The Book Tower

Here’s another interesting books meme from a site called Overdue Books.

If, like me, your shelves are overflowing with unread books so much that you’ve started to pile new ones up on the floor, then this could be for you. Before January 30, you must read five books that you already own. That’s books that are just sitting around unread; on shelves, on the floor, in buckets, wherever. For me, it’s a great exercise that’s going to hopefully prevent further Amazon purchases in the run up to Christmas.

But what five books to choose?

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley. Inspired by posts I’ve been reading over at The Bibliosphere. I dug out my copy and discovered a bookmark in place on page 84. I’m determined to see it through this time.

A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens. I can’t work out why I haven’t read this one yet, but there you go.

What Maisie Knew – Henry James. I like James, but for some reason I’ve never progressed from Portrait of a Lady and The Turn of the Screw. Until now.

Walter De la Mare – Ghost Stories
I’ve had this on the shelf for years, and this is the best time of year for ghost stories. It’s kind of haunting me there on the shelf, so at last time to read.

Philip K. Dick – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
One of those books you borrow, never read and never return. So time to read and return. I just have to remember who it belongs to…

I just hope I can do it. Not the reading, which I’m sure I can manage. No, I’m talking about the Amazon thing. I find something exciting about the mundane activity of ordering a book over the internet and then waiting for it. Waiting and then receiving that tell-tale brown box and tearing it open to inspect my latest buys (especially now that my postman has worked out where to leave my parcels when I’m at work).

Comments [3]

The answer to the recent literary meme is The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe.

Incidentally, Radcliffe’s novel is featured in Dr. Peter Boxall’s 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I had a look through the list and after a quick calculation I realised I’ve only read roughly 9% of the books listed. So I went back through the list and found ten books that I’ve promised myself to have read by this time next year:

Everything Is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer
The Tin Drum – Günter Grass
The Bell – Iris Murdoch
In a Glass Darkly – Sheridan Le Fanu
Steppenwolf – Herman Hesse
Quartet – Jean Rhys
At the Mountains of Madness – H.P. Lovecraft
Titus Groan – Mervyn Peake
Lord of the Flies – William Golding (I know!)
The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien (I know, I know!)

I didn’t spend too long on my choices. I think I just need to get reading.

By the way, I wouldn’t say that this is the definitive list, but who can?

Comments [5]

I found this interesting meme on a blog called Cam’s Commentary and then traced it back to Of Books and Bicycles. After that, it was too confusing and I became lost trying to find the meme source.

Read Another Literary Meme [2]

I’ve been thinking for a while about listing my favourite books, and Jack Pickard’s Book Meme has finally inspired me to do it.
Jack’s rules are strict and I’ve tried to stick to them, although I’ve cheekily added one or two categories of my own.

So onto my list…

See my books [2]