Novels I've Been Wanting to Read for a Long, Long Time

 In 2021 I've been focusing on catching up with novels that I'd been meaning to read for years or decades--dating back to grade school. I found, though, that as much and as fast as I read, more long-neglected-novels kept popping into my memory. 

So this listicle contains some novels I've been intending to read for at least half a decade, and many, for half a century. Fear not, I'll know where my next list of novels to read will come from once I've winnowed this list down. I've got several very recent additions to my reading list that wait in the family library, but they'll have to wait their turn in my book queue: 

1. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

2. Kim by Kipling 

3. The Red-headed Outfield and/or Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey

4. Kingsblood Royal by Sinclair Lewis 

5. All Quiet on the Western Front by Enrich Maria Remarque

6. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

7. I Wish There Was Something I Could Quit by Aaron Cometbus

8. Blues in the Dark by Raymond Benson

9. No Time for Sergeants by Mac Hyman

10. Heidi by Johanna Spyri

In addition I'd like to read several of John Steinbeck's novels, and there's a few by Mark Twain I'm considering, too.

Reading List: General Non-fiction, Short Stories and Poetry

Just a general round-up of books to read "someday" that I've separated into categories of poetry, short stories, and non-fiction, and the list(s) may be tweaked as 2021 becomes 2022. I've also included some books that aren't really intended to be read, they're more like reference books, just something to browse through.

Short stories--

1. Katherine Anne Porter, particularly "Pale Horse, Pale Rider"

2. Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

3. collection of Louisa May Alcott

4. collection of Kipling

5. collection of Saki

6. The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories

7.  A Letter to Harvey Milk by Leslea Newman

8.  Tales of Mystery and Terror by Edgar Allan Poe

9.  Best American Short Stories (collections by year)

10.  TBD

Poetry--

1.  Hard Words by Ursula LeGuin

2. Tales of a Wayside Inn by Longfellow

3.  Louisa May Alcott

4.  The Best American Poetry 2006

5. Love Me Like You Mean it by Leslea Newman

6. The Women Who Hate Me by Dorothy Allison

Non-fiction--

1.  Coming of Age in California by Gerald Haslam

2.  The Brass Check by Upton Sinclair

3.  Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript (Writers Digest Books)

4.  Expand Social Security Now! How to Ensure Americans Get the Retirement They Deserve by Steven Hill

5.  Wait, How do I Write This E-mail? by Danny Rubin

6.  California's El Camino Real and its Historic Bells by Max Kurillo (find 2nd ed. if available)

7. Ask the Vet about Cats:  Easy Answers to Commonly Asked Questions by Elaine Wexler-Mitchell

8.  The Last Campaign:  Robert Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America by Thurston Clarke

9.    Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

10.  101 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits by Melanie Mathos

11.  The Anti 9 to 5 Guide:  Practical Career Advice for Women who Think Outside the Cube by Michell Goodman

12.  Getting Things Done:  The Art of Stress-free Productivity by David Allen

13.  Style Statement: Live by Your Own Design by Carrie McCarthy

14.  The Dark Side:  The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals by Jane Mayer

15.  175 High-impact Cover Letters by Richard Beatty

16.  Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know About What Editors Do by Gerald Gross

17. Upstream:  The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath

18. I Jesse James by James R. Ross

19. Like Crazy:  Life With my Mother and Her Invisible Friends by Dan Mathews

20.  Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis

21.  A Strong Right Arm:  The Story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson by Michelle Y. Green

Not to read, but to peruse--

1.  Western Movies:  A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films by Michael Pitts is available but only as a reference book at the Norwalk branch of the Los Angeles County Library

2. #Stillwithher:  Hillary Clinton and the Moments that Sparked a Movement by Barbara Kinney

3.  When Action Follows Heart: 365 Ways to Share Kindness by Susan Spencer

4.  Out at the Movies: a History of Gay Cinema by Steven Paul Davies (as for actual reading, The Celluloid Closet is probably the most essential book to read about gay-related cinema)

5. Fair Play:  How LGBT Athletes are Claiming Their Rightful Place in Sports by Cyd Zeigler

6. Yellow Silk:  Erotic Arts and Letters by Lily Pond

7.  The Book of Gutsy Women:  Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton