Note: I'm late to the TTT party this week. I got sidetracked from finishing my post by a bookish event. My husband was supposed to go see Rainn Wilson talk about his new book, Soul Boom, with a buddy. His friend wasn't able to make it, so I went instead. Wilson was funny and charming as he discussed how a mental health crisis in his 20s led him on a spiritual journey that eventually brought him back to the Baha'i faith in which he had been raised. After the chat, we stood in line for an hour to meet the actor/author and get our books signed. It was a fun evening out.

This photo is a tad blurry and it's definitely not a very flattering angle for me, but alas, it's proof that I met Dwight Schrute (I mean, Rainn Wilson) :)

Anyway...

You know the drill: you're SO excited to buy or receive a new book that you can't wait to read, you stick it on your shelf "just for now," and then, ten years later, there it still sits. The poor baby is dusty, forgotten, neglected, alone, and still unread. Why do bad things happen to good books? It's a downright travesty, one that plays out constantly (in my home at least). Once I acquire a volume, it seems to lose its immediate allure, dooming it to out-of-sight-out-of-mind territory. Does this happen to you or is it just me? I suspect my bookshelves are not the only ones where lonely tomes sit year after year, just waiting to be remembered...

Good news for those sad, abandoned books! Today's TTT (hosted, as always, by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl) is all about these sad, forgotten titles. We're being asked for the Top Ten Unread Books On My Shelves I Want to Read Soon. I'm going to tweak the prompt just a tad to feature some of the physical review books that have been lingering on my shelves for—wait for it—10+ years! Yikes. When I downsized homes back in 2022, I culled my massive book collection by donating over 1000 books. The titles in my list today made the cut and yet, I still haven't managed to read them. I want to, make no mistake; I just haven't gotten around to it. One of these days weeks years decades I'll actually do it.

1. Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife by Francine Prose (acquired September 2009 from HarperCollins)—This volume of literary criticism examines the history and significance of the famous diary as an important, enduring piece of art.

2. The Lies We Told by Diane Chamberlain (acquired May 2010 from Meryl Moss Media)—Maya and Rebecca Ward are sisters who witnessed the brutal murder of their parents when they were teenagers. Always the more dynamic of the siblings, Rebecca persuades her timid sister and her husband, Adam, to join her in providing medical relief to victims of a North Carolina hurricane. When Maya is involved in a helicopter crash, she is presumed dead. In their grief, Rebecca and Adam find comfort in each other's arms, not realizing that Maya is alive, but struggling to survive in a remote wilderness...Will Maya make it home? What will happen then?

3. Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of 50 Years of To Kill a Mockingbird by Mary McDonagh Murphy (acquired June 2010 from HarperCollins)—In this commemorative book, Murphy, a filmmaker, interviews a number of prominent people, including Oprah Winfrey, Tom Brokaw, and Anna Quindlen, about the impact To Kill a Mockingbird has had on their lives. 

4. Hidden Things (later changed to A Hidden Affair) by Pam Jenoff (acquired July 2010 from Atria)—The second book in a duology, this novel features Jordan Weiss, an intelligence officer with the U.S. State Department. A decade ago, she was a coxswain at Cambridge when her crewmate and boyfriend, Jared Short, drowned the night before the team was to compete in their final race of the year. When a former classmate asserts that Jared's death was no accident, Jordan launches her own investigation into the incident. In this second book, she is still looking for answers. This time, she reluctantly pairs up with a handsome stranger whom she's not entirely sure she can trust...

5. Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons From My Grandmothers by Adriana Trigiani (acquired December 2010 from HarperCollins)—I've enjoyed a number of Trigiani's novels as well as her family cookbook, so I'm not sure why I haven't read this one yet. In it, the writer pays tribute to both of her grandmothers, who lived their remarkable lives with humor, wisdom, and grace.

6. No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 by Graham Bowley (acquired August 2010 from HarperCollins)—On August 1, 2008, eleven climbers died on K2, the second highest mountain on Earth. It was the deadliest day on the mountain to date. Bowley, an investigative journalist, recounts the disaster in this detailed account.

7. South of Superior by Ellen Airgood (acquired May 2011 from TLC Book Tours)—This heartwarming debut novel revolves around a woman who leaves the bustle of Chicago behind for a quiet life in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She is charged with caring for two elderly sisters, one of whom is sweet, the other sour. As she navigates her new job and life in a small town, she finds healing, friendship, and love.

8. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (acquired June 2011 from HarperCollins)—Prophecy says that each century, a great one is chosen. Elisa is supposed to be the chosen one, but she feels more like the princess of failure, with nothing special about her. With everyone counting on her to save them, she has to find the greatness within herself in order to save not just her people, but also her heart.

9. The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott (acquired March 2012 from Penguin Random House)—An aspiring seamstress, Tess is ecstatic when she secures a job as a personal maid for the wealthy, well-known Lady Duff Gordon. Not only is she working for an influential woman, but she will be traveling with her on the elegant H.M.S. Titanic. When the ship goes down, Tess witnesses some questionable actions taken by her employer. As Lady Duff Gordon becomes subject to suspicious questioning, Tess is caught in the media whirlwind as she comes to terms with her own feelings about what she experienced on the ship. 

10. The Cottage at Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri (acquired April 2012 from HarperCollins)—When Nora Cunningham's well-known husband is caught in a scandalous affair, she runs from the spotlight with her two young children in tow. They retreat to a remote seaside town on the coast of Maine, a place the locals say is touched with Irish magic. After Nora spends a lonely evening on the shore sobbing bitter tears into the ocean, she discovers a handsome, mysterious fisherman shipwrecked nearby. Is he really a selkie, summoned by her sadness, like her superstitious friends believe? Or is he simply a heartbroken soul like Nora, someone who could help her heal?

There you are, ten review books that have been sitting on my review shelf for a very long time that I still haven't read. Have you read any of them? Which forgotten titles on your shelf do you still want to read? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.