Top Ten Books I Had to Have and are STILL Sitting on My Shelf

This week’s Top Ten at The Broke and The Bookish is making me take a real look at the books that have been sitting on my shelf for too long.

1. Binu and the Great Wall, by: Su Tong – I’m not sure when I bought this. It was too long ago. Binu is part of the Myth Series of which I’ve already read six books. I bought this one last June, I think.

2. Son of a Witch / A Lion Among Men, by: Gregory Maguire – I read and loved Wicked. I saw these two books on sale at a used book store and had to have them. I meant to read them right away. I think this was May.

3. The Stand, by: Stephen King – I love Stephen King books. The Stand is supposed to be one of his masterpieces, so I had to buy it. Plus, it was only 50 cents! I think that was fall 2005.

4. It, by: Stephen King – Purchased at the same time as The Stand. Also, supposed to be great. Plus I’ve never seen the movie, so I don’t even know what happens.

5. Brick Lane, by Monica Ali – I don’t even remember what this is about. I just remember that I had to have it and I was so excited when I saw it in my local used bookstore. Hardcover, no wear to speak of and it’s stayed that way for at least the last 5 years. Maybe longer since it was published in 2003.

6. Superheroes and Philosophy, edited by: William Irwin – I’ve been [very] slowly reading the Pop Culture and Philosophy series. I saw this one come out and it was about superheroes! I was so excited I bought it right away and it’s sat on my shelf for 6 years I think.

7. Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips – I’m pretty sure I bought this at the same time as Binu. The story seemed really interesting and it’s about stuff I like, so when I saw it on sale, I had to get it.

8. L’Affaire, by: Diane Johnson – I bought this around the time the movie Le Divorce came out. I had also purchase Le Mariage at the same time. The reason it’s sat on my shelf since 2003, maybe 2004.

9. JPod, by: Douglas Coupland – I love the books I’ve read by Coupland so far. I heard so many great things about Jpod and the story sounded so interesting that when I saw it on sale, I had to have it. I’m going to say that was about 2 years ago.

10. Blackwood Farm, by: Anne Rice – I was so excited when I bought this book. I had all The Mayfair Witches and was going to start The Vampire Chronicles. Blackwood Farm was bringing both worlds together. My husband had many of the vampire books, so I wouldn’t have to buy those. Like other books on my list, it was on sale when I got it, in 2003.

There is definitely a pattern. I buy a lot of books on sale. There’s something about seeing a $30 hardcover on sale for $9.99 that I can’t resist. This has given me a definite book buying problem. I could have continued with the list, but I stopped myself. I have enough books that I could not buy anything for at least 3 years and not have to worry about running out of stuff to read. Have you got a book buying problem? Which book should I stop putting off?

Buffy The Vampire Slayer And Philosophy: Fear And Trembling in Sunnydale

I’ve been slowly moving through a Philosophy and Pop Culture series from Open Court Publishing. The series of books take different pop culture phenomenon and apply philosophical thoughts to it. You can find books on The Simpsons, Harry Potter, Transformers and many more. Some choices, like The Matrix I can understand its philosophical aspects. Others, like iPod, I don’t. Either way, I can definitely see myself reading many more of these books.

I really enjoyed Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Philosophy. I was a pretty big fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer throughout high school and university. Since I’m also a fan of philosophy, when I saw the two combined, I couldn’t resist. BtVS and Philosophy was an interesting read. The various philosophers applied the philosophical thoughts of Plato, Aristotle and Kant to Buffy and her life. They discussed Morality, Ethics and Religion. Some of it was brilliant, some of it was far-fetched.

One thing that put me off the book a few times was the repetition. Almost all of the authors thought it necessary to discuss season 4 and “The Initiative”. “The Initiative” was a government run elite group of soldiers trained to fight demons. These young men weren’t like Buffy and her mystery solving friends. In contrast, they were the follow orders, shoot first types. I can see why this season would be so appealing to discuss when dealing with issues like Morality and Ethics. After a while though, I had to take a break from the book when I felt like “The Initiative” was all anyone could talk about.

Once I got to the last section of the book, my enjoyment of it returned. The last three essays were fantastic. I couldn’t wait to discover what these authors had to say. The choice of the final essay was interesting. I felt like it was inflammatory to those who read the entire collection of Buffy essays and appreciated them. It ran opposite to what pretty much all of the other authors were saying. It was almost like it was trying to undo everything. I enjoyed that I could hate it. Of the entire collection, I really enjoyed the first few essays and the final few. It was the repetition of the middle that became frustrating. Of course, because this is a collection, you don’t have to read all of them or read them in order. Skip the ones you don’t like and move on the exciting ones.