Earlier this week, I wrote a review for The Dead Room by Chris Mooney, a book I had had sitting on my Kindle since 2012. There was no reason why I hadn’t read it other than I had bought other books and they had risen to the top of my “want to read” list quicker. I know that other bloggers have talked about this problem and there is a read the books you buy challenge but it isn’t a problem I thought I had a) because I don’t review a lot of ARCs in the grand scheme of things so don’t have to prioritise those most of the time and b) because when I look at my book shelves there are very few books I haven’t read and most of those aren’t that old – no more than a year, which I think is perfectly acceptable.
Thinking about it though I realised I often said in my comments on other people’s reviews “oh I have this on my Kindle ready to read” so I decided to take a good hard look at just what was on there, plus on ibooks which I rarely go on anymore but know has books still waiting for me to read. There are a lot over a year old, quite a few over two years old and more than I imagined or care to admit to older than three years (and no, I won’t share the number).
As I’m already taking part in several challenges this year, which is more than enough for me, I am not going to sign up for read the books you buy but I am going to give myself a bit of a goal to work towards and, between now and the end of June, I am aiming to read the three books I’ve owned the longest. They are…
Anna Bella Nor is just two weeks away from revealing her controversial research on the evolutionary origin of birds when her supervisor Lars Helland is found dead . . . his tongue and a copy of her thesis in his lap.
As the police investigate the most brutal and calculated case they’ve ever known, Anna remains convinced someone is trying to stop her research coming to light. She must fight to prove her innocence . . . and fight for her life.
Owned since October 2012
The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries…Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labours, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse.
Owned since January 2013
In summer 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day (and slept much of the rest), a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and an unknown aviator named Charles Lindbergh who became the most famous man on earth.
It was the summer that saw the birth of talking pictures, the invention of television, the peak of Al Capone’s reign of terror, the horrifying bombing of a school in Michigan, the thrillingly improbable return to greatness of over-the-hill baseball player Babe Ruth, and an almost impossible amount more.
In this hugely entertaining book, Bill Bryson spins a tale of brawling adventure, reckless optimism and delirious energy. With the trademark brio, wit and authority that make him Britain’s favourite writer of narrative non-fiction, he brings to life a forgotten summer when America came of age, took centre stage, and changed the world.
Owned since December 2013
If I manage these three, I’ll add three more till I’m all caught up and the guilt I have been feeling for the last week or so will disappear and I will be a happy bunny again.
How about you? Have I got you beat with how long I’ve owned these books are have you had ones on your shelves / kindle longer? Do you feel guilty or not worry, knowing you’ll get to them one day?
Emma
p.s. I only picked three because the last two (Follett and Bryson) are really, really long – maybe why I haven’t read them yet?
One Readers Thoughts 
I have a few unread books from 2014, 2015, and 2016. I put the older ones in my TBR Jar. The newer ones will be tackled in my current challenge. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
What is a TBR jar? Sounds like a good idea if it’s what I think it might be…picking book names for a jar then reading that one?
LikeLike
I read The Poisonwood Bible this year, which I’d shockingly had on my TBR since it was first published in paperback about 18 years ago. I adored it so I’m really kicking myself for leaving it so long! Btw, I enjoyed Bill Bryson’s One Summer – it’s quite long but it’s a fun read.
LikeLike
You have me beat then on length of time. I think the length of One Summer put me off though I love Bill Bryson. I have no excuse now though I’ve put it in a post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a book buying addiction, so I have way more books on my shelves than I will probably ever get to plus review books. I have decided, that is, if I can stick to it, to putting new to me books on my wishlist and only getting review books from series I have already started or favorite author, but it hasn’t worked so far but I have decided to try and get strict again so I will see how it goes. 🙂 I really do want to read more of my own books but feel I must get those review books done and need to get caught up.
LikeLike
I can see review books getting away from me. Netgalley I can control – I am workin on a one reviewed, one requested approach but then there are print books which I don’t know are turning up. I got three this week, more and I could be scuppered.
LikeLike
What a very good idea! I SHOULD read some of those books I’ve had languishing far too long near the bottom of the pile – one a month would be a good start, wouldn’t it? Thank you for this one, Emma:). I look forward to hearing how you got on with them.
LikeLike
I hope my plan works…I know I will always own them but I do feel guilty. Plus, as The Dead Room showed, I am probably missing out on some great books.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I think that’s an excellent point, Emma. I’m sure there are some must-read books buried at the bottom of my TBR pile, too!
LikeLike
Before I got my kindle I didn’t really have a problem with the TBR- maybe a pile of Ten or so books – the daily deals scuppered all that with quite a few purchases going back to 2012 – then I began blogging…
LikeLike
Daily deals and 99p sales are what got me. There are so many one click purchases on the kindle!
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] to finally read some of them. I picked the three oldest and you can see what they are here. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has books sitting their gathering dust (digitally […]
LikeLike
The only reason I don’t have any unread books from 2013 is because I lost my bookworm way for a while and didn’t get back into reading until 2014 lol. But I have so many books on my kindle that I was all excited about when I first got them and now I don’t even remember that I have them. A lot of them were free, at least, but I know I’ve also paid for ebooks and then got interested in newer books and just forgot the ones I’d previously bought. So yes, it definitely happens! I don’t feel guilty though. It’s not like I have an obligation to read those books. Your plan sounds great though!
LikeLike
[…] via Books at the bottom of the pile — […]
LikeLike
[…] week, I’m reading the oldest book on my Kindle (part of a personal challenge I wrote about here). I’m a little way in and not sure how I feel. I normally love Nordic Noir, which this is, […]
LikeLike
[…] Sissel-Jo Gazan, which has sat on my kindle longer than any other book I own (for more on that see here). It’s taken me a while to get into but I think I’m there. Now I need to decide if […]
LikeLike
[…] how I wish I hadn’t waited as long, I set myself a personal challenge this year of reading the books at the bottom of the reading pile. This one was next on my list and, unfortunately, the results weren’t as good as I might […]
LikeLike
[…] weeks ago about the books I’d owned the longest and had never read (you can read more on that here). Today, though, I thought I would share the oldest book I own, Poets of the Nineteenth Century, […]
LikeLike