January Top 5: Books We've Always Wanted To Read (But Have Never Gotten Around To)

To begin the new year, we Broads thought long and hard about what we should tackle in our first Top 5 of 2011.  Top 5 things J.R.Ward does in her BDB series that drive us nuts? Top 5 reasons books are better than men? (We liked that one so much we're considering doing that for February.)  We finally decided on the Top 5 books we've always wanted to read. 

Why we haven't read these books before is often a long story we promise not to tell because we really don't want to bore people.  Most of the time, we heard about them or had every intent of reading them, and then another, usually more salacious book came about and off we were chasing incredibly sexy men down some romantic rabbit hole.  Or real life crashed in and that long intended book got pushed down in the TBR pile. 

But without further ado, here are the Top 5 books we've always wanted to read.

Alexandria/Moira
1.  Gone With The Wind/ War And Peace
2.  Don Quixote/Anna Karenina
3.  The Gift of the Magi/Gone With The Wind
4.  King Richard III/ Northanger Abby
5.  Alexander Hamilton/ The History Of The Ancient World

1. 
Alexandria:  I've always considered reading Gone With The Wind, and not because I'm a huge fan of the film either.  Not that it's a bad movie, but it's a time commitment I rarely can afford.  This is also why I've never read the book.  It's huge.  That's generally not my shtick.  That's Moira's gig. (You have to see the tomes she gravitates toward.  Shoowee mama!)

Moira: For years I have been claiming that I will read War And Peace by Tolstoy, but I have hesitated to take on such a large volume.  My hesitations have come to an end, as a friend has just given me loan of her copy.  Russian history and culture greatly interest me, so I look forward to finally tackling this tome and blogging my thoughts in review soon! 

2. 
Alexandria:  Don Quixote.  This is a sort of entry since I have read the abridged version but never the complete version.  I enjoyed the version I read a great deal, but again, it's a sizable book and I find that everyday life intrudes on novels this size to the point where I put them down and never pick them up again. 

Moira: Tolstoy occupies the number one and two slots on this month's Top Five list for me.  Anna Karenina has been recommended to me numerous times, and I will finally give this novel my attention once I have finished the author's other novel on my "to do" list.  Among readers, I have found little middle ground of opinion when Tolstoy is mentioned.  Readers either love or disdain this famous author.  My views are yet undiscovered.

3. 
Alexandria:  The Gift of the Magi.  I've read a few O. Henry stories, but this one has always escaped my grasp when I go to grab a book.  I think I may even have a copy of it somewhere.  This may have to be one of my new year's resolutions books this year. 

Moira:  Gone With The Wind makes my top five, as I absolutely love the movie.  It is one of my favorites.  Years ago, I stayed at 'Tara, A Country Inn', in Ohio, where the rooms are named and decorated after famous GWTW characters and sayings.  My pick was, 'Fiddle Dee-Dee', and it did not disappoint.  Usually, I like the book better than the movie, and I hope this is the case with Gone With The Wind.

4.
Alexandria:  King Richard III.  I love Shakespeare, but my reading of the histories is woeful.  I've always heard Richard III is one of the histories to read, but I've never gotten to it.  Part of the problem is that I've never been a fan of reading Shakespeare and not seeing the play performed, and in my neck of the woods, seeing Richard III would be akin to seeing a polka dotted zebra. 

Moira:  Being a great fan of Jane Austen, I blush to admit that Northanger Abby is the only of her famous works that I have neglected.  The anniversary of her birthday recently was celebrated, and I purchased this lone unread novel for my Kindle 'TBR' archive.

5.
Alexandria:  Alexander Hamilton.  It's with shame that I admit I've never read Ron Chernow's biography of one of the most influential Founding Fathers because I know I own this book.  It haunts me from the bookcase in my bedroom.  I've read about half of it and for whatever reason, I never got back to it.  To know me is to know I love reading about Alexander Hamilton, but somehow Chernow's book is still sitting there waiting for me to pick it up again.  Perhaps this is the year, Alexander.

Moira:  The History Of The Ancient World is a title I couldn't wait to purchase.  I went so far as to obtain a signed copy from author Susan Wise Bauer along with her second volume, History Of The Medieval World.  The thought of reading an account of medieval history lured me to read out of order, and I have never returned to finish the ancients. It, like Alexandria's Hamilton, taunts me from the end-table beside my favorite reading spot, to which I respond...., "Easy now...I'll get to you.  I promise."