Top 10 Oldest (aka Earliest Published) Books On My Physical TBR | TTT

Posted on by Lauren

Hello, everyone! For anyone who participates in the Top Ten Tuesday posts, you probably recognize my prompt from a few weeks ago. I started drafting my list with every intention of posting it on time but life got in the way and this one sat in the drafts. However, since this week is a freebie, I thought I’d go ahead and make use of the list I already curated!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

1. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Published: 1866

I’ve always made a habit of getting myself copies of classics for the one day when I eventually read them. So far I’ve only read a few of my vast thrifted collection, which Crime and Punishment is apart of. This is one I really do want to read — we’ll see how many years it takes for me to actually start it…

2. Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Published: 1853

When I’d thrifted Vilette, I’d never heard of it before. I still don’t know too much about it, but the Bronte name was/is enough to tell me that it deserves a place on my shelf (despite the fact that I’ve never actually finishing reading a book by any of the Bronte sisters)!

3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Published: 1847

Jane Eyre is a book I’ve started quite a few times but never ended up pushing all the way through. I think I’m more likely to finish reading this one before Villette but I feel like as soon as I make statements like that, the inverse tends to happen.

4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Published: 1818

I put Frankenstein on my fall TBR pretty much every year. Once or twice I’ve started it but I always put so many books on my fall TBRs that I’m tugged in so many different directions, and usually away from this one. For no good reason, though, because I think I’ll really love it when I eventually finish it!

5. Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm

Published: 1812

I’ve picked up my Grimm’s Fairy Tales collections a few times and read a story here and there. Honestly, I think that’s probably how I’ll always come to these stories as opposed to sitting down and reading the whole thing straight. Time will tell!

6. Candide by Voltaire

Published: 1759

This was another instant thrift just because I knew it was a classic. My shelf with classics and collections is overflowing most but is unfortunately probably the one with the least read books on it. One day…

7. Hamlet by Shakespeare

Published: 1601

Since reading Macbeth last year, I’ve come to understand that I think I’ll get the most out of Shakespeare if I can also hear other people’s perspectives on the text too. And maybe this makes me a bad book reader, but there’s a decent part of me that thinks it’d be helpful to watch a movie based on the stories (or theatrical production, of course, though I live in a little bit of a rural, cultural deadzone). Whatever the case, I’d certainly like to read (and comprehend!) Hamlet, even if it’s just to say that I’ve done it.

8. The Divine Comedy: Volume 1: Inferno by Dante

Published: 1320

This is another one I thrifted more just so I know that I have a copy if ever I want to read it. I’ve always wanted to be someone I consider “well-read” but when I can barely channel my focus even for very light reads, I know that it might be a ways down the line.

9. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles

Published: -451

I think of any of the books on this list, it’s the Greek mythology/history that I actively want to read most (as opposed to feeling a little bit like I “should” read it, if you know what I mean). Because of that, I see myself reading them sooner than some others — hopefully!

10. The Trial and Death of Socrates: Four Dialogues by Plato

Published: -400

To reinforce what I mentioned about Greek mythology/history, The Trial and Death of Socrates is another one I’ve started. I think being “well-read” is something that’s going to take a bit more training but I think I will work my way up to it at some point. A good place to begin is probably with books like this that I’ve started.

Have you read any of the books on this list? Did you like them? Why, or why not? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

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Published by Lauren

Hi! I’m Lauren (she/her, 22), and I like to read and write; I’m still trying to figure out the rest.

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