Straight from The Broke and the Bookish is this Tuesdays Top Ten: Authors I Need To Read More Of.
This topic perfectly illustrates some of my frustrations. There are a number of authors of whom I’ve read one or two of their books and are dying to read more, yet where is the time? I just can’t seem to fit them in!
1. Elizabeth Gaskell: Okay, I admit that I’ve already read Cranford —- I just really liked this cover. However, I haven’t read Wives and Daughters, Mary Barton, Sylvia’s Lovers, or The Moorland Cottage.
2. Walter Scott: Who could resist the romance and chivalry of this author’s novels? I did get through part of Ivanhoe as a teen, but I spent so much time looking up and writing down unknown words, that I exhausted myself and didn’t finish. Should I perhaps try a Scott Project, or would I get sick of him before it was done? Is he best read in doses?
3. Winston Churchill: oh yes, non-fiction here I come! The small amount of Churchill’s writings that I’ve read, indicate to me that I’d really enjoy him as an author. His A History of the English Speaking Peoples is daunting though.
4. Alexander Dumas: with a thirst for adventure, who could satisfy more than Dumas? I’ve read his two “biggies” but there are tons of other works just waiting to be discovered by me.
5. Edith Wharton: I just love Edith Wharton! I love her so much that I’m completely perplexed as to why I never seem to be reading any of her novels …..???
6. Georgette Heyer: Everyone has such fun reading Heyer! I’d like some fun too. But somehow I don’t seem to have time for fun. Sigh!
7. The Bloomsbury Group Books: I’ve read Henrietta’s War and it was a hoot. The rest of the books look so entertaining; nice light, feel-good reading.
8. Anthony Trollope: Well, his Barsetshire Chronicles have been such delightful reading that I don’t think that I’ll have a problem carrying on to his The Pallisers series. I know he’s been compared to Dickens but his writing is so much more lively and amusing.
9. G.K. Chesterton: Okay, I’m convinced that this man is brilliant. I just read The Man Who Was Thursday and it blew me away. I’m so looking forward to reading anything by him. And then reading it again. There are so many layers to his books, it will take a lifetime to peel them off.
10. Arthur Ransome: one of my favourite children’s authors. I’ve read the first four books of his Swallows and Amazons series and I’m determined to read the rest. A truly great writer.
11. Alfred John Church: he’s written a ga-zillion books about Ancient Rome, Greece, and Medieval times for children. They’re somewhat dated but very well-written.
12. Christopher Hibbert: one of my favourite writers of historical non-fiction. I haven’t read one of his books for a loooong time ……
13. Charles Dickens & Fyodor Dostoyevsky: For some reason I don’t get a thrill when I think of reading either of their works but on the other hand, I do want to read them. Strange ….
14. William Shakespeare: Oh, my poor Shakespeare Project! Need I say more?
I know I was supposed to stop at 10 but, as you see, I was inspired. I’m going to have to take a different tact for 2015 if I want to read even some of these. This probably means a reduced amount of challenges and perhaps joining less reads in my Goodreads groups. We’ll see what 2015 brings ….
I've been thinking I need to read some Churchill as well! 🙂 I've got his Second World War books, but never got round to them.
Oh, yes. I would love to read Winston Churchill!!! (Ha, I just saw o also mentioned him, too.) I plan to read more history next year, so I will have to put him on my TBR list. Thanks for the suggestion. ; )
And how could I have forgotten Shakespeare???
I have to read more Dostoyevsky, too.
wow, great ambitious plans! a bit off topic: when I'm done with Proust, 3 more volumes to go, I will turn to the Divine Comedy
I love your post, especially your entry about Edith Wharton! I basically just nodded and thought "me too" the entire time I was reading. With the exception of Dostoyevsky maybe; he doesn't tempt me at all.
Argh, how could I have forgotten his WWII books …..? Well, perhaps I didn't forget them, I just conveniently put them out of my mind. At least I don't own them, whereas I have A History of the English Speaking Peoples staring at me from my bookshelf as I type. Those first, I think.
Ah, Mr. Churchill is a popular guy! Now the question is, do people actually read him or just want to read him? 😉
Don't be like me! Don't forget Shakespeare!
Remind me again, why do we need to read more Dostoyevsky?
Oh, wow! You only have 3 more volumes of Proust! I am completely impressed! I haven't even begun Swann's Way yet but it is on my Classics Club list so I'll get to it. I have read The Divine Comedy …… loved it! Definitely a book I'll re-read.
Really?! Perhaps we should do a buddy read of Wharton sometime, or at the very least, bug each other at regular intervals to read her.
I still don't know why I want to read Dostoyevsky. In fact, I'm not sure I do, but for some reason I need to. Perhaps it will become clearer to me as I read another book or two of his. So far I've only read The Idiot. I need to read his two other masterpieces and then maybe I'll figure it out! 🙂
What a great list! Edith Wharton and Walter Scott are on mine too. If you want to read more Dumas I can highly recommend both Twenty Years After (the sequel to The Three Musketeers) and The Black Tulip.
Great list! But can an avid reader ever really be done? Every time one gets through one list, a new list seems to arise! Although, this a good problem to have!
Dickens and Dostoevsky are such big names in the literary world that even if one doesn't have much personal interest in reading them, it still feels like a requirement. Definitely check-out Crime and Punishment, though, great book!
Ah, great minds …….. you know! 😉 Yikes, I forgot that I've read The Black Tulip. I really enjoyed it because it was different from the usual Dumas.
No, one can never be done, but it's best to take the books in small chunks (lists) or your brain will explode. 😉
I probably made a mistake by making The Idiot my first big Dostoevsky novel. I'll probably read Crime and Punishment first, followed by The Brothers Karamazov.
The want is more like a SHOULD or HAVE TO. Your conscience tells you: I SHOULD READ CHURCHILL. (I've read some of his speeches, and I just know this was a great man.)
I plan on an entire Shakespeare year with my kids (maybe a couple more years.)
And we have to read more Dostoyevsky b/c we wrote Crime and Punishment, and it was so good that we expect his other works to be equally good if not better. Does that work? I don't know.
I mean HE wrote C&P, not WE. We certainly did not write C&P, that is for sure.
am pretty solid on Dostoyevsky, Dickens, and Chesterton (love that guy). I just read Ivanhoe a few months ago and want to read more Scott and have been wanting to read some Dumas for a long time. And definitely Edith Wharton. I am two books into Trollope's Paliser series and am looking forward the rest of his many novels. Whew! The more you read the more you realize you still need to read. I need to make my own list like this one. Great and inspiring list.
Thanks for dropping by my blog and delighted to find a new blogger to visit. Great list and it inspires me to try Chesterton and reminds me that Wives and Daughters has been waiting for months as has Ivanhoe……and so it goes. So many books!
I actually suspect that I'm going to like Crime and Punishment and the Brothers K, but we'll see. I still feel like I didn't really get The Idiot.
Oh, and I'm one of the ones who really wants to read Churchill but I wonder if I'm in the minority.
I saw some of your Paliser posts and I'm excited to start the series. It seems like a more mature Trollope, but not too grown-up. 🙂
Yes, lists like this are inspiring for others and good reminds for oneself.
Your blog is great, and anyone who has read Three Men in a Boat must be pretty cool! 😉
So many books, is right! I was somewhat scared to look at other Top Tuesday posts in case they added another group of authors to my wishlist. However I'd much rather have too much to read than too little. I wonder if having too little is possible …….? 🙂
I highly recommend The Brothers Karamazov! And I love top ten lists that have more than ten items!
LOL! I just couldn't stop with ten. And I promise I will eventually read The Brothers Karamazov!
Churchill's 'History of the English Speaking People' is pretty darn good. You can read it in smaller chunks if you'd like, to make it easier. Last year I reread the section on the 16th century so I could get myself up to speed on the English Civil war and the Restoration. It was hard not to read 'just one more chapter and just one more'.
It was hard not to read 'just one more chapter and just one more'.
That's what I'm afraid of! I just pulled out the first volume and it is very readable and interesting.
Actually, I do need to focus a little more on non-fiction next year so Churchill may actually get read!