I was hoping to get a few of these books read this summer, but seeing as I only have four weeks left before I start back at school, that plan might not work out! A lot of these books have been sitting on my shelves for years - the childrens' classics particularly. My grandmother used to work in a charity shop, so many of them were ones which she picked up for me when I was about eight, and I started...but never got around to finishing. I've decided that - with a lot of these books - if I don't like them then I'll put them up for swapping. There's no point in keeping all of these books on my shelves (especially when I have very little space left!) when I don't read them or won't read them again.

Childrens' Classics

Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott (recently finished rereading the three other books in the series. I think this was the only one I never attempted reading as a child) CURRENTLY READING

Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott (the sequel to Eight Cousins, and a pretty illustrated 1950s copy I found in a charity shop earlier this year)

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

White Boots by Noel Streatfeild

The Swiss Family Robinson by David Johann Wyss (My parents started reading me this book as a child, but we stopped because it was so strange. If I still don't like it once I've reread it, then it's up for swapping!)

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (I'm currently reading The Secret Garden, and hoping this one isn't as descriptive)

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graeme

The Water Babies by Charlies Kingsley

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Adult Novels

Orphans of the Storm by Katie Flynn

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Left Behind by Tim LaHaye

Me and Emma by Elizabeth Flock (Lent by mum)

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (As above. Possibly useful for English dissertation)

Ya-Yas in Bloom by Rebecca Wells

Emma Eliza by June Barraclough (My first ever swap!) Gave up on, now on Swaplist.

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

A Village Affair by Joanna Trollope

A Passionate Man by Joanna Trollope

The Rector's Wife by Joanna Trollop (My grandad leant me these three books when I visited him last week)

Digging to America by Anne Tyler

No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barlcay

Size 14 is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (leant by my English teacher for possible use for my dissertation) Gave up on, totally wasn't inspired to keep reading.

The Point of Rescue by Sophie Hannah 

Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker

Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin (Thanks Anne!)

An Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

Rose Alley by Audrey Howard

Adult Classics

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brönte

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte (I've tried reading this twice before, and have never got further than half-way through. I'm not good with heroines who obey their man's every wish when he's being an idiot, but I'll give this one last shot. If I don't like it after reading the whole book then it's going on here for swapping)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (Given by uncle ages ago)

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (As above)

Young Adult Novels

Finn: A Novel by Matthew Olshan (A present from years ago, and has sat unread on my bookshelf since then. If I don't enjoy it, this one's also up for swaps)

The Catalogue of the Universe by Margaret Mahy (Present from my mum who didn't realise I'd grown out of YA books. Same rule as above)

Nancy Drew: The Invisible Intruder by Carolyn Keene

Nancy Drew: The Treasure in the Royal Tower by Carolyn Keene

Sweet Valley High: Hostage! by Francine Pascal

Sweet Valley High: Beware the Babysitter by Francine Pascal

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (My free book from BookRabbit. Not one I would have picked up myself, as I don't read many teen novels anymore, but I'll give this one a go). 

The Babysitters Club: Stacey and the Mystery of Stoneybrook by Ann M. Martin (A surprise from Kate - svh_mad! Technically more a kids book than YA, but I don't see the point in making a whole section just for this one book).

The Princess Diaries: After Eight by Meg Cabot (Lent by Hope, a young teenage friend of mine who is also a major bookworm)

Blood Red Horse by K. M. Grant (Also lent by Hope)

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

The Sign of the Twisted Candles by Carolyn Keene

Nancy's Mysterious Letter by Carolyn Keene

Non-Fiction

Chasing the Dragon by Jackie Pullinger

Anna and Mister God by Flynn

Studentdom by Matt Stuart (Read chunks of it while at St. Andrews summer school, so shall try to finish soon)

The Power of the Praying Teen by Stormie O'Martain

Rachel's Tears by Beth Nimmo

Battlefield of the Mind for Teens by Joyce Meyer

Mean Girls Gone by Hayley DiMarco Had a flick through but decided that it wasn't of any use for me so it's now on Swaplist.

Sex 180 by Chip Ingram

Children in Revival by Harry Sprange (I really need to get started on this book, as the author gave me a free copy a month ago, and I have the possibility of seeing him at some church meetings this summer. It looks pretty interesting) CURRENTLY READING

Rough Crossings by Simon Schama

I also have two "Daily Devotional" type books, but since you're meant to read them daily, it's kind of cheating to just sit and read all 365 entries. I will have a look at them though.

Library Books

Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani

Mercy by Jodi Picoult

A Quiet Belief in Angels by R. J. Ellory

The Girls by Lori Lansens

Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens

Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Luuurve is a many trousered thing... by Louise Rennison

Angel's Rest by Charles Davis

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Property by Valerie Martin

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

March by Geraldine Brooks

The Resurrectionist by James Bradley

Chez Moi by Agnes Desarthe

Size Doesn't Matter by Meg Cabot

Recently edited to add a few more books which I'd forgotten about. Now a total of 36 books to read! Not counting library books either

I think there's now 41 one books on that list. Oops?

Oh well, I have read two so far so that brings the total down to 39! I'm not allowed to buy any more books or get anything out the library until I've read at least five more, I think.

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie I loved this when I was a child

White Boots by Noel Streatfeild Never heard of this.

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (I'm currently reading The Secret Garden, and hoping this one isn't as descriptive) This was one of my favourite books when I was a child and I re-read it many times. I wouldn't mind reading it agin one day, perhaps when the TBR is down a bit though! I also loved the film.

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift Hated this when I saw it on tV so wouldn't try to read it.

Around the World in Eight Days by Jules Verne Isn't it Eighty?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll A really good book

Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll I enjoyed this evern more than the first one

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graeme I didn't like the cartoon version on TV so never attempted to read it.

The Water Babies by Charlies Kingsley Ditto

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (Bought by my grandad as he liked it himself. Other than Frank Beddor's novels, I'm not really into fantasy that much) I felt like I "should" read it so I started it about half a dozen times but could never get more than half-way through.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brönte An ok book, but I don't see why everyone loves it so much.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte (I've tried reading this twice before, and have never got further than half-way through. I'm not good with heroines who obey their man's every wish when he's being an idiot, but I'll give this one last shot. If I don't like it after reading the whole book then it's going on here for swapping) I should read this one day.

The Catalogue of the Universe by Margaret Mahy (Present from my mum who didn't realise I'd grown out of YA books. Same rule as above) I used to enjoy this author but don't remember this title.

Nancy Drew: The Invisible Intruder by Carolyn Keene I read a few Nancy Drew when I was younger and enjoyed them, but never got round to reading them all and none really stick out in my memory now.

Nancy Drew: The Treasure in the Royal Tower by Carolyn Keene Ditto

Sweet Valley High: Hostage! by Francine Pascal

Sweet Valley High: Beware the Babysitter by Francine Pascal I loved SVH but don't recall this particular title.

Rachel's Tears by Beth Nimmo A very moving book.

firepoppy:

Around the World in Eight Days by Jules Verne Isn't it Eighty?

Haha, thanks for pointing that out! I shall go and fix that right now.

Thanks for your comments - it's nice to have someone else's opinion of the books I'm planning to read.

Ooh, and I also adored A Little Princess the film when I was younger. I think I might still have it somewhere...

If you liked the film then I think you'll love the book.

Around the World in 8 Days could be a modern classic with long haul flights and lost baggage I'm sure!

If you'd like to see my TBR there's a link in my signature, but I haven't updated it in a while. I should soon I suppose.

Jo's Boys was always my favourite of the Little Women series.

Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom - somehow missed these, will have to go on a hunt. One of her others, no connection with Little Women, is An Old-Fashioned Girl.

Have read most of the other children's classics - particularly loved Wind in the Willows

Haven't read any of your Adult Novels, but have read all the Adult Classics (particularly fond of Tale of Two Cities)

Used to read and enjoy Nancy Drew but haven't read any of your non-fiction section..

tolly18:

Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom - somehow missed these, will have to go on a hunt. One of her others, no connection with Little Women, is An Old-Fashioned Girl.

Used to read and enjoy Nancy Drew but haven't read any of your non-fiction section..

I haven't read that one, but I saw it on Amazon a while back and it looked quite interesting.

I think that most of the non-fiction titles, are obscure Christian ones which I've recieved as gifts. A few are autobiographies - such as Chasing the Dragon, Anna and Mister God and Rachel's Tears.

I read two more of the teen books today (excellent weather = lots of reading outdoors); one of the Nancy Drew novels and one of the Sweet Valley High novels. They were fairly quick reads, but very enjoyable. I'll try to finish the Adriana Trigiani novel this week so I can return it to the library.

pixieholopainen:

 

Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott (recently finished rereading the three other books in the series. I think this was the only one I never attempted reading as a child) - Read Little Women and Good Wives and may have read some of this, I must find a copy of this and Little Men. I did try to read when younger but it was 'too much', wouldn't recommend it to children myself, not under 13 anyway.

Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott Didn't know she'd written others, will look for this too,

Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott (the sequel to Eight Cousins, and a pretty illustrated 1950s copy I found in a charity shop earlier this year) Ditto

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie Only read the childrens version, so maybe ditto for that

White Boots by Noel Streatfeild And this!  Loved Ballet shoes.

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (I'm currently reading The Secret Garden, and hoping this one isn't as descriptive) I have read this and it's beautifully written.

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift Read it for A level and hated it, maybe if I'd been able to read it without dissecting it by the page I'd have liked it more.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Another one I never read but should!

Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll Ditto

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graeme Did try this, couldn't get into it.

The Water Babies by Charlies Kingsley Read some of it.

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (Bought by my grandad as he liked it himself. Other than Frank Beddor's novels, I'm not really into fantasy that much) Had this read to us at school age 7/8, think I used to go off in a dreamworld andmake my own stories up!  Fantasy not my thing.

Me and Emma by Elizabeth Flock (Lent by mum) Good

 

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brönte That's more like it!  great.  Read it  few times and it made more sense each time.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte (I've tried reading this twice before, and have never got further than half-way through. I'm not good with heroines who obey their man's every wish when he's being an idiot, but I'll give this one last shot. If I don't like it after reading the whole book then it's going on here for swapping) No, no, no, she doesn't!!  Read it again, it's much deeper than that.  She has 'em round her little finger!

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (As above)Don't think I've read this one and don't know why as I loved The Scarlet Pimpernel which is set at same time.

Sweet Valley High: Hostage! by Francine Pascal Loved SVH

Sweet Valley High: Beware the Babysitter by Francine Pascal

.

I'm quite wary of 'children's classics'.  I read Jane Eyre at 10 and loved it, (although I read it differently at 13 and 15 and 17!) but couldn't get into Wind in the Willows and Alice, I think they are better read to a child when young and then given to read when older.  I am very into children's classics at the moment.

scarlet21:

pixieholopainen:

Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott (recently finished rereading the three other books in the series. I think this was the only one I never attempted reading as a child) - Read Little Women and Good Wives and may have read some of this, I must find a copy of this and Little Men. I did try to read when younger but it was 'too much', wouldn't recommend it to children myself, not under 13 anyway. I definitely agree - although I read the first two books at the age of nine and ten, I don't think I really understood Good Wives, and stopped reading Little Men pretty close to the beginning, which I'm now guessing is due to the language.

Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott Didn't know she'd written others, will look for this too,

Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott (the sequel to Eight Cousins, and a pretty illustrated 1950s copy I found in a charity shop earlier this year) Ditto

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie Only read the childrens version, so maybe ditto for that

White Boots by Noel Streatfeild And this!  Loved Ballet shoes. I loved Ballet Shoes as well! I found this in a second hand book shop so thought I'd give it a go considering this is one of her books which is currently out of print. I also read The Painted Garden and The Growing Summer as a child. My mum grew up with Ballet Shoes so was keen to introduce me to her other books.

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (I'm currently reading The Secret Garden, and hoping this one isn't as descriptive) I have read this and it's beautifully written.

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift Read it for A level and hated it, maybe if I'd been able to read it without dissecting it by the page I'd have liked it more. BookWorld were selling off really cheap, hardback classics one time, and my mum bought me this one and two others. I've never read it, but I know they study it in first year English at St. Andrews, and the student liason officer suggested that I read some of those books and talked about them in my Personal Statement, so I'll give this a go! I've actually loved all of the books I've studied so far in English at high school - Animal Farm, To Kill a Mocking Bird and The Crucible - so I hope it stays this way!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Another one I never read but should!

Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll Ditto

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graeme Did try this, couldn't get into it. My mum said she didn't really like it either, but my grandad loved this as a child, and we always watched the cartoon TV series at their house, so I'll give it a try.

The Water Babies by Charlies Kingsley Read some of it.

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (Bought by my grandad as he liked it himself. Other than Frank Beddor's novels, I'm not really into fantasy that much) Had this read to us at school age 7/8, think I used to go off in a dreamworld andmake my own stories up!  Fantasy not my thing.

Me and Emma by Elizabeth Flock (Lent by mum) Good

 

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brönte That's more like it!  great.  Read it  few times and it made more sense each time. My mum said she never enjoyed Jane Eyre, but liked Wuthering Heights, so I hope it's the same for me! This is another one I'm reading for my Personal Statement. It's a really nice hardback copy with a nice picture on the front cover, too, so I'm not sure where my grandma got it!

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte (I've tried reading this twice before, and have never got further than half-way through. I'm not good with heroines who obey their man's every wish when he's being an idiot, but I'll give this one last shot. If I don't like it after reading the whole book then it's going on here for swapping) No, no, no, she doesn't!!  Read it again, it's much deeper than that.  She has 'em round her little finger! Seriously? Okay, I'll read it again and try looking out for this! Maybe it's just because I got bored and didn't get very far into the novel that I didn't notice this. It has been well over a year since I attempted to read it, so maybe it won't be so boring this time.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (As above)Don't think I've read this one and don't know why as I loved The Scarlet Pimpernel which is set at same time.

Sweet Valley High: Hostage! by Francine Pascal Loved SVH

Sweet Valley High: Beware the Babysitter by Francine Pascal

.

I'm quite wary of 'children's classics'.  I read Jane Eyre at 10 and loved it, (although I read it differently at 13 and 15 and 17!) but couldn't get into Wind in the Willows and Alice, I think they are better read to a child when young and then given to read when older.  I am very into children's classics at the moment. There are some childrens classics which I loved as an adult and again as a child - specifically the works of Louisa May Alcott, L. M. Montgomery and Noel Streatfeild - but there weren't many others which I read as a child, although I did own quite a lot, so I may as well read them now and see what they're like. It's been quite fun. I recently read 'The Treasure Seekers' which I'd abandoned as an eight or nine year old. It was a really amusing read, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I wished I had more unread E. Nesbits on my shelves, bad sadly I didn't. 'The Secret Garden' was another enjoyable read, although a bit too descriptive for my taste in some points. But yes, you do notice different things about books at different times throughout your life. 'The Treasure Seekers' has parts written into it specifically for the adult reader.

Updated my lists! I couldn't resist picking up some new books when I went to the library today, so I've created a "Library" section on my list.

If you are trying out the Brontes, you should read The Tennant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne.  She is the least recognised of the Brontes, but in my opinion hers is one of the best.  The Tennant was banned at one point I believe because it was about a woman who left her husband because of what would now be termed domestic abuse.  It was very insightful and brought up a lot of 'sore points' which the men of that era didn't like - not forgetting that at that time it was not only permissable but positively encouraged to beat your wife!  I think you'd like it.

I hope you are not disappointed by Gullivers travels.  I too loved the Crucible, To Kill a Mockingbird and Animal Farm.  i don't believe they still study the same books!  Are you into Jane Austen?  Highly recommend them - and also George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, E.M Forster was another I was introuced to in my A level year - fab reads.

I liked Mercy but not as much as other Jodi Picoult's books. It's one of her earlier books and the earlier ones are a bit different to the newer ones.

I loved The Girls and I'm sure you will enjoy it too. A great read.

firepoppy:

I liked Mercy but not as much as other Jodi Picoult's books. It's one of her earlier books and the earlier ones are a bit different to the newer ones.

I loved The Girls and I'm sure you will enjoy it too. A great read.

I just checked the date inside my library copy of Mercy, and I had no idea it was published in 1996! I was five that year, haha. It will be interesting to see how it compares with her newer novels. The earliest of hers which I've read are Plain Truth and Keeping Faith, the first of which I loved and read many times (as you can see from the tatty state of my copy. I carried it in my school bag for months as I used it for my Personal Study, and it's got quite scuffed).

I quite liked The Girls. It was really interesting, and read like an actual autobiography. There were a few points near the middle where I started to loose interest, and was able to put it down for a day or so at a time, but after that I got really gripped again.

scarlet21:

If you are trying out the Brontes, you should read The Tennant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne. She is the least recognised of the Brontes, but in my opinion hers is one of the best. The Tennant was banned at one point I believe because it was about a woman who left her husband because of what would now be termed domestic abuse. It was very insightful and brought up a lot of 'sore points' which the men of that era didn't like - not forgetting that at that time it was not only permissable but positively encouraged to beat your wife! I think you'd like it.

I hope you are not disappointed by Gullivers travels. I too loved the Crucible, To Kill a Mockingbird and Animal Farm. i don't believe they still study the same books! Are you into Jane Austen? Highly recommend them - and also George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, E.M Forster was another I was introuced to in my A level year - fab reads.

I'll have a look out for The Teenant once I've read the other two Bronte books I own. It definitely sounds very interesting! It would also probably be quite interesting to compare the works of all three of them (and useful preperation for Uni!).

I hope I'm not disappointed either, especially as I think it's a text which is studied in first year English at the Uni. I want to go to. I would hate to have to study something which I didn't enjoy.

We didn't actually study the latter two books (TKAMB and Animal Farm) as part of the course - our class were about six months ahead of everyone else, so we often studied different texts in between doing our course work. Our teacher at Standard Grade also taught History, so we got the historical background to both of those books, which made them much more enjoyable to read. Well, I enjoyed them, but I know that some people didn't! The texts which we actually studied for the course were An Inspector Calls by J. B. Preistly, and an Edwin Morgan poem. We also read two Shakespeare plays, so we technically read twice as many books for leisure as we studied!

Arthur Miller is frequently used for Higher English, both The Crucible and Death of a Salesman. I really liked the play, and was quite disappointed when I Wikied it and discovered most of it was fictional or exaggerated!

pixieholopainen:

Childrens' Classics

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - on tbr

Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll - on tbr

The Water Babies by Charlies Kingsley - loved

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (Bought by my grandad as he liked it himself. Other than Frank Beddor's novels, I'm not really into fantasy that much) - was ok, but I'm really into fantasy either.

 

Adult Novels

Me and Emma by Elizabeth Flock (Lent by mum) - loved

Library Books

Mercy by Jodi Picoult CURRENTLY READING - loved

Updated! A couple more added and one taken off. Not too bad!