had to buy | Bookshelf Fantasies

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 Tuesday Rewind:
Where we pick a topic we’ve done before, or one we skipped the first time around, and come up with a whole new top 10!

I wrote my first version of this list in March 2013… and sad to say, some of the same books are still on it! Yes, I’m the type who buys candy while waiting in line at the check-out stand, who picks up goofy souvenirs at the airport gift shop two minutes before boarding — I’m totally prone to buy on impulse, and nothing attracts me more than a brand new, shiny book THAT I HAVE TO HAVE RIGHT NOW.

Here are the top 10 books that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on, bought in a fit of total urgency, preordered months in advance… and they’re still sitting there on my shelves (or on my Kindle), taunting me with their pristine dust jackets, uncreased spines, and 0% completion.

1) S. by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst. I was so fascinated by this book when I first heard about it, couldn’t wait to get my own copy… and then once it arrived, I realized I had no idea how to actually go about reading it. It felt kind of like a chore, so I put it aside and never picked it up again.

2) The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott: A friend recommended this historical novel centered around the Titanic, and I thought it sounded like something I’d love. And I’m sure I will enjoy it, when I finally read it.

The Dressmaker

3) The Buffy graphic novels: I’ve read all of Buffy season 8, but I fell seriously behind on season 9 and its various spin-offs, so now I have several volumes of Buffy, Angel & Faith, and Willow to read.

4) Other Kingdoms by Richard Matheson: This ended up being one of Richard Matheson’s last novels, published two years before his death in 2013. I loved the plot description for Other Kingdoms, and bought a copy as soon as it was released.

Other Kingdoms

5) In Cold Blood by Truman Capote: I was absolutely convinced that I was going to read this right away… and that was last September.

In Cold Blood

6) Me Before You by Jojo Moyes: I know this book is supposed to be amazing! I swear, I will read it in 2014!

Me Before You

7) Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh: Picked this one up in a bookstore a few months ago…

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened

8) Small Damages by Beth Kephart: The reviews were excellent, and I couldn’t wait to read this young adult novel:

Small Damages

9) If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman: After reading Just One Day, I knew I needed to read more by Gayle Forman, and quickly got myself copies of these two books. I know, I know… gotta read them ASAP.

If I Stay (If I Stay, #1)

10) All the books from last year’s various TBR lists that I still haven’t gotten to:

Once again, 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 I already have!)

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

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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