Julia's Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I've Never Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND sign Mister Linky at the bottom to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Don't worry if you can't come up with ten every time..just post what you can!

Looking back on my childhood, I can think of the moment where from that moment on I could be labeled a reader. For the curious among you it was carrying out a stack of about 20 books from my local library for the first time. But with being a reader comes the task of actually reading books. The more I travel to the library, stumble upon book blogs or walk through a bookstore my "want to read" pile grows exponentially. So without further ado, this reader gives you:

The Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I've Never Read

1. Lemony Snicket Series - I remember back when the last few books in this series were coming out. I was relatively young, still marketable for these books. All of my friends were gaga over what was going to happen to these kids (my extent of the knowledge of the book). I remember feeling like, "I need to read this. I want to be part of the gang!" but as the last book came out and the fervor died down, I put it off and thus it ends up on this list.

2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - I really think I would like these books. My friends have said that I would. I just never have had them in my possession or read a word of their pages.

3. Catch-22 - How many times have I heard the phrase "It's a Catch 22." Actually, not that many. But every time I do hear it, it makes me want to learn more about its origins.

4.The complete chronicles of Narnia series - This one shames me to put on here since I credit the first three or four books in this series as getting little me back into reading. I devoured the first books but once the Pensive kids exited the main storyline, I did too. I've tried a couple of time since then to finish, but every time I try another book comes along that I want to read more. So sadface, here they sit on this list.

5. Pride and Prejudice - In high school, I heard stories about how dreamy Mr Darcy was and how this book was the epitome of romance. Being a romantic myself, I bought it at the library book sale. I really couldn't get into it. I kept getting confused about who was saying what to whom and who would answer. So I gave up and watched the BBC series. Ever since I feel like I'd be able to go back and enjoy it but again, other things have pushed it to the side.

6. Middlesex - This book was the first book I added to my Goodreads shelf back in 2007. Three years later, it still sits there.

7. The Hobbit - I don't know if this will ever come off of this list. I went through a huge Tolkien craze my junior year of high school. I read the whole Lord of the Rings series followed by all of the Appendices and The Silmarillion. But I read 40 pages into The Hobbit and could go no further. I feel like this makes me less of a Tolkien fan, but I just couldn't get into it like the other three books.

8. Paradise Lost - I've wanted to read this book since we read an except of it in my high school British lit class. I even started it at one point, but after 30 pages of getting hit over the head with mythological references I had no idea about, I decided to put it on the back burner and read a book about Greek mythology in preparation. Well that took awhile and by the time I finished, I needed some light reading and never went back.

9. Anything by Dickens OK. This isn't necessarily true. I did read A Christmas Carol. But that was like reading the transcript of every movie version of that novel. So, I've never read Dickens. I feel like I should, but have never taken the initiative to do anything about it.

10. 1984 - It sounds right up my alley. There are so many references to this book culturally that I feel like I am missing something by not have been initiated with Big Brother.

And so concludes my wall of text. What about you? What are your top ten never read books?

Next week's topic is Top Ten Favorite Heroines

Jessi Reviews "Wildwood Dancing"

Title/Author: Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Publisher/Year: Knopf Books, 2007

How I Got This: From my much-beloved (and completely awesome) public library

Why I Read It: I love anything to do with fairy tales and fairy tale re-tellings!

Rating: 5 Stars

This, my friends, is how you tell a story! 

I've been on a kick of fairytale-related books recently, and this is easily the best of them. I was completely hooked on this book and found it nearly impossible to put down. 

This is my first read of Juliet Marillier, but now I know that I definitely want to check out the other books that she's written. She is quite talented as a storyteller. I was completely transported to Piscul Dracului and the surrounding forest as I read. 

In a genre of books that is slowly all melting together to look the same, this is delightfully original. The fantasy elements are creative, but not overdone. Set in a time when most everyone believed in the magic of the fairytale, the characters believed in what happened and thus does the reader. It all combined together to create this really cool feeling of an old-time, traditional fairy tale. 

I loved this book for all of this and, not to mention, the characters! Jena was an excellent choice for a narrator, and by the end of the story, I was emotionally invested in each of these characters lives. You all know how much I love good characters, so I LOVE when they grow to become my friends. Jena is one of those kickbutt girl characters who isn't afraid to speak her mind. The bond her and her sisters had was really sweet, too. I enjoyed how each sister has a distinct persona, and each character had a very clear voice. Cezar made me want to punch something (specifically his face), and he was a character that I loved to hate. And I LOVE LOVE LOVED Gogu! I thought I was so smart--I thought I had figured out the twist, but I was wonderfully surprised. 

I can't intelligently review this book--all I can do is gush about how good it is. This has definitely become one of my favorites. For those who enjoy fairy tales, I can't recommend this enough.

Jamie Takes On Remarkable Creatures by Tracey Chevalier

Book Title/Author: Remarkable Creaturesby Tracey Chevalier
Publisher/Year Published: Dutton Adults 2010
How my grubby hands got a hold of this book: I won this via a giveaway on Goodreads.
Why I read this book: It sounded intriguing and definitely different from anything I've read.
Rating: 4 stars--good start into my introduction of historical fiction.


My first Chevalier novel and I'm in love. I have Girl with a Pearl Earring & The Lady and the Unicorn sitting on my shelf and I cannot wait to devour those. I'm not well read in the historical fiction genre but if they read like this, I'm a fan!

The novel is about two "spinsters" who develop an unlikely friendship over their love of combing the beaches and cliffs for fossils. Both of these women, Mary Anning & Elizabeth, are social outcasts in their own respective ways and their passion for these fossils thrusts them into a "man's world." Both characters have to grapple with the gender, social, and class prejudices of the day as they try to be recognized for their discoveries and who they are as remarkable women with incredible gifts, wiles, & passion.

First, I had no idea who Mary Anning was and I am now incredibly intrigued to find out more. I love learning about obscure figures of the past. I suppose if you were really into the subject matter you might know of her but I enjoyed learning of someone I've never heard of who had a profound impact on science. I also love trues stories of people breaking through barriers and doing something extraordinary that exceeds the expectations of society.

I loved the characters of Mary & Elizabeth but felt some of the other characters fell a little flat. I forgot about some of them and wished they would have be developed a little more. I never felt bored with the repeated beachcombing scenes but I do feel perhaps some could have been cut back a little so to make room for a little more character development & dialogue to really bring the characters to life. I've heard that her characters are normally really wonderful & lively but I have nothing to compare it to. I will soon find out as I plan on reading her other novels very shortly!

I absolutely loved reading about obscure people in history. What are some of your favorite reads about obscure people in history? Or do you have any other recommendations for historical fiction novels as I haven't read too many?

Kelly's Review of "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Title: Middlesex
Author: Jeffrey Eugenides
Published: Picador USA, 2002
Where I Got It: My favorite thrift store
Why I Read It: Goodreads College Student's group read!


I'm not sure I would have ever picked up this book if it hadn't been a group read. I think it was really the Oprah's Book Club sticker on the front, which would have revealed to the world that I had succumbed to the masses (Oprah and I have a love/hate relationship). Nevertheless, I'm so glad I did.


Middlesex is a fictional story of a man named Cal Stephanides with a condition called 5-alpha-reductase deficiency...aka, he is a hermaphrodite. He was raised as a girl (called Calliope), but never hits puberty. That raised questions, and when he learned of his 'condition,' Cal instantly accepted and adapted himself as a boy. He basically walked out of the door, shed his girl clothes, got a haircut, and was a boy.


I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here, as Cal's story and transformation is really only the last third of the book. In the previous pages, we meet his peculiar and unforgettable family. The first part of the book is about his grandparents, Desdemona and Lefty. We learn about the beginnings of their extremely odd relationship and their emigration to America after fleeing the 1922 Greek/Turkish war. In the second part, Desdemona and Lefty are assimilating into American culture and trying to survive in their new country. Cal’s parents, Tessie and Milton, also come into the picture against a backdrop of economic troubles and race riots in Detroit. Finally, Cal makes his entrance in 1960, only as a little girl. We follow Cal throughout the rest of the book as he grew up, went to school, made friends and was a seemingly normal girl. It was only until he was around 10-11 that things started to get tweaky. In my opinion, that’s where the book really hits its stride and takes off.

The author does not mince words or gloss over the details. We read every detail of Cal’s awkward encounters with both males and females, his body parts, and other’s thoughts on his condition. The reader is told all of this by a middle-aged Cal, written in a memoir form. The remembrance of his life brings us and Cal a fresh new perspective.

One of my biggest problems was that the Calliope/Cal transformation is so abrupt that I felt it lacked any emotion. The rest of Cal’s experiences are filled with emotion and personal insight, but this big change almost came out of nowhere. It was hard for me to understand why he accepted this change so easily. Also, the author has a thing with names, or a lack of names. Cal’s grandfather is named Lefty, his brother is Chapter Eleven, and Cal’s friend/source of infatuation is only known as ‘The Object.’ Unknown/unexplained nicknames are a pet peeve of mine.

Middlesex is not your typical coming of age story. It is extremely awkward in places and sometimes difficult to think about. Even though it's fiction, it's still very real. Jeffrey Eugenides is a great writer and has developed an interesting plot. Even though this is not the type of book I would typically read, I enjoyed it immensely. 4 stars.

Jess' Review: A Wretched Man (RW Holmen)

A Wretched Man - A Novel of Paul the ApostleImage found at Goodreads

Title: A Wretched Man - A Novel of Paul the Apostle
Author: RW Holmen
Publisher: Bascom Hill, 2010
Notes: I received this book from the publisher to review. Despite this, my review is not biased in favor of the book. Any opinion offered here is completely my own.

A brief summary: "Jesus authored no writings. Nor did any of those who followed him in the Galilee or during his fateful pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It fell to an outside to become the movement's reporter, memorialist, essayist, interpreter, and promoter—despite the opposition of James, the brother of Jesus. Paul the apostle. Paul the one untimely born. This is the story of Paul, a wretched man." (back cover blurb)

My thoughts: I approach books like these very carefully. I did a bit of background about Holmen before I started reading the book, and began in earnest after I satisfied my curiosity.

This book is a number of things. It is well-researched; Holmen clearly has a solid background in early Christianity and religious history. It is also well-written. When reading about Paul—or Paulos, as he is referred to in the novel—I felt that I had a more personalized understanding of who Paul was. Often accused as being anti-Semitic or a problematic Jewish Christian, Holmen addresses these issues. But more importantly, he presents Paul as human. Paul is as subject to human desires, human complexities, and human experiences as the rest of us. The best kind of book, in my opinion, is one that prompts you to think more, to pursue more knowledge. This book definitely incited that curiosity in me.

Some readers may worry that this book revolves around Paul's purported conflicted sexual orientation, but even devoutly religious individuals will find Holmen's handling of the matter to be deft. Some may even find Paul's reluctance to engage in supposedly unclean acts to be a testament to his faith. I would say that if this matter is the issue holding you back from reading this book, it shouldn't be. You may be pleasantly surprised.

While it might help to have some understanding of this time period or the religious and political issues at hand during and immediately after Jesus' death, it's not necessary. I found this book to actually be quite a good accompaniment to my studies of Jesus as a social revolutionary, upsetting the status quo. I felt like I gleaned a new understanding of the early Judeo-Christian world, which is pretty astounding after having taken four years of academic religion classes.

Moreover, I'm curious to speak to the author. What's next after this? How did his background inform his writing of A Wretched Man? I'd be curious to see how Holmen would approach Saint Augustine, but alas, I doubt he is that interested in Augustine, as Holmen is Lutheran.

Rating: 5 stars

In Which Snickers Tackles Society Girls

Title/Author: Splendor (Luxe, #4) by Anna Godbersen

Published: October 13 2009 by HarperCollins

How I Got It: I didn't feel the need to waste my money, so I took a trip to the library.

Why I Read It: Sigh. Mostly just to see if Godbersen redeemed herself any from what she did in Envy, and to finish the series so that I could move on to better things.

The Review:

Godbersen has a gift for descriptions that continue to display her abilities as a writer. In this, Splendor matches its three preceding books in its effective descriptions that are not, as in other young adult novels, abused by an overuse of adjectives (can someone say Brisingr?). I could clearly see every scene in my mind's eye as if it was a movie playing just for me.

That said, Splendor's purpose as a novel became painfully clear to me towards the end: a book to tie up loose ends of the plot. While I as a reader regained some measure of the respect I had lost for Diana in Envy, I felt her particular ending to be overly predictable for a character with her personality. As a whole, she plays the overdone part of the strong, independent heroine to a T, and yet it caused me to ho-hum in all its tediousness. The same kind of circumstance can be applied to Carolina's character, as well: a girl who plays the bumbling, lying fool who in the end owns up to her mistakes, and yet still receives a happy ending (though never the one this kind of character expected).

The remaining two females, Elizabeth and Penelope, are different in that there appears to be a sense of forethought and originality on Godbersen's part in their respective personalities, particularly that of Penelope. The selfish, bitchy girls readers love to hate don't often receive their due in their own point-of-view; it was thus a delight for me to be able to follow Penelope in such an intimate way throughout the series. Her character in particular enchanted me until the end. In this respect, Godbersen did not disappoint.

Even so, there was something distinctly missing in Splendor, and with how it met its conclusion. Not quite would I describe it as predictable, but rather that it gave me a nagging sense of "Haven't I seen this somewhere before?" Even after I finished it, knowing this to be the proverbial The End, I couldn't - and still can't - shake the feeling that there HAS to be more to it than what's written in Splendor. Godbersen clearly has talent as a young adult fiction writer, but it may be that she hasn't fully developed and primed her skills yet; I feel she has the potential to have done better with Splendor as a concluding novel.

For what it is, the Luxe series carries its appeal all the way through 'til the end, that appeal being directed towards a young adult audience. For a more mature and experienced reader, however, he or she might find something wanting in Splendor just as I did.

The Rating:

2 ½ stars.

There's really not much to say as to why it warrants 2 ½ stars. I think in this case, my review is self-explanatory.

Lori's Livres--Gigi by Colette

Book Title/Author: Gigi, by Colette
Publisher/Year Published: The edition I read was published October 10th 2001 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It includes Gigi, Julie de Carneilhan, and Chance Acquaintances and was first published in 1976. Gigi was first published on its own in 1944.
How I got a hold of this book: I bought this book from the Marketplace at Amazon.com.
Why I read this book: I read this book simply because I wanted to read something by Colette. Her biography was taunting me and I felt like I needed to read a couple of things by her before reading it.
Rating: I give this book 3.5 stars because it was a cute story. I think it needed a bit more development, although I don’t know how Colette would have done this because the story was complete. (Does that criticism even make sense? Good. I’m glad you think so.)

A Brief Synopsis: Gigi is a fifteen-year-old girl who comes from a rather different family. It does not seem that her grandmother or mother ever married. Yet, Gigi’s grandmother and great aunt were grooming her to become marriageable. They lamented over how “odd and backward” Gigi was. A friend of the family often came to Gigi’s grandmother’s house, particularly when his failing relationships were splattered all over the newspapers. Though quite a bit older, his attention to Gigi shifts from friendly and uncle-ly to something else…but will Gigi accept him?

This story was pretty short. Only about 65 pages long. It felt undeveloped, yet I don’t know what else Colette could have done because they story played itself out. I am glad I read it because I want to read a few of Colette’s works before I move on to her biography. (I don’t know about you, but sometimes knowing too much about the author, say from reading their biography, before I read their work kind of ruins the work for me)

Another thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was the characters. Gigi’s mother and grandmother kept commenting on how backward and undeveloped she was, but it seemed like they were the ones holding her back. She was very innocent and ditzy for a fifteen-year-old, especially one who supposedly had a rather bohemian childhood. She was pulled into two directions by her grandmother and great aunt, which added to the confusion she felt. Yet her decision and explanation at the end of the novella make you think that maybe she’s been fooling her family, and the reader, for the previous 60-odd pages. She ultimately exhibits a presence of mind and soundness of reasoning that don’t exactly jibe with her past characterization.

I also didn't like that the grandmother was pushing Gigi to marry even though she herself wasn't married and Gigi's mother didn't marry and Gigi's great aunt didn't marry...

I don’t know. Maybe I missed Colette’s ultimate goal.

I pictured Audrey Hepburn as Gigi because she was the stage version of Gigi. If nothing else, I have to laud this story because it was Colette who initially discovered Audrey, whom I adore.

I plan on reading more by Colette, as well as her biography, despite this not being my favorite.