TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS I FEEL LIKE EVERYONE BUT ME HAS READ

It’s no secret that the past few years have been slow reading years for me. But even when I was reading between 50 and 100 books a year, there were always books I felt like everyone and their lazy dog had managed to read except me. It stands to reason, then, that my sense of missing out has only increased in recent years. I still haven’t gotten around to most of the books that have been building up on that TBR, and it just keeps getting added to. It’s neverending, so really this post could be several pages long. I’m picking some of the ones I feel really have been read by everyone on the bookernet except yours truly.

           

The Book Thief is a YA novel that seemed to make the rounds of everyone in the past decade. It got made into a film (that I still haven’t watched because I need to read the book first) and has been recommended to me over and over again. I’ve even tried to read this one – at least twice – and never gotten very far. I like the structure of it (it’s narrated by death – how cool is that for an idea?) but the style of it just didn’t click for me.

The Handmaid’s Tale is probably one of the best-known piece of dystopian feminist fiction of all time. It’s also by one of Canada’s biggest authors. It was made into a TV series. And its sequel came out just a few months ago to great acclaim including co-winning the Booker Prize (which I didn’t agree with and has soured me somewhat on the whole thing, but that’s another post). So the fact that I have yet to read it is a bit ridiculous.

The year Sing, Unburied, Sing came out it seemed to be everywhere. It was on a couple of prize lists, was talked about in all corners of the internet and seemed to drive some strong opinions. I’ve yet to finish any books by Jesmyn Ward (though I’ve tried two). This one’s subject matter – a dysfunctional family – isn’t my favourite, which has turned me off a bit. But I’ve heard such good things that I at least want to give it a try!

I have yet to read anything by Ann Patchett, but of all her books I feel like Bel Canto is top of the TBR list. It has been referenced in books I’ve read (notably Naked at the Albert Hall by Tracey Thorn), recommended by people I trust and received plenty of literary acclaim. I just need to find the time to finally pick it up. I suspect I will get to Patchett’s newest book, The Dutch House, before I finally pick this one up!

           

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a short but important book. However the very thing that makes it so – dealing with the story of a young girl grappling with her sexuality in a deeply religious home – is also what makes it one I struggle to pick up. It’s not going to be an easy read, and it’s probably going to make me very, very angry. I don’t get homophobia – what does it matter who people love, as long as they love and are happy? So this one will be a tough one.

The Underground Railroad is likewise one that makes me nervous. I tried this one, and found it really hard to get into. But it has received major acclaim, and seems to be one of the most important literary books on race to come out so far this century. I don’t know when I’ll get to this one, only that at some point I need to.

Another book I’ve tried is All the Light You Cannot See. I read at least 50 pages, but really struggled to get invested in it. It’s another book lover’s darling, but I really struggled to find my footing and to care about the characters. I suspect it’s just a slow starter, given the love heaped on it, but at the time I tried it, I didn’t have the patience to stick with it.

There, There is another of the books I think is most important from recent years. It deals with what it is to be a Native American living in an urban setting in modern times, a set of circumstances that isn’t represented enough in literature. I’ve heard mixed reviews of this one. For the most part it’s gotten good reviews, but a few people have said that the number of characters meant it was hard to truly connect to any of them. All the same, it piqued my interest before it was even released for good reason, and I definitely want to find out for myself

   

I’m a bit scared of A Brief History of Seven Killings. It’s long and I’ve heard it’s not easy going. But I’ve also heard that it’s brilliant, and well worth the effort. No idea when I’ll finally get to it, but definitely one I feel deserves a shot.

I’ve tried to read The Secret History. It didn’t grab me, and the subject matter wasn’t enough to keep me going. I had slightly better luck with The Goldfinch, but even that I only got halfway through. I’m not sure if or when I’ll get to this one, but it is one that everyone seems to love!

I’d love to hear from you if you’ve read any of these. What did you think? Are there any I should move up my TBR? Are there any you haven’t read but want 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.