I used to be terrible for doing this. I have so many unread books on my shelves – which is how I like it, better have shelves of books I haven’t read yet than only ones I have. It’s like being surrounded by all these worlds still waiting to be discovered. But it does sometimes get a bit out of hand. I’ve been doing better and buying books and reading them fairly quickly, but there are still some I started and didn’t finish:
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I don’t even remember where I heard about Rebellious Mourning, but I think it’s one that will give me a lot to think about and will probably have a big impact. The other three were all included on the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist, and of the books on the list that I didn’t have, they were the ones I was that appealed to me the most. I’m hoping to get to them before the summer.
   
   
   
I heard good things about What Are You Going Through, and found the premise interesting. I picked up A Seat at the Table after reading a couple of Tracey Thorn’s books and adoring them. She’s one of the artists whose writing is in this collection, but I’m also interested to read from some of the other ones as well. We Live for the We I came across by chance, and found interesting. I’ve been wondering a lot about the experience of being a Black mother, particularly in the USA at the moment. I find motherhood to be excruciating – knowing I can’t protect my kid from all the pain and suffering the world will cause. I know that must be so much harder for Black parents (or for BIPOC in general), and that is compounded by the higher rate of mortality in Black mothers, the stats on Black patients’ concerns being dismissed at much higher rates than White ones and all the other ways in which being a Black mother is so much harder. I’m interested to learn more about that experience, because I’m sure there are so many other aspects I haven’t thought of. I’ve been meaning to read more of James Baldwin – I have some of his books sitting around, but wanted to read I Am Not Your Negro along with watching the film.
   
   
I picked up Disability Visibility because I’ve been struggling with hidden disabilities all of my adult life. I have three that aren’t visible. I look fine, but underneath I have two chronic conditions and chronic pain, and all of these affect what I can do on a daily basis. Reading the description of this book and flipping through it made me feel, for the first time, like I’m not alone. This is an actual thing that other people are dealing with, and here are some of them sharing what that’s like. It made me feel less alone. Likewise I have had a lot of trouble getting doctors to really listen to me, to answer my questions and to work with me rather than just dictating one course of action they think is the best that either doesn’t work for me or that I’m not comfortable with. I’ve had doctors miss major issues, treat me with utter contempt and dismiss my concerns without even bothering to hear them. I’ve had doctors make mistakes, I’ve been sent home from hospital two days after major surgery with painkillers that made me too ill to take them and no way to get an alternative prescription. I’ve been told I don’t need intervention for a major issue because I’m “too young”… only to end up in the ER needing urgent surgery for that very issue, but after four years of suffering. And on and on. The ways in which the medical system has let me down, made me feel like I don’t matter, made me feel invisible or traumatized me are many, and I’ve never found a way to avoid all these things happening again. And again. And again. Pain and Prejudice was a book club pick – I didn’t manage to find time for it in time for the book club, but I am still looking forward to it. My mum read Miss Benson’s Beetle recently and really loved it. I haven’t read anything by Rachel Joyce before, but I’ve meant to. So I want to give this one a try.
What about you guys? Do you only buy books as you read them? Do you live surrounded by a giant TBR like I do? Which books can you think of off the top of your head that you were (or even are) super excited to read, but once you bought them didn’t get to for a while? Still haven’t gotten to?
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.
Someone has to keep the publishers and booksellers in business! I’ve been buying more over the past year or so, but I tend to read a lot of library books because I work in a library and it’s so convenient! Several of yours are on my TBR but none are on my actual shelves.
Oooooh lucky you to work in a library! It’s my dream but here it’s impossible to get a job in a library without a Master’s degree – even then it’s competitive. It’s lovely to hear someone who gets to live that, and I’m so pleased you are a patron as well as an employee! I use my library’s digital collection frequently – mostly for audiobooks. They’re so expensive, so it’s a fantastic way to hear some excellent ones!
Oh I definitely have a huge TBR. I prefer to think of it like you: “Look how many books I have still to discover” as opposed to panicking that I will never read all the books I own.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2021/06/01/top-ten-tuesday-318/
Oh I absolutely know I will die with a library of unread books. But what’s the alternative? Not even looking forward to them? Not having a lovely selection to peruse and choose from that are all exciting? Running out? I’m happy to die amidst a vast expanse of unread books, no question!
Ha ha same!
😉
My list is exactly the same as this – I have so many unread books on my shelves!
I’m sorry to hear about all of the mistreatment you’ve had at the hands of the medical system, particularly if it just keeps happening! I hope things get better for you! Disability Visibility is a book I’ve had on my TBR for ages for this same reason: it’s so important to hear people’s voices so change can occur.
I’m lucky in Canada – at least we have medical care when we need it. It’s not fast, it’s not usually compassionate enough, and everyone working in it is beyond overworked, even without the pandemic. But we have it, and I am grateful. I have gotten used to seeking second opinions when I feel dismissed and advocating for necessary care. It’s frustrating and tiring, but at least I am getting better at doing it now. I agree with you. I think a lot of people only think of physical disabilities (or different abilities? I’m not sure what the right wording for it is now) when they hear the term – I would love for that automatic assumption to shift and for people to be willing to listen when people who have invisible ones ask for help or patience! Hopefully books like this one will help to accomplish that!
Disability Visibility sounds amazing!
I have an illness that occasionally flares up and causes me a lot of pain. I feel shy and uncertain about identifying as disabled due to the fact that I have so many good days, but there are definitely parts of that community that i really resonate with.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-gifs
I feel the same. I have three invisible disabilities, one that impacts my overall health and immune function, one that causes pain and one that can have me struggling for breath at times. (And that’s not even tackling the mental health issues that are caused or exacerbated by these.) Though I have days where all are under control and I feel mostly normal, there are also days when I am unable to leave my house or my bed. There are times when I need a seat on public transit. There are times when I need to be allowed to move slowly or do less. I also feel like I can’t identify as disabled because none of these issues alone would really be that bad. But I’m starting to see that the combination does, and that really even one of them kind of should. I think if you feel a connection to the term, and if you feel like your life is impacted and you aren’t able to do normal things, then you qualify. I’m sorry to hear about your situation – I know what chronic pain is like and the toll it takes on you. Living with the constant threat of recurrence isn’t easy either, and can deeply affect mental health. I hope you have good support when you need it!
I hope you like all of these books!
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
Thank you!