GUYS. Today is the day – I am flying out to the UK this evening and I’m so excited I could practically do the Macarena for an hour straight. The bags are packed, the books are prepped, the lists are written, and the sun is hopefully shining. I can’t believe how quickly this has come around, it feels like just yesterday I was telling you all about my plans for the first time!

Any-hoo, onto the other terribly exciting stuff of the fact that it’s TUESDAY. The best day of the week, if you ask me. TTT this week is a freebie and I pondered the mysteries of the universe for a whole 8 minutes before deciding on what I would do.

This week’s theme is:

Top Ten Books That Have Been on My Shelf the Longest but I’ve Never Read

If ever there was a topic that called to me, this is it. I am an horrific book hoarder. I covet books and never let them see the light of day again. This means there is a good few books on my shelf that have sat there like bruised fruit in a supermarket repeatedly being passed over. So let’s honour them today by going OH LOOK I haven’t read this for a while! And then forgetting about it for another 6 years.

As a sort of bonus, I’m participating in a challenge this year – the Rock My TBR challenge – in which I’m supposed to focus on actually reading the books I own. So far it’s going great, you know, I’ve almost read enough to say I’ve made progress . . . *awkward laughter*. Many of these books I was supposed to read for this challenge. *pats books*

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over @ The Broke and the Bookish and each week there’s a different theme that we get to make a list about featuring ten related books. It’s so much fun and the topics are always great! It’s also a fabulous way to learn more about people’s reading adventures and I recommend heading over to the official page to do some exploring through the link up.

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#1

 Terrier
by Tamora Pierce

TIME ON SHELF: c. 10 years

Let’s get the ball rolling with the book that is possibly the oldest book on my shelf that I haven’t read. I received this about 10 years ago (seriously) as a Christmas present. I think the book sounds awesome but I wasn’t into reading then. I remember reading the blurb and going ooh this is maybe worth it – obviously I’ve yet to work up the courage to just read it. 2016 WILL be the year for this one. Gah. I even got it signed by Pierce as a signing on the weekend, how’s that for motivation.

//GOODREADS // BUY //

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#2

The Key to Rondo
by Emily Rodda

TIME ON SHELF: c. 10 years

I’ve got absolutely know idea how long this one has been on my shelf but let’s go with a long, long time. I think the reason I’ve never picked it up is because I’m expecting it to be too young for me now. I think at some point I’ll just have to bite the bullet and check it out – hopefully it won’t be bad or anything, maybe I’ll even love it. Either way it’s well overdue a read!

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#3

Lamplighter
by D. M. Cornish

TIME ON SHELF: c. 8 years

Okay, so really, I should have already read this one. This is the sequel to a book called Foundling, and I can’t quite remember what it’s about. I have read the first book but I read it in that sort of way that you do just to get through a book and not really take in anything. I think it had something to do with and orphan who becomes a lamplighter – like he literally goes along the streets to light the lights as it’s set in a time when you still had to do that.

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#4

 Faery Tales & Nightmares
by Melissa Marr

TIME ON SHELF: 3 years

This was a book I bought on a whim which I now sort of wish I hadn’t. It’s a collection of stories I believed possibly linked in to the Wicked Lovely series by Marr. I read that series and enjoy it so-so. It’s definitely a series I want to reread and see how I like it going back to it now. Especially because I’m not sure how the reading experience for this one would go without doing so.

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#5

 The Messenger
by Markus Zusak

TIME ON SHELF: 2 years

I actually hope that I will get around to this one quite soon. I recently read The Book Thief and obviously loved that one so now I feel more motivated to pick this one up. It’s a crime really that it’s taken me this long to get around to it – especially as it was a birthday present. I’m a terrible person, absolutely terrible.

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#6

Flyte
by Angie Sage

TIME ON SHELF: c. 10 years

This series plagues my nightmares because I haven’t read it yet. I read the first book many many years ago now and I cannot remember what happened, just a few snippets. But I have the rest of the series and I even have the special editions with the golden spines, but have I read them? Nope. I’m really hoping that I can just clear some time at some point and reread the first one and get on with this series.

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#7

Inkdeath
by Cornelia Funke

TIME ON SHELF: c. 10 years

Oh why, oh why have I not finished this series yet? I put this one on the list but technically I haven’t finished reading the previous book. I loved this series but for whatever reason I ended up putting down Inkspell half way through and now I really just need to reread the whole series again. I can’t believe in all these years I haven’t just finished the silly series, I know I’ll love it.

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#8

Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy

TIME ON SHELF: 3 years

I’m not going to lie, the reason I’ve put this one off it because it’s so big. My sister got this for me one Christmas and I’m really excited about it, I really do want to read it, but oh boy is it huge. It’s small font and about 800 pages of it. *gulp* I have no idea when I’ll pluck up the courage to read this one but hopefully I don’t put it off forever . . .

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#9

 Tigana
by Guy Gavriel Kay

TIME ON SHELF: 3 years

I haven’t read this one for much of the same reasons as the previous book BUT I have already decided that I’m going to love it when I do read it. This book is gigantic but it sounds fantastic. I can barely remember what it’s about anymore but I so want to just read this soon because I think I really will like it.

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#10

Adventures with the Wife in Space
by Neil Perryman

TIME ON SHELF: 2 years

This book, I’m sure, will be absolutely hilarious when I do eventually read it. I have no idea why I’ve just never read it – probably something to do with me buying endless amounts of books. This was actually a birthday present and I think it’s such an awesome book to have found for me so let’s hope I get to it eventually!

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#11

The Dalai Lama’s Cat
by David Michie

TIME ON SHELF: c. 2 years

Doesn’t this sound fabulous? I think there’s a lot of laughing to be had in this book. I think I’d been subtly putting this one off when I first got it because I just couldn’t work out exactly what I’d be getting myself into. Gah. I wish I hadn’t put off so many books when I was younger, I’m pretty sure it’s the reason why my TBR is so big.

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#12

Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein

TIME ON SHELF: 2 years

I cannot wait until the day where I look at myself in the mirror, give myself a stern look, and then march to my shelf and pluck this one out and read it. Because I’m sure I’m going to love it. This was another present that sounds fabulous, I’ve heard fabulous things about it, and is so up my alley it’s practically my house (just go with the analogy). I have exactly zero reasons for not having started this one yet.

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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#13

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice
by Laurie R. King

TIME ON SHELF: 3 years

I bought this because I just thought it sounded epic. Every now and then the Book Depository has these epic sales so this is where I snatched this one up. It’s actually about Sherlock Holmes after he “retires” from all his sleuthing work and now he keeps bees. I’m super intrigued to see what this is actually about but I’m very sad that John Watson isn’t there.

// GOODREADS // BUY //

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 What book on your shelf is collecting dust?

 Let me know below!

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~~ Kirstie ~~

 Follow @ozbooksnail