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28 Books that are Eternally TBR

I think if there’s one thing all us readers have in common it’s the huge ‘To Be Read’ pile. Many of us pick up books we intend on reading, we buy more than we have time to read, books get pushed aside for newer releases and the pile just continues to grow. The reading addicts got chatting about the books that have been on the TBR pile the longest and we were curious so our latest poll asked our 300,000 Reading Addicts which book had been on their TBR pile the longest. Here are the results.

There were 189 books mentioned in all, far too many to list, but we’ve collated your results and we have your 28 books that are eternally TBR.

Seeing War and Peace at the top of this list will take no one by surprise. The tome has been on my own bookshelf for 8 years and while many of us want to read it, it’s quite a commitment.

War and Peace (US)
War and Peace (UK)

Next on the list is another classic and the list is full of them. For many of you it’s Gone with the Wind that has been on the TBR pile the very longest.

Gone with the Wind (US)
Gone with the Wind (UK)

I read the next entry as a teenager but for many of you The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is gathering dust on the to be read pile.

Lord of the Rings (US)
Lord of the Rings (UK)

The Silmarillion is next on the list and I’d have to admit this one, though another classic novel from Tolkien isn’t even on my to be read, let alone having been on there the longest.

The Silmarillion (US)
The Silmarillion (UK)

100 Years of Solitude is next, another of those books everyone feels they should read but hasn’t quite got around to yet.

100 Years of Solitude (US)
100 Years of Solitude (UK)

Next up is a rather surprising entry with Harry Potter. You’re all a disgrace, go and read it right now!

Harry Potter (US)
Harry Potter (UK)

Harry Potter

Moby Dick ties too with an identical number of votes, the big tale about the big fish is gathering dust on many of your bookshelves.

Moby Dick (US)
Moby Dick (UK)

So that’s the top of the list and the books with the most votes, but many got mentioned. These books all scored five votes each in the poll for having sat on your TBR pile the very longest.

A Suitable Boy
Anna Karenina
Pride and Prejudice
Ulysses

Then with four votes each came:

Under the Dome
1984
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Great Gatsby

While the books with three votes each are:

Catch 22
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Memoirs of a Geisha
Kite Runner
Don Quixote
Atlas Shrugged
The Pillars of the Earth
A Tale of Two Cities
Outlander
Les Miserables
Crime & Punishment
Love in the Time of Cholera
Great Expectations

There are some fantastic books on the list and if you voted maybe you should make yourself a promise this year to read that book that has been on your TBR pile the longest!

4 Comments

  • Ruth says:

    I’ve read 20 of the 28. Does that make me a total dork? ?
    And how did Ulyssees not get a gazillion votes. Almost everyone I talk to is the Ahab to that whale.

  • wond wossen assefa ali says:

    I read some of the listed books , though I have’ the book in my shelf , It would be grateful if you send to me online or by any other means.. those the listed if possible.. regards..

  • John Cary says:

    I am pretty sure that on the tip top of any truly honest to-be-read list would be the Bible.

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