Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is:

Top Ten Books I HAD To Buy…But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf Unread

Oh, I am so guilty of the mad, impulse-driven, can’t-sleep-until-I-order it book purchase. And yes, inevitably, for at least some of these must-own-NOW books, they arrive and I never make time to read them. Doesn’t mean I never will — I just haven’t been in the right mood, or the stars haven’t been perfectly aligned, or ____ (insert your favorite excuse here…)

I’ll start with a couple that I couldn’t wait to get this past winter, after I was fortunate enough to receive a nice Amazon gift card in time for the holidays:

1) My Ideal Bookshelf by Thessaly La Force and Jane Mount. I’m still totally in love with the concept behind this beautiful coffee table book about books, but always end up feeling too rushed to sit down, page through, and savor it completely.

And from lovely to not so much:

2) The Walking Dead Compendium, Volumes 1 & 2 by Robert Kirkman. I have not watched the TV show, but I’ve been meaning to read the graphic novels, and thought these huge compilations would be the way to go. Over 1,000 pages each, they just seem like such a BIG commitment that I haven’t started. Yet.

And a whole bunch more that have been languishing on my shelves:

3) The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales by J. R. R. Tolkien. When I finished reading Lord of the Rings years ago, I just had to get these… and then promptly lost interest. Some day, I swear.

4) The Dark Tower series, books #4 – 7 by Stephen King. I was only about 15 pages into The Gunslinger before I decided I had to read the entire series. Bought ’em all, and then never got past book three. I really liked the books that I read; it’s just that I decided I needed a break after the 3rd book, and somehow that break has now lasted over two years.

5) Three novels by Kate Morton (The House at Riverton, The Forgotten Garden, and The Distant Hours). Because why buy only one book by an author who’s new to you when you can buy three? I kept hearing such good things about her novels that when I found these, I had to get them. And have yet to read them.

6) The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers. I happened to browse through this book in an airport bookstore and thought it looked completely charming. I made sure to write down the title and get myself a copy when I got back home. That was years ago. And there it still sits on my shelf.

7) Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. Like the books by Kate Morton, I’ve only heard good things about these books, and keep buying them as new ones are released, but have yet to read a single one.

8) Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I know, I know… won lots of prizes, supposed to be amazing, etc, etc… but I just haven’t been in the mood for serious historical fiction. This one is on my 2013 TBR Challenge list, so I really, really have to give it a try.

9) Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley. I always try to keep up with the Printz award winners, and I was dying to get a copy of this one — so I did. And someday, I’ll read it.

10) Moloka’i by Alan Brennert. I love books about Hawaii, and I’m fascinated in particular by the history of the island of Moloka’i and its leper colony. I was so happy to get this book. Like the others on this list — someday, I really will read it.

Whew. I’ve barely scratched the surface. Putting together this top 10 list is a good reminder to me of all the amazing books I ALREADY OWN that I need to read. (In other words, note to self: STOP BUYING BOOKS! Or more realistically, buy fewer books and read the ones you already have!)

Have you read any of these? Which of these should I dive into first?

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