Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Want to Re-Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

I am having this problem a lot lately. With such a large TBR pile, I don’t take nearly enough time to go back and re-read old favourites. I feel as if I have so many awesome books that I have yet to read.  Every now and then, it’s good to slow down and take a step back, because the re-reading experience is completely different from the first time around. Here are my top 10, in no particular order:

 

Robin Hobb – Everything

I was originally only going to say the Farseer Trilogy, but I love all her work.  Hobb is my favourite author, and I would love nothing less than to read about Fitz again. I’m actually surprised that I haven’t read this for quite a few years, everything is still so vivid.

George R.R. Martin – A Song of Ice and Fire

I remember being so confused on the first read, it would be very interesting to go back and read the published books again. I think this will probably happen when the 6th is released.

Orson Scott Card – The Ender Saga

Especially the Shadow Series.  I read them way back in high school, and they definitely merit another go.

Lynn Flewelling – The Nightrunner Series

Only the first two, since I want to roam around with Seregil and Alec again.

Steven Erikson – Malazan Book of the Fallen

Yes, I’m only on the 4th book, but I already know that I want to re-read these. When I get asked those desert island questions, I always answer that I would bring Erikson’s novels to keep me occupied for the rest of my life.

J.R.R. Tolkien – The Silmarillion

It’s been way too long, and I need to put my Tolkien shelf to good use again.

Patrick Rothfuss – The Kingkiller Chronicle

Kvothe’s story is remarkable, and I will read the first two again just before the final installment is published.

Eric Nylund – Halo: First Strike

This one is a blast from the past. A fun novel that’s sure to bring back memories of my Halo glory days and all the fun times I had with HWM.

J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter

With the last movie coming out this summer, I had the biggest urge to re-live my childhood through the Harry Potter books. This one is going to be happening soon. <3 Potter

Brian Jacques – Redwall

This one should be interesting. I read all the Redwall books as a kid, and loved them. Will it be the same pleasant experience reading children’s books when I’m no longer a kid?

Top Ten Tuesday – Top 10 books I feel as though everyone has read but me

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

This week’s topic reminds me of a quote by Mark Twain where he defined classics as: “something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”  Now, not all of these books are classics, but I feel as if I know so much about them already that I might as well have read them.  A preface: I’m not much on reading books that everyone else has read; I’ve given up on that long ago.  I figure that my reading list is so long already, I’ll spend my time with books I enjoy, not those I struggle to read.

Without further ado, and in no particular order, my top ten books I feel as though everyone has read but me:

1. William Shakespeare – A Midsummer Night’s Dream

I was put into a creative writing class in grade 9, and read Much Adoe About Nothing while the rest of the school read this book. Even my friends from other schools studied this as the Shakespeare play that year.  I feel Bard-deprived

2. Mark Twain – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

I’ll give this one credit, I at least began reading it as a child.  Never finished, and it has haunted me every since.

3. Christopher Paolini – Eragon

For such a big fantasy buff, you’d think I would have surely read this in my early years.  Nope.  I heard I’m not missing much though.

4. Robert Jordan – The Wheel of Time

The father of fantasy (aside from The Professor himself of course).  As soon as I’m done with Erikson’s Malazan novels, I am determined to read this classic series.  It helps that it’s already sitting on my bookshelf in its entirety right?

5. Khaled Hosseini – The Kite Runner

I have read A Thousand Splendid Suns, even though I encountered both books in a shop in Spain.

6. Stieg Larsson – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

One of those books where for the longest time, it seemed that everyone had decided to start reading again, and they had all chosen this book.  I find judgemental bookseller ostrich meme about this hilarious.

7. Harper Lee – To Kill A Mockingbird

Another high school book, but I’m pretty sure that everyone in my generation and the previous has read this one.  Did I miss that class?

8. Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice

This just might be my most grievous offence.  Honestly, I tried once.  But it was in grade 6, and advanced class or no, I couldn’t handle it.  For how short it is, I really need to get down one weekend and finally understand all of the freakin’ references.

9. Joseph Heller – Catch 22

Not much to say here.  Famous book, haven’t read it.

10. Charles Dickens – David Copperfield

One of the finest novels by one of the most outstanding writers in history.  I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’ve never read anything by Dickens.

Summer Reading List

When my friend asked me for a few books to read this summer, I was more than happy to oblige!  Here are some of my favourites from my personal library.

Patrick Rothfuss – The Name of the Wind

Rothfuss knows how to tell a compelling story, simple as that.  Follow the extraordinary life of Kvothe, who explains it best in his own words:

My name is Kvothe.  I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

Read my full review here

Robin Hobb – Assassin’s Apprentice

Considered by many to be among the upper echolons of epic fantasy writers, the title is deserved as Robin Hobb’s characterisation will blow you out of the water with protagonists that jump out of the page in vivid realization.  This is my favourite trilogy from my favourite author.

Read my full review here

Brent Weeks – The Way of Shadows

For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art – and he is the city’s most accomplished artist.  For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he’s grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly – and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint. But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins’ world of dangerous politics and strange magics – and cultivate a flair for death.

The fast-paced action, combined with humour and excellent prose makes Brent Weeks’s thrilling debut novel a must-read this summer!

Orson Scott Card – Ender’s Game

This timeless classic is short, but powerful. Follow Ender as he trains in Battle School to defend the galaxy from an invading species. Continue with the Shadow series or the Ender saga if you can’t get enough of this boy genius.

Dan Carlin – Hardcore History

Okay, so this isn’t really a book, but I had to include it here.  Dan Carlin’s episodes about the Eastern Front in WWII and the fall of the Roman Republic are both informative, and entertaining.  Listen to this while you’re taking the bus, going for a run, or just chilling in bed.  You won’t be disappointed.

Eric Nylund – Halo: The Fall of Reach

Of all the video-game-to-novel books out there, this one is my favourite.  Jump right in to how Master Chief was selected and trained to be a Spartan, and gain some depth on the immensly popular franchise.

Rolf Potts – Vagabonding

Summertime is when a lot of people enjoy travelling (myself included!), and Rolf Potts will convince and inspire you that long-term travel is both realistic and possible.

Thomas L. Friedman – Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Thomas Friedman brings big issues to light with an easy-to-read and engaging style born from his extensive journalism background.  Global warming is here to stay, and this book is a fantastic read for anyone living in the 21st century.  So basically everyone.