Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Great American Reads That I Haven’t Read




Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week, we’re doing last week’s topic because I’ve been terrible at following the rules lately. Today we’re talking about backlist books that I want to read. This topic is too big! Seriously, I have a Pinterest board with 400 backlist books that I haven’t gotten to yet. I needed a way to narrow down the topic, so we’re going to focus on the PBS show The Great American Read. When they announced their top 100 books, I was surprised that I’d actually read most of them. Go me! But, here are ten Great American Reads that I still need to get to.



Great American Reads That I Haven’t Read









1. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell



The story is set in Clayton County, Georgia, and Atlanta during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of the poverty she finds herself in after Sherman's March to the Sea.








2. Anne Of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery



Everyone's favorite redhead, the spunky Anne Shirley, begins her adventures at Green Gables, a farm outside Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. When the freckled girl realizes that the elderly Cuthberts wanted to adopt a boy instead, she begins to try to win them and, consequently, the reader, over.








3. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams


Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out of work actor.








4. The Color Purple by Alice Walker


Set in the deep American South between the wars, it is the tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls 'father', she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage. But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker—a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually, Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves.








5. The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain


On the banks of the Mississippi River, Tom Sawyer and his friends seek out adventure at every turn. Then one fateful night in the graveyard they witness a murder. The boys make a blood oath never to reveal the secret, and they run away to be pirates in search of hidden treasure. But when Tom gets trapped in a cave with scary Injun Joe, can he escape unharmed?








6. Memoirs Of A Geisha by Author Golden


In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion.








7. The Count Of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas


In 1815 Edmond Dantès, a young and successful merchant sailor who has just recently been granted the succession of his erstwhile captain Leclère, returns to Marseille to marry his Catalan fiancée Mercédès. Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantès is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration.








8. Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls


They ranged the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country. Old Dan had the brawn. Little Ann had the brains, and Billy had the will to make them into the finest hunting team in the valley. Glory and victory were coming to them, but sadness waited too.








9. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton


Bio-engineers create authentic, detail-perfect, real-life dinosaurs for a Pacific island theme park, but scientific triumph explodes into horrendous disaster as the first visitors encounter the unbelievable.








10. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan


In 1949, four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. With wit and wisdom, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between these four women and their American-born daughters. As each reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined . . .







Have you read any of these? What did you think?







57 comments:

  1. I've only read The Color Purple here but really enjoy it.

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  2. I enjoyed watching the special last week (week before?) with the countdown. The top five weren’t big surprises but it was fun to see what order they fell in. From your list I’ve only read Memoirs of a Geisha. That’s been 10 years ago or more but I remember enjoying it. It was definitely a setting and culture that I’d not read about before.

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    1. Yeah, the most-loved books weren’t surprising at all. A lot of people seem to love Memoirs of a Geisha. I don’t know much about it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  3. I have read most of them. Where the Red Fern Grows is one of my favorites. The Color Purple is excellent too. I have not read Gone with the Wind or seen the movie. It is one that I want to someday.

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    1. I can’t believe I got through school without reading Where The Red Fern Grows. I have read one of the author’s other books and loved it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  4. I've only read Anne of Green Gables. It was back in elementary school, but it wasn't really a favorite to be honest. I know many love it though!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. I’ll get around to reading it someday. I hope I’m one of the people who love it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  5. I've read most of them, and Where the Red Fern Grows was a favorite as a kid. I wonder how much I'd enjoy it as an adult. I'm afraid to reread in case it doesn't live up to its memory, kwim?

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    1. I have a few books like that. I’m afraid to reread my childhood favorites because my reading tastes have changed a lot.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  6. Oh man . that would be almost every book for me lol

    I did read Memoirs of a Geisha and Jurassic Park when they first came out though.

    I have a tough time with the classics. I get so bored lol

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I get bored with a lot of classics, too, but I like to challenge myself sometimes.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  7. Would definitely give'Gone with the Wind' a try. It's the most enjoyable classic I've ever read and the characters are incredible. Just go prepared for the problematic-ness (which I'm sure you will) especially in the bit about reconstruction...

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    1. I can handle the problematic stuff. I’m not sure if I can handle the length of that book. It’s a big one!

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  8. My third grade teacher read Where the Red Fern Grows to us, and I've loved it ever since. Even though it always makes me cry. :)

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    1. I’m not sure how I got through school without reading that one.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  9. I am impressed. I read 6 of these. Me and my next generation bawled over Where the Red Fern Grows. I am not even allowed to utter the name of that book in her presence, as it elicits tears and a lot of angst from her. I read The Color Purple in the 80s, and it has stayed with me after all these year. That book was amazing. Tan's books are phenomenal too.

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  10. Oh, what fun! I have a LONG list of books everyone has read except me :) including some of these like Gone with the Wind, the Count of Monte Cristo, and The Color Purple. I've read most of the others. How did you get through school without reading Tom Sawyer? lol

    I just read Anne of Green Gables 2 years ago, and I loved it! Somehow missed it as a kid but really enjoyed it now. Definitely make time for that one.

    Sue

    Book By Book

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    1. Haha, I was forced to read Mark Twain’s short stories in school and hated them so much that I avoided everything else by him. I own some of his books, but I haven’t read them yet.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  11. I REALLY want to read Jurassic Park! The only one on this list I've read is Memoirs of a Geisha and I do remember that I enjoyed it.

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    1. Jurassic Park is high on my priority list, too. It’s hard to call myself a horror lover when I haven’t read it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  12. I've also never read Anne of Green Gables. I picked it up when I was young and it just never clicked with me!

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    1. Somehow I completely missed it when I was a kid. I don’t know how.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  13. Gone with the Wind is one of my favorites! And Jurassic Park is so good - I read it as a teenager and just listened to it on audio, very fun!

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    1. I guess I need to read Gone With The Wind. Everybody seems to love it. I’m scared of how big it is.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  14. I've only read Anne of Green Gables from this list. I read a good amount from the Great American Read. A lot them I didn't read I don't want to read anyone so that's good. Anne of Green Gables was entertaining except for the unexpected factor of it being a longer span of time of Anne's life than I thought. I have to reread it since I kind of rushed the ending. Gilbert and Anne together are so cute.

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    1. I’m glad you mostly liked it. It’s high on my priority list. There are so many children’s classics that I want to read someday.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  15. I finally read Jurassic Park a few years ago and liked it. It was nice to see the differences from the movie (I'm a big fan of the movie). Tom Sawyer I read as a kid but don't remember a lot, except for him and Becky trying to escape the bad guy at the end lol.

    Where the red fern Grows- I don't think I read it, but they showed the movie in school and I probably cried, if I remember right. And I do want to read The Count of Monte Cristo. Maybe. At some point. If it wasn't 3000 pages long or something.

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    1. I saw Jurassic Park when I was a kid, but I don’t remember it very well. Why are some classics so huge? There’s no reason for a book to be 1000 pages! I’d read more of them if they were shorter.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  16. I loved Jurassic Park and surprisingly quite liked Gone with the Wind. I DNFed Hitchhikers after a couple of chapters and haven't read the others!

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    1. I’ve heard that Hitchhiker has an unusual writing style that doesn’t appeal to everybody. I’m looking forward to Jurassic Park. Lots of people seem to love it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  17. I loved Gone with the wind (reread it many times) and The Color Purple! Dying to read Geisha because totally loved the movie! Great list!

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  18. I still need to read quite a few of these as well. I loved Memoirs of a Geisha. There seems to be some controversy about it now, but it really inspired my interest in Japanese culture! The Count of Monte Cristo and Hitchhiker's Guide are also good ones, though I didn't seem to love the latter as much as everyone else. The Joy Luck Club is one I've been really wanting to read!

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    1. There always seems to be controversy about classics. I just expect it at this point and try to enjoy the books anyway.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  19. Well, I've only read Tom Sawyer and Hitchhiker's Guide... I'm currently reading a memoir where the "Hitchhiker's Guide" is like a Damascus Road experience for the guy to become a writer. Personally, I enjoy all Twain and have read Tom Sawyer twice, as a kid and as an adult (and have read Huck Finn several more times)

    www.thepulpitandthepen.com

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    1. I really need to read Hitchhiker’s Guide. Someone I went to school with was obsessed with that book and wanted to write sci-fi because of it. I guess it’s influential!

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  20. A Pinterest board with 400 backlist books; damn! Love your first pick; gone with the wind! It’s been on my tbr for years as well but I still need to buy a printed copy. I do have three Dutch books of this story, which belonged to my Grandfather - he died when I was 2 - so those are really precious to me but I’d rather read the story in English sometime.

    When I was younger, I always loved the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I think it’s a great pick! I’d definitely love to re-read it someday in the future, since it’s been over 20 years I’ve read it at the time.

    O and Jurassic Park is still on my wishlist as well. I looooove everything about Jurassic Park and Jurassic World the movies and I read a couple of ya dinosaur re-tellings months ago so I’ve been wanting to read more dinosaur books. And I still haven’t bought and read the Michael Crichton books, so I should be ashamed of myself haha. Hope I get around to buying and reading his books soon.

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    1. Everybody seems to love Gone With The Wind and Tom Sawyer. I’ll get to them eventually. I saw the Jurassic Park movie when I was a kid, but I don’t remember it very well. I’ll have to watch it again when I read the book.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  21. You know I was actually reading Jurassic Park this month... But sadly DNFed. I feel like I should hide/shy away as I type that. I read half the book, so I gave it a far shot, however I just didn't feel a pull to finish it. I think because I have seen, and loved, the films that impacted on my experience - if I had gone in without those prior impressions, I think I definitely would have finished it. Cleverly written, and I can see why it is loved by many.

    I hope you get to some of these titles soon.

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    1. Sorry it didn’t work out for you. Hopefully I have better luck with it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  22. I haven't read Jurassic Park or The Count of Monte Cristo, but I've read and enjoyed the rest of these. Memoirs of a Geisha and The Color Purple were my favorites.

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  23. I also haven't read Hitchhikers or Anne of Green Gables but I definitely plan to! I also really want to finally read Little Women. I am hoping in December! Great list :)

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    1. I have Little Women sitting on my TBR shelf! I’ve been avoiding it because it’s long, and it doesn’t seem like the kind of book I’d like.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  24. I can't tell you how many times I've read the Anne of Green Gables series! So GOOD!!

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  25. Well you're not alone here, I haven't read any of these titles here either haha. I've heard so much about Anne of Green Gables, though, maybe I should try it out someday! :) x

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    1. That one is high on my list of classics to read. I’m not sure how I managed to miss it in school.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  26. I've never read The Count of Monte Crisco either. You're not alone there.

    Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by earlier.

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  27. If it is to any comfort, I still haven't read any of these yet either.

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  28. I've only read The Joy Luck Club and Where the Red Fern Grows. Both were really good.

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  29. I definitely printed a list of all these and am trying to make my way through them (DNFs allowed). I haven't read any of these ten yet. I hope you can get to them soon!

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  30. The Hitchhiker's Guide, yes. Read that. I thought Jurassic Park was just okay. Too much babbling haha.

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  31. I never read classic lit. It's not something I've been able to get "into." That said, I feel like I'd really like to try reading the Anne books. Someday!

    Thanks so much for the Finding Wonderland visit, AJ. :) My apologies for the return visit delay.

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  32. I swore I commented on this, but I was taking cold medicine last week and that is my MO when I'm on Nyquil. Ha ha! 😝

    You have to read Where the Red Fern Grows! Have a box of tissues ready. 😭

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