I started this early, which meant that it didn’t occur to me that I hadn’t published it yesterday when I should have. ::sigh:: Anyway, this week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from The Broke and the Bookish is Ten Books That Have Been on Your Shelf/TBR Pile from Before You Started Blogging That You STILL Haven’t Read Yet.

Here are ten books that have been in my possession for more than 11 years:

1. Thanks to a collected work I bought in middle school, I have my top three taken care of: Vilette: Charlotte Brontë
2. Shirley: Charlotte Brontë
3. The Professor: Charlotte Brontë
4. Paradise: Toni Morrison (Rudi gave me this the year it came out because I was so excited about it.)
5. Quidditch through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them: J.K. Rowling (I’ve tried several times. Maybe this year will be the year for success, given the movie coming out inspired by the latter title.)
6. The Age of Innocence: Edith Wharton (I once wrote a paper on this book based on two friends’ explanation of what happened in the movie. Ah, college!)
7. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court: Mark Twain (I bought several used copies of this book in the years before moving to D.C. Multiple copies did not make me more likely to read it; nor did a podcast version.)
8. White Teeth: Zadie Smith (This is another one I’ve given a couple shots, although not in a while. Maybe it’s time to revisit it.)
9. The Secret Life of Bees: Sue Monk Kidd (Ditto.)
10. A Confederacy of Dunces: John Kennedy Toole (I started this book and hated the protagonist, but since my best friend liked it and gave it to me, I will try it again at some point because she’s usually right about such things. Plus, I’m a big believer in sometimes it’s just not the right time for a certain book to enter your life.)

Do you have any books that have been lingering unread a long time on your shelves?