Books I've Been Meaning to Read - And Now Have The Chance To

by Tilly Goldman

Books that I have been intending to read for ages but haven’t got around to

At this point, only a few days into three weeks of social distancing and quarantine I find myself looking for things to do. For a lot of people what comes to mind are books (alongside Netflix and Disney +). Thankfully, I seem to have been saving a lot up just for this moment and I have listed a few below that I have been meaning to read for years but have never really got around too but now I have the chance!

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen - Having claimed to be a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice, something that I rarely mention is that I have never actually read the book and base my love solely off of the BBC remake with Colin Firth. Although I think this is fairly justified as it is a very good show (and I would recommend it to anyone with access to Netflix) I have always felt a little bit fake having never read the well-known classic. I think I was put off the style of language when attempting a couple of years ago, but I now feel ready to try it! Luckily, it was already on my bookshelf before we were all confined to our houses as I am a serial superficial book buyer: I have multiple unread books that I only really bought for the pretty cover. However, this is certainly on the top of my list as it is an absolute classic romance novel that I really have to read!

The Beach, Alex Garland – This was, again, bought because the cover is GORGEOUS (sunset colours) and seemed perfect for summer… Frankly, I would not have normally picked this book as it is described as a “coming-of-age” book which often seems to signify cheesy, overdramatic and unrealistic, however, it’s mixture of colourful travel description, pretty cover and the philosophical evoked by a brutal commentary on social breakdown and how human’s react to the appearance of paradise seemed intriguing.

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott – This is yet another classic that has been on my shelf a long time in need of reading. I bought it fairly recently having become immediately enamoured with the vibrant and spirited characters portrayed in the recent film. Again, I feel a little bit artificial being prompted to read such a well-loved classic by a film, however, I am still looking forward to reading it despite already knowing the ending. What I loved about the film was how each of the sisters seemed so different in their character but still come together when facing each of their own challenges in growing up.