What we have here is the top 106 books most often marked as “unread” by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded. Bold the ones you’ve read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn’t finish.

Here’s the twist: add (*) beside the ones you liked and would (or did) read again or recommend. Even if you read ’em for school in the first place. I’m also going to add (**) to books that I do actually want to read but I haven’t had time to read yet due to time crunches.

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I just finished Herland for class. I rarely really enjoy mandatory reading, but I loved this book. It is a feminist, less satirical, version of Utopia. It is a very interesting view on what would happen if a society grew lacking all men. How would women change. How would society change. It’s very interesting. Of course the book is more than a little misandrist, but given that it was written in 1860 I’m not surprised that the author is a bit hostile to men. The author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, wrote my favorite short story of all time–“The Yellow Wallpaper” which is short and out of copyright so easily found on the web. If you have any interest in cultural development I highly recommend this book. It’s neato.

My favorite section from the book is about religion:
“You see, we are not accustomed to horrible ideas,” she said, coming back to me rather apologetically. “We haven’t any. And when we get a thing like that into our minds it’s like–oh, like red pepper in your eyes. So I just ran to her, blinded and almost screaming, and she took it out so quickly–so easily!”
“How?” I asked, very curious.
“Why, you blessed child,’ she said, ‘you’ve got the wrong idea altogether. You do not have to think that there ever was such a God–for there wasn’t. Or such a happening–for there wasn’t. Nor even that this hideous false idea was believed by anybody. But only this–that people who are utterly ignorant will believe anything–which you certainly knew before.’
“Anyhow,’ pursued Ellador, ‘she turned pale for a minute when I first said it.”
This was a lesson to me. NO wonder this whole nation of women was peaceful and sweet in expression–they had no horrible ideas.
“Surely you had some when you began,” I suggested.
“Oh yes, no doubt. But as soon as our religion grew to any height at all we left them out, of course.”
From this, as from many other things, I grew to see what I finally put in words.
“Have you no respect for the past? For what was thought and believed by your foremothers?”
“Why, no,” she said. “Why should we? They are all gone. They knew less than we do. If we are not beyond them, we are unworthy of them–and unworthy of the children who must go beyond us.”

Very interesting reading…

I finally got around to reading Harry Potter. All seven books in eight days. That was way better than reading earlier and having to wait around for sequels. 🙂

I have read more new-to-me books and more rereads for fun in the past six months than I have in the previous five years total. I’m not really sure what is up with needing to escape from my life more. But I have read some nifty books. (I think I’m up to 15 books in the last six months?)

Finished the third book last night. 6 days for all three. I love summer.

Two to go.

I really really really like this series. 🙂

I realized the other day that I was reading quite a variety of books… simultaneously.
(* indicates a re-read)

Undefended Love – still slowly working my way through it. It’s a very hard read for me and I can only sometimes handle the intensity.
The Courage to Heal – also slowly working through it. I’m still trying to make progress, but it is interesting how I notice that I have only so much emotional energy on a given day so I can deal with my job or my personal shit. I think this will come to the front of the pile again when school is over.
*Walk in My Soul – I’m reading Noah one of my favorite books. It’s a neat experience because this book was one of my favorite x’s40 books growing up and I have never shared it with anyone before. I’ve also never really read to anyone before. It’s really good.
*One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – have to read along with the kidlets and make reading quizzes and study questions cause the ones I made last year were only so-so.
*I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – technically a reread, but it has been more than a decade. I’m doing this book with the kid I’m home teaching partially because he is a serious racist and I’m trying to get him to look at some of his opinions.
The Hobbit – I’ve never read this book. I’ve never wanted to. Comp and Lit picked it over Go Ask Alice. *sigh*
Freakonomics – I am really loving this book. It is awesome and amazing. I’m devouring chapters whenever I get a chance. Thank you Kevin!!
Radical Ecstasy – also slowly working my way through this one. It’s really interesting and it is inspiring me to feel like I want to be playing more even though I don’t have much time or energy. This summer, I am going to be wearing Noah out. Yay! Thank you Janet. I think you two did a marvelous job with this one. 🙂
I have also picked up and finished several Anne Rice books* in the past 3-4 weeks. 🙂

I forgot what it was like to love to read and to do it all the time. I am so happy that I got it back. Getting a degree in English killed my love of books for several years and I was worried that it would stay killed.