Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Added to my TBR and Forgotten Why

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Opened book next to cup of tea and stuffed toy bear. All three items are sitting on a white bedspread. This week’s list might seem a little out of character for my reading habits. I jump around a lot in various genres, but the vast majority of the books I read were written in the last thirty to forty years.

(Do book published in 1980-1990 count as contemporary or historical? I have no idea!)

With that being said, there have been some classic novels like Jane Eyre that I loved reading.

So I’m always theoretically open to reading more classics….it’s just rare for me to actually be in the mood to adapt to the sometimes wordy writing styles from past decades and centuries.

Now I don’t even remember why I was interested in these specific titles, but they’re still on my TBR list.

1. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickins

2. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

3. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

4. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

5. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

6. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

103 Comments

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103 Responses to Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’ve Added to my TBR and Forgotten Why

  1. That is quite a varied collection of classics I think! Your diverse reads always give me something new to check out!

  2. The Picture of Dorian Gray is soooo good. It was a short and quick read and I probably put sticky flags and waaaay too many words in it because the writing is beautiful.
    I’ve been hoping to read more classics as well. Hoping to get through maybe 2 or 3 this year.

  3. Les Mis is such a good book, but it is definitely an investment!

  4. Great list! Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone is one of my favourite classics and I’ve heard really good things about The Woman in White.

  5. Everyone would love Don Quixote, though I see nothing wrong with reading a slightly abridged version as the complete version is somewhat repetitive. Les Miserables is fabulous, too.

  6. Ooooh, I’ve read all of them (if you’re interested, you’ll find the links here. They are all definitely worth reading. You might have seen all those titles on one of those lists of classics that “need to be read”.

    My TTT.

  7. I’ve always been interested in Les Miserables but the sheer size of that behemoth puts me off.

  8. I am not a huge reader of classics, I also rarely reread a book. I have read several classics over the years, but A Tale of Two Cities is the only one on this list. I’m sure you had good intentions when you added these.

  9. I read Don Quixote in college and actually enjoyed it (and I am usually not a fan of classics)!

  10. I bombed the test on Don Quixote in my World Lit class and it dropped my final grade to a B+. Still hold a grudge against Cervantes. Good list.

  11. Poinsettia

    I really enjoyed The Picture of Dorian Gray! I’d like to read The Woman in White some day.

  12. The picture of Dorian Grey is one of my favourite classics!

    (www.evelynreads.com)

  13. I have a picture of Dorian Grey on my TBR because a lot of people seem to love it!

  14. You absolutely need to read Woman in White, it’s incredible. Plus it’s credited as being one of the first mystery novels!

  15. I read A Tale of Two Cities several years ago, but I didn’t love it. I remember enjoying the last two chapters but that was all. 🙂

  16. Too funny—I actually read the first four books on your list for the first time this year! I’ve been on a bit of a classics kick after kind of ignoring them for a few years. And I love that you cite Jane Eyre. I also read it for the first time this year, and it immediately became one of my favorites. So, so good.

  17. I absolutely loved The Woman in White–I was actually surprised (and still am!) by how much I liked it. It’s rather long and a little on the slower side, but seeing all the details come together was so worth it. A Tale of Two Cities and Don Quixote are two I’d really like to read.

  18. I remember reading The Picture of Dorian Gray and A Tale of Two Cities for school, but I can’t remember why I read Les Misérables other than being on a classics phase. (There was a reason why I picked it! It’s been too long.)

  19. Sometimes if I don’t remember why I wanted to read something, I look at the blurb and then toss it if it doesn’t make me want to read it now.

  20. Christine @ LifeWithAllTheBooks

    I really liked A Streetcar Named Desire – it’s a great play!

  21. I HIGHLY recommend Streetcar. One of my favorites. 💛

  22. I’ve read a few of these, and you are in for a treat, especially with Don Quixote! I’m reading a 19th century novel for the first time in a few years (Middlemarch) and it took some time to get back into reading an older style, but I’m loving it!

  23. Absolutely loved Dorian Gray! Two Cities was a good read too – great list of classics 🙂

  24. I loved A street Car Named Desire! I read it back in Grade 12 and again in University.

    Like you, I have a broad range of genres I read which makes for an incredibly large TBR pile! 🙈

    Hope you enjoy some of these! I’ve only seen the musical for Les Miserables and enjoyed it.💖

    • Oh, that’s so cool. Have you seen the play based on A Streetcar Named Desire?

      And it’s always fun to meet other people who read from many different genres.

  25. Of these, the only one I have actually read is Dorian Grey. I remember it being a quick read, if that helps.

  26. That’s a solid list of classics! The only one I’ve read is Les Miserable and it’s not an easy read (Hugo loves a tangent almost as much as Tolstoy I think) but it’s a great book! I really enjoyed it, much more than I thought I would

  27. I’ve always been kind of curious about Les Mis.

  28. I have a love/hate relationship with classics. There are some I adore, some I loathe, and lots I have no interest at all in reading. From your list, I’ve read LES MISERABLES, but now I’m wondering if the version I read was a shortened one. It was a long time ago … If you do read these, I hope you enjoy them.

    Happy TTT!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

  29. Ah yes, I too have many classics on my TBR lol

  30. I have most of these on my TBR also. I’ve tried reading some of them more than once, so I don’t know why I don’t just take them off the list. Just because they’re classics doesn’t mean I have to like them or even read them, right? I tell myself that all the time, yet they’re still sitting on my list.

  31. This is a great list! I actually read Les Mis years ago, after the musical came out and I got a little obsessed with it. It was definitely a chore to read, but I ended up being so happy that I did. I read A Tale of Two Cities back in high school and remember loving it.I actually just read Dorian Gray this year — it’s not very long, and was a great read. And sadly, I’m taking a time out from Don Quixote at the moment. My book group is reading it together, two chapters per week, and because my work life has been so crazy, I’ve fallen too far behind to stand a chance of catching up. Some day…

  32. I’ve only read The Picture of Dorian Gray and it was outstanding. I highly recommend picking it up! 🙂

  33. I also still need to read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde… I hadn’t heard of The Woman in White before… I haven’t read A Streetcar Named Desire, but I’ve seen the 1951 film starring Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando (and it’s really good)!

    My TTT list!

  34. What a neat list. I keep thinking I will read more classics one day. Hasn’t happened yet.

  35. I don’t know if you ever mentioned–do you do audiobooks? I listened to Les Miserables last year, and it was pretty good. I think that one would be difficult to sit and read, but it really is good, if not long.

  36. These are all really great choices for classics! Dorian Gray is my favorite on this list, but Streetcar is definitely a close second. And I love me some Dickens. Don Quixote is hilarious. Thanks for checking out my blog last week (I got locked out because I forgot my password and tried to log-in from my phone… LOL).

  37. Great list! I’ve tried to read several of the classics but am usually a ‘skim reader’ and find the language complexities throw me out of the story. I have to spend so long interpreting what is meant I soon get bored.

  38. I always wanted to read Les Misérables.
    Someday I will do it!!

  39. I haven’t read a classic in ages. I do fancy reading Les Mis but it’s so long I might have to save it for a while. Don Quixote is another one I’ve always meant to read but haven’t got around to it yet.

  40. Have read the abridged versions of A Tale of Two Cities and The Woman in White and would be reading the unabridged versions. Cervantes I haven’t read but have read the others and they are very good. Hugo is lengthy though and with too many diversions, still the story is powerful.

  41. what a great list. the nice selection I love this. Thank you for the info.

  42. I’ve read and loved The Picture of Dorian Gray! I also have a friend whose favorite book is Don Quixote – it’s on my TBR as well.

  43. Ahh, some nice classics! I have a backlog like this of books my mother told me I’d need to read before I went to study English Lit at university. Three degrees later, I think it’s safe to say she was wrong on that one. ;D That said, I found The Picture of Dorian Grey a quick read, if you wanted to knock something off the list!

  44. RS

    That is a good question about the 80s-90s. It’s plagued me for so long on Goodreads w/ respect to teen fiction — “should this count as vintage, or contemporary YA?” — that I finally just made it its own section. It’s neither, it’s both, it’s in between.

    I haven’t read anything on your list either, despite the fact that it would make my fiance the happiest man in the world if I would read The Woman in White already (my best friend too, come to think of it. Possibly also my mom? All these English majors ganging up on me, man…) (the fact that I am also an English major is of no consequence)

  45. I don’t find myself reading a lot of classics in my free time. I own quite a few, but I only really read them if they were required for school. I had to read A Tale of Two Cities in 10th grade English and ended up using Spark Notes for the entire thing. It’s one of the only books I couldn’t force myself to read through. I haven’t read any of the others on this list, though I do have an interest in Les Misérables. I love the play productions and the movie, but the book is so long that I’m unsure if I’d be able to read it.

  46. I have all of these on my TBR as well, although I recently booted off A Streetcar Named Desire because after reading the blurb I just decided that it wasn’t for me anymore (and I don’t think I’d ever actually find a copy and read it LOL). I hope you do enjoy these if you ever pick them up! Haha

  47. Anyone who elects to read Les Mis is a saint in my book. I would not have the patience to tackle that one.

  48. The fact that we have to debate about whether my birth year is considered historical fiction or not is mildly depressing. xD Understandable, but depressing.

    Oooh, you were interested in The Picture of Dorian Gray because it’s good and interesting in a philosophical way and you should obviously read it. 😉 There, reminded you.

  49. That is quite a variety of classics. Over the years I’ve read all of those, mostly for school. I enjoyed them all at the time, but like you say, I would really have to be in the mood to even attempt one of these now.

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