Top Ten Books on my TBR for Spring
1. Watership Down by Richard Adams- So, here's how I feel about Watership Down- bunnies=spring appropriate, right? I realise that there may well be some bunny death, which feels less spring appropriate, but still. BUNNIES!
2. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami- Just because, I have it out of the library, and I hate returning library books unread, therefore I should probably read this. Plus, Murakami rocks.
3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins- I can't even tell you how excited I am for another of Alice's readalongs. But it's a lot. This is literally the only book on the list that's guaranteed to be read this spring.
4. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson- I've already started this one, so there's a fairly good chance I'll finish it in spring. Yay?
5. This is a Call: The Life and Times of Dave Grohl by Paul Brannigan- I got this for Christmas and it's not so long until my birthday. I'm thinking I should maybe read it. Maybe.
6. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan- I keep looking at this and thinking that I'll read it next. And I never do. So now my thinking is, if I put it on this list, I'll read it soon! Could work, right?
7. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell- For some reason, clouds made me think spring, and I thought I should maybe read this. I don't know. But I hear it's good, and it is a challenge book, so maybe I'll read it. In one of the seasons this year, anyway.
8. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray- I have no idea why this book says it should be read in spring to me. But it does, and maybe it shall be. This is about the 80th time I've said maybe in this post...
9. The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue- Another library book. Plus I do bloody love Emma Donoghue, so I probably will actually read this one, with great pleasure.
10. The Hours by Michael Cunningham- This is one of my favourite books, and I feel that I should read it as a little birthday treat for myself. I'm not sure why I think of re-reads as being treats since 1) I do it all the time, and 2) I'm doing it right now, but hey. I want to read The Hours, and so I will, dammit!
So, yeah. These are the ten books that I'm maybe going to read this spring. Maybe. Until I get a whole load of new ones for my birthday and then just read them and ignore all other books. Definitely going to happen.
I read Watership Down my Freshman year in high school and I STILL remember many of the emotions that book put me through. Let me just tell you it was not a pleasant pool-side read. (It was one of of the books that we had to read over the summer).
ReplyDeleteI plan on reading The Hours in April! And I know that you guys are going to enjoy Woman in White. Let me warn you though, it's not about a ghost. I spent pretty much the whole novel going BUT WHERE'S THE GHOST! :P
Argh! Ok, I'm not going to read Watership Down if I'm in a mood then! And I'm glad I'm not saving it for summer! YAY The Hours! Have you read it before? Because it's kind of my favourite (ok, one of my favourites) :).
DeleteAlso, hahaha at The Woman in White! We actually had this discussion on Alice's blog, and I'm constantly asking my friend (who has read both The Woman in White and The Woman in Black) which is the scary one with the ghost! Turns out, it's not the woman in white!
Vanity Fair was a bit tedious for me. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did. Still, it wasn't bad. I also do wish I'd liked The Hours. The movie is my absolute favorite of all time and I've seen it hundreds of times, not exaggerating, but when I tried to read the book after falling in love with the movie, it just fell flat. Granted, I was like 24 or 25 years old, and maybe I just wasn't old enough or as well-versed in modern lit (I read exclusively classics at that point in my life) to really enjoy it. I've considered rereading, but I know so many people love it that I can't imagine possibly disliking it just as much the second time around and then having to tell people that...
ReplyDeleteI think Vanity Fair is probably the one I'm least likely to read tbh- I've heard that all the characters are AWFUL, but they're supposed to be and when that's the case, I can usually handle it. So we'll see! Also, awwwww I love The Hours SO MUCH! I read it about 5 times before I saw the film, so actually the film was a little disappointing for me... But I don't want to say READ IT only to have you dislike it because I can't deal with anyone not liking The Hours!
DeleteOh, my! I ADORE Vanity Fair!! I've only read the first half. I had to set it aside because I like it so much, I want the first read to last. I'm probably going to finish it this summer. I HIGHLY recommend it. :)
DeleteI liked A Visit From the Good Squad, and would definitely recommend it if you have a patch of time when you can read the whole thing. It switches POVs/time periods a lot, so if you let it sit (like I did) you might start to forget what happened to who when! :) Great list. Thanks for sharing your choices! Check out my list at Bookwanderer!
ReplyDeleteAhh, thanks for the reading advice! Might be one to save for the readathon in April then :)
DeleteThe Woman in White is so good!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm glad, seeing as I'm all committed to reading it hehe
DeleteHooray Visit From the Goon Squad. Hopefully you'll get to this one in the spring. Although I totally get what you mean by once you say "I'll read this in the spring" you drastically reduce the odds of that actually happening. It's the reason I'm skipping this top ten.
ReplyDeleteDude, so true. We're such contrary people! I really want to try and stick to it this time though, because some of these are books I've been meaning to read for YEARS!
DeleteI was thinking about Watership Down, too :) As for Woman in White, it is remarkably readable. Long, yes, but think I read most of it (I'd got to page 89 already) in one evening. It's a great book :)
ReplyDeleteOh goody! That's always nice to hear about a book that you're committed to reading but aren't too sure about! And, also yay bunnies! Let's both read Watership Down this spring and be all unhappy (cause I hear it's sad. See above.)
DeleteBoth Goon Squad and Cloud Atlas are on my TBR list. Actually, Cloud Atlas has been on my TBR list for about five years! I've also never read anything by Bill Bryson, but it all looks really interesting
ReplyDeleteBill Bryson is the greatest. Like, seriously. I've been reading A Short History now for like 2 days, and I'm nearly finished. Did I mention this is a book about SCIENCE?! He's that good. Also, Cloud Atlas has basically been on my TBR list before I knew what a TBR list was! It definitely has to be read this year...
DeleteI think I read in the news recently that there might be development on the actual Watership Down over here? That would truly be sad. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but...yeah. I guess I am.
ReplyDeleteI... didn't know there was an actual Watership Down? But that sounds like a thing that would piss me off if I had known there was, so let's say that's a thing that's horrible and probably all the government's fault *angry face*
DeleteWhy yes, I'm citing Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watership_Down,_Hampshire
DeleteI wonder if I might not have read about it in my local paper? (I'm in Hants.) I seem to remember there's a grass roots effort to avoid development but I just don't remember any details...will have to do some serious Google searching in the morning.
Hampshire just seems to be developing and developing, which is odd as it just seems like so much rural farm and countryside down here. That said, though, I'm a displaced American so maybe this is happening everywhere in the UK. But regardless it'd really be a shame to lose Watership Down.
Man, I need to do a reminder post about that readalong...
ReplyDeleteMORE MURAKAMI? ARE YOU A MASOCHIST? Also I LOVE Vanity Fair. A lot. Watership Down, not so much, but I think I was 12 when I read it. Also I want to read The Sealed Letter, but I also don't want to have read ALL the Emma Donoghue, so, gotta pace oneself. ALSO, I want to read The Hours. Annnd done.
MURAKAMI IS WONDEROUS!! Also, I got a beautiful brand new copy of 1Q84 for £2 today so now I *have* to read it! I have owned both Vanity Fair and Watership Down for the longest time(s) so I want to form opinions on them too! And I didn't think about having read all the Emma Donoghue because I realise there isn't actually all that much... But she's young, there'll be more, right? (THERE HAD BETTER BE MORE, I LOVE HER!) And THE HOURS IS THE BEST.
DeleteNow I'm done. So basically you have lots of opinions about my list? Cause, I like that!
The only book I've read from this list is Goon Squad, which is pretty awesome but you've got to be in the mood for something a little less traditional. I also have The Woman in White on my TBR for this year. Maybe I should join this readalong with you...
ReplyDeleteBrenna! You must readalong with us! Alice says she's doing a reminder post, so yeah! Look for it and sign up and things! Oh the fun we'll have! *claps hands together in excitement*
DeleteAlso, I have heard the best and worst things about Goon Squad and I just don't know what to believe anymore! So obviously I'm going to have to read it and see!
I almost started A Short History of Nearly Everything the other day, but decided to read A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy instead. I'm thinking I'll read it soon though, so I hope you're liking it!
ReplyDeleteAnd YAYYYY Woman in White readalong! I can't wait!
SO EXCITING! And omG, A Short History of Nearly Everything is SO awesome! Seriously, I've been reading it for two days and I've already nearly finished it, so, yeah. It's AWESOME!
DeleteI read Watership Down when I was about 7 years old, and it emotionally traumatised me to the point where I STILL refuse to read it again and I'm 22!
ReplyDeleteI keep meaning to get round to The Woman in White too, but I've got a million other books that have to come first. Ugh. My TBR makes me happy and sad, all at the same time... *sigh*
Argh! Not emotional trauma! I'm not 7 though, so I might be ok... might be.
DeleteAlso, DUUUUDE, come and read The Woman in White along with us! Because that way, even if it sucks, we can be all hilarious about it and it will be all fun and JOIN USSSS!
That wasn't creepy, right?
I agree, there's something about VF that begs to be read in the spring. That's so odd. I did like it though.
ReplyDeleteI need to read Cloud Atlas. I don't really know why I haven't yet. I bought it years ago, totally excited to read it. Then I just didn't, and I'm always thinking about picking it up, but I don't.
ReplyDelete