All the books in my bookshelf that I haven't yet read

Sometimes, a book is just not right for the moment. There are books in my bookshelf that have been sitting there for years which I still haven’t read, and it seems the more time I let pass without touching them, the less inclined I am to read them. And there are also books that I started months ago but that I was just unable to get through more than 70 pages of and therefore ended up putting away in my bookshelf again, sometimes abandoning a bookmark with it. I thought I would make a list of all of these books so that you can give me your advice if you’ve read any, and so that maybe, just the simple action of making that list motivates me to pick one up in the coming weeks and months.

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A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

I was meant to read this book for my school’s book club and did get through a good enough quarter of it but the pace was slow, the historical plot slightly confusing and I simply didn’t want to read it anymore so I abandoned it. Does it deserve a second chance?

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This book is what we’d started to read in my English Literature class before I decided to drop the subject to switch to Biology so I didn’t carry on reading it. It is a classic though, and is meant to be a great one too, so I think I’ll save it for a cold, miserable weekend this winter.

The Cut Out Girl by Bart Van Es

Another historical book club pick that I gave up less than a 100 pages in… You must be wondering why I even joined book club in the first place if I can’t seem to finish a single book that they choose!

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

This book was given to me for my 15th birthday but classics scare me because I’m so sure I’ll get bored. Because I know it is one, I just can’t bring myself to read it. I’m afraid that I’ll feel brave one day and start reading a chapter but when I’ll still be on page 75 after a week, I’ll leave it aside, go for something I’m more comfortable with and just end up putting it back in my bookshelf after it’s lingered on my bedside table for a month or so. I’d really love your opinion on this one if you’ve read it: is it a must-read?

Calpurnia by Jacqueline Kelly

I’ve had a French edition of this book sitting in my bookshelf for at least six years. And trust me, its cover looks beautiful. But the blurb makes it quite unappealing and it’s pretty chunky so I really want to be sure that I’ll get hooked which isn’t the impression I’m getting from it. Unless someone can be very convincing about this one, I feel like it’s a book that might stay in this list forever.

Opposite of Always by Julia Reynolds

This book is quite recent and therefore hasn’t been in my bookshelf for very long. However, I did pick it up very recently to read the blurb, thinking it might tempt me as my next read but it didn’t and I put it back down. I know it’s completely different but it really reminded me of ‘They Both Die at the End’ by Adam Silvera, which is a book that I’d enjoyed when reading it last year but I wouldn’t want to read another story resembling it any time soon.

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

I don’t know Margaret Atwood’s style as I haven’t read The Handmaid’s Tale or Testaments, both of which have made so much noise in the literary world. Correct me if I’m wrong but I feel like ‘Alias Grace’ isn’t as well-known. Is it because it’s not as good? The other two I’ve just mentioned are available in my school library so do you think I should read one of them first?

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These are all the books from my bookshelf that I haven’t yet read. I know it’s a very small list compared to many people, but I borrow a lot of books from school which means that I don’t buy many and I often read the ones that I do purchase in bookshops within a few months of buying them. This list is really about the books that I’ve owned for a long time that don’t really appeal to me or those that I started but never got to the end of. I would love it if you could give me your opinion on any that you have read, whether it’s to tell me that I should reconsider and give them a try if you’ve loved them, or if it’s understandable that they’ve remained in my bookshelf untouched for so long!

Thank you all so much for reading!