Forgotten Backlist Titles

My Favorites shelf on Goodreads currently has 194 books on it. 

To Kill a Mockingbird is on my list, and I note that 5,775,578 people have rated it. The Hobbit...Harry Potter...The Giver...The Little Prince...all of these have been rated more than a million times.

I think these books are getting plenty of buzz.

What books on my Favorites list have been overlooked? Let me take a moment to bring them to your attention.

Do you like historical fiction? The best book of historical fiction I've ever read is The World is Not Enough by Zoé Oldenbourg, a French historian who specialized in medieval French history. The World is Not Enough is the story of a minor baron and his wife during the 12th century. Only 228 people have rated it on Goodreads...if you haven't read it, and you like historical fiction, I'd encourage you to add it to your list.

The fact that only 182 have read and rated Stephen Carter's brilliant book, Civility, and that a mere 1,376 people have read and rated Robert Reich's The Common Good---well, these facts say a lot about the state of our world. Yes, both of these are nonfiction, but the ideas of civility and the common good are qualities we desperately need today. Give these a try, please, if you are concerned about the world and you'd like to make it better.

It's understandable that many children's books haven't been read and rated on Goodreads; after all, how many children write book reviews there? Still, there have only been ten ratings of The Adventure of Treehorn by Florence Parry Heide? And just 135 ratings for Chancy and the Grand Rascal by Sid Fleischman? Good grief, why only 229 ratings for William Steig's Rotten Island? 

Please get past the idea that it's a western and read Charles Portis' True Grit. Today, please.

I know many people roll their eyes when they think about reading poetry, but would you trust me on this? Ron Patchett's book of poetry, How to Be Perfect, is ideal for the person who thinks they don't really like poetry, and, at 306 Goodreads ratings, it needs more readers.

I became a fan of the great Canadian fiction writer, Carol Shields, back in the early 2000s, and I'm sad to say that she is apparently not being read anymore. I hope you will seek out her lovely fiction stories, especially The Box Garden, Happenstance, Unless, The Republic of Love, Larry's Party, and The Stone Diaries. 

I can't wait to hear what books you love that are more-or-less forgotten...Please share them with me.

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. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.