9 Backlist Books I really need to read.

Hiya!

This is, at best, a reminder for me to read some of the books just sitting on my bookshelves and at worst, a calling out for me to just effing read these books. I have bought quite a lot of books since I have started this blog and you might have noticed that sometimes, I don’t read the backlist books as quickly as I read the new releases.

So, this is me telling myself to read these books. Luckily. I have already started reading one of them so yay for that! There’s tons more where these come from. My physical tbr at the moment is close to forty so yeah,  I am considerably not very good at keeping up with my growing number of books. Oops.

These are the books I randomly chose because some of them are the oldest and some of them are the ones I have been dying to read for a long time and yet haven’t. So, there’s no rhyme or reason for this list.

Without further babbling, let’s just get into it, shall we?

People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

This creepy little book sounds absolutely perfect for me and hence I bought it obviously. But from what I have read about Yanagihara’s writing, I just knew I needed to have this book in my hands. So there it sits on my shelves since the moment I bought it. First I thought I would read it during summer then I thought no, spring was a better option and then it just spiraled out of control and it’s been sitting, looking brilliantly green, on my shelves. It’s high time I read it.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

I absolutely adore The Secret History with every fibre of my being and was simply put in awe of Tartt’s writing so I impulsively bought this one too and I know there are nothing but rave reviews about this one but for some reason, it’s still there. On my shelf. So hopefully, before the year ends and before the movie comes out, I will read it? It’s really doubtful but let’s hope for the best. It’s also a chonker of a book, innit? 700+ pages!!!

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

It’s certainly a different kind of book than my usual choice but it’s something I think I need to read because it does sound pretty interesting and anything Russian and historical fiction sounds amazing. It’s also a big book but hey, what is my life if not just filled with big books? Am I right?

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Oh, boy. Shadow of the Wind sounds like something Carlos Ruiz Zafon dreamed up right out of my weaknesses. It has it all, books, historical fiction with just a touch of fantasy and a bit mystery. Hello, I am here and I am weak. So why haven’t I actually read it yet? Well, believe it or not, I am stupid and also weak so when something else just as shiny comes around, you can bet your life savings that I am going after that one. But yeah, I hope to read at least this book from the series before the end of the year.

Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

This spooky read screams like an October read but hey, I haven’t read it yet despite buying it in time for a spooky read last year. Here’s to hoping that I get to it this October or maybe even the end of September? Or maybe I am getting ahead of myself? Who knows at this point?

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

A beautiful new limited edition paperback of Snow Falling on Cedars, published as part of the Bloomsbury Modern Classics list. It is seriously so gorgeous and the plot seems like a good, slow procedural crime drama so I don’t know why I haven’t gotten around to it yet. Oh, well, maybe in December? I am a mess and it shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point.

How To Be Both by Ali Smith

From the sheer amount of praise that I have heard/ read of Ali Smith’s writing, I think the thing that stopped me from reading this one is the hype and the intimidation. It’s a simple thing with this one. I am just not ready to be intimidated or disappointed with my first Ali Smith.

The Absolutist by John Boyne

John Boyne became a sort of auto buy for me as soon as I was done with his The Heart’s Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky. I bought The Absolutist and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas as soon as I could but haven’t gotten around to either of them yet. I did read a bit of The Absolutist before I remembered that I was actually reading two other books so I put it down and kinda never picked it back up? Oops?

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson is brilliant, I read Down Under when my dad was in the hospital after a heart attack and trust me, that book got me through some pretty tough weeks. I could totally lose myself in the book without losing the touch of reality, it was a soothing thing that book. So of course, I want to read this one by him because let’s face it, once I see that an author is good or great, I want to read all of his/her/their works, it’s just how it is. Okay?

These are just the ten that I really do want to read before the end of the year, there are actually far too many books that I should have read this year but let’s not talk about it. It just makes me feel guilty about the whole thing. However I am hoping that I might read these books before 2020 rolls around.

Are there any backlist books that you are meant to be reading this year? If so, which ones are they? Have you already read a few of them, then tell me which ones because I am forever curious about people and their books.