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What book has been on your reading list the longest, and what's kept you from reading it? Do you plan to get to it in 2025?
I've been meaning to read Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl since elementary school. At the time, they were less interesting than fiction, so I didn't get around to them. Now both languish in the middle of my overlong and every-growing TBR. They'll in all likelihood remain there till I retire. Out of all the books high on my TBR, Knausgård's Min Kamp's been there the longest. At first from a desire to learn Norwegian and read it in the original; now from a lack of free time—or, more correctly, I do have some time, but I don't have the mental energy to do anything more difficult than fritter it away online. I'll probably start reading it next summer.
According to Goodreads, The Looming Tower has been on my want to read list the longest. I haven't gotten to it because my want to read list now includes over 1000 books.
An apt title, "looming" indeed haha. When did you start this list? My list is pretty unwieldy at this point as well, around 400 books or something, but I've only had it for five or six years. I need to be a bit more disciplined about titles I put on there.
Same for me, so now I have a two-tiered reading list. The first tier are the books that are the most important to me to get to, and I try to be disciplined of not letting it get too long. The second tier are books that I think I might like, and I'm okay with letting it approach infinity.
Two-tiers is smart. I gotta start doing that.
It be like that
*The Conquest of Bread* by Peter Kropotkin has been on my list for, like, 6 years or so? I'm not quite sure why I haven't gotten around to it.
From glancing at his wikipedia, that dude had quite an interesting life
His “Memoirs of a Revolutionist” is 👌
A copy of 100 Years of Solitude that I found in the recycling area of my apartment building in 2008. I was all set to read it when Marquez died in 2014, then I had to postpone it further because I didn't want to look like I was bandwagon-jumping. Then about six months ago I decided the time had come, but the damn thing had disappeared from the shelves, maybe misplaced in a move. I'm sure it'll turn up though. And I'm still young.
Lots of memorable imagery in that book, I hope you like it!
Damn dude, a decade and a half? I've think you've got us all beat!
For me, Les Miserables has been on my reading list since I first created it way back in high school. There are a few reasons why I still haven't read it: (a) It's really long, (b) I already know the story too, and (c) Every time I've been in the mood for a long book, I keep choosing other ones over Les Mis. I don't think I'll get to it in 2025 tbh, because there are still dozens of other books I'm more excited to read. I will get to it eventually though, and I'm hoping to love it.
There's still a lot to Les Misérables that extends beyond the story. It's essentially a long discussion of morality and French history with a number of action-based centrepieces. The story is more or less based around creating opportunities to discuss every topic he wants to elucidate; where this is impossible, he simply discusses the topic on its own outside of the story. I haven't seen the musical, but I imagine it wouldn't really capture this aspect of the novel. You may already know about Jean Valjean and Cosette, but you're still yet to experience Hugo's 50-80 page dissertations on Waterloo, convents, or working class delinquency in 1813.
Yeah I guess I meant I know the overall plot and character arcs. I still want to read it for all the non-plot reasons that you mentioned, and even for the plot itself, I would assume it's still better experienced via the book than via the musicals/movies.
The dissertation on convents rendered me comatose, but of course that doesn’t invalidate your point
Pushing through that section really allowed to me to understand what performing 'perpetual adoration' prayers would feel like.
Damn, you're in for such a treat! I'd love to have the opportunity to read Les Misérables for the first time again. Officially putting forth the motion you bump this up your reading list.
In search of lost time: Not sure why I keep avoiding it, some mental block I have Simulacra and Simulation: Just one of those books that remain on your shelf so long you forget it’s even meant to be read All Mishima books: I should’ve never watched the Paul schrader movie because I really feel like the movie is going to be better than the books… Like I’m afraid the life of Mishima is more interesting than his books, if this remotely makes sense Dense psychoanalytic books like Jung’s Aeon, Lacan, etc
> I really feel like the movie is going to be better than the books… Rejoice: it is the other way around.