A (huge) Reading List. Or on why I am a shame.

When I started med school, things got ugly. It was much, much harder than I had anticipated. Add to that lots of personal problems and the resounding failure that were my grades, and reading became the last of my worries. 

I've always loved reading. You could always see me with my nose buried deep in a book, and I've always loved the cozy comfort that comes with cradling a paper wonder in your hands, so many of my free afternoons were spent in book shops, choosing new titles with my friends. 

However, the mess that I was making with the beginning of my first year as a med student made that passion fade a bit. And when I thought about all the books that were waiting for me, that were desperate to be read, it made me sad. I've only managed to read less than a dozen books up to this month, and I want to get back to my usual pace now that things start to look more colorful. Not everything is sorted, I still have to retake some exams come september, but I'm getting better at this, and books have too strength a hold on me to resist it. 

That's why I have decided to make this reading list, so I can clearly see how many books I still have to read (brace yourselves, this is going to be full of photographs) and how I'm progressing on that front. 

Here we go. 

1. Lanark, by Alasdair Gray: I bought this book at Casa del Libro in Madrid. I spent hours there with my sister because I just couldn't decide. It took me a lot of eye-squinting to spot this book; the cover and the fact that there's no synopsis in the back did it for me. It had to be mine. 

2. Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini: Eragon was one of my favorite sagas back when I was a child. I remember dreaming of having my own dragon to fly above the city, and maybe I dreamed of flying in it with Eragon... Maybe I keep doing it. ♡ I also remember loving Eragon's cousin, but that's as far as I can recall because I read the three preceding books quite a long ago and now I can't remember even them most important things of the plot. Guess I'll have to reread the whole saga before diving in this last episode. Cor, that's going to be such a hard task... I'm not looking forward to it at all... 

3. Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen: I found this book rummaging in my living room's shelves, and it was so pretty and cheesy I couldn't help taking it to my room. And there it is that it has been rotting for years now. It is a book that came with those collections that were sold in news-stands years ago. Do they still do that? 

4. Mémoirs d'Hadrien, by Marguerite Yourcenar: I don't even know where this one came from. Probably it belonged to my mom or one of my sisters. The thing is that it's about a roman emperor. It must be so interesting. 

5. The Froging of a Rebel, by Arturo Barea: When I studied Spanish Literature in high school, books about the Spanish Civil War were my absolute favorite. I spotted this book during a book shopping afternoon with my friends, and I needed to have it because it tells the story of the writer, Barea, before, during and after the Civil War. It is so thick, thought, that it may still wait for a bit, when my head is a bit more clear to get involved in such a hard reading. This edition contains the three books of the saga: The Forge, The Track and The Clash. 

6. Romanticism, by Rüdiger Safranski: I'm a sucker for Romanticism. I didn't get to study much about it in high school, but the little I know, I love with all my soul. I saw this book in a museum after visiting an exhibition of Impressionist (oh, how I've been in love with Atkinson Grimshaw and this particular painting  since that day). No one says you can not learn on your own, and Romantic ideals are something really interesting. 

7. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway: I bought this book along the other one you see in the same picture in a second hand library I'm not coming back to ever again, much as it pains me, because the bookseller treated my friends and me as shit, almost kicking us out of the shop. However, this edition was pretty beautiful, and it cost me no more than 4€. Pity I'm not going to get more bargains like this, I don't like being treated like a princess when I go with my mom, and like a theft when I go with my friends. You lost what possibly are the better customers you could have had, bookseller. 

8. Tales, by Ernest Hemingway: This book is really really old and contains a compilation of Hemingway's tales. The edition is classic and the pages smell of old, used paper. Just lovely. 

9. The Sherlock Holmes Puzzle Collecton, by "Dr. John Watson": A friend recommended me this book and I said "Sherlock Holmes? Enigmas? Pretty illustrations? A padded hard cover edition? Where do I sign?" And that's how I got hold of this book. I've solved some of the enigmas, and let me tell you, is as much fun and as challenging as you think. Haven't gotten through the whole book, thought.  

10. Sandman #1, by Neil Gaiman: I haven't read anything by Neil Gaiman yet, but I know that he's one of those writers I'm going to love to bits. I learnt about these comics thanks to a tumblr blog, and I ordered the first number as quickly as I could. I don't want to read the series until I have all the comics. Maybe that'll be what I ask for in Christmas... 

11. Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson: I bought this book without having the slightest idea of what it was about. It was through one of those crazy days that bookdepository have a 25 hours sale, with one book in a bargain per hour. It caught my attention, so I bought it. Then I discovered that it was a modern tale mingled with arabian mythology. My instinct never fails me. 

12. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card: This was actually a present a dear friend gave me for my birthday. I don't know how he knew that I loved the movie, because I hadn't had the chance to talk about it with him before my birthday party. It must be that he just knows me that well. And if the book is better than the movie, which I'm 150% sure it is, I'm going to enjoy it like I enjoy dessert. 

13. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury: This is the book this blogs owes its name to. I've already read it in spanish, but this is the english edition. The cover is made with cloth and the flame is almost as vibrant as what awaits on the inside. The only thing I'll say is that it knocked my socks off, and that it has stuck with me since I devoured it in a boat trip that wasn't even 3 hours long. I spent the remainder of the trip looking at the horizon, letting my brain masticate what I had just read. 

14. On the Road, by Jack Kerouac: I got these two books the same day. One is the usual edition, the other one is the original typescript scroll, with some changes from the originally published edition. I have never watched any film adaptation of this novel, and I don't know much about it beside the things it tells me in the synopsis. I prefer to start reading it without knowing much, and unravel the story and getting surprised with every page. 

15. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J. R. R. Tolkien: I don't know how many times I have watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or the Hobbit. I have the Evenstar always hanged 'round my neck. But I haven't actually read the books. I'm a sham. Such a big sham. A Sham with capital letters. This is going to be my next victim, as soon as I finish the saga I'm rereading right now. The Middle Earth, has always drawn me in, I was enthralled with the world of Bilbo Baggins. I can't wait to accompany Frodo in his adventure. And Sam. Oh, Sam. ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ 

16. The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: I have the best friends in the world. They gifted me with this book just because they are that awesome. They know how much I love reading books in their original language, and they know how utterly, loyally and viscerally I love Sherlock Holmes. I HAVE THE BEST FRIENDS IN THE WORLD. 

17. The Penguin Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, by Edgar Allan Poe: I'm just so in love with this book. I've read some Poe's poems and tales, but every single one is in this beautiful edition. I might as well marry The Penguin Complete Editions now. 

18. "Cuentos Completos de Edgar Allan Poe", by Edgar Allan Poe: this was a gift from my sisters, and it's even more awesome because the introduction is written by Julio Cortázar. The bookmark seemed fitting, don't you think? (It was also a gift from the friend who gave me my copy of Ender's Game ♡) I ought to read this edition first, because Poe's english may be a bit too difficult for a non-native english speaker. What would you say? 

19. The new Dracula, Annotated, by Bram Stoker: this was also a gift from my sisters, as well as the frankenstein copy. It is a beautiful edition, with side notes by Leslie S. Klinger and an introduction by Neil Gaiman. It's an epic edition, with a lot of background on the story, plenty of photographs and sources that will surly make the experience of reading Dracula, a novel I enjoyed to the last comma, something even more enriching. 

20. Frankenstein, by Mary W. Shelley: Mary Shelley was a badass, and I don't know why I haven't already read anything written by her. I'm just an uneducated fool. This edition is beautiful, with incredibly simple and evocative illustrations to accompany the reading of the first science fiction novel ever written. I can't wait for this one. 

21. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell: I could babble for hours about David Mitchell and his incredible work with Cloud Atlas, which is a book I devoured and that is now filled to the last page with sticky markers. I'm sure I'm going to love this book, more so seeing the synopsis. The fact that the cover is absolutely beautiful it's just another one of the reasons that had me in for this one in a second. And I must say, the spanish cover is much more beautiful than the english one. 

22. Silk, by Alessandro Baricco, Illustrated by Rebecca Dautremer: This might as well be the most beautiful book I own. It tells a story of a romance, of a man that owns an eccentric business and his travel to Japan. The illustrations are so beautiful and evocative, soft but full of force, and I can't wait to read this book to show it to you guys. Maybe I'll do it soon, because the story is really not so long, seeing as the illustrations fill every page. 

23. Earth's Sons #1 & #2, by Jean M. Auel: As well as with the Sandman saga, I won't be reading this one 'till I've got all the books. I prefer reading all the books of a series at once, because if I wait I forget important details and then I have to reread it again from the start. It's the first time I'm going to read something set in such a remote time, and I'm looking forward to it. 

24. Parade's End, by Ford Madox Ford: Brace yo' selves for the fangirling. I watched the BBC mini series Parade's End, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall last year, and it has become my favorite drama ever. I red the script as soon as I discovered it was available for the public as a beautifully edited book, and it didn't disappoint me. It was a completely novel experience. The script is an adaptation from the original book written by Ford Madox Ford, that was created by Tom Stoppard, who also happened to write the script for Joe Wright's Anna Karenina film. The boo you see in the left side, with the actors faces in the cover, is the english version, a small, light and beautiful book that I can't wait to get myself into. The one you see in the right side is the spanish edition. Here I think I'm going to go for the original edition first. I love WWI novels and the fact that Tietjens, the main character, has already won my heart without having read his words yet make me feel sure that I'm going to love this book. 

25. The Hobbit, 75th Anniversary, by J. R. R. Tolkien: One of my friends bought this amazingly tiny and beautiful edition of The Hobbit, and she couldn't stop gushing over it, so I decided to buy it. I ordered it to my favorite local book store and when I went to get it I spent at least 15 minutes gushing with the shop assistant about it too. I had already read The Hobbit in spanish, so this was the next step. And the fact that it was petty cheap was just the icing on the cake. It's just so beautiful, I can't even. ♡

26. Roverandom, by J. R. R. Tolkien: I didn't know of the existence of this book, so when I saw it was the only copy available in the bookshop I had to take it with me. It's a small children tale about a dog, and I can't wait for my nephew to be born to read it to him. This Minotauro editions are just so beautiful. 

27. North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell: I learned about this book through the Richard Armitage adaptation, which I haven't seen yet. We don't study foreign literature as a rule in high school, so my knowledge of English Literature thanks to school haven't gone further than Shakespeare or Jane Austen. This Wordsworth Classics collection is amazingly beautiful and cheap. I've got these three books for no more than 3€ each!!! 

28. Mathilda and Other Stories, by Mary W. Shelley: I saw this edition at the book shop too, and seeing its price I couldn't help but take it with me. It's a compilation of Mary Shelley's horror stories, and what was my surprise when I flicked through it and saw that it comes with black and white illustrations. So much love. 

29. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen: I bought this copy in Gibraltar when I went with my school. I remember the little bookshop, which wasn't fancy at all, and seeing this collection of Classics for the first time. I hadn't actually read Pride and Prejudice by that time, but I got to do it during a long train trip and I loved it. I should really read it in english, thought. Books in their original language are always much, much better. 

30. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini: I got this book thanks to an app called Gus that sadly had to shut down. You just had to play a Roulette game and then you could get a free book or points to get a free one from your wish-list. You didn't know which one you were going to get, thought. I haven't seen the film adaptation of this book, and I don't think I'm going to do it until I read it first. A friend has told me wonders about this novel, so my expectations are quite high! 

31. War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo: I for this book for Christmas from bookdepository as a present for myself. Yep, you should treat yourselves with things you like from time to time, it's nice to indulge in some self-love every now and again. Th book is really slim, and it comes with shots from the film adaptation, which happen to have Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch in it. Dear goodness, my heart is going to explode when I watch it. I want to read the book first, thought. Can't take me much time to get down to it, can it?  

32. War and Peace, by Lev. N. Tólstoi: I read an adapted version of Ana Karenina at school and I absolutely loved it. There's something compelling about the Russian Napoleonic era and the French Invasion of Russia. I can't wait to read this book and learn a lot about Russian history and society, and marvel at every word Tolstói has expelled in what is known to be his finest piece of art and one of the most important novels in the history of Literature.  

33. Thus Spoke Zarathustra, by Friedrich Nietzsche: I love philosophy. I'm a philosophy geek. Nietzsche was my favorite author among all of those I have studied. He's irreverent, controversial. I've read some of his works and I absolutely loved them. He's critical and such an influence in posterior thinkers, artists, philosophers and writers. Just as the greatest ones are. 

34. Tales, by Benedetti: I actually bought this book quite a few years ago. It's another compilation of tales, written by Mario Benedetti, whose poetry I love to bits. Southern American writers are one of my favorites literature groups of all times. 

35. Hamlet: In my country you only get to study foreign writers if you take Universal Literature as one of your chosen subjects for the previous years of entering uni. Wanting to study medicine, I didn't have the chance to pick this one, so I just studied Spanish Literature. Don't misunderstand me, I love Spanish Literature. But I'd like to be trained in other writers as well. I don't know much about Shakespeare besides the common things everyone else knows. Getting down to read four of his Theatre pieces ought to be something epic. 

36. Romeo and Juliet: I'm going to confess it. I've never watched a single adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Not one. I know what it is about, of course. Everyone does. But I've decided to be a more educated reader and starting with Shakespeare can't be a bad idea. 

37. Othello: I know I've misspelled Othello in the picture, I know. I've already told you I'm a shame. I haven't watched any theatre show of one of Shakespeare works either, but it's not as if in my city there are lots of Shakespeare plays to attend. Gosh, how I want to move out of this city. 

38. Macbeth: I've made the trite joke of "Alas! Poor Yorick" while in the dissection room with a human skull in my hands. Aren't I fun? I haven't actually read the play yet. But shhhh, don't tell that to anyone. The good thing about this editions, is that their bilingual, so I have the same text in both pages, but in one it come in english, and in the other, it comes in spanish. Who said I can't kill to birds with a stone with just a book in my hands? 

39. Notre-Dame de Paris: Victor Hugo is one of my absolute time favorite writers. I go singing Les Misérables whenever I go, I could perform the play on my own *wink, wink* and I devoured the book in less than two weeks. The fact that the well-known story of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame comes in this two volumes and beautifully illustrated edition is just a wonderful thing. It wasn't one of my favorite Disney Movies when I was a child, made me far too sad, but know I can revisit the film under a new light. 

40. "Una Historia de la Medicina", by Antonio Mingote and José Manuel Sánchez Ron: Being a medical student, I love everything regarding this discipline. My sisters gave me this book for my birthday, written by a medicine historian (José Maneul Sánchez Ron), and illustrated by the most famous vignettist of Spain (Antonio Mingote), this is a piece of art that tells the first steps of medicine unto our time, accompanied by fun images. Maybe it'll be useful for my History of Medicine classes next year. 

41. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, again: Yes, Pride and Prejudice again. I don't know how may copies of this novel I own, but the thing is they're all in english. Don't know why I don't have a spanish copy yet. This tiny little pretty books are part of the Collector's Library Collection, and I'm absolutely in love with them. This one in particular comes with full color illustrations. The borders are golden, the covers sturdy and it's just so frickin cute I want to have the whole collation. And they're like, super cheap. You wouldn't get such beautiful books in spanish for less than 20 €. ♡

42. The Silmarillion, by J. R. R. Tolkien: This in one of the other books I got through the Gus app. It's really sad it doesn't work any more. They work with Amazon and were really trust worthy. A friend of mine tried to read The Silmarillion in spanish and she couldn't get past half of the book, but she said that in english it was much easier and fun for her, so it's just fortunate that I only own this copy of the History of Elves of the Middle Earth in english. The letters are rely tiny, though, maybe I'll need to use glasses when I'm done with it. 

43. The Best of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Another Collector's Library book. Of Sherlock Holmes. Wow, such a surprise, right? This one comes with black and white illustrations, but they're very rich and quite spectacular and fitting for the tone of the stories, so I can't complain. How could I when I'm in so much love with this tiny wonder? 

44. Ana Karenina, by Lev N. Tolstói: Another Tolstói novel. I bought this one in Madrid along the first book of this long reading list that is coming to an end. The cover is just so pretty and evocative. The paper on these two last books I'm showing you is quite thin, which is something I usually dislike, but as a whole it works quite well. The books are quite heavy for their size, which was a surprise. I love Joe Wright's movie adaptation, and I won't be able to stop imagining Jude Law as Káreninwhile I'm reading it. ♡

45. The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin: I love biology, I love evolution, I love genetics and the three things are compiled in this world-changing essay written by Charles Darwin based on his travels on board of the HMS Beagle. I've never read such a long essay, but I know I'm going to learn so much that I'm all excited over the place every time I think of reading it. I know, I know, I should get down to it. 

Well, this was it. I have quite a lot of work to do. I'll tell you all about these books, as soon as I get mi mind together again and start devouring books as I used to do before. 

____________________

What about you? Have you read any of these books?

Do you have thousands of books waiting to be read? 

Which one? Tell me in the comments or link me to your own posts, I want to know!!