Books to be Read 2016

Like most readers, I’m guilty of buying and accumulating a great number of books. The result is those books that I purchased long ago get put on the back burner. I do this all the time. I’ll buy a book on my TBR list, put it on my shelves only to then buy more books and then prioritise new reads over old ones. The end result is I end up staring at my bookshelves thinking “yeah, I’ll totally get around to reading The Pillars of the Earth one day, but right now I’m in the mood for some trashy Jane Austen fan fiction.”

It’ll go round and round like that for months. So I’ve decided that this year will be the year I finally read the novels I have neglected for so long. In no particular order, here we go:

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson

I’m about seven years behind everybody else with this one, and to be honest, this is most probably why I’ve put off reading it for so long. Silly, I know, but there’s something about reading a book a ridiculous amount of time after everyone else that makes me feel a bit stupid. Damn Hollywood and its international film industry. I’m determined however to finally sit down and read this so I can see what I’ve been missing out on all this time.

CLOUD ATLAS, by David Mitchell

This has been on my TBR list since before the film came out, but I’ve always felt a little bit put off by the premise of the story. Not that it doesn’t sound interesting, but I’ve either read glowing reviews of this novel or heard it be described as a steaming pile of crap. The fear that I’ll fall in to the latter has kept me from reading it, however I’m going to try and go in to this with an open mind.

 

ON BEAUTY by Zadie Smith

I attempted to read Zadie Smith’s White Teeth twice before finally admitting defeat and casting it off. A bad experience with an author doesn’t exactly set you up to go bounding off to read more of their work, but I shouldn’t let it put me off. On Beauty is a book like any other and it must be read.

TINKER, TAYLOR, SOLDIER, SPY by John le Carre

What is it with all of these book-to-film novels I just can’t get around to reading? I don’t think I know myself anymore. I’m not really a reader of spy books or any kind of crime novel, truth be told. It’s just not a genre I’ve ever gotten in to, but I’ve heard some pretty good stuff about this so I feel like it’s a good place to start.

THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE by Michel Faber

This actually sounds like it could be my jam. Historical fiction set in gloomy Victorian London is a recipe for a book that could be right up my street. I’m not normally intimidated by lengthy books, but this book is pretty sizeable with all its 835 pages. Plus, the edition I own is so fucking heavy I feel like I’d need a fork lift to carry this around with me. Reading this in bed would be just as troublesome and would be the equivalent of dropping a bowling ball on my face if I were to read this lying down.

THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken Follett

I bought this when I found it in a charity shop knowing that my friend had read it previously. Our book tastes are pretty similar, and so if she liked it I thought I’d give it a whirl. And I will. I will read this. I am bound and determined, and Follett baby, I think this will be your year.

LABYRINTH by Kate Mosse

This is another book I’ve heard mixed things about, which makes me slightly apprehensive about it. Again, this has been sitting on my shelves for a long time, and so it needs to be read STAT so I can form my own opinion.

So, this a little goal of mine for 2016. There are of course tones of other books I want to read this year, and as ever I plan to read as many as possible. So, here we go.