stargazer

I Should Have Read That Book

I could write posts about books I should have liked to read, but haven’t from now on to eternity. Don’t worry, I won’t. But I saw this tag over at Theresa Smith Writes and thought it would be fun to do. Originally created by BooksNest.co.uk.

A book that a certain friend is always telling you to read

My friends don’t normally recommend books to me, unless I ask. But Susan Cain’s Quiet about introverts has often popped up in conversations. Also, it turned out, that close to 90% of my quantum physics class have read it. Now the time of the introverts has truly arrived, but I’m sure we all wished that it hadn’t.

A book that’s been on your TBR forever and yet you still haven’t read it

Believe it or not, I don’t have a TBR. Instead, I’ve selected a book I have owned forever and still haven’t read. Plato’s philosophical masterpiece The Republic has been mentioned as one of the books, which changed the world. When acquiring it ages ago, I probably wasn’t ready for it, but I am willing to try again.

A book in a series you’ve started, but haven’t got around to finishing yet

I rarely follow a series to the bitter end, but if a series really stands out, I tend to binge read my way through it. Rivers of London is a recent favourite and it is only a matter of time before I pick up the latest instalment, False Value. The books are fun in a crazy, fast-paced and sometimes geeky way, London plays a major role and I just adore the characters.

A classic you’ve always liked the sound of, but have never actually read

There are mountains of classics, I would like to read. If I have to pick one, I’ll go with Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy. Utter misery in Victorian times written in a somewhat pompous language. Intriguing, huh?

 

A popular book that it seems everyone but you has read

Generally, I am good at resisting temptation, when it comes to popular books. A lot of them, including Daisy Jones & The Six and Where the Crawdads Sing, just don’t appeal. Becoming, the memoirs from the former First Lady, is tempting though. It doesn’t hurt, that the audiobook is narrated by the lady herself.

A book that inspired a film/TV adaptation that you really love, but you just haven’t read it yet

Before I started blogging, I wasn’t aware of the inspiration for Hitchcock’s movie The Birds, which I love and often think of, when a battalion of aggressive pigeons fly straight towards my face at Trafalgar Square (why do they do that??) Anyway, having been put right about this lack in my cultural education, I am now keen to read Daphne du Maurier’s original story.

A book you see all over Instagram but haven’t picked up yet:

Besides from not having a TBR, I am not on social media either. Shocking, isn’t it. So I have chosen a book, I’ve seen all over the book blogs instead. The Memory Police is a haunting novel about the terrors of state surveillance. The recent attention this novel has got, may be due to its inclusion on the International Booker Prize 2020 longlist.

This turned out to be a great way of reminding myself of some of the many books, I really ought to read. If you are tempted to do the same, feel free to join in with this tag and please remember to link back to BooksNest.co.uk

29 comments

  1. Haha all the extraverts are going crazy ;-). Quiet sounds like an interesting novel, maybe I should read it to get to know myself even better :-). I haven’t read Michelle Obama’s book either but I admit that I’m curious to know why everyone loves it so much. Well I hope you can pick them up some time in the future!

    • I know, there are some situations where the introverts have the edge! Judging from what I hear, Quiet should be a bit of an eye opener for introverts as well as extroverts and I definitely will read it. Some day 😉 . The same goes for Becoming.

  2. Great answers! I may do this tag in future.Quiet is very thought-provoking and I hope you enjoy it and The Memory Police. This March I finally read Jude the Obscure and I have to say I prefer the author’s Tess and Far from the Madding Crowd to it. Some say that Jude the Obscure is too depressing but that was not my concern – I thought there were many needless paragraphs, pages there that needed to be cut – the language is beautiful, but it goes to make its point in a very roundabout way and I must admit I was rather impatient when reading it.

    • Thanks and please join in! Yeah, I’ve heard that about Quiet, not sure why I haven’t read it yet. Hmm, you are not the first who tells me they prefer Far from the Madding Crowd to Jude the Obscure, I wonder if I should attempt that one instead? Anyway, it might be a while before I get to Harding, it seems more tempting with some less depressing reads at the moment.

    • I hope so too! I enjoyed Maurier’s writing in Rebecca even if it there were aspects of the story which didn’t appeal.

  5. I love your choices, as always, Stargazer. I really want to read and listen to Becoming, too. I’ve been “saving” it. I have always been extrovert but as I age I’m becoming more introverted. I’ve learned I may really be an ambivert? 😂 I am totally ok with staying home, but then again, my work is super social, so I think I spend that time at home decompressing!

    • Haha, I love the expression “ambiverts”, I suspect a few of my friends would fall into that category 😀 I don’t think you necessarily have to be an introvert or extrovert, so perhaps the term is quite useful. Absolutely, after a day surrounded by people at work, I need a bit of quiet time as well. But when I work from home (which I do at the moment) I miss having people around me.

  6. Personally I think if you’ve got books on your shelves that you haven’t read, then they are your TBR! You might as well give up and list them on a spreadsheet… 😉 The Birds is excellent and different enough from the movie not to feel like the script. I haven’t read any of your other picks but would like to read Jude someday, though I’m not sure it’s the kind of uplifiting read I’m looking for at the moment!

    • Yeah, mayyyybeee you are right. 😉 I actually wrote down the electronic books I own and haven’t read, but you will be sorry to hear it’s a list of just 9 books where I’m almost through 2 of them. If I add my physical books, there would be a few more. Still can’t compete with your 200+ 🙂 I’m really looking forward to The Birds, whereas I agree that Jude will have to wait a bit!

    • Oh dear, that means I have a very long TBR! Sound logic though! Yes certainly wouldn’t say that Jude is the kind of material we need right now, but would recommend it one day!

  8. Welp. All of these are pretty much on my TBR too haahah I recently got my hands on Plato’s Symposium and need to find a copy of The Republic too. I’ve also seen around The Memory Police but never really knew if I should or not give it a try. I think your interest in it makes me want to definitely give it a try too now. 😛 Thanks for sharing!

    • Sounds good! Let’s see which of us manage The Republic first (might be you 🙂 ) I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the relatively few Japanese authors I’ve read, so generally I’m open to explore more Japanese literature. Will definitely write review if / when I get to The Memory Police.

  9. Would definitely recommend Jude the Obscure – once you get into it it’s beautifully written! Just have to get through the depressing bits! 😅 It is a gripping story though 🙂

    • I am definitely looking forward to Jude the Obscure and normally I don’t mind depressing stories. Having just finished The Beekeeper of Aleppo, I might need something more cheerful though. But will hopefully get to it soon!

  10. I am SHOCKED that you don’t have a TBR!!! You are literally the only reader I know that isn’t haunted by a pile of unread books. 😂 These are great choices – I’ve read Quiet and I loved it. I’m belatedly planning to read one classics author per year, and I’ve decided (just this April) that I’ll be doing Hardy, since I have three of his major works lying around. I’m starting with Far from the Madding Crowd, though I also have Jude the Obscure. I hope you enjoy these books!

    • I know!! Sometimes when reading about all the struggles and all the fun other bloggers have with their TBR, I feel like I’m missing out. But it does give a sense of freedom, not having a TBR 🙂 Hmm, I wonder if Far from the Madding Crowd is a better place to start, lets see what happens…

      • I can imagine how freeing it can be. I sometimes think about my TBR and feel a sense of dread that I can’t possibly read all the books there. For Hardy, I might follow a reading order I found online in order of least depressing to most depressing 😂 According to the thread (https://www.quora.com/Where-should-I-start-with-the-works-of-Thomas-Hardy) it’s this: (1) Far from the Madding Crowd (2) The Return of the Native (3) Tess and (4) Jude. Might read Mayor of Casterbridge after Return. 😀

        • Haha, I love the idea of starting with the least depressing and moving down. At least you know, if the first one is too bleak, you might as well stop there! Thanks for the link 😀

  11. Oh same about the Republic! I love Jude- but it’s terribly depressing. I was surprised by how much I liked becoming. haha love your description of the battalion of aggressive pigeons flying at your face in Trafalgar square- they do that!! I should read the original story too!

    • Yes, I will probably have to wait a bit with Jude – not in the mood for too depressing stories at the moment. These days where I spend a lot of time in my flat, I almost miss the pigeons on Trafalgar Square 😉

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