After my last TBR post, I've made some decent headway. But now I have a whole new list of books that I want to read, from my own bookshelf. Some of these are from my last TBR, others I've bought since. I am slowly, but surely, trying to read every book on my bookshelf. Here is what I currently have left to read:
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Susie Salmon, murdered at age fourteen is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, while back on earth her grief-stricken family is unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy. This phenomenal #1 bestseller is a novel celebrated at once for its narrative artistry, its luminous clarity of emotion, and its astonishing power to lay claim to the hearts of millions of readers around the world.
I've had this on my bookshelf for a few months now. I'm not sure why I haven't picked it up yet, it appeals to me and I have heard raving recommendations. I'm hoping to pick this one up before I go back to university though!
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
After Oliver Twist asks for more food, he has to flee the workhouse for the streets of London. Here he meets the Artful Dodger, who leads him to Fagin and his gang of pickpockets. When a thieving mission goes wrong, Oliver narrowly avoids prison and finds himself in the care of kind Mr. Brownlow. But Fagin and the brutal Bill Sikes go in search of the young orphan, determined to drag him back...
I have read this book before. I know exactly what happens. But I *really* want to read it again, now that I'm older and perhaps more appreciative of the Classics.
See How They Lie by Sue Wallman
Mae's grown up at Hummingbird Creek, an elite wellness retreat where teens get the help they need from Mae's psychiatrist father. The Creek monitors every aspect of residents' daily life for optimal health and well-being, and everyone must follow strict rules. But after Mae is caught breaking the rules, she starts to question everything about how she lives. And at the Creek, asking questions can be danergous.
I picked this book at the beginning of the summer. I saw it in Tesco but held off buying it, and by luck found it in a charity store for pennies of the original price. Winning.
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed... On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives at a grand house in Amsterdam to begin her new life as the wife of wealthy merchant Johannes Brandt. Though curiously distant, he presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations ring eerily true. As Nella uncovers the screts of her new household she realises the escalating dangers they face. the miniaturists seems to hold their fate in her hands - but does she plan to save or destroy them?
I've had this book for so long, I'm starting to forget what my bookshelf was like before buying this book. I want to read it. But I never pick it up. I almost bought another book by Jessie Burton, but stopped myself after remembering how I still haven't picked up The Miniaturist!
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
Maud is forgetful. She mades a cup of tea and doesn't remember drinking it. She goes to the shops and forgets why she went. Sometimes her home is unrecognisable - or her daughter Helen seems a total stranger. But there's one thing Maud is sure of: her friend Elizabeth is missing. The note in her pocket tells her so. And no matter who tells her to stop going on about it, to leave it alone, to shut up, Maud will get to the bottom of it. Because somewhere in maud's damaged mind lies the answer to an unsolved seventy-year-old mystery. One everyone has forgotten about. Everyone, except Maud...
I bought this book 3 summer ago, I started to read it, and then forgot the book existed. I keep meaning to pick it back up. Hopefully I will, before the year is out.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Clary Fray is seeing things: vampires in Brooklyn and werewolves in Manhattan. Irresistibly drawn to the Shadowhunters, a secret group of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City - and the dangers of forbidden love.
I'm so behind with this book and series. I keep seeing other book posts talking about books further along in the series! I've not been drawn to vampires/werewolves/etc in books, but so many people speak about The Immortal Instrument series.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactir - these form a series of events that changes the orphaned Pip's life forever, and he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman. Dicken's hautning late novel depcts Pip's education and development through adversuty as he discovers the true nature of his 'great expectations'.A classic that I'm yet to read.
Emma by Jane Austen
Emma Woodhouse 'had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her'. but during the course of this, the wisest and most disturbing of Jane Austen's novels, she at last reaps her share of the world's vexations, with consequences both comic and surprising. In this perfect comedy of manners the heroine learns to come to terms with the reality of oter people, and with her own erring nature, but in the process the small town of Highbury is convulsed by Emma's ill-judged schemes.
Admittedly I bought this on a whim one day, from a charity store. If I don't read the classics on this list this year, I might, emphasis on the might, make next year the year of the classics for myself.
According to Yes by Dawn French
Manhattan's wealthy Upper east Side has its own rigid code of behaviour.One strictly adhered to by the Wilder-Bingham family. Emotional displays - unacceptable. Unruly behaviour - definately not welcome. Fun - no thanks. So when Rosie Kitto, an eccentric primary school teacher from England, bounces into this fortress of restrint with a heart as big as the city, the family quickly disocvers that she hasn't read the rule book. After a lifetime of saying no, what happens when everyone starts saying... yes?
I have NEVER read any of Dawn French's novels. I know she hasn't written a fair few at this point, so hopefully this will be good and will lead me onto wanting to read the others.
Salmon Fishing In The Yemen by Paul Torday
When he is asked to become involved in a project to create a salmon river in the highlands of the Yemen, fisheries scientist Dr Alfred Jones rejecrs the idea as absurd. But the proposal catches the yee of severel senior British politicians. And so Fred finds himself forced to set aside his research and instead figure out how to fly ten thousand salmon to a desert country - and persuade them to swim there... As he embarks on an extraordinary journey of faith, and diffident Dr Jones will discover a sense of belief, and a capacity for love, that surprises himself, and all who know him.
I'm not sure when I bought this book, but it's on my bookshelf and eventually I will read it!
Finally,
The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff
It starts with a question, a simple favour asked by a wife of her husband while both are painting in their studio, setting off a transformation neither can anticipate. Uniting fact and fiction into an original romantic vision, The Danish Girl eloquently portrays the unique intimacy that defines every marriage and the remarkable story of Lili Elbe, a pioneer in transgender history, and the woman torn between loyalty to her marriage and her own ambitions and desires.
I lent this book to my Mum almost a year ago, completely forgot I had even owned. Until the other day when it was returned to me. I've held off watching the film, with the intention to read the book. Hopefully, it will happen soon!
- K.B
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