The Next Best Book Club discussion

So I was inspired to create this somewhat new topic to be addressed. My friend Margaret, and several of the fellow booklovers on this fabulous online book club (shout out to the awesome Lori!), were the inspirations to this idea, if not just revitalized and thought of slightly differently.

So I am one of the many of you on here that love to read and have quite an obsession with purchasing books, whether they are new, used, old, borrowed, and what other shape they can possibly be in. I have accumulated so many books now that I have so many that have NOT been read that now my TBR pile has turned into a complete TBR bookcase!

My proposal to all of you is to join me in this quest of devouring our piles of TBR read books in a manner that will not be overwhelming!

I know when I look at my bookcase, there's usually SO many that jump out at me that it becomes challenging to decide which one to read next. I had at first a system, if you will, that I would finish one shelf before moving onto the next one. That was not working out too well because my eyes would wander and then I would keep adding more books to the shelves that had more space.

Now I am going to only select 10 books from the entire bookcase and make those the 10 books that I MUST read before I buy and/or read any others.

I'm calling it my Top 10 TBR. I know there have been books impatiently waiting on my bookshelves, yearning to be opened, so I am starting with the ones that I've had the longest and then skipped around a bit.

I have divided this Top 10 list into categories: 5 Contemporary and 5 Classics. (I hate it when people display books they have not read yet, and I'm afraid I'm turning into them, so I want to read my classics ASAP!)

I encourage all of you out there that have daunting piles and mounds of TBR books, but feel too overwhelmed or too anxious to pick the next perfect book to read. You can modify this style anyway you wish, but I just encourage you to stick to your own rules as much as possible.

For instance, I will not let myself "slide" into any other books until all 10 of mine are finished. It may be hard to do, and I may allow one or two mental palate cleansers in there, but no more than two.

I wish to read all of my TBR books so that I can continue adding to my bookcases. I just need to get a handle and a grip for that matter on my books before I turn into one of those "I like my display, but don't know crud about the interiors of these books" people.

Join me, discuss, and post which books of yours you would like to read next on your insanely large pile of TBR books!

My bookshelves in the formal living room house all hardcover, already read books. The books on tables, some stacks on the floor in there, are the same.
The stacks in the bedroom are TBRs.

My Top Ten TBR List;

'2666' Roberto Bolano
'Her Fearful Symmetry' Audrey Niffenegger
'Ulysses' James Joyce
'Angel Time' Anne Rice
'Lolita' Nabokov
'Dom Casmurro' Machado de Assis
'Await Your Reply' Dan Chaon
'House for Mr. Biswas' Naipaul
'Fallen' David Maine
'Let the Right One In; A Novel' John A. Lindqvist


subject to change if necessary :)

Michelle,
This is going to be an interesting thread.
(just so you know, I moved this to the TNBBC List's folder, since it is a list, created by the TNBBC members!)

I cannot really lock myself into any straight top 10 list of TBR's.. becuase, even when I attempt to plan ahead, when it comes time to pick up the next book, my mood or tastes have changed, and I want to read something ELSE!

hahahaha...

I have an entire three shelf bookcase of TBR's AND two large piles on either side of my fireplace!

Here are the books I plan to read within the next few months (that's the best I can do, I swear!)

Moby Dick - Melville (planned for December)
Ulysses - Joyce (planned for Jan)
Eating Animals - Foer (ARC copy, so this month)
The Secret History - Tartt (for this month)

uhm... more to be added soon! After I stare at the rows and rows and try to figure this all out.

Haha, Lori I love it! I love the way that you can't decide, I can totally empathize!

(And thanks for switching the topic location, sorry about posting it incorrectly!)

I just hope that this helps and more and more people are able to actually enjoy their TBR books instead of sweating over them like I do! LOL.

I think my list will be:

5 Classics
The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Jules Verne
Lord of the Flies - William Golding

5 Contemporary
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier (totally did not have time this entire month to read along with the bookclub and I was sad about it!)
The Stand - Stephen King
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Memiors of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
The Weight of Silence - Heather Gudenkauf

I know that some of my fiction ones are also considered classics as well, but this will do for now. LOL.

Wonder if it will change...I just know I need to accomplish them like yesteryear!

Suzanne wrote: "My bookshelves in the formal living room house all hardcover, already read books. The books on tables, some stacks on the floor in there, are the same.
The stacks in the bedroom are TBRs.

My To..."

Suzanne, that's like my dream TBR list! I'd like to hear what you think of Biswas. I've tried it a couple times and haven't been able to get past the first couple of chapters. I think I need someone to tell me that it's good to spur me along.

Michelle, you have some really fun books on your list. I think you'll stick with it. (It's easier to keep your goal if the books fly by.)

Fiona, I loved Persepolis!

That's it. I just wanted to comment. Not joining you all--couldn't make that kind of commitment. ;-) Good luck!

Michelle, thanks for posting this thread! I know just what you are talking about. I will take a look at all my TBR and try to narrow it down and make some kind of commitment! Did you say choose Only 10???? :)

This is a great thread, Michelle. I need this!!

I made myself a bookshelf on here of all the books I own but haven't read. So far, there are 71 books on it. Yikes! Problem is, I haven't added the 6 books I bought in the last week! I've tried everything, making a list tbr in order, not allowing myself to buy anymore until I've read them, making myself read one book I own in between any other books ... nothing works! I'm like Lori, can't lock myself into a list. My mood decides what I read next.

So now I'm just promising myself that I'll read a minimum of 4 books I own each month, one per week, and then I can read whatever else I want. Of course, if I continue to buy 6 per week I'll never catch up! So I'd better stop that now. hee hee

The most recent stack on my end table includes, in no particular order:

The River
The Lost Symbol
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Maybe Baby
Water for Elephants
The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women
From Baghdad With Love
Monday Night Jihad
The Third Jesus
The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency

By my rule, I have until the end of January to finish these, but I joined another challenge that starts in January so I hope to be done by the end of the year.

Ahhhhhhhh!!! :)

I have an out of control TBR list. I try and read in order, I have 2 large piles next to my bed. Though I often get distracted with new books that I find. And I keep keep reorganising the pile, kind of a high fidelity thing. But my list is at this stage...


Any Given Day - Dennis Lehane
The Brightest Star - Marian Keyes
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
Wait Until Spring Bandini - John Fonte
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
Hellraisers - Robert Sellers
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Here be Dragons - Sharon Penman
Beatrix Potter - Linda Lear
Emma - Jane Austen
An Echo of the Bone - Diana Gabaldon
Claudius the God - Robert Graves
Elizabeth I - Anne Somerset
Lady Chatterley's Lover

ect ect ect ect

sorry just relased that was more than 10 whoops :)

Michelle, Memiors of a Geisha is beautiful. I loved it so much more than the movie. Thankfully I read it before seeing the movie. About the same time I read Empress Orchid by Anchee Min which is a goodie, too.

Hrmmm...
Classics
A Christmas Carol
War of the Worlds
Treasure Island
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Time Machine

Modern
Time Traveler's Wife
Storm Front
The Hunger Games
The Historian
A Dirty Job

Not a bad idea...Sometimes the shelves look so daunting. Picking a select few might help me get through some more books. I have been pretty good about not buying books lately, although I have been getting a lot from a friend. Although I think I will just try to stick to a general ten book list

TBR:
The Tale of Genji
Thief of Lives
Dune
Le Morte d'Arthur (vol. 1 of 2)
Moll Flanders
Brave New World
The Adventures of Augie March
Varney The Vampire
Sweeney Todd
Vampire Hunter D: Pilgrimage of the Sacred and Profane

UPDATE: (I knew this would happen, no matter how together I pretend that I am!!!)

'Scarpetta' by Patricia Cornwell
'Ella Minnow Pea' by Mark Dunn
'Oryx and Crake' Margaret Atwood

GOOD LUCK!!! ♥

Kaliki wrote: "This is a great thread, Michelle. I need this!!

I made myself a bookshelf on here of all the books I own but haven't read. So far, there are 71 books on it. Yikes! Problem is, I haven't added the ..."

I think I'm going to borrow Kaliki's idea for my own TBR pile. One TBR book per week. I can't help but get more books from the library, as I take my daughter there a couple of times a week and the endless shelves of books are right there to sign their siren songs to me.

I used to think I was the only person who would compulsively buy books and then not read them for long stretches of time. It's a relief to see that's not true.

So, my TBR list for the near future:
Farnham's Freehold -- Robert A. Heinlein
The Grapes of Wrath -- John Steinbeck
Evolution -- Stephen Baxter
Colonization: Aftershocks -- Harry Turtledove
Split Infinity -- Piers Anthony
The Cardboard Universe -- Christopher Miller
Duma Key -- Stephen King
City -- Clifford Simak
Hominids -- Robert J. Sawyer
The White Gryphon -- Mercedes Lackey

Not necessarily in this order. But whenever I finish one, I will add one to replace it.

Grrrr my list has changed again, I have added the new Michael Chabon, well because it is the new MC, and also I found a bio on William Wilberforce, cool name and leading anti slavist politician. And I might have to add a Sarah Waters in there as well.

S**T!!!

'Beautiful Creatures' by Kami Garcia
'Strength in What Remains' by Tracey Kidder
'The City and The City' by China Mieville

Thanks Michelle for pointing me to this thread. I have so many books on my TBR list that I was having a very hard time figuring out what to read next, and it doesn't help that I keep buying more books..so I sat down and picked 10 books from my list and decided that I can't bring any more books into the house until I finish these:

1) Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
2) Shuttler Island - Dennis Lehane
3) Something Missing - Matthew Dicks
4) The 13th Tale - Diane Setterfield
5) The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
6) Best Friends Forever - Jennifer Weiner
7) The Angel's Game - Carlos Zafon
8) Last Night in Montreal - Emily St. John Mandel
9) Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
10) Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah

Hi Michelle!

Great idea my friend!

My list is a bit different than your suggestion though so I hope that's okay. A couple of weeks ago, I made a list of my TBR's that have been waiting far too long for me to read. My list is made up of the top five fiction and top five nonfiction (based on length of time sitting on my shelf) that deserve my attention!

Here's my list:

Fiction:

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Wreckage by Michael Crummey
Infinite Jest A Novel by David Foster Wallace

Nonfiction:

A Great Idea at the Time The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books by Alex Beam
Nickel and Dimed On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Geography of Bliss One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner
Letters of E. B. White, Revised Edition by E. B. White
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
Truth & Beauty A Friendship by Ann Patchett

Shona - No problem! I hope it helps, you have a great list going! Especially with Shutter Island! I loved that book!

Jennifer! YAY!! I'm glad you posted something on here! And whatever floats your boat, or I guess I should say, helps you turn a page, to getting your long lost TBR's read! LOL. Enjoy!!

Shona wrote: "Thanks Michelle for pointing me to this thread. I have so many books on my TBR list that I was having a very hard time figuring out what to read next, and it doesn't help that I keep buying more b..."

Shona, I really enjoyed Best Friends Forever, and it was a fast read, if that helps!

Suzanne wrote: "UPDATE: (I knew this would happen, no matter how together I pretend that I am!!!)

'Scarpetta' by Patricia Cornwell
'Ella Minnow Pea' by Mark Dunn
'Oryx and Crake' Margaret Atwood"

Suzanne, have you read Scarpetta yet? I was just looking at it this weekend, but stopped myself from buying it (only because it was full-price hardcover - otherwise it would be in my hot little hands this instant!) Let me know what you think.

Suzanne wrote: "S**T!!!

'Beautiful Creatures' by Kami Garcia
'Strength in What Remains' by Tracey Kidder
'The City and The City' by China Mieville"

LOL!!

Could someone please list some books that just SUCK? Everytime I visit this thread ... or most of the others, I just add to my list. NOT HELPING!!

lol I know, my TBR is bulging at the seems. I am always worried about naming books that are just terrible mainly because someone is going to come out and say how much they love twilight or the da vinci code,(and yes have read both to judge) and I feel really bad about dissing the book. Since it is their favourites and found something to like :)

No Luck, cannot find the 'This Thread Sucks' thread either!!!

Kaliki wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "UPDATE: (I knew this would happen, no matter how together I pretend that I am!!!)

'Scarpetta' by Patricia Cornwell
'Ella Minnow Pea' by Mark Dunn
'Oryx and Crake' Margaret Atwo..."


I have read all but 'Scarpetta' and am afraid I will capitulate to the hardcover price. I have it in my 'cart' on Amazon, and they tell you when the price is lowest so that you can STRIKE!!!

It's still expensive, so I try to hold off ....
(picture her trying ... try...try...)

Try Suzanne try! (and I will too!)

And Lindsay, you're totally right. As soon as someone says a books sucks, someone else loves it and I end up adding it to my list anyway!

lol me too, I would be completely put back into my place if someone list all the faults of say Jane Eyre or To Kill a Mockingbird which I am sure they are many.

Ok - I'm making progress - just finished Skeletons at the Feast and now am on to Shutter Island - so my list is slowly shrinking. And although I was tempted and went online to betterworld books, Amazon and Borders - I didn't order anything!!!
I have left:

2) Shuttler Island - Dennis Lehane
3) Something Missing - Matthew Dicks
4) The 13th Tale - Diane Setterfield
5) The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
6) Best Friends Forever - Jennifer Weiner
7) The Angel's Game - Carlos Zafon
8) Last Night in Montreal - Emily St. John Mandel
9) Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
10) Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah

Lindsay wrote: "lol I know, my TBR is bulging at the seems. I am always worried about naming books that are just terrible mainly because someone is going to come out and say how much they love twilight or the da ..."

Glad to know that someonelse did not like "Twilight." It takes all kinds of people to make a unique world!

Brenda wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "lol I know, my TBR is bulging at the seems. I am always worried about naming books that are just terrible mainly because someone is going to come out and say how much they love twi..."

Ditto

I'm going to find this really hard to stick to, as I like to let my mood dictate my next selection. But, I have some books that have been sitting on my sheleves for a while and I'm going on vacation in about a week anyway, so I really do have to kind of guess at what I'm going to want to read. So my list, in no particular order, is:

1) I Know This Much Is True - Wally Lamb
2) The Black Dahlia - James Ellroy
3) Grundish & Askew - Lance Carbuncle
4) A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
5) The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
6) The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
7) The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
8) The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly
9) Drop City - T.C. Boyle
10) Dry - Augusten Burroughs

*I'm knocking off a good number, but I'm adding just as many. :/ And I've read several books from my own-to-read pile not on this list. But at least I'm knocking them out!

This is such a great idea! Hopefully I can stick with this plan, usually I'm too much of a bookslut. I'm horrible at challenges since some other unplanned book always catches my eye. But after some thinking, here's my list:

1. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
2. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
3. 2666 by Roberto Bolano
4. Death by Zamboni by David David Katzman
5. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clarke
6. Fallen by David Maine
7. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
8. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
9. Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
10. The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner

*Edited...again

Ok I have to stick to this list, I think my reading maybe getting slightly out of hand, well the buying part anyway.

'The Woman in White' - Wilkie Collins
'Hell Raisers' - Robert Sellers
'I Captured the Castle' Dodie Smith
'Manhood for Amateurs' Michael Chabon
'Wuthering Heights' Emily Bronte
'Brideshead Revisited' - Evelyn Waugh
'King Charles II' - Antonia Fraser
'The Mists of Avalon' - Marion Zimmer Bradley
'Northanger Abbey' - Jane Austen'
'The Bandini Quartet' - John Fante

Ok see how that goes! Though I have a copy of bio of Virginia Woolf sitting there at work begging to be read, sigh. Books are Crack.

This sounds fun & funny. I've never been able to participate in a challenge for this very reason. My picks are subject to change on a whim, because I usually decide by mood (which changes so very quickly). However these 10 have been popping up in my mind again & again over the past few months. In random order:

1. Around the World in Eighty Days- Jules Verne
2. Chocolat- Joanne Harris
3. More Tales of the City- Armistead Maupin
4. Independent People- Halldor Laxness
5. The Angel's Game- Carlos Ruiz Zafon
6. Tithe- Holly Black
7. The Tesseract- Alex Garland
8. Invisible Cities- Italo Calvino
9. My Heart's in the Lowlands- Liz Curtis Higgs
10. Voyage of the Turtle- Carl Safina

Now I'm going to go back over everyone's lists so I can add more to my TBR list!

Oh man, this has been a LOT harder than I thought!

I have to admit that I have been cheating...and having a lot more mental palate cleansers than I normally do, but I think that that's because those books are from the library, and I only have them for a limited time...Excuses, excuses I know!

But I am now down to just these:

Classics
The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Jules Verne


Contemporary
The Stand - Stephen King
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Memiors of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
The Weight of Silence - Heather Gudenkauf

Lori wrote: "Michelle,
This is going to be an interesting thread.
(just so you know, I moved this to the TNBBC List's folder, since it is a list, created by the TNBBC members!)

I cannot really lock mysel..."

Ohhh, I didn't know you were planning Moby Dick for December! I might just have to jump in on that one too Damn it! My top 10 has changed already! :)

LOL!! Ohhhh, we're all kindred spirits here, aren't we?

That's one thing you could call us!!! hehehe!

My top 10 in no particular order are:

1776
THE KITE RUNNER
THE TIME TRAVELLER'S WIFE
LIFE OF PI
WICKED
THE LOVELY BONES
THE DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD
BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY
ATONEMENT
ON BEAUTY

My goal was to finish my top 10 TBR list before bring anymore books into the house and so far I have been so good! I even was in a bookstore yesterday and walked out with only a calendar (as a Christmas present for my daughter). I'm so excited to get through my list so I can go pick out some more books :) This is what I have left:

3) Something Missing - Matthew Dicks
4) The 13th Tale - Diane Setterfield
5) The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
6) Best Friends Forever - Jennifer Weiner
7) The Angel's Game - Carlos Zafon
8) Last Night in Montreal - Emily St. John Mandel
9) Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
10) Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah

Catamorandi wrote: "My top 10 in no particular order are:

1776
THE KITE RUNNER
THE TIME TRAVELLER'S WIFE
LIFE OF PI
WICKED
THE LOVELY BONES
THE DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD
BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY
A..."

Oh Cat - you have some great ones on your list. I really enjoyed The Lovely Bones, The Kite Runner and Bridget Jones's Diary.

Catamorandi wrote: "My top 10 in no particular order are:

1776
THE KITE RUNNER
THE TIME TRAVELLER'S WIFE
LIFE OF PI
WICKED
THE LOVELY BONES
THE DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD
BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY
A..."

Ohhh, this could be my list of TB re-reads!! GREAT list ~ enjoy!

I'm doing well - still working on my Top 10 TBR before buying or borrowing any more books. I'm halfway through now:

1) Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian - READ
2) Shuttler Island - Dennis Lehane - READ
3) Something Missing - Matthew Dicks - READ
4) The 13th Tale - Diane Setterfield - READ
5) The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood - UP NEXT
6) Best Friends Forever - Jennifer Weiner
7) The Angel's Game - Carlos Zafon
8) Last Night in Montreal - Emily St. John Mandel
9) Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
10) Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah - READ

Shona, a friend of mine sent me a copy of Firefly Lane to read. How did you like it? I'm not sure it's my kind of book, so I haven't picked it off the shelf yet.

I enjoyed 13 Tale...hope you did as well.

Lisa wrote: "Shona, a friend of mine sent me a copy of Firefly Lane to read. How did you like it? I'm not sure it's my kind of book, so I haven't picked it off the shelf yet.

I enjoyed 13 Tale...hope you did..."


Lisa,
I was holding off on reading Firefly Lane - I've had it forever because I didn't think it was my kind of book either, but I actually did like it. It was predictable - in fact it was very very similar to that movie Beaches. But it was a worthwhile read and at one point it actually had me sobbing - any book that can produce that much emotion in me is worth reading.
Also, I really liked The Thirteenth Tale - great story!

This was a difficult list to put together after choosing the first four! I have so many on my TBR bookcase, I've been trying to read through the books borrowed from my mom. Here we go:

1. The Alienist - Caleb Carr
2. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
3. Big Cherry Holler - Adriana Trigiani
4. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
5. I Know this Much is True - Wally Lamb
6. Love and Freindship - Jane Austen
7. The Pledge - Rob Kean
8. The Purification Ceremony - Mark T. Sullivan
9. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Katherine Howe
10. The Angel’s Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Jessica wrote: "Lori wrote: "Michelle,
This is going to be an interesting thread.
(just so you know, I moved this to the TNBBC List's folder, since it is a list, created by the TNBBC members!)

I cannot real..."

Hey, I just saw this (i know, i know, bad moderator!)
A couple of my GR friends are going to attempt this monster... I still havent decided if I can make time for it, with all the review copies I am expecting... I will let you know tho :)

Lori wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Lori wrote: "Michelle,
This is going to be an interesting thread.
(just so you know, I moved this to the TNBBC List's folder, since it is a list, created by the TNBBC members!)
..."

Let me know too - if you guys do it, I'm in!

Sounds good. If I cant get to it in December it will def be something I attempt at some point in the new year!