Happy Tuesday again everyone! I hope you are all doing well despite these challenging and uncertain times. I hope and pray that you are all healthy and doing well, in body, mind, and spirit. As it is Tuesday, it is also time for a Top 5 Tuesday update. Top 5 Tuesday was originally created by Shanah @ the Bionic Bookworm but is now currently being hosted by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic: Top 5 Books I Haven’t Read Yet in 2021

I signed up for this week’s Top Five Tuesday update because, well, I still have quite a lot of books that I want to read before the year ends. I can’t believe that we are less than forty days from welcoming a new year! How time flies. Oh well. As I have been lagging behind in my reading challenges, my priority is completing them, in particular, my 2021 Top 21 Reading List. Thankfully, I am just three books short, including my current read, from completing all 21 books. Beyond that, I am looking at completing my 2021 Beat the Backlist challenge, of which I have about four books more before I can tick this challenge a success. On top of this, I have several new books I am hoping to dip my fingers into. However, there is a slim chance of me getting to them before the year ends. Nevertheless, I will just focus on reading as many books as I can before 2022 opens with 365 pages. With this being said, here are some of the books I haven’t read yet but will read before the year ends. Happy Tuesday and happy reading everyone!

Watership Down by Richard Adams

I have always thought that Richard Adams’ Watership Down was about the Second World War, ala Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. This was one of the reasons why I ignored it even though I kept on encountering it. However, it was mid-2020 when I learned that my initial impression of the book was wrong, that it is a story of rabbits. Imagine my surprise! To redress this error, and with my curiosity piqued, I bought the book without more ado. I was really looking forward to the book, curious as to what it has in store. Because of this, I included it in my 2021 Top 21 Reading List. After Goran Tunstrom’s The Christmas Oratorio, I will be reading it next.

Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin

The last book on my 2021 Top 21 Reading List is James Baldwin’s Go Tell It On The Mountain. It is a book that I kept encountering on several must-read lists. It was even listed as one of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. When I had the chance to purchase a copy of his works (including Giovanni’s Room), I didn’t hesitate. I have always associated Go Tell It On The Mountain with a Christmas song I first heard of when I was younger so I thought the book was light. I couldn’t be more wrong as, from what I surmise, it tackles heavy and seminal subjects, some even pertaining to Baldwin’s own life. The book is rather slender but I know it packs a lot of punch. I couldn’t wait to read the book.

Villette by Charlotte Brontë 

Charlotte is one-third of the popular writing trio of sisters, the Brontës, the other two being Anne and Emily. The first novel written by the sisters I read was Charlotte’s Jane Eyre, a book I loved. However, it has been nearly four years since I read it. Because of this dry spell, – the only other Brontë book I read was Wuthering Heights, back in 2018 – I have listed Villette in my 2021 Beat the Backlist challenge. With my 900th book within touching distance, this is one of the books that I am seriously considering; I have a lot of books in mind, actually. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to reading Villette. Will it somehow be in the same vein as Jane Eyre? Oh, I just realized, of the five books in this list, it is only Charlotte Brontë whose work I have read before.

Drop City by T.C. Boyle 

It’s been a while that I had Thomas Coraghessan Boyle’s Drop City. I can’t exactly recall how I came about the book but I know it’s been lying on my bookshelf for at least four years (haha). It has been gathering some dust, a factor I considered when I included it in my 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge. I have never read any of T.C. Boyle’s books before and I have never even heard of him until I bought Drop City. I did learn, later on, that some of his works, including Drop City, has been listed in several must-read lists. He also has an extensive resume. I think one of the reasons I bought the book was because of its interesting cover, which reminded me of Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler 

Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep is another book that I had for quite some time. If my memory serves me right, I bought the book back in 2018 even though I have never read any of Chandler’s works before nor have I any iota on what the book was about. The only encounter I had of him is on must-read lists. Like T.C. Boyle, some of his works, including The Big Sleep, made it to the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. With this, I have included this novel in my 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge. I can’t wait to explore the world of Chandler’s prose. I can’t wait to read and explore all the books listed in this Top 5 Tuesday update.

Apart from these five books, here are other titles I am hoping to read before the year ends. These are all books I bought this year.

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