my book buying habits may have gotten somewhat out of hand…
i started 2020 with 285 books on my tbr, and now i’m at 408, with 270 of those having been purchased this year. 270! what is wrong with me?
in an effort to tidy this number up, and get it into the slightly more manageable 300 range, i’ve complied an end of year tbr. it’s kind of ambitious, but given that i have nothing else to do but apply for jobs, i think i can handle it.
this tbr is split into two parts, the first (below, on the left) is everything that i’ve already started and need to finish. there’s not much to be said about this pile, i just need to get on with it. the books i’ll be reading as part of this pile are:
- tell me how long the train’s been gone – james baldwin
- don quixote – miguel de cervantes
- the decameron – giovanni boccaccio
- the clergyman’s daughter – george orwell
- the complete short stories: volume one – roald dahl
- mansfield park – jane austen
- waverley – walter scott
- the collected poems – thomas hardy
- medieval woman – ann baer
the second part of my tbr is books i’m actually excited to get to! it’s not that i lack enthusiasm for those in the first half, but if i was truly excited about them, i’d have probably finished them earlier this year.
winter holiday – arthur ransome
who doesn’t love a good wintry read in the build up to christmas? i’m somewhat concerned that this is the fourth book in the swallows and amazons series, but hopefully i’ll be able to dip in and enjoy it nonetheless.
christine – stephen king
i’ve drifted away from king this year which is expected after the duds i’ve enountered, but also pretty annoying as i still have 16 of his books on my shelves. i’m hoping that christine will re-ignite some sort of passion so that i can make my way through them.
the eaten heart: unlikely tales of love – giovanni boccaccio
this collects together 11 tales from the decameron, and it’s here just in case i can’t find the time for the decameron!
the best short stories of dostoevsky – fyodor dostoevsky
the latter half of this year has been filled with short story collections and i couldn’t resist this lovely little edition. i love dostoevsky’s style, and it’ll be interesting to see how he approaches writing short narratives.
the penguin book of japenese verse
i’ve absolutely loved exploring the early japanese canon this year! i’m hoping that this will help to broaden my horizons so that i can figure out who i’d like to read more from in 2021.
les misérables – victor hugo
this was on my list of classics to read in 2020. hopefully the seventh times the charm!
anna karenin – leo tolstoy
uhh why did nobody tell me that i’d love tolstoy? i’ve devoured a bunch of his shorter works this year so it’s time to tackle a tome now!
the three musketeers – alexandre dumas
i haven’t stopped thinking about this book since i got it last weekend! it’s a lot longer than i expected, but if it’s anything like the count of monte cristo it’ll only take me a few days to get through.
imaginary friend – stephen chbosky
i’ve been a little apprehensive about reading this as it’s so chunky compared to perks of being a wallflower. whilst i do enjoy tomes, i absolutely hate bloated books (yes, i’m looking at you king). that said, it’s time to give this a fair shot as i’m in the mood for a horror after a long run of thrillers.
born to run – bruce springsteen
this is the book that i’m least excited for, it’s kinda just been hanging out on my shelves. i haven’t really got any expectations for it, and if i hate it, it’s fine because it was free from our book exchange.
queerying literature 