Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings.

Every Tuesday, the bloggers over at The Broke and the Bookish host Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly feature where bloggers count down their top ten of the given topic!

Given the holiday season, this week's topic is the top ten books I hope Santa brings. There was no way I could ignore this one this week, as I asked for a LOT of books this year. :) I did show some restraint and only passed along my most wanted, but that was still a really high number.

In any case, here are the top ten books I really want for Christmas. And in some cases, I cheated and put a few under one number. You'll see why when you get there. :)



10. Halt's Peril by John Flanagan: This is the newest release in one of my all-time favorite series. I adore the Ranger's Apprentice series and can't wait to pass them on to my children (very far off in the future). They are fun and action-packed reads that I always enjoy!



9. The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz: If you're telling me that I can make Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties here at home, I want to. A friend bought this book and after looking in it, I know that I am going to have to get my own copy. And you can bet that I'll even try casting spells as well!



8. The Divine Comedy: Paradise (Book 3) by Dante: I only own The Inferno, so I need to finish the set!



7. The Divine Comedy: Purgatory (Book 2) by Dante: Like above, I need to collect the whole set before I begin. Since The Divine Comedy counts as only 1 book on my master list, having all three at hand would make conquering them a bit easier.



6. The Iliad by Homer: I don't own a copy of The Iliad!! And considering how much I love The Odyssey, this is surprising (really, I named my blog after it). I also would love to have another Greek masterpiece translated by the awesome Robert Fagles at my hands, since he is a master of Greek translation.



5. The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy: I would really like to read this shorter Tolstoy piece before I begin the mammoth War and Peace next month. I feel like a small taste of Tolstoy before the whole big chunk would make conquering it feel a bit easier.



4. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky: I have one more novel by this big Russian guy to read and I have yet to get my hands on an edition. And since I am hosting a readalong of it this coming year, I suppose I need a copy eventually.



3. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak: I have yet to get my hands on a copy of this one, and since it is yet another title on my list of books to read, it'll be easier to do so if it is sitting on my shelf! And this new edition is so lovely!



2. Assorted plays by William Shakespeare: I asked for the rest of the Shakespeare plays on my list that I don't own (about 12???). I am really going to work on getting more of his plays read this coming year (I did sign up for a Shakespeare Challenge), and owning the plays is one step closer to making that happen! I asked for a combination of the lovely Folger editions (seen above) as well as the Barnes and Noble Shakespeare editions (surprisingly wonderful editions that are easy to read).



1. Penguin Clothbound Classics: I already own 13 of these beauties, but there are 8 (10 if you count the two that are no longer in production-Crime and Punishment and Madame Bovary) that I don't own (and I just noticed that Gulliver's Travels isn't pictured here. That one too). I LOVE these editions and want to own the whole set. I've already read a few of the ones I own and I simply love these editions. They are well done and all of the supplemental material makes these a treasure.

20 comments:

  1. Love the Ranger's Apprentice series (And those Penguin Clothbound Classics are gorgeous, I'm gonna have to check those out)

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  2. 1) Those penguin books are gorgeous!

    2) I had an ex-friend read the first Ranger's Apprentice book and talk about how stupid it was, but she was the sort of person who only said books were stupid if she didn't like the author or the person who lent her the book (the latter was the case here). This is only the second time I've ever heard of the series though.

    3) I have got to have that cookbook!!!!!!!!!

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  3. I'm glad you have a fair bit of Russian literature here.

    If you want a recommendation, start reading first with Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago" - it is one of the great pieces of literature I have ever read. And then treat yourself to the EPIC movie version... one of the only movies I have ever seen that does the book justice. Other than being accurate in plot, it captures some of the essense and beauty of the novel.

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  4. The Harry Potter cookbook is on my list too- specifically the butterbeer recipe! I love the penguin books, how gorgeous! Hope Santa is good to you!

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  5. Oh yeah! I could go for ALL of these. I never heard of cloth-bound classics. Now I'm curious...

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  6. Great list. I love the Penguin cloth-bounds! I recently bought my first one, gorgeous, and will have to collect more.

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  7. Great choices. I also love the looks of the Penguin clothbound classics. I'm going to seek these out!

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  8. Totally agree with you on the Dante. I've read Inferno about three times and never got any further because I never bothered to get hold of the other two volumes. May try and rectify that (again) in 2011.

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  9. What books am I hoping to get from Santa?

    1. Hunger Games triology box set by Suzanne Collins
    2. Millennium/Girl with the Dragon Tattoo box set by Stieg Larsson
    3. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
    4. Matched by Ally Condie
    5. Vampire Academy box set by Richelle Mead
    6. Of Thee I Sing by President Barack Obama
    7. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
    8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
    9. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
    10. Strange Fate by L.J. Smith

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  10. those cloth-bound classics look amazing. I may need to start asking for these too!

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  11. Okay Allie. Santa was done awhile ago. No fair putting more on the list. You need to talk to Matt for those. I suggest making a really good dinner and dessert-seeing how he loves both and leave your list nearby. ;))

    Love, Mom

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  12. oh man ... I seriously want everything on this list. As for Ivan Illyich though .... meh. War and Peace is WAY better.

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  13. Your no. 1 looks really beautiful. Reading those must be a pleasure too.

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  14. Oh man. Those Penguin books are on my list too. I only have one, but I am saving my amazon gift cards so I can buy some more.

    Here's to you completing your set!

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  15. I hope you have been a good so you can get everything on your list. :) Those Penguin books are lovely -- I have settled for the black and white penguin classic bindings. They look so nice on a bookshelf, too.

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  16. Your cheating makes me giggle. Those are GORGEOUS editions; I don't own any yet, but I intend to! I hope all your wished-for books end up under your tree!

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  17. I have 8 of the Penguin cloth-bound classics too! I'm so bummed that 2 are out of print though. I guess I'll just have to lust after the rest of them.

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  18. Little birdy (not sure which one) told me you might be doing a readalong of The Iliad in 2011. I'd be in!

    Also, noticed the Penguin Great Expectations at the end of that stack in the picture. JUST bought that same book for my dad last night--didn't even realize what it was, just thought it pretty. Hmmm--might have to keep for self. ;)

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  19. Those Penguin editions make me drool! I hope Santa appreciates your ambituous plans for next year!

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  20. The Penguin cloth-bounds are so pretty! I wish I could justify to myself getting more of them, but I already own most of the books (in other editions) that have been issued, and with limited space, I can't justify it.

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