# Books You Haven't Read Yet but Should ...



## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Penguin asked this question on twitter:  "So who is up for admitting what books they should have read by now? #abouttimeiread".  

Now I'm sure that's partially about drumming up business ... but it's still a fascinating question that I'm sure will be bugging me for some time.  So, I'll ask it - with some additional caveats - here to see what we call come up with.

Not counting books you haven't bought due to cost or the inability to find an ecopy, what books do you feel you should have read by now but haven't?  What books have you been intending to read but never get around to?


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## triciatypes (Mar 25, 2011)

I write and read YA, so I try to keep my finger on the pulse of what's going on in that arena. Through all of the boards and blogs _Wither_ by Lauren DeStefano seems like a really interesting premise and has everyone fangirling. Strong, kick ass female leads are also biggies for me so Suzanne Collin's _The Hunger Games_ are also on my to-read list. Has anybody read either one of these? Are they worth the hype?


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Morning all.

Still freezing and snowy here in Canada.  Will spring never arrive?


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

Daniel Arenson said:


> Morning all.
> 
> Still freezing and snowy here in Canada. Will spring never arrive?


Sort of a non sequiter...

I have a lot of books on my TBR and should-be-read list...authors keep writing more.  I've never read a lot of the Wuthering Heights-type books or anything by Jack London but I keep thinking I should.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

How much trouble will I be in if I admit to never reading anything at all by Jane Austen? Never seen any of the movies made from her books. 

I think it's too early for Daniel to be awake, I've never seen him do something like that before. rofl

Casey, Jack London's works are, imho, great. LONG long time ago, before Kindles, (1999 to be exact) we were coming home from Okinawa, Japan, and we gave out 8 yo son a huge tome of London's collected works just before boarding the plane. 17 hour flight later.. he loved London and had finished the book. Ok, so maybe it was not a normal book for an eight year old, but he read WAY above grade level, so we didn't think twice about it.
As a matter of fact, the very first thing he downloaded to his K1 2.5 years ago, was the collected works of Jack London. K1 was his present for his 17th b-day.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

None. "Should" suggests it's not really something I'm interested in but feel like I should read it anyway. I don't believe in doing that. I don't care how popular or classic a book is, if I'm not interested, I feel no shame in admitting I haven't read it and have no intention of reading it. There are plenty of books I've been wanting to read but haven't gotten around to yet - but I wouldn't say I "should" read them, I'd say I _want_ to read them.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

history_lover said:


> None. "Should" suggests it's not really something I'm interested in but feel like I should read it anyway. I don't believe in doing that. I don't care how popular or classic a book is, if I'm not interested, I feel no shame in admitting I haven't read it and have no intention of reading it. There are plenty of books I've been wanting to read but haven't gotten around to yet - but I wouldn't say I "should" read them, I'd say I _want_ to read them.


Interesting. I started typing a response saying I agreed and in the middle realized I don't.

There are books I think I *should* read because if I did my own world experience would be wider and more complete. I haven't read all the works of Kafka in spite of the fact that I love _The Metamorphosis_. It has nothing to do with their being classic but that I WISH there were time to read all of the books one really should read in order to have read all of the great books in the world.

It's myself who is cheated out of having that experience but--but it just isn't possible.

Edit: Cheated myself out would probably be a better phrase. I WISH I could read every book I have ever wanted to read.


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## JRainey (Feb 1, 2011)

Something by Joyce that isn't Dubliners. I focused on Modern and Modernist lit in college, and yet I've never attempted anything else by him. Embarrassing. I kept that hidden in my lit classes.


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## wyndwitch (Feb 23, 2011)

On my Kindle there are several books still waiting to be read, and waiting for the time to read them. One of the one's I have been most impressed with recently is one by Mel Comley called Final Justice (if you like thrillers) 

The whole thing now that independent authors are able to publish their works easily and to a wide audience, my TBR list seems to be never ending!


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

triciatypes said:


> I write and read YA, so I try to keep my finger on the pulse of what's going on in that arena. Through all of the boards and blogs _Wither_ by Lauren DeStefano seems like a really interesting premise and has everyone fangirling. Strong, kick ass female leads are also biggies for me so Suzanne Collin's _The Hunger Games_ are also on my to-read list. Has anybody read either one of these? Are they worth the hype?


I loved The Hunger Games trilogy. The first one was great, second was even better, third one just so-so.


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## AlleyGator (Mar 25, 2011)

Jane Eyre...which I am reading now. Looking forward to seeing the movie.


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## lstrange (May 21, 2010)

triciatypes said:


> I write and read YA, so I try to keep my finger on the pulse of what's going on in that arena. Through all of the boards and blogs _Wither_ by Lauren DeStefano seems like a really interesting premise and has everyone fangirling. Strong, kick ass female leads are also biggies for me so Suzanne Collin's _The Hunger Games_ are also on my to-read list. Has anybody read either one of these? Are they worth the hype?


I just started Hunger Games alst night. First couple of chapters are pretty good.


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## Elizabeth Brown (Sep 20, 2010)

Great thread! I think about this all the time. In addition to books that I _should_ read, I also have a list of books that I want to re-read. This list includes books from high school that we were "forced" to read (although I actually enjoyed).

A few books that I should read:
_Catch-22
Wuthering Heights
Great Expectations
A Tale of Two Cities_



BTackitt said:


> How much trouble will I be in if I admit to never reading anything at all by Jane Austen? Never seen any of the movies made from her books.


*Blushes* I haven't either - they're on the list!

A few books I want to re-read:
_The Odyssey
The Great Gatsby
Of Mice and Men_


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## wyndwitch (Feb 23, 2011)

eTrubrown said:


> Great thread! I think about this all the time. In addition to books that I _should_ read, I also have a list of books that I want to re-read. This list includes books from high school that we were "forced" to read (although I actually enjoyed).
> 
> A few books that I should read:
> _Catch-22
> ...


A Tale of Two Cities is still one of my favourite reads, along with the Colour Purple and To kill a mockingbird.

Something I have not read in a while, is Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I was 9 when my uncle brought me a copy, it took me an entire year to read it, for my next birthday he brought me the hobbit. I've not read it for years, maybe that is one to re-read


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

JRTomlin said:


> Interesting. I started typing a response saying I agreed and in the middle realized I don't.
> 
> There are books I think I *should* read because if I did my own world experience would be wider and more complete.


If I'm not interested in it, I'm not going to get much out of it so reading it would just be a waste of time. I read plenty of books already that I both enjoy and find enlightening and worldly. I don't feel I need to read something I'm not interested in just because I "should" be more informed on that subject. But if I am interested in it, I don't consider it something I "should" read. I'm just saying that for me, the word "should" implies it's something I _have_ to do, not something I _want_ to do. For example, I never say to myself "Oh, I really want to vacuum today!", I say "I should really vacuum today". Because it's not something I want to do, it's something I _should_ do and I don't believe in applying that concept to reading because it would ruin it for me.


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

War and Peace (I love Anna Karenina, so why am I intimidated by this one?)


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## GBear (Apr 23, 2009)

history_lover said:


> If I'm not interested in it, I'm not going to get much out of it so reading it would just be a waste of time. I read plenty of books already that I both enjoy and find enlightening and worldly. I don't feel I need to read something I'm not interested in just because I "should" be more informed on that subject. But if I am interested in it, I don't consider it something I "should" read. I'm just saying that for me, the word "should" implies it's something I _have_ to do, not something I _want_ to do. For example, I never say to myself "Oh, I really want to vacuum today!", I say "I should really vacuum today". Because it's not something I want to do, it's something I _should_ do and I don't believe in applying that concept to reading because it would ruin it for me.


The later mention of War and Peace and Anna Karenina are two examples of books that I've downloaded to Kindle (free!) but are gathering virtual dust while I work up the courage and energy to tackle them. I do "want" to read them but they sort of fall into the category of "should" because so far I've been too lazy. "Should" doesn't mean that I won't enjoy reading them, but that hasn't kept me from procrastinating for about three decades!

Actually, I think it's Crime and Punishment and AK, not sure I'll ever get to War and Peace...


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

I'm disgustingly well-read when it comes to "classics" due to a geeky upbringing and a degree in English Literature. That said, I still must hang my head is shame: I've never read a book by Stephen King.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

JRainey said:


> Something by Joyce that isn't Dubliners. I focused on Modern and Modernist lit in college, and yet I've never attempted anything else by him. Embarrassing. I kept that hidden in my lit classes.


The Dubliners are some of the best short stories (maybe THE best) ever written, but Ulyssess is such a masterpiece. It's a shame so few people actually read it. The writing is--indescribable in its power.

Edit:


KMA said:


> I'm disgustingly well-read when it comes to "classics" due to a geeky upbringing and a degree in English Literature. That said, I still must hang my head is shame: I've never read a book by Stephen King.


A geeky upbringing and Lit degrees don't mean having read everything--at least for most people. I'd finished reading Shakespeare (yes, his plays and poetry) for the first time by the time I was twelve but the amount of literature to be read is huge, really too huge for one lifetime. Russian literature I've barely touched. I haven't read Anna Karinina. It just never drew me particularly. I'm light on Italian. I hang my head in shame at having never read the Inferno, another work on my "d*mn it, I keep meaning to read that" list. Why was it never required in my very lengthy list of Lit classes? Darn if I know, but they missed it.

(On the other hand, I just plain don't care for Milton and what I didn't read of his already I won't bother)


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## Elizabeth Brown (Sep 20, 2010)

GBear said:


> Actually, I think it's Crime and Punishment and AK, not sure I'll ever get to War and Peace...


Ah, Crime and Punishment is on my list as well. I actually purchased it as one of the very first books on my Kindle... but it's still sitting there unread.


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## Julie Christensen (Oct 13, 2010)

Hi, eveyone.  I love this thread!  I have so many authors that I haven't gotten to, but no of course, my mind is blank.  I've never read anything by Dean Koontz.  I FINALLY read The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, but I didn't even finish it.  I was underwhelmed.  There are several Indie writers I have on my list, too.  KC May is one.  And I've been meaning to read Take The Monkeys And Run.  There was another author I keep not getting around to, but I can't remember who.  I'll post again when I remember.


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

I've never read anything by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, which is embarrassing because I have a degree in literature   .


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

Thalia the Muse said:


> War and Peace (I love Anna Karenina, so why am I intimidated by this one?)


I found War and Peace easier to read than Anna Karenina, just get a good translation.


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

JRTomlin said:


> The Dubliners are some of the best short stories (maybe THE best) ever written, but Ulyssess is such a masterpiece. It's a shame so few people actually read it. The writing is--indescribable in its power.
> 
> Edit:
> A geeky upbringing and Lit degrees don't mean having read everything--at least for most people. I'd finished reading Shakespeare (yes, his plays and poetry) for the first time by the time I was twelve but the amount of literature to be read is huge, really too huge for one lifetime. Russian literature I've barely touched. I haven't read Anna Karinina. It just never drew me particularly. I'm light on Italian. I hang my head in shame at having never read the Inferno, another work on my "d*mn it, I keep meaning to read that" list. Why was it never required in my very lengthy list of Lit classes? Darn if I know, but they missed it.
> ...


Oh, I absolutely agree with you about the fact that a degree in literature does not necessarily make one well-read. I've read very little Chinese literature that pre-dates the Cultural Revolution, virtually nothing from pre-colonial Africa, and haven't read a Russian novel that was published after 1950. And, I've not read Stephen King.

As for Milton, well, you can sing the first part of "Paradise Lost" to the theme song from "The Flintstones"...


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## LDHesler (Mar 25, 2011)

"Boneshaker" is sitting on the counter just waiting for me to bust open the front cover. I've read about it, I've listened to my brother rave about it, and now it's time for me to dive in.


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## JRainey (Feb 1, 2011)

JRTomlin said:


> The Dubliners are some of the best short stories (maybe THE best) ever written, but Ulyssess is such a masterpiece. It's a shame so few people actually read it. The writing is--indescribable in its power.


I really want to read it. I, too, know very few people that have actually tackled it (and I've got quite a few friends who are lit fiends). I had a professor tell us once that he had an entire class dedicated to Ulysses, and when he read it he had at least six or seven reference guides surrounding the actual text at all times.



KMA said:


> As for Milton, well, you can sing the first part of "Paradise Lost" to the theme song from "The Flintstones"...


  You better believe I'm going to go dig up my copy of Paradise Lost right now.


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## Malweth (Oct 18, 2009)

JRTomlin said:


> The Dubliners are some of the best short stories (maybe THE best) ever written, but Ulyssess is such a masterpiece. It's a shame so few people actually read it. The writing is--indescribable in its power.


Two on my list are: Ulysses and The Odyssey. Guess which I'm reading first! I'm resigned to the fact that I may start Ulysses and not complete it.

This topic opens a huge selection of books. Anything I haven't read on the 1001 books list (completed 3% of the 2006 list).

Also, anything I haven't read that's considered a "classic," though I'm sure many of these I'll _never_ read. My personal, top-of-my-head list:

Don Quixote
Les Miserables (I've read I. Fantine)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (only the bad translation is available for Kindle - read about 1/8 of the Moss Roberts as a DTB)
The Canterbury Tales (I've read the first tale)
The Iliad, The Odyssey, & The Aeneid
The Divine Comedy
and a second attempt at Charles Dickens (I hated G.E. in ~6th grade, but I partially blame my age)

(Lots of prose on my list!)

The great thing about the Kindle is that I CAN read many of these easily. Unfortunately, Amazon does a poor job of differentiating translators of the same book. The Moss Roberts RoTK (DTB) links to the Kindle version of CH B-T's (extremely poor) translation. The same happens for The Odyssey, linking between Fagles and Pope translations in various editions. (I'm reading Fagles; Fitzgerald is not available on Kindle).

Kindle has increased my reading of the Classics tenfold. It's much easier to be aware of different translations (which, in DTB format, would usually cause me to stop reading). It's also great to be able to read a Classic at the same time as something lighter.

I haven't read "The Hunger Games," but I have read her Overlander series. I highly recommend those. I have the first Hunger Games book and plan to read that after I've finished Borges' Labyrinths (along with completing The Odyssey).


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## MeikMeik (Feb 11, 2011)

I really can't think of any definite titles of books that I should read, but I will say that I should read more books on periods of history that interest me.  Also, since I don't get to travel like I want, I think I should read books that take place in world wide locations (i.e. India, China, Japan, Europe).  

You know, the type that are very descriptive and once they are done the reader feels like they were there.


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

Only here would ancient Chinese lit, Russian translations, Dickens and Shakespeare share a screen with Hunger Games.  



It makes me smile.


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## Chris L (Mar 28, 2011)

There's just not enough time in the world to read all the books I want to read. Note I said want, not should. There is a temptation to start reading all the classics on Kindle because they are free, but if I do that it will leave less time for the books I really want to read. In any case, I can't stand Jane Austen, Middlemarch sent me to sleep at the end of every chapter, however Dickens is tolerable as is Wilkie Collins. I do like Stephen King, and I adore Dean Koontz. Jeffrey Deaver is excellent as well, one of the few writers who can catch me out with his twists. Val McDermid and Ian Rankin are another two writers I like. I suppose my tastes veer towards the modern rather than the classic.
Chris L


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

The one I feel I should read - as it seems to have a special place in so many people's hearts - is _To Kill a Mockingbird_. I would also like to read something by Ursula LeGuin but I haven't quite made up my mind what book I should pick up.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Several classics, including anything by Austen, the Great Gatsby, and the The Three Musketeers.

Believe it or not, I've never seen the movie of Gone With The Wind, either!

Sent from my Sprint EVO using Tapatalk


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

caseyf6 said:


> Only here would ancient Chinese lit, Russian translations, Dickens and Shakespeare share a screen with Hunger Games.
> 
> 
> 
> It makes me smile.


Me, too!


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## GBear (Apr 23, 2009)

anguabell said:


> The one I feel I should read - as it seems to have a special place in so many people's hearts - is _To Kill a Mockingbird_. I would also like to read something by Ursula LeGuin but I haven't quite made up my mind what book I should pick up.


My mother loves to tell the story about when we moved before I entered second grade and, at my new school, the teacher asked what books I was reading as a means for placing me in reading class. Apparently, I told her that I was reading "To Kill a Mockingbird," but I didn't like it very much. Teacher and mom were floored. I think I was inhaling "animal stories" at the time and was misled by the title. Many years later, when I returned to give it another try, I loved it.


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## KaliedaRik (Jan 24, 2011)

eTrubrown said:


> Great thread! I think about this all the time. In addition to books that I _should_ read, I also have a list of books that I want to re-read. This list includes books from high school that we were "forced" to read (although I actually enjoyed).
> 
> A few books that I should read:
> _Catch-22
> ...


_Catch-22_ is a brilliant read - thanks for reminding me that I need to re-read it again as I haven't looked at it in over 2 decades (yikes!)

Books I feel I should read, but haven't yet, include Kipling's _Kim_ and Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_ - I've got them both, but the first struggles to keep my attention and the second just annoys me - particularly when one of Conrad's paragraphs makes it to a third page! Give me a Carriage Return, Man. Please!

I _will_ read these books. It's becoming a war of attrition and I will not surrender. After all, I managed to read Eddison's _The Worm Ouroboros_ on the eighth attempt: if I can read that book, I can read anything.


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

I haven't read anything by Jane Austen either.  But I am probably weakest on 20th century literary fiction.  I haven't read Joyce, Hemingway, only one Mailer (didn't think much of it), only one Steinbeck, and I am sure there is a lot more that I don't know about.  I am Ok with some classics.  But still lots I haven't touched.  

About a million books a year are being published just in English right now.  And there are thousands of classics that I would probably like.  And I have at least scores, if not a couple hundred that are in my kindle account that I have not read yet but I picked up.  Last I looked my Amazon wishlist was around 300 books.  Just too many good books out there.


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## Julia444 (Feb 24, 2011)

I must confess I sometimes avoid reading books simply BECAUSE they are popular; I guess I have the tendencies of an iconoclast.  But if and when I do end up reading the books that everyone recommended, I generally am forced to admit that they were, in fact, worthy of the buzz.

A case in point is the Stieg Larsson series, which I avoided for a long time because of all the attention (call me stubborn).

Then I picked up book one and was quickly hooked.  I'm now waiting for book four.

Julia


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## mesmered (Feb 2, 2011)

Any or all of the Twilight Saga I suppose!


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

LauraB said:


> I've never read anything by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, which is embarrassing because I have a degree in literature  .


Dostoyevsky was my gateway drug into Russian authors.  I've only read _Crime and Punishment_ and _Notes from Underground_ by him, but I have a long list of his books that I want to read. I hope you enjoy his writing as much as I have!

Regarding the topic, I'd have to list _Ulysses_ and _In Search of Lost Time_.
Currently I'm reading _Les Miserables_, which is another should for me, and I'm really loving it. So here's hoping I enjoy the other two as much!


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

Alley Gator said:


> Jane Eyre...which I am reading now. Looking forward to seeing the movie.


I actually read this for the first time this year and really really loved it, maybe even better than Pride and Prejudice and that is one of my ultimate favorites.

I have read quite a few classics but there are still quite a few out there I haven't read that I really would like to some day. Wuthering Heights comes to mind, The Hobbit is another one.


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## Malweth (Oct 18, 2009)

AddieLove said:


> Regarding the topic, I'd have to list _Ulysses_ and _In Search of Lost Time_.
> Currently I'm reading _Les Miserables_, which is another should for me, and I'm really loving it. So here's hoping I enjoy the other two as much!


I'm reading "The Odyssey" now so that I might have a chance at "Ulysses." I know many of the stories from "The Odyssey," but I've never actually read it.


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## Aaron Pogue (Feb 18, 2011)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Several classics, including anything by Austen, the Great Gatsby, and the The Three Musketeers.
> 
> Believe it or not, I've never seen the movie of Gone With The Wind, either!


_The Three Musketeers_ is one of my favorite -- not as a classic, but just as a fun adventure. If you get into it, you'll love it, but I've recommended it to several friends who stumbled enough over the cultural differences (a couple centuries old, and French to boot), that they couldn't ever really feel the story. Alas.

For my part, I _really_ need to read Austen. She's one of my wife's favorite authors, and I've just never really bothered. I've got a writing professor making a pretty good case that I should have read _Gone with the Wind_, too.


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## Courtney Cantrell (Mar 16, 2011)

Aaron Pogue said:


> I've got a writing professor making a pretty good case that I should have read _Gone with the Wind_, too.


She's right. ; )

My "shoulds" are _Ivanhoe_ (yes, Aaron, I know), _Fahrenheit 451_, and something Russian (I'm thinking _War and Peace_ or _Anna Karenina_).


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## jimbronyaur (Feb 9, 2011)

I hate to say it... but any and all of the Lord of the Rings books... the influence those books had on authors I follow and am inspired to write by... I should read the LoTR books.  I really really should.


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## belindaf (Jan 27, 2011)

I've seen all of the movies, but I can't help feeling like I should read the Harry Potter series. I also want to read all of Ellen Hopkin's books because, for some reason, they're the only books my son has ever been interested in. He's read and re-read every one of them.


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## aaronpolson (Apr 4, 2010)

I've always intended to read _Catch 22_, but find an excuse each time I start.


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## crash86 (Oct 8, 2010)

JRainey said:


> Something by Joyce that isn't Dubliners. I focused on Modern and Modernist lit in college, and yet I've never attempted anything else by him. Embarrassing. I kept that hidden in my lit classes.


plunge into Ulysses if you dare! It starts of great and drags at the end but it was my 'avoidance' book for years but I did tackle it this year and was glad to wipe that one off my my reading bucket list.

And on another note, I just finished your book Ms. Rainey and I gotta say it made me laugh! Great book


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

I have a couple of monsters on my shelf (paperbacks) that I don't know that I'll ever get around to reading: Middlemarch, Anna Karennina, Underworld, and Moby Dick. 

I used to feel bad about that, but I don't anymore. No time, I guess.


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## teeitup (Nov 1, 2008)

First and foremost, I should read _To Kill A Mockingbird_ and _The Grapes of Wrath_, plus most of the classics which I don't really remember reading in HS. I have read _War and Peace_ and _Crime and Punishment_ (worked for years for a CPA that would allow us to read if our work was caught up) and I so appreciated that since I had small boys at home and not much free reading time. I want to read Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway and this was a major selling point for me to get my first Kindle so I could DL all the classics. It's such a nice feeling to know I have them all at my fingertips now, just need to make the "time". I just started the Outlander series though so I will be preoccupied for a while, I know.


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