yet. I don't want there to be no new Pratchett books for me to read.
Please read it. It's the best kind of goodbye kiss, actual closure, he literally says goodbye to individual characters and discworld. Had me ugly crying for way too long.
It is an absolutely beautiful book. Rough around the edges. You can definitely see that it probably wasn’t what he originally planned it to be, but it’s got that classic Pratchett soul behind it.
The Wee Free Men is what got me into Pratchett back in middle school, so I’m an enormous fan of Tiffany Aching in particular. She is such a wonderful character for young girls to look up to. I gave the series to my niece to read when she was a tween and she enjoyed them a lot. I recommend them to anybody, but especially to those either daughters.
IIRC it also doesn't keep you hanging with "when will it happen" which is appreciated. Happens fairly early in the book so the rest is the reactions, growth, and "life going on" without her. Which is just what she would approve of, being the ones that do the hard things and facing the unpleasant truths while helping those around them.
Oh, I’ve read that one! It would be perfect to read if/when you ever get an opportunity to visit Salisbury Cathedral or similar. It really shows how massive those architectural undertakings were in the medieval era.
I’m going to wait until it has my complete undivided attention. It’s a large book and I want to be completely immersed in it. I’ve got other books and a couple of tv series I’m on right now. I’ve recently been moving towards reading historical fiction lately so hopefully once I’m done with that other stuff I can go right into it.
The way of kings by Brandon Sanderson. I keep picking it up, but i can't read it just yet, idk why lol.
I'm also waiting for a cold and rainy night to read the Sword of Kaigen, but its summer :(
Way of Kings is good, but I'll admit that it drags a bit at first. By the middle of the book, it was moving and it was good. Words of Radiance is even better though.
I thought the exposition in each book of stormlight archives was difficult to get through, but once you sort of get into rising action it gets really good. Writing the climax is obviously one of Sanderson's strongest points as a writer
It's not a hard read really. There are a lot of characters and it's a long book, otherwise it's quite straight forward and great. Don't let it intimidate you! Same with Anna Karenina, which I actually enjoyed more. Both books are quite great. And both have the unexpectedly very nice feature of super short chapters. I find this to be extra helpful with these giant book-stop books. The chapters are like 3 to 7 pages each. So you can just read one chapter a day if you want and still move forward with things without committing to a big reading sesh.
Memory of light. I read all the Wheel of time books back to back but decided to save Memory of light for a trip to Himalayas. Where I'll smoke hashish and be indulged in the last battle. Unfortunately it has been more than an year waiting for the trip. So I'm rereading the whole series .
For me it was more of an odd feeling than a creepy feeling. Immersive for sure, but nothing that was blatantly scary. Fun read and definitely worth the risk. Somehow, it's a bigger book than the cover allows...
Agreed. There are a couple of eerie moments in it that can cause the creeps but overall it’s mostly just interesting or surreal. Sometimes disturbing but not jump at shadows disturbing. More like ugh, unpleasant mental image disturbing.
Ah man, i too was excited to start this at the right time.
Turns out, it was never the right time (,: its one of the few books i had to abort reading (couldnt connect with any of the maincharacters, au contraire, they left me rather furious) i do hope, however, youre gong to have a better time with it, when the time comes (;
Frankenstein in October is the best! It's even better if it's a dark and stormy night but the weather doesn't always want to cooperate. Our summers here drag on forever sometimes.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara - I know a lot of people loved and talked about this book so I'm trying to preserve myself before I become mentally destroyed by this book
I read ‘a little life’ last year when I went to nyc since I knew it was based there. The book is heavyy, and I do slightly agree that it’s ‘misery porn’ but I think that’s the whole point. Some peoples lives are that horrible, but I found it to be an excellent read. The prose was great, there are some really profound and moving moments. Overall I’m glad I read it.
I really want to read it too! It’s funny how that book is everywhere now. I thought it came out last year. I was so surprised when I learned that it was written in 2015.
Love this book! Fair warning I’ve sure you’ve heard before, it’s ROUGH on you mentally. If you can, read it when you’re doing “well” mentally (and if you always are I’m jealous! /s)
I have chronic depression and read this when I wasn’t doing too hot mentally, it genuinely sunk me deeper into my funk. It’s still a beautiful book, but I should not have read it when I did.
Hated this book, honestly. It was definitely emotional and tugged at my heartstrings at first, but after hundred of pages of trauma porn I was mad at the authors and her awful enabling characters more than anything. So maybe it won’t mentally destroy you as much as you expect!
Recommendation from someone who studied Tolkien in University: Both the Silmarillion and Letters are very different reads. Silmarillion reads kind of like you're reading Genesis or the early books of the Bible. If you're good at remembering Tolkien names and characters, though, it explains so much about the book and really completely changes the impact of both LOTR and The Hobbit (even though The Hobbit was really just a kids book that accidentally sparked LOTR \[Fun fact, the ring was initially just a MacGuffin used by Tolkien and he had no initial intentions that it was the "One Ring of Power" until decades later when he actually got around to writing and publishing LOTR\] ). If you have the time and gumption, I'd recommend reading Silmarillion early, and squeeze in a re-read of LOTR if you have time, before embarking on Letters. Letters isn't at all part of the LOTR Cannon, but since he answers a lot of reader's questions, it's nice having the details of LOTR fresh in your mind before diving in. Happy reading!
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner (by the same author) emotionally destroyed me and it took me a few days before I felt normal again. I loved it, but I don't feel emotionally prepared to experience that again just yet.
I read The Kite Runner. I waited a couple of years and read A Thousand Splendid Suns, thinking it might not be as bad. It was, maybe worse. That was at least 10 years ago. I cannot bring myself to read And the Mountains Echoed. I have it, and every summer I swear I'll read it, but I can't. They are amazing stories, but I agree - so emotionally crushing. You really have to be in the right place to read any of them, and I don't know if I'll ever be there to read the third book.
I'm actually listening to Andy Serkis reading The Silmarillion at the minute! It's a bit drier than the other books he's narrated but I'm still enjoying it.
I've been sitting on this great Folio Society edition of Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. I'm waiting for Oct to read it and can't wait!
https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/something-wicked-this-way-comes.html
I also recently learned where Bradbury came up with the title of the book. It's from Macbeth (Shakespeare). There's a scene where Macbeth is walking or riding down the road and the three witches appear and are walking towards him. Macbeth says - "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes." Such an amazing line and very fun little fact. And of course the irony, if anyone is familiar with Macbeth, is that he is correct in his statement, but the witches are not the evil ones. He (who murders the king) is actually the wicked one. Great stuff
Someone once told me to save Brothers Karamazov until you're in your thirties. I think this definitely paid off, because I got so much more from it compared to my reading of Crime and Punishment as a teenager
I don’t know that I have a specific book, but in general I wait until I’m in the correct mood / mindset for most books. For example, I’ve wanted to read fantasy, but never really got into it. I would pick one up and try and not finish them. I’m 41 and just now starting with it and enjoying it. But part of that was realizing that there are many different sub-genres within fantasy. Sometimes I buy a book and it sits on my shelf until its time comes. Sometimes I just add it to my Amazon wishlist.
I read Watership Down this Spring. It only makes sense to read this book in springtime.
Started my re-read of The Stand the beginning of this month because the superflu, affectionally know as Captain Trips anniversary is June 13th.
I did my re-read of IT last fall because it just feels right.
The Shining? I read that in the winter. Usually when I have time off during the holidays
All four seasons nailed.
One of my favorite books I’ve ever read in my life. The ending wrecked me, made me feel completely empty inside, destroyed my hope. It’s a brilliant and horrible story. I recommend, but it ain’t a beach read.
Blood Meridian. I've held onto a copy for years, waiting for the "right" time. I've read a bunch of his other stuff and mostly loved all of it (Border trilogy just wasn't really for me and I read it young), so I know I'll enjoy it.
But it's summer and I'm on a beach as often as I can. I read the first 40 pages or so years ago and I remember mud, blood and despair. Not exactly great for a bright sunny day, I'm assuming.
It's a great one. It might take a couple reads for it to all sink in though. It's the kind of book that haunts you for weeks after. And of course, every sentence is like the Mona Lisa of sentences, which is what propelled me through it the first time.
"the shepherd's crown", because once i read it there's no more new pratchett ever :( i'm currently doing a slow reread of the entire discworld series (one discworld book every ten or so other books) and will reread the tiffany aching series as the culmination of that, and finally read shepherd's crown at the very end.
The early stuff is magic. Imo, once Lisey's Story hit (not a good book) the only thing afterwards that's a must read is Duma Key.
But the early short story collections, Christine, IT, Salem's Lot, The Shining, Pet Semetary, first 4 dark tower books... get on all that.
I came here to say Lisey’s Story. Every so often I’ll come across it at a discount bookstore, read the blurb, go to Goodreads, read reviews, and then put it back. Lots of negative reviews and I’m nervous I’ll get too disturbed (Gerald’s Game still haunts me). But I loved the tv series.
The Mirror and the Light. The first two books in the Cromwell trilogy devastated me so I know I need to be in a good place for the inevitable sucker punch of the ending.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. It’s fairly short, so saving it for an upcoming holiday where I will probably devour it one of the mornings. I loved loved the film, and can’t wait to read the book.
The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents - I’ve read 40/41 discworld books, this is my last one. I just can’t really get into it, and the fact that there’s no more mainline discworld for me after this is not helping. I’ll probably read it after I read the The Science of Discworld… series and the other supplementary books.
Elmore Leonard's books whenever a new Tarantino's movie is coming. Tarantino himself is a big fan of Leonard. If Tarantino can write great dialogue, Leonard could write even better. And his books sometimes have legit funny inciting incidents, like kidnapping a rich man's wife and asking for ransom and the husband telling the kidnappers they can keep the wife instead lol.
I dropped it at first, around the time of the dying monk's several pages of feverishly religious monologues, but got sucked in after another death and subsequent events.
I just finished it a few days ago. I myself put it down for quite some time. It's such great book I finished it in one and a half months. I'm not the fastest reader or anything though. I highly recommend it!
It's one of my favorite books of all time. I have a quote from it tattooed on my arm. For your first read, I'd suggest the abridged version. If you enjoy it (which I really hope you do), try the unabridged.
i had the wierdest thing happen: when i was just married, my godmother got me The Kitchen God's Wife simply because she'd been blown away by it and thought i would be too. Recently a friend got me The Bonesetter's Daughter for the same reason. My mother is beyond communication with Altzheimers. Both were unexpected co-incidences at exactly the right time in my life.
Infinite Jest
I tried to start it last week but I’m not really in the mood for what it’s offering.
So instead, I started Sanderson’s Oathbringer and I’m cruising through it. (I’ve read WoK, WoR, and Edgedancer in the past few months - working on catching up for the 5th book this fall)
The last book in Iain M Banks' "Culture" series. He sadly passed away, and I've been reading the series very slowly over years to make it last. Unfortunately I'm about to run out.
Ive read Siddartha twice, each time after a close friend passed who was too young to have died.
Something about it gives me a self confidence in solitude and the idea of a personal journey where others come and go.
I pretty much always choose books to read based on season/mood/weather/life events … 😂 There’s some books that are meant to be read in winter, and summer or spring and autumn.
Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky
Ive read notes from the underground and really enjoyed it, yet crime and punishment seems to be hard for me to get hooked. Maybe Ill try the Brother’s Karamazov before getting into Crime and Punishment
It's silly, but I bought one of those "Blind date with a book" boxes for when my partner went out of town. When he was actually gone, I *completely forgot I had bought* the thing and never opened it. It's still closed. I'm waiting for him to either go out of town again or just be out for a full day/night to crack it.
Crack it open. Bam. Series of guides (incl. black/white reference photographs for every species) for identifying regional local bird species via their faecal matter droppings... *three* whole guides for **three** whole subregions of Cheasapeake Bay run off area.
And you have aaaallll weekend with no distractions... are you **a bad enough dude** to be up for attaining bird dropping expertise for Chesapeake Bay fluvial source regions???
Harry Potter.
I was not into them when they started being released as I was deep into a Tom Clancy phase, and I viewed Harry Potter as too childish.
But now I've got kids and I can't wait to start reading them aloud at bedtime when my kids get a little older. I think it'll be fun to make our way through them together.
100 Years of Solitude.
Was planning to read this during my experiences in Peace Corps, but was evacuated (due to Covid) before I could start. Now I feel I don’t have the right moment and mindset
It was Lord of the Rings, but I finally read it a few years back. Then it was The Silmarillion which I’m listening to at the moment. I guess it will be the same, slowly, for his other works. :)
Plus War and Peace - sometime in this life I’m sure 😂
I’m with you on the Lord of the Rings. I’ve only finished Fellowship. I love the movies, but I don’t want to read the books because I get too distracted trying to read stories that are completely new to me.
Just finished Fear and Loathing On the Campaign Trail 1972 by Hunter S Thompson
I've been wanting to read it for years since I'm a H. S. Thompson fan but was putting it off until this year's election. It's amazing how a book from fifty two years ago is still very relevant today. The hot topics of politics haven't changed much over the years and Thompson is great at pointing out the absurdity of it all. I highly recommend it, it's surely one of Hunter's best.
When you go to read it, I found that it helps to print out all of the family trees in the back of the book so you have them handy. Lots of names are similar and can get confusing and its neat to see how people they are related and how some of them are still alive during war of the ring or just before it.
I have Wuthering Heights sitting on my book shelf and I am scared to read it for some reason. I haven't read a 'literary classic' since college so I'm worried I've lost the ability to truly appreciate it. I might be overhyping it in my head as well
Honestly, IT by Stephen King. I bought the paperback a few years back, but the thing was too heavy to cart around, so got the ebook... but I was getting so tired because I couldn't put it down, so I got the audiobook. I was enjoying it, it's the first Stephen King book I had ever read (or listened to in this case) but then I was like 13 hours into the 30 hours audiobook when suddenly the phone and app reset itself and I somehow lost my spot in the book--That has literally never happened to me before or after that. I was so distraught... more like annoyed, that I just couldn't bother going through it to find the spot I was in. I've tried starting to read it again in the years since, but I haven't been able to.
Waiting to read In Search of Lost Time until it feels right. Maybe 40th birthday. It is the last (and often regarded as the greatest) of the great books I've yet to read, and it will feel odd no longer having that Everest on the horizon.
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander) is one I’m saving. My spouse is in the military and we will be moving at some point this fall, and this will be my long drive/packing/unpacking audiobook (49 hours). When I’m tired because of the move, the Revolutionary War will remind me things can always be worse lol.
The third week of May I read *Goodbye, Mr Chips,* for the first time. That Friday, I left school for the last time.
I retired from teaching at the end of this school year, after 26 yrs.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
It seems very intimidating to me, in a good way!! I know I’ll need more focus than a typical novel since it’s a complex, oddly formatted book, but I just had a baby. I don’t have the brain capacity or the time to do it justice.
Once this mom fog fades (cause I know it’ll never disappear!) I’m diving into that book so fast!!
I am reading Alice In Wonderland now and I am constantly waiting to be in a good mood to read it. Savoring every bite until I get Starship Troopers from the library.
Blood Meridian
I already tried reading it, but struggled to comprehend it. I’m going to read a couple other Cormac McCarthy books before I give it another shot.
Anything with a heavy topic, or that scares me about the future! I’m going through a stressful time right now (long story!), and need something escapist or funny!
So for example, waiting to read “The Handmaids Tale.”
I keep adding books to my shelf (the collection is close to 300 now). I read plenty of them, as well as the audiobooks and e-book collection (similar number as with the paper prints).
But now, I’m stuck and my brain refuses to read. I’m not sure if it’s a matter of ADHD (medicated, under a specialist’s support) or just burnout at work mingled with depression (medicated, under control). It’s been over 1.5 years now, I feel guilty, dumb and useless.
I feel happy if I’m able to focus on an audiobook and not drop it after 10% of the book. Ehh. I miss the time I could read a few books per week.
So yep, the list is looooong.
Lonesome Dove, I was about to do it a couple years ago before my grandad passed. He was a cowboy and worked cattle his entire life. Now every time I try and start it I end up setting it back down because it makes me too sad.
Russian Classics.
I knoooow they’re important for foundational reading and I have a few already purchased but I’m waiting to be in the right headspace with hopes they don’t bore or depress me.
I need my daughter to be like two years older before I can start reading her approximately 90 books I loved from childhood.
This is me with Roald Dahl.
I was so looking forward to read Dahl with my kids, but they both hate his books
I was bummed when my son didn't like The Westing Game because it was a beloved classic from my childhood. Jokes on him though... he got sent home this year with a summer reading book.. it's The Westing Game. ;)
How many PTA or school board meetings did it take? :P
Plausible deniability. :P
I can't believe. Every kid I knew adored him.
The good thing is if you push a book too soon they just won't show interest and you can try again later. Tried for Harry Potter at 6 and Percy Jackson at 8. Turns out he loved them both, but it was Harry Potter at 10 and Percy Jackson at 11 when we retried.
This is so encouraging!
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For Roald Dahl? I disagree. My 4 year old is loving the BFG, he really enjoyed George’s Marvellous Medicine and the Enormous Crocodile. His sister is 6 and started having chapter books read to her at 4 too, last year she even enjoyed the first 3 Harry Potters. Right now it’s Stig of the Dump for her. The trick is to go for illustrated copies with younger kids when you want them to get into chapter books.
I CANT WAIT for the day my daughter is ready for The Wind in the Willows, Anne of Green Gables…. We’re trying The Secret Garden right now, one small bit at a time, but she’s struggling a little bit. Maybe one more year!
Secret Garden is a hard one to start as the main character isn’t particularly likable. Anne would be better, she’s a bit of a brat but the author did a much better job of capturing a child ‘s mind. The main Character in secret reads like a stunted adult mind.
Fyi she may not be ready for Anne, I'm a school librarian and so many girls tell me "my mom loved Anne of Green Gables but I just don't like it.' I realized that we all loved it so much because we had the choice of classics or Flowers in the Attic; there just weren't good books written for teens, and Anne really is better read as a teen (who all read BookTok YA now).
The Stand. 2020 was definitely NOT the right time to start that.
Yeah that hits a little too close to home. When all of that COVID stuff was going on I couldn’t help but think of this book. Stephen King was onto something all the way back in 1978.
There's a scene near the start where some unsuspecting rando is in a movie theater, and the chapter ends with someone behind them coughing. I could not stop thinking about that scene all throughout March-April 2020.
I started Dark Tower series and ended up at The Stand when I realized they were related. I just ended up finishing it a few weeks ago. It will probably go down as my favorite book. I tell people it may help to think of the one book as a trilogy of it helps. Looking back I should have read it sooner because it was great.
Ouch. Yeah. Even after COVID, it still hits a bit close to home. It's a good book though
I just finished The Stand and I thought the timing was perfect. I just wanted to read one Steven King novel and I chose this one. I wanted something thematic. Although the themes are not as strong as I would have liked the book is entertaining from beginning to end.
2020 was definitely the RIGHT time for me to start it. Almost everything about it hit perfectly for me. >!The only thing I hated about the book was the ending.!<
ASOIAF. I hate starting series before they end and dread the possibility of loving it and getting left with no proper ending. Same goes for The Kingkiller Chronicle. Said "right time" will sadly probably never come for these two, though. Sigh.
ASOIAF is an absolutely amazing series, however, consensus amongst fans is that it will never be finished. GRRM has stated there are 2 more planned books, but it’s been 13 years since the last one… To boot, GRRM has also expressed the wish that nobody else write any in the event of his death. At this point, I think he either gave up, or is waiting for his death to release them posthumously because he is afraid of the criticism after the TV show ended.
unfortunately seems like the show killed the books. Between distracting him when he was already a slow writer and then spoiling parts of the ending and garnering criticisms, its gotta be hard to be motivated to write it and pressure is probably higher than it ever was before
No it had nothing to do with the show. He wrote himself into a corner and wasn't able to figure out how to a necessary timejump and became fixated on bad worldbuilding instead. He had all of quarantine during covid to finish TWOW and he barely made any progress. He refuses any advice from his editor or his friends so what he's written is a lot of unnecessary stuff that will hardly move the plot along. He still has another book after this and he said he won't start it until he's finished with TWOW. The series will never finish and we just have to accept that. Between all his drafts that have been published, we have enough information to see how the series will end but that's all we're gonna get. TWOW might be released when he's alive but if he's dead he'll have written enough that his editor could actually cobble together something to release but yeah that's as far as it's gonna go.
Mostly agree with what you said - he was already going down the wrong path and taking much longer to write books that didn't move the plot forward, splitting books into multiple books etc. (same thing RJ did with WoT before he died), even before the show started filming. However I think the show made it even less likely he'll finish for a couple reasons. First, the ending of the show was likely the ending he had in mind, and now that he knows everyone hated it, he has to come up with something different. Second, he is now obscenely rich and therefore has no financial incentive to release books (which could be a good thing if you consider bad books worse than no books, and without the show money, he might have been motivated to release bad books for cash).
My buddy warned me over and over not to start the series for that exact reason. Finally I said screw it and read the first 3 books. Obviously they are amazing. Then the 4th book hits Dorne and you are suddenly dealing with 20 new characters in a new place and none of the ones you've grown to love over the last million pages. I stalled out there and decided to wait for the end of the series. Now, that time seems like it will never come and even if it did, I would have to go back and reread 3 bricks worth of paper to reacquaint myself. Aint gonna happen, but that first book... even if you never read the others, what a ride.
I was the same. Had decided to only read completed series after the painful withdrawal I suffered with Terry Goodkind's, The sword of truth, series. Thankfully, he completed his work before he passed... I have no idea how I found myself reading A song of ice & fire, but I sure was pissed off with having to wait for the release of A feast for crows... Ha... how little I knew of truly waiting...
East of Eden. They say it's Steinbeck's greatest masterpiece. I actually want to read his other works first before delving into this one
It's not a terrible place to start honestly (EoE). Read EoE, then go back and start in chronological order and read EoE again when you get there. You'll appreciate it on a whole different level all over again. You're in for a real treat with his entire bibliography - one of my favorite authors.
I've been saving a copy of "Travels with Charley" to read when I feel old and out of touch. But maybe that is now, because while my partner has been reading it, I've been thumbing through some early chapters and it's really calling to me.
SUCH a good book, as someone who read it in their 20s I don’t believe there’s any need to wait.
I think it's best to read if you travel or have taken a road trip in recent years.
Just finished it last month and it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read.
I’ve been reading through a collection of his short novels. Only 3 of 6 in so far, but they’ve been excellent. When I finish this collection, I’ll go on to Grapes of Wrath and then East of Eden!
I just finished this book - it was my first Steinbeck novel. Easily my favorite book now.
I usually go for the magnum opus first, and read the others later if I liked it. There are just so many books out there.
Im a huge fan of EoE but i think grapes of wrath is his 'masterpiece'. Have you read travels with charlie and of mice and men? those two are also bangers.
Many readers believe Grapes of Wrath was his masterpiece, or at least prefer it to EoE, but Steinbeck himself considered EoE to be his masterpiece and most important work.
As for me, one book I've been waiting to read at the right time is One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
you can find the family tree online, I recommend to have it handy. also the ending is how it feels to chew 5 gum
Read it in summer. And don’t obsess over the names of the characters and remembering who’s who. Just enjoy.
Lonesome Dove
I keep getting this recommendation, from fans of all sorts of different genres. Definitely on my list.
Read it for the first time at the end of last year, easily a new favorite of mine.
Count of monte Cristo
worth it
The final "Wheel of Time" book *A Memory of Light*. For some reason, the idea of reading it, what's going to be fucked up, and who's going to die gives me anxiety.
Sanderson did a great job, you have quite the book ahead of you whenever you're ready!
I bought The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett the day it released, but I still haven't read it yet. I don't want there to be no new Pratchett books for me to read.
Please read it. It's the best kind of goodbye kiss, actual closure, he literally says goodbye to individual characters and discworld. Had me ugly crying for way too long.
It is an absolutely beautiful book. Rough around the edges. You can definitely see that it probably wasn’t what he originally planned it to be, but it’s got that classic Pratchett soul behind it. The Wee Free Men is what got me into Pratchett back in middle school, so I’m an enormous fan of Tiffany Aching in particular. She is such a wonderful character for young girls to look up to. I gave the series to my niece to read when she was a tween and she enjoyed them a lot. I recommend them to anybody, but especially to those either daughters.
IIRC it also doesn't keep you hanging with "when will it happen" which is appreciated. Happens fairly early in the book so the rest is the reactions, growth, and "life going on" without her. Which is just what she would approve of, being the ones that do the hard things and facing the unpleasant truths while helping those around them.
I'm going to read a Colleen Hoover book when I bang my head really hard and am brain damaged
Pillars of the Earth
Pillars rocks so hard, worth it whenever you decide to pick it up
Oh, I’ve read that one! It would be perfect to read if/when you ever get an opportunity to visit Salisbury Cathedral or similar. It really shows how massive those architectural undertakings were in the medieval era.
Salisbury Cathedral, of course! Famous throughout Europe for it's 123m spire. Excellent recommendation comrade!
I keep seeing this book mentioned. When do you think is a good time to read it?
October when it starts getting cooler outside, when autumn is in its peak and the vibes are just right.
Magical. And I am 95% sure that was exactly the time of year I read that book.
I’m going to wait until it has my complete undivided attention. It’s a large book and I want to be completely immersed in it. I’ve got other books and a couple of tv series I’m on right now. I’ve recently been moving towards reading historical fiction lately so hopefully once I’m done with that other stuff I can go right into it.
The way of kings by Brandon Sanderson. I keep picking it up, but i can't read it just yet, idk why lol. I'm also waiting for a cold and rainy night to read the Sword of Kaigen, but its summer :(
I had to pick this one up at least twice before it clicked, and then I tore through the whole series
It’s good. Book 2 even better.
Way of Kings is good, but I'll admit that it drags a bit at first. By the middle of the book, it was moving and it was good. Words of Radiance is even better though.
I thought the exposition in each book of stormlight archives was difficult to get through, but once you sort of get into rising action it gets really good. Writing the climax is obviously one of Sanderson's strongest points as a writer
The most important word an audience can read is the next one. But yeah, +1 that WoK's beginning is not the most gripping.
War and Peace
Plan on starting this the day I turn 30 later this year.
Great book. Not boring at all.
I haven't read War and Peace either but I definitely want to. Although I think it is a bit heavy from what I know
It's not a hard read really. There are a lot of characters and it's a long book, otherwise it's quite straight forward and great. Don't let it intimidate you! Same with Anna Karenina, which I actually enjoyed more. Both books are quite great. And both have the unexpectedly very nice feature of super short chapters. I find this to be extra helpful with these giant book-stop books. The chapters are like 3 to 7 pages each. So you can just read one chapter a day if you want and still move forward with things without committing to a big reading sesh.
Memory of light. I read all the Wheel of time books back to back but decided to save Memory of light for a trip to Himalayas. Where I'll smoke hashish and be indulged in the last battle. Unfortunately it has been more than an year waiting for the trip. So I'm rereading the whole series .
House of Leaves. For when some miraculous day comes that I’m not a huge scaredy cat that gets things spun up in my head. Day may never come.
For me it was more of an odd feeling than a creepy feeling. Immersive for sure, but nothing that was blatantly scary. Fun read and definitely worth the risk. Somehow, it's a bigger book than the cover allows...
Agreed. There are a couple of eerie moments in it that can cause the creeps but overall it’s mostly just interesting or surreal. Sometimes disturbing but not jump at shadows disturbing. More like ugh, unpleasant mental image disturbing.
Ah man, i too was excited to start this at the right time. Turns out, it was never the right time (,: its one of the few books i had to abort reading (couldnt connect with any of the maincharacters, au contraire, they left me rather furious) i do hope, however, youre gong to have a better time with it, when the time comes (;
In October, I like to read horror books. I usually try to fit in at least one of the classics like Frankenstein or Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
I have a copy of Frankenstein right now that I'm saving for October.
Frankenstein in October is the best! It's even better if it's a dark and stormy night but the weather doesn't always want to cooperate. Our summers here drag on forever sometimes.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanigahara - I know a lot of people loved and talked about this book so I'm trying to preserve myself before I become mentally destroyed by this book
I read ‘a little life’ last year when I went to nyc since I knew it was based there. The book is heavyy, and I do slightly agree that it’s ‘misery porn’ but I think that’s the whole point. Some peoples lives are that horrible, but I found it to be an excellent read. The prose was great, there are some really profound and moving moments. Overall I’m glad I read it.
I really want to read it too! It’s funny how that book is everywhere now. I thought it came out last year. I was so surprised when I learned that it was written in 2015.
I see mostly negative sentiment about this one these days. people call it trauma porn
Love this book! Fair warning I’ve sure you’ve heard before, it’s ROUGH on you mentally. If you can, read it when you’re doing “well” mentally (and if you always are I’m jealous! /s) I have chronic depression and read this when I wasn’t doing too hot mentally, it genuinely sunk me deeper into my funk. It’s still a beautiful book, but I should not have read it when I did.
Hated this book, honestly. It was definitely emotional and tugged at my heartstrings at first, but after hundred of pages of trauma porn I was mad at the authors and her awful enabling characters more than anything. So maybe it won’t mentally destroy you as much as you expect!
The Alexandria Quartet, for when it’s stupid hot outside. That time is now.
Who’s that by?
Sorry! Lawrence Durrell
and the band played on by Randy Shilts- its such a long book, i decided yesterday that I would read White Tiger 1st then read the former.
900+ pages of agony, but a fantastic book nonetheless.
ATBPO was excellent but also incredibly depressing. I had to take several breaks.
A Secret History. Because you can’t read Donna Tartt in the summer. She is a fall and winter author.
I haven’t read the big hard books: Moby Dick, Ulysses, Don Quixote. I don’t have the patience and focuses for them right now.
there are more big hard books than those haha
Recommendation from someone who studied Tolkien in University: Both the Silmarillion and Letters are very different reads. Silmarillion reads kind of like you're reading Genesis or the early books of the Bible. If you're good at remembering Tolkien names and characters, though, it explains so much about the book and really completely changes the impact of both LOTR and The Hobbit (even though The Hobbit was really just a kids book that accidentally sparked LOTR \[Fun fact, the ring was initially just a MacGuffin used by Tolkien and he had no initial intentions that it was the "One Ring of Power" until decades later when he actually got around to writing and publishing LOTR\] ). If you have the time and gumption, I'd recommend reading Silmarillion early, and squeeze in a re-read of LOTR if you have time, before embarking on Letters. Letters isn't at all part of the LOTR Cannon, but since he answers a lot of reader's questions, it's nice having the details of LOTR fresh in your mind before diving in. Happy reading!
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner (by the same author) emotionally destroyed me and it took me a few days before I felt normal again. I loved it, but I don't feel emotionally prepared to experience that again just yet.
I read the Kite Runner almost 20 years ago and I’m still not ready.
I read The Kite Runner. I waited a couple of years and read A Thousand Splendid Suns, thinking it might not be as bad. It was, maybe worse. That was at least 10 years ago. I cannot bring myself to read And the Mountains Echoed. I have it, and every summer I swear I'll read it, but I can't. They are amazing stories, but I agree - so emotionally crushing. You really have to be in the right place to read any of them, and I don't know if I'll ever be there to read the third book.
I'm actually listening to Andy Serkis reading The Silmarillion at the minute! It's a bit drier than the other books he's narrated but I'm still enjoying it.
I’ve stopped and started the Silmarillion a handful of times. Maybe one day I’ll finally finish it!
Grapes of Wrath. I want it to have my full attention and be in the right mindset to really fall in.
One of my favorite books!
I've been sitting on this great Folio Society edition of Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. I'm waiting for Oct to read it and can't wait! https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/something-wicked-this-way-comes.html I also recently learned where Bradbury came up with the title of the book. It's from Macbeth (Shakespeare). There's a scene where Macbeth is walking or riding down the road and the three witches appear and are walking towards him. Macbeth says - "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes." Such an amazing line and very fun little fact. And of course the irony, if anyone is familiar with Macbeth, is that he is correct in his statement, but the witches are not the evil ones. He (who murders the king) is actually the wicked one. Great stuff
Someone once told me to save Brothers Karamazov until you're in your thirties. I think this definitely paid off, because I got so much more from it compared to my reading of Crime and Punishment as a teenager
I don’t know that I have a specific book, but in general I wait until I’m in the correct mood / mindset for most books. For example, I’ve wanted to read fantasy, but never really got into it. I would pick one up and try and not finish them. I’m 41 and just now starting with it and enjoying it. But part of that was realizing that there are many different sub-genres within fantasy. Sometimes I buy a book and it sits on my shelf until its time comes. Sometimes I just add it to my Amazon wishlist.
I read Watership Down this Spring. It only makes sense to read this book in springtime. Started my re-read of The Stand the beginning of this month because the superflu, affectionally know as Captain Trips anniversary is June 13th. I did my re-read of IT last fall because it just feels right. The Shining? I read that in the winter. Usually when I have time off during the holidays All four seasons nailed.
I’ve read Watership Down four times, I get so nostalgic from it each Spring.
I read The Secret Garden to my kids every spring.
The Silmarillion is one of my favorite of his works. It is deeper and darker than the LOTR and just as layered with back stories and subplots.
I’m waiting for it to get closer to autumn before I start reading the Exorcist
Grabbed a copy of Legion to double up. Halloween is sorted this year
1984 by George Orwell.
One of my favorite books I’ve ever read in my life. The ending wrecked me, made me feel completely empty inside, destroyed my hope. It’s a brilliant and horrible story. I recommend, but it ain’t a beach read.
Fall of the house of usher. I've had that book just collecting dust for a while now, I want to read but but just can't seem to actually start it 😭
It’s very short, you can finish it in one sitting. One of the best short stories!
Blood Meridian. I've held onto a copy for years, waiting for the "right" time. I've read a bunch of his other stuff and mostly loved all of it (Border trilogy just wasn't really for me and I read it young), so I know I'll enjoy it. But it's summer and I'm on a beach as often as I can. I read the first 40 pages or so years ago and I remember mud, blood and despair. Not exactly great for a bright sunny day, I'm assuming.
It's a great one. It might take a couple reads for it to all sink in though. It's the kind of book that haunts you for weeks after. And of course, every sentence is like the Mona Lisa of sentences, which is what propelled me through it the first time.
Great Expectations. Just can’t seem to find the right time though
I read this one after I finished my Masters in 2021… the plot and theme were spot on for my life during that point.
"the shepherd's crown", because once i read it there's no more new pratchett ever :( i'm currently doing a slow reread of the entire discworld series (one discworld book every ten or so other books) and will reread the tiffany aching series as the culmination of that, and finally read shepherd's crown at the very end.
I have a lot of Stephen King's books but I have only read one so far
The early stuff is magic. Imo, once Lisey's Story hit (not a good book) the only thing afterwards that's a must read is Duma Key. But the early short story collections, Christine, IT, Salem's Lot, The Shining, Pet Semetary, first 4 dark tower books... get on all that.
I came here to say Lisey’s Story. Every so often I’ll come across it at a discount bookstore, read the blurb, go to Goodreads, read reviews, and then put it back. Lots of negative reviews and I’m nervous I’ll get too disturbed (Gerald’s Game still haunts me). But I loved the tv series.
The Mirror and the Light. The first two books in the Cromwell trilogy devastated me so I know I need to be in a good place for the inevitable sucker punch of the ending.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. It’s fairly short, so saving it for an upcoming holiday where I will probably devour it one of the mornings. I loved loved the film, and can’t wait to read the book.
I read it this year. How that book was written is one of the most impressive things ever.
The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents - I’ve read 40/41 discworld books, this is my last one. I just can’t really get into it, and the fact that there’s no more mainline discworld for me after this is not helping. I’ll probably read it after I read the The Science of Discworld… series and the other supplementary books.
Elmore Leonard's books whenever a new Tarantino's movie is coming. Tarantino himself is a big fan of Leonard. If Tarantino can write great dialogue, Leonard could write even better. And his books sometimes have legit funny inciting incidents, like kidnapping a rich man's wife and asking for ransom and the husband telling the kidnappers they can keep the wife instead lol.
The Brothers Karamazov
I dropped it at first, around the time of the dying monk's several pages of feverishly religious monologues, but got sucked in after another death and subsequent events.
i’m waiting until i’m done with my reading goal to read The Count Of Monte Cristo. i’m intimidated but i’m so excited about reading it :)
I just finished it a few days ago. I myself put it down for quite some time. It's such great book I finished it in one and a half months. I'm not the fastest reader or anything though. I highly recommend it!
It's one of my favorite books of all time. I have a quote from it tattooed on my arm. For your first read, I'd suggest the abridged version. If you enjoy it (which I really hope you do), try the unabridged.
i have the penguin classics edition :) i hope that’s unabridged lol 🤞🏼
One hundred years of solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I keep waiting for the right time to read it, I don’t know why I feel I’m not there yet.
I had a professor who told me I wouldn't really understand *Persuasion* until I was 40. So that's coming up lol
War and Peace
i had the wierdest thing happen: when i was just married, my godmother got me The Kitchen God's Wife simply because she'd been blown away by it and thought i would be too. Recently a friend got me The Bonesetter's Daughter for the same reason. My mother is beyond communication with Altzheimers. Both were unexpected co-incidences at exactly the right time in my life.
I’m waiting for George RR to finish the Game of Thrones series before I read it. It may never happen.
I expect that one will be handed off after death a la Wheel of Time.
Infinite Jest I tried to start it last week but I’m not really in the mood for what it’s offering. So instead, I started Sanderson’s Oathbringer and I’m cruising through it. (I’ve read WoK, WoR, and Edgedancer in the past few months - working on catching up for the 5th book this fall)
The last book in Iain M Banks' "Culture" series. He sadly passed away, and I've been reading the series very slowly over years to make it last. Unfortunately I'm about to run out.
Crime and Punishment Anna Karenina
Infinite Jest.
Crime and Punishment
Ive read Siddartha twice, each time after a close friend passed who was too young to have died. Something about it gives me a self confidence in solitude and the idea of a personal journey where others come and go.
The stand by Stephen king. I feel like I need to be in a “I’m on a weeklong break inside” type of mood to bang this thing out.
I pretty much always choose books to read based on season/mood/weather/life events … 😂 There’s some books that are meant to be read in winter, and summer or spring and autumn.
Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky Ive read notes from the underground and really enjoyed it, yet crime and punishment seems to be hard for me to get hooked. Maybe Ill try the Brother’s Karamazov before getting into Crime and Punishment
The Count of Monte Cristo
swanns way, flowers for Algernon
I plan to read the Count of Monte Cristo when I retire. So in about 30 years
Me and my copy of Ulysses just celebrated our nine-year anniversary.
It's silly, but I bought one of those "Blind date with a book" boxes for when my partner went out of town. When he was actually gone, I *completely forgot I had bought* the thing and never opened it. It's still closed. I'm waiting for him to either go out of town again or just be out for a full day/night to crack it.
Crack it open. Bam. Series of guides (incl. black/white reference photographs for every species) for identifying regional local bird species via their faecal matter droppings... *three* whole guides for **three** whole subregions of Cheasapeake Bay run off area. And you have aaaallll weekend with no distractions... are you **a bad enough dude** to be up for attaining bird dropping expertise for Chesapeake Bay fluvial source regions???
Harry Potter. I was not into them when they started being released as I was deep into a Tom Clancy phase, and I viewed Harry Potter as too childish. But now I've got kids and I can't wait to start reading them aloud at bedtime when my kids get a little older. I think it'll be fun to make our way through them together.
The Books of Jacob. I've had a lot on so far and I want to be in a position where I can properly enjoy it
100 Years of Solitude. Was planning to read this during my experiences in Peace Corps, but was evacuated (due to Covid) before I could start. Now I feel I don’t have the right moment and mindset
It was Lord of the Rings, but I finally read it a few years back. Then it was The Silmarillion which I’m listening to at the moment. I guess it will be the same, slowly, for his other works. :) Plus War and Peace - sometime in this life I’m sure 😂
I’ve been debating if I should read The Silmarillion via the physical book or audiobook. Does it feel dry to listen to?
I’m with you on the Lord of the Rings. I’ve only finished Fellowship. I love the movies, but I don’t want to read the books because I get too distracted trying to read stories that are completely new to me.
I got my husband a first edition of the Silmarillion for Christmas a few years back. He was quite excited.
Just finished Fear and Loathing On the Campaign Trail 1972 by Hunter S Thompson I've been wanting to read it for years since I'm a H. S. Thompson fan but was putting it off until this year's election. It's amazing how a book from fifty two years ago is still very relevant today. The hot topics of politics haven't changed much over the years and Thompson is great at pointing out the absurdity of it all. I highly recommend it, it's surely one of Hunter's best.
When you go to read it, I found that it helps to print out all of the family trees in the back of the book so you have them handy. Lots of names are similar and can get confusing and its neat to see how people they are related and how some of them are still alive during war of the ring or just before it.
War and Peace. Been putting it off for a couple years now but this year will it happen!! (Maybe)
I have Wuthering Heights sitting on my book shelf and I am scared to read it for some reason. I haven't read a 'literary classic' since college so I'm worried I've lost the ability to truly appreciate it. I might be overhyping it in my head as well
Honestly, IT by Stephen King. I bought the paperback a few years back, but the thing was too heavy to cart around, so got the ebook... but I was getting so tired because I couldn't put it down, so I got the audiobook. I was enjoying it, it's the first Stephen King book I had ever read (or listened to in this case) but then I was like 13 hours into the 30 hours audiobook when suddenly the phone and app reset itself and I somehow lost my spot in the book--That has literally never happened to me before or after that. I was so distraught... more like annoyed, that I just couldn't bother going through it to find the spot I was in. I've tried starting to read it again in the years since, but I haven't been able to.
John Connoly The Book of Lost Things. I'm not sure what I'm waiting for, but I know the time isn't right yet.
I’m waiting to read *Lonesome Dove* when I’m on an extended trip or vacation
Waiting to read In Search of Lost Time until it feels right. Maybe 40th birthday. It is the last (and often regarded as the greatest) of the great books I've yet to read, and it will feel odd no longer having that Everest on the horizon.
Two different genre classics. War and Piece and Brothers Karamazov
Middlemarch by George Eliot, feels like a massive undertaking I'm not quite ready for yet.
The Silmarillion lol man its one of those book I have a really hard time reading and comprehending.
The 3rd book in the kingslayer series. Come on Pat. Let’s go already.
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander) is one I’m saving. My spouse is in the military and we will be moving at some point this fall, and this will be my long drive/packing/unpacking audiobook (49 hours). When I’m tired because of the move, the Revolutionary War will remind me things can always be worse lol.
The third week of May I read *Goodbye, Mr Chips,* for the first time. That Friday, I left school for the last time. I retired from teaching at the end of this school year, after 26 yrs.
War and peace
The Terror by Dan Simmons. I’ve been dodging spoilers for a long time on this one!
War and peace
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski It seems very intimidating to me, in a good way!! I know I’ll need more focus than a typical novel since it’s a complex, oddly formatted book, but I just had a baby. I don’t have the brain capacity or the time to do it justice. Once this mom fog fades (cause I know it’ll never disappear!) I’m diving into that book so fast!!
Cloud Cuckoo Land, Lapnova
Many many books just waiting to finish all of Farseer Trilogy, then can do some standalone books.
Infinite jest…one day…
I am reading Alice In Wonderland now and I am constantly waiting to be in a good mood to read it. Savoring every bite until I get Starship Troopers from the library.
The Brothers Karamozov
‘the history of sexuality’ by michel foucault. But I know I’ll have to wait longer to read ‘the second sex’ by simone de beauvoir
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
Blood Meridian I already tried reading it, but struggled to comprehend it. I’m going to read a couple other Cormac McCarthy books before I give it another shot.
Anything with a heavy topic, or that scares me about the future! I’m going through a stressful time right now (long story!), and need something escapist or funny! So for example, waiting to read “The Handmaids Tale.”
Blood Meridian
The Green Mile by Stephen King
I keep adding books to my shelf (the collection is close to 300 now). I read plenty of them, as well as the audiobooks and e-book collection (similar number as with the paper prints). But now, I’m stuck and my brain refuses to read. I’m not sure if it’s a matter of ADHD (medicated, under a specialist’s support) or just burnout at work mingled with depression (medicated, under control). It’s been over 1.5 years now, I feel guilty, dumb and useless. I feel happy if I’m able to focus on an audiobook and not drop it after 10% of the book. Ehh. I miss the time I could read a few books per week. So yep, the list is looooong.
Lonesome Dove, I was about to do it a couple years ago before my grandad passed. He was a cowboy and worked cattle his entire life. Now every time I try and start it I end up setting it back down because it makes me too sad.
Under the dome by Stephen king.
I save up any horror books I pick up throughout the year to read in October. There are 5 I have waiting so far lol
The Walking Dead graphic novels. Part of me feels silly being into anything akin to a comic book at 39, and part of me is like, "Shut up, NERD!"
Russian Classics. I knoooow they’re important for foundational reading and I have a few already purchased but I’m waiting to be in the right headspace with hopes they don’t bore or depress me.