Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Just HAD To Buy… but are still sitting on my bookshelf

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers over at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week is a freebie week which means I can choose any topic that from the past. I’ve decided to do the top ten books that I had to buy but are still waiting for me to read them…

I’m terrible at buying books. If I perceive that I’m getting a bargain then I’m at the register already pulling out my credit card. Internet shopping is even worse! So many books are so many great prices…

So here are just a few of the books I’ve bought a while ago and still haven’t started reading them.

1. The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini

I bought a boxed set of the first three of these books. They’re absolutely gorgeous and after watching the film and enjoying it I couldn’t help myself but buy the books so I could see what happens next…

2. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

I adore Melina Marchetta’s books. And after reading all of her YA contemporary novels I knew I had to run out and sample her writing of a fantasy novel… so now it sits unread on my bookshelves…

3. The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay by Rebecca Sparrow

My high school held a literature festival every year and when I was in year 12, Rebecca Sparrow was one of the authors that came. I have to admit that I was a bit in awe of her. She was a newspaper journalist and had just written her first book – The Girl Most Likely and she seemed so professional and like she had it all together. I bought her first book right away, read it overnight (luckily during the festival the teachers never set any homework as most people didn’t turn up to class for those few days) and returned to school the next day – tired but happy. I loved the book. It was funny. And I loved the characters.

The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay came out a few years later but books weren’t a priority by then. I finally got my hands on a copy and was so excited… but haven’t gotten around to reading it…

4. Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

I love Vampires. I also love the show Gossip Girl.

This books sounds like it’s a little of both and hence the reason why I bought it. It didn’t hurt that it came in a boxed set with two other books that I wanted to read. So why is it sitting on my shelf collecting dust? I have no idea… but it’s probably got something to do with the main character’s name. Schuyler… I don’t even know how to properly pronounce that..

5. Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I’ve heard so much about this one. So I couldn’t help myself but buy it. But then… invasion of the angels happened. It felt like every book I was reading was about an angel. There was only so much I could take and this book got shelved for another day.

6. Looking for Alaska by John Green

There are a lot of people I know who adore John Green and worship his books. I’ve never read one. So I decided it was about time that I jump in and experience his books for myself. “Which one should I read first?” I asked my friends who love John Green so much that they consider themselves to be fellow NerdFighters. I couldn’t get a straight answer. Apparently they are all amazing. So I bought Looking for Alaska because I found a copy for less than ten dollars.

And then – as often seems to happen with me – I got distracted. Probably by something shiny or by a books with vampires… Either way this is how I ended up with a copy that’s now just sitting and looking pretty on my bookshelves.

7. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I have a secret.

I don’t like Neil Gaiman books.

But I wanted to be the kind of person who does. So I bought Coraline in the hope that it will turn my previous experiences around and I too can be one of those people who adore his work.

Somehow, when it’s an author I either don’t like or am nervous to read for whatever reason, I just never seem to make the time to read their books… even when I’ve bought them… Onto the bookshelves with Coraline!

8. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I like knowing where pop-culture references come from. Mainly just so I know how to use the properly but also because when you read so much and watch so much TV and the you see the same thing so often – it sort of feels like if you haven’t experienced where the original story came from that you’re missing out.

It’s like that for me and Lord of the Flies. 

One day I’ll get around to reading it.. and when I do I won’t have to go far to find a copy. There’s one gracing the shelves of my bookcase.

9. Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

This is probably the book that I’ve owned the longest and still haven’t read. My mother bought it for me back when I was in primary school. I was so excited.

Then I started reading it. And I couldn’t have been more bored. So I put it down somewhere and never picked it up again. Not even after watching the feature films and developing a somewhat severe crush on Aragorn…

But someday. Maybe I’ll try to tackle the Hobbit and the LOtR before the Hobbit part 1 comes out at the end of this year…

10. Watership Down by Richard Adams

With the exception of my brother, my family aren’t one that reads. And yet everyone except for me has read this book and loved it. So I bought a copy second-hand for less than a dollar and was all set to start reading it. Not sure why I never got there…

If I had to guess it’s probably because I’m slightly intimidated. I don’t want to be let down by it and if I don’t read it then it can never disappoint me. But that’s a bit silly and I just need to make some time to read it.

Rabbits are kind of awesome.

So there’s my list for the week 🙂

It’s the most typing I’ve done in three weeks… Family stuff and illness have gotten the best of me lately but I’m back and ready to post some more reviews and other bookish tidbits 🙂

19 Comments

    • Ooohh… that’s a good idea. I don’t audiobook very much at all but it would help me be able to “read” all the books I want to read whilst I’m in the car!

  1. I suggest you read Lord of the Flies first, then John Green (I’ve only read TFIOS, but I assume Looking for Alaska is excellent too), and then some of the others.
    Haven’t read LoTR yet either… but then, I haven’t even watched the movies!
    My TTT 🙂

  2. Looking For Alaska is the only John Green book I’ve read, and it was really good. I’ll also say that as a non-fan of books about angels, I really did enjoy Hush, Hush.

    This was a great idea for a list! Obsessive Book Buying should probably be a recognized disorder, not that I really see it as a problem.

    • IT’s probably lumped in along with other shopaholic tendencies… my only problem is books. Everything else – I can pass it up even when I see incredible bargains. Just not books.

      Thanks for stopping by.

  3. If you want to warm up on J.R.R. Tolkien, try The Hobbit before Lord of the Rings. It’s a lot easier to get into, and goes much faster. We’re reading it right now with our kids (6 and 3) and while the 3-year-old tends to wander off, it’s holding the 6-year-old’s attention in a way I doubt LOTR would.

    And I just read my first John Green book last week (Fault in Our Stars) and it is fabulous, so I hope you’re in for a treat with Looking for Alaska.

    Thanks for stopping by my SYTYCD-inspired TTT!

    • I’ll definitely consider visiting the Hobbit before I attempt LotR.

      And another fan of John Green! I really think that I’m missing out. I’ve just decided to put Looking for Alaska to the top of my to-read list.

      thanks 🙂

    • I’ll have to reconsider reading Coraline. I do love quick books. They make me feel like I’ve accomplished something in a short space of time. Thanks 🙂

  4. I do that all the time too! I have so many stacks of books I “needed” and then something else interesting comes along and I forget about it 🙁 Good luck catching up!! 🙂

  5. This is one of my worst guilty pleasures! Whenever I see a book that I want my brain just stops working! A book that’s been sitting on my slef forever is Tempest by Julie Cross – I so want to read it but I can’t seem to get to it :/

    • On one hand it’s fantastic that there are so many new books being released every day…

      On the other hand it means that I know I’ll never be able to make the time to read all the books I want to read…

    • Oh my… I’m only half way though the second House of Night series and I can already understand what you mean. I’m not loving them but I have to know what’s going to happen.

      You say Hush Hush is another one of those series? Now you’ve got me curious 😛

  6. I know exactly what you mean about Lord of the Rings. I ADORE the movies and love the story but I don’t like the books. I girded it’s just something about Tolkien’s writing style that doesn’t draw me in. I actually quite liked The Hobbit but it’s written much differently.

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