This week That Artsy Reader Girl is challenging bloggers to come clean about their TBR lists. She wants us to get real about the books we have said we want to read, but (secretly) have decided not to. Oh the horrors of a I No Longer Want To Read List! I have lots of books that have sat on my shelves for far too long. But I won’t give up on them, at least not yet. But I am afraid that at my advanced age (57), I may not have enough time left to get to them all. I am sharing a few books that I thought would make my reading world complete. They are long, and I so wanted to read them. But yet they sit gathering dust and yellowed pages. So while I am not ready to declare them officially off the TBR List, their fate is unsure. Let me know if you have read any of them and why I should keep them.
To check out other bloggers who have abandoned hope as well, click HERE.
Top Books I Am Struggling to Keep on The TBR List
Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor
Acclaimed as the greatest novel ever written about the War Between the States, this searing Pulitzer Prize-winning book captures all the glory and shame of America’s most tragic conflict in the vivid, crowded world of Andersonville, and the people who lived outside its barricades. Based on the author’s extensive research and nearly 25 years in the making, MacKinlay Kantor’s best-selling masterwork tells the heartbreaking story of the notorious Georgia prison where 50,000 Northern soldiers suffered – and 14,000 died – and of the people whose lives were changed by the grim camp where the best and the worst of the Civil War came together. Here is the savagery of the camp commandant, the deep compassion of a nearby planter and his gentle daughter, the merging of valor and viciousness within the stockade itself, and the day-to-day fight for survival among the cowards, cutthroats, innocents, and idealists thrown together by the brutal struggle between North and South. A moving portrait of the bravery of people faced with hopeless tragedy, this is the inspiring American classic of an unforgettable period in American history.
Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace
Ben-Hur is one of the best selling books of all times. This poignant novel intertwines the life stories of a Jewish charioteer named Judah Ben-Hur and Jesus Christ. It explores the themes of betrayal and redemption. Ben-Hur’s family is wrongly accused and convicted of treason during the time of Christ. Ben-Hur fights to clear his family’s name and is ultimately inspired by the rise of Jesus Christ and his message. A powerful, compelling novel.
Oh, Kentucky by Betty Layman Receveur
Sixteen-year-old Kitty Gentry and her family came to Fort Boonesborough to farm the rich land. But when fierce Shawnee attacked the white settlers, the horrified young Kitty was forced to seek refuge within the walls of the fort. There her real life as a founding mother of Kentucky began — a life in which she would surive tragedy and hearth-wrenching grief and find the all-encompassing passion of great love as the burgeoning territory became a state . . .
The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd
The saga begins in pre-Christian Ireland with a clever refashioning of the legend of Cuchulainn, and culminates in the dramatic founding of the Free Irish State in 1922. Through the interlocking stories of a wonderfully imagined cast of characters — monks and noblemen, soldiers and rebels, craftswomen and writers — Rutherfurd vividly conveys the personal passions and shared dreams that shaped the character of the country. He takes readers inside all the major events in Irish history: the reign of the fierce and mighty kings of Tara; the mission of Saint Patrick; the Viking invasion and the founding of Dublin; the trickery of Henry II, which gave England its foothold on the island in 1167; the plantations of the Tudors and the savagery of Cromwell; the flight of the “Wild Geese”; the failed rebellion of 1798; the Great Famine and the Easter Rebellion. With Rutherfurd’s well-crafted storytelling, readers witness the rise of the Fenians in the late nineteenth century, the splendours of the Irish cultural renaissance, and the bloody battles for Irish independence, as though experiencing their momentous impact firsthand.
Tens of millions of North Americans claim Irish descent. Generations of people have been enchanted by Irish literature, and visitors flock to Dublin and its environs year after year. The Princes of Ireland will appeal to all of them — and to anyone who relishes epic entertainment spun by a master.
Sacajawea by Anna L. Waldo
Clad in a doeskin, alone and unafraid, she stood straight and proud before the onrushing forces of America’s destiny: Sacajawea, child of a Shoshoni chief, lone woman on Lewis and Clark’s historic trek — beautiful spear of a dying nation.
She knew many men, walked many miles. From the whispering prairies, across the Great Divide to the crystal capped Rockies and on to the emerald promise of the Pacific Northwest, her story over flows with emotion and action ripped from the bursting fabric of a raw new land.
Ten years in the writing, Sacajawea unfolds an immense canvas of people and events, and captures the eternal longings of a woman who always yearned for one great passion — and always it lay beyond the next mountain.
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace — Ben-Hur is the remarkable saga of betrayal, revenge, and redemption, played out in the bloodstained arenas of ancient Rome. Framed for attempting to murder a Roman official, Ben-Hur is robbed of his freedom, family, and fortune. Condemned to death as a galley slave, he lives only to avenge himself against the Roman tribune Messala—the boyhood friend who betrayed him.
The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C. Douglas — The story traces Peter’s journey from self-sufficient fisherman to his dependency on a risen Christ. It also presents another story of redemption and forgiveness, as he takes in a young Arab/Jewish girl, Fara. As they both learn of Jesus, it changes their lives.
Journey by Angela Hunt — On this deathbed, Jacob the patriarch bestows the blessing of the firsborn on the sons of Joseph, igniting a bitter conflict between the two brothers. Manasseh, the elder son, is surprised and disturbed when Jacob deliberately crosses his hands, giving the more favorable blessing to the younger Ephraim — the blessing that rightfully belongs to him.
Madman by Tracy Groot — If there is a way into madness, logic says there is a way out. Logic says. Tallis, a philosopher’s servant, is sent to a Greek academy in Palestine only to discover that it has silently, ominously, disappeared. No one will tell him what happened, but he learns what has become of four of its scholars. One was murdered. One committed suicide. One worships in the temple of Dionysus. And one … one is a madman. From the author of The Brother’s Keeper comes a tale of mystery, horror, and hope in the midst of unimaginable darkness, the story behind the Geresene demoniac of the gospels of Mark and Luke. 
Magdalene by Angela Hunt — Mary Magdalene. The controversial woman with a past only one Man could forgive. A true love story that changed the face of history.
The Priest by Francine Rivers — The Priest is the first book in a new companion series to A Lineage of Grace. Each novella peers into the life of one of five biblical men (such as Aaron, Jonathan, Silas) who stood behind the great heroes of faith.
Three From Galilee by Marjorie Holmes — Marjorie Holmes, the award-winning author of such classic bestsellers as I’ve Got to Talk to Somebody, God, was renowned for making the Bible come to life in books that brought hope and inspiration to millions. The first novel in this trilogy-her acclaimed, hugely successful Two from Galilee-told the great love story of Mary and Joseph as never before.
Unashamed by Francine Rivers — Book 2 in the Lineage of Grace series by best-selling author Francine Rivers. In her trademark style, Francine tells the compelling story of Rahab from the book of Joshua. Readers will gain a fresh understanding of God’s work through the life of this unlikely woman in the lineage of Christ.
Unveiled by Francine Rivers — Unveiled is the story of Tamar, one of the women in the lineage of Jesus. Francine brings the story to life in her trademark style, showing the grace of God in the life of Tamar and her father-in-law, Judah. Unveiled is the first in the Lineage of Grace series of five novellas covering the stories of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary.
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